World Cup updates: Tehran protests US post with modified flag

Barcelona coach Xavi, who spent six years in Qatar as a player and as head coach of Al Sadd, insisted that people will “take very good memories of the country” following the conclusion of the 2022 tournament.

The former Spanish international was also full of praise for Luis Enrique’s side following Spain’s emphatic 7-0 win over Costa Rica and believes they are amongst the favourites with Brazil, Argentina and defending champions France.

Dutch riot police have carried out baton charges in three cities to disperse unruly Moroccan football supporters celebrating the country’s shock 2-0 World Cup win over Belgium in Qatar.

Police took action in Rotterdam, where some 500 people gathered near the city centre, as well as in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht, Dutch police tweeted.

“Supporters threw fireworks and glass at the riot police who then carried out charges,” Rotterdam police said.

The Netherlands’s large Moroccan community burst into celebrations, lighting torches and fireworks and driving around hooting car horns and waving Moroccan flags shortly after the match ended.

The Moroccan football team has a huge following in the Netherlands.

Dutch-born winger Hakim Ziyech — whose goal just before half-time was disallowed — is a particular favourite, having started his career here, playing for Amsterdam’s Ajax for four years before transferring to Chelsea in 2020.

With less than 10 minutes to go, Germany have finally found the back of the net.

Earlier, Spain’s Morata scored after his teammate Alba crossed the ball over to him.

Read our live updates of the match here.

Moroccan celebrations have lit up all parts of Doha. Fans have taken over streets and fan zones with their singing and dancing, and hotels and skyscrapers have turned into giant Morocco flags.

The host country has clearly shown its support for the Atlas Lions after their shock win over Belgium.

The royals have joined in as well. Qatar’s emir and other members of the royal family were in attendance at the match between Morocco and Belgium and were on their feet at full time to celebrate with the spectators.

Fans of all Arab teams, including non-participating nations, have been seen celebrating in large groups in all major tourist spots. It started with Saudi Arabia’s upset win against Argentina last week but has now become a common sight.

Germany’s players have been accused of hypocrisy after its protest against FIFA’s armband ban, with some fans citing the country’s treatment of World Cup winner Mesut Ozil.

Ozil, who was born in Germany to Turkish immigrants, starred at the international level for Germany, making 92 appearances between 2009 and 2018, including in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup campaigns.

However, his time came to an end following Germany’s exit at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, when he announced his international retirement citing “racism and disrespect”.

Some Qataris at the 2022 FIFA World Cup pointed to Ozil’s alleged mistreatment as a sign of double standards on Germany’s part.

Qatari protests against Germany's Fifa OneLove at game v Spain tonight. Critics accuse Germany of being hypocritics following previous treatment of Ozil by German national team. https://t.co/UUJqlNYNRG

— David Harding (@DM_Harding) November 27, 2022

When Morocco scored its second goal and secured its victory over Belgium, a crowded youth centre in Brussels burst into cheers and hugs.

The Belgium capital is home to a sizeable Moroccan diaspora, and on Sunday, about 50 teenagers, young adults and volunteers gathered at the headquarters of the Capital youth centre to watch the game.

University students Omayma Mesmaoui and Basma Abajadi, both 20, came with friends because they wanted a safe space to watch the game.

Holding a Moroccan flag, Mesmaoui said the match was “very important because it is the country of my origin playing the country where I live”. Still, she wanted Morocco to win and predicted a 2-1 victory.

Read more here.

It’s not just match venues and tourist spots that have been decorated for the World Cup. Neighbourhoods in and around Doha have come alive and joined the party as well.

With an 80 percent expatriate population, Qatar’s residential areas are home to a mix of cultures and nationalities.

Ingrid Kenich of Lebanon has adorned the front yard of her home in Al Rayyan with flags, fairy lights and a screen to join the festivities. Match screenings are accompanied by food and banter with friends and neighbours.

Her family has gathered for the big match between Germany and Spain. The blankets are out, and pizza is on the way as the match kicks off.

Saudi Arabia captain Salman Al Faraj has been ruled out for the remainder of the World Cup through injury.

The Al Hilal defender had injured his leg in Tuesday’s shock 2-1 win over Argentina and left the stadium on crutches.

Al-Faraj did not feature in Saudi Arabia’s 2-0 loss to Poland in their second Group C contest on Saturday and will play no further part in their Qatar 2022 campaign.

A Saudi Arabia statement confirmed the news on Sunday and added that Al-Faraj, who has been capped 71 times for his country, will undergo a full recovery programme.

Saudi Arabia are also without Yasser Alshahrani after he underwent emergency surgery following a horror collision with teammate Mohammed Alowais against Argentina.

Herve Renard’s side will face Mexico in their final group match and will advance to the last 16 if they win, while a draw will be enough should Poland defeat Argentina.

Should Saudi Arabia draw and Argentina beat Poland, it will then come down to goal difference to determine who progresses to the knockout stage.

The fourth and final match of the day has begun with Germany facing off Spain.

Follow live updates here.

The Russian Football Union (RFU) may consider switching its football federation membership to Asia from Europe, Russian news agencies quoted RFU head Alexander Dyukov as saying.

“A few months ago, I said that Asia was premature,” the RIA news agency quoted Dyukov as saying. “But now, it is an opportunity that we should consider.”

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the sport’s governing body in Asia.

Last February, the global and European football’s governing bodies FIFA and UEFA decided that all Russian teams, whether national or club sides, would be suspended from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions after Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July dismissed appeals filed by the RFU and four Russian clubs against FIFA and UEFA’s decision to ban them from all competition until further notice.

⚽️ Day 8 of the #FIFAWorldCup ends with Germany V Spain. Who do you think will win? 👇#Qatar2022 | #GERESP

— AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) November 27, 2022

The atmosphere before kick-off was electric.

Fans of the Atlas Lions, as Morocco’s national team are known, had gathered early outside the 44,000-capacity Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday, hoping to experience an upset.

Morocco, ranked 22 in the FIFA standings, were taking on the star-studded Red Devils of Belgium, ranked second in the world and one of the tournament favourites.

“No one gave us a chance. Everyone said Belgium will humiliate us. But we beat them,” Othmane Benjelloun said, fighting back tears after Morocco stunned the Belgians 2-0.

Read more here.

Police used water cannon and tear gas after coming under attack from football supporters who brought havoc to the centre of Brussels, following Morocco’s shock 2-0 World Cup win over Belgium.

Dozens of fans smashed shop windows, threw fireworks and torched vehicles.

Even before the end of the match, “dozens of people, including some wearing hoodies, sought confrontation with the police, which compromised public safety”, Brussels police said in a statement.

A spokeswoman said some fans were armed with sticks and a journalist “was injured in the face by fireworks”.

About 100 police officers were mobilised while residents were warned to avoid certain areas of the city centre. Metro stations were closed and streets blocked to limit the spread of the violence.

Substitute Lovro Majer fired Croatia’s fourth goal in the last minutes of the match, sealing Canada’s elimination from the World Cup.

Read the match report here.

China’s state broadcaster is cutting close-up shots of maskless fans at the Qatar World Cup after early coverage sparked anger at home where street protests have erupted over harsh COVID-19 restrictions.

China is the last major economy still attempting to stamp out the domestic spread of COVID-19 with snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and mass testing campaigns.

During a live broadcast of Sunday’s group game between Japan and Costa Rica, state broadcaster CCTV-5 Sports replaced close-up shots of maskless fans waving flags with images of players, officials or the football stadium, AFP news agency reported.

CCTV Sports showed distant shots of the crowd where it was difficult to make out individual faces, and fewer crowd shots compared to the live telecast of the same game on online platforms, including Douyin – China’s version of TikTok.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday to protest against China’s zero-COVID policy in a rare outpour of public anger against the state.

Kramarić gets his second goal of the game and puts his team in a comfortable lead.

The current scoreline means Canada’s first World Cup appearance since 1986 is going to end with an exit in the group stage.

More here.

Alanoud Alsowaidi, 30, is a Qatari mother who, along with her children, are getting ready to watch the Germany vs Spain match.

“Everyone in my family these days is eating and breathing football. We wake up, the telly is on. We go to sleep only when the final match of the day is done after midnight,” she said, as her children clutch Spanish flags.

“It’s the same in most Qatari homes. Everyone is getting together with families to watch the game.”

She is a die-hard fan of Brazil and hopes they will eventually win the World Cup.

“A little bit disappointed with the Qatari team, but if Brazil wins, it will feel good again,” she added.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou mysteriously disappeared before kick-off of his team’s shock 2-0 World Cup win over Belgium.

Bounou lined up with the Morocco team for the national anthems and then went to speak to coach Walid Regragui, who embraced him and turned to speak to his reserve keeper.

Munir El Kajoui then ran onto the field in time to be included in the pre-match team photo and didn’t concede a goal as Morocco beat second-ranked Belgium.

Regragui cleared up the mystery swap after the match.

“He came to me [after the anthems],” Regragui said. “He didn’t feel right, and he asked if we should substitute him.”

The 31-year-old Bounou, who was born in Canada, is Morocco’s number one goalkeeper and plays for Spanish club Sevilla. He played in Morocco’s 0-0 draw with Croatia in the opening round of the group games.

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has called on Jurgen Klinsmann to resign from a FIFA experts panel after the former Germany striker accused the Iranians of gamesmanship in their World Cup win over Wales.

Klinsmann, a member of FIFA’s seven-member technical study group analysing the World Cup in Qatar, took aim at Iran’s antics following their 2-0 Group B win against Wales on Friday.

The former USA coach said a series of niggling fouls and the conduct of the Iranian coaching staff during the game was part of a deliberate strategy to make opponents “lose their focus”.

“This is not by coincidence. This is all purposely. This is part of their culture, that’s how they play it,” Klinsmann said while working as a studio analyst for the BBC.

Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic has refused to comment on the FIFA investigation into a nationalist flag in the team’s dressing room at the World Cup in Qatar.

“Next question,” Stojkovic said in reply to a corresponding question from a journalist.

Football governing body FIFA launched an investigation after photographs emerged of a Serbian nationalist flag hanging in the team’s dressing room.

The outline of Kosovo can be seen on the flag under the Serbian national colours. Albanian-majority Kosovo claimed independence from Serbia in 2008 and is now a FIFA member, but Serbia does not recognise its sovereignty.