كورتوا: الفائز من إسبانيا وفرنسا الأقرب للتتويج

يرى الحارس البلجيكي تيبو كورتوا أن مواجهة نصف النهائي المرتقبة بين منتخب إسبانيا ومنتخب فرنسا قد تحدد هوية بطل كأس العالم 2026.
وقال كورتوا في تصريحات إعلامية: “أعتقد أن الفائز من مواجهة إسبانيا وفرنسا سيفوز بلقب كأس العالم”.
وتأتي تصريحات حارس ريال مدريد بعد خروج منتخب بلجيكا من البطولة، في وقت يواصل فيه المنتخبان الإسباني والفرنسي مشوارهما بقوة، بعدما نجحا في بلوغ الدور نصف النهائي، ليضربا موعدًا في واحدة من أقوى مباريات النسخة الحالية.
ويحظى اللقاء بترقب جماهيري وإعلامي كبير، في ظل المستوى المميز الذي قدمه المنتخبان طوال البطولة، حيث يمتلك كل منهما كوكبة من النجوم القادرين على صناعة الفارق، وهو ما يجعل الفائز من هذه القمة مرشحًا بقوة لاعتلاء منصة التتويج وحصد لقب مونديال 2026. h-doctor.club

Doha, Qatar: England will aim to end Lionel Messi’s bid for back-to-back FIFA World Cup titles and then charge their way into the final when they face defending champions Argentina in a heavyweight semi-final clash at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium today.

The last-four showdown pits one of international football’s oldest rivalries, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.

الأخبارمنتخبنا للقفز المظلي يشارك في مونديال «السيزم»يخوض منتخبنا للقفز المظلي التابع للجنة قطر للرياضات الجوية بالقوات الخاصة المشتركة بطولة العالم العسكرية (السيزم) التي تنطلق غدا الجمعة وتستمر حتى الثالث والعشرين من الشهر نفسه ...فتح →

Thomas Tuchel’s England are targeting a place in their first World Cup final for the first time since lifting the trophy in 1966, while Argentina are chasing a third appearance in the final in the last four editions. The Messi-led side is also hoping to become the first team after Brazil (1962) to successfully defend the world title.

For Messi, the man who carries the tag of owning most number of goals scored in World Cups (21), today’s semi-final carries extra significance as he prepares to face England for the first time in his career.

“I have played against everyone except England and it is special because they are a major nation, a powerhouse, and it is always nice to play against a side like that, especially in a World Cup semi-final,” Messi said ahead of the encounter.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has already inspired Argentina’s title defence journey, scoring eight goals, but Lionel Scaloni’s men faced few near misses on their way to the semi-finals.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (second right) with teammates during a training session.

After comfortably topping their group, Argentina edged Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time before rallying late to beat Egypt by the same scoreline. They then overcame Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals, extending their unbeaten run at the World Cup finals to 12 matches since their shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia at Qatar 2022.

“This squad does not get tired of making history. They keep wanting more,” Messi said after the victory over Switzerland.

“It is not easy to have been world champions, to have won all that we have won, and to once again keep competing at this level and be back in the semi-finals.”

The 39-year-old maestro, who is probably playing his last FIFA World Cup, will be the biggest threat to England today, but English skipper Harry Kane believes his team must focus on Argentina as a whole, instead of individuals.

“We know how good a player he is, we know what he’s done in the game, how consistent he’s been for so long,” Kane, who was top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, said.

“But the game is against Argentina, not against Lionel Messi. So yeah, we have a lot of preparation to do. We’re coming up against a great unit, a great team with fantastic players,” Kane said.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford echoed Kane’s views, saying: “We all know how good Messi is but we also know how good Argentina are. We can’t solely rely on stopping Messi.”

“We’ve got to focus on their other strengths and the weaknesses we can take advantage of.”

England, powered by a brilliant double by Jude Bellingham, claimed a comeback win over Norway in an extra-time thriller to book the Argentina meeting, following another 3-2 win over Mexico in the pre-quarters despite playing with 10 men.

England opened their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, drew with Ghana and defeated Panama 2-0 before surviving another scare against DR Congo to secure a 2-1 win in the Round of 32.

Overall, England hold the upper hand in the head-to-head record, with six wins to Argentina’s two, while five matches have ended in draws. England also lead the World Cup head to head record with three wins so far, while Argentina’s victories came in the gripping 1986 quarter-final and the shootout in 1998.

England’s most recent meeting saw them clinch a thrilling 3-2 friendly win in 2005, and fast forward 21 years, a whole new generation of The Three Lions are up against one of the pre-tournament favourites this time.

Sydney: Football Australia have thrown their support behind under-fire coach Tony Popovic despite some questionable decisions in their World Cup penalty shootout loss to Egypt that saw them again fail to clear a knockout round.

Popovic sparked criticism from some high-profile former Australia players for substituting first-choice goalkeeper Patrick Beach deep into extra-time in the last-32 clash in Dallas on Friday as penalties loomed.

He instead turned to Mathew Ryan, who failed to pull off a save and Egypt won 4-2 on spot-kicks.

The result left Australia still searching for a first victory in the knockout stages of a World Cup.

الأخبارترامب يدعم إنفانتينو في»أزمة الفيفا»دافع الرئيس الأمريكي دونالد ترامب عن جياني إنفانتينو، رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم «الفيفا»، في الوقت الذي يواجه فيه الأخير ضغوطا متزايدة بسبب أزمته الأخيرة مع عدد من الاتحادا...فتح →

Popovic also came under scrutiny for entrusting 18-year-old Lucas Herrington with one of the penalties, which he missed.

"Every fan will think about what can be done better," Football Australia chief executive Martin Kugeler told Australian media in Dallas.

"But the coaching staff and Tony Popovic are always in the best place to judge in that moment what is needed for the team.

"In hindsight, everyone always knows better, but you have to make those calls in the moment based on what you've seen in training, what is your impression in talking to the players.

"So Tony Popovic has absolutely our confidence."

Popovic was appointed in 2024 and guided Australia to their sixth successive World Cup.

His contract was extended in the days before the tournament through to the 2027 Asian Cup which is due to be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5.

"We're absolutely happy about the decision to extend this contract," Kugeler said.

"He is the right person to now take this group into the next major tournament and apply all the experiences, all the learnings from this tournament into the next major tournament."

أكد الشيخ أحمد بن نوح آل ثاني، أمين السر العام للاتحاد القطري للفروسية والخماسي الحديث، أن المغفور له بإذن الله صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني، طيب الله ثراه، وضع برؤية ثاقبة الأسس التي قامت عليها مسيرة التنمية الشاملة في دولة قطر، من خلال نهجٍ ارتكز على بناء المؤسسات، وتمكين الكفاءات الوطنية، وترسيخ مقومات التقدم المستدام.
وقال إن ما تشهده دولة قطر اليوم من مكانة مرموقة وإنجازات متواصلة في مختلف القطاعات يجسد الرؤية الاستراتيجية التي تبناها سمو الأمير الوالد، والتي جعلت من التخطيط بعيد المدى، وجودة الأداء، والتميز المؤسسي ركائز أساسية في مسيرة الدولة.
وأضاف أن القطاع الرياضي حظي باهتمام كبير ضمن هذه الرؤية، الأمر الذي أسهم في تطوير المنظومة الرياضية، وتعزيز قدراتها التنظيمية والفنية، وتهيئة البيئة الملائمة لتحقيق النجاحات، بما رسخ مكانة دولة قطر مركزاً عالمياً للرياضة واستضافة كبرى البطولات الدولية.
وأشار إلى أن رياضة الفروسية والخماسي الحديث كانت من بين القطاعات التي استفادت من هذا النهج، عبر تطوير البنية التحتية، ودعم الكفاءات الوطنية، وتعزيز الحضور القطري في مختلف المحافل الإقليمية والدولية، بما يعكس الرؤية التي أولت الرياضة اهتماماً بوصفها رافداً من روافد التنمية الوطنية.