SPORT Friday 6 July 2018 PAGEE | 18 PAGEPAG | 19 Southgate pickedcked Guardiola’sGuar City England’s path but now plaplayersye dominate at praises Swedeneden WorWorldl Cup Brazil’s coach Tite (centre) speaks to his team during a training session during the FIFA 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. TODAY'S FIXTURES QUARTER-FINALS URUGUAY VS FRANCE 5.00PM BRAZIL VS BELGIUM 9.00PM Tite expects ‘beautiful’ Belgium clash REUTERS the tournament so far, with his tally of transitions, defensive transitions and midfielder Casemiro who picked up a With Brazil’s last World Cup ending 23 more than Uruguayan duo Luis if you look, you see how much he has second yellow card against Mexico. on home soil with a 7-1 semi-final KAZAN: Brazil coach Tite has defended Suarez and Edinson Cavani contributed.” The dominant win over the Mex- humiliation by Germany that shocked Neymar from criticism over his histri- combined. Tite confirmed that his preferred icans cemented Brazil’s status as the soccer-mad nation, Tite called on onics on the pitch and said he was just “I’ve already talked about Neymar left back Marcelo would return to the favourites to win a record-extending his players to ignore the pressure and happy to have the team’s talisman and I’ve been very specific about what starting side in place of Filipe Luis sixth World Cup trophy, but Tite said expectations inevitably put on the side. playing “at his best” ahead of today’s happened,” Tite told reporters on the after the Real Madrid defender missed it would take a whole team effort to “If you ask me what is the greatest quarter-final against Belgium. eve of the quarter-final at Kazan the 2-0 win over Mexico through get past Roberto Martinez’s Belgium challenge of a World Cup? It’s the Neymar has scored two goals in Arena. injury. and their array of attacking stars. mental fatigue, the pressure is Brazil’s four matches, but he has been “You should look at the videos. All “I’ve spoken with both Marcelo “It will be a great match. Both immense, it’s extraordinary. slammed by soccer pundits across the you have to do is look at the images. and Filipe Luis. Filipe played very well teams excel with a beautiful football. “(It) proliferates through the family. world for diving and rolling on the “What makes me happy is to have in both matches. But now we are going Belgium have great players and a great I hope the family can keep their heads ground theatrically in Russia. him playing at his best. It’s not just with Marcelo again,” said Tite. coach as well. I’ve always put them in cool. Don’t listen, don’t watch (the He has, however, also suffered a with the ball, it’s not just dribbling. Fernandinho is also expected to the group of favourites (for the title). attention) because there is a lot of psy- disproportionate number of fouls in There are actions, there are replace the suspended holding “It’s the same now.” chological pressure.” What to watch for in today’s matchups %&%' ()*+,-. Google Translate to $ /0 the rescue in Russia AP -. 0 1 2 3 0 2 REUTERS TEAMMATES VS. TEAMMATES The first match features a number of team-mates on their professional KAZAN: Soccer might be the most universal clubs facing off against each other when France takes on Uruguay in Nizhny " language on the planet. But when it comes Novgorod. France forward Antoine Griezmann plays at Atletico Madrid to deciphering the Cyrillic alphabet or alongside Uruguayan defenders Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez; Godin communicating with locals at the World Cup is godfather to Griezmann’s daughter. ! in Russia, the love of the game is sometimes Those ties are so thick that Uruguay striker Luis Suarez needled not enough. Griezmann this week for trying to be Uruguayan. Suarez himself will find To get around language barriers in a Barcelona teammate on the other side of the pitch in French defender Russia, World Cup fans from around the Samuel Umtiti. ! globe have been actively using the Google Translate applications on their mobile With so much talent on both sides, the late game in Kazan features even more intrasquad intrigue: Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and phones. Danilo against team-mates Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium; The software has proven indispensable # Brazil’s Willian against Chelsea teammates Eden Hazard, Michy Batshuayi for many fans to communicate with locals and Thibaut Courtois, all Belgian; and Belgium’s Thomas Meunier against his in restaurants and hotels in the 11 host cities. Brazilian team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain - Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and N Some foreign fans type what they want Neymar. # to say in Russian in their native language and show the translation to locals. Others SPEED AND SKILL VS. SOLID DEFENCE use the app’s voice function that allows them to virtually speak to people in other Belgium is scoring almost a goal a game more than any other team in the # tournament, with 12 in four matches. Brazil, to the surprise of some, has allowed languages. just one goal in its four games. Only one other team has been that stingy: Some reporters have also used the tool Uruguay, which will face a France attack loaded with speed and scorers. In # to circumvent language restrictions imposed both cases, something will have to give. at the press opportunities of certain teams. At a news conference with France star Antoine Griezmann last month, a Spanish NEYMAR BEING NEYMAR reporter wanted to ask him about his future The most expensive player in the world has had a strong tournament so # far and is the biggest star whose team is still alive. Some think Neymar could at his club, Atletico Madrid. even win his first FIFA player of the year award if Brazil wins it all. But he’s $ !" But France media managers had said increasingly catching grief about his flopping, diving and writhing around # questions would only be taken in French, a after minor contact. Will that prompt the referee to give the Belgian defenders language the reporter did not speak. He got more leeway, or will Neymar keep getting the calls? around the restriction by having Google # $ % #" ' ''''' Translate render his question in French. 18 SPORT FRIDAY 6 JUNE 2018 Tabarez brings Uruguay in from the wilderness REUTERS effectively taken charge of youth time to talk about widely-seen tele- MOSCOW: Oscar Tabarez began his development in Uruguay in what has vision images which showed children second stint as Uruguay coach in May become known as the “Tabarez in a Uruguayan school bursting out of 2006, one month before the World process”. their classroom to celebrate the late Cup. But they were not going to Not even ill-health has In an interview with Reuters 10 winning goal against Egypt in the Germany -- in fact, they struggled even stopped the 71-year-old years ago, Tabarez, who also coached group stage. to find anyone who would play them who was expected to Uruguay at the 1990 World Cup in “Those kids will never forget that in friendlies. resign in 2016 after he Italy, outlined his plans for football in moment,” he said. “We were hardly competing inter- the country and the challenge facing “I’m very proud about the way in nationally,” he said in one interview. was diagnosed with a him. which we live and experience football “We had to travel to the most rare neurological disease He spoke of the importance of in our country. I talk to the players distant parts of the world just to have known as Guillain-Barre keeping the under-20 and Olympic about this and use it as part of their matches.” teams active and bringing players over motivation.” Known as the school- Meanwhile, their training base syndrome but has carried from Europe to receive additional teacher -- a profession he briefly exer- outside Montevideo was nicknamed on regardless with the coaching and keep them in touch. cised during the 1980s -- Tabarez has “the Low Performance Centre” by help of a walking stick or The subject matter extended to managed to retain Uruguay’s players who complained of cold rooms electric wheelchair. pressure exerted by parents on their renowned fighting spirit while curbing and lumpy mattresses. children to make it as professionals their wildest excesses. Uruguay, who had lost to Australia which turned matches even at Uruguay have the best disciplinary in the playoff for a place in Germany, Not even ill-health has stopped the under-10 level into battlefields. of the eight quarter-finals with only were in the wilderness. 71-year-old who was expected to “There are more or less 200,000 one yellow card so far. “When we won Nobody would say that of the team resign in 2016 after he was diagnosed boys playing football in Uruguay, of the Copa America in 2011, we also took nowadays. with a rare neurological disease this only 0.14 percent may have a pos- the fair play title and that was very sig- Tabarez is still in charge 12 years known as Guillain-Barre syndrome but sibility of going to Europe,” he said. nificant,” said Tabarez. on, having led them to one World Cup has carried on regardless with the help “The parents are making the wrong His approach is summed up by a semi-final, one round of 16 and the of a walking stick or electric gamble and we have to make them message which adorns the wall of his Copa America title in 2011.