International Football
Factbox: 10 memorable impressions from the Qatar World Cup
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month, with shocks, great goals, incredible celebrations and record-breaking feats served up by the assembled cast.
Here are 10 of the highlights as chosen by the Reuters team of reporters covering the tournament.
SAUDI ARABIA STUN ARGENTINA
Argentina were cruising in their opening Group C game after Lionel Messi scored a first-half penalty. But the Green Falcons swooped after halftime with Saleh Al-Shehri squeezing in a low shot to equalise and five minutes later Salem Al-Dawsari curled in a scorching second to leave Argentina in disbelief and Saudi fans joyously singing ‘where is Messi?’.
SOUTH KOREA’S NERVOUS WAIT
When Hwang Hee-chan scored a stoppage-time winner for South Korea in their final Group H game the hard part was just starting. The Korean players then had to spend almost 10 agonising minutes in a tight huddle in the centre circle peering at phones, hoping Uruguay would not score another goal against Ghana. Finally, with a last-16 place assured, they sprinted en masse towards their delirious fans.
MAGICAL MESSI BAMBOOZLES CROATIAN GVARDIOL
Such has been the Argentine number 10s impact in Qatar that the seven-time Ballon D’or winner could have multiple entries on the memorable list. But the way he held off Croatia’s masked defender Josko Gvardiol, then bamboozled him with an electrifying twist to set up the third goal in a 3-0 semi-final win encapsulated the 35-year-old’s genius.
RONALDO EXITS FINAL WORLD CUP IN TEARS
Portugal’s talisman became the first male player to score in five World Cups with a penalty against Ghana. But the 37-year-old was subsequently left out of the starting line-up and after he was unable to save his side after coming off the bench in the quarter-final against Morocco he was filmed walking down the tunnel in floods of tears.
FIRST FEMALE REFEREE AT A MEN’S WORLD CUP
Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart was handed control of Germany’s final Group E clash against Costa Rica, becoming the first female referee to officiate at a men’s World Cup.
Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez described it as a big step forward in ‘sexist sport’ and the 39-year-old Frappart produced a calm and assured display in Germany’s victory.
JAPAN HIT BACK TO SHOCK GERMANY
Before kickoff in their Group E opener Germany’s players covered their mouths in protest at FIFA’s threat of sanctions against the wearing of the ‘OneLove’ armband.
At the final whistle they were left gobsmacked after Japan’s substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano secured an unlikely 2-1 comeback win for the Samurai Blue whose fans celebrated hard before bagging the litter in the stadium.
MOROCCO’S FANS
Thousands of them descended on the Arabian Gulf to roar the Atlas Lions and were richly-rewarded as Morocco became the first African and first Arab country to reach the semi-finals.
The noise the red-clad hordes created in the stadiums was deafening and reached fever pitch in the penalty shootout defeat of Spain in the last 16 and against Portugal in the quarter-finals when a cacophony of whistles greeted every touch by the opposition as Morocco protected their 1-0 lead.
GROUP E FINALE MAYHEM
A group that began with Germany losing to Japan and Spain putting seven goals past Costa Rica concluded on a tumultuous night that almost turned the football world upside-down.
Germany needed a win over Costa Rica and for Spain to beat Japan to go through as runners-up, and at halftime that was exactly what was happening. Then everything went mad.
Japan scored twice in three minutes early in the second half and Costa Rica flipped their game against Germany to lead and for four minutes the live table showed Japan and Costa Rica in first and second place with Spain and Germany going home.
Germany ended up winning 4-2 to save Spain’s bacon, although they were on the flight home the next day.
MBAPPE DESTROYS POLAND
Kylian Mbappe has enhanced his reputation as one of the best players in the world in Qatar and the Frenchman was simply unplayable in the last-16 against Poland.
First he set up Olivier Giroud to open the scoring then took matters into his own hands with two sublime finishes to seal a 3-0 win. The speedster was clocked at 35.3kph during the game.
CAMEROON’S ABOUBAKAR SINKS BRAZIL, THEN SENT OFF
A manic group phase concluded in almost comical fashion as Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar scored a stoppage-time winner against an already-qualified Brazil, took his shirt off, and was immediately given a second yellow card by an apologetic referee who shook the player’s hand.
-Reuters
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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