Новости за 17.06.2018

Mats Hummels said Germany's tactical approach was wrong after the World Cup holders lost the opening game of their title defence 1-0 to Mexico. Hirving Lozano struck the only goal of the Group F clash, but Mexico wasted numerous chances on the break to record an even larger margin of victory. Germany, meanwhile, had 26 shots without causing Guillermo Ochoa too many problems, although the Mexico goalkeeper made nine saves in keeping a memorable clean sheet. Hummels felt Germany did not heed the... Читать дальше...

World Cup winners don't always arrive at tournaments ready-made. And apparently, Switzerland enjoy making them sweat. In South Africa in 2010, the Swiss stunned heavy favourites Spain 1-0 in their opening group game, as Vicente Del Bosque's side got off to a false start.  It didn't prevent them from lifting the trophy a little under four weeks later and a frustrating 1-1 draw in Rostov-on-Don on Sunday should not diminish Brazil's status as one of the frontrunners for the big prize on offer in Russia. Читать дальше...

1. Mexico stun Germany - will holders crash out again?Day four brought the biggest shock of the 2018 World Cup so far, as Mexico ran out 1-0 winners against Germany at theLuzhniki Stadium.El Trisliced Joachim Low's side apart on the counter-attack and could easily have recorded a bigger victory had they been more decisive with their final pass. The Germans looked laboured and one-paced, with centre-backs Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng left exposed to fast breaks time and time again.Three of the... Читать дальше...

Germany's 1-0 loss to Mexico was a shock scoreline, but the history of the tournament shows World Cup holders often struggle under the pressure of being champions. Hirving Lozano's fine first-half finish gave Mexico one of the most famous results in the country's footballing history in Moscow on Sunday. Germany will still be expected to recover and progress from Group F, but Joachim Low's side will have to perform much better in their remaining games against Sweden and South Korea. The last three... Читать дальше...

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has the quality to play for any team in Europe, according to former Lazio striker Hernan Crespo. Milinkovic-Savic is hot property across the continent, with Serie A holders Juventus, European champions Real Madrid and Premier League giants Manchester United reportedly interested in the Serbia international. The 23-year-old scored 14 goals in all competitions last season for Lazio and impressed during Serbia's 1-0 win over Costa Rica at the World Cup on Sunday. Lazio director... Читать дальше...

Gareth Southgate has long believed England can play technically proficient, possession football on the biggest stage – now they must prove it in their World Cup opener against Tunisia on Monday. Former Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and England centre-back Southgate was parachuted into the national team job following Sam Allardyce's ignominious sacking in 2016, despite having not held a senior coaching position since being sacked by Boro on the other side of relegation in 2009. But the 47-year-old... Читать дальше...

N'Golo Kante hailed Paul Pogba's decisive contribution to France's opening World Cup win over Australia on Saturday. The midfielder got his tournament off to a great start in France's 2-1 victory despite a frustrating season at Manchester United, playing a key role in winning the penalty Antoine Griezmann converted. He then hit a deflected winner 10 minutes from time, but FIFA belatedly marked the strike down as an own goal from Socceroos defender Aziz Behich. Kante, who lined up alongside Pogba at the heart of Les Bleus' midfield... Читать дальше...

To misquote Benjamin Franklin, in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death, taxes and Germany winning their opening game at a World Cup. Die Mannschaft came into this clash with Mexico having won their opening game at each of the last seven tournaments. If that was not impressive enough, their last four World Cup openers have yielded 20 goals in the for column - eight against Saudi Arabia in 2002 and four against each of Costa Rica, Australia and Portugal. Mexico, on the other hand... Читать дальше...

Neymar will make his first competitive start since February after being named in Brazil's starting XI for their World Cup Group E opener against Switzerland. The 26-year-old sustained a fractured metatarsal while playing for Paris Saint-Germain, putting his World Cup participation in some doubt. However, the world's most expensive player made a scoring return to action in friendly wins over Croatia and Austria prior to Brazil's arrival in Russia, and lines up alongside Chelsea's Willian and Manchester... Читать дальше...

Mario Balotelli would be well suited to a move to Marseille according to agent Mino Raiola, who said the Italian striker can "marry well with the Marseillais mentality". Reports have linked the Nice target man with a €10 million switch to Marseille that would bring an end to his two-year spell at the Allianz Riviera. Balotelli has scored 33 Ligue 1 goals in 51 appearances for Les Aiglons, but Nice slumped to a disappointing eighth-placed finish in the 2017-18 season. Marseille, meanwhile, finished... Читать дальше...

Ki Sung-yueng says he has no problem getting tough with his South Korea team-mates if it helps them to make the most of their World Cup campaign. Shin Tae-yong's side take on Sweden in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday in their opening match of a tough-looking Group F that also contains Mexico and Germany. Ki only turned 29 in January but is one of the most experienced heads in the team, having competed at two previous World Cup finals, two Olympic tournaments and two Asian Cups, finishing as a runner-up in 2015. Читать дальше...

An ankle injury has ended Senegal defender Saliou Ciss' hopes of playing at the World Cup and Caen full-back Adama Mbengue has replaced him. Ciss sustained the injury in Senegal's 0-0 draw against Luxembourg on May 31 and failed to recover in time to be in contention for their World Cup Group H opener against Poland on Tuesday. Coach Aliou Cisse opted to take advantage of FIFA's rule that allows teams to call up a replacement until 24 hours before their first game at the tournament, having recognised... Читать дальше...

Belgium are not short of belief but Thibaut Courtois insisted the Red Devils are not among the favourites to win the World Cup in Russia. Courtois and Belgium head into Monday's Group G opener against debutants Panama full of confidence as they boast the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. Belgium forward Dries Mertens said Roberto Martinez's men should be considered favourites alongside the likes of reigning world champions Germany, Brazil, France and Spain following quarter-final... Читать дальше...

Adrien Silva refused to be drawn on comparisons between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but praised his Portugal team-mate's leadership on and off the field. Ronaldo was at his very best in Portugal's 3-3 draw with Spain in their World Cup Group B opener, while Messi struggled and missed a penalty for Argentina in their stalemate with Iceland, leading to contrasting reports about their form in the media. Silva told reporters that comparisons between arguably the two best players of all time were not valid... Читать дальше...

Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul thinks "the future of English football" Dele Alli is England's main threat ahead of the two teams' meeting on Monday and fully expects the Three Lions to banish the demons of their Euro 2016 humiliation. England head into the World Cup in confident mood having cruised through qualifying and shown some encouraging signs under Gareth Southgate in their pre-tournament friendlies. Southgate has been praised for getting England playing dynamic, attacking football that has been led by a group of younger... Читать дальше...

Poland will give centre-half Kamil Glik every opportunity to prove his fitness ahead of their World Cup opener against Senegal in Moscow on Tuesday. The Monaco defender was initially thought to be out of the tournament after injuring his shoulder attempting a bicycle kick in training just hours after being named in Adam Nawalka's 23-man squad. But he has made a remarkable recovery and, although it remains unlikely he will play against the African side, Nawalka's assistant Bogdan Zajac says every scenario remains possible. Читать дальше...

Palermo president Giovanni Giammarva said the club would lodge an appeal against Frosinone's promotion to Serie A in the aftermath of their controversial play-off final victory over his side, which club owner Maurizio Zamparini dubbed "an illegal game". After winning the first leg 2-1 in Sicily, Palermo were 1-0 down in the second when the game descended into chaos as referee Federico La Penna awarded the Rosanero a free-kick on the edge of the box, before changing his mind and pointing to the penalty spot. Читать дальше...

Japan's World Cup opener on Tuesday offers the Asian side an opportunity for revenge against Colombia, as they look to finally banish the bad memories of the 2014 edition in Brazil. Four years ago, Japan met Colombia in their final group outing knowing they still had a chance of reaching the knockout phase, but they were crushed 4-1 by the South Americans. As it turned out, any victory that day in Cuiaba would have sent the Samurai Blue through at the expense of Greece. And Eiji Kawashima, who let those four goals in... Читать дальше...

African nations have suffered a bruising opening to the 2018 World Cup and Egypt are set to turn to the continent's finest player in a bid to bring about a change of fortunes against hosts Russia in Group A. Nigeria's 2-0 loss to Croatia on Saturday meant the CAF representatives had played three, lost three, failed to score and all conceded from set-piece situations. Jose Gimenez's 89th-minute winner for Uruguay against Egypt was watched from the sidelines by Mohamed Salah, who remained in cold... Читать дальше...

South Korea hope to have kept their tactics against Sweden a surprise by swapping shirt numbers in recent training sessions and matches, coach Shin Tae-yong has said. Shin's men kick off their World Cup campaign in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday in what has been described as a must-win match, with Mexico and Germany the other opponents in Group F. Players have been seen wearing different numbers during preparations for the finals in Russia and Shin says it was a deliberate ploy to confuse any Sweden scouts ahead of the match. Читать дальше...

Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer are included in Germany's starting line-up for the first game of their World Cup title defence. Neuer has not played a competitive fixture since September due to a foot injury, while there was strong speculation Ozil could be dropped. Reports had suggested Julian Draxler would be preferred to Ozil, but both men start for Germany against Mexico in Moscow. Joachim Low's side for the Group F clash also includes Timo Werner and Thomas Muller, while Marvin Plattenhardt starts... Читать дальше...

The World Cup Group E opener between Costa Rica and Serbia was settled by the stunning goal that the occasion deserved. These two sides began their Russia 2018 campaign under sunny Samara skies on Sunday but despite the abundant quality on show, profligacy was the underlying theme until Aleksandar Kolarov struck in spectacular fashion just prior to the hour to earn a 1-0 win for his side. It had been an eventful start for the Serbia captain, who sparked fears by going down clutching his knee during... Читать дальше...

Aleksandar Kolarov's sensational free-kick proved the difference as Serbia got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in Group E. Serbia, under the tutelage of Mladen Krstajic for the first time in a competitive match, controlled much of Sunday's clash at Samara Arena, but could not find a way through Costa Rica's stubborn rearguard until Kolarov stepped just before the hour. Excellent throughout, Keylor Navas could do little to keep out the defender's blistering effort... Читать дальше...

Panama will not be using Iceland's shock draw against Argentina as motivation after boss Hernan Dario Gomez insisted Belgium are superior to Lionel Messi's men ahead of their World Cup debut. Newcomers Panama have an entire nation behind them as they prepare to make history against a star-studded Belgium side boasting Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in Sochi on Monday. Fellow debutants Iceland – who reached the Euro 2016 quarter-finals – marked their first World Cup appearance by holding Argentina to a 1-1 Group D draw. Читать дальше...

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar would have all been allowed to keep Paul Pogba's reclassified World Cup goal, according to former France international Patrice Evra. Pogba hit a deflected winner as Les Bleus opened their Russia 2018 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Australia, but FIFA have belatedly marked the strike down as an own goal from Socceroos defender Aziz Behich. The midfielder came into the World Cup after a difficult season with Manchester United but got his tournament off... Читать дальше...