International Football
Messi, Argentina set to pull a big crowd in Beijing exhibition game against Australia
Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning Argentina teammates are expected to draw almost 70,000 fans to Beijing Worker’s Stadium for an exhibition against Australia.
With tickets starting at around $80 for Thursday’s game, local supporters are excited to see Messi and continue the World Cup celebrations. Fans have flocked to all opportunities to see the Argentine star since the team arrived in China, with large crowds angling for photographs and chanting his name.
Messi’s move to “continue my path” in Miami last week made global headlines after he turned down extremely lucrative offers from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in favor of Major League Soccer.
He said that after winning the World Cup, it was his time to go the United States and “live football in another way.”
Before then, he’s with the Argentina squad that is scheduled to play Australia in the Chinese capital and take on Indonesia in Jakarta four days later.
Australia coach Graham Arnold said he was looking forward to giving a selection of young players some valuable experience.
“There’s no better team to test yourself against than he best in the world,” Arnold said in an interview for Chinese TV. “It’s going to be great for the players — not only the players, but for everyone here in China and back in Australia — to see Lionel Messi play.
“He’s such a wonderful player and obviously best in the world. To have those privileges to test yourself against him, it’s important.”
Messi led Argentina to a 2-1 win over the Australians in the Round of 16 at the World Cup last year in Qatar.
For the Socceroos, though, this rematch is not about revenge for a defeat but more the journey to the next Asian Cup, at Qatar in January, and beyond.
“It’s a younger squad but I’m also looking with one eye on the World Cup in 2026 and getting players ready for that,” Arnold said. “I don’t believe there’s a better way to test them out.”
Australia, which joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 and won the regional title on home soil in 2015, will take on India, Syria and Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup.
Arnold has handed first call-ups to Italian-based defender Alessandro Circati and Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Glover, and has recalled Gianni Stensness and Denis Genreau.
In other international friendlies this week, Japan will play El Salvador and South Korea, led by former U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will take on Peru on Friday.
Klinsmann is sweating on the fitness of Tottenham star player Son Heung-min, who had a hernia operation after the end of the English Premier League season. According to Korea Football Association officials, Son wants to play but it has yet to be decided.
Oh Hyeon-gu, who helped Celtic to the Scottish championship, could make the step up in Son’s absence.
“I don’t know about playing time, but whether I am given one minute or 90 minutes, I will do my best,” Oh said. “I traveled to Qatar for the World Cup. I was so desperate to play and I know all the stadiums … I want to make those dream moments if I can go to the Asian Cup.”
Oh’s Celtic teammate Kyogo Furuhashi did not make Japan’s roster at the World Cup but the Scottish Premiership Player of the Year has been recalled by Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu.
“He has been contributing to the team’s victories with consistent performance and a strong presence on the field,” Moriyasu, who is looking to lead Japan to a fifth continental title, said of the striker. “We expect him to score goals and be involved in creating goal-scoring opportunities.”
As well as the Asian Cup, Qatar is preparing for a second successive guest appearance later this month at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the tournament that determines the champion of the region that encapsulates North and Central America as well as the Caribbean.
It starts with a friendly against Jamaica in Austria on Thursday. At the World Cup, Qatar lost all three of its group games but appointed former Real Madrid and Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz in February.
The defending Asian champion, which also reached the semifinals of the 2021 Gold Cup, will take on Haiti, Honduras and Mexico in the tournament hosted by the United States.
-AP
At last, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen is out of the limbo. He has accepted to join Galatasaray on loan.
He is now asking for a release clause at Napoli to become €75m instead of €130m
He also wants a break clause for January in case top clubs approach him over move.
The final points are being discussed. He has been videoed celebrating with the Turkey club’s fans.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.
The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.
“Friday will be my last match with my country’s national team,” an emotional Suarez told a press conference.
“The fact that is my decision to retire and that I’m not retired because of injuries or that they stop calling me for one thing or another, that gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me individually.
“It’s difficult but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I have given my all, and that flame has not been extinguished little by little,” the striker added.
Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup before facing Venezuela four days later.
Suarez scored the stoppage-time goal against Canada that secured third place at the Copa America in July and the striker added that one of his aims was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.
“My dream was for my children to see me win something important with the national team … that last goal was very nice for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was very nice for them,” he said.
“I wanted to show people again that I can continue to contribute to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have done it (retired) perfectly after that, but having analysed the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium.
“I want my children to live this experience. Saying goodbye with the people here is something that I don’t know if many have done.”
Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club after joining the Major League Soccer side last year to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
-Reuters
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed suggestions he had considered ending his international career in the near future, adding that post-Euro criticism did not worry him.
Portugal host Croatia in their Nations League opener on Thursday before welcoming Scotland in League A Group One on Sunday.
“That’s all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle (with Portugal) had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue to be honest,” Ronaldo told a press conference on Monday.
“The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League … We’ve already won it once and we want to do it again. I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don’t think long term, it’s always short term.”
Ronaldo captained Portugal to success in the opening edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, three years after they became European Champions for the first time in France.
“Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter,” Ronaldo added.
“What I feel at the moment, and the coach’s (Roberto Martinez) words also demonstrate this, is that I continue to be an asset to the national team and I will be the first (to admit it) if that isn’t the case.
“When I’m (no longer) an asset I will be the first to leave. But I will go with a clear conscience, as always, because I know who I am, what I can do, what I do and what I will continue to do.”
The 39-year-old appeared untroubled by criticism he faced for failing to score at the 2024 European Championship.
“Criticism is great because if it doesn’t exist there’s no progress. It’s always been like this. Is it going to change now? It won’t,” Ronaldo said.
“So I try to follow my path, be as professional as possible, help in the best way possible with my professionalism and not just with goals, assists, discipline, and example, because football is much more than just playing well or scoring a goal.
“The people who give their opinions have never been in a locker room, and I often laugh because it’s the same thing as me talking about Formula 1.
“How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don’t know anything about tires, rims or the weight of the car … It’s normal and that’s why for me criticism is good and part of it, it’s no problem at all.”
-Reuters
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