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Argentina and Brazil search for Messi and Neymar replacements ahead of World Cup qualifiers

Brazil’s forward Vinicius Jr (C) controls the ball as he takes part in a training session in Brasilia, on March 19, 2025, on the eve of their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers football match against Colombia. (AFP)
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Updated 20 March 2025
AP
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Argentina and Brazil search for Messi and Neymar replacements ahead of World Cup qualifiers

  • The top six teams will secure direct berths to the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada
  • Also this week, Paraguay will host Chile, Peru will take on Bolivia, and Ecuador host Venezuela
Updated 20 March 2025
AP

SAO PAULO: There will be no Lionel Messi for Argentina and no Neymar for Brazil in two decisive rounds of South American World Cup qualifying.

Ahead of games against tough rivals, coaches Lionel Scaloni and Dorival Junior are still wondering who will replace their stars.

Defending champion Argentina, the leader with 25 points after 12 matches, could secure their place in the 2026 World Cup within days. They play at second-place Uruguay on Friday.

Argentina then host Brazil in Buenos Aires next Tuesday. The last time the two South American powerhouses clashed, Argentina won 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

On Thursday, fifth-place Brazil host fourth-place Colombia. Also this week, Paraguay will host Chile, Peru will take on Bolivia, and Ecuador host Venezuela.

The top six teams will secure direct berths to the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-place team among the 10 of the region will still have a chance to qualify through an international playoff.

Brazil vs. Colombia

Brazil could end this month securing its spot in the next World Cup or lagging in seventh place. That means pressure on coach Júnior.

Neymar’s absence led Junior to try out Savinho up front alongside Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, with Raphinha behind them in Tuesday’s training session. Brazil’s coach hinted that would be the most likely lineup against Colombia on Thursday at the Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia.

But then local media reported another formation was tested Wednesday, with Joao Pedro as a target man up front and Vinicius Junior as his pairing. Raphinha and Rodrygo trained right behind them to close gaps in the midfield.

If neither of those settings work, coach Junior will still be able to move Raphinha up front on the wing or try out teenager Estevao, one of Brazil’s biggest prospects, in the same position. Then Rodrygo could play center forward, as in other occasions.

“I am trying to keep players in the position they play at the clubs since the start, and I make changes according what rivals bring,” Junior said Wednesday during a press conference in which he did not reveal his starting lineup.

Several Brazil players will miss the match against Argentina if they are booked against Colombia: defenders Danilo and Gabriel Magalhães; midfielders Andre, Bruno Guimarees; and strikers Matheus Cunha, Raphinha and Rodrygo.

Brazil drew against Venezuela and Uruguay in its two latest World Cup qualifying matches, with coach Júnior arguing he was “starting a recovery process” by testing several players in different positions.

Uruguay vs. Argentina

With Messi out due to a muscle injury, Scaloni hoped he could field a powerful duo up front in Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martínez at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo. But on Wednesday he also lost Martínez — the Inter Milan striker — to a muscle fatigue problem.

A win would make Argentina the first South American team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Alvarez has scored 23 goals for Atletico Madrid this season. But instead of an aggressive pairing with Martínez, he is more likely to have midfielder Thiago Almada in Messi’s role and be all alone up front.

Messi injured his left thigh adductor muscle in Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on Sunday in the MLS.

Argentine players might want to be cautious in Montevideo to avoid risking suspension for the match against Brazil. Defender Nicolás Otamendi and midfielders Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo de Paul, and Alexis Mac Allister could miss the clash if they get a yellow against Uruguay.

Argentina will play a friendly on Saturday against a local U-20 team at Huracan Stadium in Buenos Aires in a fundraiser for the reconstruction of a hospital damaged by a storm that killed 16 people in the region of Bahía Blanca two weeks ago.

“We needed to do something within the international window,” Scaloni said.

Topics: FIFA World Cup qualifiers

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Spain salvage streak with last-ditch Netherlands draw in Nations League

Updated 21 March 2025
AFP
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Spain salvage streak with last-ditch Netherlands draw in Nations League

Updated 21 March 2025
AFP

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands: European champions Spain salvaged their two-year unbeaten streak in the dying minutes of Thursday’s Nations League quarter-final first leg, denying 10-man Netherlands a famous victory with a 2-2 draw.

Mikel Merino broke Dutch hearts in the third minute of added time, to maintain an unbeaten run that now stretches to 22 competitive games.

The two powerhouses of world football meet again in Valencia on Sunday, with the winner of the tie to face France or Croatia in the semifinal.

The omens were good for the hosts, who had never lost to Spain on home soil, and could count on raucous support from a sold-out De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam.

But Spain also had good memories of the stadium, the scene of their 2023 Nations League triumph, where they beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties.

The visitors struck first, benefitting from some defensive fraility and deft footwork from star winger Nico Williams.

Barcelona’s 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal dispossessed Jorrel Hato on the right side, finding club-mate Pedri who slotted into Williams in the box.

Williams effortlessly turned Lutsharel Geertruida and slid his shot past Bart Verbruggen in the Dutch goal to silence the orange hordes.

The hosts rallied strongly and got their reward on 27 minutes, the ball breaking for Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo who beat Unai Simon at his near post.

The equalizer galvanized the Dutch, who enjoyed possession and pressure, knocking the ball around with confidence and creating several chances.

The best of these fell to Memphis Depay, recalled after a spell in the wilderness and he found himself unmarked in the Spanish box but struck his shot straight at Simon.

An acrobatic strike from AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders grazed the Spain bar and it was the Dutch who went into half-time in the ascendancy after a free-flowing first period.

The Oranje took the lead less than a minute into the second half, Jeremie Frimpong breaking swiftly down the right and squaring accurately to Reijnders, who swept his shot into the left corner.

Gakpo came close to stretching the lead even further in the 59th minute but Simon got down to his stinging shot along the ground.

Spain manager Luis De la Fuente made three substitutions in a bid to exert some pressure on the Dutch, but Verbruggen was untroubled until the 70th minute when he had to react smartly to a ball deflected off his own defender.

La Rioja pushed for the equalizer with some intricate passing around the penalty box but lacked real penetration.

As pressure built, players on both sides became increasingly scratchy, culminating in a red card for Hato, who lunged at Robin Le Normand, catching his ankle.

That sparked a nervous last few minutes for the Dutch and the pressure eventually told.

Williams again harassed the Dutch defense, cutting inside from the left and releasing a shot that Verbruggen could only parry into the path of Merino for a tap-in.

Topics: UEFA Nations League Spain Netherlands

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Perisic stars as Croatia stun France in Nations League

Updated 21 March 2025
AFP
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Perisic stars as Croatia stun France in Nations League

Updated 21 March 2025
AFP

SPLIT, Croatia: Ivan Perisic scored one goal and made another as Croatia beat France 2-0 on Thursday to seize the upper hand in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie.
Perisic crossed for Ante Budimir to head in the opener at the Stadion Poljud in Split after the home side had squandered an early penalty.
With France out of sorts, Perisic made it 2-0 before the break and a Croatia side captained by Luka Modric saw out the victory to take to Paris for the return match on Sunday.
It was not a good night for France as captain Kylian Mbappe made his comeback having not featured in either of the last two international windows, in October and November.
Mbappe did have chances, notably seeing a deflected second-half shot from Ousmane Dembele’s cutback kept out by a fine Dominik Livakovic save.
The Real Madrid superstar has now failed to find the net in his last six appearances for his country, since scoring a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland at Euro 2024.
Les Bleus will now have to find a way of overturning the deficit at the Stade de France on Sunday, otherwise Croatia will be heading to the final four of the Nations League.
The semifinals and final will take place in June and will be hosted by either Italy or Germany, depending on which of those sides emerges victorious from their last-eight encounter.
France won the Nations League in 2021 but suffered a first ever defeat against Croatia in the group stage of the following year’s edition.
This latest repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, won 4-2 by the French in Moscow, saw Croatia win a spot-kick just five minutes in.
Liverpool center-back Ibrahima Konate was penalized for a blatant handball inside the area, but Mike Maignan saved Andrej Kramaric’s penalty after a long delay due to the goalkeeper having a laser pen shone in his eyes.
However, Croatia did get the breakthrough on 26 minutes as Budimir, who has 15 goals in La Liga this season for Osasuna, got in front of William Saliba to connect with a Perisic cross from the left.
Budimir’e header was blocked by Maignan, but the ball still spun into the net in cruel fashion for the goalkeeper.
It was 2-0 in first-half stoppage time as Saliba blocked a shot by Martin Baturina, only for the ball to fall for PSV Eindhoven veteran Perisic to fire in.
France made changes, sending on Dayot Upamecano for Konate at the restart and later bringing on Bradley Barcola for Randal Kolo Muani and Michael Olize for Dembele.
The latter spent more time on the right flank after the break having previously been deployed more centrally.
However, they could not get a goal back and now face a daunting task in trying to recover the tie.

Topics: UEFA Nations League France Croatia

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Saudi Arabia back on track for World Cup after victory over 10-man China

Updated 21 March 2025
John Duerden
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Saudi Arabia back on track for World Cup after victory over 10-man China

  • Salem Al-Dawsari’s goal early in the second half moved Herve Renard’s men into 3rd spot in their qualifying group, a point behind 2nd-place Australia
  • The Aussies’ 5-1 win over Indonesia earlier in the day put more pressure on the Saudis, who had picked up only 2 points from their past 4 games
Updated 21 March 2025
John Duerden

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia defeated 10-man China 1-0 in Riyadh on Thursday to get their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign back on track.
Salem Al-Dawsari’s goal early in the second half moved Herve Renard’s men into third place in Group C, a point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic qualification spot, and three clear of Indonesia, Bahrain and China.
Japan defeated Bahrain 2-0 to remain nine points clear at the top of the group with three games to play, and become the first nation to clinch qualification for the tournament.
Australia’s 5-1 win over Indonesia earlier in the day had piled more pressure on the Saudis, who knew that after collecting just two points from their past four qualification games, and with a trip to a dominant Japan coming up on Tuesday, only a victory would do.
As expected, the Green Falcons made most of the running, and midway through the first half they came within millimeters of taking the lead. Al-Dawsari slipped the ball to Nawaf Boushal on the left side of the area and the Al-Nassr star curled a shot that bounced back off the underside of the crossbar.
Eight minutes before the break the home team came even closer. In fact, midfielder Faisal Al-Ghamdi had the ball in the back of the net after bundling a Musab Al-Juwayr cross home from close range. However, the celebrations were cut short as the video assistant referee had spotted a handball by Al-Ghamdi.
China were reduced to 10 men in first-half added time when Lin Liangming was red-carded for a tackle on Hassan Kadesh that resulted in the defender, the two-goal hero of Saudi Arabia’s victory over China in September, being carried from the pitch.
Five minutes after the break, Al-Dawsari broke the deadlock when he scored the team’s first goal for 410 minutes in the qualification campaign. It came after Ayman Yahya’s shot from the left-hand side of the area was palmed away by Wang Dalei only as far as Saud Abdulhamid, who squared the ball to Al-Dawsari. The Al-Hilal star made no mistake as he swept it home from close range.
The home team continued to pour forward in search of a second goal that would surely have killed off the tie. They failed to get it but in the end it did not matter.
The top two teams in the six-team group qualify automatically for the World Cup, while the teams in third and fourth will progress to a play-off phase.

Topics: Saudi Arabia China 2026 World Cup

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Coventry vote not ‘women versus men’, says outgoing IOC chief Bach

Updated 20 March 2025
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Coventry vote not ‘women versus men’, says outgoing IOC chief Bach

Updated 20 March 2025
“I don’t think it was a vote on women versus men or vice versa,” he said
Bach insisted he had “no preferred candidate“

COSTA NAVARINO, Greece: Outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the election of Kirsty Coventry as his successor should not be reduced to a gender battle of “women versus men.”
Bach played down the importance of the 41-year-old from Zimbabwe, an Olympic gold medallist in swimming, becoming the first woman to be elected head of international sport’s wealthiest organization, defeating six other candidates, all men.
“I don’t think we should reduce this election to the fact that there were six men and one woman. I don’t think it was a vote on women versus men or vice versa,” he said.
The German said the victory in the very first round of voting with 49 of the 97 votes gave Coventry “a very strong mandate” and was “a great signal of unity,” adding: “She can count on the support of the membership.”
Bach insisted he had “no preferred candidate” but recalled that he had said during last year’s Paris Olympics it was time for a new leader who reflected a new era.
He will remain in office until June to oversee the hand-over to Coventry, a process he said would start on Friday when he will have breakfast with her to discuss the transition.
Coventry garnered 21 more votes than second-placed Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior while Sebastian Coe, the double 1,500m Olympic champion and head of World Athletics, received just eight.

Russia hopes for ‘return to Olympic fold’ under Coventry

Updated 20 March 2025
AFP
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Russia hopes for ‘return to Olympic fold’ under Coventry

  • “We look forward to a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous Olympic movement under a new leader, and to Russia returning to the Olympic podium,” Degtyaryov said
  • One of the major problems Coventry will face will be the return to the Olympic fold of exiled Russia
Updated 20 March 2025
AFP

MOSCOW: Russia hoped for a return from sporting exile on Thursday, believing the historic election of Kirsty Coventry as International Olympic Committee president will lead to a “stronger, more independent Olympic movement.”
“We look forward to a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous Olympic movement under a new leader, and to Russia returning to the Olympic podium,” Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov, who is also head of the Russian Olympic committee, wrote on his Telegram account.
One of the major problems Coventry will face will be the return to the Olympic fold of exiled Russia.
In Paris last year their athletes were forced to compete under a neutral banner, owing to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“On behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee, I congratulate Kirsty Coventry on her election as President of the International Olympic Committee!,” added Degtyaryov.
“Her brilliant sporting career, Olympic victories, records, and contribution to the development of sport have made her one of the favorites in this campaign.”
Russia dogged outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach’s tenure first with the doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and then Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Olympic International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry

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