Raphael Stevens

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    The World Cup Continues for the US Will Christian Pulisic be Part of It?

    DOHA, Qatar — The job for the United States soccer team was simple, really: Win.The stakes and the stage and the politics all made things harder going into their game against Iran on Tuesday night at the World Cup. The own goal by their federation’s social media team, the Iranians’ great umbrage at the perceived insult to their flag, the chatter and the threats and the intrigue all added to the spice of the matchup. But the task, at its heart, left no room for nuance at all: If United States wanted to keep playing in this tournament, it had to beat Iran. And so it did.NOTHING WAS STOPPING PULISIC FROM SCORING 😤Take another look at his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal for the @USMNT 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/s6tKehRLg2— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 29, 2022
    The price of victory may be a high one: Christian Pulisic, perhaps the Americans’ brightest star and the scorer of its only goal in a 1-0 victory, was forced from the game at halftime with an abdominal injury sustained when he crashed hard into Iran’s goalkeeper finishing his goal. He was taken to the hospital for scans, team officials said, and Coach Gregg Berhalter said he had appeared “in good spirits” in a celebratory video call with his teammates after the game.Pulisic’s status for the next round, a date with the Netherlands on Saturday, was unclear as the game ended. But that will be a question for tomorrow. The United States, thanks to its victory, now has one.It will be joined in the knockouts by England, a 3-0 winner over Wales on Tuesday in a different sort of political matchup in a taut group that wasn’t decided until the final whistle blew, and sent the Americans on, and the Iranians out.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    Senegal Responds Quickly to a Dramatic Goal to Reach Knockout Stage

    Ecuador had just tied the game, and a draw would have eliminated Senegal from the World Cup. But Kalidou Koulibaly extended his country’s run.AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Senegal had been dominating all game, but it was in trouble in the 67th minute at Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday night. Ecuador had just tied the game with a dramatic goal, and a draw would have eliminated Senegal from the World Cup.But even without its star scorer Sadio Mané, who has been out since before the 2022 World Cup with an injury, Senegal did not fear. In less than three minutes, it answered when its captain, Kalidou Koulibaly, knocked in a rebound from a free kick for the go-ahead goal in a 2-1 victory over Ecuador that sent Senegal to the knockout stage as the runner-up in Group A.“An amazing moment for me and the team,” said Koulibaly, 31.No African nation advanced to the round of 16 in the 2018 tournament. Senegal, the Africa Cup of Nations victor, is the first from the continent to do so in this tournament and perhaps not the last, with Morocco and Ghana in good position going into their third games.Senegal has now reached the knockout stage twice in three World Cup trips. On Sunday, it will play England, which won Group B after beating Wales, 3-0, on Tuesday night.“Millions of Senegalese were watching us, and we gave it our all,” midfielder Pape Gueye said in French, adding that the victory was “historic.”A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    That Awkward Moment When the Prince of Wales Says He’s Backing England

    It seemed so nice when Prince William, the heir to the British throne, met with England’s national team to express his support for their World Cup campaign before they left for Qatar. A video released by England’s Football Association (president: Prince William) showed him doling out shirts to the players and declaring that “we’re all rooting for you.”Who the “we” is in that sentence became a matter of some controversy. As many residents of Wales speedily pointed out, Prince William is the Prince of Wales — and Wales was also competing in the tournament. In fact, the team is playing England today, the first time the two nations have ever met in a World Cup. (Wales hasn’t been to the World Cup since 1958.)“Not a shred of embarrassment?” the Welsh actor Michael Sheen, whose nationalist fervor has resulted in some Shakespearean-style inspirational orations to the Welsh team, tweeted at Prince William. “Or sensitivity to the problem here?”Prince William quickly did a bit of diplomatic maneuvering, saying that though he generally supports England in soccer and Wales in rugby, he was excited about both their prospects for the World Cup. He also said he planned to wear a Welsh bucket hat for the team’s match against Iran. (Wales lost, 2-0.) It is unclear what he intends to wear for the England-Wales game on Tuesday, but there is no doubt which team Sheen will be supporting. More

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    Why World Cup Games Will be Played at the Same Time for the Next Four Days

    For eight straight days, the soccer smorgasbord that is the World Cup has unspooled at regular intervals, each match staggered to bestow it maximum importance, a full 90 minutes of splendor — plus an eon of stoppage time — on the global stage without intrusion from other games.Even if upsets abounded, a certain tidiness to the proceedings still reigned: On most of those eight days, there were four games, scheduled three hours apart, one after another after another. It was glorious, satisfying and, for those of us who crave order, rather life-affirming.Now, as of Tuesday, structure is on a brief hiatus. Dear reader, prepare for chaos.Starting with the Group A games at 10 a.m. Eastern time, each of the eight clusters across the next four days will stage its final round of matches simultaneously.Qatar will kick off against the Netherlands on Tuesday at the same time that Ecuador does the same against Senegal. After a break, the United States’ clash with Iran in Group B is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., precisely when England’s matchup with Wales begins.The change in schedule creates the closest conditions to competitive balance and fair play, assuring that teams do not know the result required to reach the knockout stage before they take the field. It discourages teams from improving pathways in the bracket by influencing results with such tactics as manipulating goal differential or not playing to win. It also inhibits match fixing.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    U.S. vs. Iran at the World Cup: How to Stream

    The Americans will play Iran on Tuesday in their final match in the group stage. Here’s how to watch, and what to watch for.After a tournament-opening 1-1 draw with Wales and a scoreless draw with England, the United States has one more group-stage game at the World Cup in Qatar. The Americans can advance to the knockout stage with a victory against Iran.When will the United States play Iran?Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. That’s 10 p.m. in Qatar.How can I watch in the United States?The game will be broadcast on Fox (in English) and on Telemundo (in Spanish).To stream the English-language broadcast, you’ll need a subscription to a streaming package that includes Fox, like YouTube TV, Hulu, SlingTV or Fubo. (Some offer free trials.) Tubi will stream the game for free, but only as a replay, after the game is over.Peacock will stream the Spanish-language broadcast. (Peacock Premium is $4.99 a month.)What do the Americans need to do to advance?The situation is simple: If the United States defeats Iran, it will advance to the round of 16. If it ties or loses, it will be eliminated.With a victory, the United States will most likely go through as the second-place team from its group. But if Wales upsets England, the Americans will win Group B.Should the United States advance, it would play a game in the round of 16 on Saturday or Sunday, quite possibly against the Netherlands, although Ecuador or Senegal are also potential opponents. A quarterfinal opponent might be Argentina, Poland, Australia or Denmark. And it would only get tougher from there.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    U.S. Team Distances Itself From Federation’s Decision to Alter Iran Flag

    A day before a critical World Cup match with abounding political and competitive ramifications, players and coaches on the U.S. national team on Monday distanced themselves from social media posts made by their soccer federation that showed support for the women of Iran by doctoring that country’s flag.Gregg Berhalter, the American coach, said Monday that neither he nor any players were involved with the decision to remove Iran’s official emblem and two lines of Islamic script in posts on Twitter and Instagram.“We had no idea about what U.S. Soccer put out. The staff, the players, had no idea,” Berhalter told reporters Monday.He added: “Our focus is on this match. I don’t want to sound aloof or not caring by saying that, but the guys have worked really hard for the last four years. We have 72 hours between England and Iran, and we really are just focused on how to get past Iran and go to the knockout stage of this tournament. Of course, our thoughts are with the Iranian people, the whole country, the whole team, everyone, but our focus is on this match.”The Americans, after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, can advance to the knockout rounds from Group B by defeating Iran, which would also progress with a victory.Iran condemned U.S. Soccer’s decision to use an incorrect flag. It said it violated the statutes of FIFA, world soccer’s global governing body. The American federation deleted the posts Sunday and said it would use only Iran’s official flag going forward.“The intent of the post was to show support for women’s rights,” Michael Kammarman, a U.S. Soccer spokesman, said at a news conference Monday. “It was meant to be a moment. We made the post at the time. All of the other representations of the flag were made consistent and will continue.”Over the past few months, and certainly at this World Cup, the Iranian team has become entangled with its country’s harsh treatment of women and its crackdowns on personal freedoms under theocratic rule. The team engaged in protests of its own after the September death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested on charges of violating a law requiring head coverings for women.After refusing to sing the national anthem before its opening match, against England, the Iranian team appeared to join in before its next game, against Wales, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and commitment.“We can’t speak for them and their message,” U.S. defender Walker Zimmerman said. “We know that they’re all emotional. They’re going through things right now. They’re human, and, again, we empathize with that human emotion. So we completely feel for them.” More

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    Qatar’s Loudest Fans Aren’t from Qatar

    A heaving mass of flesh and energy has brought life to the host nation’s matches at the World Cup. They are Qatar’s loudest fans, but they’re not from Qatar.DOHA, Qatar — Midway through the second half of Qatar’s match against Senegal at the World Cup, the drumming stopped as a man in a bucket hat and sunglasses rose and asked for quiet.Moments earlier, a section of the crowd — more than a thousand strong, almost all men, all of them in identical maroon T-shirts with the word “Qatar” in English and Arabic — had been chanting in unison at the direction of four fan leaders. But now the sea of men understood what was expected, and they followed the order and fell into a strange silence as the match noise swirled around them inside Al Thumama Stadium.Then a signal was made. And the crowd exploded back to life.“Play, the Maroon!” they chanted over and over in Arabic, a reference to the nickname of Qatar’s national team. The men linked arms in long lines and jumped up and down. The floor below them shook.The scene was more reminiscent of soccer stadiums in South America and Europe than in Qatar, and the cheering section evoked those of the ultras, a highly organized soccer fan culture with roots in Italy that can be found across the globe, including in North Africa and the Middle East.That was the point. The fans’ noise filled the stadium, as it had five days earlier during Qatar’s opening game against Ecuador. Their numbers conveyed strength. Their relentless energy was infectious. But the body art on many of them gave them away.The tattoos, which are extremely rare and highly frowned upon in Gulf society, seemed to suggest the fans weren’t Qatari. So who were they? And where did they come from?An energetic supporters section has brought life, and noise, to matches played by Qatar.Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesImported SoundThe plan was hatched at the start of 2022, as the World Cup was finally coming into view. Qatar had been besieged by criticism ever since it won the rights to host the World Cup: over a corrupted vote that delivered it, over its treatment of migrant workers, over the ability of the tiny country to host and house more than a million visitors. But in the background was also another common criticism: that the country had no soccer culture.Qatar had never qualified for a World Cup on its merits. The Qatar Stars League is one of the richest in the region, with state-of-the-art air-conditioned stadiums. But the crowds for teams like Al Sadd and Al Rayyan often number in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Who, the organizers wondered, would fill the stadiums when Qatar played? Who would provide the soundtrack?The answer was to tap into the region’s already fertile ultras culture and import it.But that same culture is an unlikely fit with the commercialized reality of Qatar’s World Cup. The code of ultra culture is antagonistic and deeply anti-authority, and in constant conflict with the police and the news media. In the Middle East and North Africa, ultras have been politically influential, too: Egyptian ultras played a key role in the 2011 Arab Spring that toppled Hosni Mubarak as president, and such was their street power and popularity that ultras were barred by one of his successors, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, after he came to power in a coup.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    China Limits Crowd Shots of the World Cup to Avoid ‘Zero-Covid’ Comparisons

    In Qatar, the maskless fans at the World Cup are joyfully screaming, packed elbow-to-elbow in crowded stadiums, seemingly having a wonderful time.The image presents a direct contrast to China, where continuing “zero-Covid” policies have limited large crowds, forced occasional involuntary lockdowns and ensured consistent mask usage in public. Seeing the freewheeling fun outside the country’s borders had some people on Chinese social media asking: Why not us?As China convulses from a rare outpouring of civil unrest, with protests springing up in major cities across the country against Covid restrictions, social media users and journalists in China have begun to notice they are not seeing the same crowd shots that the rest of the world sees in their broadcasts. In one example captured by Mark Dreyer, the founder of China Sports Insider, a close-up on Croatian fans was replaced on CCTV, China’s state-owned television station, with an image of Canada’s coach.Some people still refusing to see this, so decided to track it. Within a minute, there was this: close-up shots of Canadian and Croatian fans on BBC/international feed, replaced by a solo shot of Canadian coach John Herdman on CCTV. pic.twitter.com/V3DZRjHrzk— Mark Dreyer (@DreyerChina) November 27, 2022
    Similar videos have circulated widely on WeChat, the popular Chinese app, and have been spotted by other journalists.CCTV has long been cautious about live sports broadcasts over which it has no control, said Dreyer, the author of “Sporting Superpower: An Insider’s View on China’s Quest to Be the Best.” In 2004, a brief image of Tiananmen Square from 1989 was shown during the Super Bowl, sinking the N.F.L.’s growth in China and ensuring greater care by television officials in the future, he said.The games are shown on about a 30-second delay in China, giving CCTV officials time to replace close-up shots of screaming fans with other available camera shots, often of coaches or the bench, Dreyer said.The changes are not major. Some crowd shots are still shown, but most are replaced, he said.The growing awareness of the differences through the viral posts on social media has contributed to the growing frustration in China, Dreyer said.“It’s kind of one of those moments where you get a peek around the curtain, and you realize you’re being fed some kind of manipulated narrative,” he said.The growing frustration with Covid restrictions, which has bubbled over into a rare display of antigovernment sentiment after a deadly fire in the Xinjiang region, has been increasingly felt in the sports sector, as most of the rest of the world has moved on with its large-scale events.Sports fans in China have taken note of full stadiums in Britain for the Premier League and packed N.B.A. arenas in the United States and Canada. There was a large backlash on social media after the World Cup’s opening ceremony, Dreyer said.“That’s where people kind of said, well, hang on, how come we’ve got 60-, 70,000 people jumping up and down in close, confined quarters with no masks?” he said. “That’s obviously a stark contrast with what’s going on for the majority of people in China today, where a lot of people are confined to homes, working from home, wearing masks, testing on a daily or near-daily basis. And certainly not going to big sporting events like this.” More