Official ‘Trionda’ World Cup ball brews controversy after cancelling Croatia’s equaliser in round of 32 match against Portugal
FIFA is relying on a high-tech soccer ball fitted with “advanced sensors” and insisted it got it right when determining Croatia’s Igor Mantanovic got the slightest of glances with his head, meaning Mario Palasic was in an offside position during the build-up to the goal.
Tiny African island nation Cape Verde puts Messi and Argentina to stern test in a nerve-wracking 120-minute World Cup thriller
Lionel Messi and Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 on Friday and advanced to the World Cup Round of 16 in a thrilling match in which the tiny island nation challenged the reigning champion until the final minutes of extra-time. The go-ahead score for Argentina was credited as an own-goal after...
It is not just competition of who’ll win the World Cup, the world is also watching ‘who’s next manager to get the axe’
The Netherlands’ Ronald Koeman, Ecuador’s Sebastian Beccacece, Uruguay’s Marcelo Bielsa and South Korea’s Hong Myung-bo are the latest to step down following the departures of Scotland’s Steve Clarke, the Czech Republic’s Miroslav Koubek and Tunisia’s Sabri Lamouchi.
Who will be greatest? France star Mbappé and Argentina’s Messi in a race for World Cup record scorer
With 18 goals in 18 World Cup games, Mbappé has scored at an even faster clip than Messi, who has played in 29 games at the tournament. Mbappé was substituted in the 85th minute against Sweden.
Win-or-Go-Home: Ivory Coast pays price for complacency as Norway’s Halaand deals them World Cup sucker punch
Antonio Nusa scored with a curling kick for Norway, which is in its fourth World Cup and will next play five-time champion Brazil in the round of 16 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
From ‘hand of God’ to ‘leg of God’: How Morocco bundled the Netherlands out of World Cup in penalty shootout
Earlier in the shootout with Morocco trailing 1-0, Verbruggen appeared to have stopped an attempt by Soufiane Rahimi, but the goalkeeper couldn’t secure the ball and deflected it over the line with the back of his leg.
World Cup: Rusting in German machine persists as Paraguay tosses out the Bavarians in sudden-death penalty shootout
Paraguay had appeared in five previous knockout games but failed to score in each. It had advanced only once, winning on penalty kicks against Japan in the round of 16 at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. It fell that year to eventual champion Spain in the quarterfinals.
Still going strong: ‘It doesn’t matter, because it’s been 23 years on the job and when things go well, ‘Cristiano is good…’
Former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney said the display followed a familiar pattern. “He didn’t have the best game, but this is what he does,” Rooney told BBC Sport. “He’s taken a bit of criticism and this is how he responds. He has done that his whole career.”
European media rant after Cape Verde draw with Spain: ‘This game makes fools of us all, is that why we love it?’
There is a slightly masochistic streak in any fan, because we know that we love a game that has the power to make us look utterly ridiculous. Perhaps not $1 million ridiculous for most of us, but ridiculous all the same. And in the end, that’s why we love it.
Xenophobic attacks soil South Africa’s team profile in World Cup as many Africans back their opponents
Following South Africa’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico in their opening game, a vocal group of users across the continent openly celebrated the loss, citing xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment as their reasons for withdrawing support.
