English
Indian
العربية
Español
Deutsch
Türkçe
Русский
Français (Afrique)
«المري» ضمن طاقم نهائي المونديال
أعلنت لجنة الحكَّام بالاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم (FIFA) تعيينَ الحكم الدوليّ القطريّ خميس المري ضمن طاقم حكَّام المباراة النهائية لبطولة كأس العالم 2026.
وسيتولَّى المري مهمةَ حكم الفيديو المساعد (VAR) في المُواجهة النهائية المرتقبة التي ستجمع منتخبَي الأرجنتين وإسبانيا، في إنجاز جديد يضاف إلى سجل التحكيم القطري، ويعكسُ الثقةَ الكبيرة التي تحظى بها الكوادر القطرية من قِبل الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم لإدارة أهمّ المباريات العالمية. ويأتي هذا الاختيارُ امتدادًا للحضور المميز للحكام القطريين في كُبرى البطولات الدولية، ويؤكد نجاح برامج التطوير والتأهيل التي تنتهجها إدارة التحكيم بالاتحاد القطري لكرة القدم، والتي أسهمت في تخريج نخبة من الحكَّام القادرين على إدارة المُباريات وَفق أعلى المعايير الاحترافية.
Messi, Yamal come full circle in showdown
East Rutherford: When Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal line-up against each other in the World Cup final tonight it will mark the closing of an incredible full circle moment that has been two decades in the making. macnevers-and-co.beer
In 2007, a 20-year-old Messi and Yamal, born in July of that year, posed together in a photo organised by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), the global agency which provides humanitarian and development to children and mothers worldwide. Yamal’s family had entered and won a raffle to pose with a Barcelona player for a 2008 UNICEF calendar.
In one photo from the shoot, Messi is seen helping Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, give the smiling five-month-old boy a bath in a blue plastic tub.
“The photographer, Joan Monfort, has said that Lamine Yamal stole Messi’s heart because he was always smiling,” UNICEF Catalan’s Laia Ruich said on the organisation’s website.
Fast forward nearly 20 years, and now Messi and Yamal are sharing football’s greatest stage.
Spain star Yamal, the teenage prodigy who has followed in Messi’s footsteps at Barcelona, has only just turned 19.
Argentina captain Messi, 39, will be playing in his third World Cup final in what is almost certainly likely to be his last appearance in the tournament.
“That photo is incredible,” Messi said at a fan event in Manhattan on Friday.
“I took a picture with him when he was a baby ... the fact that we’re both playing in the World Cup now is crazy.”
Messi said while he has a soft spot for Yamal given his association with his former club Barcelona, it will not detract him from the task in hand -- beating Spain.
“I wish him luck because his success will be Barcelona’s success, (but) we’ll try to keep him from playing at his best.
“He’s 19 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. I wish him the best, but we’ll give it our all to ensure he doesn’t become champion this time.”
Photographer Monfort describes Messi and Yamal’s first meeting and subsequent World Cup final date as “a true miracle of destiny.”
“If you wrote this in a film it would not seem possible,” Monfort told the BBC.
Even Yamal’s Spain teammate, Mikel Merino, said Friday he initially believed the photo was an AI-generated hoax when he first saw it.
“The first time I saw it, I thought it was AI and that it wasn’t even real,” Merino said.
“It’s unbelievable that two of the best players to have played the game -- and hopefully Lamine, in the future, will be one of those -- share a picture like that.”
Messi and Yamal now both serve as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.
“Growing up, all I had was a family, a ball, a park and a dream,” Yamal said in June.
“Playing football gave me structure, a sense of belonging, and hope for the future. I know how important it is for children to have a safe place to play, so that they can simply enjoy being children.”
Messi sets sights on another World Cup triumph after heroics against England
Doha, Qatar: Four years ago, Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory in Qatar at the FIFA World Cup, and he is one step away from repeating that feat and making Argentina the first team to retain the trophy since Brazil in 1962.
On Wednesday night, under the lights of Atlanta, the Messi Magic was unleashed when the Argentine legend sparked a magnificent late comeback against England to deny Thomas Tuchel’s men their first World Cup final berth since 1996.
Argentina were trailing England until the 85th minute, before Messi, aged 39, decided he wasn’t done yet. He didn’t need to score to win the game, but just needed to create two chances out of nothing. Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez converted the chances created by Messi into goals to turn a 0-1 scoreline into a 2-1 win that sent Argentina to Sunday’s final.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner now has same number of goals in front of his name at the North American World Cup, and has made four assists, climbing to the top of the race for the Golden Boot.
Messi hailed his teammates after Wednesday’s win, saying: “What the group has been doing is incredible, and this, of course, is again something that shows our character, our grit, our collective, the way that we play together.”
“It was really, truly amazing.”
Read Also
His coach Lionel Scaloni was also elated with the win.
“The other day I said this group never stops surprising me,” Lionel Scaloni said afterward, referring to a similar comeback win by his men who came back from two goals down to beat Egypt in the last 16.
Without surprise, Messi was at the heart of that rescue act too.
Waiting for Argentina at the iconic New Jersey Stadium will be Spain, who dismantled one of the pre-tournament favourites France with a 2-0 win on Tuesday.
“And I’ll tell you the truth, we’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there. It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart,” Scaloni said.
Messi echoed Scaloni’s sentiments, saying he was looking forward to facing Spain in the final, where he will face the country where he spent most of his career, at Barcelona.
He said Spain, who beat France 2-0 to reach the final, were “a fantastic side, wonderful players”.
“They play very, very well. I know them quite well. Their whole idea and philosophy has been very well developed throughout this time, and I know the players as well,” Messi said.
The reigning world champions and the European champions were set to meet at the Finalissima, which was originally slated to be hosted at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar in March. The showdown was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, but the two sides will now face each other on a bigger stage, in a fitting finale to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Zanetti: Egypt Gave Argentina Their Toughest World Cup Test
Argentina legend Javier Zanetti has named Egypt as the toughest opponents the holders faced on their route to the 2026 World Cup final.
“The Egyptian national team played a wonderful match against Argentina,” Zanetti said while attending the final against Spain.
“They were extremely organised and made the match difficult for us.”
Asked whether Egypt had provided Argentina’s toughest test of the tournament, Zanetti replied: “Yes, I think so. Egypt have great players and proved that.”
Argentina needed a dramatic late comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16 in Atlanta. Hossam Hassan’s side held a two-goal advantage until the 79th minute.
Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring after 15 minutes. He converted the rebound after Emiliano Martínez saved his first attempt.
Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir then saved an early Lionel Messi penalty. The Al Ahly goalkeeper also denied several other chances as Argentina pushed for an equaliser.
Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage through Mostafa Ziko before half-time. However, VAR identified a foul by Marwan Attia during the build-up.
Ziko eventually scored in the 67th minute to put Egypt 2-0 ahead. He finished a quick counterattack after Ibrahim Adel carried the ball into Argentina’s half.
Argentina launched their comeback through Cristian Romero with 11 minutes remaining. Messi equalised four minutes later before Enzo Fernández struck the winner in stoppage time.
The result ended Egypt’s first appearance in the World Cup knockout rounds. It also drew criticism from the Egyptian Football Association, which questioned several refereeing decisions.
Argentina later survived another difficult contest against Switzerland. They then overturned a deficit to beat England 2-1 in the semi-finals, with Fernández and Lautaro Martínez scoring late goals.
The post Zanetti: Egypt Gave Argentina Their Toughest World Cup Test appeared first on KingFut.