Group A: Russia to Face Arabic Test GROUP a TEAMS
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018 20 Group A: Russia to face Arabic test GROUP A TEAMS: Russia: FIFA ranking: 66 best achievement: 4th place 1966 Coach: Stanislav Cherchesov Saudi Arabia: FIFA ranking: 67 Best achievement: Round of 16 1994 Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi Highlight of Tunisia v Portugal match Egypt : FIFA ranking: : 46 Best achievement: First stage 1934, 1990 Coach: Hector Cuper Tunisia goalkeeper ‘fakes Uruguay: FIFA ranking: 17 Best achievement: Champion 1930, 1950 Coach: Oscar Washington Tabarez injury’ to break Ramadan Egypt’s Mohamed Salah BBC | Tunis KEY GAME: Hassen’s injury break by scor- Russia-Saudi Arabia (14 June 2018, Luzhniki ing an equaliser and ended the Stadium, Moscow) unisia’s World Cup foot- match 2-2. The World Cup Opening Match is an event that ball team has apparently Days later against Turkey, football fans the world over eagerly tune-in Tfound an ingenious way Hassen stopped play by lying to, marking the beginning of another exciting 45 to fight fatigue as they fast for on his back. global finals. At Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, The age that Egypt the Muslim holy month of Ram- Again, his teammates ate hosts Russia will take on Saudi Arabia in the goalkeeper Essam El- adan. dates and drank water provid- eagerly-awaited curtain-raiser on 14 June 2018. Hadary will be when the In friendly matches against ed to them by waiting coaching The Saudis will be the first Asian team to take Pharaohs take to the pitch Portugal then Turkey, goalkeep- staff. That match also ended part in an Opening Match at the global finals. at Russia 2018. He is the er Mouez Hassen appeared to 2-2. World Cup’s oldest player. feign injury at sundown, when Pundits in Tunisia were quick 8 days to go…… WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: the fast comes to an end. to note the timing of the goal- Russia 2018 will mark Egypt’s first World Cup As he lay on the pitch re- keeper’s injuries in the second The Tunisian football federa- since Italy 1990. Star man Mohamed Salah frontman finished 2018 World Cup qualifying ceiving medical treatment, his half of both matches - in the tion has yet to comment on the bagged the goal which sealed qualification to as joint-top scorer, along with Poland’s Robert teammates rushed to the side- 58th and 47th minutes of play timing of the two injury breaks. the global finals in dramatic fashion, as he con- Lewandowski and UAE’s Ahmed Khalil. lines to drink water and snack respectively. But goalkeeper Hassen verted a 94th-minute penalty against Congo to -Uruguay are two-time champions of the World on dates. This coincided with the time tweeted: “I was hurt, bruv” get the party started in Alexandria. Cup. La Celeste were inaugural winners of the And it produced immediate of sunset, which is when Iftar - along with laughing emojis, in -Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Al-Sahlawi netted tournament in 1930, before winning it a second results. the breaking of the fast usually response to fellow footballer 16 goals on the road to Russia. The 30-year-old time, at Brazil 1950. Down 2-1 to European with dates and water - begins Chaker Alhadhur’s jokey com- champions Portugal, Tunisia for Muslims observing Ram- ment: “It’s all right now, we rebounded six minutes after adan. know you were pretending.” ‘Players will help Kane handle England’ Reuters | London everyone is approachable... “ Uncapped goalkeeper Nick he experienced members Pope said the closeness of Ga- Tof England’s World Cup reth Southgate’s squad was squad must step up and take helping him develop. some of the pressure off captain “We get on really well and Harry Kane to let the striker we’re pushing each other every focus on scoring goals in Russia, day which is what is best for defender Gary Cahill has said. the team,” Pope was quoted as Kane captained England in saying by the Burnley Express. three of their eight World Cup “Training each day is hard qualifiers and has been handed but we’re pushing each other the role for Russia where the Gary Cahill and that’s the way it should be. 24-year-old will also be expect- “It’s been on another level ed to help fire the side into the and it doesn’t get any harder knockout stages. ed that group of leaders to help than England. To be in and “It’s important the experi- and share the workload. around this level, it’s great for enced members of the squad “I’m there to help. I’m not me.” help him so he can concentrate there to preach to anyone, but England have been drawn in on finding the net,” Cahill told I have experience of playing Group G along with Belgium, Standard Sport. in big games. If people want to Panama and Tunisia at the fi- “The message has been clear speak to me and likewise me nals. The open their campaign from the manager that he wants with other people, the group against the North Africans on a number of leaders ... He want- is very tight in that way and June 18. Serbia slump to PLAYER OF THE DAY 1-0 warm-up loss against Chile Reuters | Graz, Austria orld Cup-bound Ser- Wbia gave their coach Mladen Krstajic plenty to worry about ahead of the tournament in Russia after a tepid performance in Mon- day’s 1-0 friendly defeat by a second-string Chile side. Only two astonishing misses by substitute An- gelo Henriquez spared the Serbians from a heavier de- feat, with centre back Guill- ermo Maripan heading in an 89th-winner for Chile who failed to qualify for the Javier Hernandez 32-nation tournament. Kr- Mexico’s all-time leading goalscorer, Hernandez appeared at stajic fielded an experimen- South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014, scoring three times during tal 4-2-3-1 formation which those two global finals. Nicknamed ‘Chicharito’, the forward failed to spark. won the FIFA Club World Cup title with Real Madrid in 2014..