lukaku skips brlgium training
MOSCOW: Throwing a hint that he night not feature in Thursday's final group game against England, Belgium striker Romelu lukaku missed training with the rest of the World Cup squad on Tuesday. lukaku scored two goals in Belgium's 5-2 win over Tunisia on Saturday, thus becoming the first player to score multiple goals in consecutive World Cup games since Diego Maradona in 1986. Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has said he could make wholesale changes now that the top two places in the group have been settled. "If I was going to speak about every player, I think everyone deserves to play in the World Cup," Martinez was quoted as saying by ESPNFC. "So, it's more important for me to be able to give that opportunity and see how they can react on the pitch and how much they can contribute. Nobody has got a place guaranteed in this team at the moment. That's the way we are looking at it." lukaku's four goals so far in Russia have put him one behind top scorer Harry Kane. The Manchester United marksman, though, said it is not the Golden Boot that drives him. "I restate that the title of top goalscorer doesn't interest me. My aim is to go as far as possible with this team. All the better if my goals can contribute to that. "Maradona is one of the greatest players in history. It's nice. But he has won the World Cup. I've won nothing at all. I am keeping my feet on the ground. What I'm interested in is that the team wins," he said. "We're relaxed, but we have to improve our play game after game. We're nowhere yet. It's only in the second round that the tournament will start. We'll only be one of the favourites for the World Cup if we manage to produce such a performance against a big country. let's not get carried away," lukaku added.
Granqvist MAY HANG BOOTS afteR WC
Moscow: Sweden defender and captain Andreas Granqvist may retire from international football after his side's match against Mexico at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the player said on Tuesday. "This could be my last match for the national team, but right now we only think about the upcoming game and we'll discuss everything else later," Granqvist told journalists, reports Sputnik news agency. The 33-year-old will earn his 74th cap for Sweden when the Scandinavian team takes on Mexico in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday in a crunch Group F game. Granqvist, who is playing in his first World Cup finals, is set to return to Swedish club Helsingborgs following the tournament after having played for Russian side Krasnodar since 2013.
Egypt 'unlucky' says coach Cuper
volgograd: Egypt coach Hector Cuper said that his team was unlucky in their third defeat of the World Cup group stage after losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. "Our strategy worked well and we created many good chances on the counter-attacks. We had a very good first half in which we took the lead. We were just unlucky," Cuper said on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency. "I think we played well but the results didn't go our way. We lost all three matches but we lost two games with goals conceded after 90 minutes. That's too bad," he added. "I'm sad and disappointed, but at the World Cup we have to face the world's top teams and even they concede goals too," the coach added. In previous games, Egypt had lost to Uruguay and hosts Russia 1-0 and 3-1 respectively.
Saudis renew coach Pizzi’s contract
moscow: The Saudi Arabia national football team on Tuesday renewed the contract of head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi after their 2-1 win over Egypt which helped them grab their only win so far at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia. Saudi Arabia squeezed a consolation win against Mohamed Salah's Egypt after what was a fairly underwhelming campaign that started with a 0-5 defeat to hosts Russia, reports Efe. In a statement, the Saudi soccer federation said Pizzi, an Argentina-born former player who represented Spain internationally, would stay on until the end of the Asia Cup in 2019.
Analyst dies after Egypt's loss
mexico city: An Egyptian sports analyst has died after having a heart attack while watching a broadcast of Egypt's 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup. Abdel-Rahim Mohamed had the heart attack when the Saudis scored their injury-time winner Monday. He was taken to a hospital in Cairo for treatment, but didn't respond to treatment. Mohamed's death was announced Monday by his son in a Facebook post. The former Zamalek coach had been scheduled to give analysis after the match for Egypt's state TV. Egypt, which was playing at the World Cup for the first time since 1990, finished in last place in the group in what has become a hugely disappointing tournament for the Egyptians.