‘Argentina have no obligation to win’ Sane ‘down’
AL RAYYAN - Argentina have no obligation to win the World Cup, coach Lionel Scaloni said ahead of their opener against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, adding that it was mere details that will decide who will become the champions.
Argentina won the 2021 Copa America but despite always being one of the World Cup favourites they have not lifted football’s most precious trophy in the last 36 years.
“In a national team like Argentina you always carry pressure being the coach. And if the results don’t go your way, I know how it works”, Scaloni told a news conference on Monday.
“But I am also clear about the path I choose. Let it be clear that under no circumstances are we obliged to win a World Cup. Not at all. We are wrong if we believe that.
“We are going to compete with other very good teams. We are going to enjoy this World Cup. And we hope that both the Argentinians and the rest of the fans will be happy to see a team that plays the kind of football we like.
“Argentina’s two World Cup triumphs came in 1978 and 1986 and they have lost in the final twice since then in 1990 and 2014 — both times to Germany.
Their current brand of attacking football and the presence of talisman Lionel Messi makes them popular with neutrals around the world but Scaloni knows that does not always count when it comes to the World Cup.
“The big favourites don’t normally win World Cups,” the coach said.
“There are no less than eight or 10 big teams that can win the World Cup, most of them European. For reasons, which I don’t think are football-related, the South Americans have not had a chance to reach the final lately.
“I think it’s not because of playing well or badly, but because of the details, and I think this World Cup will be no different.
“It’s the details that will make one team a world champion, and it doesn’t have to be the one that plays the best — nor the one that is the favourite.
“Argentina, however, do possess one weapon that could help them win in their captain Messi, who is about to play his fifth and probably last World Cup.
“Whenever I can train him, we enjoy it. What we hope is that everyone enjoys him, the Argentinians and the rest of the world, because it’s wonderful to see him and that he can play in a World Cup,” Scaloni said.
“All the praise for Leo is an understatement and will not end because he is going to continue and we have to enjoy him — nothing else.” ■
Rainbow shirt
DOHA - A US journalist said he was briefly detained on Monday when he tried to enter a World Cup stadium in Qatar while wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community in a country where same-sex relations are illegal. Grant Wahl, a former Sports Illustrated journalist who now has his own website, said World Cup security denied him entry to the United States’ opener against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and asked him to take his shirt off.
Recovery time
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - After a hardfought 1-1 draw with Wales in their World Cup opener on Monday, United States coach Gregg Berhalter noted that his side were on a short road before facing England with not much time to recover but they would be ready. But with the Group B leaders up next after their 6-2 thrashing of Iran, the American coach said his team will not be needing any extra ice baths or massages to be ready.
Top award
FORMER world number one Lydia Ko showered herself in early wedding presents as she secured the LPGA’s season-ending title, the tour’s Player of the Year award and a big winner’s cheque in her last tournament before tying the knot. Ko’s two-stroke win at the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida on Sunday left her with three titles for the season, her best haul since 2016, when the New Zealander dominated the women’s game as a teenage colossus.
Depay delivers
DOHA - Substitute Memphis Depay helped Netherlands to a 2-0 win over Senegal in their opening Group A game on Monday, leaving coach Louis van Gaal hoping the forward will recover in time for their next game against Ecuador on Friday. Depay has struggled with a hamstring injury, but provided a much-needed spark when he was sent on by Van Gaal just after the hour with the game scoreless and helped his side to victory.
Team protests
DOHA/DUBAI -Iran’s World Cup team declined to sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match on Monday in a sign of support for mass protests back home after many fans accused the squad of siding with a violent state crackdown on the unrest. Protests demanding the fall of the ruling Shi’ite Muslim theocracy have gripped Iran since the death two months ago of young woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for flouting the strict Islamic dress code. The players were solemn and silent as the anthem was played before the match with England at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar, where thousands of Iranian fans in the stands shouted as the music rang out. Some jeered and others made thumbs-down gestures.
DOHA - Germany winger Leroy Sane has suffered a knee injury and will miss their World Cup Group E opener against Japan, the team said on Tuesday. The 26-year-old did not take part in their final training session in northern Qatar ahead of Wednesday’s game in Doha and it was unclear how long he would be sidelined. The Germans also play Spain on November 27 before wrapping up their group matches against Costa Rica on Decemebr 1. Four-times champions Germany, who suffered a shock firstround exit at the 2018 World Cup, also had striker Niclas Fuellkrug out for a few days with the flu but he has since returned to training.
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