International Football
Factbox: 10 memorable impressions from the Qatar World Cup
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month, with shocks, great goals, incredible celebrations and record-breaking feats served up by the assembled cast.
Here are 10 of the highlights as chosen by the Reuters team of reporters covering the tournament.
SAUDI ARABIA STUN ARGENTINA
Argentina were cruising in their opening Group C game after Lionel Messi scored a first-half penalty. But the Green Falcons swooped after halftime with Saleh Al-Shehri squeezing in a low shot to equalise and five minutes later Salem Al-Dawsari curled in a scorching second to leave Argentina in disbelief and Saudi fans joyously singing ‘where is Messi?’.
SOUTH KOREA’S NERVOUS WAIT
When Hwang Hee-chan scored a stoppage-time winner for South Korea in their final Group H game the hard part was just starting. The Korean players then had to spend almost 10 agonising minutes in a tight huddle in the centre circle peering at phones, hoping Uruguay would not score another goal against Ghana. Finally, with a last-16 place assured, they sprinted en masse towards their delirious fans.
MAGICAL MESSI BAMBOOZLES CROATIAN GVARDIOL
Such has been the Argentine number 10s impact in Qatar that the seven-time Ballon D’or winner could have multiple entries on the memorable list. But the way he held off Croatia’s masked defender Josko Gvardiol, then bamboozled him with an electrifying twist to set up the third goal in a 3-0 semi-final win encapsulated the 35-year-old’s genius.
RONALDO EXITS FINAL WORLD CUP IN TEARS
Portugal’s talisman became the first male player to score in five World Cups with a penalty against Ghana. But the 37-year-old was subsequently left out of the starting line-up and after he was unable to save his side after coming off the bench in the quarter-final against Morocco he was filmed walking down the tunnel in floods of tears.
FIRST FEMALE REFEREE AT A MEN’S WORLD CUP
Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart was handed control of Germany’s final Group E clash against Costa Rica, becoming the first female referee to officiate at a men’s World Cup.
Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez described it as a big step forward in ‘sexist sport’ and the 39-year-old Frappart produced a calm and assured display in Germany’s victory.
JAPAN HIT BACK TO SHOCK GERMANY
Before kickoff in their Group E opener Germany’s players covered their mouths in protest at FIFA’s threat of sanctions against the wearing of the ‘OneLove’ armband.
At the final whistle they were left gobsmacked after Japan’s substitutes Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano secured an unlikely 2-1 comeback win for the Samurai Blue whose fans celebrated hard before bagging the litter in the stadium.
MOROCCO’S FANS
Thousands of them descended on the Arabian Gulf to roar the Atlas Lions and were richly-rewarded as Morocco became the first African and first Arab country to reach the semi-finals.
The noise the red-clad hordes created in the stadiums was deafening and reached fever pitch in the penalty shootout defeat of Spain in the last 16 and against Portugal in the quarter-finals when a cacophony of whistles greeted every touch by the opposition as Morocco protected their 1-0 lead.
GROUP E FINALE MAYHEM
A group that began with Germany losing to Japan and Spain putting seven goals past Costa Rica concluded on a tumultuous night that almost turned the football world upside-down.
Germany needed a win over Costa Rica and for Spain to beat Japan to go through as runners-up, and at halftime that was exactly what was happening. Then everything went mad.
Japan scored twice in three minutes early in the second half and Costa Rica flipped their game against Germany to lead and for four minutes the live table showed Japan and Costa Rica in first and second place with Spain and Germany going home.
Germany ended up winning 4-2 to save Spain’s bacon, although they were on the flight home the next day.
MBAPPE DESTROYS POLAND
Kylian Mbappe has enhanced his reputation as one of the best players in the world in Qatar and the Frenchman was simply unplayable in the last-16 against Poland.
First he set up Olivier Giroud to open the scoring then took matters into his own hands with two sublime finishes to seal a 3-0 win. The speedster was clocked at 35.3kph during the game.
CAMEROON’S ABOUBAKAR SINKS BRAZIL, THEN SENT OFF
A manic group phase concluded in almost comical fashion as Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar scored a stoppage-time winner against an already-qualified Brazil, took his shirt off, and was immediately given a second yellow card by an apologetic referee who shook the player’s hand.
-Reuters
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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