منتخب الإمارات يحرز المركز الرابع في كأس العالم لكرة القدم الموحدة لل…

أكد حسن ربيعة الكواري، المدير التنفيذي للمبيعات والتسويق والاتصال في مؤسسة دوري نجوم قطر، أن دولة قطر فقدت برحيل صاحب السمو الأمير الوالد الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني، قائداً استثنائياً وإنساناً قريباً من شعبه، كرّس حياته لخدمة الوطن، وأسهم في بناء نهضة حديثة جعلت قطر نموذجاً يُحتذى به في التنمية والتقدم على المستويين الإقليمي والدولي. وقال الكواري: «لم يكن الأمير الوالد قائداً عظيماً فحسب، بل كان أباً لشعبه، قريباً منهم في مختلف المناسبات، يشاركهم أفراحهم وأحزانهم، ويحرص على التواصل المباشر معهم دون حواجز أو تكلف، وهو ما رسّخ مكانته في قلوب القطريين والمقيمين، وجعل محبته حاضرة في وجدان الجميع». وأضاف: «لقد آمن سموه بأن بناء الإنسان هو أساس بناء الوطن، وأن الاستثمار في المواطن هو الاستثمار الحقيقي، لذلك جاءت رؤيته شاملة، وامتدت إلى مختلف القطاعات، وفي مقدمتها الرياضة التي جعلها إحدى ركائز التنمية الوطنية، ووسيلة لتعزيز حضور دولة قطر على الساحة الدولية».
وأشار الكواري إلى أن ما حققته قطر من إنجازات رياضية عالمية واستضافة لأكبر البطولات لم يكن وليد الصدفة، بل جاء نتيجة رؤية إستراتيجية بعيدة المدى أرسى دعائمها الأمير الوالد، من خلال بناء بنية تحتية رياضية عالمية، وتطوير الكفاءات الوطنية، وترسيخ مكانة الدولة كوجهة رياضية رائدة.
وأكد أن الإرث الحقيقي للأمير الوالد لا يتمثل في الإنجازات العمرانية والتنموية فحسب، بل في العلاقة الإنسانية الصادقة التي بناها مع أبناء شعبه، والتي جعلت حبهم له يتجاوز حدود المنصب، ليبقى رمزاً وطنياً خالداً في ذاكرة كل من عرفه أو عاش في عهده.
واختتم الكواري تصريحه بالدعاء إلى الله عز وجل أن يتغمد الأمير الوالد بواسع رحمته، ويسكنه فسيح جناته، وأن يجزيه خير الجزاء على ما قدمه لوطنه وشعبه، مؤكداً أن سيرته وإرثه الوطني والإنساني سيبقيان مصدر إلهام للأجيال القادمة.

New York: A sale of World Cup memorabilia, including a ball used in the final and outfits worn by performers at the halftime show, was announced yesterday by New York auction house Christie’s. zeppelin.cool

The week-long online auction begins on July 22 and raises funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to generate $100m for children worldwide during the World Cup.

Top items include a yellow crop top and trousers worn by Colombian pop singer Shakira in her music video for Dai Dai, the official song of the 2026 football tournament.

The outfit she will wear during her performance at the first-ever World Cup final halftime show -- an 11-minute musical extravaganza also featuring Madonna, Justin Bieber and BTS - will also be auctioned.

Several soccer balls will go on sale including one from the July 19 final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and another from the opening match in Mexico last month.

A 2022 Argentina jersey signed by star player Lionel Messi is being auctioned too, as well as a US jersey signed by the United States’ men’s team.

Doha, Qatar: Every FIFA World Cup creates new heroes, but it also signals the end of an era for others.

When Portugal and Croatia meet in the Round of 32, the spotlight will once again fall on Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric.

Two of football’s greatest players have defined a generation, and this could be the final World Cup match for one of them. The winner lives to fight another day. The loser may be saying goodbye to the tournament that shaped so many unforgettable memories.

For Ronaldo, the World Cup has been a journey spanning two decades. From his debut as a teenager in 2006 to becoming the first player to score in six different World Cups, the Portugal captain has continually rewritten football history.

Yet one prize has remained out of reach. Despite countless individual records and international success, lifting the World Cup trophy is the one achievement missing from an extraordinary career.

Modric’s World Cup story has been just as remarkable. The Croatian captain inspired his nation to the 2018 final, where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, before leading Croatia to another memorable campaign four years later. His composure, vision and leadership have made him the heartbeat of one of international football’s most consistent teams over the past decade.

Their rivalry now enters another chapter.

Portugal have enjoyed a solid group-stage campaign, finishing second in Group K after an opening draw with DR Congo, a victory over Uzbekistan and a goalless draw against group winners Colombia.

Croatia’s road to the knockout rounds was built on resilience. After opening with a defeat to England, Zlatko Dalic’s side bounced back with victories over Panama and Ghana to finish second in Group L.

Although Ronaldo and Modric remain the biggest names, both teams possess quality across the pitch.

Portugal’s attack has been driven by Rafael Leao’s pace, while Bruno Fernandes continues to pull the strings in midfield and Bernardo Silva provides creativity between the lines. At the back, Ruben Dias remains the leader of the defence.

Croatia, meanwhile, continue to draw inspiration from Modric, but they also possess exciting young talent. Josko Gvardiol anchors the defence alongside Josip Sutalo, while Mateo Kovacic provides energy and control in midfield. Ivan Perisic remains Croatia’s most experienced attacking threat.

History slightly favours Portugal in this fixture. The two nations have met several times in international competition, with Portugal winning most of those encounters. However, this will be the first time the sides have met at a FIFA World Cup.

The knockout stage often demands more than quality alone. Experience, patience and composure become just as important, and there are few players in world football who understand those moments better than Ronaldo and Modric.

When the final whistle blows, one nation will move a step closer to football’s greatest prize.

The other will head home, and with it may come the final World Cup appearance of either Ronaldo or Modric. Whatever the outcome, two of the game’s greatest are set to share the World Cup stage for one final time.

Philadelphia: Tournament favourites France will go into their World Cup quarter-final against Morocco with their confidence further bolstered by the manner in which they saw off Paraguay on Saturday, as Didier Deschamps' team showed they are happy to "get their hands dirty" as well as play brilliant football.

This World Cup so far has been lit up by the return of French flair, with Les Bleus possibly performing better than they have at any major tournament since Zinedine Zidane inspired them to glory at Euro 2000.

Deschamps has had a richly successful 14-year reign in charge, but he is usually a pragmatic coach who prioritises substance over style.

That has changed over the last few weeks in the United States, as he appears to have decided he can hand the keys to his many brilliant attacking players in his last tournament before stepping down.

But after scoring 13 goals across first four matches, they had to ditch the flair and win in a different way in their 1-0 last-16 victory against Paraguay on Saturday.

It took a Kylian Mbappe penalty in the 70th minute in Philadelphia to settle a niggly contest in which Paraguay set out to put everyone behind the ball and wind up their opponents.
Somehow the South Americans escaped without a single booking from a game described by French sports daily L'Equipe as "a fight that you shouldn't show to your children".

"If we have to get our hands dirty, we'll get our hands dirty. We've no problem with that," Mbappe said after the game, which was also played in sweltering conditions with late afternoon temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

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The lesson for their future opponents is that you can try to frustrate France and get under their skin, but it might not work as a strategy.

"Their main quality is fighting, but we showed that the France team is not only about playing nice football. Anyone who wants to go to war with us, now they know what to expect," said Rayan Cherki, the Manchester City forward who came on as a late substitute.

Bradley Barcola said he had "never played in a game like that, getting kicked and pushed in the back that often".

France have won all five games at this World Cup, led by captain Mbappe who is level with Lionel Messi as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals.

Their attacking firepower is extraordinary, but their defence is also formidable, with the pace and power of William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano in front of a top-class goalkeeper in Mike Maignan.

Les Bleus have conceded just two goals, one a late consolation in their opening match against Senegal and one against Norway.

Nobody in the French camp can be getting carried away, however, as up to now they have played only one opponent in the top 30 in the FIFA rankings. That was Senegal, who are 15th.
Now they must take on seventh-ranked Morocco, who represent a different level of opposition altogether.

It will be a fascinating remake of the 2022 semi-final in Qatar which France won 2-0.

The presence in the Moroccan ranks of gifted French-born midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who captained the France Under-21 team as recently as March before switching allegiance, adds to the intrigue.

But France have nothing to fear. They have now reached the quarter-finals in four straight World Cups under Deschamps.

In his first major tournament, they lost to eventual winners Germany in the last eight in Brazil in 2014, before they won the trophy in Russia in 2018 and reached another final four years later.

Saturday's hard-earned victory at Lincoln Financial Field was the 19th at a World Cup for Deschamps.

He has already overtaken West Germany's Helmut Schoen as the coach with the most wins at the tournament overall, and intends to keep the run going all the way to the final on July 19.

After all, the main thing France have been good at under Deschamps is winning.