World Cup 2022

FANS are sharing a wild World Cup conspiracy theory with Spain’s loss to Japan handing them potentially an easier route to the final.World Cup Group E’s final fixtures didn’t disappoint with all teams in with a chance of reaching the knockouts before kick-off.
Germany were knocked out in the group stages for the second World Cup in a rowCredit: Reuters
Spain have an easier route to the final as a result of their loss to JapanCredit: Getty
Spain and Japan occupied first and second, while Costa Rica were a close third and Germany were in fourth.
At one stage, Japan and Costa Rica were heading through with Germany and Spain crashing out.
Costa Rica came from a goal down to capture a 2-1 lead, but collapsed late on.
The win for Germany would have been enough to see them through had Japan lost against Spain or played out a draw.

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However, Japan snatched a 2-1 win to seal top spot of Group E, knocking Germany out of the competition and making Spain settle for second.
Spain won’t be too fussed, though, as they’ve seemingly been handed an easier route to the World Cup final.
Mexico World Cup legend Hugo Sanchez has even suggested the Spanish lost on purpose.
The former Real Madrid forward, who played in three World Cups for Mexico, said as reported by Diario AS: “I assure you. I was not there and I’m not in the mind of Luis Enrique but he had thought about what was the best way to avoid playing Brazil in the quarter-finals.
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“Yes there is a risk but it’s a risk worth taking. It’s not that they fear Brazil but they respect them.”
Sanchez later added: “The coach is never going to admit it. Managers don’t say: ‘I let them win’.”
And some fans are spreading the same wild conspiracy theory.
Spain will face Morocco – topped Group F while knocking out Belgium – and then potentially Portugal in the quarter-finals.
The Spaniards would also avoid Brazil up until a possible final matchup.
One fan said on Twitter: “Spain intentionally lost to Japan to avoid a potential quarter-final meeting with Brazil.”
Another said: “Spain knew finishing second will favor them more.
“Who would u rather play against in a one-off match, Croatia or Morocco?
“By finishing second, Spain will avoid Brazil and Argentina too.”
A third quipped: “Spain has nothing to celebrate despite evading Croatia/Brazil and getting rid of Germany, all with one stone.”
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Before kick-off, Germany media Bild highlighted that Spain and Japan had recently struck up a cooperative relationship in youth football, women’s football and referee training. 
Japan will now take on World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia in the round of 16. More

THE furious German press slammed Hansi Flick and his “embarrassing disgrace” of a team following their shock World Cup exit.The 2014 world champions were dumped out in the group stages in Russia four years ago.
Germany were dumped out of the World Cup on ThursdayCredit: Getty
Germany were pictured leaving their camp the day after their exitCredit: EPA
Bild compared Japan’s goal to the 1966 final when Geoff Hurst scored
One paper labelled the early exit a “Katarstrophe”
And history repeated itself on Thursday night as Team DFB finished third in Group E – behind Spain on goal difference.
Germany lost to Japan in their opening game, which proved critical, before a draw with Spain and a comeback 4-2 win over Costa Rica.
But Japan’s victory over Spain meant Flick’s side can pack their bags and fly home.
And ready and waiting for them when they land will be a fuming German public and media.
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As well as Bild’s damning “embarrassing disgrace” assessment, the newspaper used the headline “wie Wembley” – “like Wembley” – in reference to the controversial Japan winner which bore resemblance to Geoff Hurst’s goal in the 1966 final.
However, English fans were quick to remind their rivals of the Frank Lampard ghost goal from 2010 as they celebrated Germany’s demise.
Even airline Ryanair could not resist a cheeky dig at Flick’s side and equally-pathetic Belgium with a tweet saying they were “carrying” the two teams home – while Wojciech Szczesny carries Poland and Kylian Mbappe does the same for France.
Back in the German media, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hit out: “German football is at rock bottom again, four years after a historic first-round exit.”
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The Hamburg and Dresden Morning Posts went with the headline “Katarstrophe” in reference to the World Cup taking place in Qatar.
Die Welt said: “Germany is no longer a tournament team. It will take fundamental change to get out of this rut.”
FAZ added: “Things have been going downhill since winning the 2014 World Cup. The return to the top of the world is just an illusion for the DFB team.”
And the Bavarian Football Works demanded Flick resigns if he has “any dignity”.
Legendary former captain Lothar Matthaus added: “It was down to the defence, that was too easy for the opponent, against Japan, also against Costa Rica. Don’t be surprised if you make mistakes like this.
“It was also due to the conversion of chances, that was bad luck, but also inability. It would have been possible to score a lot more goals.”
National team director Oliver Bierhoff confessed Germany “lack the efficiency we always had” and Bastian Schweinsteiger was highly critical of the German defence.

The ex-Manchester United man declared: “Very, very bad. In defence, we only have one player who plays at a high level and that’s Toni Rudiger. The others – that’s normal Bundesliga level and we have to get back to having a good defence.”
Sami Khedira described the use of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka as a “gamble” – but both he and Thomas Hitzlsperger want Flick to stay on as boss.
Hitzlsperger said: “It was his first major tournament with primary responsibility.
“Are we really that good? Do we really have such great players?
“He has to get the chance to learn from these mistakes, which are now being revealed in the analysis.
“I think it’s absolute nonsense to kick the coach out now.”
Bayern Munich and Germany ace Joshua Kimmich was devastated with his side’s early exit.
He said: “For me personally, this is the worst day of my career.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall into a hole!
“It makes you think, these failures are connected to my person.
“We messed up in 2018, then we blew up the Euros last year.”
Team-mate Antonio Rudiger was equally hurting: “We’re back to zero, that’s the harsh reality.
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“A lot of talent, all well and good, but there are other things to it.
“That last greed, that something dirty, that’s what we’re missing. We are a very, very nice team.”
Hansi Flick is under pressure to keep his jobCredit: AP
It is back-to-back group stage exits for GermanyCredit: Getty
Antonio Rudiger recognised there was something missingCredit: Getty More

BRAZIL star Fred could return to Manchester United with a slim new look this month.That’s because he is losing up to three kilograms a GAME at the World Cup with his “absurd” work rate.
Brazil star Fred is losing up to three kilos a game at the World Cup due to his work rateCredit: Getty
Fred, 29, has been putting in a shift-and-a-half for his country in Qatar.
The Brazil ace has clocked up the miles in wins over Serbia and Switzerland.
That’s with temperatures of over 30C, and humidity also at an uncomfortable 60 per cent.
But because of the weather, coupled with his intense running, Fred is dropping a huge amount of weight every time he plays.

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Brazil physio Guilherme Passos notes that Fred is the lightest player in Tite’s squad, weighing in at 67kg.
But his intensity in games, as well as training sessions, is seeing that figure fluctuate wildly.
Brazil are now making sure Fred receives adequate light work to make sure he does not overload his system.
And the United ace is also getting some extra grub to replenish after gruelling matches.
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Passos said: “He has an absurd work rate, very high.
“We had a match in the Copa America where he covered 12km. He’s always our top one, top two in volume, in distance covered. 
“In work rate, which means that he is all the time running through the field at high speed and moderate speed.”
Another Brazil fitness coach, Fabio Mahseradjian, added: “Fred is a very mobile and typically endurance athlete. 
“He’s not as fast as [Gabriel] Martinelli or Rodrygo. He’s not a strength athlete like Richarlison. They are individual characteristics of others, but he has his own, which is very mobile and of high resistance.
“We pay a lot of attention to Fred regarding his recovery. Because he loses a lot of weight during the game precisely because of this great work rate. 
“He is one of the main athletes that we have to rehydrate a lot after the game, increase the carbohydrate intake a lot to be able to recover well for the next match.” More

THE World Cup’s “hottest fan” ruthlessly mocked Belgium after her beloved Croatia dumped the flops from the tournament in Qatar.The Belgians needed a win to progress to the knock-out stage but crashed out after drawing 0-0 draw with Croatia on Thursday.
Former Miss Croatia Ivana Knoll attended the Croatia v Belgium match at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium last nightCredit: Getty
The glam model mocked Belgium after they dumped from the World CupCredit: Rex
Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne was devastated by last night’s resultsCredit: Getty
Taking to Instagram to celebrate her home team progressing, alongside glam pictures of herself in a chequered bra and red sweat pants, Knoll said: “Apart from me, Lukaku also showed the most today. Let’s go!”
The Croat stunner was referring to the moment the Belgian footballing heavyweight destroyed his team’s dug out with one punch.
Roberto Martinez’s men knew a point was unlikely to be enough in their final group-stage match against Croatia to see them through to the last-16.
And with Morocco beating Canada 2-1 in the other game in Group F, Belgium became aware they needed to find a late goal against the Croats as the contest headed for a stalemate.
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They had several good opportunities in the dying moments – including ones which fell to Lukaku right in front of goal – but could not find a winner.
Lukaku, who came into the tournament carrying an injury, showed his frustration after the game, punching the side of the dugout which came loose.
He then headed down the tunnel in tears, but not before Belgium coach Thierry Henry consoled him pitchside.
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Belgium’s squad togetherness was called into question earlier this week as reports of a dressing room row surfaced.
They were thought to have stemmed from Kevin de Bruyne publicly stating that the squad was too old.
Speaking to The Guardian about Belgium’s chances of winning the competition, the Man City man said: “No chance, we’re too old. I think our chance was 2018. We have a good team, but it is aging.
“We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018.
“I see us more as outsiders.”
Following the game, manager Roberto Martinez announced he was leaving his job.
Knoll celebrated Croatia’s first win of the tournament by posing in a skimpy flag bikini.
Croatia came from behind to beat Canada 4-1 to maintain their unbeaten start to the World Cup.
After the match Ivana took to the beach where she posed for the camera in a red and white chequered bikini set.
She left little to the imagination after capturing fans’ attention during Croatia’s win.
The Croat said he isn’t worried about being arrested for breaching Qatar’s strict laws on modesty.
The 30-year-old German-born model and designer has been pictured cheering on her country at this winter’s tournament wearing a range of revealing outfits.
Many of her figure-hugging displays are in the distinctive red-and-white chequerboard design of the Croatian flag.
For the Balkan team’s World Cup opener against Morocco, Ivana was pictured in a full-length red-and-white checked dress with a hood.
At Croatia’s against Canada, the stunning brunette went one step further when she was filmed in a short low-cut dress red-and-white checked dress with matching socks that exposed her shoulders.
Smiling, the 5’11” model posed for selfies with supporters.
Ahead of the tournament, she also shared two pictures of herself in a Croatian-inspired thong bikini which she claimed were taken on a beach in Qatar.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Ivana moved to Croatia at a young age and makes it clear through her outfits where her loyalties lie.
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The UK Foreign Office advised female visitors to Qatar to cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts in the majority-Muslim country.
Knoll says she’s not worried about being arrested for breaking Qatar’s modesty lawsCredit: Getty
Luka Modric and Dejan Lovren celebrate after Croatia sealed second spot after the goalless drawCredit: Getty
Assistant coach Thierry Henry of Belgium comforts Kevin De BruyneCredit: Getty More