LIFE’SA PITCH
Messi ‘hurt’ by missed penalty opportunity ... Three Lions just want to ‘make their country proud’ ... Will Ronaldo drive for five? ... ‘No-shows’ the reason for barren stadium
MOSCOW — Lionel Messi held up his hand following a shocking 1-1 draw with Iceland on the weekend, saying he’s “hurt” after missing a penalty that would have tilted things in the South Americans’ favour.
“It would have changed the script. It was the advantage,” Messi told reporters, according to the Daily Mail.
“Obviously it hurts me to have missed the penalty. They would have opened a little more and we could have found more spaces.
“We have the bitterness of not being able to take the three points that we deserved. To start with winning is always important, now we have to think about Croatia. We will try to pass this quickly.”
Croatia took full control of Group D following its win over Nigeria.
Messi also is contending with constant comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo, who opened this World Cup with one to the tournament’s alltime performances.
RETURN TO GLORY
England’s top striker says the Three Lions are eager to move on from their embarrassing showing two years ago at the European Championship in France.
“All we want to do is make the country proud,” Harry
Kane said, according to the MailOnline. “We need to get the nation back with us after the disappointment of the Euros.
“What happened in France two years ago was hard for everyone to take.
“Hopefully we can go (to Monday’s game vs. Tunisia) and play with a freedom that other England teams haven’t had. All I can promise is that I’ll do my best and the team will too.”
Their “best” won’t be good enough if England fails to advance from another group stage — especially in a group with Tunisia and one of the weakest teams in the tournament in Panama.
RONALDO IN QATAR?
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos says he hopes
to see Cristiano Ronaldo,
33, at a fifth World Cup.
“He is the best in the world,” Santos said, a statement he has repeated postgame on many occasions. “I’m so glad he is Portuguese and I hope in Qatar he will score again, in another World Cup.
“More important than his physical form is his mental form. He has an incredible mind and incredible physical endurance.
“He was the one who raised the team and went on with absolute trust. That is innate but also he plays in great teams and is always in finals and that gives him a very different perspective. It’s great to have someone like that.”
A LOT OF EMPTIES
World Cup officials say “no-shows” were to blame for the plethora of empty seats when Uruguay faced Egypt in Yekaterinburg.
“We can confirm that the matter related to the match in Ekaterinburg was mainly linked to ‘no-shows’ from all constituent groups,” a FIFA official said, as quoted by RTE.
“There were no problems with FIFA’s ticketing operations on-site that would have prevented ticket-holders from attending the match and, as already mentioned, 32,278 tickets had been allocated.”
In other words, there were too many seats handed out to sponsors and dignitaries, some of which didn’t bother showing up.
SUAREZ STILL HUNGRY
Uruguay striker Luis
Suarez knows he needs to make amends after failing to score in his team’s 1-0 win over Egypt.
“I want to make sure that this World Cup I leave with only good memories,” Suarez said, according to Express.
“Four years is a long time ago now — but of course it is natural that I want to put things right.
The Barcelona striker received a lengthy ban after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 tournament.
“I don’t want to put any limits on what we can achieve because I believe we have such a good squad of players.
“We must concentrate on getting out of the group stages — then we can really start to dream.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Messi and Javier Mascherano officially joined Diego Maradona as the only Argentinians to play at four World Cups ... Sergio Aguero’s opener Saturday night against Iceland ended Argentina’s 341-minute goalless run at the World Cup ... Alfred Finnbogason scored Iceland’s first World Cup goal in a 1-1 tie with the South Americans ... Denmark has now won four of its five opening matches at World Cups ... Peru is now winless in seven World Cup games, dating back to when
Teofilo Cubillas led the South Americans past Iran in 1978 ... Daniel Arzani, 19, is the youngest player to play at a World Cup for the Socceroos ... Likewise, French attacker Kylian Mbappe, 19, became the youngest player to appear at a World Cup for Les Bleus ... France became the first team in World Cup history to be awarded a penalty via FIFA’s newly implemented video review process … Egypt’s Mo Salah is expected to play when The Pharoahs meet Russia in St. Petersburg Tuesday.