Sports
AFCON: Hosts Morocco wins first game with ease
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Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got their Africa Cup of Nations bid off to a winning start by beating minnows Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday.
Soufiane Rahimi had a penalty saved in a frustrating first half for much-fancied Morocco, but Diaz fired home from inside the area 10 minutes after the interval at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat.
Substitute El Kaabi then got the second with a stunning overhead kick, and the victory on a wet and cold night sets the Atlas Lions up for the potentially tougher tests to come in Group A against Mali and Zambia.
The result also allowed Morocco, Africa’s best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, to extend their world-record winning run to 19 consecutive matches.
The game was played out before a crowd of 60,180, with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan — who appeared on the pitch ahead of kick-off — and FIFA president Gianni Infantino among those in attendance.
Morocco’s star man and captain Achraf Hakimi also ended up watching the entire game from the bench, with coach Walid Regragui preserving the Paris Saint-Germain full-back who has not played since suffering an ankle injury with his club at the start of November.
It looked set to be a long night for Comoros when Morocco won a penalty in the 10th minute as playmaker Diaz was tripped inside the box by Iyad Mohamed.
But Rahimi’s spot-kick was kept out by the legs of Yannick Pandor as the Comoros goalkeeper dived to his right, and the visitors then succeeded in thwarting their more illustrious hosts for the remainder of the first half.
However Morocco, who also saw veteran centre-back Romain Saiss come off injured early on, succeeded in breaking down their opponents after half-time.
Comoros, the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago who are 108th in the world rankings, had their resistance ended as the opening goal arrived on 55 minutes.
Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui, starting at right-back with Hakimi not yet quite fully fit, picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area and squared for Real Madrid’s Spanish-born number 10 Diaz to score.
Morocco, who had seen Neil El Aynaoui almost break the deadlock just before that, then saw space open up although Comoros had a chance of their own as Rafiki Said was denied when clean through on goal.
Mazraoui forced a good save from Pandor before El Kaabi, of Greek giants Olympiakos, lit up the occasion by meeting a cross in from the left by Anass Salah-Eddine with a magnificent overhead bicycle kick to make it 2-0.
Morocco’s next game will be on Friday against Mali, who begin their campaign by taking on Zambia in Casablanca on Monday.
Elsewhere on Monday, South Africa face Angola in Marrakesh before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt — the record seven-time African champions chasing a first title since 2010 — get their bid up and running against outsiders Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B.
This latest edition of the Cup of Nations is the first to start in one year and end in another, with the final to take place in Rabat on January 18.
AFP
England had been on course to reach their first World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon fired them into the lead 10 minutes after half-time in the semi-final in front of 68,239 fans in Atlanta.
But the great rivalry between these nations has produced several memorable contests on the World Cup stage down the years, and this will be remembered as the stuff of legends in Argentina as the South Americans denied England with two late sucker punches.
Messi set up Enzo Fernandez to fire in an 85th-minute equaliser and then, with extra time looming, crossed for substitute Lautaro Martinez to head in the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
It was maybe not quite up there with Diego Maradona’s legendary display in putting England to the sword in 1986, but the goals this time brought Argentina back from the dead and kept alive their hopes of winning back-to-back World Cups.
Argentina are in the final of the World Cup! The defending champions fought back from one goal down to defeat England and book a date in Sunday’s game.
Argentina will face Spain in the final on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
World football governing body, FIFA, has made a key video assistant referee, VAR decision ahead of the much exected World Cup semi-final match between England and Argentina.
The match will be played in Atlanta on Wednesday.
FIFA has opted to deploy an on-site VAR team for this high-profile encounter.
Previously, the VAR team had been functioning from a central hub located at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas, regardless of the venue of each match.
However, for this particular game, the on-site officials will act as a backup in the event of any technical or communication difficulties.
Dan Hunt, a member of the Organising Committee, elaborated on the decision to have VAR operate on-site for the second semi-final as reported by Sport Bible.
He said, “There is a significant amount of drama that occurs during these matches. Moreover, when only four officials are tasked with overseeing the action on a field that is considerably larger than an American football field, it becomes quite challenging
“I am pleased that there will be on-site officials. I am uncertain about how the communication will be managed.”
FIFA has faced considerable criticism for the inconsistent VAR decisions throughout the tournament, with the defending champions Argentina benefiting from favorable calls without any against them, while England has experienced the opposite, resulting in a net negative outcome.
Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry, has reacted to the Les Bleus’ World Cup semi-final 2-0 defeat to Spain.
Henry said that the La Roja were far superior to France during the encounter.
Spain defeated France on Tuesday to qualify for the World Cup final, thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
“Too little from France at the end of the day. Spain controlled the game on and off the ball,” Henry said on Fox Sports.
“They showed why they are European champions, they are showing why they are going into the final.
“Nothing to add, they were far superior, and there is nothing to say about it. Spain, congratulations. you deserves to go to the final,” he said.
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