To shareAt the World Cup in Qatar, the end of the group stage is approaching and there are more and more tensions and scandals related to football. The sports department of Fontanka tells about the main events of the ninth day of the tournament.
The Cameroon – Serbia match is definitely the best match of the 2022 World Cup at the moment. And although the fight ended in a draw, it was sheer madness.
The Cameroonians scored first. Jean-Charles Castelletto opened the scoring in the 29th minute. The Serbs responded with goals from Strahini Pavlovic and Sergei Milinkovic-Savic in first half stoppage time. In the 53rd minute Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the third goal for Serbia. It seemed that the result was obvious. But the Cameroonians rallied midway through the second half – Vincent Abubakar scored in the 63rd minute, and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting – in the 66th minute. Result 3:3.
“The coach argued a bit because it was time to wake up, move on. Here we are awake!” Gael Ondua told the secret of the comeback.
Unfortunately, for Serbia itself, the situation has become as difficult as possible – the team occupies the last place in Group G. To reach the playoffs, you need to beat Switzerland in the last, third round and hope that Cameroon does not win against Brazil . Or win, but less big than Serbia in Switzerland.
The game of South Korea and Ghana turned out to be no less bad. The first half was left for the African team 2:0: Mohammed Salis and Mohammed Kudus scored. In the second half, Ghana nearly missed out on victory. The score was leveled by South Korean striker Cho Kyu Sun, who scored twice within three minutes. Kudus saved the day by scoring the winning goal in the 68th minute. The match ended with the score 3:2 in favor of Ghana.
After the final whistle, the head coach of the Korean national team, Paulo Bento, received a red card for objection: Bento was outraged that the Koreans were not allowed to take a corner kick at the end of the 11th minute of recovery.
The loss greatly upset the main star of the South Korean team Son Heung-min. He burst into tears. But that didn’t stop the Ghanaian national coach from taking a selfie with him.
Brazil beat Switzerland in the cheapest mode with a score of 1:0. The only goal scored in the 83rd minute was by Casemiro.
The score could have been higher, but Vinicius’ goal in the 64th minute was disallowed for offside.
This win helped the Brazilian national team secure a playoff spot earlier than expected.
Portugal defeated Uruguay 2-0. Both goals were scored by Bruno Fernandes: the first with a chic shot in the 54th minute from the left wing. And then in recovery time after the penalty. A funny situation is connected with the first shot.
Immediately after the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo was sure that he was the author of the ball. Indeed, in the penalty area, after a strike or a pass from Fernandes, it seemed in dynamics that Ronaldo hit the ball on the head. Cristiano at that moment was the happiest person on earth.
And then he saw that the ball was taped to another, and his expression changed dramatically.
The replay showed that the Portuguese star was indeed a few millimeters short.
Former Miss Croatia Ivana Knoll continues her fight for the right to walk around Qatar in skimpy clothes, contrary to local laws. She came to the second match of her national team with an even more open dress and she said that she was not afraid of anything.
“When I found out about the rules, I was shocked. It was forbidden to show shoulders, knees, belly. I’m like, “Oh my god, I don’t even have clothes to cover it all up.” In Europe we respect the hijab and the niqab. I think they should also respect our way of life, our religion. Am I worried about being arrested for revealing clothes? I’ve never been afraid of something like that, ”the girl said.
On the eve of the US national team’s social media published the table of group B after the rounds of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. Attentive users discovered that the flag of Iran does not have the emblem of the Islamic Republic, but only green stripes, white and red.
The Guardian newspaper, quoting a representative of the US team, wrote that this was done to show “support for Iranian women who are fighting for basic human rights”.
Soon the photo was deleted, but the scandal was no longer to be avoided. The Iranian national team has sent an official complaint to FIFA requesting a 10-match suspension from the United States. Naturally, FIFA is unlikely to accept this. Additionally, USA team head coach Gregg Berhalter apologized.
“The players and staff had no idea what our press office was posting on social media. Sometimes these things are out of your control. We can only apologize on behalf of the players and staff,” Berhalter said citing Mirror.
The situation is fueled by the fact that on November 29 the United States and Iran will meet in the 3rd round of the group stage.
The day before, a video of the Argentine national team appeared on social networks, recorded in the locker room after the match with Mexico (2:0). In the video, striker Lionel Messi celebrates his victory and at one point kicks his opponent’s shirt. This angered the reigning absolute world boxing champion, Mexican Saul Alvarez.
“Have you seen Messi mopping the floor with our shirt and flag? Just as Argentina should respect Mexico, we should respect Argentina! I’m not talking about the country (Argentina), I’m talking about Messi and his act. Since the Mexican shirt is on the floor, this is already an insult, stop joking, arguing whether it was or not. Pray to God you don’t find it! Alvarez wrote on social media.
For Messi stood up for his former partner in the Argentine national team Sergio Aguero.
“Senor Canelo, you are not looking for excuses and problems. I bet you know nothing about football and what happens in the locker room. The shirts are always on the floor after matches due to sweat. And if you look closely, he makes a movement to kick off his boots and inadvertently grabs onto the jersey,” Aguero wrote.
18:00 Ecuador – Senegal
18:00 Netherlands — Qatar
22:00 Iran – United States
22:00 Wales – England
Artem Kuzmin, Fontanka.ru
