World Cup
2022 - 12 - 18
The players saved this World Cup, but soccer deserves so much better (The Washington Post)
There's an old saying in sports that is usually directed at the Olympics: “Only the athletes save the games.” It's an accurate shot at the never-ending ...
And what if a team has to play 140 minutes — or more — in the round of 16, the quarterfinals or the semifinals? [should the United States be hosting in four years](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/16/2026-world-cup-host-cities/?itid=lk_inline_manual_31) with Mexico and Canada? Now it’s up to the rest of us to do something about the horrible humans who run this wonderful sport. Imagine the drama Sunday if Mbappé or Messi — or one of their teammates — had scored in the 140th minute to win the championship. If someone had scored the winning goal in super extra time, it would have been one of the most memorable moments in sports history. That’s not fair to the athletes or to fans. It’s one thing to send a team to compete in places such as Qatar, Russia and China, but why should such a high-ranking member of the government endorse sportswashing by attending? You don’t decide Game 7 of the World Series with a home run derby, the Super Bowl with a field goal kicking contest or a basketball title with a three-point contest. They will be right, but they will miss the point. It is an oil-rich country and clearly saw sportswashing as a way to distract the world from its never-ending list of human rights violations. The “One Love” program was launched in 2020 by the Dutch soccer federation to protest discrimination in all of its forms. The Europeans backed down, and Qatar and FIFA got their way.
France disappointed but proud of fightback in epic World Cup final (EURACTIV)
France are disappointed they could not successfully defend their World Cup crown after losing to Argentina on penalties in Sunday's final but leave Qatar ...
“We who live for this and who have been through the good and the bad are used to these things… “It is a moment that I will never erase in my life,” Enzo Fernandez, who won the Young Player award, said. “We pushed and we believed until the end. We were a bit reactionary all night,” the goalkeeper said. We had to face a lot of obstacles during the competition, we gave up nothing,” Varane said. “For an hour we were not in the game.
Fans watch one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time, in photos (The Washington Post)
Few were ready for how turbulent and emotional the final would be. You could see it in faces of fans as they watched the electric match.
Together, they celebrated alongside one of the greatest soccer players of all time. The crowd goes silent. So, the match moved to a penalty shootout. The whistle is blown. All of that only compounded the emotions. The World Cup final was always going to be an emotional affair.
Ronaldo puts rivalry to one side after Lionel Messi lifts World Cup ... (Irish Mirror)
Lionel Messi secured Argentina's World Cup title and legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario has admitted that his admiration for the star surpassed ...
[Tell us what you think here.](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ronaldo-lionel-messi-world-cup-28765013#comments-section) [Have Your Say](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ronaldo-lionel-messi-world-cup-28765013#comments-section)! “A farewell worthy of the genius who, far beyond being a World Cup star, captained an era. Of course, I will accept (an Argentine triumph) and I will enjoy any champion.” But I will not be that much of a hypocrite to say I will be happy for Argentina because it’s not true. Ronaldo said last week: “I cannot answer for the whole of Brazil.
We had to suffer to win World Cup say Argentina players (RTE.ie)
"It was a game where we suffered," said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who saved one penalty in the shootout on Sunday but had also saved two more spot ...
"We who live for this and who have been through the good and the bad are used to these things... Let's take the cup and celebrate together." "I am proud of the work they did. "I'll never forget it. I was calm during the penalties." But then Kylian Mbappe completed his hat-trick to level 3-3 in the 118th minute with France's second penalty that forced the shootout.
Lionel Messi and Argentina win astonishing World Cup final, the ... (Eurosport.co.uk)
It was one of the most astonishing World Cup finals of all time, with the 'desert duel' between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe living up to all expectations - ...
And from a future one...?! Here is the best of the reaction as the world came to terms with what was a truly incredible World Cup final... Mbappe became only the second-ever player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after a certain Englishman.... Kudos from a former World Cup winner... [Messi and Argentina grab World Cup glory after penalties in thriller with France](https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/world-cup/2022/fifa-world-cup-2022-in-qatar-final-live-argentina-v-france-updates_sto9275755/story.shtml) [Messi makes World Cup history as Argentina star breaks appearance record](https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/world-cup/2022/lionel-messi-makes-world-cup-history-as-argentina-captain-breaks-tournament-appearance-record_sto9281396/story.shtml) From one Argentina great to another... And Declan Rice ended the debate: And a cheeky dig from another Sir, Andy Murray: Emi Martinez was then the hero as France missed two penalties, giving Gonzalo Montiel the opportunity to strike the winning spot kick, and take Argentina to their first World Cup triumph since 1986. One of the all-time great World Cup finals - quite possibly the greatest - Then more drama, as Lionel Messi got his second of the night to put Argentina 3-2 ahead, but Mbappe got his hat-trick with minutes left to take the encounter to penalties. No one could've written the script for what happened, with the Albiceleste 2-0 up and cruising with 10 minutes to go, before France came roaring back out to level it up at 2-2 - with both goals from Kylian Mbappe - and take the game to extra time.
World Cup final 2022: Argentina win thriller against France – in ... (The Guardian)
The best images from an utterly incredible match in Qatar as Lionel Messi finally won the biggest prize in football.
World Cup: Hundreds of thousands of fans pour onto streets of ... (Sky News)
Lionel Messi finally won the biggest prize in football - the only trophy to have eluded him - and it was he that fans back home hailed for their victory.
Meanwhile, tweets came in praising Messi from the likes of Declan Rice and Andy Murray, who tweeted: "Is messi the best athlete of all time? It was a battle until the last minute." What a man." "It's so disappointing. "The harmony between the team, headed by a leader who plays at a level making him the best in the world, and the players' condition in general led us to this well-deserved success. Let's go Argentina!"
Monday briefing: How Argentina secured the World Cup in perhaps ... (The Guardian)
In today's newsletter: Lionel Messi secured his legacy as one of the greatest football player's ever at a tournament which has been a triumph of ...
And [this one](https://twitter.com/FT90Extra/status/1604582213789663235). And [this one](https://twitter.com/DanBrownNature/status/1604555698083598336). And [this one](https://twitter.com/JacobsBen/status/1604626703703236616). And [this one](https://twitter.com/vagabond2022/status/1604573640598716416). [This photo gallery](https://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2022/dec/18/world-cup-final-2022-argentina-win-thriller-against-france-in-pictures) captures some of the drama. It was grim, but not that surprising, to see [Elon Musk and Jared Kushner cheerlessly watching on](https://www.insider.com/elon-musk-and-jared-kushner-seen-together-at-world-cup-final-in-qatar-2022-12). As extra time began, “at least one person was breathing into a paper bag.” When victory was finally secured, fans in the city centre (pictured above) made the streets “a carnivalesque cacophony of cheers, car horns, cumbia music and bullhorns”. [the minute-by-minute version](https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2022/dec/18/argentina-france-world-cup-2022-final-live?filterKeyEvents=false) captures the wild oscillations in momentum with an immediacy that returns you to each scarcely believable reversal. But after the euphoria of a seemingly impregnable lead, Mbappé’s two goals in two minutes “dampened the mood like an ice bath”. [then had to endure](https://twitter.com/tsimiks/status/1604554682114142209) the insistent consolations of France’s president Emmanuel Macron.) It was, [wrote Barney Ronay,](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/18/qatar-2022-dishes-up-sporting-surprise-and-a-coronation-for-lionel-messi) a “kind of coronation, belatedly, for the greatest footballer of the age, probably of any age, the mooching 35-year-old mobile brain Lionel Messi, a thousand games into his astonishing career.” Once again, Messi prevailed while moving more slowly than almost anybody else on the pitch: except, said Ronay, “Messi’s walking is not really walking. [World Cup](https://www.theguardian.com/football/world-cup-football) finals are normally turgid, terrified affairs, won by the side that makes the fewest mistakes. [Qatar](https://www.theguardian.com/world/qatar), too: football’s most irresistible stars making good their bet on the beautiful game’s power to make you forget every other kind of ugliness.
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