Click here!<\/a><\/p>\nBRAZIL MAKE SHAKY START AGAINST AFCON CHAMPIONS<\/p>\n
Vinicius Junior scored a brilliant equaliser for Brazil in a 1-1 draw with Morocco on Saturday as the five-time World Cup winners made an uncertain start to the tournament in New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Ismael Saibari ran through to give Morocco a 21st-minute lead with a clever scoop in the Group C opener, but Vinicius produced a moment of magic to ensure Brazil came away with a point.<\/p>\n
Brazil are chasing a record sixth World Cup title, 24 years after last lifting the trophy, but this performance suggests there is a lot of work to be done by Carlo Ancelotti\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Kaka were all members of Brazil\u2019s 2002 World Cup-winning squad and were among those in attendance at MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n
Brazil have turned to the hugely successful Ancelotti a bid to end the country\u2019s title drought. He is the first foreign coach to lead Brazil at football\u2019s biggest tournament.<\/p>\n
A fifth-placed finish in South American qualifying underlined the scale of the challenge facing Ancelotti. However, the Italian insists Brazil possess a squad capable of competing with anyone in the expanded 48-team tournament.<\/p>\n
He was without Neymar for the start of the competition, with Brazil\u2019s all-time record goalscorer still recovering from a calf injury, having not played for his country since 2023.<\/p>\n
Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, left, talks with Brazil’s Endrick at the end of the World Cup Group C soccer match.Source: AP<\/p>\n
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi urged his players not to fear Brazil, and his message appeared to resonate as the 2022 semi-finalists started brightly in one of the standout matches of the first round.<\/p>\n
After Neil El Aynaoui and Achraf Hakimi threatened the Brazil goal, Saibari made the breakthrough when he latched onto a fine pass from Brahim Diaz.<\/p>\n
The PSV Eindhoven forward raced beyond Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhaes, holding his nerve with a clincal chipped finish over the advancing Alisson Becker.<\/p>\n
Brazil drew level 11 minutes later through Vinicius, who will have a vital role to play if Brazil are to shine this summer.<\/p>\n
The Real Madrid star received the ball from Bruno Guimaraes on the left side of the area before cutting back onto his right foot and hammering into the far corner past Yassine Bounou.<\/p>\n
It belatedly breathed life into a lacklustre Brazil and Lucas Paqueta saw his acrobatic effort pushed away by Bounou before half-time.<\/p>\n
Bounou saved well from Igor Thiago as Brazil caught Morocco napping with a quick throw-in after the break, while Raphinha and Danilo shot right at Bounou as the Selecao pressed for a winner.<\/p>\n
Morocco nearly snatched it at the death when Alisson parried a long-range effort from El Aynaoui and had to react sharply to block the follow-up from Chemsdine Talbi.<\/p>\n
Brazil next face outsiders Haiti while Morocco take on Scotland in their second match.<\/p>\n
Popovic facing big selection calls | 03:16<\/p>\n
QATAR\u2019S 95TH-MINUTE EQUALISER STUNS SWITZERLAND<\/p>\n
Qatar\u2019s Boualem Khoukhi stunned Switzerland with a late equaliser as the sides played out a 1-1 draw in their opening match at the World Cup on Saturday.<\/p>\n
A Breel Embolo penalty had broken the deadlock for Switzerland early in the first half in the San Francisco Bay Area, before the wasteful favourites were made to pay as Qatar earned their first ever point at a World Cup.<\/p>\n
Qatar, appearing in just their second finals after hosting the 2022 World Cup, looked rusty after the war in the Middle East caused the cancellation of two of their warm-up friendlies, meaning their meeting with Switzerland was just their third match since December last year.<\/p>\n
And for the majority of the match they were outclassed as Switzerland racked up 26 shots, before 35-year-old Khoukhi\u2019s header four minutes into injury time sparked wild celebrations on the Qatar bench.<\/p>\n
For their boss Julen Lopetegui, it was also a landmark moment as he coached his first World Cup match.<\/p>\n
The 59-year-old had been set to guide his native Spain at the 2018 edition in Russia, but was sacked days before the start of the tournament after it was announced he had agreed to take over Real Madrid after the World Cup.<\/p>\n
The Swiss are seeking to progress to the knockout stages for the fourth consecutive World Cup but their inability to kill off a match they dominated will worry coach Murat Yakin.<\/p>\n
Pedro Miguel of Qatar.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
Manuel Akanji offered Qatar the first big chance of the match in just the second minute as his defensive lapse sent Edmilson Junior through, but he could only shoot tamely at Gregor Kobel.<\/p>\n
That let-off woke up the Swiss, who were awarded a penalty on 13 minutes as goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada clattered into Remo Freuler, despite a suspicion of offside, and after a four-minute stoppage Embolo sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot.<\/p>\n
Replays indicated that Freuler was offside before he was fouled, but VAR upheld the original decision despite not showing any specific replay that would have confirmed the offside decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cOffside. We all think it here. Everybody will think it at home. FIFA are the host broadcaster, they\u2019ve got the evidence of the semi-automatic decision that they can show us. Why are they not showing us?\u201d former England international Gary Neville said on ITV at half time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did this in the last tournament. Fans are already distrusting of FIFA and technology to start with. There is a massive question mark over that because that is offside in my eyes until they prove me different.\u201d<\/p>\n
ITV\u2019s rules expert Christina Unkel confirmed that FIFA have the replays, with the offside lines drawn, but simply chose not to show them. <\/p>\n
Neville then blew up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a dictator. Honestly, it\u2019s a dictatorship, this,\u201d he said. \u201cThe idea that they hold this evidence internally and don\u2019t show fans of countries that are playing in tournaments. It\u2019s absolutely ridiculous.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly to not show the evidence of an offside… Prove to us it\u2019s offside. Show it straight away. Why not the transparency?\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the opening period was one-way traffic towards the Qatar box but Edmilson nearly caught the Swiss cold just before half-time, drawing a right-footed save from Kobel at the end of a rare foray forward.<\/p>\n
Under a blazing Californian sun the chances dried up in the second period with the most notable moments a Granit Xhaka drive from distance that whizzed narrowly over the bar and an Embolo poke that nestled in the side netting.<\/p>\n
But ultimately Switzerland were made to pay for their profligacy as Khoukhi powered in at the back post to bullet home a 94th-minute equalizer.<\/p>\n
Switzerland next play Bosnia on Thursday in Los Angeles, while Qatar meet co-hosts Canada in Vancouver on the same day.<\/p>\n
US kick off campaign with monster win | 01:37<\/p>\n
THE ULTIMATE UNDERDOG STORY TO GET AROUND AT WORLD CUP<\/p>\n
Haiti\u2019s achievement in qualifying for the World Cup amid ongoing turmoil in the Caribbean nation is one of the most inspiring stories of this year\u2019s tournament, and the team are now hoping to make a real impact in the United States as they prepare for their opening game.<\/p>\n
Ranked 83rd in the world, Haiti face Scotland in Boston on Saturday in the country\u2019s first match at a World Cup since 1974.<\/p>\n
They are clear underdogs in a group also containing Brazil and Morocco, but the Grenadiers believe they can spring a surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel pride for the people of Haiti. We know people might have a bad image of our country, that it has lots of problems, but this will do the country, the people, my family so much good,\u201d star midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is like a big celebration for them, and we are all going to enjoy it.\u201d The 27-year-old Bellegarde, born in the Paris suburbs, has played more than 80 times in the English Premier League over the last three years with Wolverhampton Wanderers.<\/p>\n
He is one of several foreign-born players of Haitian heritage who have joined the team coached by Frenchman Sebastien Migne, and Bellegarde had a key role as Haiti notably finished above 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists Costa Rica in qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow are just going to go one game at a time, give our best and see where that takes us,\u201d added Bellgarde after a training session watched by local children and Haitian fans at the team\u2019s Stockton University base, near Atlantic City.<\/p>\n
Canada & Bosnia play out tense draw | 00:53<\/p>\n
A US government ban has prevented fans travelling from Haiti, a country plagued for years by instability. The United Nations recently said almost 1.5 million people within Haiti have been displaced due to gang-led violence.<\/p>\n
However, the team should have considerable backing at their games from the sizeable Haitian community in the United States. After facing Scotland they play Brazil in Philadelphia on June 19 and Morocco in Atlanta on June 24.<\/p>\n
The Haitian squad, who were unable to play qualifiers in their home country due to the security situation, got a taste of that support in two friendlies staged in Florida last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe country does so well supporting the team. I think a lot of people were able to see that when we played in Fort Lauderdale, when we played in Miami, the support that we had and the atmosphere they created,\u201d said Derrick Etienne, a winger with MLS side Toronto FC.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo not be able to play at home is obviously difficult, but we ultimately wanted to do something for the country to help get things going and bring awareness to what\u2019s going on there and change the status quo.\u201d <\/p>\n
Etienne, who was born in Richmond, Virginia, but has family back in Haiti, was part of the team that reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals in the USA in 2019.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old is now looking to help his country win a World Cup game for the first time — in 1974 they lost all three matches, conceding 14 goals in the process.<\/p>\n
Three reds as Mexico beat South Africa | 02:43<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to do something that\u2019s never been done before,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand it\u2019s a hard task, but we have a lot of belief in ourselves. We don\u2019t really have anything to lose, we have everything to gain, so that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to try to do.\u201d The 4-0 demolition of New Zealand last week served as a warning to Haiti\u2019s upcoming opponents, and they have a potential difference-maker in attack in Wilson Isidor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s direct, strong, good technically and can finish. So, the fact he\u2019s playing with Haiti is amazing,\u201d said Etienne of the Sunderland striker.<\/p>\n
Isidor, 25, scored six goals in the Premier League last season. Born in France, he made his Haiti debut in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud to represent the country of my Dad,\u201d he said in a break from signing autographs after training.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I am going to have some amazing adventures with the national team. We have come to deliver a message and show we are not only a small nation that has trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 FIFA World Cup continues on Sunday, with all eyes obviously on the Socceroos as they face…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-735022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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