World Soccer Talk: June 2018

Saturday, 30 June 2018

Torres’s Japan transfer talks fail: reports

Tokyo (AFP) – Fernando Torres’s move to Japan has run into trouble after the Spanish striker failed to agree terms with J-League club Sagan Tosu, a report said on Sunday.

The two sides were seen as close to signing a multi-year deal with an annual 800 million-yen ($7.2-million) pay, but they couldn’t agree over money, said the Sports Hochi newspaper without citing sources.

The report reflected a dramatic turn of events, after the same newspaper on Friday cited multiple unnamed sources as saying the two sides reached a broad agreement and that Torres’s transfer to Japan was “nearly certain”.

The Japanese club could not be reached for immediate comment.

Former Liverpool striker Torres has left his boyhood club Atletico Madrid and has also been linked with a move to the Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire and Beijing Renhe.

Japanese football fans have looked to Torres’s possible transfer as giving a further boost to energise the domestic league, after Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta signed with Vissel Kobe.

Hopes were heightened after J-League officials erroneously announced a month ago on their official website that Torres had completed a transfer to Sagan Tosu.

The club are languishing second from bottom of the J-League first division and have emerged as a candidate to sign Torres as they look to ease their relegation fears.

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Where to find Croatia vs. Denmark on US TV and streaming

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal, watch Croatia vs. Denmark for free with a 7-day trial to fuboTV.

On television, the match will be shown live on FOX. But if you’re at work, on the go or at home and you can’t get FOX, the next best way to watch the game is with a no-strings attached free trial.

Here are all of the details below of how you can watch Croatia vs. Denmark legally and for free:

Match: Croatia vs. Denmark

Kickoff: Sunday, 2pm ET

Looking to watch Croatia vs. Denmark online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.

We Recommend:

US Only.

Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:

Who: Croatia vs. Denmark
What: World Cup quarterfinal
When: Game kicks off at 2pm ET / 11am PT; Sunday, July 1, 2018
Where: Live on FOX, Telemundo and fubo (7-day free trial)

Plus with fubo, you also get 5 bonus feeds for every game, which feature:

• 2 team feeds with English audio (with FOX announcers),
• 1 360 feed with natural audio (i.e. no commentary feed)
• 1 cable cam with natural audio (i.e. no commentary feed)
• 1 highlight feed with natural audio (i.e. no commentary feed)

With fubo, you can watch Croatia vs. Denmark and all of the World Cup games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast. Or you can watch it via the app on your Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.

Now with fubo, you can stream NBCSN, FOX, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, TyC Sports, GolTV, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Sports Illustrated TV, NFL Network, NBC Golf, Eleven Sports, CBS, Big Ten Network, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News, Showtime, HGTV, AMC, BBC America, FX, FXX, Hallmark Channel, History, Lifetime, Galavision, Universo and much more.

Plus fubo, the legal streaming service streams the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, Women’s World Cup, La Liga, Liga MX, MLS, Ligue Un, Bundesliga, international friendlies, Euro 2020 qualifiers, Turkish Super Lig, UEFA Champions League (in Spanish), UEFA Europa League (in Spanish), Brasileirao, Chelsea TV and more.

Here are the steps to take to watch the Croatia vs. Denmark game with your free fuboTV trial:

1. Click on this link for the fuboTV 7-day trial.

2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)

3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)

4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)

5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Croatia vs. Denmark game (see screengrab below)

6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include FOX featuring Croatia vs. Denmark (see screengrab below)

Images are courtesy of Westwood Table Soccer who specialize in creating handpainted Subbuteo artworks. Visit www.westwoodtablesoccer.co.uk to see their collection.

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Russia hope for World Cup miracle after Messi, Ronaldo exit

Moscow (AFP) – Russia are hoping for a World Cup miracle on Sunday as the host nation take on 2010 winners Spain for a place in the quarter-finals after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi exited the tournament.

The other last-16 match pits a talented Croatia team led by Luka Modric that had a perfect record in the group phase against Denmark, but they will have to go some to emulate the drama of Saturday’s first two last-16 matches.

France beat Messi’s Argentina 4-3 in a World Cup classic as 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe announced himself on the biggest stage with a superb two-goal performance and Les Bleus came from behind to send the 2014 finalists packing.

Mbappe became the first teenager to score twice in a World Cup match since a 17-year-old Pele in the 1958 final. The Brazilian legend tweeted to the Frenchman: “Congratulations, @KMbappe, 2 goals in a World Cup so young puts you in great company.”

Messi though was unable to find the net, leaving Russia with a single goal, and at 31 the Barcelona great has probably seen any chance of winning the World Cup evaporate.

Later in Sochi, Ronaldo — who started the World Cup with a hat-trick against Spain — was powerless to prevent Portugal slipping out of the tournament as Edinson Cavani scored two brilliant goals in a 2-1 win to send the European champions home.

Cavani, who lines up alongside Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain, opened the scoring with a leaping header and curled a superb first-time shot past Rui Patricio to win the match after Pepe had equalised.

Although the Uruguayan striker limped off, he later said it was only a knock and he expects to be back to face France in the quarter-finals.

Ronaldo will be 37 by the time of the next World Cup in Qatar, but he would not be drawn on whether he planned to extend his international career.

“Now is not the time to talk about the future of players and coaches,” said Ronaldo, who, like Messi, leaves the World Cup having never scored a goal in the knockout rounds.

– Russia believes –

Russia came into the tournament derided by their own supporters after a string of defeats in warmup matches but they thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in their opener and then swept aside Egypt 3-1, making even their own sceptical public believe.

A comprehensive defeat to Uruguay provided a reality check but Russia and striker Denis Cheryshev will be roared on by much of the 80,000 crowd in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and they see no reason to fear Andres Iniesta, Isco and Diego Costa.

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Where to find Spain vs. Russia on US TV and streaming

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal, watch Spain vs. Russia for free with a 7-day trial to fuboTV.

Here are all of the details below of how you can watch Spain vs. Russia legally and for free:

Match: Spain vs. Russia

Kickoff: Sunday, 10am ET

Looking to watch Spain vs. Russia online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.

We Recommend:

US Only.

Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:

Who: Spain vs. Russia
What: World Cup quarterfinal
When: Game kicks off at 10am ET / 7am PT; Sunday, July 1, 2018
Where: Live on FOX, Telemundo and fubo (7-day free trial)

Plus with fubo, you also get 5 bonus feeds for every game, which feature:

With fubo, you can watch Spain vs. Russia and all of the World Cup games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast. Or you can watch it via the app on your Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.

Here are the steps to take to watch the Spain vs. Russia game with your free fuboTV trial:

1. Click on this link for the fuboTV 7-day trial.

2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)

3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)

4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)

5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Spain vs. Russia game (see screengrab below)

6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include FOX featuring Spain vs. Russia (see screengrab below)

Images are courtesy of Westwood Table Soccer who specialize in creating handpainted Subbuteo artworks. Visit www.westwoodtablesoccer.co.uk to see their collection.

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DISH and Univision enter dispute; Soccer-related channels go off-air

DISH satellite and Sling TV subscribers who are soccer fans will notice that several Univision channels are no longer available as of Saturday due to a carriage dispute between Univision and DISH, the parent company of Sling TV.

Univision has blocked DishLATINO and DISH customers from accessing three of its channels: Univision and UniMás (including local affiliates), and Galavisión. Univision has also blocked Sling customers from accessing all of its channels on the service.

The dispute is a result of DISH not agreeing to a rate increase from Univision for each subscriber who gets the Spanish-language network(s) via the DISH satellite or Sling TV service. According to DISH, Univision is requesting rate increases of roughly 75 percent. Univision, in response, says that “DISH has chosen to devalue” Univision’s programming, “disingenuously offering a fraction of what it pays [Univision’s] English-language peers.”

In carriage disagreements such as this one, which are pretty frequent within the industry, it’s not uncommon for TV providers and network to air their grievances.

“It is outrageous that DISH has rejected our offer of a two-week contract extension to allow its customers and our viewers to continue to have access to Univision’s highly rated networks and stations,” read a statement from Univision. “While DISH has routinely used blackouts against broadcasters — its 68 broadcast blackouts since 2010 are significantly more than any other distributor in that time — Univision expected DISH to take our negotiations and its commitment to Hispanic consumers seriously when it told its customers this week that it wanted to ‘reach a mutually beneficial deal’ for Univision’s ‘high quality content.'”

In response, DISH included a dig at Univision for losing the rights to the 2018, 2022 and 2026 World Cup to Telemundo. “Downward ratings trends are expected to continue,” said the DISH statement. “Univision failed to secure rights for the current World Cup, as well as the World Cup in 2022 and 2026, losing out to one of its competitors in domestic Hispanic programming.”

According to Nielsen, Univision is the number three most-watched network on DISH while Univision Deportes is the number two sports network on DISH. Univision Deportes is the home of Liga MX in the United States. Plus later this summer, Univision Deportes will kick off its recent mega-deal with UEFA, bringing coverage of both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League to UDN and their broadcast networks. UEFA represents the most prolific stage on the global club soccer calendar.

Univision also has the Spanish-language rights to select games from the Bundesliga, MLS and Gold Cup as well as games featuring the Mexican and US national teams.

In total, Univision broadcasts more than 1,100 live matches annually.

Soccer fans concerned about losing the Univision channels should call 1-800-500-4252 to voice their opinion and ask that the Univision channels be returned.

• Cord cutter’s guide to World Cup 2018

• World Cup TV schedule

• World Cup shirts for all 32 teams

• FAQ on World Cup TV coverage in USA

• Schedule of soccer friendlies in USA this summer

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Messi, Ronaldo World Cup exits signal changing of the guard

Moscow (AFP) – Step aside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo… there is a new group of kids on the block ready to seize the limelight and form the next generation of global megastars.

French teenager Kylian Mbappe announced himself in dramatic fashion on Saturday, overshadowing Messi as France beat Argentina 4-3 in the World Cup last 16.

That took his goal tally for the tournament to three — two behind England talisman Harry Kane and one behind Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.

Messi and Ronaldo, captain of the Portugal side beaten 2-1 by Uruguay, also on Saturday, had been on a quarter-final collision course but the closest they will now come to each other in Russia is the airport departure lounge.

While they have set goal records tumbling both in Europe and Spain year after year, amazingly neither has ever been able to find the net in a World Cup knockout match in a combined 14 games.

For all Messi’s brilliance at club level with Barcelona, it appears the 2014 final defeat to Germany is the closest he will ever come to winning the World Cup.

Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, a European champion with Portugal two years ago, will be 37 by the time the next global showpiece rolls around — meaning it is unlikely he will improve on a run to the semi-finals in 2006.

– Mbappe leads the charge –

With the exits of the pair, both five-time world players of the year, confirmed on the same day, the stage is clear for a handful of young, hungry pretenders to seize the spotlight.

Leading the charge is the 19-year-old Mbappe, who achieved a feat no player had accomplished in 60 years, becoming the first teenager to score twice in a World Cup match since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958.

“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele,” said Mbappe, born a few months after France won the 1998 World Cup.

“But he’s in another category. Still, it’s great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats.”

The Paris Saint-Germain striker, who as a child had posters of Ronaldo plastered across his bedroom wall, has three goals in three starts in Russia.

He finds himself trailing England striker Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, but his terrorising of the Argentina defence underlined his growing menace. He’s not so much as arriving as arrived.

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Ronaldo tight-lipped on future after World Cup KO

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo declined to comment on his international future on Saturday after bowing out of the World Cup following Portugal’s 2-1 defeat by Uruguay.

The Real Madrid star exited his fourth World Cup in disappointment after two goals from Edinson Cavani saw the Uruguayans advance to the last eight.

However Ronaldo, who will be 37 by the time of the next World Cup, would not be drawn on whether he planned to extend his international career.

“Now is not the time to talk about the future of players and coaches,” Ronaldo said.

The 33-year-old did however say that European champions Portugal could look forward to the future with confidence.

“We have a fantastic group, young and with a lot of ambition and for that reason I think the team will remain strong,” he said.

Ronaldo finished his World Cup campaign with four goals, one adrift of England’s Harry Kane who leads the standings with five.

Earlier, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said he hoped Ronaldo would remain part of the international set-up.

“Cristiano still has a lot to give to football and I hope he will stay to help the young players grow and develop,” he said.

“We have a team with many young players and of course we all want him there with us.”

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Will Messi quit the international stage after Argentina World Cup pain?

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Four France goals ended Lionel Messi’s fourth World Cup on Saturday and may have brought down the curtain on an international career seemingly destined to end in disappointment.

Tens of thousands of Argentines poured into Kazan hoping to see Messi carry an ageing side over one more hurdle after his solitary goal in Russia helped avoid an embarrassing group-stage exit against Nigeria.

He played his part with two assists in a World Cup classic in the last-16 tie but it was not enough to save Argentina’s fragile defence from the firepower of France and, in particular, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe in a 4-3 defeat.

“It will depend how we do, how it ends,” Messi said before heading to Russia on whether he would continue on the international stage after the World Cup.

The last 16 is the earliest he has exited the competition.

Having turned 31 earlier in the tournament, it looks increasingly like defeat in the final four years ago is as close as he will come to matching Diego Maradona’s feat of leading Argentina to glory in 1986.

For all his heroics at club level with Barcelona, Messi — who left his homeland for the Catalan capital aged just 13 — is still looked upon unfavourably when set against Maradona by many in Argentina, who compare their records at international level.

After the 2014 defeat to Germany in Brazil, there was more heartbreak on penalties in the final of the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Copa America Centenario, both times at the hands of Chile.

Messi missed his spot-kick in the 2016 final, prompting an uncharacteristic spur-of-the-moment decision to retire from international football.

“The fact we’ve lost three finals led to some complicated moments with the Argentine press due to the differences in seeing what it means to reach a final,” Messi told Barcelona-based newspaper Sport.

“It is not easy and has to be appreciated. It’s true that winning them is important, but getting there is not easy.”

– Messi reverses retirement –

That became obvious as, even after Messi quickly reversed his retirement from international football, Argentina struggled to even make it to Russia.

Messi missed eight qualifying matches through injury and suspension, of which Argentina won only one.

Trailing 1-0 to Ecuador in their final qualifier, the two-time world champions were on course to miss out on the World Cup for the first time since 1970 until Messi stepped up to score a hat-trick at altitude in Quito.

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Cavani fires Uruguay into last eight as Ronaldo dream ends

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Edinson Cavani scored twice as Uruguay shattered Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup dream with a 2-1 victory over Portugal here Saturday.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani curled home a superb 62nd-minute winner to settle a thrilling second round duel in Sochi which sends Uruguay into a quarter-final against France next Friday.

Cavani had already put Uruguay in front early on, only for Pepe to head Portugal level in the 55th minute in a thrilling contest that was not the battle of attrition many predicted.

Pepe’s goal was the first time the South Americans’ defence had been breached in this tournament, but they stood firm after that and are beginning to look like genuine contenders moving into the latter stages in Russia.

The only downside for Oscar Tabarez’s side was the sight of Cavani limping off late on, raising a question mark over his fitness for next week’s last eight showdown with the French in Nizhny Novgorod.

Meanwhile, European champions Portugal go home, as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi bow out of the competition on the same day.

In contrast, Uruguay march on with arguably the best defence in international football and one of the best strike pairings anywhere.

Suarez and Cavani combined brilliantly for the seventh-minute opener on Russia’s Black Sea coast.

Cavani picked out Suarez on the left with a cross-field ball, before continuing his run into the penalty area and meeting the Barcelona striker’s return delivery at the back post, the ball smacking off his face and flying in.

– Pepe breaches Uruguay defence –

Suarez almost doubled the lead from a free-kick midway through the first half that forced a good save from Rui Patricio.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo did not touch the ball once in the opposition area in the first period. But with Uruguay sitting back, Portugal did equalise 10 minutes into the second half.

A corner was played short to Raphael Guerreiro, and his cross from the left was headed home from close range by Pepe, rising high above Diego Godin in the area.

After nearly five and a half hours of football, it was the first goal Uruguay had let in at this World Cup — indeed it was the first they had conceded in 2018.

But their response to that was magnificent as they went quickly retook the lead, Rodrigo Bentancur teeing up Cavani for a magnificent first-time curling strike into the far corner on his right foot.

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Messi and Ronaldo depart World Cup as new star Mbappe shines

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi saw their World Cup dreams snuffed out on Saturday as French teenager Kylian Mbappe flew the flag for a new generation in Russia.

Ten goals were scored on a gripping first day of the knockout phase as France progressed to a quarter-final tie against Uruguay but Messi and Ronaldo may have played their last games on football’s biggest stage.

In the first match, France roared back to beat Argentina 4-3, with Mbappe scoring twice.

Later in Sochi, Ronaldo — who started the World Cup with a hat-trick against Spain — was powerless to prevent Portugal slipping out of the tournament as Edinson Cavani scored twice in a 2-1 win to send the European champions home.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker opened the scoring with an early header and curled a superb first-time shot past Rui Patricio to win the match after a Pepe equaliser.

Cavani, who forms a dangerous front-line pairing alongside Luis Suarez, later limped off, helped by Ronaldo, sparking fears for his World Cup future.

Ronaldo, who will be 37 by the time of the next World Cup, was unable to keep Portugal alive despite incessant pressure from his side in the dying stages of the match.

– France pace –

France, the 1998 champions, looked a totally different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan.

Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans levelled with a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado.

But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game.

That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958.

Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home after a rollercoaster ride in Russia that ultimately ends in bitter disappointment for the two-time former champions.

Man-of-the-match Mbappe brushed off comparisons with Brazil great Pele.

“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele,” he said.

“But he’s in another category. Still, it’s great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats.”

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Morocco World Cup player involved in fatal road accident

Rabat (AFP) – Morocco’s 21-year-old World Cup midfielder Amine Harit was involved in a road accident in which a pedestrian was killed, the Moroccan football federation and local police said Saturday.

Harit was driving a Mercedes car registered in France when the accident in which the 30-year-old man died occurred shortly after midnight in Marrakesh, police said.

Police said his 14-year-old brother was in the Mercedes when the accident happened.

A police spokesman said Harit’s passport had been confiscated and he had been summoned to appear before prosecutors on Monday.

Harit, who plays for Bundesliga club Schalke 04, was part of the Morocco side that were eliminated after losing two and drawing one of their first-round matches at the World Cup in Russia.

Schalke said in a statement: “As the driver of the car involved, he was unable to prevent the tragic accident.”

The Gelsenkirchen-based club added: “Above all else, Amine and all of us at FC Schalke would like to send our condolences to the relatives of the victim.” It said Harit was receiving counselling.

Harit was voted man-of-the match in Morocco’s game against Iran even though his side lost.

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Argentina’s Mascherano calls time on career after painful France defeat

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Argentina’s most-capped player Javier Mascherano called time on his international career Saturday after the painful World Cup defeat to France.

“It’s time to say goodbye,” the 34-year-old ex-Barcelona, Liverpool and West Ham midfielder said after Argentina were dumped out in a 4-3 last-16 defeat by France.

“I hope that all the lads who follow in my footsteps can achieve what they are aiming for. There are no more illusions for me,” he told Argentina’s TyC sports channel.

Mascherano made his international debut in 2003 and went on to appear 147 times for his country.

He played 334 times for Barcelona before leaving at the end of last season for China to join Herbei China Fortune.

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Mexico vote winner to face tough rival: the World Cup

Mexico City (AFP) – Whoever wins Mexico’s presidential election Sunday will have to vie for attention with a formidable rival, one that can either stoke the victory party or stamp it out: football in Russia.

Just hours after the winner of the presidential race is expected to be known, Mexico will face Brazil in the last 16 of the World Cup, giving the country yet another contest to watch on tenterhooks.

Both the election and the knockout match in the Russian city of Samara could mark a new chapter for the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country.

In Sunday’s vote, the heavy favorite is the fiery leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who looks poised to oust the two parties that have governed Mexico for nearly a century, and who promises a “radical” change in course.

In Monday’s match, the heavy favorites are the five-time champions Brazil, who are lead by the world’s most expensive player, Neymar.

But the Mexicans are daring to hope for the best, after upsetting Germany in their opening match and helping send the reigning champs packing in the group stage.

“The social mood is very positive right now thanks to Mexico’s performance at the World Cup,” said professor Aurelio Collado Torres of the Monterrey Institute of Technology.

Will football influence politics? Will politics influence football, or at any rate the reaction to it? Collado Torres thinks it is possible.

He said optimism over the national team “could translate into a larger vote for Lopez Obrador,” who has generated a groundswell of support from poor and working-class Mexicans.

– Competing priorities –

Once every 12 years, the World Cup and Mexico’s presidential elections coincide.

“Ever time, the question arises over the relative importance of each,” said Felix Fernandez Christileb, a former goalkeeper for the Mexican national team who is now a TV commentator and presenter for Univision Deportes.

“We Mexicans know what’s trivial and what’s important. Politics is getting less and less trivial, and football is getting more and more important,” he joked.

Many Mexicans are holding their breath, for one contest or both.

That is the case for Miguel Diaz, a 52-year-old sales clerk who has been rooting for two-time presidential runner-up Lopez Obrador to win the presidency for years.

He is a football fan, too, but argues that a Lopez Obrador victory over his top rivals — Ricardo Anaya of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and Jose Antonio Meade of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) — would be the more important event.

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Superb Mbappe strikes to send Messi, Argentina crashing out

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – Teenage star Kylian Mbappe struck twice and earned another goal as France thrillingly found their attacking edge to beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 4-3 and move into the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday.

Billed as Messi’s chance to reignite stuttering Argentina’s hopes, the pulsating last-16 clash in Kazan instead saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe become the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match.

France cast aside the cautious approach from their first three games and confirmed their status as one of the favourites.

And Mbappe, born in the same year that France won the World Cup in 1998 when current Bleus coach Didier Deschamps was captain, announced himself on the biggest stage.

“It’s flattering to be the second teenager (to score twice in the World Cup) after Pele but let’s put things in context: Pele is in another category. But it’s good to be among these people,” he said.

“We showed an excellent attitude, I’m very proud of the players and I’m very happy for them,” said Deschamps.

“We created a huge amount of chances. If we’d scored them all, the scoreline could have been far heavier.”

– Faster, younger –

Embattled Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli had promised an “aggressive, attacking” approach from his side after they scraped through the group phase.

But his fears over the superior speed of France’s strikers were quickly proven right when Mbappe sprinted from his own half and Marcos Rojo hauled him down.

Antoine Griezmann coolly converted the 13th minute penalty.

Mbappe’s PSG teammate Angel Di Maria levelled with a 41st minute long-range stunner and the South Americans were back in what was proving a superb match.

Argentina took a 2-1 lead minutes after the restart when Gabriel Mercado clipped Messi’s low curling shot past Hugo Lloris.

Defender Benjamin Pavard’s stunning half-volley levelled for France on 57 minutes and as Argentina lost hope, Mbappe struck in the 64th and 68th minute to seal France’s place in the last eight.

When Blaise Matuidi’s shot was blocked just after the hour, Mbappe was on hand to restore France’s lead with a low shot past Argentinian ‘keeper Franco Armani.

Then the teenager ran on to Olivier Giroud’s perfect pass on a France counter-attack to arrow in another shot.

Despite a late consolation for Argentinan when Sergio Aguero headed Messi’s superb long cross past Lloris in stoppage time, Mbappe had already well and truly stolen the show.

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France end Messi’s World Cup dream in 4-3 thriller

Moscow (AFP) – France roared back against Argentina to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as wonderkid Kylian Mbappe sent Lionel Messi home from Russia empty-handed following a seven-goal thriller.

The 1998 champions won 4-3 and looked a totally different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan.

Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans levelled with a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado.

But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game.

That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958.

Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home after a rollercoaster ride in Russia that ultimately ends in bitter disappointment for the two-time former champions.

Man-of-the-match Mbappe brushed off comparisons with Brazil great Pele.

“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele,” he said.

“But he’s in another category. Still, it’s great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats.”

Mbappe was born in the Paris suburbs in 1998, the year Les Bleus secured their first World Cup title under captain Didier Deschamps.

Deschamps — now manager — praised his team’s character to fight back from 2-1 down.

“If I am a coach it is because I want to live this: a full stadium, highly experienced teams. Our team is much younger, but it’s there,” Deschamps said.

“We answered the call, we have a lot of character and it was not easy as we were leading, then there was an equaliser, then we were 2-1 behind, but we kept fighting.

“There is an excellent mentality in this group and we did everything to go further. Since I am responsible for everything, particularly when it doesn’t go well I’m very proud.”

– Ragged Argentina –

Beaten finalists four years ago, Argentina only reached the last 16 by the skin of their teeth after a shambolic group phase and despite a brave effort against France, their ageing squad and lack of balance ultimately caught up with them.

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Russia match will be as tough as facing Brazil, says Spain’s Silva

Moscow (AFP) – Spain midfielder David Silva said Sunday’s last-16 clash against World Cup hosts Russia would be as tough as facing five-time winners Brazil.

The Manchester City star was part of Spain’s title-winning squad in 2010 in South Africa, and his side will be clear favourites in Moscow.

However, they have yet to hit top gear in the competition and won just one of three group games, defeating Iran 1-0 while drawing with Portugal and Morocco.

“I think that in a World Cup any opponent is tough. We saw this in our own group, it was very hard for us to win,” Silva said on Saturday.

“Now we’re playing against Russia and I’m sure it’s going to be extremely difficult, as if we were playing against Brazil.”

Spain will need to tighten up a defence that leaked five goals in the group phase, with Russia the joint-second leading scorers in the competition.

“We must minimise the mistakes,” Silva said. “In such difficult games if we give away goals through mistakes, things are going to be very difficult.

“We need to defend much better and the smallest mistakes can send you back home.”

Silva, who has started each match in Russia so far, has been one of the targets for criticism.

The 32-year-old will look to let his feet do the talking as Spain try to take advantage of what appears a favourable draw.

“The criticism has been talked about a lot,” he said. “We are professionals, we have to focus on trying to do our best so we can change people’s opinion. It isn’t always deserved but we’re used to it.”

Spain have a terrible record against host nations at major finals — they have never won in eight attempts — but coach Fernando Hierro is not worried by past failures.

“Statistics are made to be broken,” Hierro said. “Why are we always looking backwards? We’ve had three games here but we’re going to look at what happened 10 or 15 years ago?

“It’s about what happens at 5:00 pm tomorrow. Al the rest is irrelevant and that’s what we need to focus on.”

Spain were held by Russia in a 3-3 draw in a friendly last November in Saint Petersburg.

The last competitive fixture between the sides came at Euro 2008, where Spain beat Russia 3-0 in the semi-finals before going on to lift the trophy.

“We have a very clear plan in mind. We know what Russia represent, we know their qualities and we have a lot of faith in our players,” said Hierro.

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Messi’s disappointments with Argentina

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi suffered more World Cup heartbreak with Argentina as he was no match for France’s firepower in a thrilling 4-3 World Cup last-16 defeat on Saturday.

Messi only scored once in Russia and is still yet to net in the knockout stages of a World Cup.

Widely considered one of the greatest players ever, the Barcelona star is still looked upon unfavourably by many in his homeland compared to Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986.

Messi turned 31 last week and his best chance of ending Argentina’s 25-year wait to win a major tournament may now be gone.

Here, AFP Sport looks at Messi’s biggest disappointments with Argentina.

World Cup 2018

Messi’s World Cup got off to the worst possible start when he missed a penalty in Argentina’s opening game, which ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw with tournament debutants Iceland.

He was then largely bypassed in a 3-0 thrashing by Croatia that put Argentina on the brink of an embarrassing group stage exit.

Messi did ride to their rescue with a superb opening goal to help squeeze past Nigeria 2-1 to set up a meeting with France.

But despite setting up two of his side’s three goals, Messi could only watch from afar as 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe exposed Argentina’s fragile defence by scoring twice and winning a penalty in a seven-goal thriller in Kazan to announce himself as a potential successor to Messi’s throne as the world’s best.

Copa America Centenario 2016

Not prone to showing his emotions, Messi sobbed uncontrollably after blasting his penalty over the bar as Argentina lost a second Copa America final in as many years in a shootout to Chile.

In the aftermath, with emotions running high, Messi announced his retirement from international football on the back of three final defeats in three consecutive years.

“I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion,” Messi said at the time.

Less than two months later he reversed that decision. “We need to fix many things in Argentinian football, but I prefer to do this from inside and not criticise from outside,” he said.

Messi almost single-handedly carried Argentina through a troubled qualifying campaign, but that ultimately only delayed another bitter disappointment.

World Cup 2014

The first of those three final defeats came on the biggest stage of all and by the finest of margins in Brazil four years ago.

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France end Messi’s World Cup dream in World Cup classic

Moscow (AFP) – France roared back against Argentina to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as wonderkid Kylian Mbappe sent Lionel Messi home empty-handed following a seven-goal thriller.

The 1998 champions won 4-3 and looked a different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan.

Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans levelled after a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado.

But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game.

That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958.

Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home after a rollercoaster ride in Russia that ultimately ends in bitter disappointment for the two-times former champions.

Man-of-the-match Mbappe brushed off the Pele comparisons.

“I’m very happy and it’s flattering to be the second teenager (to score twice in the knock-out rounds) after Pele but let’s put things in context: Pele is in another category, but it’s good to be among these people,” he said.

– Ragged Argentina –

Messi, at the age of 31, may have played his last World Cup game in a career curiously unfulfilled at international level despite his astonishing achievements with Barcelona and his multiple individual awards.

France will play either Uruguay or Portugal in the last eight.

Cristiano Ronaldo — with his eternal rival Messi now out of the way — will be looking to further burnish his reputation against Uruguay in Sochi.

Ronaldo tore out of the blocks in Russia, smashing a hat-trick in his first game against Spain and he added another goal in the 1-0 win against Morocco.

But Portugal’s problem against a Uruguay team with the meanest defence of the tournament could be their over-reliance on the 33-year-old five-time world player of the year.

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Pele-like Mbappe strikes to send Messi, Argentina crashing out

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – Teenage star Kylian Mbappe struck twice and earned another goal as France finally found their attacking edge to beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 4-3 and move into the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday.

Billed as Messi’s chance to reignite stuttering Argentina’s hopes, the thrilling last 16 clash in Kazan instead saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe grab the limelight as he became the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match.

Embattled Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli had promised an “aggressive, attacking” approach from his side.

But his fears over the superior speed of the French strikers were quickly proven right when Mbappe sprinted from his own half until he was hauled down by Marcos Rojo.

Antoine Griezmann coolly converted the 13th minute penalty.

But Mbappe’s PSG teammate Angel Di Maria levelled with a 41st minute long-range stunner and the South Americans were back in what was proving a superb match.

Argentina took a 2-1 lead minutes after the restart when Gabriel Mercado clipped Messi’s low curling shot past Hugo Lloris, but that was Messi’s only real contribution in the match.

Defender Benjamin Pavard’s stunning half-volley levelled for France on 57 minutes and as Argentina lost hope, Mbappe struck in the 64th and 68th minute to seal France’s place in the last eight.

The last time France lost a World Cup game after taking the lead was in 1982, against Poland.

Argentine had calls for first-half penalties too when the ball skimmed Samuel Umtiti’s arm, then when Messi tumbled as he was played into the area, were waved away.

France had looked in control, but the stakes changed dramatically minutes before the interval.

Cristian Pavon, on the left flank, found Di Maria unmarked 25 yards out from goal and he unleashed a thunderbolt that flew past a diving Lloris and into the top right-hand corner.

Di Maria, one of several Albiceleste players criticised for underperfoming in their group games, made amends by setting up Argentina’s second.

He twisted and turned on the left side of the area to win a free kick, after Pavard’s tug, and when Banega’s free kick was cleared by Pogba it fell to Messi.

His curled shot looked innocuous, but Mercado stuck a foot out to wrong-footed Lloris.

Minutes later, Les Bleus were level, Pavard matching Di Maria’s effort with a superbly-struck half-volley with the outside of his right boot that spun past Argentina ‘keeper Franco Armani after Blaise Matuidi’s wayward cross found the Stuttgart defender.

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Mbappe strikes to send Messi, Argentina crashing out

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – Teenage star Kylian Mbappe struck twice and earned another goal as France found their attacking edge to beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 4-3 and move into the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday.

Billed as Messi’s chance to reignite stuttering Argentina’s hopes, the thrilling last-16 clash in Kazan instead saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe grab the limelight as he became the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to score two goals in a World Cup match.