Raphael Stevens

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    Mexico’s World Cup History: An Unlucky Seven

    El Tri has advanced out of the group stage in seven straight World Cups. It is only then that the problems start.DOHA, Qatar — Of all the soccer playing countries in the world — and there are many — only two can boast of advancing out of the group stage at the last seven World Cups. One of the teams is Brazil. The other may be a tad surprising: Mexico.After their initial success, the two teams’ fortunes have diverged. Having made its way into the knockout round of every World Cup since 1994, Brazil has won two World Cup finals and played in a third.Mexico? Each time it reached the round of 16, it promptly lost the next game and went home.That legacy of fourth-game failure by El Tri, as the national team is known, has created immense pressure and criticism in Mexico, and at times a toxic relationship between the team and the national news media. If any three words haunt Mexican players and fans alike, they are el quinto partido: the fifth game.“There is always that pressure of people always talking about ‘that fifth game, that fifth game,’ and it gets stuck in your head,” Carlos Vela, a forward who represented Mexico at the 2010 and 2018 World Cups, said in Spanish in an interview earlier this year.On the field, Vela said, he didn’t think about that hex. But before World Cup matches, especially leading into the knockout round, he said he would hear comments about “the game we can never get past.”“In everyone’s mind and conversations, it’s always there,” he continued. “I don’t know if it affects us or not, but it’s there and talked about. You go to an interview and it’s always asked.”Mexico’s Hirving Lozano, right, competing against Poland on Tuesday, said winning a knockout stage game is always on his mind.Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMexico will hear those familiar rumblings again soon enough in Qatar. It tied its first game, against Poland, but its group is wide open after unheralded Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina on Tuesday. Hopes are high that this year, at last, will be different.“We have everything,” said Raúl Jiménez, a forward who is appearing in his third straight World Cup. He mentioned the Mexican national team coach, Gerardo Martino, known as Tata, who, like every leader of the squad during this span, has come under stinging criticism from outside the team during his tenure.“We’ve been with Tata for four years,” said Jiménez, 31, who plays his club soccer with the Wolverhampton Wanderers in England. “We know him well, his style of play and what he wants from us. All we have to do is put it to work on the field and win the fourth game.”A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    Neymar, Brazil’s Star Player, Out With an Injury

    Neymar, the Brazilian soccer star, will not be playing in the team’s next World Cup match after he was injured on Thursday while playing against Serbia.Neymar injured a lateral ligament on his right ankle and has small bone swelling, said Rodrigo Lasmar, the team’s doctor, in a written statement on Neymar’s website. Another player, Danilo, injured his left ankle and also will not play in the next game, which will be on Monday against Switzerland, the statement said.“I can say in advance that we will not have both players for the next match, but they remain in treatment with the objective of trying to recover them in time for this competition,” Lasmar said.Both players received treatment after the match and were re-evaluated on Friday morning, with scheduled daily follow-ups planned. Neymar’s ankle was visibly swollen as he walked off the field on Thursday.Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 in its first match of the 2022 World Cup. After Switzerland, the team will play Cameroon on Friday.“Tough game, but it was important to win,” Neymar said on Twitter on Thursday. “Congratulations team, first step taken.”Thursday’s injury was one of the hardest moments of his career, Neymar said on his Facebook page. In the 2014 World Cup, he broke a vertebra after being kneed in the back and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament.“Yes, I’m injured, it’s frustrating, it’s going to hurt,” he said in the Facebook post. “But I’m sure that I will have a chance to return because I will do whatever possible to help my country, my teammates and myself.” More

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    Frustrations Simmer as Saudis Are Blocked From Watching the World Cup

    A curious dispute between a Qatari broadcaster and Saudi media regulators has left millions of Saudis with no way to watch the matches.DOHA, Qatar — In the stands at the World Cup, the fraternal bond between host Qatar and its neighbor Saudi Arabia has been clear. Fans have arrived to games dressed in the colors of both nations, and the countries’ rulers have made a show of publicly supporting one another.Even so, the nations appear to be locked in a curious dispute about broadcasting that has made a majority of the World Cup’s games unavailable to viewers in Saudi Arabia.Saudi-based customers of Tod TV, a streaming service launched in January by Qatar’s beIN Media Group, which owns rights to the tournament across the Middle East, were suddenly blocked from the platform an hour before the tournament’s opening game last Sunday. That meant they were not watching when their country’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, wearing a Qatar scarf, was given a seat next to the FIFA president Gianni Infantino, one removed from Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar.The sight of Prince Mohammed being afforded such a prominent role at the World Cup would have been unthinkable only two years ago, when he led a regional boycott against Qatar, or when a yearslong effort by a Saudi-backed pirate network effectively stole billions of dollars worth of BeIN’s sports content. Since the thaw, relations had improved to such an extent that Saudi Arabia is considering buying a stake in beIN; it already has signed a $130 million marketing agreement with the Qatari company.With that backdrop, beIN officials have been stunned to find their streaming platform suspended by Saudi Arabia’s media regulators. BeIN has lobbied FIFA, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister and even the United States and British government to find a way to get their services unlocked but have so far struck out and remain unclear why the action has been taken in a country where soccer is fervently followed by millions and that has sent thousands of soccer fans flooding across the border. Qatar’s emir even wore a Saudi Arabia scarf during Saudi Arabia’s shock victory over powerhouse Argentina Monday.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    A Migrant’s Desperate Day Chasing Work at the World Cup

    Qatar’s preparations for soccer’s biggest championship created years of jobs for foreign migrants. But now that’s it is here, the work has dried up.DOHA, Qatar — Standing at the center of the Msheireb metro station, the man in the pressed burgundy shirt took in his surroundings inside the cavernous terminal, the hub of a multibillion-dollar system built by Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup. He had lived in the country for six years but had never before set foot on one of its subway cars.He was also lost. Nazmul, a man in his mid-30s from Bangladesh, had never really had a need to use the metro station. But today was a special day: He had been told to head to a building on the other side of Doha, Qatar’s capital, to collect credentials for the World Cup.Nazmul was excited, not because the credential would allow him to watch some of the world’s greatest soccer players take the field, but because it would mean he could work.Thousands of the migrant workers who took part in the vast nation-building program that prepared Qatar for the World Cup have been sent home in recent months, as the country suspended its major projects until after the end of the monthlong soccer tournament. But thousands more like Nazmul remain, hustling for work that not so long ago was easy to find. He agreed to allow a New York Times reporter to accompany him on his job search but asked that his last name be withheld to safeguard his ability to work in Qatar.Nazmul had already handed his work permit and application papers to a recruitment agent who claimed to have an in with a person responsible for cleaning contracts at the World Cup. The agent had handed out passes to some of the applicants, but told others, like Nazmul, to head to the FIFA worker center at the edge of Doha and present themselves at the cavernous worker accreditation center.Finally getting his bearings, Nazmul headed for the metro’s red line, one of three that have been built to ferry commuters and soccer fans across the capital of Qatar, a thumb-shaped peninsula jutting out into the Persian Gulf.On the short train ride to Al Qassar, Nazmul’s anxiety was palpable, his foot shaking throughout the journey. At each stop, he asked commuters nearby if he has arrived at his destination. The $30 a day he would earn to clean up after fans at the World Cup would be three times more than Qatar’s minimum wage. He had few better options. There were few jobs around. “About 50 percent of the people here aren’t working at the moment,” Nazmul said. “Everything is stopped.”A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More

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    Does the US Need to Beat England to Advance? Here Are the Scenarios.

    Iran’s 2-0 win over Wales on Friday lifted one team, damaged another and brought more clarity to what the United States must do to advance out of Group B.The United States and England meet in Friday’s late game. On Tuesday, in the final games of the group stage, England will play Wales, while the United States will play Iran.Only two of the four teams can advance. If teams finish tied on points in the group standings, the first tiebreaker is goal differential — the difference between goals scored and goals allowed in the three group games. The second tiebreaker is goals scored. It gets extra complicated after that.Here’s a look at what the United States needs to do to advance to the Round of 16.If the United States beats England:The standings would be: United States 4, England and Iran 3, Wales 1.The Americans would advance with a win or a draw against Iran.If the United States loses to Iran, it would be eliminated if England beats Wales. If Wales beats or draws England, the group would come down to tiebreakers.If the United States ties England:The standings would be: England 4, Iran 3, United States 2, Wales 1.The Americans would advance with a win against Iran. They would be eliminated by a draw or a loss.If the United States loses to England:The standings would be: England 6, Iran 3, United States and Wales 1.If the United States then beats Iran, it would advance if England beats or draws Wales. If Wales wins, the group would come down to tiebreakers.The Americans would be eliminated with a draw or loss against Iran. More

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    Who Will Win the World Cup?

    Who’s going to win the World Cup? To get an answer, you could seek the opinion of coaches, players, pundits or fans.Or you could ask the people who have a great financial stake in the outcome: bookmakers.With every team having played one game, the most likely team to win the World Cup this year is, as almost every year, Brazil, according to oddsmakers around the world. But it is far from a sure thing. The team’s odds are roughly 3-1, meaning at best it has about a 25 percent chance of lifting the trophy at this point.Also considered strong contenders are France (6-1) and England and Spain (both 7-1). The next leading contender is, somewhat surprisingly, Argentina at 8-1, even though it lost its opening game to Saudi Arabia. The consensus seems to be that it will bounce back against Mexico and Poland and make it to the knockout rounds. On the other hand, Argentina was originally the second favorite at 5-1, so it certainly has slipped.As you might have noticed, the favorites are the usual suspects.The truth is, long shots just don’t win the World Cup very often. Oh, they sometimes make a surprise run to the semifinals (South Korea in 2002) or even the final (Croatia in 2018) but they just don’t win it.So if you truly believe in, say, the United States (150-1) or even Costa Rica (as much as 3,000-1 after losing to Spain, 7-0), you could be richly rewarded if they defy the odds come the final on Dec. 18.There are odds available on the individual awards as well, giving a clue as to who bettors and bookies think will perform well the rest of the way at the tournament.Before the World Cup began, who else but Lionel Messi (7-1) was the favorite for the Golden Ball as player of the tournament, an award he won eight years ago. But after Argentina’s stutter, he has slipped behind Kylian Mbappé of France (6-1).That prize almost always goes to a player on a successful team, but not necessarily the winning one. The last two Golden Balls went to players on the runner-up (Luka Modrić of Croatia and Messi), and the winner before that, Diego Forlán of Uruguay, made only the semifinal.The final game on Thursday significantly shook up the betting for the Golden Boot for the top goal-scorer of the tournament. Richarlíson of Brazil had been a 25-1 shot before the tournament started, but his two goals against Serbia has made him a favorite at 8-1. The other top contenders are Mbappé (9-1, with one goal so far), Olivier Giroud of France (11-1, two goals) and Messi (13-1, one goal).The other players with two goals so far aren’t attracting as much interest from bettors: Ferran Torres of Spain (20-1), Bukayo Saka of England (20-1), Enner Valencia of Ecuador (50-1) and Mehdi Taremi of Iran (such a long shot that few bookies have even posted a price on him yet).Fancy an American to get a bootload of goals? Timothy Weah, who had the Americans’ only goal in their first game, is 300-1 or more to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. More

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    At the World Cup Iran’s Anthem Was a Tense Moment For Players and Fans

    AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Iran’s national anthem was met by halfhearted singing or mouthing of the words by players and the jeering whistles of thousands of fans at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium before the team played Wales on Friday in its second game at the World Cup.The scene, and the sounds, was different from Iran’s opener against England on Monday, when players gave the anthem the stoic silent treatment, a form of protest that got global attention. Iran’s team, a regular at the tournament and long a unifying force in a divided country, has for months been trying to navigate the delicate internal politics of Iran, caught between government expectations and an ongoing national uprising. Before Friday’s match against Wales, the stadium camera feeds showed a man sobbing as Iran’s anthem was played. When an emotional woman was shown, fans erupted in cheers. Elsewhere, others booed. In the seats, a woman unveiled a No. 22 jersey with the name Mahsa Amini on it. She was the 22-year-old who died while in police custody in September, sparking a growing movement of discontent about freedoms and women’s rights under Iran’s theocratic rule.The Iran National Anthem plays at the FIFA World Cup ahead of their matchup vs Wales 🇮🇷 pic.twitter.com/T4ilXEAN9k— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2022
    It was the actions of Iran’s players, though, that attracted the most attention. After standing silently during the anthem before their first game, they appeared to sing with varying degrees of commitment amid a mix of boos and cheers. Iran’s fan base may be as incessantly noisy as any here at the World Cup. That was true before the game, as its fans and those arriving to cheer Wales emerged from the metro and spilled out toward Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. One woman coming off the metro started a chant — “Say her name! Mahsa! Amini!” — that has become common here. Others wore blue T-shirts that read, “Woman Life Freedom.” One man wore a shirt that read, “Arrest of Lawyers = Beginning of Your End” in English on the front and Arabic on the back.World Cup security officers have been trained to look for such political displays. Before Monday’s game against England, fans were told they wee not allowed to bring or display Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag inside the stadium. Outside the arena on Friday, grim-faced officers patrolled in packs of five or six, wearing black-and-blue vests that read “security cells” on the back. A group of 10 officers surrounded one woman, argued with her and took something from her, perhaps a shirt.Freed and frustrated, she disappeared into the stadium. More

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    Qataris Say Criticism of Country Amid World Cup Is Rooted in Stereotypes

    Many in the country say the barrage of criticism about its human rights record and the exploitation of migrant workers is laced with discrimination and hypocrisy.When the singer Rod Stewart was offered more than $1 million to perform in Qatar, he said, he turned it down.“It’s not right to go,” Mr. Stewart told the The Sunday Times of London recently, joining a string of public figures to declare boycotts or express condemnation of Qatar as the Gulf nation hosts the soccer World Cup.In the prelude to the tournament, which started this past weekend, Qatar has faced an increasing barrage of criticism over its human rights record, including the authoritarian monarchy’s criminalization of homosexuality and the well-documented abuse of migrant workers.Yet Mr. Stewart voiced no such disapproval when he performed in 2010 in Dubai or 2017 in Abu Dhabi, cities in the nearby United Arab Emirates — a country that also has an authoritarian monarchy and has faced allegations of human rights violations but that has more successfully cultivated a Western-friendly image. Mr. Stewart declined a request for comment through his public relations firm.That kind of dissonance is one that has increasingly frustrated Qataris as they face the glare of the international spotlight that trains on each World Cup. The tournament has brought a disproportionate burst of negative coverage, they say, and spawned descriptions of their country and people that feel outdated and stereotypical, painting an image of Qatar that they barely recognize.Qataris say that they are calling out the double standards. Why, they ask, do Europeans buy natural gas from Qatar if they find the country so abhorrent that they cannot watch soccer there? Why don’t some of the international figures who have spoken out against Qatar do the same for the United Arab Emirates?They have also said that they hope the first World Cup to be held in an Arab nation will challenge stereotypes about Qataris, Arabs and Muslims.Instead, it sometimes seems to have done the opposite.A “fan village” in Doha, made up of shipping containers converted into small accommodation units.Erin Schaff/The New York TimesIn a speech last month, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, called the opprobrium “an unprecedented campaign that no host country has ever faced.” Speaking to a German newspaper, the Qatari foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said that some of the criticism was racist and arrogant.Organizers have said that at least 15,000 journalists are expected to visit Qatar, a country with a population of three million, for the World Cup. The torrent of reporting has been overwhelming for a country that rarely makes global news. That is partly why Qatari officials wanted to host the tournament. It fits into a broader, decades-long push by Qatar’s rulers to turn the once-obscure country into a prominent global player, a strategy funded by vast natural gas wealth.A Brief Guide to the 2022 World CupCard 1 of 9What is the World Cup? More