World Cup
Violent clashes mar Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifier
Argentina captain Lionel Messi accused the Brazilian police of brutality as the start of their World Cup qualifier against Brazil was delayed by half an hour after clashes between police and visiting fans at Maracana Stadium on Tuesday.
Brazilian and Argentinian fans started fighting behind one of the goals during the national anthems, prompting police to charge at the travelling contingent with night sticks drawn.
Some Argentina fans responded by ripping up and throwing seats at the officers as other fans panicked and came onto the pitch to escape the fighting.
One Argentina fan lay on the pitch with a bloodied face before being taken from the stadium on a stretcher.
The Argentina team, led by Messi, went over to the terraces to try to calm the situation before leaving the pitch and returning to the dressing room.
“It was bad because we saw how they were beating people … The police, as it already happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with night sticks, there were players who had families over there,” Messi said in a pitchside television interview.
“We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy.
“You think about the families, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance.”
Brazil captain Marquinhos, who could be seen interacting with Messi and the Argentinian players as they tried to calm the situation, shared the concerns.
“We were worried about the families, women and children, that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands,” Marquinhos told reporters.
“Down on the pitch it was hard for us to understand what was going on, it was a very scary situation.”
There were violent clashes between fans of Argentina’s Boca Juniors and Brazil’s Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the Copa Libertadores final between the clubs this month.
On Tuesday, the Argentina players eventually returned, after police corralled the visiting fans in a pen and the match started after a lengthy delay.
Argentina won 1-0 with a 63rd-minute headed winner from defender Nicolas Otamendi and celebrated the victory over their fiercest rivals in front of their fans at the same end of the ground where the trouble had occurred.
It was a third straight defeat for five-times World Cup winners Brazil, who had midfielder Joelinton sent off 18 minutes from time.
-Reuters
Paraguay held Uruguay to a goalless draw in their South American World Cup qualifier on Friday, with striker Luis Suarez bringing his 17-year international career to an end at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo.
The 37-year-old forward reached 143 appearances for his country, finishing as their all-time leading scorer with 69 goals.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who finished third in the Copa America, played without five players from their starting line-up, including Darwin Nunez, who were suspended for their involvement in clashes with fans following the defeat to Colombia in the continental showpiece in July.
Uruguay wasted several chances, most notably a first-half right-footed volley from Suarez that struck the post after Facundo Pellistri’s cross.
Paraguay also created clear-cut opportunities, with Miguel Almiron coming closest only to be denied by goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, but neither side managed to capitalise.
Uruguay remain second in the World Cup qualifying standings on 14 points, four behind leaders Argentina. They face Venezuela on Tuesday, while Paraguay take on Brazil.
-Reuters
Brazil got back to winning ways in the South American World Cup qualifiers with a drab 1-0 victory over Ecuador on Friday thanks to first-half goal by Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
After its first streak of losses in three successive qualifiers, Brazil did just enough to earn the win that lifted the struggling five-time World Cup champions to fourth in the standings with 10 points.
They are eight points behind leaders Argentina and only two points over Ecuador in sixth, the last spot guaranteed a berth at the 2026 finals.
Playing their first match after a disappointing Copa America defeat to Uruguay in the quarter-final, Brazil had another lacklustre performance, dominating possession but failing to create clear chances throughout the match.
Brazil misplaced too many passes and struggled to connect up front, out of ideas on how to beat Ecuador’s rock solid defensive block.
Ecuador were relentless while applying a physically aggressive pressure high with three hardworking forwards, making the locals uncomfortable when putting the ball in play. They Brazil almost no room to get inside their box either, forcing them to roam the ball horizontally around their penalty area and resort to strikes from long range.
Brazil’s only two shots on target on the first half were made by Rodrygo, who, after stinging the goalkeeper’s hands from a free kick early, were lucky to break the deadlock in the 29th minute. His effort fired from the edge of the box deflected off a defender and arched around the wrong-footed goalkeeper before hitting the right post and finding the back of the net.
Ecuador almost levelled in a counterattack right before the break, but defender Gabriel Magalhaes denied Moises Caicedo’s effort with a last-minute goal-line clearance.
Brazil came back even worse in the second half, with an uninspired Vinicius Jr creating their only shot on target in an absolutely morose 45 minutes, with boos greeting the final whistle.
“We needed this win, doesn’t matter if it was ugly or not. I’m happy with the victory and to have scored, and I hope it helps us getting better and progressing to the level that we want to reach moving forward,” Rodrygo told Brazilian TV Globo. Brazil will face Paraguay at Asuncion on Tuesday while Ecuador is set to host Peru in Quito on Monday.
-Reuters
Spain’s soccer federation (RFEF) has proposed 11 stadiums as candidates to host matches during the 2030 World Cup, including the home arenas of LaLiga clubs Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Spain, who will co-host the tournament with Portugal and Morocco as well as centenary hosts Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, will also have 45 additional grounds as team bases, the RFEF said on Friday.
Other LaLiga clubs whose home arenas have made the list include Sevilla, Malaga, Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao, Las Palmas and promoted Espanyol.
Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium, despite being the fifth-largest stadium in LaLiga with a capacity of 49,430, was not included in the list of potential venues.
“In order to define the venues, all the possibilities have been analysed, including the option of expanding to 13, an option that must be taken unanimously by the three federations,” the RFEF said in a statement.
The tournament will have a maximum of 20 venues, the RFEF added.
Co-hosts Morocco last year announced plans to build a stadium near Casablanca and upgrade six others before the World Cup.
-Reuters
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