Take a break, boys
England and Belgium may rest top players in group finale
MOSCOW — Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have starred in this year’s World Cup, and neither may see much playing time when England and Belgium play Thursday.
Both teams have already advanced to the round of 16, and the match in Kaliningrad will only determine the Group G finishing order. The low stakes have created speculation as to how England and Belgium will use their players, and if finishing first or second in the group would be more advantageous.
The winners and runners-up will end up on different sides of the draw following the match.
Kane is the leading scorer at the World Cup with five goals, including a hat trick against Panama.
“He’s sitting really proudly at the top. He’s gone ahead of some major, major names in English football history in terms of World Cup goals,” England coach Gareth Southgate said. “That should make him incredibly proud, but he also knows the team is the most important thing and we have to make decisions that are right for the team.”
Lukaku has scored four goals from four shots on target for Belgium. But he did not train with the team earlier this week and will likely be rested. Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Dries
Mertens are all nursing injuries after Belgium’s 5-2 victory over Tunisia.
MARADONA DOING WELL
Argentine soccer great Diego
Maradona says he is well after requiring medical treatment at a World Cup game in Russia.
Footage posted on social media showed Maradona apparently disoriented and being helped to climb stairs at Argentina’s 2-1 win over Nigeria on Tuesday.
He had earlier been seen reacting emotionally to the game and showing a middle-finger salute when Argentina scored. TV footage also showed Maradona with his eyes closed for part of the game.
Maradona says he was dizzy and his “neck hurt a lot,” so he was examined at the stadium.
Writing on Instagram underneath a picture of himself with medical staff, Maradona says, “I was checked by a doctor and he recommended me to go home before the second half, but I wanted to stay because we were risking it all. How could I leave?”
FASTEST YELLOW CARD
FIFA says Mexico defender
Jesus Gallardo’s yellow card 13 seconds into Wednesday’s match against Sweden has competition for the record of fastest booking in
World Cup history.
Gallardo’s yellow card for a tough aerial challenge on a Sweden forward is believed to be the fastest ever. However, FIFA says there were first-minute bookings at games in 1950 and 1962 — before yellow and red cards were used — as well as in 1982 and 1994.
FIFA’s records do not show exactly how much time was on the clock for those bookings.
The record for the fastest red card still belongs to Uruguay’s
Jose Batista, who was sent off in the first minute against Scotland in 1986.
LANZINI OUT UNTIL 2019
Argentina midfielder Manuel Lanzini says he expects to be back in action for West Ham at the start of 2019 following a serious knee injury. Lanzini says on Twitter that the operation on his right knee “went really well,” adding “although I don’t want to set a date, I expect to be ready to play at the beginning of 2019.” The 25-year-old Lanzini ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while training with Argentina the week before the World Cup.