World Cup

NEWLY single Wanda Nara has brushed aside Argentina’s shock World Cup loss to Saudi Arabia as only she can – by eating ice cream in a sexy swimsuit in the Maldives. The Argentine beauty, 35, split from footie star Mauro Icardi in September.
Wanda is in the Maldives while Argentina embarrassed themselves in QatarCredit: Instagram / Wanda_Nara
The Argentine beauty enjoyed an ice cream while wearing a sexy pink swimsuitCredit: Instagram / Wanda_Nara
Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi ArabiaCredit: Instagram / Wanda_Nara
Wanda recently split from IcardiCredit: Instagram / Wanda_Nara
And she’s enjoying the single life, getting back into TV presenting work while also continuing to travel the world.
Wanda was also spotted kissing rapper L-Gante, more than a decade her junior, in a bowling alley and has posted images of the pair cosying up on social media.
But with Argentina contesting the World Cup, Wanda is instead cooling off in the Maldives, where she enjoyed an ice cream.
The model was wearing a sexy pink swimsuit as she walked the beaches, while Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup group stage opener.
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Argentine great Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the first half from the penalty spot.
But a second half flurry stunned Argentina, who were considered one of the favourites for the tournament.
Former partner Icardi is NOT in Qatar playing for his country, with the striker now on loan at Galatasaray from Paris Saint-Germain.
Wanda has lifted the lid on why she split from the 29-year-old, who she first met aged 18.
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In an interview with magazine Vanity Fair, Wanda explained: “I didn’t expect it, Mauro had never given me reason to be jealous.
“It was bad, but then I realised that we don’t live in a Disney fairytale and that certain things can happen.
“I met Mauro when he 18 years old, he wasn’t experienced. I think that’s why. In fact, after the fact, he realised even more how much he loved me. I forgave the mistake, the problem was something else
“We have already signed the separation. Mauro didn’t want to and it was very difficult, because I still love him very much.
“But things weren’t working out, the atmosphere was bad at home and at one point I told him: ‘Let’s stop’. We made love until the end, then I went to Argentina.
“I did advertising campaigns and hosted TV shows. I was away for two months. The distance didn’t help.”
Wanda says after raising five children, she wanted to get back to her old line of work.
She continued: “The truth is that I had five children, I breastfed them all, raised them and devoted myself to them for 10 years.
“I had recently told Mauro that I wanted to go back to work, and he didn’t like it. It’s rare for a footballer’s wife to work.
“For a long time I only took care of my children and my husband, but now I want to get my time back. And I’m going back to my profession: in Argentina they keep offering me programmes to host and I really like television.
“He doesn’t like the idea that it takes attention away from the family. Whereas for me independence is fundamental: it is the path to freedom.
“So every now and then he tries to win me back, the other day he came to pick me up at the airport with a car full of flowers, then he took me out to dinner and said, ‘I’m not giving up’.
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“Alright, but I know that if we get together again and in two months I mention a new job offer, we’ll be back to square one.
“My mother was an actress when she was young. She met my father and quit. And I, in 2022, I can’t let history repeat itself.”
Wanda with long-time lover IcardiCredit: Getty
Wanda wants to continue taking TV opportunities
The couple had been long distance due to Wanda’s TV commitments in Argentina
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ROY KEANE and Gary Neville laughing off Saudi Arabia’s World Cup chances have come back to haunt them. The pair of Manchester United legends and Micah Richards rated the 32 teams in this year’s Winter World Cup in Qatar.
Roy Keane and Gary Neville discussing Saudi Arabia’s World Cup chancesCredit: Sky Bet
On Saudi Arabia, Neville, 47, said: “They’ll bring tens and tens of thousands of fans. Because they can drive over the border.”
Keane, 51, responded: “And can they play for them?”
Neville, cracking up with Richards, joked: “It’s 10,000 vs 11.”
Keane added: “Have you ever seen a fan score a goal? It doesn’t matter.”
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As it happened, the Irishman was on punditry duty at the Lusail Stadium where Lionel Messi’s Argentina were expected to breeze past Saudi Arabia.
And they ramped up the heat just ten minutes into the game when Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
The PSG superstar also watched on in frustration as Argentina had THREE goals disallowed.
Saudi Arabia then caught the Argentine’s cold as Saleh Alshehri levelled on 48 minutes with an excellent finish into the bottom corner.
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It set the scene for an upset for the ages.
Winger Salem Aldawsari took home the spoils with a stunning goal to win the game.
He cut in on his right foot on 52 minutes to curl home what is already going to be a contender for goal of the tournament.
Argentina knocked on the door for well over 40 more minutes but Saudi Arabia remained solid at the back to hold out for a famous 2-1 win.
LUSAIL CITY, QATAR – NOVEMBER 22: Saleh Al-Shehri of Saudi Arabia, left, celebrates scoring his side’s equalising goal with Firas Al-Buraikan to make the score 1-1 during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on November 22, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Sebastian […]Credit: Getty More

FROM organising bare-chested fights in the forests to rioting in the streets with knives and bats, Poland has some of the most notorious hooligan firms of any nations competing in the World Cup. While hooliganism in the United Kingdom has largely been consigned to the dustbin of history, Polish Ultras firms have drawn comparisons with the bad old days of the 1980s in Britain.
Polish hooligan firms are some of the most fearsome in the world – hosting training fights in forestsCredit: Hooliganstv
Polish cops have often seized knives, machetes and axes from hooligansCredit: Reddit
Poland has been cracking down on the culture of violenceCredit: Hooliganstv
With their first World Cup match today against Mexico, Qatari authorities will be hoping the match passes off without any trouble off the pitch.
Hooligan trouble is not expected during the game with many Ultras subject to bans – but the hoolies still carry a fearsome reputation.
Murders and brutal attacks have been associated with the firms – including one hooligan was stabbed 64 time with knives and machetes, and another who had his hand CHOPPED OFF.
Famous hoolie firms in Poland include Destroyers, Sharks, Terror Corps, Teddy Boys and Young Freaks ’98.
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Poland’s most infamous ultras firms come from Krakow, where fans of rival teams Wisla and MKS Cracovia maintain an often-violent derby.
Such is the level of hostility between the two sides, that the Krakow derby is referred to as the Holy War.
Unlike the beery hooligan stereotype in England, Polish ultras often maintain a straight-edged lifestyle with no drinking or even smoking, claiming that it makes them “weak”.
In the runup to a match between England and Poland in 1999 in the Polish capital Warsaw, seven English fans were hospitalised after fierce clashes.
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At least two supporters were stabbed after thugs threw bottles, bricks, and metal poles at each other.
The brawl in central Warsaw’s Saski Park was reportedly prearranged, with one Polish hooligan claiming the clashes were set up by mobile phone.
Two more England fans were taken to hospital following a separate incident where thugs hurled bricks and bottles at rival supporters near a pub in the Old Town.
Running battles also took place inside the stadium itself, despite a heavy police presence.
A Polish hooligan known as “Jack” said at the time: “The Polish fans will do anything for a fight. They speak to each other on mobiles all the time. It’s all pre-arranged.
“Supporters of Legia Warsaw have been going around the last two nights looking for trouble.”
Krakow is by far the most notorious city for ultras in Poland, even earning the nickname City of Knives.
This is because the Wisla and Cracovia firms are the only ones who didn’t sign the so-called “Poznan Agreement”.
The peace treaty, signed by all other Polish firms nationwide, agrees that they won’t use weapons during fights.
In 2010, police in Lodz searched a train of Wisla supporters and recovered a terrifying haul of weapons.
They included 25 machetes, a military bayonet, three axes, four knives, and two 70cm-long wooden handles.
Football violence exploded in Poland in the 1990sCredit: Football hooligans
The rise in hooliganism was associated with economic problemsCredit: Football hooligans
Hooligan firms often have fearsome names and equally mean reputationsCredit: Hooliganstv
The hooligans are often a far cry from the traditional image of beer-swilling thugsCredit: Hooliganstv
However, despite their fearsome reputation, Polish ultras can also have a softer side.
Krzysztof, a hooligan supporter of Slask Wroclaw, met grandmother Mariola through a class, and even though she supported rival team Ruch Chorzow, the two fell in love.
They made an unlikely couple. She was a grandma and ran her own business, he was a convicted hooligan who had served eight years in prison for robbery and football-related violence.
Their romance was even the subject of an HBO documentary, “Love Without Argument”, in 2012.
But a devastated Mariola revealed last year that they had split up after her toyboy ultra lover cheated on her with an older woman.
However, with a slightly more muted atmosphere than normal at the World Cup and a strong use of a football banning orders, no hooligan trouble is expected.
Qatar has drafted in an impressive ragtag police force made up of cops from around the world – including notorious French riot police and tough Turkish commandos.
But there have already been some crowd problems – with riot police deployed to manage a fan crush outside the Fifa Fan Festival zone in Doha.
Qatar has already faced questions over organisation of the World Cup – with reports weeks before the start that the nation simply was not ready.
Confusion over the sale of beer, infrastructure problems and reports of crowd trouble at the fanzone have already surfaced.
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The tiny country is expected to welcome more than one million fans during the tournament – when the country only has a population of 2.9million.
Billions have been spent to try and ready the nation for its first attempt at holding an event of this scale.
One famous Polish ultra – Krzysztof – appeared in the documentary ‘Love Without Argument’ More