8:21 AM ET DOHA, Qatar — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said players should “respect football” and not protest on the pitch because fans want to forget their problems during matches. Multiple human rights groups have expressed concerns about the treatment of migrant workers and LGBTQ+ people in Qatar, leading to participating teams facing increased
Football
10:47 AM ET Sinisa Mihajlovic joined Bologna as head coach for a second time in 2019. Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images Sinisa Mihajlovic, who played for and coached numerous Italian Serie A teams and was famed for his spectacular free kicks, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer. Mihajlovic was sacked as manager
10:00 AM ET The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has flown by. Wedged into the middle of the European club season, it has had to. It’s hard to believe that the tournament began 26 days ago, yet so much has transpired in that time, including whittling down a field of 32 to just France and
5:41 AM ET Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez The chief executive of the company behind the Super League, Bernd Reichart, has said the project is still “very much alive” despite the rejection of one of the Super League’s key arguments in the latest stage of its legal battle with UEFA. Reichart, who was appointed CEO of
4:47 AM ET Morocco coach Walid Regragui has admitted Saturday’s third-place play-off against Croatia is the “worst game to play” but is still targeting another milestone finish for an African nation at a World Cup. The Atlas Lions were beaten 2-0 by France in Wednesday’s semifinal and have several injury concerns, including captain Romain Saiss
3:16 PM ET Back in November, before the World Cup began, I dove into the treasure trove that is StatsPerform’s World Cup charting data archive to look at the trends that have changed and taken over the sport from 1966 to 2018. When did the possession game start to really take over? (1990 or so,
2:56 PM ET Associated Press The chances of the winning the World Cup might have gone for Croatia and Morocco, but “immortality” is at stake when the two teams meet in Saturday’s third-place playoff. That’s according to Croatia forward Andrej Kramaric, who dispelled the notion it would be a meaningless contest at Khalifa International Stadium.
7:40 PM ET Associated Press Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema sustained a knee injury and was taken off the field on a stretcher while playing for Arsenal in a women’s Champion’s League match against Lyon on Thursday. The Dutch forward went down under no contact in the first half after landing awkwardly as she challenged for
5:00 AM ET With 62 games now done and dusted, just two matches are yet to be played at the World Cup in Qatar: the third-place playoff between Croatia and Morocco on Saturday, and then the small matter of the final itself between Argentina and defending champions France 24 hours later. 2 Related Lionel Messi
9:35 AM ET Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Real Madrid have reached an agreement to sign Palmeiras forward Endrick in 2024, the club announced on Thursday. Endrick — who is 16 and will move to Madrid when he turns 18 in July 2024 — is one of the most exciting young talents in Brazilian football. –