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Japan has come home to a hero’s welcome at Narita International Airport, east of Tokyo.
Supporters use smartphones to record Japan’s national soccer team’s homecoming. Photo: Shuji Kajiyama/AP Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu, center, and captain Maya Yoshida, center right, receive flowers as fans welcome the Japanese national soccer team. Photo: Shuji Kajiyama/AP
Belgian Eden Hazard announces his international retirement
Belgium captain Eden Hazard announced his retirement from international football at the age of 31 on Wednesday following his side’s World Cup group stage exit.
The striker played in all three Group F games but failed to score as Belgium beat Canada, lost to Morocco and drew goalless with Croatia to finish third.
Hazard made his international debut in 2008 and scored 33 goals in 126 appearances. He helped Belgium reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, where they lost to eventual champions France, and beat England in the third-place playoff.
“I have decided to end my international career. Succession is ready,” Hazard wrote on Instagram, Reuters reports.
“Today turns a page… Thank you for your love. Thank you for your unmatched support. Thank you for all this shared happiness since 2008… I will miss you.”
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez stepped down on Thursday after a disappointing tournament in Qatar.
Belgium’s Eden Hazard in action against Croatia. Photograph: Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
If you were worried about the absence of David Squires yesterday, fear not. He simply held it back for a day to ensure he could cover the entire round of 16, and the delicious final panels here will show it was worth it.
Switzerland’s capitulation to Portugal last night marked their third consecutive last-16 exit at a World Cup, following a narrow 1-0 loss to Argentina after extra time in 2014, and a loss to 1-0 to Sweden in 2018. The last time Switzerland reached the quarter-finals was as hosts in 1954, when they took part in the highest-scoring World Cup match of all time, an astonishing 7-5 loss to neighboring Austria in Lausanne.
The AP’s Graham Dunbar has been looking at what’s in store for the Swiss now and suggests that none of this team needs to head for international retirement. The core trio of goalkeeper Yann Sommer, midfielder and captain Granit Xhaka and playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri are all over 30 and have a lot to offer as team leaders.
However, there may be questions over the future of manager Murat Yakin, whose tactical switch from a defensive four to three at the back did them no favors against a rampant Portuguese attack. A slightly less than enthusiastic Shaqiri said after the game: “Those were his choices, we have to accept them”
Yakin is under contract until the end of Euro 2024, and the Swiss will be fairly confident of qualifying from a group that has placed them with Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra, with two teams set to progress to the final in Germany. .
Portugal have been doing some recovery training in Doha this morning, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it.
Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo heads the ball during training this Wednesday. Photo: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images Portuguese striker Rafael Leao at the Al Shahaniya SC training ground in Doha today. Photograph: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images Portugal coach Fernando Santos looks pretty pensive. Photograph: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
Even the official World Cup social media channels are a bit at a loss for what to do today, but I can guarantee I won’t be filming any keepie uppies for the live blog.
Lionel Messi’s hopes of winning an elusive World Cup will face the tactical machinations of veteran manager Louis van Gaal when Argentina take on the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Friday, Reuters’ Mark Gleeson has written in Lusail. This one kicks off at 19:00 GMT and will bring back memories of some classic previous clashes.
Van Gaal, 71, is determined to give the Dutch their first World Cup title after finishing runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 at the expense of the Netherlands in the final. Photograph: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy
The manager’s planning will largely focus on containing Messi and catching Argentina on the break. The tactical plan is key to his side’s hopes of victory on Friday as the Dutch seek revenge for their semi-final defeat in 2014, when Argentina beat them in a penalty shoot-out.
“We can surprise teams with our plan. We were also the best team then and Messi didn’t see much of the ball,” the coach told reporters this week. The Netherlands have lost just one of their previous nine games against Argentina, the 1978 World Cup final in Buenos Aires, although they have been defeated on penalties on two occasions.
Van Gaal can also point to a run of form that has seen the Dutchman go 19 games without defeat since returning to the hot seat for a third spell 15 months ago. That includes a run to the UEFA Nations League final tournament, which the Dutch are expected to host next summer.
Here’s one for the “choose it” files from Frenchman Axel Disasi.
Is it too early to start preparing for Brazil vs Croatia on Friday? Probably, but who’s going to stop me? Certainly not Reuters, which has just published a small data table on the matchup, including these highlights:
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Brazil has reached at least the quarter-finals in their last eight World Cups. They were champions in 1994 and 2002 and runners-up in 1998, but have only reached the semi-finals once since then, as hosts in 2014 when they were humiliated 7-1 by Germany.
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In four games in Qatar so far, Croatia have won just once within 90 minutes – a 4-1 group stage win against Canada with goalless draws with Morocco and Belgium, before beating Japan on penalties with the score tied at 1-1 afterwards. extra time
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Brazil forward Neymar, who marked his return from injury by scoring in Monday’s 4-1 win over South Korea, scored twice as they defeated Croatia 3-1 in the group stage in 2014 .
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Croatia has won all three penalty shootouts at the World Cup. They beat Denmark in the round of 16 and will host Russia in the 2018 quarter-finals and Japan on Monday.
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Brazil are unbeaten in their four encounters with Croatia (win 3 draw 1). The teams have met twice at the World Cup, with Brazil winning 1-0 in 2006 and 3-1 as hosts in 2014.
Momentarily removed from the men’s World Cup in Qatar, Juliet Bawuah writes for the Guardian today that women’s football in Africa is in danger of being left on the sidelines:
I have been following women’s football in Africa for almost 15 years. And I’m sorry to say that there has been little progress in support or promotion in that time. The complaints are well-known: lack of representation, lack of infrastructure, low wages and lack of funding are among the myriad shortcomings that have held back the women’s game.
This sorry state of affairs is throughout the continent. However, talent abounds: four-time African Footballer of the Year and Barcelona player Asisat Oshoala from Nigeria and Ghanaian forward Evelyn Badu, who plays for Norwegian club Avaldsnes IL and was named Young Player of the Year 2022 and Interclub Player of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), are among the best. But these stars succeeded against the odds. Where is the grassroots investment to ensure that girls today have open opportunities instead of having to leave the house to play the game they love? It should not be left to the players themselves to nurture future stars, as Oshoala is doing through his Lagos-based academy, or former Super Falcons player Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire with his SheFootball Initiative .
Read more here: Juliet Bawuah – Women’s football in Africa is in danger of being left on the sidelines
Japan’s penalty shootout defeat to Croatia on Monday was hard for the players to take at the time, but the Samurai Blue today issued a message of thanks to fans for their support. They told their fans:
The connection and unity of all people who love Japanese football has reached each and every member of the team playing in Qatar and has become a great force.
The team thanked everyone involved in grassroots football in Japan and said “The Samurai Blue were able to compete against the world’s great powers on the big stage of the FIFA World Cup thanks to the players, coaches and staff who have dedicated their lives to football”.
The message concludes:
Although we could not achieve our goal of reaching the quarter-finals this time, we will definitely use this tournament as a source of strength for our dream of winning the FIFA World Cup. We will walk together with all football lovers.
Japan’s anguish during the penalty shootout loss to Croatia. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
AP had reporters on the streets of Rabat talking to Morocco fans yesterday as they celebrated their victory.
“We are very proud of our Lions, who fought hard to get us to the quarter-finals,” said Rabat resident Niama Meddoun. “We are delighted to be Moroccans today as we are the first Arab country to reach the quarter-finals.”
The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, has praised the national team and sent his “wholehearted happiness” to the players, coaching staff and administrative staff, “who have given everything and paved the way throughout of this great sporting event,” according to a statement. of the royal palace
The king said the players represented “the hopes and dreams of Moroccans in Morocco, Qatar and around the world.”
There were also celebrations in Barcelona. Youssef Lotfi, a 39-year-old construction worker…