Messi’s mom still his No. 1 fan
‘We suffer from all the criticism that Leo receives’
SAINT PETERSBURG • Lionel Messi still has one person in his corner following a disappointing opening to this World Cup: His mom.
Celia Cuccittini says her son has shed tears during his relentless pursuit of an international championship.
“His aim is to bring the Cup home, to win the World Cup,” Cuccittini told Diario de Mariana, as translated by ESPN. “It’s one of his biggest desires. We see him suffer and cry at times.
Messi has reached four finals — three Copa Americas and a World Cup — but has yet to win a major international trophy.
“We suffer from all the criticism that Leo receives,” Messi’s mother added. “When people say that he doesn’t feel it or that he plays for the national team out of obligation, that hurts as a mother and as a family.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance at this tournament isn’t helping matters — especially after Messi squandered a second-half penalty in a 1-1 draw with Iceland.
Argentina meets Croatia on Thursday.
Moroccan coach Herve Renard was questioned postgame for starting Nordin Amrabat less than a week after he appeared to suffer head trauma during a Matchday 1 loss to Iran.
Amrabat was knocked unconscious during a scary incident along the sideline that ultimately saw him removed from the game.
“He’s a warrior,” Renard suggested. “He wanted to play.”
Amrabat began the match donning head gear before tossing it off midway through the first half.
“His spirit is amazing,” Renard continued. “I was lucky to have a player like this.”
Asked why the decision was made to risk Amrabat’s health, Renard answered he left the decision up to the squad’s medical staff and the player himself, who wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to face Cristiano Ronaldo in a World Cup. Get your popcorn ready. World Cup officials revealed Wednesday they’ll host a media briefing to address refereeing questions and concerns at the conclusion of the group stage.
“There has been considerable interest related to the use of video assistant referees (VAR) and the media briefing will also be used as a platform to answer any questions you may still have with regard to how VAR works,” the statement read.
The release noted that FIFA has been “extremely satisfied” with the refereeing at this World Cup.
Fair enough.
The question I have, though, is why video review hasn’t been used more often.
The answer, of course, is VARs didn’t spot anything “clearly or obviously” wrong with an original decision.
I’d argue the threshold to review plays might need to be lowered.
Morocco, Brazil, Argentina and England all have been denied clear penalties in this tournament.
What’s more, the plays weren’t flagged by the VARs as incidents that needed to be reviewed.
FIFA villain Sepp Blatter suggested the United Kingdom, including Ireland, should bid to host the 2030 World Cup — a bold pronouncement given Blatter oversaw the decision to deny England the right to host in 2018.
“I think that England, or the islands — they deserve to organize the World Cup,” Blatter told Sky Sports, as reported by Reuters. “They had it in 1966, so it’s a long time ago.
“(I was told that) it could be with Wales and Scotland together but I said, ‘Why not Ireland, all together?’ With 48 teams, you need more than one country to host it.”
Blatter will be in Saint Petersburg later this week to take in Brazil-Costa Rica despite being banned from all soccer activities.
The ex-FIFA boss has denied he’s taking part in anything other than being a special guest at the tournament.
FIFA apparently sees no issue with his inclusion.
Brazil’s opening game against Switzerland was the most-watched match in that country’s history … Eightyone per cent of German televisions were tuned-in to Die Mannschaft’s loss to Mexico … Japan became the first AFC qualifier to knock off South American opposition at a FIFA World Cup … Poland’s 2-1 loss to Senegal was its first against African competition at the World Cup … Russia won back-to-back matches at a World Cup for the first time since 1970, when it entered as the Soviet Union … Ahmed Fathi’s own goal in Egypt’s 3-1 loss to Russia was the fifth own goal of Russia 2018. That’s one off the record (6) set in France in 1998 … Saudi Arabia is now without a win in 12 World Cup matches, the fifth longest streak in the tournament’s history.
The Spanish won’t win this tournament if they continue to think they’re invincible.
La Furia Roja’s refusal to defend as a team leaves them open to counters by teams far better than Iran.
What’s more, Spain continues to take the same unnecessary risks when leading that saw the 2010 champs drop points against Portugal.
Keep an eye on Group B next week. Iran will advance past underperforming Portugal if it beats the European titleholders.