‘In The Rule, Elbow Is Red Card’
Iran manager Carlos Queiroz has hit out at VAR after referee Enrique Caceres decided against sending Cristiano Ronaldo off for apparently elbowing Morteza Pouraliganji.
‘In the rules, an elbow is a red card, it doesn’t matter if it’s Lionel Messi or Ronaldo,’ said Queiroz, who complained that VAR decisions were not transparent.
Switzerland Fans Pay Xhaka Fine
Switzerland fans have started a crowd funding appeal to pay the fines imposed on three Swiss players at the World Cup in Russia.
Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Stephan Lichtsteiner were fined by FIFA for their ‘double-headed eagle gesture’ celebrations in the win over Serbia.
The appeal raised more than $16,000 of its $25,000 target within 18 hours.
Morocco Coach In Hot Demand
Morocco coach Herve Renard is reportedly being considered by both the Egyptian and Algerian football federations after his encouraging World Cup campaign.
The Atlas Lions were eliminated after taking just one point from their three Group B outings, but were unfortunate to lose to European champions Portugal and were moments away from defeating Spain in Kaliningrad on Monday before Iago Aspas’s late equalizer.
Hossam Hassan Eyes Egypt Job
Former Egypt forward, Hossam Hassan believes he could be the man to replace Hector Cuper as Pharaohs boss should the federation opt for a change of coach after their underwhelming World Cup display.
Peru Sees Off Soceroos
Australia’s slim hopes of advancing from Group C were extinguished yesterday with a 2-0 defeat to Peru, who exited the World Cup on a high note.
Peru, who could have felt hard done following 1-0 defeats to France and Denmark, found goals from Andre Carrillo and Paolo Guerrero to see off the Socceroos, who needed a win to have a chance to advance.
‘England Learned From Germany, Spain’
Spending time in the NFL and studying Germany and Spain’s World Cup wins has helped England improve their set-pieces, says manager Gareth Southgate.
England have scored more goals from free-kicks or corners than anyone else during the World Cup group stages
Lukaku Misses Training
For a second day running, Belgium trained without main striker Romelu Lukaku ahead of their crunch World Cup clash with England.
Roberto Martinez’s side take on England in a Kaliningrad shoot-out for first place in Group G today but they could be without Lukaku, who suffered a slight ankle injury in the 5-2 victory against Tunisia.
“We Were Lucky To Finish First’
Spain may have scraped fortuitously into the World Cup last 16 but they should not be conceding so many goals and must improve, said coach Fernando Hierro after Monday’s 2-2 draw with Morocco.
‘We were lucky to finish first. That was our initial goal and we’ve reached it,’ Hierro said. ‘But now we need to be very demanding with ourselves and have clearly in mind that if we concede goals so easily, it will be very difficult to reach our ultimate goal.’
Iran Goalkeeper Was a Pizza Shop Keeper
Alireza Beiranvand saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty on Monday evening but that stop — the first time Portugal have missed a spot kick at a World Cup — is the peak of an incredible life story.
France Denmark Through
France and Denmark played out the first 0-0 draw of the World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium as both teams progressed with Didier Deschamps’ side winning Group C.
Today’s Fixtures
Korea Rep-Germany (3pm)
Mexico-Sweden (3pm)
Serbia-Brazil (6pm)
Switzerland-Costa Rica (6pm)
Tomorrow’s Fixture
Japan-Poland (3pm)
Senegal-Colombia (3pm)
Panama-Tunisia (6pm)
England-Belgium (6pm)