WORLD CUP. This Friday, December 9, the quarter-finals of the World Cup start with a clash between Croatia and Neymar’s Brazil, followed by a shock Netherlands – Argentina. Everything you need to remember from this new day.
10:30 p.m. – Alex Sandro back in training
Hit in the hip, the Brazilian defender of Juventus Turin Alex Sandro returned to training this Thursday evening with the Seleçao. It should nevertheless be fair to face Croatia this Friday (4:00 p.m.) where Danilo should once again replace him while Eder Militao would be aligned in the right lane.
22:00 – Rice back in training
Sick on Wednesday, Declan Rice was back in English training on Thursday, as confirmed by his teammate Kalvin Phillips. Gareth Southgate returns to his executives two days before facing the French team in the quarter-finals of the World Cup this Saturday while Raheem Sterling will be back in the Three Lions group this Friday.
21:30 – The Portuguese press defends its info on Cristiano Ronaldo
After revealing that Cristiano Ronaldo considered leaving the Portuguese group due to his non-start against Switzerland last Tuesday, the Portuguese newspaper Record persists and defends his revelations despite the denial of the Portuguese Football Federation during the day: “The captain of the Seleção even put forward the hypothesis of a departure. The conversation continued and the player himself quickly made backtracking, understanding that the time was not right for such a break. This is not the first time that the FPF has denied information about an event that occurred during this World Cup. (…) Let’s see if, this time, the official version of the FPF will last longer.”
9:00 p.m. – Fofana awaits Walker’s solution to stop Mbappé
Present at a press conference this Thursday, Youssouf Fofana spoke about the highly anticipated duel Mbappé – Walker during the quarter-final of the France-England World Cup this Saturday (8:00 p.m.). If the English right-back had declared that he “knew” how to stop the French striker, the French midfielder replied with irony: “It’s to his credit if he knows how to stop Kylian, but 19 other teams in Ligue 1 are waiting for the solution. The truth is on the ground, we will see what happens. We have confidence in Kylian.”
20:30 – The complete group of Blues
Two days before facing England this Saturday (8:00 p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Didier Deschamps was able to have his entire group available this Thursday evening for the penultimate training session of the Blues. If the first fifteen minutes were open to the press, the rest of the session took place behind closed doors.
20:00 – The Croatian coach would not want to see his players dancing
The day before facing Brazil in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Zlatko Dalic returned to the dances of the Brazilians during their celebrations. In a press conference, the Croatian coach was categorical. He doesn’t want to see his players repeat the same thing: “Brazilians have their way of celebrating a goal by dancing. I don’t know if it’s respectful or not but I wouldn’t like to see my players dancing. That said, it’s their culture. It’s beautiful to see.”
19:20 – Tite’s clarification
In a press conference, Tite returned to the controversial dances of his players to celebrate goals. The Brazil coach assures him, “they don’t want to belittle anyone”: “We were talking about education with Brazilian journalists. Maybe we’ll see boys dancing because dancing is part of Brazilian culture when a goal is scored. We don’t want to make fun of, belittle another player or another team because that’s our way of being. On a cultural level, we help educate young people in schools and we We’ll continue to do it our way.”
18:40 – Aguerd package against Portugal?
Hit in the hamstrings in the round of 16 against Spain on Tuesday, Nayef Aguerd is heading for a package against Portugal this Saturday (4:00 p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The West Ham defender could be replaced by Jawad El-Yamiq.
6:00 p.m. – Five coaches are no longer in office
After being eliminated from the World Cup with their respective selections, they are now five who are no longer in office: Gerardo Martino (Mexico), Roberto Martinez (Belgium), Otto Addo (Ghana), Paulo Bento (South Korea) and Luis Enrique (Spain).
5:20 p.m. – Several referees excluded from the World Cup
As the quarter-finals of the World Cup begin this Friday, December 9, FIFA has released several referees from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Note that Stéphanie Frappart and Clément Turpin will continue to referee. Among the dismissed referees, we find the New Zealander Matthew Conger, referee of Tunisia – France who was guilty of a breach of the regulations on video assistance (VAR).
16:40 – Spanish players return home, others stay in Qatar
According to the Spanish newspaper brand, some players from the Spanish team have decided to stay in Doha to take advantage of a few days off before the resumption of national competitions. Only 14 players have returned to Spain, among them: Pablo Sarabia (PSG), Gavi, Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Alex Baldé, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati (FC Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Pau Torres, Yeremi Pino ( Villarreal), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Unai Simon, Nico Williams (Bilbao) and David Raya (Brentford).
4:00 p.m. – Despite criticism, Brazilians will continue to dance
In response to the numerous criticisms concerning the dances of the Brazilians during the celebrations, Vinicius Jr did not hide in a press conference that he laughed at the controversy: “People like to complain when they see the others happy. And the Brazilians are very happy, so it bothers them a lot. Scoring a goal is the most important moment in our game, so we can keep doing a lot of dancing.”
15:20 – Maguire welcomes the change in mentality
Two days before the shock in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against France, Harry Maguire welcomes the atmosphere that reigns in the English locker room. The Three Lions central defender believes more than ever in the English victory at this World Cup: “What is very different compared to the 2018 team is that we really believe that it is possible. I think that we are now convinced that we have to win this tournament. It’s a good change of mentality. But of course we know how difficult it is going to be, because there are probably five or six teams who have the same conviction .”
15:00 – Benzema back with Real Madrid!
On vacation after the formalization of his package for the World Cup with the France team on November 19, Karim Benzema will be back on Saturday in Madrid according to Carlo Ancelotti. The Real Madrid coach gave an update on the striker: “He’s coming back on Saturday. We’re going to get him back on his feet.”
2:40 p.m. – Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the silence!
While the Portuguese newspaper Record said on Thursday morning that Cristiano Ronaldo had considered leaving the group because of his non-establishment on Tuesday against Switzerland, the Portuguese Football Federation denied this information. This afternoon, the principal concerned broke the silence with a publication on his social networks: “A group too united to be broken by external forces. A nation too brave to be intimidated by any adversary. A team in the real sense of the term, who will fight for the dream to the end! Believe with us! Go Portugal.”
Um grupo demasiado unido para ser quebrado por forças externas. Uma nação demasiado corajosa para se deixar atemorizar perante qualquer adversário. Uma equipa no verdadeiro sentido da palavra, que vai lutar pelo sonho ate ao fim! Acreditem connosco! Forca, Portugal!???????????????? pic.twitter.com/gUeENXSB5F
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) December 8, 2022
Find the complete table of the quarter-finals of the World Cup, which were scheduled for December 9 and 10, then the semi-finals, on December 13 and 14. The match for third place will take place on December 17 and the final on Sunday December 18, one week before Christmas.
Find all the results of the World Cup matches with the score from the final whistle of the match.
If beIN Sports broadcasts all the matches of the competition, TF1 also offers the most beautiful posters of the World Cup. Here is the complete list of matches to be found on our dedicated paper.