World Cup

KYLIAN MBAPPE and Co returned to France following their World Cup final defeat to Argentina. And the squad understandably appeared to be in glum spirits after their efforts in a heroic comeback were undone in a dramatic shootout.
Kylian Mbappe looked dejected after returning home following defeat in the World Cup finalCredit: Reuters
Mbappe and Co were given a hero’s welcome as they returned to FranceCredit: Reuters
The 23-year-old became just the second player to score a final hat-trickCredit: Reuters
France stars exit their plane from QatarCredit: EPA
The French lost 4-2 in a penalty shootout to ArgentinaCredit: Reuters
Olivier Giroud was spotted with a Hawaiian-style necklaceCredit: Reuters
Captain Hugo Lloris led the team as they arrived in ParisCredit: AFP
Mbappe will now return to club side Paris Saint-GermainCredit: Reuters
The French had found themselves 2-0 down until a late penalty boosted them into life.
Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe netted a three-minute brace to drag the game into extra-time before becoming just the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
However, he was unable to do anymore as his nation lost out on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
And a day later Didier Deschamps’ unlucky Les Bleus arrived back home to a hero’s welcome.
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Thousands gathered at Place de la Concorde in Paris to give well wishes to the beaten finalists.
Had France won the Jules Rimet they would have become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.
France boss Deschamps would have also become the first manager ever to win it back-to-back.
He appeared to be in a better mood than his compatriots as he was spotted smiling on the runway.
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Airport staff also offered their condolences to the team.
Olivier Giroud, who was an early substitute alongside Ousmane Dembele, donned a Hawaiian-style necklace in the colours of the French flag as he emerged from the plane.
The players were then whisked away to the Hotel Crillon, where they waved to the crowd.
And despite the large crowd of fans wanting to congratulate the team on their efforts, it did not lift the face of a gloomy-looking Mbappe.
The 23-year-old waved to the crowd from the balcony alongside his team-mates, but retained a face like thunder – clearly still reeling from his performance which somehow yielded no reward.
However, a number of French stars were on the end of disgusting racist abuse from vile trolls after the final.
Kingsley Coman, Aurelien Tchouameni and Randal Kolo Muani were all subjected to sickening abuse after missing shots at crucial points of the game.
Coman and Tchouameni both failed to net during the shootout, while Kolo Muani would have won the final were it not for a stunning last-minute save from Emiliano Martinez.
It prompted Tchouameni and Kolo Muani to briefly disable their accounts before they eventually reactivated them – albeit with moderated comments.
Thousands gathered at the Place de la Concorde for the arrival of the French teamCredit: AFP
A frustrated-looking Mbappe waves to the crowd from the Hotel Crillon alongside team-matesCredit: Reuters
Mbappe won the Golden Boot award after scoring eight timesCredit: Reuters More

HARRY Redknapp has called Gary Neville a “hypocrite” as he described his rant over strikes as “completely ridiculous”.The former Manchester United star has come under fire after launching into a political rant over the UK’s crippling strikes during ITV’s World Cup final coverage.
Gary Neville has been blasted for comparing nurses striking in the UK to migrant workers in QatarCredit: ITV
Harry Redknapp told Jeremy Kyle the rant was ‘ridiculous’Credit: TalkTV
Ex-West Ham manager Redknapp on Monday night admitted he found Neville’s comments comparing nurses striking in the UK to migrant workers in Qatar as “completely ridiculous”.
Speaking to Jeremy Kyle on TalkTV, Redknapp agreed it was “hypocritical” of Neville to make the comments after landing a huge payday to cover the World Cup in Qatar.
Redknapp said: “How can you compare what’s going on out there with what’s going on with train drivers and nurses.
“We want to see nurses get more money, of course we do, they’re fantastic.
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“But you can’t compare the two situations. It’s completely ridiculous.”
Thousands of migrant workers have reportedly died in the Qatari construction industry since the World Cup was awarded to them in 2010.
Concerns were also raised over the rights of fans travelling to the event – especially LGBT+ individuals and women, who rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against.
But in the run-up to the Argentina vs France kickoff, Labour party member Neville, 47, likened the human rights disgraces in the Arab country to the strikes taking place in the UK.
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It has sparked more than 440 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom.
He said: “The working system of Kafala which obviously through football the conversation has started and it’s been removed here now in Qatar but it is abhorrent and we should detest low pay, we should detest poor accommodation and working conditions.
“We can never accept that in this region or any other region and it is just worth mentioning we’ve got a current government in our country that are demonising rail workers, ambulance workers and terrifyingly nurses.
“In our country we’ve got to look at workers’ rights but when football goes, we have to pick up on workers’ rights wherever it goes because people have got to be equal and treated equal.
“We can’t have people being paid an absolute pittance to work, we can’t have people in accommodation that is unsavoury and disgusting. It shouldn’t happen here.
“That shouldn’t happen here with the wealth that exists. 
“But it shouldn’t happen with the nurses in our country either where our nurses are having to fight for an extra pound or two pounds.”
Fans rushed to social media to blast his claims.
One fumed: “Had to switch World Cup over earlier due to Gary Neville’s rant about the government.
“A champagne socialist there to talk about the World Cup. Thinks he’s now a third-rate politician.”
Another said: “Switched to BBC despite wanting to watch Keane. 
“You have Neville being thick forgetting about the estimated 6500 migrant deaths equating that with strikes in UK”.
The ex-football ace has since been blasted by some former staff at his Hotel Football in Manchester, who say they were “overworked and underappreciated”.
In a scathing review on job site Indeed, one worker said: “If you love being overworked and underappreciated then you’ve found you calling.
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“Typically understaffed and overworked. Training is non existent.
“Always work over my contracted hours and never get overtime pay, I was told to take time in lieu but that’s impossible when they are no staff to cover that.” More

A GAMBLING genius has won £240,000 – after cashing out his seven-team accumulator moments before France’s World Cup final defeat.American Daniel Forte had backed Les Bleus to lift the trophy as part of a £21 bet he placed in March.
Argentina won the World Cup to scupper the Daniel Forte’s accaCredit: Getty
But luckily he cashed out to ensure he won £240,000Credit: Getty
Forte correctly forecast Manchester City would win the Premier League.
He also tipped AC Milan to win Serie A, and Los Angeles FC to lift the MLS Cup.
Other spot-on selections included Golden State Warriors to win the NBA finals, Colorado Avalanche to win Ice Hockey’s Stanley Cup and Kansas to win the NCAA basketball tournament.
Forte stood to win $557,770 – £457,738 – if France completed the final leg of his acca with odds of 21,453-1.
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But in an inspired decision, he opted to cash out for $283,583 – £240,000 – just hours before Didier Deschamps’ men lost on penalties to Argentina.
Which is a result that would have left the Nevada-based punter with nothing.
Forte said: “Thank God I cashed out.
“I’d be leaving on a stretcher with a heart attack otherwise.
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“There was a lot of thought and a lot of talking to my family.
“We decided to take the £283K cashout, and change my life.”
Forte had to make an emergency 700-mile drive from Las Vegas to Arizona to cash out in time – as his app with online sportsbook FanDuel did not work in Nevada. More

OK England, now what are we going to do?Are we going to get to the next level and win Euro 2024 and mount a serious challenge for the World Cup in 2026?
Tony Adams says England lost to France because the mentality was not rightCredit: Alamy
Adams wants Gareth Southgate to get the Three Lions to ‘hate’ defeatCredit: Getty
Right now we are top eight but we are not winning material. We have to alter the mindset.
We have talented players who can match some of the very best but we have to change our mental approach.
Argentina didn’t win the World Cup with the best team but boy did they have the right attitude.
We have to believe we can beat the best. Don’t put ourselves down and think we are inferior.
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France did us in the World Cup quarter-final because they knew how to do the job.
Some England fans have been saying we were done by the worst refereeing in the tournament but I thought it was OK.
That was an excuse for us not getting through.
Kylian Mbappe may have scored a hat-trick in the final but I’m telling you that Bukayo Saka outshone him in our game.
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We have the talent in the likes of Saka, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
Of course, the task is not going to get easier. Mbappe will get better and thank God Lionel Messi’s played his last World Cup, which takes one problem out of the equation.
But we’ve still got the likes of Portugal and Spain to worry about and the African nations are improving.
Like a lot of countries we’re still lacking defensively. A good defensive coach would not go amiss.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record but now that Gareth Southgate is staying, I repeat my advice that he should call on one or two old experienced heads for advice from time to time.
He doesn’t have to make it public but it would help him.And, as I’ve said before, we have to stop being good losers. We have to absolutely hate defeat.
I’m not interested in the fair play trophy which we won in Qatar with Harry Maguire getting our only yellow card.
I’d like to see us get a bit ‘Dennis Wise’. Wisey used to shake opponents’ hands, scrape them with his nails and stamp on their foot as he did it.
Harry Kane blazed a second penalty over the bar as England exited the tournamentCredit: PA
Southgate was quickly on hand to console the likes of Jude BellinghamCredit: Getty
Adams has called on England to get nasty like Dennis WiseCredit: Getty
I don’t want us to be cuddling opponents in the tunnel and laughing and joking with them. I want us to hate them and to make it as uncomfortable as possible for them.
We need an edge to move forward. We need more aggression.
And I want to see us play with the type of swagger which says, “We are better than you”. It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence.
We have the talent, it’s that mindset that’s missing. We have to believe we are every bit as good as the opposition if not better.
I remember many years ago, Arsenal coach Don Howe sitting me and Martin Keown down and telling us Arsenal were too soft and that was why we hadn’t won the league title since 1971.
He was sick of teams like Liverpool coming to Highbury and knowing they could roll us over.
He told us we had to get nasty, become impossible to beat and make them really fear playing against us.
They had to know they had been in a game. Reputations would mean nothing.
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He said it might take a few years but eventually we would win things and he was right. We became ruthless. We decided it was our turn.
If England adopt that type of attitude we might yet turn into winners. More

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has confirmed he will start talking to Lionel Messi about a contract extension.The 35-year-old superstar helped guide Argentina to their third World Cup trophy on Sunday night.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has promised to talk contracts with Lionel Messi following his World Cup success.Credit: Instagram
The thrilling final ended with a penalty shootout victory over France, following a 3-3 draw.
And as Messi and his team-mates jet back to Buenos Aires with the trophy, his club chief has announced some more good news.
Al-Khelafi was asked if he would tie down both the ex-Barcelona forward and final loser Kylian Mbappe.
He told RMC Sport: “Keep Mbappe and Messi? Of course, one is the top scorer and the other is best player in the World Cup. ”
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Messi’s contract expires at the end of this season.
He will go back to the Ligue 1 champions after a short Christmas break.
La Albiceleste celebrated long into the night as they won the already famous contest at the Lusail Stadium.
The Argentine captain scored twice and then converted his penalty in the shootout as he finally got his hands on the famous trophy.
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It all went down to pure penalty drama after Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick.
Ultimately, Argentina held their nerve in the spot-kicks better than the French as Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed penalties and Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel scored the winner in the shootout.
Mbappe had completed his trio in extra-time to send a sensational final into penalties after Messi had put Argentina back in front. More

SERGIO AGUERO joined in the jubilant celebrations as Argentina lifted the World Cup, but fans spotted something rather peculiar. The former Manchester City ace posted a photo in the dressing room with the World Cup trophy in hand while smoking a cigar.
Sergio Aguero celebrates with the World Cup trophyCredit: Getty
Fans were convinced Aguero turned his ID around to try and claim it as a World Cup medal
Aguero spotted celebrating with a medal and his IDCredit: Reuters
However, fans noticed he had turned around his ID badge and they were left convinced he did so in order to claim it as a World Cup medal.
One user said: “Can’t stop laughing at how he turned his ID badge around so it looks like a medal 😭”
A second user said: “Aguero turned his ID badge around so it looks like a medal. He thinks we can’t see him 😭.”
A third said: “Aguero turnt over his id badge so it looks like a medal☠️”
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“Shameless 😭😭,” said another.
Aguero was not in the Argentina squad after retiring from football in late 2021.
It came after he was diagnosed with heart condition cardiac arrhythmia.
Despite this, it did not stop the 34-year-old from donning a full Argentina kit as he joined the on-pitch celebrations.
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This led to John Terry, who infamously did the same after Chelsea won the Champions League without him on the pitch in 2012, calling out the striker.
He joked: “Aguero has gone for the full John Terry there hasn’t he?! I did it first.”
He later added on Twitter: “If your going to do it, at least go for it and put the shin pads and boots on.”
Aguero bizarrely aimed a dig at 20-year-old France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga as well. More

L’EQUIPE have named their worst team of the World Cup… with TWO Wales players making the side.The French newspaper are well-known for their harsh critiquing of players’ performances.
Matty Cash’s Poland were eliminated by France in the last-16Credit: Getty
L’Equipe’s worst team of the 2022 World Cup
Gareth Bale and Wayne Hennessey had disappointing tournaments for WalesCredit: Getty
That has already been shown in their refusal to give Ousmane Dembele any form of rating for his performance in the final – which saw him hooked before half-time.
They also only rated one player in their team of the tournament above a seven – that being Kylian Mbappe.
Even Lionel Messi – the Player of the Tournament and winning captain – had to settle for a 6.71.
But L’Equipe really got their claws into the flops of the past month with a worst team of the competition.
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And two of Robert Page’s Welsh squad made the unwanted cut in the form of keeper Wayne Hennessey and captain Gareth Bale.
Hennessy was sent off for a dreadfully rash challenge in his side’s second group game – which they went on to lose 2-0 to Iran.
And while Bale did score a penalty in the 1-1 draw with USA, he was largely anonymous for The Dragons as they crashed out with just one point.
Aside from Wales, only Poland have more than one player in L’Equipe’s worst team.
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Despite getting to the last-16, three of Czeslaw Michniewicz’s side were named in the XI – Krystian Bielik, Piotr Zielinski and Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash.
Qatar’s Boualem Khoukhi makes up one of the centre-back spots alongside Iran’s Hossein Kanaani – who played just 45 minutes but was booked without coming on in the loss to USA.
Belgium flanker Yannick Carrasco slots in at left-back after a dismal campaign saw the 2018 semi-finalists exit in the group stage.
Either side of central midfielders Bielik and Zielinski are Senegal’s Krepin Diatta And Denmark’s Andreas Skov Olsen.
Then up front, Bale is joined by Costa Rica’s Anthony Contreras – who failed to score in any of his three matches in Qatar.
Krystian Bielik and Piotr Zielinski had poor tournaments for PolandCredit: Getty
Yannick Carrasco struggled to make any impact for a poor Belgium sideCredit: Getty More