World Cup 2022

JOEY BARTON has urged Gareth Southgate to RESIGN after England’s World Cup exit and told the FA to “stop rewarding failure”.Southgate has led the Three Lions in the last three major tournaments and they’ve overcome some significant hurdles during his six-year reign.
Gareth Southgate has led England in the last three major tournamentsCredit: Getty
England were knocked out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals by FranceCredit: Getty
Joey Barton thinks that Southgate should resign as England managerCredit: Rex
At the 2018 World Cup, Southgate guided England to their first semi-final for 28 years, although they lost to Croatia in extra-time.
They went one better at Euro 2020 with the 52-year-old becoming just the second England manager EVER to reach a major final.
Unfortunately, they were beaten on penalties by Italy despite leading the game heading into the final quarter.
Southgate was then unable to end 56-years of hurt in Qatar as the Three Lions were knocked out by France in the quarter-finals.
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Regardless, he’s already won three MORE tournament matches than any other England boss before, with his six knockout wins the same number they managed between 1966-2018.
Despite being England’s most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey though, he hasn’t done enough to convince Barton.
That’s because the former Manchester City midfielder reckons Southgate should have already stepped down.
He said on Twitter: “Can’t believe Southgate hasn’t resigned yet.
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“That’s two World Cups and a home European Championship we could/should have won.
“Stop rewarding failure. Got to go. Time to hire somebody who can win. Pizza Hut advert years ago. Enough said.📦” More

RODRIGO DE PAUL hailed Lionel Messi as “The Beast” for inspiring Argentina to the World Cup final.Yet again, Messi delivered when his team needed it, scoring the first goal from the spot, playing his part in the second and brilliantly creating the third in the 3-0 semi-final win over Croatia.
Rodrigo De Paul (left) says Argentina stars are calling Lionel Messi ‘The Beast’ after inspiring their World Cup final runCredit: Getty
Atletico Madrid midfielder De Paul said: “Luckily, we have The Beast.
“We play for our country, but for us Leo is our captain, our leader, he’s like an older brother, I will always defend him.
“Few know what he does to always be the best and I’m very happy for him.
“After everything that’s happened, I want him to be the one who enjoys it the most. He deserves it a lot.”
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De Paul, 28, is also delighted for the whole of Argentina.
Three weeks after being beaten 2-1 on the same pitch by Saudi Arabia in their opening game, the team earned the right to return to the Lusail Stadium for Sunday’s final against France.
De Paul said: “That first game was a hard blow.
“We locked ourselves in a room and had a very good talk that will stay with me forever.
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“We had a lot of belief and we came here on the back of winning the Copa America. After that first blow, each game was a final because we had to win no matter what
“The reality is that we play for the love of the colours, of the shirt, of our country, something it is difficult to express in words.
“But I’m sure that the many people who balance their problems with football, they forget everything when they see us play.
“Making them happy is a power and a pleasure for us that gives us a lot of pride.
“I am living a dream that is impossible to describe.
“I must be the happiest person in the world because I’m going to play a World Cup final, with my family, my girlfriend who backs me so much.
“We play for our country, but for us Leo is our captain, our leader, he’s like an older brother, I will always defend him.De Paul on Messi
“We also need that support, we have many problems, but when we went out onto the field with this shirt we forgot everything.”
Julian Alvarez is also overwhelmed by what he and the team have achieved.
The young Manchester City star came into the tournament as understudy to Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.
But he is now first choice to play alongside Messi and scored twice against Croatia, as well as winning the penalty from which the captain gave Argentina the lead on Tuesday.
Alvarez, 22, said: “Many things are going through my head, many. We are all, like, crazy
“It’s very exciting to see all this, the people, my family, everything during this World Cup has been incredible.
“We deserve to be in the final. We are happy like the whole country and we are going for more.”
Messi, 35, confirmed again after the semi-final that Sunday would be his final World Cup game.
His penalty against Croatia took him to 11 goals at the finals — one more than previous Argentinian record-holder Gabriel Batistuta. He also has three assists to take his finals tally to eight.
But what he really wants is to emulate Diego Maradona and lift the trophy as Argentina captain in a glorious finale to his career on the world stage.
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Paris Saint-Germain superstar Messi said: “What we’ve done is something impressive. It is the sixth final that we are going to play in our history.
“Beyond winning or losing, people understand they have to enjoy themselves and that this whole process in this group was extraordinary, winning the Copa America and reaching the final now.” More

FRANCE president Emmanuel Macron visited Morocco’s dressing room and had high praise for Sofyan Amrabat. Macron watched from Qatar as the reigning champions booked their place in a second consecutive World Cup final.
France president Emmanuel Macron was in Qatar for the clash with MoroccoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Sofyan Amrabat looks on in defeat as his World Cup dream endedCredit: Getty
But it was heartbreak for the tournament’s surprise package Morocco, who were finally thwarted as Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani netted in a 2-0 France win.
Fiorentina’s Amrabat was a standout throughout the tournament and was personally hailed by politician Macron.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Macron said in front of the Morocco squad that Amrabat was “the best midfielder of the tournament”.
Morocco became the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final but will now aim for third place.
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They face Croatia for bronze on Saturday, one day before the showpiece between France and Argentina.
It has been billed as Lionel Messi against Kylian Mbappe as the footballing superstars go head to head.
And Antoine Griezmann knows all about the talents of ex-Barcelona team-mate Messi.
He said: “Any team with Lionel Messi is a totally different proposition.
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“We’ve seen Argentina play and we know how they play. They’re a difficult team to play against and they’re in top form.
“There isn’t only Messi. There’s a strong team around him . We know it’s going to be a tough game.
“We know they’re going to have a lot of support in the crowd.
“We will get back to tomorrow and see how we can hurt them and how we can defend against them. We’ll be well prepared.”
Kylian Mbappe celebrates with Antoine GriezmannCredit: PA More

SOFYAN AMRABAT has revealed he had a heated conversation with Olivier Giroud in France’s World Cup semi-final win over Morocco.The defending world champions booked their place in the final of Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 win over the north Africans on Wednesday night.
Morocco’s Sofyan Amrabat was constantly battling with France’s Olivier Giroud in their World Cup semi-finalCredit: AP
The pair’s tussles were one of the most interesting battles of the matchCredit: GETTY
Giroud’s marking got on the nerves of AmrabatCredit: GETTY
Moroccan midfielder Amrabat found himself on the fringe of the historic game, often due to the tracking back of France hitman Giroud.
And he couldn’t help but give the pesky poacher a piece of his mind as he repeatedly thwarted his efforts to help his team-mates.
He told NOS: “Their striker, Olivier Giroud, followed me everywhere all over the field.
“I said to him, just STOP! He replied that he was instructed to follow me for the whole game.”
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France booked their place in their second successive World Cup final thanks to goals from Theo Hernandez and substitute Randal Kolo Muani.
Victory over the French would’ve seen Morocco become the first African team to reach the World Cup finals.
After the match, a crestfallen Amrabat said: “We feel very bitter that we couldn’t do more.
“France let us have the initiative from the start, so I guess that’s a compliment really.
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“Unfortunately, it was tough after stupidly conceding such an early goal and we had to play into their hands, with the pace they have up-front.”
Although they missed out on a historic final, Morocco can look back on Qatar 2022 with pride as they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
He said: “Maybe when we look back, we’ll realise it, but right now it’s mostly bitterness.
“It’s especially painful when the game was so close.”
Defeat to the French saw Morocco miss out on becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup finalCredit: Getty
Defending world champions France will play South American kings Argentina in Sunday’s final at the Lusail Stadium.
Morocco, meanwhile, will face Croatia in the third-placed play-off on Sunday. More

LIONEL MESSI will pass the baton over to Kylian Mbappe in Sunday’s World Cup final.The showpiece meeting between Argentina and France will see one of the greatest to ever do it battle it out with someone who could be mentioned in the same breath as him in 15 years time.
How Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup stats compare
Messi and Mbappe are the joint top scorers at the current World CupCredit: Reuters
Mbappe is bidding to win back-to-back World CupsCredit: Getty
Messi has openly admitted the final will be his last ever World Cup game.
But while there is a 12-year age gap between Messi, 35, and Mbappe, 23, there has been little to separate them at this World Cup.
Or over the last two World Cups for that matter.
Mbappe’s stats don’t go back any further than that, while the current tournament in Qatar is Messi’s FIFTH time on football’s greatest stage.
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Although, despite playing 12 less games at the World Cup, Mbappe has only scored TWO fewer goals than Messi.
They have history facing each other at the tournament, too.
An incredible round of 16 clash four years ago saw France knock Argentina out 4-3 – Mbappe scoring twice, Messi firing a blank.
Now clubmates at Paris Saint-Germain, the pair are the joint top scorers at this World Cup with five goals in six games.
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Messi’s overall World Cup record is 11 goals in 25 games, while Mbappe has a ridiculous nine from just 13 outings.
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That translates to a goal every 112 minutes – on what is supposed to be the toughest stage of all.
Messi on the other hand averages a goal every 199 minutes at the World Cup, which isn’t exactly once in a blue moon.
But while Mbappe has the edge in goals scored, Messi the maestro trumps his French counterpart when it comes to assists.
The Argentina skipper has set up eight goals in his World Cup career, compared to two for Mbappe, both of which have come at the current tournament.
Mbappe is yet to experience heartbreak on the World Cup stage, whereas for Messi it’s been failure after failure.
The closest he has come so far is losing the 2014 final in heartbreaking fashion to Germany.
He’s got one more crack at glory on Sunday, and will be desperate not to fall agonisingly short for a second time.
Mbappe though barely knows what defeat in a France shirt feels like.
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Having won the World Cup the first time he ever played in the tournament, he could make it two out of two on Sunday.
So the most important stat of all remains in Mbappe’s favour… for now.
Mbappe knocked Messi out of the 2018 World CupCredit: AFP or licensors More