“A performance to be proud of”: UK PM Starmer on England’s 4-2 win ov…

Dallas [US], June 18 (ANI): The United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed England’s 4-2 win in their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign opener against Croatia at the Dallas Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday (local time), calling it “a performance to be proud of “.

In a post on X, PM Starmer congratulated the team on their victory over Croatia and expressed confidence ahead of the next match, which England will play against Ghana on June 23. rocore.sbs

“A fantastic result against Croatia and a performance to be proud of. On to the next one," he said in the X post.

Coming to the match, England captain Harry Kane scored twice, Jude Bellingham produced a standout second-half strike, while substitute Marcus Rashford added a late goal to complete the victory as Thomas Tuchel’s side overcame a determined Croatian challenge.

England were handed an early opportunity when Noni Madueke was fouled by Luka Modric inside the box, winning a penalty in the 11th minute.

Dominik Livakovic initially saved Kane’s effort, but VAR ruled that the goalkeeper had stepped off his line early, forcing a retake. Kane converted the second attempt to give England the lead.

Croatia responded well and levelled the score in the 36th minute through Martin Baturina. Luka Sucic’s incisive run ended with a cut-back to Baturina, who fired a powerful shot past Jordan Pickford during a strong phase of Croatian pressure.

The England skipper Kane delivered a commanding display, scoring a brace against Croatia, with one goal coming from the penalty spot in the 12th minute and another in the 42nd minute, helping England secure a strong start to their campaign.

Kane became only the second England player to score in three separate FIFA World Cup tournaments (2018, 2022, 2026), joining legend David Beckham (1998, 2002, 2006).

The Bayern Munich striker also equalled another major milestone, reaching 10 FIFA World Cup goals — the joint-most by an England player alongside Gary Lineker.

In addition, Kane set a new global benchmark by scoring the most non-penalty shootout penalties in FIFA World Cup history, taking his tally to five.

During the clash, Ivan Perisic also became the second player to register an assist at four different FIFA World Cup tournaments. The Croatian player joined Argentine legend Lionel Messi as the only players in history to achieve the feat. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

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Read More about BGMI

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Mexico City [Mexico], June 18 (ANI): Mexico City police on Wednesday (local time) arrested a man for allegedly trying to rent out his official FIFA World Cup accreditation on social media to provide unauthorised access to stadium areas, local authorities said, according to Reuters.

According to the city’s Citizen Security Secretariat, the 24-year-old suspect was detained near the Azteca Stadium after he attempted to reactivate his credential, the report added.

Authorities said a legal representative of World Cup organisers alerted police after noticing the online posts advertising the alleged offer. However, the fee the suspect was reportedly seeking was not disclosed.

Mexico City is set to host multiple matches during the expanded 48-team tournament, including group-stage fixtures involving the host nation, Mexico. Later on Wednesday, World Cup debutants Uzbekistan are scheduled to face Colombia in a Group K clash in the capital.

The accused, who has not been identified, has been handed over to the public prosecutor’s office, which will decide his legal status, the statement added, as per Reuters.

Meanwhile, Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez helped Mexico start their FIFA World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa in front of an enthusiastic crowd at their home venue of the iconic Estadio Azteca on June 12 (as per Indian Standard Time).

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The match was highly intense, with three red cards shown. This is their 22nd successive win across all competitions against African teams, with their last loss dating back to the same opposition back in the 2005 Gold Cup. This was the 20th WC match at the iconic Azteca, more than any stadium in the tournament’s history, as per ESPN. Mexico continues their undefeated run at the venue.

The match started with nerves from both sides, with every South African player making their World Cup debut. South Africa looked confident, and Ronwen Williams, the goalkeeper, was making some risky passes. In the fifth minute, there was a chance for Mexico’s Raul Jimenez, but the goalie made a great save.In the ninth minute, Julian Quinones produced magic for Mexico with the first goal of the tournament. After a pass from Williams, Sithole lost possession to Erik Lira, and the ball went to Julian, who fired it past the goalie’s leg from the edge of the box, the earliest ever WC goal since Philipp Lahm’s goal for Germany at the 2006 tournament vs Costa Rica (six minutes), as per Sky Sports.

In the 20th minute, Quinones took another aim from 25 yards, but could not convert it into a goal. Brian Gutierrez got a chance in the 30th minute, but his shot was blocked, and Williams pulled out another save five minutes later. Lyle Foster got a chance to score for South Africa, but his header did not work.

Quinones and Jimenez made chances for Mexico, putting more pressure on South Africa, with the former’s shot hitting the goalpost.

Heading into half-time, SA was down 1-0 against a strong-looking home side, making the best out of their home advantage, with ball possession hitting over 57 per cent, 10 shots and 11 touches within the opposition box.

In the 50th minute, Sithole, who had earlier lost possession in the first half, was given a red card after he committed a foul on Gutierrez, just outside the box. While Mexico did not get a penalty kick, South Africa was now one man down.

Both sides made a couple of substitutions in the second half, with Gilberto Mora, the youngest player in this WC at the age of 17, coming in for Gutierrez. In the 67th minute, the 35-year-old Jimenez finally found the net for the hosts, a header that went into the net like a bullet.

A touch from Quinones, which found Alvarado, went to Jimenez, playing his fourth World Cup, and he wasted no time in firing it past Williams. Jimenez went down in the box, making contact with Sibisi.

The Mexican asked for a penalty, but despite a shoulder and chest contact, the outcome was a yellow card for South Africa. Quinones finally was off the field in the 79th minute, making way for Vega.

In the 83rd minute, South Africa received their second red card, with Zwane being sent off, reducing South Africa’s field strength to nine. Also, in the stoppage time, Mexico also received a red card, the third red card of the match, but it did not matter as the hosts walked away with their full set of points, having delighted their home crowd. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

ફિફા વર્લ્ડ કપ ૨૦૨૬માં ખેલાડીઓને ગરમીથી રાહત આપવા માટે પહેલીવાર ફરજિયાત ‘હાઇડ્રેશન બ્રેક’ શરૂ કરવામાં આવ્યો છે. જોકે, આ નિયમ હવે ભારે વિવાદોમાં સપડાયો છે. ટીકાકારો અને ફૂટબોલ દિગ્ગજોનું કહેવું છે કે આ બ્રેક મેચના કુદરતી પ્રવાહને તોડી રહ્યો છે. તેમનું માનવું છે કે આ બ્રેકથી કોચને રણનીતિ બદલવાની વધારાની તક મળે છે. ખાસ કરીને જયારે એસી સ્ટેડિયમમાં પણ મેચ રોકીને હાઈડ્રેશન બ્રેક લેવામાં આવ્યો તે જોઈ ફૂટબોલ દિગ્ગજો ભડકયો. ફિફાના વિચિત્ર નિયમથી કોચ ખુશ છે પણ દિગ્ગજો અને ફેન્સ નારાજ છે.

હાઈડ્રેશન બ્રેકથી કુરાકાઓનો લય તૂટ્યો

આ વિવાદનું સૌથી મોટું ઉદાહરણ જર્મની અને કુરાકાઓ વચ્ચેની મેચમાં જોવા મળ્યું. તાજેતરમાં વર્લ્ડ કપના સૌથી નાના દેશ કુરાકાઓએ લિવાનો કોમેનેસિયાના ગોલની મદદથી ૪ વખતના ચેમ્પિયન જર્મનીને ૧-૧ ની બરાબરી પર રોકી રાખ્યું હતું. પરંતુ, ગોલ થયાના થોડી જ વારમાં ‘હાઇડ્રેશન બ્રેક’ લેવામાં આવ્યો અને કુરાકાઓનો ઉત્સાહ અને લય બંને ખોરવાઈ ગયા. ગેમ શરૂ થતાં જ જર્મનીએ હાફટાઇમ પહેલા બે ગોલ ફટકાર્યા અને આખરે મેચ ૭-૧ થી જીતી લીધી. ઇંગ્લેન્ડના પૂર્વ સ્ટ્રાઈકર એલન શીયરરે આ અંગે દુઃખ વ્યક્ત કરતા કહ્યું કે બ્રેકના લીધે કુરાકાઓ ઈવેન્ટની ગતિ ખોઈ બેઠું.

બ્રેક બન્યો કોચ માટે ગેમ-ચેન્જર પ્લાન

ફિફાએ આ નિયમ ખેલાડીઓને પાણી પીવડાવવા માટે બનાવ્યો હતો. પરંતુ કોચ હવે તેનો ઉપયોગ વ્યૂહાત્મક ચર્ચાઓ માટે કરી રહ્યા છે. નેધરલેન્ડ્સના કોચ રોનાલ્ડ કોમેનએ ખુલ્લેઆમ સ્વીકાર્યું કે તેઓ મેચની સ્થિતિ સુધારવા અને ખેલાડીઓને નવી યુક્તિઓ આપવા માટે આ સમયનો પૂરો લાભ ઉઠાવી રહ્યા છે. જણાવી દઈએ કે ગરમીના કારણે ખેલાડીઓની રમત પ્રભાવિત થઈ રહી છે. ટેનિસની રમતમાં ગરમીના કારણે દિગ્ગજ ખેલાડીએ કારમી હારનો સામનો કરવો પડયો હતો. એટલે જ ફૂટબોલમાં ખેલાડીઓ માટે હાઈડ્રેશનનો નિયમ લાગુ કરાયો. પરંતુ એસી સ્ટેડિયમમાં બ્રેક લેવાતા ફૂટબોલ દિગ્ગજો આ નિયમને વિચિત્ર ગણાવે છે.

ફિફાના આ નિયમ સામે ઉઠાવ્યા સવાલ

આયર્લેન્ડના પૂર્વ કેપ્ટન રોય કીને પણ ફિફાના આ નિર્ણય સામે આકરા સવાલો ઉઠાવ્યા છે. તેમણે આ બ્રેકની તુલના અમેરિકન રમતોના 'ટાઇમઆઉટ' સાથે કરતા કહ્યું કે, ફૂટબોલની અસલી સુંદરતા તેની અવિરત ગતિમાં છે, જે આ વિરામના કારણે પ્રભાવિત થઈ રહી છે. આંકડા જોઈએ તો વર્લ્ડ કપની પ્રથમ ૧૬ મેચોમાંથી ૮ મેચમાં હાઇડ્રેશન બ્રેક પૂરો થયાની ૧૦ મિનિટની અંદર જ ગોલ નોંધાયા હતા. બ્રાઝિલ-મોરોક્કો મેચ સિવાય કેનેડા, યુએસએ, ઓસ્ટ્રેલિયા, સ્કોટલેન્ડ, સ્વીડન અને ઈરાન જેવી ટીમોએ પણ બ્રેક પછી ગોલ કરીને મેચનો પાસો પલટી નાખ્યો હતો.

એર-કન્ડિશન્ડ સ્ટેડિયમમાં પણ બ્રેક? ચાહકોમાં નારાજગી

ફિફાના નિયમ મુજબ, રેફરીએ દરેક હાફની ૨૨મી મિનિટે ૩ મિનિટ માટે રમત રોકવી ફરજિયાત છે, પછી ભલે હવામાન ગમે તેવું હોય. એટલાન્ટામાં સ્પેન અને કેપ વર્ડે વચ્ચેની મેચ એર-કન્ડિશન્ડ અને ક્લોઝ્ડ રૂફ સ્ટેડિયમમાં હોવા છતાં બ્રેક અપાયો હતો. જયારે ફોક્સબરોમાં ઇરાક અને નોર્વે વચ્ચેની અટકાવેલી મેચ દરમિયાન સ્ટેડિયમમાં હાજર ચાહકોએ ભારે બૂમાબૂમ કરી નારાજગી વ્યક્ત કરી હતી.

આ પણ વાંચો : Ahmedabadમાં 295 કરોડના ખર્ચે વર્લ્ડ ક્લાસ સ્પાઈન,સ્પોર્ટ્સ ઈન્જરી સેન્ટર બનશે