National Teams

Terrible, horrible, godawful news: Sadio Mané is out of the World Cup

Senegal forward Sadio Mané has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar in a crushing blow to his team’s chances after officials confirmed on Thursday he would need surgery on a leg injury sustained in the run-up to the tournament.

Mané had been a doubt for the west African side after injuring his right fibula playing for German club Bayern Munich.

"Unfortunately, today's (Thursday) MRI shows us that the recovery is not as favorable as we hoped and we unfortunately resolve to declare Sadio's withdrawal from the World Cup," Senegal team doctor Manuel Afonso told reporters.

Morocco just recalled Hakim Ziyech for the World Cup — that was a great idea

Hakim Ziyech is a shooter. We've forgotten that this year with the Moroccan winger rarely playing for Chelsea, but when the goals were flying in at Ajax he was averaging 5.3 shots per game, and when he last represented his country at a major tournament (AFCON 2019) he was firing off 4.5 per game.

What time is the World Cup opening ceremony and who is performing?

Here's what you need to know about the opening ceremony that will take place ahead of the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar, including what time is the World Cup opening ceremony, who's performing and where.

WHAT TIME IS THE WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY?

* The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place on Nov. 20, ahead of the opening Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

* The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET on FS1 and Telemundo. 

Can an African team win the World Cup?

Many football lovers hope an African team will finally win the men’s 2022 FIFA World Cup. The world has been waiting for this since the great Brazilian player Pelé predicted (in the 1970s) that an African country would win before the year 2000. That didn’t happen, but it didn’t stop Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, from saying (in 2021): "An African team must win the World Cup in the near future."

Team-by-team guide: 2022 South Korea World Cup preview

To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched team-by-team previews for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This is for Group H's South Korea.

South Korea World Cup 2022 Preview

World Cup appearances: 11th 

Best finish: Fourth place (2002) 

How they got here: South Korea achieved automatic qualification by finishing second in AFC Group A behind Iran. 

Alexis Vega no alcanza: Los errores que condenaron a México en su derrota ante Suecia

Pese al aislado momento de magia que regalaron Héctor Herrera y Alexis Vega, la selección mexicana no pudo ante Suecia y terminó cayendo 2-1 en su último amistoso antes del Mundial de Catar. 

El plan del partido era ver un posible equipo titular de cara al debut con Polonia, evaluar físicamente a Raúl Jiménez en medio de la pubalgia que lo afecta, así como tratar de dejar una dosis de optimismo para lo que se vivirá en la Copa del Mundo. 

Con una volea sabrosa de Di María y la magia de Messi, Argentina le mete miedo a México

Todos sabemos que en el fútbol cualquier cosa puede pasar. Sin embargo, cada vez que vemos a Argentina jugar la pregunta es ¿qué diablos puede hacer México para contener a la Albiceleste cuando ambos se enfrenten en el Mundial?

La interrogante volvió a aparecer este miércoles luego del amistoso en que Argentina le dio un baile a los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, un 5-0 que demostró además que la selección sudamericana tiene una serie de variantes que van más allá de los hechizos que pueda crear Lionel Messi.

Que tome nota Alexis Vega: El gol con que Croacia venció a Arabia Saudita

Arabia Saudita, rival de México en el Grupo C del Mundial 2022, terminó su preparación rumbo a Catar con una derrota 1-0 ante Croacia, en un amistoso jugado en el Estadio Prince Faisal bin Fahd.

La diferencia en el juego la hizo el delantero del 1899 Hoffenheim, Andrej Kramarić, quien luego de recibir un pase de Luka Modrić encaró al área desnudando un par de falencias en la zaga que quizás Alexis Vega pueda aprovechar cuando el Tri enfrente a Arabia Saudita el próximo miércoles 30 de noviembre.

Video shows the moment France star Christopher Nkunku suffered knee injury that sees him miss World Cup

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani will replace RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku in the France squad for the World Cup in Qatar, the French federation (FFF) said on Wednesday.

Here are the worst teams at the 2022 World Cup you can bet on doing nothing

Editor's Note: I don't know how I didn't include Costa Rica on this list. Must have been Concacaf bias. Also don't I look silly putting Saudi Arabia and Tunisia on here.

People always try to predict the favorites and the winners of tournaments, but we’re switching it up and trying to guess which teams will crash and burn at the 2022 World Cup. The worst World Cup teams show up, mess up and go home after three games.

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