“Norway was an almost team,” Morten Gamst Pedersen told The Indian Express, “but almost is never enough.” He will know. Pedersen played 83 times for Norway and lived through three separate World Cup qualifying campaigns in 2006, 2010, 2014, each of which ended the same way: agonizingly short. There was no one around this time. Haaland’s second goal only reached the 90th minute before Neymar pulled one back in stoppage time as Norway held off Brazil’s brilliance, reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time, 28 years since they last won the World Cup, scoring 37 goals

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No team has scored more goals 2026 FIFA World Cup over France. No team had more attempts on target. There are no subjective statistics to confirm this, but the eye test suggests that no team has a more terrorizing attacking quartet than France. Kylian Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele. Michael Ollis. Doue the will. How did Morocco leave a relentless effort in the impending quarter-finals? Morocco’s greatest weapon against France is…France. They would rely on three footballers shaped by the French system, each of whom had either worn the colors of France or aspired to do so. At the heart of the

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Read for 2 minutes8 Jul 2026 07:26 AM IST FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Finals Schedule: The final eight teams for the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup were decided late on Tuesday night when world champions Argentina saw Egypt and Switzerland break Colombia’s heart in a penalty shootout. With Lionel Messi’s Argentina trailing 0-2 on 78 minutes, the Albiceleste staged a comeback for the ages with three strikes in the next 15 minutes. A controversial Egyptian goal disallowed by VAR sparked a backlash early in the game, before Argentina tried to bounce back from frustration. The victory

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Read for 5 minutes8 Jul 2026 01:29 PM IST European teams generally don’t do very well at the FIFA World Cup in America. Germany’s victory in Brazil in 2014 is the only instance of either of them crossing the Atlantic to reach the title. But with six of the eight quarter-finalists in the 2026 edition coming from Europe, the chances of a team from that continent lifting the trophy on July 19 could be bright, even if Morocco and Lionel Messi’s Argentina have other ideas. In fact, a European team has only won the World Cup outside its own continent

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Read 3 minutes8 Jul 2026 03:29 PM IST “Sometimes, even warriors lose because the devil decides the story should end differently.” That’s how the acclaimed Real Madrid manager described what happened in between Argentina-Egypt Round of 16 GameWhich ended with the defending champions continuing their title defense and accusing Farrow of being “unfair” and “robbed” as they finished on the wrong side of the 79th minute despite leading 2-0. Former Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Tottenham – among many other clubs – the manager is in no doubt where his sympathies lie. “Egypt has every reason

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The magic of the World Cup was alive and wild! Argentina and Egypt went head-to-head In a thrilling round of 16 fight, which the former won in thrilling fashion, Enzo Fernandez took the title in stoppage time. In Atlanta, the stadium erupted with cheers. But the real fun was at 14,010 km Hyderabadwhere children from welfare schools in the city joined the Chief Minister Revanth ReddyWatched every twist and turn on a giant screen and cheered as if they were right on the field. L Rishi Bharat, a class 10 student of Telangana Social Welfare Residential School and Junior College

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Lionel Messi may be the overwhelming hero of the World Cup, shaping moments and defining games. But a background crew, Gianni Infantino, Donald Trump, angry managers, referees and an error-checking system, make a big difference as the support cast. Add conspiracy theories, allegations of corruption and rigging, and the World Cup has the intrigue of a spy movie. The background score intensified after Egypt manager Hossam Hassan commented Argentina’s controversial 3-2 routOfficials were under pressure to keep Messi in the tournament. “Maybe they wanted Messi to keep running,” Hassan said after the match. “In football, sometimes there are external factors

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For a moment, Egypt thought they had one foot in the quarterfinals. After giving Egypt a 2-0 lead against Argentina, Mustafa Zico took off his shirt in celebration to stop the game. Seventeen seconds before the goal, Marwan Attia appeared to get hold of Lisandro Martinez’s legs. The incident happened at the other end of the pitch. But VAR sent the referee to the pitch-side monitor. Seconds later, the goal was disallowed. It was believed that Egypt had illegally gained possession, although there was much of the game before the end. The decision immediately reignited the debate over the scope

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Read 3 minutes8 Jul 2026 06:12 PM IST The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) criticized the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Argentina came back from 0-2 down to win the Round of 16 match 3-2. EFA said several decisions made during the game had a direct impact on the results. “The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent about the referee’s decisions seen during the match against Argentina, as well as the failure to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system properly. Several key incidents have raised serious concerns and left deep questions about the consistency and fairness of the decisions that directly

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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday said it will not force clubs in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Indian Football League (IFL) to field Indian strikers for the entire match, after a special general meeting on June 20. “We are leaving it to the clubs,” AIFF general secretary M Satyanarayana said at a press conference where the AIFF announced an agreement to hand over the commercial rights of the ISL to the 14 clubs that play in the league. “The stronger the league, the better the Indian team. Clubs also know that one of our Achilles’ heels

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