Raphael Stevens

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    Messi and Argentina Advance as Mexico Is Eliminated

    DOHA, Qatar — It was an odd and unprecedented scene.After a 2-0 victory over Poland at Stadium 974 in Doha on Wednesday, Argentina and its top star, Lionel Messi, celebrated having won Group C and advanced to the knockout stage. But Poland was also exalting following its loss. Many of its players huddled on the field around a cellphone, and then cheered and hugged as well, a strange reaction following a defeat.A 30-minute drive away at Lusail Stadium, in the night’s other Group C game, Mexico had been leading Saudi Arabia, 2-0, with a handful of minutes still remaining in extra time. If that score held, Mexico would finish with 4 points, the same as Poland. But Mexico’s streak of advancing to the knockout stage in seven straight World Cups would end by virtue of losing the sixth — yes, the sixth — tiebreaker between it and Poland: each team’s number of yellow and red cards.But when Salem al-Dawsari scored in the fifth minute of added time — and with three minutes remaining in the game — the difference in yellows cards between Mexico and Poland became moot. Suddenly, Mexico had a worse goal differential than Poland and thus was losing the first tiebreaker. Watching on the screen, Poland’s players rejoiced. Then moments later, after the final whistle in Mexico’s 2-1 win, they celebrated their country’s first trip to the knockout stage since 1986.“Sometimes defeats are bittersweet, or sweet and bitter,” Poland Coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said through an interpreter. “But we went through, after many many years.”The drama of the knockout stage awaits — it begins on Saturday — but Wednesday provided a tension-filled teaser. Entering the day, the mission was clear for Argentina and Poland: win and advance. But both teams knew — as did Mexico — of the scenarios in which Mexico could catch one of the other teams in the standings. If Argentina beat Poland, Mexico needed to win — and score a lot of goals.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    Tunisia’s World Cup exit was a wild ride. Denmark’s was a frustrating one.

    As World Cup drama goes, it was a remarkable couple of minutes. A last stand by Tunisia. A late goal by France. A lead lost. A result overturned. And then a video review, and it all flipped back in a moment.And none of it mattered.Tunisia went out of the World Cup on Wednesday in the strangest of circumstances: victors over France, 1-0, when a late French equalizer was disallowed 12 minutes into second-half injury time, but already eliminated a few minutes earlier by Australia’s 1-0 victory against Denmark.The results of those two games, played out simultaneously in stadiums only six miles apart, settled the standings in Group D: France (6 points) edged out Australia (6) on goal difference, and left Tunisia (4) and Denmark (1) packing their bags.Australia’s moment was a rare soccer success for its men’s team: The first time it has advanced to the knockout round since 2006, which was the only previous time it survived the group stage.Its goal came in a blur: Breaking out after a Denmark attack fizzled, Mathew Leckie took a pass near the center circle, swept around a Danish defender and sent a low shot past Denmark’s diving goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel.Denmark sent on one attacking option after another to chase the goals it needed to secure its way out of the group, but none of them worked. The World Cup will be remembered as a major failure for the Danes, who reached the semifinals in the 2020 European Championship but managed only a single point — from a dreary scoreless draw — through three games in Qatar.The World Cup will be remembered as a major failure for Denmark.Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTunisia, meanwhile, had briefly thought it had punched its ticket to the second round on Wahbi Khazri’s slaloming goal in the 58th minute. But before its fans had finished celebrating, Leckie scored for Australia, and only a goal by the Danes could save the Tunisians. It never came.Tunisia’s exit was confirmed when Australia’s game went final, and its disappointment was doubled minutes later when an Antoine Griezmann goal appeared to rob it of even the consolation prize of a final victory.But after a pause and a video review, Griezmann’s goal was disallowed because he had been offside in the buildup. Suddenly the Tunisians’ lead had been restored. Their fans, crushed moments earlier by the news of their team’s World Cup exit, burst into cheers at the news that they would at least go out a winner.It wasn’t what any of them would have wanted. But after a five-minute emotional journey in which they had been eliminated, robbed of a win and then handed it back, that prize felt like a moral victory. More

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    To Get the Best Perks at the World Cup, You Have to Be a V.V.I.P.

    Every sports venue has its own tiered system of luxury. The World Cup in Qatar is providing a reminder that there is always a higher level.AL KHOR, Qatar — With its haughty aura of exclusivity, the red-carpeted, velvet-roped V.I.P. entrance at Al Bayt Stadium seems designed to inspire maximal awe and envy. As regular fans were herded through their gates at the England-United States game on Friday, the V.I.P. guests were welcomed by an exotic figure dressed as some sort of antelope, covered head to toe in shimmering golden squares.(When pressed on its identity, the figure, who was not supposed to speak, muttered under its breath: “Oryx.”)But this is the Qatar World Cup, where there is something even better than the V.I.P. entrance: the V.V.I.P. entrance.Not that it is available, or even fully visible, to you. Flanked by barriers and cut off from the normal road system, Al Bayt’s V.V.I.P. entrance is a sweeping thoroughfare on which the most important fans, starting with Qatar’s emir, who arrives by helicopter with his entourage and then hops into a Mercedes, are chauffeured directly into their special enclave in the stadium. That way, they are never required to interact with, or even occupy the same general space as, regular fans.Aat Al Thumama stadium, the most high-profile fans enter on a red carpet.Tasneem Alsultan for The New York TimesOn the way to Education City Stadium, drivers select a lane based on their V.I.P. status.Erin Schaff/The New York TimesEvery sports venue has its tiered system of luxury — the owner’s box, the business lounges, the special-access elevators, the ridiculously expensive seats, the even more ridiculously expensive seats. But at this year’s World Cup, the convergence of two entities awash in luxury and entitlement — Qatar, where all power and privilege flow from the emir, and FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, with its vast wealth and patronage network — provides a bracing reminder that there is always a more rarefied degree of exclusive.The main difference between the luxury and non-luxury seats at this year’s World Cup is alcohol. In a shock to fans (and to Budweiser, the official beer of the tournament since 1986), Qatar reversed itself and decreed just before the event began that the sale of alcoholic beer (indeed, alcohol of any kind) would be banned in and around the stadiums.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    The U.S. Cleared a Big World Cup Hurdle. The Knockout Round Poses Another.

    The U.S. victory over Iran sent it to the round of 16, with a match against the Netherlands on Saturday. But the team already has much to be proud of.DOHA, Qatar — Those last few minutes, the ones in which everything the United States has worked for was close enough to touch, seemed to stretch on and on into the night. The clock refused to tick. There was always another attack to repel, another ball to clear, another scare to survive.Eight years since it last played a knockout game at the World Cup, four years since it was forced to endure the stinging humiliation of watching the tournament from home, the country’s men’s team was on the brink of laying the ghosts to rest. It held a slender, single-goal lead against Iran, thanks to the self-sacrificing courage of Christian Pulisic. That was enough. All it had to do was hold on.Ever since that night five years ago in Couva, Trinidad, when it had all gone wrong, the question has been whether the United States has sufficiently gifted players to compete with the game’s superpowers. The relative ability of Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie is pored over, their every flaw prized open, their every strength judged and weighed.Those last few minutes, though, were not about talent. They were, instead, the most thorough examination imaginable of Gregg Berhalter’s team’s poise, and composure, and grit. They were a test of nerve. It is to their immense credit that they passed and now have a meeting with the Netherlands on Saturday in the next round.Victory was not comfortable, not at all. There were moments when their hearts rose up into their mouths, moments when their legs seemed heavy and their minds weary, moments when they had to fight off the siren call of blind panic. But then, it could not be any other way. It would not be a test if it were easy.The U.S. held a slender, single-goal lead against Iran, thanks to the self-sacrificing courage of Christian Pulisic.Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThis remains an intensely young team, one that has been designed at least in part with the next World Cup, four years away and (mostly) on home soil, in mind. That they weathered what is most likely the most stressful situation any of them have experienced is to their enormous credit.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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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