JABALIA, Palestinian Territories: On an improvised pitch in war-ravaged Gaza, a young player and goalkeeper block out the boisterous crowd and focus solely on the football as they square off.
The referee blows the whistle and the penalty-taker fires the ball into the makeshift goal, sparking wild celebrations as spectators swarm him.
For fans and players, Tuesday’s match in the Jabalia refugee camp was a welcome distraction from the pangs of hunger and exhaustion endured over nearly 300 days of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Referee Rami Mustafa Abu Hashish told AFP that football helped “restore a semblance of life” to Jabalia, devastated by Israeli bombardments and fighting which have laid waste to schools, stadiums and homes, and uprooted families many times over.
In the courtyard of a school-turned-shelter, the two sides vied for a trophy one player said was salvaged from the rubble.
The game created a festive atmosphere, with spectators pulling out chairs and leaning over the railings of the three-story compound to cheer.
A group of boys packed onto an empty lorry bed for a better view.
“We will play despite hunger and thirst, we will compete because we love life,” read one child’s sign in both English and Arabic.
Jabalia was hit particularly hard in an Israeli offensive launched in May, part of a fierce campaign sweeping northern Gaza — an area the military had previously said was out of the control of Hamas militants.
As fighting rages, humanitarian agencies struggle to deliver aid and warn of a looming famine.
Residents have told AFP there is barely any food left in the north, and what little reaches them comes at an astronomical cost.
For the footballers, the match offered a rare escape from concerns about food and water shortages.
They have been unable to play since the October 7 outbreak of the war triggered by Hamas’s attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 44 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,145 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
“Since the war on the Gaza Strip, we’ve stayed away from sports because all the clubs were destroyed, all the playgrounds were destroyed, but today, we made something out of nothing,” said Saif Abu Saif, one of the players.
The Gaza education ministry says 85 percent of educational facilities in the territory are out of service because of the war.
Many have been turned into shelters for war displaced as most of the besieged strip’s 2.4 million people have been uprooted multiple times.
Coach Wael Abu Saif said he was determined to attend Tuesday’s match despite still experiencing pain from wounds sustained in a February attack. Now in a wheelchair, he said he lost the use of both his legs.
“I’ve loved football since I was a child, I love tournaments, I love playing,” he told AFP.
“I want to prove to the whole world... that we continue to move forward with the most basic of our rights, which is to play football.”
‘We love life’: Gaza’s war-weary footballers play on
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‘We love life’: Gaza’s war-weary footballers play on
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- Referee Rami Mustafa Abu Hashish told AFP that football helped “restore a semblance of life” to Jabalia
- In the courtyard of a school-turned-shelter, the two sides vied for a trophy one player said was salvaged from the rubble
Frustrating farewell for Suarez as Uruguay held by Paraguay
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MONTEVIDEO: Luis Suarez bade a frustrating farewell to international football on Friday as Uruguay were held to a 0-0 draw by Paraguay in South American 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Suarez, 37, announced on Monday he was stepping down from international duty after a glittering 17-year career for Uruguay that saw him finish as the country’s top scorer with 69 goals from 143 appearances.
But the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, who now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, was unable to add a 70th goal to his international tally in Friday’s farewell game at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
Despite enjoying 65 percent possession, Uruguay were unable to find a way through a dogged Paraguay defense in a disjointed match littered with some 24 fouls.
Suarez, whose career at international and club level was dogged by controversies such as his ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, was one of four Uruguay players to be shown a yellow card in a fractious encounter.
The result leaves Uruguay in second place in South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying tournament with 14 points from seven games, four points behind leaders Argentina.
Colombia can leapfrog over Uruguay with a victory over Peru in Lima later Friday.
The top six teams in the South America standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.
Saudi players arrive in China ahead of World Cup qualifier
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- The Green Falcons face China on Tuesday in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 tournament, following a disappointing draw against Indonesia
DALIAN: The Saudi national team arrived in the Chinese city of Dalian on Friday ahead of their World Cup qualifier there next week.
The Green Falcons will face China on Tuesday night at the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, in the second game of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Saudi squad wasted no time as they immediately began their preparations on Friday evening with a training session overseen by head coach Roberto Mancini. The players who participated in Thursday’s match against Indonesia took part in recovery training, while the rest engaged in general training exercises.
The previous day in Jeddah, Indonesia held the Saudis to a surprise 1-1 draw in the opening game of the third round of qualifiers. It was a case of two points dropped to the lowest-ranked team in Group C, not least because Salem Al-Dawsari had a penalty attempt saved with 11 minutes remaining.
Indonesia might be Asia’s most improved team of late, bolstered by the naturalization of several Europe-based players, but were nonetheless ranked 133 in the world, 77 places below their hosts.
The Saudi squad was greeted on arrival at the airport in Dalian by Jaber Rashid, a representative of the Kingdom’s embassy. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, Yasser Al-Misehal, thanked the embassy for the warm welcome and assistance it has provided to the team.
UEFA fines Roma $2.2m and warns Basaksehir of European ban in latest club finance rulings
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- Basaksehir also were fined $111,000
- Fines of $66,500 for Aston Villa and $22,100 for Marseille were imposed for late delivery of accounts for the monitoring system once known as “Financial Fair Play”
GENEVA: UEFA fined Roma 2 million euros ($2.22 million) and threatened Istanbul Basaksehir with a one-year ban from European competitions in the latest rulings by club finance investigators on Friday.
Basaksehir also were fined 100,000 euros ($111,000).
Fines of 60,000 euros ($66,500) for Aston Villa and 20,000 euros ($22,100) for Marseille were imposed for late delivery of accounts for the monitoring system once known as “Financial Fair Play.”
Villa will play in the Champions League this season, likely earning at least 40 million euros ($44 million) in UEFA prize money. Marseille, which were fined by UEFA in 2022, did not qualify for any UEFA competition after reaching the Europa League semifinals last season.
FFP was approved by UEFA in 2009 to promote financial stability in top-level European soccer by evaluating revenue and spending by clubs which qualify for its competitions. It was amended two years ago and rebranded as “Financial Sustainability.”
Critics of the system have said it tries to limit investment by wealthy owners of emerging teams trying to challenge the established elite, and also has not been a deterrent to state-backed clubs Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
UEFA required clubs last season to spend no more than 90 percent of revenue on wages and transfer fees. The so-called “squad cost rule” is being phased in over three seasons toward a 70 percent limit.
“All clubs reported a squad cost ratio within the 90 percent limit applicable for the 2023-24 season,” UEFA said.
PSG, Inter Milan and AC Milan were among clubs fined in previous years which met financial targets last season, UEFA said.
Roma “slightly exceeded the intermediate target” and were fined, UEFA said. Roma will play in the Europa League this season which can pay clubs tens of millions of euros in UEFA prize money.
UEFA’s club finance monitoring panel judged Basaksehir “slightly breached the final target foreseen” last season.
The Turkish club will be barred from the next UEFA competition they qualify for in the next three seasons unless they comply with fresh financial targets. Basaksehir also can register just 23 senior players instead of 25 in the third-tier Conference League this season.
England’s new coach may only have two games to prove he’s up to the job
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- Interim head coach Lee Carsley takes charge of his first game for the national team against Ireland after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the European Championship
- “He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great,” said Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been called up for Carsley’s first squad
MANCHESTER, England: A new era for England’s soccer team begins on Saturday. How long it will last is unknown.
Interim head coach Lee Carsley takes charge of his first game for the national team against Ireland after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the European Championship.
Carsley, who stepped up from coaching the Under-21s, will take up the role for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Ireland and Finland, but could remain in the position for longer if the search for Southgate’s permanent successor extends beyond the next international break in October.
In that time, the 50-year-old Carsley may even put himself in the frame.
“He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great. ... I feel like it suits him perfectly,” said Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been called up for Carsley’s first squad.
Gibbs-White, a Nottingham Forest midfielder, was part of England’s Under-21 European Championship winning squad, which Carsley coached to the title last year.
Southgate ended his eight-year reign as England manager after the loss to Spain in the final of Euro 2024. He led the team to back-to-back Euros finals and the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 but failed to end England’s wait for a first trophy since the World Cup in 1966.
The English Football Association has set a high benchmark for his replacement and said in July it had already identified several candidates.
It said the job was to “win a major tournament and be consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the world.”
The FA said its next head coach would have “significant experience of English football, with a strong track record delivering results in the Premier League and/or leading international competitions.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quickly mentioned as a potential contender, though he has said he wants to take a year out after stepping down from his position at Anfield at the end of last season.
The closing date for applications was Aug. 2, but with no candidate in place ahead of England’s first games since the Euros, Carsley was given the job on an interim basis.
While Carsley has no experience as a Premier League manager, he is respected for his work developing young players, having been part of Manchester City’s successful academy.
England’s success at the U21s Euros last year was the first time since 1984 that they had won the competition. Whether the FA would consider that among the “leading international competitions” it wants its next head coach to have experience in remains to be seen. But Carsley is in position and will know Southgate’s own ascension to the job came after he was initially named as interim in 2016.
That makes the games against Ireland and Finland potential auditions for him to put forward his credentials. Saturday’s game is in Dublin. Finland visit Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
He is without star players like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, but has picked some exciting young talent.
Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke — all uncapped — were part of that U21s Euro-winning squad, along with Anthony Gordon and Levi Colwill.
Gomes describes Carsley’s style as “very attacking, but also (with) a huge emphasis on defense.”
He also speaks highly of Carsley’s personal touch.
“He’s a very fair coach. He’s very, very honest and direct in his approach and he’s very close to the squad,” Gomes said. “It helps as a player when a coach takes interest in a player, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch.”
New Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is aiming to make his own statement in his first game in charge.
He already played a part in shocking England once. Hallgimsson was Iceland’s co-manager with Lars Lagerback when the team beat England 2-1 in the last 16 at Euro 2016.
“I hope we will have the same result tomorrow, of course,” he said Friday. “Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal, and nothing England tried that night succeeded, so it was just one of those days.
“Hopefully it will come again tomorrow. But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England.”
Argentina cruise past Chile, Bolivia thrash Venezuela in World Cup qualifiers
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- Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after halftime to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires
- Lionel Scaloni’s team lead South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games
- Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying
BUENOS AIRES: Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala were on target as Argentina tightened their grip on South America’s 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Chile on Thursday.
Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after halftime to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a defensive Chile side.
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a thumping shot from outside the area before substitute Dybala put the seal on the victory with a late strike in stoppage time.
It was another clinical victory for the reigning world champions, who are now cruising toward confirming their place at the 2026 finals being staged in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Lionel Scaloni’s team lead South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games.
The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.
Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier this year, went into Thursday’s game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa America triumph in July.
Di Maria was feted by his former teammates at a pre-game ceremony before taking his place in the stands to watch the world champions secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.
Despite the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Argentina had plenty of creative guile in attack with Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid’s Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defense.
Argentina, meanwhile, controlled midfield with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez.
After a cagey first-half, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Alvarez whipped in a low cross from the right.
Martinez dummied cleverly and allowed the ball to roll through to Mac Allister, who guided an accurate shot into the bottom corner.
In Thursday’s other qualifier, Bolivia reignited their campaign with a 4-0 drubbing over Venezuela in a game played more than 4,000m (13,100 feet) above sea level.
Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying and lifted them into seventh place in the standings.
The result was a vindication of Bolivia’s move to play Thursday’s game in El Alto — Spanish for “The Heights” — rather than at their usual home venue in neighboring La Paz, which is 3,600m above sea level.
The thin air of El Alto clearly left Venezuela’s players struggling for energy against a Bolivian team aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the 1994 finals in the United States.
Despite his team’s heavy loss, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista refused to dwell on the altitude issue after the game.
“Out of 10 questions, eight are about altitude,” Batista said. “You won’t hear anything from me about it.”
The pick of Bolivia’s goals came from Vaca after just 13 minutes.
The 25-year-old midfielder gathered the ball around 30 yards from goal, cut in from the left and unleashed a ferocious shot which flew into the top corner.
Venezuela, the only team from South America never to have qualified for a World Cup, remain well-placed to reach the finals despite Thursday’s loss.
The ‘Vinotinto’ are fourth in the standings with nine points from seven games, trailing Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia.
Venezuela host Uruguay next Tuesday in their eighth game of qualifying.
South America’s qualifiers continue on Friday with second-placed Uruguay hosting Paraguay in Montevideo while struggling Brazil, who are 11 points adrift of leaders Argentina in sixth, face Ecuador in Curitiba.
Third-placed Colombia, meanwhile, travel to Lima to face bottom-of-the-table Peru.