World Cup

ENGLAND’S stars returned to training to begin their preparations to face Senegal in the World Cup last-16 on Sunday.The Three Lions were given a rest day on Wednesday following the late night after beating Wales.
England began their preparations for Senegal this afternoonCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Three-goal hero Marcus Rashford will be hoping to keep his placeCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
England are back in action on Sunday eveningCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Jack Grealish’s calves were bulging as everCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Temperatures were around 29C as they took to the fieldCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
The players went through some light recovery work at their Qatar hotel – including swimming, stretching, massages and basketball – and also spent time with their families.
Declan Rice faced the media this morning – both in his press conference and on the darts board.
But then it was back to business on the field.
There was no Ben White in training after he returned back home for personal reasons.

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The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to Qatar.
But the remaining 25 players were all in action for the 3pm session in 29C heat.
Rice looked relaxed as he loosened up while Jack Grealish quickly demonstrated his class with some cheeky keepy-uppies.
Marcus Rashford was in the thick of the action, just as he was against Wales on Tuesday.
Raheem Sterling wants to win his place in the starting XI backCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Harry Kane is still looking for his first goal of the tournamentCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Jude Bellingham was one of the stars of the group stages for EnglandCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
James Maddison is still waiting to make his debutCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Eric Dier may have to settle for a place on the bench againCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Gareth Southgate appeared in good spirits in DohaCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
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England topped Group B so take on the runners-up from Group A at 7pm at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Senegal, without star man Sadio Mane, secured wins over Qatar and Ecuador to finish behind the Netherlands and progress.
Gareth Southgate’s side know they go into the knockout clash as the heavy favourites and will be buoyed after scoring nine goals in their opening three matches.
However, should the game finish level after extra-time, it will go down to penalties.
But with the likes of Harry Kane, Callum Wilson and James Maddison in the squad and a special net to practise spot kicks, England will be confident of putting their Euro 2020 final heartache behind them and progressing.
Declan Rice hit the darts board before facing the mediaCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Wednesday was a recovery day for the England playersCredit: Getty
Jude Bellingham enjoyed a swim in the hotel poolCredit: Getty
Mason Mount got some air on the basketball courtCredit: Getty More

DIEGO MARADONA’S old house was been used to stage a huge World Cup party after Argentina beat Poland.Lionel Scaloni’s side produced an impressive performance to seal their place as group winners as they head to the last-16.
The house was absolutely packed with happy Argentina fansCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Locals watched the match and enjoyed a BBQ before it broke out into a huge partyCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Maradona was well known for his enjoyment of partying before his death in 2020Credit: Reuters
And with all of Argentina cheering Lionel Messi and his teammates on at home and in bars, one particularly special party was taking place in the South American country.
The owners of Diego Maradona’s old family house hosted a massive celebration at his former luxury pad to celebrate the victory.
They are believed to have only bought the home six days ago but let people in free of charge to watch the World Cup clash.
Pictures and videos show incredible scenes of Argentinians crowded around the pool and having the time of their lives as they marked the win.
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Many were wearing the national shirt as they chugged down beer poolside and danced in triumph.
Other fans were shirtless across the crowded garden and people of all ages could be spotted in the crowd.
Pictures show some people stood on the balcony and under giant white tents amid the joyous but chaotic scenes after the house owners swung open the doors to neighbours and friends.
Maradona, who died in 2020 aged 60, was famously football’s biggest party animal.
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Neighbours crowded into the party house to watch Argentina beat PolandCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Those who chose to wear shirts were decked out in Argentina gearCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
It was a festival of booze, food, friends and football at Maradona’s old houseCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
And fans were loving the party at his former home, with one person on Twitter writing: “The whole ‘it’s what he would have wanted’ thing is a bit of a cliché, but it’s probably what Diego would have wanted.”
Maradona owned the “temple” in the beautiful Villa Devoto since the 1980s before it was sold.
According to Xtratime, the new owners preserved everything to pay respect to the legendary footballer.
And before their massive pool party, they had also laid out chairs and served food while people watched the game on a giant screen.
According to Clarin Sports, the food included eighty kilos of meat with tasty BBQ treats like beef and pork on display.
Reporters on local station A24 described the scene.
Fans will be hoping for a repeat of the carnage when they take on Australia on SaturdayCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Party animal Maradona led Argentina to their last World Cup in 1986Credit: Reuters
One said: “It’s a big party, the new owners who only bought it six days ago decided to open it for anyone who could come to watch the game and enjoy.
“They bought at least 80 kilos of asado [bbq meat], I’m not exaggerating, there is meat to eat until 10 at night, they bought drinks for everyone.
“Before I was asking one of the new owners if they’re going to kick people out, if they are going to start slowly escorting them out, because there are people in the bedrooms, in the bathrooms, everywhere.”
The reporter added that the new owners were big Maradona fans, and initially had plans to transform the site into a hotel or museum in honour of the Argentine legend.
Maradona was the mastermind behind Argentina’s last World Cup win in 1986 as he dragged his nation to victory after scoring one or two famous goals.
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They are still in the competition in 2022 thanks to strikes from Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez.
They will now take on Australia in the last 16. More

MILOS DEGENEK has revealed his Australia team-mates thought he was just trying to psych them up by telling them Tunisia were beating France.The defender is known in the squad as the motivator and his teammates thought he was up to his old tricks in their crucial World Cup group game against Denmark.
Milos Degenek was the first player to be told about the Tunisia goalCredit: Reuters
Jackson Irvine did not believe Degenek when he told them about the goalCredit: Getty
Australia went into the game needing to match or better Tunisia’s result against reigning World cup winners France in order to qualify for the round of 16.
The goal had put the African side ahead of Australia in the group meant they would qualify instead.
Fortunately, Mathew Leckie opened the scoring for Australia three minutes later, putting them back into second place.
However, during the celebrations, Degenek was called to the sidelines of Al Janoub Stadium in Doha by the team’s support staff and was told about Wahbi Khazri’s goal that had given Tunisia a shock lead.
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The assistant coach Rene Meulensteen was told of the goal by another assistant, Tony Vidmar.
Meulensteen said: “It was just a quiet word from Tony Vidmar in my ear – no more information, no reason to jump at it and panic.
“Funny thing is, about a minute later we scored.
“That is when I told Arnie [head coach Graham Arnold] to say: ‘Listen, Tunisia is winning 1-0’.
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“And I grabbed Milos Degenek to say: ‘Get in a huddle and tell the players to make them sure they know where we are […] we have to win, we have to keep a clean sheet’.”
Degenek then grabbed his teammates and said: “If we don’t win, the Tunisians will sneak through to the round of 16 on goal difference.
“The boys thought it was my psyching them up so we won’t lose. But it was actually me being serious.”
Meulensteen admitted that the idea to tell say Tunisia were winning would have been Degenek’s motivational idea, even if they weren’t.
He added: “That’s the type of guy he is, that’s unfortunate for him.
“So he had to pull out everything to make sure that it was real.”
However, some of the players did not believe him, as Jackson Irvine said: “In the back of my mind I was actually like: ‘Well done, Milos, that’s a good idea, tell the boys that we need a win, absolutely’.
“And then you find out later on [he was right].” More

JAPAN are looking to complete the job and qualify for the knockout stages after their surprise win over Germany.The Japanese could have been home and hosed by now, but were stunned by Costa Rica in the second game.

The Japan XI that lost to Costa Rica
Spain will be heavy favourites to qualify, especially if they show the class that saw them blow away the Costa Ricans in their opener.
A draw against the Germans in their second match means the job is not yet complete.
But it would take a highly improbable sequence of results for Spain to be knocked out.
SunSport takes a look at what to expect from Japan vs Spain including our score prediction.
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How are they getting on?
Japan: Samurai Blue produced one of the shocks of the tournament to beat Germany 2-1 in their opening game.
But a lot of that good work was undone with a shock 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in the second match.
Read the full Japan vs Costa Rica report…
Spain: La Roja hammered Costa Rica 7-0 in their first match to put themselves among the tournament favourites.
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However, a 1-1 draw with Germany means there is still a little bit of work to be done.
Read the full Spain vs Germany report…

The Spain XI that drew with Germany
Any injuries to worry about?
Japan: Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu is a doubt with a hamstring injury, as is former Marseille right-back Hiroki Sakai.
Spain: Teen sensation Gavi is a doubt after missing training with a minor injury.
Who to watch
Japan: Tomiyasu will be crucial for the Japanese if he is fit.
Spain: If Gavi is out then his Barcelona team-mate Pedri could be the key man.
Permutations
Japan will qualify if they win.
Should they draw, they need to hope that Costa Rica vs Germany ends in a draw.
Defeat will see Japan eliminated from the competition.
Spain will be through with a point in this one.
If they lose, they will still qualify if Costa Rica fail to beat Germany, unless Germany win with an eight-goal swing.
What’s the head-to-head?
The sides have met just once, with Spain winning 1-0 in a friendly in Cordoba in 2001.
Odds
Japan 15/2
Draw 7/2
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Spain 2/5
SunSport prediction
Japan 0 Spain 2 More

WORLD CUP 2018 semi-finalists Croatia and Belgium face off in a match that is highly likely to see one team go home early.The Croats are the favourites to go through after picking up four points from their first two games.

The Croatia XI that beat Morocco
But they will beware of a wounded animal, with Belgium currently sitting third in the group.
The Belgians appear to be falling apart at the seams with reports of a mega fallout within their squad.
However, despite the country’s Golden Generation appearing to be in crisis, a win will still be enough to send them through.
SunSport takes a look at what to expect from Belgium vs Croatia including our score prediction.
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How are they getting on?
Croatia: The Croats looked anything but impressive in an uneventful 0-0 draw with Morocco.
But they showed their quality in their second game as they repeatedly carved Canada open to win 4-1.
Read the full Croatia vs Canada match report…
Belgium: Three points from two games really flatters them.
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Earned a 1-0 win after being battered by Canada before deservedly going down 2-0 to Morocco.
Read the full Belgium vs Morocco match report…

The Belgium XI that lost to Morocco
Any injuries to worry about?
Croatia: The Croats have no fresh injuries to contend with.
Belgium: Romelu Lukaku came off the bench against Morocco after missing the opening game with a hamstring injury.
Amadou Onana is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.
Who to watch
Croatia: When Luka Modric is purring, Croatia are very hard to stop.
Though he will have to be careful as he is on a yellow card.
Belgium: Kevin de Bruyne is key to Belgium’s success but has spent most of the first two games sulking.
The Red Devils will need him to be much more like the player he is for Man City if they are to win this one.
Permutations
Croatia will qualify with a draw.
They will also win the group if they win by the same margin as any Moroccan win against Canada, or if they draw and Morocco fail to win.
Croatia can go through in second if they lose and Morocco lose, provided the margin of their defeat is no more than one goal greater than Morocco’s.
Belgium will guarantee qualification with a win and be eliminated with a defeat.
If they draw they will need Morocco to lose by four goals if they are to go through.
What’s the head-to-head?
Croatia have won three, drawn two and lost three against Belgium.
Their last meeting saw Belgium win 1-0 in a pre-Euro 2020 friendly in Brussels.
Competitively they last met in 2013 in a World Cup 2014 qualifier in Zagreb with Lukaku scoring a brace as Belgium ran out 2-1 winners.
Odds
Croatia 17/10
Draw 9/4
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Belgium 13/8
SunSport prediction
Croatia 1 Belgium 1 More