England seek return to final against Messi’s Argentina

Doha, Qatar: England will aim to end Lionel Messi’s bid for back-to-back FIFA World Cup titles and then charge their way into the final when they face defending champions Argentina in a heavyweight semi-final clash at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium today. trojkonferencja2024.pl

The last-four showdown pits one of international football’s oldest rivalries, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.

Thomas Tuchel’s England are targeting a place in their first World Cup final for the first time since lifting the trophy in 1966, while Argentina are chasing a third appearance in the final in the last four editions. The Messi-led side is also hoping to become the first team after Brazil (1962) to successfully defend the world title.

For Messi, the man who carries the tag of owning most number of goals scored in World Cups (21), today’s semi-final carries extra significance as he prepares to face England for the first time in his career.

“I have played against everyone except England and it is special because they are a major nation, a powerhouse, and it is always nice to play against a side like that, especially in a World Cup semi-final,” Messi said ahead of the encounter.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has already inspired Argentina’s title defence journey, scoring eight goals, but Lionel Scaloni’s men faced few near misses on their way to the semi-finals.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (second right) with teammates during a training session.

After comfortably topping their group, Argentina edged Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time before rallying late to beat Egypt by the same scoreline. They then overcame Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals, extending their unbeaten run at the World Cup finals to 12 matches since their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia at Qatar 2022.

“This squad does not get tired of making history. They keep wanting more,” Messi said after the victory over Switzerland.

“It is not easy to have been world champions, to have won all that we have won, and to once again keep competing at this level and be back in the semi-finals.”

The 39-year-old maestro, who is probably playing his last FIFA World Cup, will be the biggest threat to England today, but English skipper Harry Kane believes his team must focus on Argentina as a whole, instead of individuals.

“We know how good a player he is, we know what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long,” Kane, who was top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, said.

“But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players,” Kane said.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford echoed Kane’s views, saying: “We all know how good Messi is but we also know how good Argentina are. We can’t solely rely on stopping Messi.”

“We’ve got to focus on their other strengths and the weaknesses we can take advantage of.”

England, powered by a brilliant double by Jude Bellingham, claimed a comeback win over Norway in an extra-time thriller to book the Argentina meeting, following another 3-2 win over Mexico in the pre-quarters despite playing with 10 men.

England opened their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, drew with Ghana and defeated Panama 2-0 before surviving another scare against DR Congo to secure a 2-1 win in the Round of 32.

Overall, England hold the upper hand in the head-to-head record, with six wins to Argentina’s two, while five matches have ended in draws. England also lead the World Cup head to head record with three wins so far, while Argentina’s victories came in the gripping 1986 quarter-final and the shootout in 1998.

England’s most recent meeting saw them clinch a thrilling 3-2 friendly win in 2005, and fast forward 21 years, a whole new generation of The Three Lions are up against one of the pre-tournament favourites this time.

أكد سعادة الشيخ جاسم بن حمد بن ناصر آل ثاني، رئيس نادي قطر الأسبق، أن رحيل صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني شكّل فاجعةً وطنيةً كبيرة، وأصاب أبناء قطر والمقيمين على أرضها، بل وكل من عرف مواقفه وإنجازاته، بحزنٍ بالغ وأسى عميق، مشيراً إلى أن الوطن فقد قائداً استثنائياً كرّس حياته لخدمة شعبه ووطنه، وترك إرثاً سيظل خالداً في ذاكرة الأجيال.
وقال إن الأمير الوالد لم يكن مجرد قائد يتولى مسؤولية الحكم، بل كان أباً قريباً من أبناء شعبه، يحمل همومهم، ويحرص على رفعتهم وكرامتهم، ولذلك كانت العلاقة بينه وبين الشعب علاقة محبة صادقة بنيت على الثقة والإخلاص والوفاء، فأحبه الجميع لأنه أحب وطنه وأخلص لشعبه.
وأضاف الشيخ جاسم أن الأمير الوالد امتلك رؤية استثنائية وبصيرة نافذة سبقت عصرها، واستطاع من خلالها أن ينقل دولة قطر إلى مرحلة جديدة من النهضة والتنمية الشاملة، لتصبح نموذجاً يحتذى به في مختلف المجالات، مؤكداً أن ما تنعم به الدولة اليوم من تقدم وازدهار هو ثمرة تلك الرؤية الحكيمة والتخطيط البعيد المدى.
وأشار إلى أن الأمير الوالد آمن بأن الاستثمار الحقيقي يبدأ بالإنسان، فعمل على تطوير التعليم والرعاية الصحية والبنية التحتية والاقتصاد، ورسخ مكانة قطر على المستويين الإقليمي والدولي، حتى أصبحت دولة مؤثرة وصاحبة حضور عالمي في السياسة والاقتصاد والرياضة والإعلام والعمل الإنساني.
وأوضح أن الفقيد الكبير لم يقتصر عطاؤه على حدود وطنه، بل امتدت مواقفه إلى مختلف القضايا العربية والإسلامية، فكان نصيراً للمظلومين، وداعماً للاستقرار والسلام، وحريصاً على تعزيز الحوار والتعاون بين الشعوب، الأمر الذي أكسبه احتراماً واسعاً ومحبة كبيرة في مختلف أنحاء العالم.
وستظل مواقف الأمير الوالد الإنسانية والخيرية شاهدة على شخصيته النبيلة، حيث اقترنت مسيرته بالعطاء والعمل الصادق، وترك بصمات واضحة في العديد من المبادرات التنموية والإنسانية التي خدمت الإنسان أينما كان.
واختتم الشيخ جاسم تصريحه بالتأكيد على أن الأمير الوالد سيبقى حاضراً في وجدان أبناء قطر بما تركه من إنجازات عظيمة ومؤسسات راسخة ونهضة شاملة، مبيناً أن أفضل وفاء لذكراه يتمثل في مواصلة مسيرة البناء والتنمية التي أسسها، والحفاظ على المكتسبات الوطنية التي تحققت في عهده، سائلاً الله عز وجل أن يتغمده بواسع رحمته، وأن يسكنه فسيح جناته، وأن يجزيه عن قطر وشعبها خير الجزاء، وأن يديم على الوطن نعمة الأمن والاستقرار والازدهار.

Washington: Folarin Balogun admitted yesterday that the suspension of his red card in the World Cup after President Donald Trump intervened put added pressure on the US team.

Balogun said in an interview with CBS he was “definitely in shock” when he was sent off for treading on the foot of a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender in his side’s 2-0 group-stage win.

“When something is not intentional it should never be a red card,” he said.

But days before the next match, the last-16 knockout game against Belgium, world football’s governing body FIFA announced the red card had been suspended, clearing the way for Balogun to play.

Trump then admitted he had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the card to be reviewed.

The US went on to lose 4-1 to Belgium and Balogun made little impact despite starting the game.

“It was just an unfortunate situation and it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed,” said Balogun, 25.

“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team but when I kind of started to reflect on it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy.”

He added: “I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it’s something that’s so unique.

“The closer it got to the game I just tried to focus as best as I could. It was difficult, a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”