Spain thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 on Wednesday, their biggest ever winning margin at a World Cup, helped by two goals by Ferran Torres and strikes by five other players to send a resounding message to the rest of the teams in Qatar.
Spain were mindful of the shock defeats suffered by Argentina and Group E rivals Germany against lower opposition in their opening matches and they tormented Costa Rica from the start, going 3-0 up after little more than 30 minutes.
Dani Olmo got the goals flowing in the 11th minute when he exchanged passes with Gavi and chipped Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Ten minutes later, Marco Asensio timed a run into the box perfectly to connect powerfully with a Jordi Alba cross.
Torres stroked home his penalty in the 31st minute and the Barcelona winger claimed his second in the 54th when he took advantage of hesitant defending. Gavi, the youngest player to represent Spain at a World Cup, struck with a perfectly hit volley in the 74th minute before substitutes Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata rounded off a totally one-sided encounter.
Late goals by Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano gave Japan an incredible 2-1 comeback victory over Germany in the World Cup on Wednesday after the four-times champions had looked to be cruising to victory via an Ilkay Guendogan penalty but paid a fatal price for missing chances.
The shock result was a repeat of their 2018 World Cup nightmare when, as defending champions, they lost their opener to Mexico and, after another defeat by South Korea, were condemned to an unheard of group-stage exit.
Germany looked in total command in the Group E clash but, with each missed chance, left the door open for Japan, who showed almost nothing in attack until a series of substitutions injected some energy in the second half.
Doan equalised in the 75th minute before Asano showed lovely control and smashed the winner in from a tight angle – causing an explosion of joy among the Japan bench.
It was a turnaround that looked scarcely believable as Japan struggled to get any foothold for most of the game.
Germany’s early dominance was rewarded when Joshua Kimmich picked out David Raum in acres of space in the box and goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda clumsily brought him down as he turned, with Guendogan dispatching the penalty in the 33rd minute.
Kai Havertz turned in what he thought was a second in first-half stoppage time and although the assistant referee was about the only person in the Khalifa International stadium not to notice he was a metre offside, VAR duly disallowed it.
There was initially little change to the pattern in the second half as Jamal Musiala shot over after a penetrating run and Guendogan clipped a post.
Gonda then made amends with four successive saves to deny Jonas Hofmann and Serge Gnabry, keeping his side in the game.
Manuel Neuer, appearing in his fourth World Cup, was also alert to save from Hiroki Sakai and did well again soon after to block from Takumi Minamino, only for fellow substitute Doan to smash in the loose ball.
Suddenly buoyed, Japan pushed on and Asano showed great strength to bring down a high free kick and hold off defender Nico Schlotterbeck and fantastic technique to hammer the ball into the smallest of spaces.
Germany launched all-out attack from then on, to no avail, and now face a potentially must-win game next against Spain.
Japan next face Costa Rica and will already be dreaming of the last 16.
Croatia, runners-up at the last World Cup, were held to a 0-0 draw by Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday in their opening Group F match at the tournament in Qatar.
The Croats, beaten by France in the 2018 final in Moscow, had the better of the chances, with Dejan Lovren having an effort cleared off the line and Nikola Vlasic’s close shot saved by the legs of Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Morocco striker Youssef En-Nesryi might have given the north Africans an early lead but was unable to get a decent touch onto Hakim Ziyech’s dangerous cross. In the second half Achraf Hakimi’s powerful free kick was parried by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Belgium and Canada play at 1900GMT in Wednesday’s other Group F match at Al Rayyan.
It comes after years of protest from fans against their ownership.
A statement from the club said the board will “consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company”.
It added that the process “will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale” to enhance “the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders”.
“As we seek to continue building on the club’s history of success, the board has authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives,” said executive co-chairmen and directors Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer.
“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximizes the significant growth opportunities available to the club today and in the future.
“Throughout this process we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.46.12/iframe.htmlManchester United fans break on to Old Trafford pitch to protest against club ownership
The Glazer family have owned NFL side Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 1995 and Avram Glazer bought a team in the new United Arab Emirates Twenty20 cricket league in 2021.
Joel and Avram took over the day-to-day running of United after their father Malcolm suffered a stroke in April 2006. Billionaire Malcolm died aged 85 in 2014.
added: “There can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in any transaction involving the company.
“Manchester United does not intend to make further announcements regarding the review unless and until the board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring a formal announcement.”
United, who are fifth in the Premier League, have not won the title since 2013 and have not won a trophy since claiming the Europa League and EFL Cup in 2017.
There have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years, including one in May 2021 which caused United’s home league match against Liverpool to be postponed.
Thousands of supporters marched to Old Trafford in protest before the same fixture this season, in August.
United were part of the failed European Super League project which rapidly collapsed in April 2021. Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer later apologised for the unrest caused.
He has since attended fans’ forums in the wake of supporter unrest and pledged to make shares available to the club’s followers.
in August 2022 said the Glazer family were willing to sell a minority stake in the club.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he would be interested in buying United before he stated in October that the Glazer family had told him they did not want to sell.
‘If the Glazers are to leave, most fans would welcome it’ – analysis
BBC Sport football reporter Simon Stone
There has never been any real dispute that the Glazers see Manchester United as a financial investment.
To a greater or lesser degree – co-chairmen Joel and Avram being the most invested – they are interested in the football side but the main aim is to make money, which they have succeeded at.
To that end, a few issues have conspired to make the Glazers think now is a good time to test the water with regard to an exit.
First, the European Super League plan was killed off. Whilst Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid are adamant it will get clearance through the courts, in its original form, it is done – and with it, the riches that would have come from it.
Then, Saudi Arabia’s backing of Newcastle creates more competition within the Premier League and, eventually, Europe.
Added to the huge investment required on an Old Trafford refit – and improvements at the club’s Carrington training ground – running a competitive United, in the short-term, is going to be very costly.
To that end, the £4.25bn Chelsea was sold for in the summer starts to look very attractive.
The Glazers have not been popular owners since the day they bought United in 2005.
If they are to leave, most fans would welcome it. However, given the likely selling price, their dream of ownership may be unrealistic.
And, even if a boyhood supporter fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe follows up his summer plan to attempt to buy the club, he is unlikely to be the only interested party. In the short-term, the future at Old Trafford may just bring more uncertainty.
Lucas Hernandez’s World Cup campaign is over after the France defender sustained a knee injury in the defending champions’ 4-1 win over Australia in Group D on Tuesday, the French football federation said.
The FFF confirmed to Reuters an earlier report from L’Equipe that said that Hernandez suffered a cruciate knee ligaments injury and that he was ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
Hernandez limped off the pitch after staying on the grass for a couple of minutes holding his right knee after being beaten to the ball by Mathew Leckie, who delivered the cross for Craig Goodwin’s opening goal for Australia.Advertisement · Scroll to continueReport an ad
France lead Group D with three points, two ahead of Tunisia and Denmark, who played out a goalless draw on Tuesday.
France started their World Cup title defence in style with a 4-1 comeback win against Australia on Tuesday, with Olivier Giroud scoring two goals to become Les Bleus’ joint all-time top scorer.
Giroud netted before and after the break to take his tally to 51 goals, matching Thierry Henry’s mark. He scored either side of a Kylian Mbappe goal after Adrien Rabiot had levelled for France following Craig Goodwin’s shock early opener.
Les Bleus are the first defending champions to win their opening match since Brazil in 2006, which has already put them in a good position to advance from the group phase, something Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 failed to do.
France, whose defender Lucas Hernandez was ruled out of the World Cup after picking up a serious knee injury in the first half, have three points and lead Tunisia and Denmark by two after they played out a 0-0 draw on Tuesday.
Didier Deschamps’s side, who started the tournament on the back of the disappointment of striker Karim Benzema being ruled out injured last Saturday, next face Denmark on Saturday.
“We got a scare but reacted quickly afterwards. Even if we could have scored more goals, we found each other, we were efficient,” said 36-year-old Giroud, who is now France’s oldest scorer in the World Cup.
“It’s very good for our self-confidence to have turned things around. We’ll have to learn from these little mistakes however.”
Australia coach Graham Arnold said his team ran out of gas against a superior side.
“Look, at the end of the day, they’re are a quality side. They are world champions for a reason,” he added.
“I thought the first half, we did well. Second half, we ran out of legs a bit, but that’s the type of level of those players play at.”
POOR START
It was not quite the start France were expecting at the Al Janoub stadium.
Australia’s Goodwin smacked the ball into the roof of the net from Mathew Leckie’s cross from the right, leaving Lucas Hernandez holding his right knee after being beaten to the ball after nine minutes.
Hernandez’s brother Theo came on as a substitute and France continued to struggle to create space, with only Mbappe threatening on his left flank.
Australia were much more direct, making the most of Les Bleus’s non-existent midfield.
It was Rabiot who levelled in the 27th, however, leaving his marker behind to head home from Hernandez’s cross.
With Mbappe moving more centrally, the Australia defence had another problem to deal with and that was clear when the Paris St Germain forward’s backheel inside the area was collected by Rabiot, who slid the ball across for Giroud to tap in.
France played more freely from then on, with Antoine Griezmann’s low shot going just wide and Mbappe skying his attempt over the bar as he raced to meet Griezmann’s cross from the right.
Australia kept France on their toes and came close shortly before halftime when Jackson Irvine’s header grazed Hugo Lloris’s right-hand post after a rebound.
Mbappe caused more chaos early in the second half but could not quite find the breakthrough, until he silenced the Australia fans, who in the first half were shouting ‘Who are you?’ at him, with a glancing header in the 68th minute.
Three minutes later, Giroud headed home from Mbappe’s cross before falling on his back in apparent disbelief and being surrounded by his team mates in a goal celebration that lasted longer than usual, giving an exhilarating feel to France’s win.
It took Giroud, who owed his place in the starting lineup to Benzema’s absence, 115 international appearances to score his 51 goals, while Henry needed 123 from 1997-2010.
There were more chances for France through Theo Hernandez and Ibrahima Konate but the result was already satisfying enough, bearing in mind that in 2002 their title defence started with a 1-0 loss to Senegal followed by a first-round exit.
