THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018 19

OFF SIDE Top scorers Ranking on July 3 1 Kane ENG 6 Fans and teams alike benefit from 2 Cristiano Ronaldo POR 4 good tunes, from Colombian salsa to - Lukaku BEL 4 Brazilian dirges 4 Cavani URU 3 - Cheryshev RUS 3 Foot of God he tournament contin- - Costa ESP 3 Tues to build toward its - Dzyuba RUS 3 exciting and unpredictable - Kylian Mbappé FRA 3 climax. Lionel Messi and his Argentine teammates - Mina COL 3 have gone home after being 10 Agüero ARG 2 beaten stylishly by France. MUSA OKWONGA - Coutinho BRA 2 Messi’s rival for the title - Granqvist SWE 2 of the world’s best player, - Griezmann FRA 2 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, was eliminated the same day by - E. Hazard BEL 2 Uruguay. In the greatest upset so far, Russia, the host country - Inui JPN 2 and the lowest-ranked team still in the World Cup, defeated - Jedinak AUS 2 Spain. When anything could happen and a country’s fate is in the - Khazri TUN 2 balance, there’s often nothing better than a tune. I’ve seen this - Modric CRO 2 firsthand: It was the 1994 World Cup and I was there with my -Individually,Musa BrazilNGR 2 uncle, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, watching the quarterfinal - areNeymar the strongestBRA 2 match between Brazil and the Netherlands. The South Ameri- - Salahteam. That isEGY a 2 cans in the crowd had just been stunned into silence: The Neth- - Son Heung-min KOR 2 erlands had scored for the second time in 12 minutes, bringing compliment but it the score to 2-2. Then a Brazilian woman raised a trumpet to - doesn’tStones affect ourENG 2 - Suárez URU 2 Igor Akinfeev makes a save during the penalty shootout her lips and began to play a mocking funeral march. The crowd chances against in our section burst into laughter, the tension evaporated, and them AFP | Moscow some in the host nation think- They were eliminated two they cheered their team on to a 3-2 victory. BELGIUM ‘S VINCENT KOMPANY ing of the 32-year-old in even games later from what may The role of music at the World Cup often goes unsung. Of he World Cup joke more reverential terms. have been one of the easiest course, it’s ultimately a sporting competition, but it’s also, as around Russia is that “Akinfeev himself is a god,” groups in the draw. I’ve written before, about so much more — politics, economics, Tgoalkeeper Igor Akin- said his childhood coach Pavel Akinfeev’s personal misfor- history and identity. And culture. feev has the “Foot of God”. Koval. “I think Igor is better tune came when he suffered a In addition to being a football fan and a writer, I’m a musician, Comparisons to the “Hand than (Spain ‘keeper David) de knee injury while negotiating so this is a subject close to my heart. But I also firmly believe of God” goal Argentina great Gea.” a lucrative move from CSKA that music is one of the crucial ways that we show who we are Diego Maradona scored against Moscow to England’s Premier and what we care about, and so it’s worth England in 1986 came naturally In Yashin’s shadow League a decade ago. paying attention to the role it plays in this tournament. to Russians enraptured by the This level of exuberance is The deal fell through and the The tournament always has its official song (this year’s is unlikely performance of their relatively new terrain for a sol- Red Army club captain ended “Live It Up”). And individual teams often pick their own an- team. id player with his share of bad up spending his career in the them, too. But the most powerful songs are those performed Akinfeev had already won luck. relative anonymity of the do- by enthusiastic fans who have traveled from around the world. I don’t care if I’m admiration for stopping two During the 2014 World Cup mestic league -- one of the mod- Argentina can always call on a choir of tens of thousands of not the biggest Spain penalties that sent the Akinfeev palmed a soft shot in ern game’s rare one-team stars. supporters at the World Cup, who deliver choice lyrics about keeper. I’ve got that 2010 champions packing and Russia’s opener against South Akinfeev will get his chance their rivals (though it doesn’t seem to have worked this year). power and agility to Russia through to their first Korea that somehow arched in to shine before an even bigger In 2010, South African fans relied on the vuvuzela, a horn so get around the goal World Cup quarter-final since over his head. audience when he pulls on his raucous it was almost banned from stadiums, while Peru sup- 1970. The Russians came back to gloves on Saturday in Russia’s porters have tried to inspire their heroes with the triumphant ENGLAND GOALKEEPER JORDAN PICKFORD But his winning left-foot save draw the game but looked mis- most important match in gen- sound of drums. against Spain’s Iago Aspas has erable walking off the pitch. erations. Several other countries have used music for motivation this year. Some have gone for sounds that perfectly complement their on-field performances. The Colombian team likes to play the racy, rousing rhythms of salsa; Uruguay’s fans are blasting melodic yet swaggering rock music. It’s not always good, either: Cavani unlikely to face France After Croatia defeated Argentina in the first round, the Croatian defender Dejan Lovren posted footage of himself singing a song AFP | Moscow The Uruguayan Football With the 31-year-old Ca- with fascist connotations. Association (UFA) post- vani set to be sidelined, Uru- My favorite song that has found a prominent place in this ruguay striker ed photos of Wednesday’s guay coach Oscar Tabarez year’s tournament is “Seka Seka” by DJ Mareshal. It’s the UEdinson Cavani training session on social will likely play Cristhian soundtrack to a viral video of French players dancing in their is likely to miss his media, with Cavani a notable Stuani up front alongside plane after their 4-2 victory over Argentina. Mareshal was born side’s World Cup quar- absentee. Luis Suarez for the two- in the Ivory Coast, a country that, despite a proud footballing ter-final against After tests on Monday, time world champions. pedigree, did not qualify for Russia. Thanks to him, though, its France on Friday doctors confirmed the Paris Girona forward Stuani re- music may yet play a small but crucial role in deciding where after suffering a Saint-Germain star had suf- placed Cavani, after the lat- this year’s trophy ends up. calf injury in the fered bruising to his left calf, ter had scored both goals in last-16 win over although he had not torn a Uruguay’s 2-1 victory against (Musa Okwonga is a poet and writer based in Berlin. He is the Portugal. muscle. Portugal. author of two books on football, “A Cultured Left Foot” and “Will You Manage?”) Edinson Cavani (right) is helped off the pitch by Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid deny Mbappe bid rumour Police rescue father of Maradona slams England win Reuters | Niznhy Novgorod, Reuters | Madrid Nigerian player Russia

eal Madrid yesterday rgentine great Diego Mara- Rdenied media reports John Obi Mikel Adona said England perpe- they have made a bid for • trated a “monumental robbery” Paris Saint-Germain’s teen- played on for Nigeria in their World Cup victory over age striker Kylian Mbappe, after kidnappers said Colombia and accused referee who is emerging as one of his father would be Mark Geiger of not being up to the biggest stars of the Rus- shot ‘instantly’ if he such a game. sia World Cup. Maradona, notorious in Eng- Twitter user Baptiste Ri- reported incident land for his famous ‘Hand of part, who identifies him- God’ goal at the 1986 tourna- self as a journalist, said that Reuters | Onitsha, Nigeria ment, said the American official the Spanish Champions Mikel John Obi should have penalised Harry League holders had agreed igerian police said they Kane rather than give a penalty a world-record 272 million have rescued the father of the Egede-Udi forest at around for a foul by Colombia’s Car- N Diego Maradona in the stands before Argentina’s match against France euro ($316 million) fee for national soccer team captain 2.30 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Mon- los Sanchez during Tuesday’s the French 19-year-old. John Obi Mikel after he was day following a “gun duel”. knockout match Real Madrid issued their kidnapped for the second time “They were rescued hale “Today I saw a monumental coincidence,” Maradona added quarter-final against Sweden. denial after Spanish sports in seven years. and hearty,” said the police robbery on the pitch... a fatal on his nightly World Cup show The ever-controversial for- dailies Marca and AS ran Mikel has been playing in in the statement, adding that mistake for a whole country,” for Venezuela-based Telesur mer World Cup winner also articles citing the posting. the World Cup in Russia, al- both victims had been reunited he said of the incident that put broadcaster. pointed the finger at Pierluigi “Given the information though Nigeria failed to make with their families. England 1-0 ahead in the sec- TV images showed Marado- Collina, head of FIFA’s referee published ...regarding an it out of the group stage. Kidnapping for ransom is ond half. na celebrating Colombia’s late committee, for allowing Gei- alleged agreement between Police in the southern state a common problem in parts “Here’s a gentleman who equaliser that took Tuesday’s ger’s designation. Real Madrid and PSG for Ky- of Enugu said in a statement of Nigeria, particularly in the decides, a referee who, if you Round of 16 match to 1-1 and “I’m just sorry for the whole lian Mbappe, we would like they had rescued the father, Niger Delta region, the coun- Google him, shouldn’t be giv- extra time. But he was despond- Colombian people,” Maradona to state that it is completely named as Pa Michael Obi, try’s oil production heartland en a match of this magnitude... ent when England won a pen- said. “I cheered Colombia’s goal false,” the club said. along with his driver unhurt in which neighbours Enugu state. Geiger, an American, what a alty shootout, taking them into as if I had headed it myself.”