WORLD CUP BRIEFS
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Messi says Argentina future depends on World Cup Argentina captain Lionel Messi said his international future will be determined by his country’s performance at the World Cup in Russia. “It will depend on how far we go, how we’re going to finish” at the finals, Messi, above, said in an interview with Spanish daily Sport. “We’ve just lost three finals in a row, which has led to us going through some difficult moments with the press,” the Barcelona forward added. “Notably with the Argentine press because we have differences of opinion over what it means to make these three finals.” Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final 1-0 to Germany after extra time, before suffering successive defeats by Chile on penalties at the Copa America in 2015 and 2016. Argentina launch their World Cup campaign against Iceland on Saturday in Moscow, with games to follow against Croatia and Nigeria in Group D.
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Ronaldo not worried about his future: Fernandes Portugal midfielder Manuel Fernandes said Cristiano Ronaldo “doesn’t look at all worried about his future” as the Real Madrid superstar contemplates a possible exit from the Spanish giants this summer. There has been intense speculation over Ronaldo’s future after the 33-year-old forward suggested he could have played his last game for Madrid following their 3-1 victory over Liverpool in last month’s Uefa Champions League final. Speaking at Portugal’s World Cup team base camp on the outskirts of Moscow, Fernandes said: “I have nothing negative to say about Cristiano, he looks focused and doesn’t look at all worried about his future.” In the aftermath of Madrid’s third successive European title in Kiev, Ronaldo said: “It was very nice to be at Real Madrid.” A day later he struck a more conciliatory tone, telling Madrid fans gathering at the city’s Plaza de Cibeles “see you next year”, but Portuguese newspaper Record stoked the fire again last Thursday by claiming Ronaldo would definitely be leaving.
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Milla complains of lack of credit for his 1990 exploits Cameroon hero Roger Milla, centre, has said he never received the credit he deserved for his World Cup goalscoring exploits. Milla, lured out of retirement at the ripe old age of 38, left an indelible mark on the 1990 finals in Italy. Following a shock 1-0 win over Argentina, Milla came off the bench to score twice in the final minutes of a 2-1 win over Romania, his second a fierce strike from the right side of the area. After a 4-0 drubbing by the Soviet Union, Milla, again, came off the bench again to hit his second brace, in extra-time, to secure a 2-1 win over Colombia that sent Cameroon into the last eight, the first African side to make it to the quarter-finals. He, however, pointed to a lack of coverage of his exploits. “I don’t know why you [the media] don’t talk more about Africans. For me, it’s because of racism!,” Milla said. “If a Brazilian, German or Frenchman had scored a goal like that, you would burst everyone’s eardrums talking about it. But since it was a Cameroonian, a black player, it was hardly talked about.” Cameroon will be absent in Russia.
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Larsson happy for Sweden without Ibrahimovic
Henrik Larsson is hoping Sweden will go into the World Cup under the radar given Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be involved in Russia. Ibrahimovic retired from international football after Euro 2016 but Sweden’s record goalscorer appeared to be tempted to return after qualification for this summer’s finals had been achieved. Now at LA Galaxy, the 36-year-old striker will not add to his 116 international appearances in Russia after speculation over a sensational recall failed to materialise. Larsson, another heroic former Sweden international, believes Ibrahimovic’s absence could help the Swedes provide a few shocks when their Group F fixtures start with a clash against South Korea next Monday. “He is the best player we ever had from Sweden so it is not strange that those questions [about a recall] came up. But I think it is good now for the group that they can focus on the team and the squad.”
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Southgate eager to get his England team to Russia Gareth Southgate cannot wait to touch down in Russia today and kick on with England’s final World Cup preparations. Following a home-based camp, the so far injury-free Three Lions will head east for the final phase of training and finetuning. England, whose Group G opener against Tunisia in Volgograd is now just a week away, will fly to St Petersburg and go to their forRestMix Club base in nearby Repino. “We’re pleased with how preparation has gone up until now,” England manager and former international Southgate said yesterday. “We fly out tomorrow, so it’ll be good to get on with it now. “Everybody is looking forward to getting to the first game.”