By Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN Iranian soccer great Ali Karimi has alleged that death threats have been made against him, while his family and close friends have been intimidated and harassed by the Iranian government following his support of ongoing protests in the country. Known as the ‘Asian Maradona,” the 44-year-old Karimi, who retired from playing
Continue Reading By Ben Morse and Kevin Dotson, CNN The World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay was briefly interrupted by a pitch invader waving a rainbow flag on the field at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Monday. The FIFA global television feed avoided showing the pitch invader, but the individual could be seen running on the
Continue Reading By Sammy Mngqosini, CNN World Cup chief Hassan Al-Thawadi said that between 400 and 500 migrant workers have died as a result of work done on projects connected to the tournament — a greater figure than Qatari officials have cited previously. In an interview with Piers Morgan which aired on TalkTV on Monday, Al-Thawadi was
Continue Reading By Sam Kiley, CNN The families of Iran’s World Cup soccer team have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” ahead of the match against the USA on Tuesday, a source involved in the security of the games said. Following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation’s national
Continue Reading By Ben Morse, CNN As he sprinted away to the corner flag with his arms spread wide on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo thought he’d leveled Portugal great Eusebio’s record as the nation’s all-time World Cup scorer. His teammates bundled onto him as they celebrated with the 37-year-old, while commentators and pundits praised him for getting the
Continue Reading By Aimee Lewis, CNN “I remember it like it was yesterday,” says Steve Sampson, his face breaking into a smile before spending his Friday morning reminiscing about what has frequently been described as the most politically charged match in World Cup history. Sampson has just retired as the coach of California Polytechnic State University’s men’s
Continue Reading By Issy Ronald, CNN After days of political tension and fiery off-pitch jibes between the countries, the knockout stage has already arrived for the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) at the World Cup — nothing less than a win on Tuesday will suffice when it takes on Iran in a winner-takes-all match. Whichever team
Continue Reading By Steve Almasy and David Close, CNN The Big Ten Conference has fined Michigan State University $100,000 and suspended Spartans cornerback Khary “KJ” Crump for the first eight games of next season following the post-football game fight against rival Michigan in the players’ tunnel at Michigan Stadium on October 29. Crump, a redshirt sophomore, has
Continue Reading By Amir Vera, CNN For the first time in two years, embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson returns to the field for the Cleveland Browns Sunday after serving an 11-game suspension. The three-time Pro Bowler has not played in a regular season game since 2020. In August, the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to suspend
Continue Reading By Sam Kiley, CNN The families of Iran’s World Cup soccer team have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” ahead of the match against the USA on Tuesday, a source involved in the security of the games said. Following the refusal of Iranian players to sing the nation’s national
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has apologized to Lionel Messi, who he previously accused of disrespecting Mexico. Álvarez apologized on social media, writing on Wednesday: “These last few days I got carried away with the passion and the love I feel for my country and I made comments that were out
Continue Reading By George Ramsay and Alasdair Howorth, CNN Casemiro’s stunning volley was enough for Brazil to edge Switzerland 1-0 and book its place in the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup. The big question ahead of the match against Switzerland was, how would Brazil cope without the injured Neymar? The answer is just fine, as
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN The image of Neymar limping off the pitch, his right ankle visibly swollen, would have left millions of Brazil fans fearing the worst. Fortunately for them, the player who has become this generation’s talisman will be fit in time to play in the 2022 World Cup knockout stage, should Brazil qualify,
Continue Reading By Homero De La Fuente, CNN Argentina’s soccer superstar Lionel Messi is not in negotiations to join Inter Miami next season, his representative tells CNN. On Sunday, Britain’s Sunday Times reported that the 35-year-old Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward was close to agreeing a deal with the MLS side and would sign after the conclusion of
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Niclas Füllkrug’s late strike was enough to salvage a point for Germany against Spain as qualification from Group E goes down to the wire. Substitute Álvaro Morata had given Spain the lead just after the hour mark, but Germany finally drew level seven minutes from time after Jamal Musiala’s touch dropped
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN Niclas Füllkrug’s late strike was enough to salvage a point for Germany against Spain and ensure that qualification from Group E goes down to the wire. Substitute Álvaro Morata had given Spain the lead just after the hour mark, but Germany finally drew level seven minutes from time after Jamal Musiala’s
Continue Reading By Ben Morse and Wayne Sterling, CNN Iran state media has called for the US to be kicked out of the 2022 World Cup after the United States Soccer Federation changed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to show support for protesters in Iran. The federation had temporarily displayed Iran’s national flag on its
Continue Reading By Issy Ronald, CNN It was a day of big upsets at the World Cup as Belgium and Japan both succumbed to shock defeats against Morocco and Costa Rica respectively. Morocco won its first World Cup match since 1998 — and its third ever — securing a sensational 2-0 victory over heavyweight Belgium to ensure
Continue Reading By Ben Church, CNN Traveling to watch their team play at the World Cup took a little longer than usual for two French fans. Mehdi Balamissa and Gabriel Martin decided the best way to travel from France to Qatar was on two wheels. The friends spent three months traveling 7,000 kilometers (roughly 4,350 miles) by
Continue Reading By Matias Grez, CNN If Germany is to avoid the ignominy of consecutive World Cup group stage exits, it will need to earn a positive result against a Spain side that looked like the tournament’s most dangerous team after the opening round of fixtures. Finishing bottom of the group at Russia 2018, a tournament Germany
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