<\/div>\nARNIE\u2019S IRAQ FUTURE IN DOUBT<\/b><\/p>\n
Former Socceroos Graham Arnold\u2019s future in charge of Iraq is uncertain after the nation\u2019s World Cup campaign came to an end with a 5-0 loss to Senegal.<\/p>\n
Arnold lamented a \u201cstupid red card\u201d by Rebin Sulaka in the 13th minute for changing to course of the game despite Senegal already boasting a 1-0 lead at that point.<\/p>\n
The Australian manager also pointed out that nine of the 12 goals conceded by his side across their three matches came directly from errors and he hopes the players can learn from their mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe early red card was mentally tough on the players. Against a team like Senegal, mistakes are always punished,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the players after the match that we conceded 11 goals at this World Cup, and nine came from our own individual mistakes. We have to learn from that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the second half, we ran out of energy. I also made changes to give more players the chance to experience representing Iraq at the World Cup, and I take full responsibility for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Iraq head coach Graham Arnold speaks during a news conference on the eve of the team’s World Cup soccer match against Senegal.<\/span>Source: AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGroup I, which also contains France and Norway, was always going to be a brutal test for Iraq after they were the last team to qualify for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Arnold guided them through an intercontinental playoff to reach the global showpiece for the first time in 40 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in Iraq should be proud of the fact that we made it here and we performed very well in two out of the three games,\u201d he told reporters in Toronto.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the match against Senegal, Arnold revealed that his contract expires at the end of the tournament.<\/p>\n
It remains uncertain whether he will stay on for a reunion with the Socceroos in the group stage of next year\u2019s Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just asked them to leave it until after World Cup, then we can have a chat then,\u201d Arnold said on Friday.<\/p>\n
<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\n Dembele stars for France in big win | 01:15<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nALREADY ELIMINATED TEAMMATES\u2019 TRAINING SPAT<\/b><\/p>\n
Panama coach Thomas Christiansen welcomed a training ground confrontation on Friday between Cecilio Waterman and Jose Luis Rodriguez, saying he wants to see more of that intensity at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Waterman and Rodriguez clashed ahead of Saturday\u2019s game against England in New Jersey, with Panama already eliminated after back-to-back 1-0 losses to Ghana and Croatia in Group L.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened today in training, this is a normal situation,\u201d said Christiansen, a Danish-born former Spain international.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would\u2019ve liked to see these situations more often, that means the team is alive. They are willing to do a good effort… to be in the first XI for the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this happens another time, it\u2019s a good sign that they are alive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Panama are seeking a first World Cup point after losing each of their previous five matches at the tournament, including a 6-1 thrashing by England in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we have the last game against England, a good way to finish a World Cup if it goes our way,\u201d said Christiansen, who has been in charge of Panama since 2020 but is out of contract after the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have made changes from the last time they faced Panama eight years ago, but we need to show it tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be a tough one but I\u2019m thinking that the team will be able to compete and do a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\nSooceroos QUALIFY after intense draw | 02:26<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nFRANCE\u2019S BLACK ARM BAND REQUEST DENIED<\/b><\/p>\n
France\u2019s coach Didier Deschamps missed his side\u2019s 4-1 win against Norway on Saturday morning as he returned home to attend his mother\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n
To show their support, France\u2019s players planned to wear black arm bands but the French Football Federation (FFF) told The Athletic that their request was denied by FIFA.<\/p>\n
There was also reportedly some confusion surrounding a pre-match minute\u2019s silence.<\/p>\n
It had been briefed that a minute\u2019s silence would be held for Deschamps\u2019s mother, but the FFF later clarified, saying it was instead being held in honour of the victims of the Venezuelan earthquake.<\/p>\n
FIFA have been contacted by the media but are yet to issue a response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mauricio Pochettino was upset with the media after a 3-2 loss to Turkiye on Thursday. The United States Men\u2019s National Team coach was fuming that no reporters congratulated him or the team for winning the group. Tszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-250233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}