International Football
Morocco or Croatia can produce a new World Cup winner
This is the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup. In the previous 21 editions which span 92 years and featuring 79 countries, only eight have ever won.
Spain in 2010 were the latest new winners aftter that of 1998 when France joined the league of ‘new winners’.
In the 21 final matches, there have been 13 teams. Croatia, playing the final match four years ago in Moscow became the 13th team.
Morocco could swell the number to 14 they surmount formidable semi-final hurdles presented by France.
In their miracle journey so far, Wednesday’s climb will be the steepest. But they have all the ingredents of the previous eight World Cup winners who had been coaches by the teams’ nationals.
Will this work in favour of either Morocco or Croatia? Both look like outsiders on paper. But in reality, they could be contenders.
The World Cup saga is replete with tales of outsiders getting as far as the semi-finals.
There is the tale of Poland and Belgium who lost to eventual winners Italy and Argentina respectively in 1982 and 1986.
It was in 1994 though that the apple cart really looked to have been overturned.
Bulgaria arrived in the United States having never won a World Cup match in 16 attempts and duly chalked up an 11th defeat in their first game with Nigeria.
They then turned things around utterly, winning two group games, beating Mexico on penalties in the last 16 and then memorably stunning holders Germany in the quarter-finals.
On the other side of the draw Sweden arrived after a last-16 shootout win over Romania.
Normal service was resumed in the semis though as Italy ended Bulgaria’s dream run and Brazil edged out Sweden.
Bulgaria, with their Hristo Stoichkov-inspired golden generation ageing, went out in the group stage with one point four years later and have not qualified for the finals since.
Yugoslavia made the semis in 1930 and 1962 but after the country broke up, Croatia appeared as an independent nation for the first time in 1998.
The highlight of their emotional run to the last four was a superb 3-0 quarter-final victory over Germany, before they were eventually beaten 2-1 by hosts France in the semis.
The 2002 tournament was another where two total outsiders made the last four but were eventually stopped in their tracks by tournament juggernauts.
Joint-hosts South Korea grew in confidence after topping their group and then stunned the world by beating Italy in the last 16 with an extra-time golden goal and then Spain on penalties to become the first Asian team to make the semis.
A quarter-final between Senegal and Turkey meant another new semi-finalist was guaranteed, and it was Turkey who progressed.
Germany and Brazil then pulled rank, beating Korea and Turkey respectively, though both only 1-0. It had been only Turkey’s second appearance in the World Cup and they have not been back since.
Portugal reached their second semi 2006, losing to France while four years later the historically “surprise” semi-finalists were Spain, who had never previously made it (though they were in the second group stage in 1950) and twice-champions Uruguay, who last did in 1970.
Spain, though, arrived in South Africa as European champions and it was hardly an upset as they finally shook off decades of World Cup failure to beat the Netherlands in the final.
Croatia made it to the semis in 2018 and went one better than 20 years earlier by beating England, only to lose to France in the final.
They are back this year, up against Argentina, but it is Morocco flying the flag for the true underdogs as they are the first African team to make the last four and have done it in style by dispatching European heavyweights Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
France and Argentina, each seeking a third title, will be favourites to end the fairy-tale runs but neutrals everywhere will be surely willing one of the outsiders triumph and then go all the way and become the ninth world champion.
In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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