By Zeena Saifi, CNN A day after Saudi Arabia’s historic win against Argentina at the Qatar World Cup, the Kingdom’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal says he’s “waiting for someone to wake me up.” “It’s been an unbelievable result. The team played really well, they prepared for three years for this day, the
Continue Reading By Alasdair Howorth, CNN Argentina has won the World Cup twice — in 1978 and 1986 — but at Qatar 2022 La Albiceleste wrote its name into the history books in an altogether different way. According to sports data group Gracenote, Argentina’s 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in their Group C match is the biggest
Continue Reading By George Ramsay, CNN Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving Manchester United with immediate effect, the English Premier League club announced on Tuesday. In a brief statement, United said the decision, which comes a week after Ronaldo gave an explosive TV interview about his frustrations at the club, was made by mutual agreement. “The club thanks him
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Six months ago, world champion MMA fighter Yaroslav Amosov should have been defending his welterweight title at Bellator 281 in London. Instead, the Ukrainian had returned to his homeland to help in the war effort following Russia’s invasion on February 24. Now, Amosov will make his highly anticipated return to the
Continue Reading By Amy Woodyatt, CNN After years of anticipation — and controversy — since Qatar was awarded the World Cup, the tournament finally got underway on Sunday in Doha. Even before a ball was kicked, some sore spots arose. Despite years of planning, just two days before the tournament kicked off, Qatar announced a ban of
Continue Reading By Kevin Dotson and Ben Morse, CNN Some people attending 2022 World Cup matches have said they have experienced difficulties in Qatar when trying to enter stadiums wearing clothing in support of LGBTQ rights. At the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Monday, ahead of the United States Men’s National Team’s (USMNT) match with Wales, US
Continue Reading By Kevin Dotson and Ben Morse, CNN Some people attending 2022 World Cup matches have said they have experienced difficulties in Qatar when trying to enter stadiums wearing clothing in support of LGBTQ rights. At the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Monday, ahead of the United States Men’s National Team’s (USMNT) match with Wales, US
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN Saudi Arabia produced one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history Tuesday, beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in an astonishing Group C match. Many had expected the South American team, ranked third in the world, unbeaten for three years and among the favorites to win the tournament, to sweep aside
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN There was frustration for the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) in its opening game of Qatar 2022 as Gareth Bale scored a late penalty for Wales. The USMNT was dominant for much of the match, but as has so often been the case, it was LAFC star Bale who dug
Continue Reading By Amy Woodyatt, CNN Despite a seven-game win streak under their belt, the high-flying Minnesota Vikings had a rude awakening at home on Sunday, taking a 40-3 battering from the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings started Week 11 looking strong, but instead came away with their second-largest home loss in franchise history. Cowboys running back Tony
Continue Reading By Zayn Nabbi, CNN British comedian Joe Lycett did not shred £10,000 ($11,800) as he claimed to have done on Sunday when the World Cup kicked off, saying Monday the money had in fact been “donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week.” Lycett had called on English
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN Before a ball was even kicked in Iran’s World Cup opener against England on Monday, Iran’s players made a powerful statement. In what seemed to be a show of solidarity with those protesting back home, the players stood silent as the Iranian national anthem played out around the Khalifa International Stadium
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN Before a ball was even kicked in Iran’s World Cup opener against England on Monday, Iran’s players made a powerful statement. In what seemed to be a show of solidarity with those protesting back home, the players stood silent as the Iranian national anthem played out around the Khalifa International Stadium
Continue Reading By Zayn Nabbi and Sammy Mngqosini, CNN Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has defended the timing of his interview with Piers Morgan, telling reporters on Monday it “won’t shake the changing room’s concentration and focus” ahead of the World Cup. “In my life, the best timing is always my timing,” Ronaldo said at press conference. “I
Continue Reading By Issy Ronald, CNN When the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) walks onto the pitch in Qatar on Monday, it will be appearing at a men’s World Cup for the first time since 2014. In the eight-and-a-half years since then, soccer has overtaken ice hockey to become the country’s fourth most watched sport with
Continue Reading By George Ramsay and Zayn Nabbi, CNN The captains of several European teams will not wear “OneLove” armbands at the World Cup in Qatar due to the danger of receiving yellow cards. England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination.
Continue Reading By Issy Ronald, CNN For the last few months, soccer in Iran has witnessed small acts of defiance against the country’s regime amid widespread protests in the country; Sardar Azmoun’s refusal to celebrate scoring an equalizer against Senegal and several players changing their social media profile pictures to black. Soccer, like everything else in Iran,
Continue Reading By George Ramsay and Zayn Nabbi, CNN The captains of several European teams will not wear “OneLove” armbands at the World Cup in Qatar due to the danger of receiving yellow cards. England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Wales were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination.
Continue Reading By Issy Ronald and Manveena Suri, CNN A British comedian appeared to shred £10,000 ($11,000) in a video after failing to receive a response from David Beckham over his controversial role as a Qatar World Cup ambassador. On Sunday, Joe Lycett began tweeting an hourly countdown until his UK midday deadline (7am ET). At 12
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN For the past year, a giant clock in Doha has been counting down to the opening match of the World Cup. Qatar and the world need wait no more, after this controversial tournament got underway Sunday with the host losing 2-0 to Ecuador. After a spectacular opening ceremony, which starred the
Continue Reading