“I personally feel that if you can’t drink beer for three hours a day, you will survive,” he said at his inaugural press conference in Doha. “The same applies in France, Spain, Scotland.”
Infantino expressed support for the LGBTQ community and migrant workers at his opening press conference of the tournament in Doha.
The Swiss said, “To give this moral lesson – unilaterally – is just hypocrisy.”
“I don’t want to give you any life lessons, but what is happening here is very unjust.” He said: “We Europeans must apologize for the next 3,000 years before we start giving people moral lessons for what they’ve been doing for the last 3,000 years.”
Concerns over the treatment of Qatar’s migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community have dominated the build-up to the tournament in the Gulf state.
Infantino expressed his support for those communities.
He said, “Today I feel Qatari, today I feel Arab, today I feel African, today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel migrant worker.”
Qatari officials say their country has been the target of “racism” and “double standards”. They point to improvements on working conditions and safety that have been considered unprecedented in the Bay Area.
The World Cup begins on Sunday when host nation Qatar will take on Ecuador in their opening match.
The ad, titled “Impossible Rondo”, shows Messi throughout his World Cup and various shots from his previous outings, while having a good time on the field with his current self. It’s nothing less than a treat for Messi fans – as they get to watch the 19-year-old long-haired prodigy transform into a clean-shaven 35-year-old messiah who displays unparalleled talent.
What’s better than a Leo Messi? 
x Leo Messi In our family, what we do is impossible. #ImpossibleIsNothing https://t.co/H2X4ckOPi3
— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) 1668782923000
A statement on adidas’ official website said: “Combining real footage of Argentine forwards from 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018, adidas makes the impossible possible, with a one-of-a-kind Messi vs Messi Rondo warm-up.” Created by using the latest in artificial intelligence and VFX, the film traces the last 18 years of the world’s greatest sportsperson, celebrating his achievements in an unexpected way.” Adidas further added: “Historical and current footage of Messi was used to create different, older versions of him, along with his haircuts, Argentina shirt and Adidas shoes over the past five tournaments. This was then applied to body doubles.” To allow the ‘impossible’ warm-up to come to life.
Messi and Argentina are in Group C and will begin their campaign against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, November 22 at 3:30 PM IST.
Originally published at Pen 18
He moved from Santos to Spanish club Barcelona as one of the most promising young players in the world. And he impressed early on with the Catalan club, quickly achieving star status in the world of football.
The general question surrounding Neymar at the time was about when – if not if – he would be crowned the best in the world.
Fast forward eight years, though, and things have changed drastically. The Brazilian remains one of the world’s top players, but has failed to fully live up to the expectations that came with his high-profile move to Europe. Neymar lost visibility after joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, and it’s been a while since he’s been considered for player of the year awards.
His performances with Brazil at the World Cup have mostly disappointed since the 2014 tournament at home, when he was taken off on a stretcher in the quarter-finals with a back injury. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Neymar crouched on the pitch and looked in disbelief as Belgium’s players celebrated their victory over Brazil in the last eight.
He was key to Brazil when the country won its first Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, an achievement that was widely celebrated and widely praised throughout the country.
But ahead of the World Cup in Qatar at the age of 30, the questions being raised about Neymar are different.
Did he make a mistake leaving Barcelona to join PSG? Is he getting overshadowed by Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe? Is he at his peak?
But for Neymar, the only question that really matters is whether he can play for Brazil and lead the national team to its first World Cup title in 20 years.
Neymar said earlier this year, ‘I don’t want to let this World Cup get away from me. “I don’t want to let this opportunity slip out of my hands. I am doing everything possible to prepare for it physically and mentally. It is my biggest dream right now. I am focused on winning this title. ”
This year’s World Cup could be redemption for Neymar, and if he finds a way to lift Brazil to the title in Qatar, his name will be back at the top of the prize list.
“I would give my life for the World Cup,” Neymar said in a conversation with former Brazilian midfielder Diego Ribas. “It’s a unique moment. I’ve been through two World Cups and now I see how it works. Everything happens really fast, and if you’re not at your 100%, if you’re not ready If you are, the opportunity passes you by.”
Neymar, who said as a youngster that his dream was to be the best player in the world, has been in good form again this season and is one of the leaders of a PSG team that hopes to finally win their first Champions League title. We do. He enters the World Cup – which he does not rule out being his last – as one of the most in-form players.
Brazil coach Tite said, ‘He is flying now.’
Neymar has apparently not been affected by the recent fraud trial regarding his 2013 transfer from Santos to Barcelona, where he and his father are among those accused of concealing the real cost of the transfer. He faces a prison sentence of more than two years if convicted, although some of the charges against him have been dropped.
Tite is undoubtedly counting on Neymar to lead in Qatar and lead Brazil, hoping his talent – and now his maturity – will eventually make the difference and give the national team a chance to win their first World Cup title since 2002. Degi, when Neymar was still only 10.
And hopefully, for Brazil, Neymar ends his World Cup run by lifting the trophy for his team and his people, rather than leaving the field on a stretcher like in 2014 or watching opponents celebrate like in 2018.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is just two days away, and fans are eagerly waiting for the quadrangular football soccer extravaganza in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. However, the World Cup is already surrounded by controversies especially because of the host country and its antiquated laws. There has been a lot of protest for some very wrong reasons, from allegations of bribery to human rights abuses.
The council took to Twitter to invite applications for the position of national selectors. The last date of application is 28 November.
NEWS: BCCI invites applications for the post of National Selectors (Senior Men). Details: https://t.co/inkWOSoMt9
– BCCI (@BCCI) 1668785618000
The decision comes days after Team India’s poor performance in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022. The Men in Blue lost to England by 10 wickets and were thus eliminated from the competition.
During Chetan’s tenure, India also failed to reach the knock-out stage in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup and lost the World Test Championship final.
Chetan (North Zone), Harvinder Singh (Central Zone), Sunil Joshi (South Zone) and Debashish Mohanty (East Zone) have had the shortest tenures as senior national selectors in recent times. Some of these were appointed in 2020 and some in 2021.
A senior national selector normally gets a tenure of four years, subject to extension. There was no selector from West Zone after Abhay Kuruvilla’s tenure ended.
(with inputs from agencies)
Originally published at Pen 18