With just much as happening behind the scenes as there is on the field, here’s all the latest news from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Cristiano Ronaldo put aside his dramas at Manchester United with a pivotal role as Portugal edged Ghana 3-2.
Ghana’s Osman Bukari scored a late consolation and then celebrated with a Ronaldo’s signature ‘suiii’ celebration.
The cameras panned to the Portugual legend, who had made history with a penalty earlier in the game, as he sat on the bench and his reaction was classic Ronaldo frustration.
It could well be Ronaldo was more upset with the concession of the late goal than Bukari’s cheekiness, but it was sparky moment, nonetheless.
Former Chelsea star Antonio Rudiger has been widely criticised for his moment of showboating during the loss to Japan.
Former German international Dietmar Hamann led the criticism, branding Rudiger “unprofessional” and “arrogant” for a moment during the 2-1 defeat.
Rudiger taunted Japanese rival Takuma Asano with a mocking run as he outplaced him with Germany 1-0 ahead. Asano had the last laugh, scoring the winning goal.
“Rudiger knows he’s going to run the ball out of play and he lifts up his legs,’ Hamann told RTE.
“You don’t belittle the opposition because it always comes back at some stage.
“I think it was very unprofessional. I think it was out of order. Arrogant. There’s no defence for it whatsoever.
“He was having a laugh, there’s only one team having a laugh now.
“It’s not acceptable. It’s about respect. He didn’t respect his opponent. And he paid the price for it. I think it was very unprofessional.”
Germany won’t be sanctioned for their protest prior to yesterday’s shock defeat, according to a report in The Independent.
In their offical team photo, the 11 German players covered their mouths in protest over FIFA’s decision to ban captains from wearing armbands adorned with pro-LGBTQI messaging.
“It wasn’t about making a statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That shouldn’t be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case,” the DFB said in a statement.
Article 11 of the FIFA disciplinary code states that anyone “using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporing nature may be sanctioned”. However, the world football governing body are yet to comment on the protest and it seems unlikely it will enforce any punishment on Germany now.
Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, one of seven captains who had planned to wear the One Love armband in Qatar, confirmed prior to their clash with Cameroon that his side would not be undertaking a similar protest as their German counterparts.
Belgium star Eden Hazard also threw his two cents in, telling RMC Sport, “Afterwards, they lost the match. They would have done better not to do it and win. We are here to play football. I am not here to send a political message, (other) people are better placed for that. We want to be focused on football.”
The Real Madrid’s winger’s words were juxtaposed with Belgium’s foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, donning a OneLove armband when she met Gianni Infantino in the stands during The Red Devils’ 1-0 victory over Canada.
There was some doubt about Harry Kane’s fitness for the Three Lions’ clash with USA on Saturday morning (AEDT), but manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed the England striker will start.
Kane went for scans in Qatar with no serious damage to his ankle detected, and the Tottenham Hotspur man was back in England training on Wednesday local time.
“He’s good,” the England manager told ITV.
“He’s worked a little bit more individually today, but he’ll be back in with the team tomorrow and good for the game. We just checked him out to see. It’s not so much the ankle, it’s more the foot.”
Also withdrawn early in England’s 6-2 route of Iran was centre-back Harry Maguire who left the field and headed straight down the tunnel because of a what appeared to be a head injury.
“He was feeling ill and that affected his vision,” Southgate clarified.
“You worry about concussion in that instant, but we were going back through all the footage and there is nothing, so he is in a good area.”
The European Union parliament has voted in favour of a resolution that calls on FIFA to compensate the families of migrant workers who died during construction of the World Cup stadiums.
The resolution also criticised reports of people in the LGBTQI community receiving abuse, and even went to the extent of encouraging Qatar to decriminalise same-sex relations.
A number of members of parliament donned the One Love armbands, which captains from seven European nations at the World Cup had planned to wear before they were sensationally banned by FIFA with threats of yellow cards and other penalties for any nation who dared to contravene the new policy.
Lusail, where the 2022 World Cup final will be played in just over three weeks’ time, currently resembles a ghost town with its streets devoid of life, and construction cranes dotted around the city located 20 kilometres north of Doha.
At the Place Vendome, a luxury mall in the city, many stores are still even yet to open. Newly-built transit links shuttle commuters and football fans between Doha and Lusail, but it’s common for services to be sparsely populated.
The lack of activity in Lusail during the showpiece tournament the city’s infrastructure was built for has raised questions about what will become of the facilities after more than a million fans leave Qatar at the conclusion of the World Cup, drawing comparisons with venues in the Russian city of Sochi, whose stadiums lie abandoned after the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Qatari officials have described Lusail as an “extension of Doha” and the city is part of broader plans to attract white-collar professionals in hopes of expanding the natural resource-reliant nation’s knowledge economy, but time will tell whether those plans come to fruition or the opulent facilities are left to rust.