Sport (Page 108)

Good afternoon from Al Rayyan Welcome to our live coverage of the final Group A match between Ecuador and Senegal. It’s not exactly winner takes all in Al Rayyan but it’s pretty close. Should Ecuador avoid defeat this afternoon, then they will book their place in the Last 16 of Qatar 2022. The Senegalese also have their destiny in their own hands, but they need a win to be certain of progression; a draw may be enough but only in the unlikely event that hosts Qatar beat the Netherlands in the group’s other encounter. And assuming the Dutch do the business, then there’s every chance that we’ll be watching England’s opponents for the knockout stages this afternoon.Continue Reading

Good afternoon from Al Rayyan Welcome to our live coverage of the final Group A match between Ecuador and Senegal. It’s not exactly winner takes all in Al Rayyan but it’s pretty close. Should Ecuador avoid defeat this afternoon, then they will book their place in the Last 16 of Qatar 2022. The Senegalese also have their destiny in their own hands, but they need a win to be certain of progression; a draw may be enough but only in the unlikely event that hosts Qatar beat the Netherlands in the group’s other encounter. And assuming the Dutch do the business, then there’s every chance that we’ll be watching England’s opponents for the knockout stages this afternoon.Continue Reading

GHANA kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup alive with a thrilling victory over South Korea. The Black Stars looked to be cruising to their first win of the tournament when Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus put them 2-0 ahead at half-time. 3 Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus put Ghana 2-0 up at the breakCredit: EPA 3 But Gue-Sung Cho scored twice in three minutes to make it 2-2Credit: EPA 3 Kudus’ second goal won the game for GhanaCredit: AP But Korea came alive after the break and a pair of Gue-Sung Cho headers, the second an absolute thunderbolt, had them level on the hour mark. There looked like being one winner, but itContinue Reading

BELGIUM’S World Cup hopes are under real threat after a shock 2-0 defeat to Morocco. The African side had to change their goalkeeper between the national anthem and kick-off. 5 Morocco stunned Belgian with a 2-0 win in Group FCredit: EPA 5 Thibaut Courtois was beaten by a free-kick for the first goalCredit: AP 5 Kevin de Bruyne knows his country are at risk of going out earlyCredit: Rex 5 Courtois got away with one in the first half thanks to a VAR callCredit: Getty 5 Zakaria Aboukhlal blasted into the top corner to wrap up the winCredit: Getty But it did not matter as the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard did not threaten Munir’s goal. AbdelhamidContinue Reading

GOAL! – Belgium 0-1 Morocco 73, Sabiri breaks the deadlock and Morocco take the lead in Doha! Sabiri with the exact same free-kick as Ziyech from the opposite flank. He swings it in, and once again it goes through everyone, including Courtois who was left flapping at thin air. I’m sure he was unsighted by Saiss, but this time the defender had stayed onside. At last a goal, and what a finish we might have here. Credit: Reuters Credit: GettyContinue Reading

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI ended his World Cup duck to fire Poland to an all-important three points against Saudi Arabia. But he had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to thank for his heroics by saving a penalty. 3 Robert Lewandowski grabbed his first World Cup goalCredit: EPA 3 Piotr Zielinski fired into the roof of the net to break the deadlockCredit: Reuters 3 Wojciech Szczesny got down brilliantly to make a superb double save from the penaltyCredit: AFP Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring on 39 minutes, getting the rebound from Lewandowski’s strike. Szczesny then produced a stunning double save from the spot to keep Poland in front. And after changing his boots at half-time, Lewandowski got in on the World Cup act by pickingContinue Reading

WILLIAM HILL have a price boost for the Spain vs Germany clash in the World Cup. Punters can get 9/1 for the Spaniards to win either 2-0 OR 3-0! 1 William Hill: Claim £30 in free football betsCredit: GETTY Spain to win 2-0 OR 3-0 | 9/1! Fancy the price boost? Just click here to add it to your William Hill bet slip! New to William Hill? How’s this for a new customer offer…. The bookies are offering brand new punters a whopping £30 in free bets* to spend when you stake £10 on any football match! Your first £10 bet could be placed on this boost and if Spain did win by either of the scorelines, you’ll win £100!Continue Reading

NEYMAR will play again at the World Cup, according to reports. The Brazil star was taken off with an ankle injury against Serbia following a tackle by Nikola Milenkovic. 4 Neymar suffered an ankle injury against SerbiaCredit: Getty 4 Neymar looked upset as physios attended to his injuryCredit: Getty 4 Neymar’s right ankle was badly swollenCredit: Reuters 4 The Brazil talisman limped as he left the stadiumCredit: Twitter @njnews10 Neymar initially continued before being substituted but he looked distraught on the bench as physios attended to him. The forward broke down into tears and covered his face with his shirt, fearing the injury was a serious one. Brazil fears were worsened when Neymar limped out of the stadium with aContinue Reading

WORLD CUP fans slammed Luis Suarez after he was hauled off just after the hour mark in Uruguay’s draw with South Korea. The veteran striker started alongside Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez up-front but failed to impact the match. 1 Suarez was replaced by Edinson Cavani in the 63rd minuteCredit: EPA He is Uruguay’s all-time top scorer with 67 goals but he looked every bit his 35 years as he struggled to keep up with play at times. Uruguay boss Diego Alonso put Suarez out of his misery in the 63rd minute and brought on another veteran in former Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani to replace him. But that did not prevent fans mocking Suarez and slamming his abysmal performance. One wrote:Continue Reading

ANTONIO RUDIGER sent social media abuzz with his bizarre running during Germany’s clash with Japan. The Real Madrid star was in action for his country as they kicked off their 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar. 3 Antonio Rudiger bizarrely ran towards the touchline 3 Fans noticed the Germany star’s strange running technique And it was an incident in the 64th minute that really got people talking. Trailing 1-0, Japan desperately sought to get back in the game. Manager Hajime Moriyasu threw on former Arsenal forward Takuma Asano in the second half as he chased an equaliser. Asano chased a long hopeful ball down the channel, but was marshalled by Rudiger. Rather than conventionally shepherding the ball out of play,Continue Reading