With shouts, songs, cries and tears, Moroccans exploded with joy Tuesday as their football team beat Spain to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.

“There were millions behind Morocco — this team represents a spirit, a union,” said Imad Ait Ounejjar, from a noisy, crowded restaurant in the coastal city of Casablanca.

“This victory is for Morocco, Africa, the Arab world and all the nations that believed in us. We are proud to be Moroccans,” added the young man, who works as a project manager.

Morocco is the last remaining team from Africa and the only Arab team left in Qatar, and will face either Portugal or Switzerland in a quarter-final on Saturday.

“I can’t believe it, this team is performing miracles! It’s so beautiful!” said Lamia Afria, 24. “I feel proud, we did the unthinkable.”

For the loyal supporters of the Morocco’s team — dubbed the “Atlas Lions” — it was a dream come true after long years of waiting and frustration.

Supporters, both men and women, wrapped in red national flags or wearing the team strip, kept up a solid chant of support for their sporting heroes.

After the victory, the crowd chanted as one: “Next!” and then “Always with Morocco.”

Morocco are just the fourth African team to reach the last eight of the World Cup — after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.

Before Tuesday’s game, Morocco’s best result at the football World Cup had been in 1986, when they reached the last 16.

Neighbouring derby

The epic duel took on the appearance of a derby: mainland Spain is only some 14 kilometres (nine miles) from Morocco, visible across the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea.

But beyond the sporting clash, Rabat and Madrid share common interests, including economic, as well as the fight against irregular immigration.

After a diplomatic quarrel lasting almost a year over the issue of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Spain and Morocco drew a line under the spat in mid-March.

Several Moroccan internationals play in the Spanish league, including striker Youssef En-Nesyri and goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, for Sevilla, forward Ez Abde at Osasuna, and defender Jawad El Yamiq at Real Valladolid.

National team star Achraf Hakimi, whose chipped kick settled the penalty shootout for Morocco, was born in Madrid and has played for Real Madrid.

But the Atlas Lions have also won hearts outside Morocco, with scenes of jubilation erupting in Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the kingdom’s group matches.

Palestinian supporters even improvised a song in honour of the Moroccan team.

Morocco’s players unfurled a Palestinian flag during their on-pitch celebrations after their stunning World Cup victory.

Even in a context of acute tension between Morocco and neighbouring North African nation Algeria, football has managed to bridge a gap.

“Your brothers and neighbours are with you,” wrote Algeria’s DZfoot Twitter account, which has more than one million followers.

Several Algerian internationals also praised the Moroccan feat on social media.

“Far from all the hateful and malicious trolls of social networks, the Algerian people are behind the Moroccan people”, DZfoot added.

Source: AFP

Neymar returned from injury to help inspire Brazil to a 4-1 victory over South Korea on Monday as the favourites cruised through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The world’s most expensive player had sat out his team’s last two matches with a sprained ankle suffered in their first game in Qatar, a 2-0 win over Serbia.

But he came back for this last-16 tie as Tite’s team clicked into gear and delivered an ominous message to their rivals, at least before easing off in the second half.

Vinicius Junior opened the scoring inside seven minutes before Neymar added another from the penalty spot to move to 76 goals for his country, leaving him just one away from equalling Pele’s all-time record tally.

Richarlison’s brilliant goal made it 3-0 and Lucas Paqueta added another before half-time to leave South Korea shellshocked.

Paik Seung-ho pulled one back but by then Brazil were thinking about Friday’s quarter-final clash with 2018 runners-up Croatia.

The five-time World Cup winners had not scored four goals in a knockout game at the tournament since 1998.

Here they played at times with the joy associated with the Brazilian national team, the players coming together to celebrate each goal by showing off their dance moves and their coach even joining in.

If they finished playing within themselves, their first-half display was superb and a fitting tribute to the great Pele.

The Brazilian legend had said he would watch the game from the Sao Paulo hospital to where he was admitted last week amid ongoing treatment for colon cancer, and supporters in Doha’s Stadium 974 unfurled a banner with a get well soon message to him.

All of it was a chastening experience for Son Heung-min and South Korea, who have still never won a World Cup knockout match outside their own country.

Tite made 10 changes to the Brazil team after rotating his squad for the 1-0 loss to Cameroon which came after qualification for the last 16 had been secured.

Danilo also returned from injury at left-back, while Eder Militao was the only player to keep his place and shifted across to right-back.

Richarlison stars again

With Alisson Becker back in goal and Thiago Silva and Marquinhos playing too, this was Brazil’s first-choice defence but their forwards quickly put the tie to bed.

The opener came from their first shot on target in the seventh minute as Raphinha burst away from Kim Jin-su on the right and his ball across goal came to the feet of Vinicius who coolly picked his spot.

They then won a penalty as Richarlison was caught by Jung Woo-young and Neymar duly beat Kim Seung-gyu — his last six goals for Brazil have now all come from the spot.

Alisson was then called into action to tip over a vicious long-range effort from Hwang Hee-chan, but Brazil then scored their third in style just before the half-hour mark.

Richarlison juggled the ball on his head three times just outside the area before laying it off to Marquinhos and then continuing into the box to get on the end of Silva’s pass which he slotted home for his third goal at this World Cup.

Paqueta then got their fourth nine minutes before the break with a first-time finish as he connected with a Vinicius ball held up from the byline.

They could have added more in the second half had they not taken their foot off the pedal, although Raphinha was denied on more than one occasion by the goalkeeper.

Korea though deserve credit for keeping going and they were rewarded inside the final quarter-hour as substitute Paik brought down a headed clearance and sent in a ferocious shot from 25 metres that brushed off Silva to beat Alisson.

The Brazil goalkeeper was then taken off for the final 10 minutes to be replaced by Weverton, while Neymar was also withdrawn with Tite’s mind on Croatia.

Source: AFP

Forward Ritsu Doan said Japan’s historic World Cup wins over Germany and Spain counted for nothing after the Blue Samurai were eliminated by Croatia in the last 16 on Monday.

Japan missed out on a first-ever place in the quarter-finals after a 3-1 penalty shootout defeat to the Croatians, following a gruelling encounter that finished 1-1 after extra-time.

Japan beat both Germany and Spain in the goup stage in Qatar but Doan took no consolation from his team’s achievements.

“I expected someone to say that if we lost, but to be honest it doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

“No matter how well we fought today, we didn’t change history.”

Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead late in the first half before Ivan Perisic levelled for Croatia 10 minutes after the break.

Japan struggled to create more chances but held for penalties, only for Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to save their first two spot kicks.

Croatia’s Marko Livaja hit the post to give Japan a reprieve but Livakovic saved Maya Yoshida’s kick to give Mario Pasalic match point for the Europeans.

Pasalic buried his penalty to send Croatia through, leaving Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu to lament his players’ failure to convert their spot-kicks.

“Penalties are a mix of luck and training,” he said.

“Their goalkeeper was excellent but the Japanese players should have done better and that’s something we need to work on in the future.”

Japan were aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, having lost in the last 16 at three previous World Cups.

The team arrived in Qatar with 19 Europe-based players in their squad and midfielder Wataru Endo said they would need more overseas experience to take the next step.

“We need to have more players playing with European clubs — we need 20 or 30,” he said.

“We can improve our quality and become a better team. We are improving but we weren’t good enough to get to the quarter-finals.”

Moriyasu is also confident that Japan will return stronger.

“This result doesn’t cancel out everything the players have done here,” he said.

“They have shown they have the confidence to play at the world level and have shown how good they can be.

“Japanese football can continue to grow.”

Source:  AFP

World Cup fans in Qatar say the atmosphere is different without alcohol — but they are divided over whether that is good or not.

Some say the absence of booze in stadiums and its limited availability elsewhere in the Arab nation has detracted from the atmosphere inside and outside stadiums.

Others say it has made no difference or even improved it, making it more family-friendly and less aggressive, and want it replicated at future World Cups.

The sale of alcohol at World Cup stadiums in Qatar was banned two days before the tournament in a policy U-turn, although it is available at fan zones and most international hotels.

“It has brought some positivity to the World Cup,” said Ghana fan Assenso Ata Peter ahead of the Black Stars’ tournament-ending defeat to Uruguay on Friday.

“The conduct of the supporters has been so very good, so nice because they are not drinking alcohol,” added the 40-year-old.

“If we continue with this, the tournament can continue to be successful every time.”

Mike and Luke, in Qatar to watch Australia’s surprise run into the knockout stage, were clutching water and soft drinks as they caught the game between South Korea and Portugal at Education City Stadium.

“It’s hard, it’s hard (without alcohol), it definitely takes the edge off the atmosphere, it’s not as… it’s different,” said Luke, 39.

“It’s more like a family atmosphere as opposed to a party atmosphere — you’ve got families, kids, they’re the ones that are doing the cheering,” added 36-year-old Mike.

Kang Yong-ki, who was at the same game, said no alcohol was allowed at matches at home so he could live without it.

“I suspect some of the atmosphere would be higher (more intense) if alcohol existed but generally it’s not very different with alcohol or not,” said the 45-year-old from Seoul.

“But of course it’s good for families,” he added.

For the majority of men and women supporters AFP spoke to, they said it made no difference to them, either because they do not drink alcohol or it is never allowed at football in their country anyway.

And matches particularly involving teams from South America and North Africa have still played out in front of electric atmospheres.

“I really don’t care, I’m just here to watch Cristiano Ronaldo,” said “Amanda” from Lebanon, who preferred not to give her real name.

“I don’t know why the world is making such a big deal of it.”

‘Most diverse tournament’

England fans have long been associated with alcohol-fuelled disorder and the final of the European Championship at Wembley in the summer of 2021 between the home side and Italy was marred by hooliganism.

There was heavy drinking, and also drug-taking, among some England supporters.

Kevin Fulcher and Kevin Hall, who have travelled across the globe to watch England, said they had no problem with the lack of alcohol.

“I think in some ways, when people have had a drink, the edges can get a bit blurred and it might create issues among football fans,” said Hall, 63.

“Whereas if you’re sober, you’re less inclined to have confrontation.

“We’ve not seen any confrontation whatsoever — you’re all mixing coming out of the ground.

“We’ve been to other tournaments and I think this one is more diverse than any other in terms of youngsters.”

Fulcher added: “You see families, kids, I’ve seen babies in stadiums.”

They could not pinpoint the reason for that but said it was not necessarily down to the lack of alcohol.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, head of Britain’s football policing, called the behaviour of England and Wales fans in Qatar “exemplary” and said there had been no arrests or incidents among those supporters.

He said that the atmosphere at games involving England and Wales had been “passionate but friendly”.

“It would be wrong to entirely attribute good behaviour to the restrictions on alcohol, but I do think it has helped to some degree,” he said in comments to AFP.

Source: AFP

France proved too strong for Poland on Sunday as a Kylian Mbappé brace and a record-setting goal by Olivier Giroud made for a 3-1 victory in the World Cup last 16. Giroud became France’s all-time leading scorer with 52 goals, eclipsing the mark he shared with Thierry Henry.

There is arguably no more thrilling player at this World Cup than Kylian Mbappe, who leads France into their last-16 clash on Sunday with a Poland side whose own hopes of pulling off a famous upset will depend to a large extent on Robert Lewandowski.

It is a sobering thought that Mbappe, not 24 until later this month, may not yet be at the peak of his powers but he has already scored seven goals in 10 appearances at the World Cup.

That tally includes one in the 2018 final when he was still a teenager as France beat Croatia in Moscow.

His mission now is to help his country become the first to retain the World Cup since Brazil, with an even younger Pele, did so in 1962.

Mbappe has already scored three times in Qatar, including a brace in a 2-1 victory against Denmark that secured qualification for the last 16, and there is a belief he is thriving as the undisputed star of Didier Deschamps’ side.

The situation is different to that of Paris Saint-Germain, where he shares the limelight with Lionel Messi and Neymar, and in that sense it may be that Karim Benzema’s withdrawal due to injury on the eve of the tournament does no harm to French hopes.

“Kylian has no ego,” insisted Deschamps a few days ago, going against the perception of Mbappe in the context of PSG.

“He is a decisive player for us and his performances put him in the spotlight. He is not 18 anymore. He has experience now.”

It wasn’t just Mbappe -– who now has as many international goals as Zinedine Zidane — that France missed as a second-string team lost 1-0 to Tunisia on Wednesday, a result that did not stop them topping their group.

He will be back along with the likes of Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud as France and Poland meet at a major tournament for the first time since the 1982 World Cup.

‘Beyond reproach’

“Kylian is not the same player or person as in 2018,” said Griezmann on Friday when asked about Mbappe’s role in a squad hit by injuries to several key players before the tournament.

“He is much more a part of the squad now. He speaks a lot and has fun. He knows that the media, fans and even his teammates will be watching everything that he does but he is beyond reproach.”

France are clear favourites for Sunday’s game but there is the memory of what happened in the last 16 at last year’s European Championship, when Mbappe missed the crucial penalty in a shoot-out defeat to Switzerland.

Poland only just scraped through their group ahead of Mexico on goal difference and Lewandowski’s strike -– his first World Cup goal –- in the win over Saudi Arabia was therefore crucial.

“I’m aware it might be my last World Cup and I wanted to be able to say that I’ve played and scored at World Cups,” he said after that game.

The 34-year-old also got nine goals in qualifying and there is nobody else quite on his level in Czeslaw Michniewicz’s squad.

“We are happy because getting out of the group was our objective,” said defender Jakub Kiwior after the team trained on Friday.

Seeing Mbappe and Lewandowski together on the same pitch is a rare treat.

Two of the most prolific forwards in the modern game, they are nevertheless different types of striker –- one all about explosive pace coming into the box from wide areas, and the other the ultimate penalty-box finisher now coming towards the end of his career.

Lewandowski left Bayern Munich for Barcelona in the last close season, but according to reports in France he might have ended up at PSG.

Le Parisien reported on Friday that PSG tried to convince Lewandowski to join them after tying Mbappe to a new contract in May.

PSG’s failure to sign Lewandowski or another top-class number nine was given as one reason why Mbappe was reportedly so unhappy at his club just a couple of months ago.

Those reports have since died down and his focus is on the World Cup, with Lewandowski now standing in his way.

Source: AFP

Vincent Aboubakar was shown a red card for taking off his shirt as he celebrated his stoppage time goal for Cameroon against Brazil on Friday.

 Aboubakar met Jerome Ngom Mbekeli’s cross with a fantastic header two minutes into stoppage time to fire his side to a 1-0 win against Brazil in the final game of the World Cup group stage.

 Aboubakar took his jersey off as he and his team-mates went wild and was shown a second yellow card for the offence. The 30-year-old accepted the dismissal and even shook the referee’s hand.

Source: Goal.com

Vincent Aboubakar scored 2 minutes into stoppage time as Cameroon handed Brazil its first group-stage loss at the World Cup in 24 years Friday — a result that still allowed the five-time champions to win the group and eliminated the Africans.

Aboubakar was sent off with a second yellow card for taking off his shirt during his celebration after sending his powerful header past Brazil goalkeeper Ederson. The Cameroon captain then threw his shirt to the ground near the corner flag and waited for his teammates as they rushed toward him.

Cameroon hadn’t won any of its last nine World Cup matches, with eight losses and a draw — against Ireland in its opening game at the 2002 tournament.

Brazil, which played with its reserves, had won 17 straight group games since a 2-1 loss to Norway in 1998 in France. It had lost only one of its last 29 group matches at the tournament.

Brazil, which had already reached the knockout stage after victories over Serbia and Switzerland, will face South Korea in the round of 16.

Switzerland 3, Serbia 2

Switzerland advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup for the third tournament in a row after a 3-2 win over Serbia on Friday.

Remo Freuler scored the winning goal just after halftime as the Swiss secured second place in Group G. They will next face Portugal on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium.

Freuler finished off a backheel pass from Ruben Vargas after Xherdan Shaqiri clipped a ball into the penalty box.

Shaqiri put Switzerland ahead early in the first half before Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic responded for Serbia. Breel Embolo evened the score just before halftime.

Switzerland needed a win to guarantee itself a place in the knockout round after beating Cameroon and losing to Brazil in its opening two games.

Against Portugal, the Swiss will be looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since hosting the competition in 1954.

South Korea 2, Portugal 1

The sign said it all. Hwang Hee-chan got the message.

A young South Korea fan held up a sign that read “One More Goal” during halftime of the team’s match against Portugal on Friday at the World Cup. The teams were even at 1-1 at the time, but the South Koreans needed another goal to earn a spot in the round of 16.

Hwang delivered the dramatic goal in stoppage time, lifting South Korea to a 2-1 victory and its third trip to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

It’s South Korea third trip past the group stage at the World Cup.

The team reached the semifinals as co-host in 2002 and then made it to the round of 16 in 2010.

Hwang missed the first two group games in Qatar with a hamstring injury and entered as a substitute in the second half against Portugal.

“In the first match it was impossible for me to play and the pain got worse,” he said. “I did a little running, but I thought I could play the second match, but they held me out.”

He finally made an appearance on Friday. And it turned out to be a match-winning, World Cup-advancing appearance, too.

Uruguay 2, Ghana 0

Luis Suarez couldn’t watch as his Uruguay team slid toward a painful World Cup exit. He put his hands in front of his eyes, then pulled his shirt over his head. When his face emerged again, there were tears.

The Uruguay captain sat in the dugout after being substituted as his team beat Ghana 2-0 on Friday but was still eliminated from the tournament by a stoppage-time goal in another game.

late goal by Hwang Hee-chan secured South Korea a last-gasp 2-1 win over Portugal and a place in the last 16 from Group H at Uruguay’s expense because it scored more goals.

After the most dramatic end to the group, Portugal advanced as group winner and South Korea clinched second.

Ghana, which came into the last set of games in second place, was also eliminated.

“It is sadness and disappointment that we feel,” said Suarez, who was playing in his last World Cup.

When Suarez left in the 66th minute of the game, Uruguay was in a position to advance to the knockout stage for a fourth straight World Cup. He had played key roles in both Uruguay goals by Giorgian De Arrascaeta, which came after Ghana captain Andre Ayew missed a 21st-minute penalty.

A shot by Suarez led to De Arrascaeta’s opener in the 26th minute. Suarez then set up the second with a clever pass that De Arrascaeta volleyed in six minutes later.

By the time the final whistle blew, Uruguay’s 2-0 lead still stood but the 35-year-old Suarez’s World Cup career was over, thanks to South Korea’s late goal against Portugal.

Source: VOA