Football

With a staggering 78% of the vote, Qatar 2022 in Qatar has been selected as the best FIFA World Cup of this century in a BBC Sport poll. The 2002 World Cup (Japan/South Korea) came in second place with only 6% of the vote, followed by 2014 (Brazil) with 5%, 2006 (Germany) and 2018 (Russia), which tied for fourth place with 4% each and 2010 (South Africa), which received 3%. Lionel Messi finally won the one prize he had failed to win throughout

The Moroccan Football Federation (RMFA) submitted on Thursday, December 15, 2022, an official protest to FIFA against the refereeing of the semi-final match against France at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which ended in a loss of two clean goals. The Federation said in a statement that the Royal Moroccan Football Association, protested strongly against the refereeing of the Moroccan team's match against the French national team, led by Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos, of Mexico. The Federation sent a letter to the

Lionel Messi will record his 172nd appearance for Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final. Messi-led Argentina will meet either meet France or Morocco in the summit clash on Sunday. Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina became the first finalists of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar on Wednesday. The two-time champions hammered Luka Modric-led Croatia in the first semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Lusail Stadium. Runners-up in the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Modric-led Croatia had set a

Morocco leave Qatar disappointed but filled with pride at having written their names into the history books by becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, their coach Walid Regragui said. Morocco were beaten 2-0 by France on Wednesday and will go into a playoff for third place with Croatia while the French will face Argentina in the final. "We realise that we made a great achievement already," Regragui told reporters. "We know that the media, social media, and on

France took an early lead through Theo Hernandez, before substitute Randal Kolo Muani secured a 2-0 victory over an outstanding Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium, sending Les Blues to the World Cup final. Morocco stood out and caused some trouble in the French area near the end of the 1st half and the start of the 2nd. However, a late second goal from substitute Randal Kolo Muani, following brilliant work from Kylian Mbappe, determined their win. The score line suggested that France would easily

Lionel Messi has confirmed he will play his last World Cup game when Argentina takes on France or Morocco in Sunday's final in Qatar. Messi leads Argentina to a 3-0 win over Croatia in their semi-final on Tuesday and will earn his 172nd cap at the weekend when he tries to bring the country its first World Cup title since 1986. "I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in

Morocco midfielder Amine Harit, originally chosen to play at the World Cup but injured one week before the start of the tournament, arrived in Qatar on Monday to be with the team for their semi-final against France on Wednesday. Harit, 25, was welcomed by team mates, several of whom posted pictures with him on social media. He has moved in with the squad at their base in Doha and was continuing his treatment for a knee injury with the Moroccan medical staff. Morocco’s

Croatia has already ended Neymar's World Cup dream. Now they hope to do the same to Lionel Messi. Croatia, runners-up in 2018, are the next obstacle for Argentina to overcome on Tuesday in the semifinals as Messi aims to win the one major trophy that has eluded him. But Croatia, who lost to France in the final in Russia, are on their own mission to go one step further this time around. "I don't think we need to fear anybody. We need to

France defeated England 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the FIFA WC 2022 on Sunday at the Al Bayt Stadium. Aurelien Tchouameni's long-range effort in the 17th minute gave the defending champions the lead. England equalised in the 54th minute after Harry Kane converted a penalty, before Oliver Giroud restored France's lead in the 78th minute. Kane had another chance to equalize for England, but he missed his penalty. Following the victory, France will face Morocco in the semi-finals. Kane missed a penalty six

Even before the game, the festivities had started. The supporters' confidence that they will get through this night pain-free was exhausting. They turned up the volume to ear-splitting levels, like wearing two amplified loudspeakers. The stadium changed into a vibrant red arena. It appeared that this was Tangier or Rabat. After 8 torturous minutes of pause, they celebrated as if it is a Music Festival until the final whistle finally blew. With a 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday, Morocco continued their unbeaten

However, instead of defending their advantage, they went in search of a second. As a result, they were penalized when Bruno Petkovic, a replacement for Croatia, scored an equalizer with his left foot 3 minutes into extra time, breaking Brazilian hearts. After 13 minutes, Ivan Perisic could only mess up a whipping Mario Pasalic cross past Alisson's goalpost, giving Croatia the opportunity of the half. The Brazilians had a much stronger start to the second half and came near once more in the

Brazil’s first-choice left back Alex Sandro has not fully recovered from injury and is doubtful for their quarter-final against Croatia on Friday, manager Tite said on Thursday. Alex Sandro was substituted in the 86th minute of Brazil’s second World Cup Group G match against Switzerland with a muscle problem in his left hip. He was ruled out for their final group stage match with Cameroon and the last-16 clash versus South Korea and, according to Tite, he could miss his third consecutive game

FIFA has sanctioned World Cup quarter-finalists Croatia for abuse its supporters levelled at Canada’s goalkeeper during the two countries’ group-stage clash in Qatar last month. World football’s governing body said on Wednesday that its Disciplinary Committee had fined the Croatian Football Federation 50,000 Swiss francs ($53,000) in relation to the behaviour of the Adriatic nation’s fans at the match on November 27. During the fixture at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Croatian supporters were reported to have shouted insults at Milan Borjan,

21-year-old Goncalo Ramos was the star of the show for Portugal, scoring the first hattrick of the 2022 World Cup against Switzerland in the Round of 16 encounter on Tuesday. Replacing Portuguese talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos became the first player to score a hattrick on his first World Cup start since Miroslav Klose for Germany in 2002. He also became the youngest man to score a hattrick in a FIFA World Cup knock out match after Pele as well as the first man

After representing India at Cannes 2022, Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone has once again made all Indians beam with pride. As per a source, Deepika will be flying to Qatar to be part of the most-watched sporting event and will be unveiling the FIFA World Cup trophy at the jam-packed stadium. The FIFA World Cup final will be played on December 18, 2022 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. Meanwhile, on the film front, Deepika will be seen sharing screen space with Shah Rukh Khan

Jude Bellingham was the star of England's 3-0 victory over Senegal, which put them into the World Cup quarterfinals with ease. They will now play against France, the defending champions, in the quarterfinals of this year's world cup. Jordan Henderson started the score for England, followed by Harry Kane's 1st goal of the 2022 World Cup. This helped them put pressure on Senegal which played a significant role in their 3-0 victory. Setting up a showdown against France in the quarterfinals. With his

On Sunday, December 4, France defeated Poland 3-1 in the FIFA 2022 World Cup round of 16 match that broke all previous records. Olivier Giroud eventually gave Les Bleus the lead. In the process, Giroud passed Thierry Henry, who had 51 goals to his credit, to become France's all-time leading scorer. Kylian Mbappe scored his fourth goal of the competition to extend France's lead early in the second half. Mbappe made it 2-0 for France with an outstanding goal in the top corner.

Brazil forward Neymar will train later on Sunday and is set to play for the five-time champions in their World Cup last-16 match against South Korea after recovering from an ankle injury, coach Tite said. Neymar suffered the injury in Brazil's opening 2-0 win over Serbia, which ruled him out of their 1-0 win over Switzerland and the shock defeat by Cameroon, one of a series of injury problems within the squad. "Neymar will train today in the afternoon and if he trains

Belgium Coach Roberto Martinez leaving Team After World Cup Exit Roberto Martinez is leaving as coach of Belgium’s national team following Thursday’s World Cup exit. “That was my last game for the national team,” the Spaniard said after a 0-0 draw with Croatia led to the team’s elimination from the tournament in Qatar. Martinez coached Belgium to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. He was in charge of the team for six years. Martinez said he made the decision to leave

Fans entry in Qatar without a ticket will be allowed from tomorrow, Dec 02, 2022. This is announced by the Ministry of Interior that non-ticketed fans can enter Qatar provided that they have a Hayya Card, a booked hotel reservation, and allot a fee of QR 500. On the Hayya platform, users can apply for a Hayya Card. A wide selection of hospitality options is available on qatar2022.qa/book.. Children 12 and older must also pay an additional QR 500 admission fee. 12 and