Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet is under the radar of the Belgium Football Federation as the next manager of the national team.
The Black Stars target is one of the options being considered by Belgium following the resignation of Roberto Martinez after a disastrous World Cup.
Saintfiet is also on the list of names the Ghana Football Association have earmarked as possible replacement for Otto Addo, who stepped down after the tournament in Qatar.
The Belgium trainer is currently under contract with the Gambia national team. A deal that will expire in 2026.
However, the former Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Yemen, Togo, Bangladesh and Malawi coach could be set for his biggest adventure with either Ghana or Belgium.
According to reports in the European country, Saintfiet’s experience at the international stage makes his the ideal option and the fact that he is a Belgian.
Other names that are also making rounds in Belgium Michel Preud’homme Vincent Kompany, Hei Vanhaezebrouck, Wouter Vrancken.
Imagine what it [his partnership with Lionel Messi] means for Julian Alvarez, when he looks at that picture and thinks ‘that was 10 years ago and now I am playing with the best player in the world at a World Cup’.
What a moment for Julian.
He looks so mature and I am so pleased in the way he has been playing. He was on the bench, Erling Haaland was playing more games and he was always waiting for that chance.
I saw Pep [Guardiola] during pre-season in the USA and I asked him about Julian and he said ‘I am so happy with him, he is an incredible guy and works really hard’.
In this World Cup he did not start in the first game, but then the manager gave him a chance and he took it really well. Now he has scored four goals and was one of the best players on the field in the semi-final. Well done for him.
Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui said on Tuesday that reaching the World Cup semifinal was not enough for his history-making side and that he hoped to cause an “upset” in their match against reigning champions France on Wednesday.
This is the first time that an Arab and African nation has made it to the semifinal of football’s biggest event in the 92-year history of the tournament.
“We are playing the world champions with many world-class players and a very good coach,” the former national team player told reporters, adding that he wanted to “get rid of the mentality” of remaining satisfied with just reaching a certain level in the tournament.
“We will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We can dream, it doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams,” he added, accompanied by midfielder Ilias Chair.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui and Ilias Chair during the news conference [Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters]
The coach, who once played for French team Toulouse, said the team was still “hungry” for more success despite not being “favourites” to lift the trophy.
“I don’t know if it will be enough … I know we are not favourites but we are confident,” Regragui added. “We’re going to fight to move on, for the African nations, for the Arab world.”
Morocco defeated top European teams Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to the semifinal, having conceded only once, and that via an own goal.
Prior to their stunning success in Qatar, the first World Cup held in a Middle Eastern country, the team had reached the knockout stages only once in 1986, when it was eliminated in the round of 16 by Portugal.
The 47-year-old said having “team spirit” was going to be key to preparing for the match tactically and mentally on Wednesday.
“Everyone wants to give their best in every game. We play a collective game with a good spirit,” Regragui said. “For me, that is the most important thing in football.”
The Morocco manager also said the country’s supporters, who have been among the most vocal and visible at the World Cup, will be “very important” for his side’s chance of success on Wednesday.
“We have the best fans in the world … maybe [together] with the Argentinian and Brazilian fans, they are crazy guys,” he said. “They are people who travel from anywhere in the world to support their country.”
“We’re going to play like being at home and that’s the most important thing in the world.”
Chair said it was a “great honour” to play in front of the Moroccan fans and he and his teammates wanted to make them “proud”.
Several key Atlas Lions players, including defender Roman Saisse, are injured and may miss the clash against Les Blues.
However, their French-born manager said the team had an “excellent medical staff” that was providing him with “good news every day”.
“We will have to wait until the last minute. No one is out but no one is definitely in either,” he added.
The semifinal will be played at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor at 10pm local time (19:00 GMT).
Modric is the first player to score three penalties in shootouts at the World Cup (also netting against Denmark and Russia in 2018).
In 90 or 120 minutes, Messi has the edge. He has scored four goals and assisted two, while Modric has yet to record a goal or an assist – however Messi plays up front, while Modric operates in midfield.
Barcelona legend Messi scored a penalty against Saudi Arabia, scored and assisted a goal against Mexico and had a penalty saved against Poland in the group stage.
He scored the opener against Australia in the last 16 and assisted the opening goal against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, before scoring from the spot in the 73rd minute – and again in the shootout.
Speaking on BBC One, Martin Keown said: “Lionel Messi just keeps producing. It was a really quality penalty. He is in top form. His confidence and belief is flowing through his colleagues.”
Following Argentina’s victory over Australia, fellow former England defender Rio Ferdinand said: “The best individual performance from a player at this World Cup. It was almost god-like. I’ve not seen anything like this.”
And former Argentina team-mate Pablo Zabaleta said: “I think Messi knows that this is his last World Cup and you can really see that he is enjoying it.”
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Modric caught Micah Richards’ eye in Croatia’s quarter-final against Brazil.
“We thought it would be his last World Cup,” the ex-England defender said on BBC One. “Some of the passes he made, controlling the tempo – he dictated at his pace and Brazil didn’t know what to do.”
Modric was replaced before the penalties in Croatia’s last-16 shootout win over Japan – but stayed on against Brazil.
“Again, Luka led for 120 minutes and was at the head of the team,” Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said. “It is unbelievable how he plays for his age, and he was not tired.
“When we fell behind, we were thinking of replacing a midfield player and asked him what his situation was. He said he was still fully ready. He showed again that he is one of the best players in the world.”
Messi has had more shots (25) and efforts on target (12) than anybody else in the World Cup – with France’s Kylian Mbappe, his Paris St-Germain team-mate, second on both counts. Mbappe leads him 5-4 in the race for the Golden Boot.
Only four players have made more successful passes in the final third than Modric’s 201; Messi is eighth on the list with 171. Modric has made the fifth-most crosses, 28, in the tournament.
Modric has also impressed further back on the pitch, with only two players having won possession more times (39) or made more interceptions (eight) than the Croat.
In the much less scientific BBC Sport player ratings, as selected by our readers, Messi’s average over five games is 7.01, with Modric on 7.46.
Both won the Golden Ball, the award for the tournament’s best player, in the process. And both have potential milestones to reach in Tuesday’s game.
Messi will equal Lothar Matthaus’ record for the most World Cup appearances (25). He would then break the German’s record at the weekend in either the final or the third-place play-off.
Messi has scored 10 World Cup goals. Only seven players have managed more – with Germany’s Miroslav Klose top on 16. He is just one behind Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis and German Jurgen Klinsmann, and two behind Pele.
He already holds the record for most assists in World Cup knockout games, passing Brazil great Pele’s old record of four in their last game.
Messi has both scored and assisted a goal in three different World Cup matches, including two this year. Since that data was first recorded in 1966, no player has done so in four games.
He has scored 95 goals in 170 caps – both national records.
Modric has won a Croatia record 160 caps and scored 23 international goals.
Modric will become the oldest outfield player to start six games at one World Cup – beating Brazil wing-back Nilton Santos, who had just turned 37 in 1962.
He has made the most World Cup appearances (17) and most appearances at major tournaments (30) for Croatia – before this semi-final.
Messi has one Copa America to show for his international career, while Modric has yet to win a trophy.
There is also a nice symmetry between the players’ careers. Messi scored his first Argentina goal and Modric made his Croatia debut in the same game – a friendly between the sides in March 2006, which Croatia won 3-2.
How about their overall careers?
This semi-final will be the 1,002nd game of Messi’s career for club and country. He has scored 790 goals and made 339 assists.
Modric’s career figures are more difficult to be certain of with spells in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for Dinamo Zagreb, Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zapresic not as well documented.
Both have won the Ballon d’Or, Messi seven times and Modric in 2018. Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo and France striker Karim Benzema are the only other players to win it since 2007.
Modric has won five Champions Leagues to Messi’s four – while both have won league titles in two countries.
Morocco became the first African country to reach the semifinal of the FIFA World Cup following their 1-0 win over Portugal.
Youssef En-Nesyri got the only goal in a dramatic 1-0 win at Al Thumama and denied Portugal what would have been a place in the last four for the first time for 16 years.
Morocco, who had substitute Walid Cheddira sent off late on finished the game with 10-men.
The North African side held onto their lead in the first half as Portugal chased for the equalizer throughout the second half with star player Cristiano Ronaldo coming on as a substitute.
Morocco has set up a semifinal against either France or England at Al-Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, where they will again be supported by a fierce crowd who roared them past Portugal.
Fifa says it is “deeply saddened” following the reported death of a migrant worker at a World Cup facility in Qatar.
The Filipino national fell to his death while carrying out repairs at a resort used as a training base by the Saudi Arabian team, The Athletic reported.external-link
Football’s world governing body said it had been made aware of an accident, without giving details of the incident.
It added it was in touch with the local authorities to request more details.
“Fifa is deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts and sympathies are with the worker’s family,” it said.
“Fifa will be in a position to comment further once the relevant processes in relation to the worker’s passing have been completed.”
Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers has been one of the main controversies overshadowing the build up to the World Cup.
A report by the Guardian newspaper last year said 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010.
That figure has been rejected by the Qatari authorities, who say there have been three work-related deaths in construction related directly to the tournament, and a further 37 non work-related deaths.
World Cup officials say a number of reforms to improve the health and safety standards for migrant workers have been implemented in recent years, and that they are “committed” to making more improvements as a legacy of the tournament.
Human rights organisations and a number of football associations whose countries are involved in the tournament say they will “continue to press” Qatar and Fifa to establish a compensation fund for migrant workers and their families, as well as the establishment of a migrant worker centre in Doha.
Black Stars assistant coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani has described Ghana’s participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a learning platform rather than “focusing on performance in only short-term events.”
Ghana failed to reach the semi-finals, which was their target going to Qatar, as they exited the tournament in the first round.
They began their campaign with a thrilling match against Portugal, which the four-time African champions lost 3-2 on November 24.
Ghana bounced back from their opening loss by defeating South Korea by the same scoreline four days later.
Ghana found themselves in a strong position to advance to the knockout stage after defeating the Koreans.
They needed a draw or a win against Uruguay in their final group game, but they were defeated 2-0, effectively ending their tournament.
Otto Addo stepped down after the defeat against Uruguay, and the technical team is expected to be disbanded with a new one formed early next year.
Kamaldeen Sulemana is the fastest player at the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite Ghana’s early exit.
The 20-year-old Stade Rennais winger sits top of the list of speedsters at the tournament with an acceleration of 35.7 kilometers per hour. He recorded the feat during Ghana’s game against Uruguay in the final Group H match at Al Janoub.
Closely following the Black Stars forward is Spanish-born Ghanaian, Nico Williams, who has a speed of 35.6 km/h from the game between Spain and Germany.
And in third place is Ghanaian-born Canadian, Alphonso Davies who chalked a run of 35.6 kilometers per hour in the game against Croatia.
Sulemana was a second half substitute in the game against Uruguay. He played in all three matches but made cameos against Portugal and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Williams and Davies saw more game time for their countries respectively.
All three players have exited the World Cup with Spain suffering a shock elimination at the round of 16 stage.
Williams is the younger brother of Ghana striker Inaki Williams.
Former Ghana defender Sammy Kuffuor has urged the media to desist from abusing Black Stars players following the team’s exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Social media have gone overdrive since the four-time African champions failed to progress from the group stage.
Accusation and counter-accusation has dominated the major headlines in the West African nation since the team exited the tournament.
But Bayern Munich legend and a member of the Black Stars management committee Sammy Kuffuor has urged the media to be measured by their criticism of the team.
‘’We all agree that this is not what we expected. But we believe in our team so I will plead with you not to point accusing fingers at any player for what happened here yesterday’’ the former Bayern star said in a press briefing in Doha on Saturday.
‘’I still insist we should find solutions to our problem and not to point accusing fingers at any player. We all know that we wanted to go far but that did not happen. Look at what we saw in the stadium and the people who travelled here to watch the matches’’.
‘’It shows the kind of love that people have for the team, we did not take it for granted at all. But its’ unfortunate we lost and exited the tournament. I am someone who can take pressure but it’s not every player who has that heart to take the pressure’’.
‘’These are young players, they need our support, not unguarded criticisms. When I was playing in Germany there was a lot of pressure but I am strong so I took that in good faith and performed’’.
‘’We don’t have to dampen the spirit of the players. We have to encourage the players to do better for our country in future competitions. We need to look at avenues to get better results from here and not to blame anyone, that’s my humble appeal to all of you.”
Ghana lost 2-0 to eternal rivals Uruguay 2-0 to crash out of the tournament in Doha.
Immediate past coach of the Black Stars Otto Addo believes the team would have done better if they had more time together.
Addo, who was named coach of the team in April, spent time with the Blacks only in the June and September break before the World Cup in November.
Ghana failed to shine in Qatar, winning just a game as the Black Stars suffered first round elimination.
“The windows we had were June, September and World Cup so there was not much time,” he told the media at a briefing on Saturday,” he said.
“Surely this is normal. If we will have had more time together, we could have developed even better. I saw a lot of processes and I know it is difficult for a lot of people to understand.”
The Borussia Dortmund talent coach resigned after the Black Stars’ defeat to Uruguay last Friday.
The four-time African champions will now switch their attention to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next year
