GARETH SOUTHGATE will STAY on as England manager.
Southgate is set to give the Football Association the perfect Christmas present by telling them of his decision this week.
There were talks about the World Cup being Southgate’s last rodeo as Three Lions manager but he has now decided to continue as boss into the Euro 2024 campaign.
Meanwhile, Karim Benzema appears to have snubbed the possibility of making a shock appearance for the French squad in Sunday’s final against Argentina.
The Ballon d’Or winner posted a snap of himself and captioned it “I’m not interested.”
Elsehwere, Croatia finished third at the World Cup after beating Morocco 2-1 in the playoff clash.
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Perfect send off
Argentina hope to give superstar Lionel Messi the ultimate World Cup knees-up.
Messi, 35, will feature in the tournament for the last time against reigning champs France in the final inside the Lusail Stadium.
And Qatari World Cup chiefs want to host a parade for the winners along Lusail Boulevard after the stadium presentation.
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni said: “I hope Leo wins and then says goodbye by lifting the Cup.
“It would be the best possible stage for him to say goodbye.
“The most important thing is to enjoy it — and what better setting than a World Cup final to do so.”
Mbappe’s World Cup
Kylian Mbappe played for a £1.75 plastic trophy in his very first “World Cup final”.
He also promised to buy a colouring book for his team-mate if they won.
Back when Mbappe was a small boy, he had posters of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Neymar — now his team-mate at Paris Saint-Germain — adorning his bedroom wall.
And winning his school tournament was a matter of “life or death”.
Mbappe, 23, recalled: “Me and my friends, we did not hope to become footballers.
“We did not expect, we did not plan — we dreamed.
“I remember we had this tournament at our school — all the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth graders — and it was our World Cup.
“We were playing for this £1.75 plastic trophy, but we treated it like it was life or death. Your honour is always at stake.
“And it’s funny, because the rule was that every team had to be mixed. Girls and boys.
“Well, unfortunately, not all the girls wanted to play in the tournament, so we had to really negotiate.
“I remember telling my friend that if she gave everything on the pitch and we won the cup, I would buy her a new colouring book. I was begging her.
“Maybe you think I’m exaggerating — but it really meant everything to us.
“We played for this £1.75 cup like it was the Jules Rimet Trophy. That’s just how it was.
“I’m sure it was difficult for my teachers. To them, I really apologise.
“I remember coming home from school one day with nine different warnings from the principal.
“Kylian did not do his homework; Kylian forgot his school supplies; Kylian was talking about football during maths.
“My head was in the clouds.”
World Cup final ref annoyed Tuchel
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will make history as the first man from his country to take charge of a World Cup final.
But he is the official who infuriated former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel after the club’s Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash against Real Madrid last season.
Marciniak, 41, was the man in charge when the Blues won 3-2 after extra time only to lose 5-4 on aggregate.
Tuchel was fuming with Marciniak after Marcos Alonso had a goal ruled out by VAR for handball in the 62nd minute.
And at the end of the game, Tuchel went to shake hands with the ref who was caught laughing with Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Tuchel said: “I think this is very, very bad timing – and I told him that.”
Southgate to stay
Gareth will stay on as England boss.
Southgate is set to give the Football Association the perfect Christmas present by telling them of his decision this week.
The Three Lions boss believed for months the World Cup would be his last tournament in charge and felt the same in the immediate aftermath of the quarter-final defeat by France.
But now he is ready to commit to lead the team to Euro 2024 in Germany.
The news came as Newcastle boss Eddie Howe – who was being linked with the job – said he hoped Southgate would continue with the “magnificent job” he was doing.
The FA will be hugely relieved about Southgate’s change of heart.
Infantino mocked by fans
Fans have been taking great joy from mocking FIFA president Gianni Infantino for his footwear during the World Cup third-place playoff.
The 52-year-old was spotted wearing custom Adidas trainers as he congratulated the Croatian side on their win.
The Europeans beat African side Morocco 2-1 in the match to claim third place in the World Cup.
Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring before Achraf Dari equalised for Morocco. But Mislav Orsic netted the winner in the 42nd minute to give his side the victory.
But Infantino took the attention of the fans with his trainers, which had “FIFA” printed on the side of them.
And fans could not help but poke fun at him on social media as one said: “Infantino’s shoes are so tragic”.
Giroud could be benched
France could make a shock roll of the dice in the World Cup final by dropping Olivier Giroud to the bench.
Giroud has started five games out of six for Les Bleus in Qatar, but after seeing himself substituted in the 65th minute of the semi-final against Morocco his place in the team is now in jeopardy.
Didier Deschamps gave Marcus Thuram a run out against the North African nation.
And this move proved to be effective as they appeared more lively without the former Arsenal and Chelsea ace on the pitch.
While Giroud has been an ever-present for France at both the 2018 World Cup and this year’s tournament, Deschamps could now change up his formula in an effort to beat Argentina.
French outlet L’Equipe have reported that during the first part of France training today, Deschamps experimented by playing Thuram on the left flank and placing Kylian Mbappe through the centre.
Ronaldo’s cryptic message
Cristiano Ronaldo has posted a cryptic video on social media suggesting that people “don’t know him”.
The 37-year-old is currently a free agent after his contract was mutually terminated at Manchester United.
This was the result of the fallout of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan before jetting off for the World Cup in Qatar with Portugal.
Ronaldo uploaded the cryptic video to his Instagram story in which he filmed around his gym while shirtless.
He is the most followed person on the platform, with over 517 million people following him.
During the video, a Portuguese song can be heard in which the lyrics translate to “You don’t know about me. Don’t cry more for me”.
Neville claim
Gary Neville has claimed he was told a year ago why Manchester City were willing to allow Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to leave – and it was Argentina ace Julian Alvarez.
He told Sky Sports’ World Cup podcast: “I was told a year ago when City let Jesus and Sterling go – because I was quite surprised that City let both go at the same time – that this kid [Alvarez] was the reason.
“Someone said that to me, that is quite close to City, that he was the reason and they didn’t want to block his path.”
Martinez’s tears
New footage has emerged of an emotional Lisandro Martinez breaking down in tears during an interview with an Argentine journalist, after beating the Netherlands.
The Man Utd defender was spotted crying with joy, before receiving a hug from TV interviewer Diego Korol.
Martinez struggled to get out many words.
But he did declare: “[This victory is] to my grandparents who are no longer here.”
Croatia seal third
Whatever happens, at least one little genius of a No 10 has signed off from the World Cup on a high.
Luka Modric will watch Lionel Messi try to write the final chapter to his fairytale in today’s final and wonder what might have been.
But Croatia’s captain and greatest ever player ended his career on the biggest stage of all as a winner.
And the two goals that earned him that pleasure were things of beauty.
Centre back Josko Gvardiol put being tormented by Messi behind him by heading home after a glorious free-kick routine.
Morocco equalised immediately in a crazy two minutes that set the tone for one of the most entertaining games of the tournament.
But Mislav Orsic’s beautiful strike just before the break ultimately proved enough to ensure Croatia would match the third place they secured in 1998.
Argie’s x-rated English song
An X-rated anti-English Argentina song has become the most played song in the country after players sang it in the dressing room.
Following their World Cup semi-final win over Croatia, a video emerged of the team celebrating in the dressing room with a chant which references the Falklands War.
And the song seems to have caught on back home, with it flying up the charts to become the most played song on Spotify in the country.
Globo report the song, known as “Muchachos”, was played more than 500,000 times in a single day.
Defender Nicolas Otamendi filmed shirtless Argentina players singing “Ingleses putos de Malvinas no me olvido”, which has a rough translation of “f***ing English in the Falklands, I don’t forget”.
Kramaric injury blow
Andrej Kramaric’s World Cup ended in tears as he hobbled off injured.
The Croatian striker was offside when he received the ball and tried a cross from the right.
However, in delivering the ball in, the striker damaged his knee and immediately went down with no contact from the defender.
And he was eventually helped off the field by medics in floods of tears.
France kit jinx
Kit manufacturer Nike may have jinxed France’s chances against Argentina.
That’s by putting a “three-star” kit on sale BEFORE Sunday’s World Cup final.
And France now risk embarrassment should they fail to defend their trophy against Lionel Messi.
Didier Deschamps’ men are looking to become the first side to win two successive World Cups since Brazil in 1962.
France’s victory in Russia over four years ago was their second triumph in the competition, having broken their duck on home soil in 1998.
But kit sponsors Nike appear confident that Kylian Mbappe and Co are on course for a third triumph.
Brilliant First-Half
If Croatia and Morocco were on a mission to prove the value of the third-placed play-off, they could not be doing a better job of it so far.
An exciting first 45 sees Croatia go into the break leading 2-1 after an outstanding strike by Mirslav Orsic.
Second-half to come soon and you can follow all the action with our dedicated blog here.
A Tale of Two Strikers
With all the talk of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe dominating tomorrow’s World Cup Final, it’s easy to forget about two other heroes of this tournament.
France’s Olivier Giroud and Julian Alvarez of Argentina have enjoyed outstanding campaigns and both are still in with a shout of winning the Golden Boot.
While at different stages of their careers, they have both successfully acted as foils for teammates while providing crucial goals throughout the tournament.
Alvarez will be desperate not to be outshone by his opposite number tomorrow – he gets enough of that with Erling Haaland at Manchester City.
What a start
Croatia were in front in the third-place play off as the man in the mask, Josko Gvardiol, flew in like a superhero with a diving header from eight yards out.
But Morocco hit back almost immediately as a free-kick fired into the box was headed in by defender Achraf Dari.
What a game so far. Follow it all here.
Fighting for Bronze
We’re well underway at the Khalifa International Stadium as Croatia and Morocco face-off in the third-place play-off.
Follow all the action with our commentary here.
Kar Blimey
France manager Didier Deschamps has confirmed Karim Benzema will not play in the World Cup final.
There had been some hope that the Real Madrid striker might make a surprise return from injury tomorrow.
An angry Deschamps, annoyed about being asked about the forward, snapped at a reporter: “Are you spreading the word among foreign journalists?
“If I don’t answer, you’ll say I’m p***ed off.
“Some players have been injured and Karim Benzema is one of them and Lucas Hernandez got injured in the first game.
“So now I am focusing on my 24-man squad and they are the ones I will have at my disposal tomorrow.”
Injuries take their toll
After limping off against France, neither Nayef Aguerd nor Romain Saiss have been deemed fit enough to start for Morocco against Croatia.
The third-place play-off kicks off at 3pm and every kick can be followed here.
Croatian Changes
Zlatko Dalic has rung the changes as he looks to give some football to players who haven’t featured heavily in this tournament.
Luka Modric retains his place in midfield in what could be his last World Cup match. The third-place play off kicks off at 3pm and can be followed here.
‘Like we are playing in Argentina’
Emi Martinez has praised Argentina fans who have made the team feel at home.
South Americans are expected to pack out the Lusail Iconic Stadium for tomorrow’s World Cup Final against France.
And the goalkeeper said: “We feel our fans very closely in every match in every stadium, it’s like we are playing a local match.
“We feel that before the match, during the match, we feel their support. It feels like we are playing in Argentina, in our country which is a huge advantage.”
Happy Ending?
Lionel Messi may finally land the World Cup in his final game in the tournament tomorrow.
Unfortunately 37-year-old Luka Modric won’t get that grand finale but, in what could be his last World Cup game this afternoon, he will be hoping to land the consolation of third-place by beating Morocco this afternoon.
Luka Modric will lead Croatia against Morocco this afternoon in the third-place play-off Regragui Ready
Morocco boss Walid Regragui said his side are taking today’s third-place play-off against Croatia seriously.
The African nation stunned Qatar by getting all the way to the World Cup semi-finals before losing to France.
Regragui said: “We would like things to have gone differently and played in the final. But there is another game to play and we would like to be on the podium.”
Walid Regragui has his eyes on the prize as Morocco look to take bronze this afternoon ‘They resemble us’
Croatian boss Zlatko Dalic says Morocco’s run to the semi-final “resembles” what Croatia did in 2018.
The pair are set to meet in this afternoon’s third-place play-off and Dalic was keen to pay tribute to his opponents.
The Croatian manager said: “They resemble us from four years ago, no-one expected them to go so far. They have deserved to be where they are.
“They have matured and developed and went to a higher level with every game. They have grown into a team that are full of energy and self-motivated.
“They are definitely the most pleasant and biggest surprise from this World Cup.”
24 Days Later
A lot has happened since Morocco and Croatia met in the World Cup group stages 24 days ago.
Few would have guessed, following their bore 0-0 draw, that Morocco would go on to beat Belgium, top their group, eliminate Spain and Portugal and push France all the way in the semi-final.
Now they are set to take on Croatia again in the third-place play-off in a rare instance of two sides meeting twice in one World Cup.
This was how the stats looked during their 0-0 draw last time out.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
