Morocco advances to the quarterfinals with a resounding victory over Canada

Morocco beats Canada 3-0 and advances to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive World Cup.

Morocco consolidates itself in the elite

Morocco is back in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. With a double from Azzedine Ounahi and a goal from Soufiane Rahimi, they beat Canada 3-0 in Houston. The Moroccan team is the first African nation to reach this stage on more than one occasion.

“We are no longer a surprise. Now people talk about Morocco as a contender,” said coach Mohamed Ouahbi. “This is just the beginning. We want to keep going.”

RelatedMorocco eliminates Canada and reaches the quarterfinals

Ounahi leads the way to victory

The scoring opened until the 50th minute. Ounahi received a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and shot from outside the area into the lower right corner. In the 82nd minute, he doubled the lead with a shot inside the area after a pass from Brahim Díaz. Rahimi closed the account in added time.

Canada, co-host of the tournament, said goodbye after a historic participation. They achieved their first knockout win by beating South Africa in the previous round. Coach Jesse Marsch highlighted the level of his team: “I told them I was proud of them. We can play like this against the best, but we have to keep it up for 90 minutes.”

Marsch assured that Canada was better in several sections. Ouahbi responded: “In intensity they did well. Were they better? You have to have the nerve to say that when you lose 3-0.”

Road to quarterfinals

Morocco, sixth in the FIFA ranking, eliminated the Netherlands on penalties to reach the round of 16. They will now face France on Thursday in Boston, which hours before defeated Paraguay 1-0 with a goal from Kylian Mbappé.

Canada played without Alphonso Davies, who had a hamstring injury. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, born in Canada to Moroccan parents, made three key saves to keep a clean sheet. Both teams had already met in Qatar 2022, with the Moroccan victory 2-1.

The match was physical, with eight yellow cards. Moroccan midfielder Ismael Saibari was injured in the 22nd minute.

Eduardo Feinmann apologizes for comments against Mexico

After comments against Mexicans, the Argentine journalist offered a public apology on his program.

The Argentine journalist Eduardo Feinmann generated a strong controversy on social networks after his statements considered offensive towards the Mexican people went viral. In his radio program, Feinmann said: “I hate Mexicans, the envy that Mexicans have of Argentines, they want to be like us.” The phrases unleashed widespread rejection in both Mexico and Argentina, including the Argentine community living in Mexican territory.

The football rivalry between both countries has escalated in recent years beyond sports. Public figures like Feinmann, instead of promoting unity, often fuel confrontation with comments that cross the line of discrimination.

Apologies on air

Faced with public pressure, Feinmann recanted live during her show. “I made a comment that angered millions of Mexicans and they are right to be angry with me,” he said. And he added: “It was not a xenophobic comment, nor a message of hate, we were talking about football.”

The communicator also noted: “If any Mexican felt that my words were reaching them personally, I want to tell them that that was not the meaning of what I said.” In his attempt to calm the controversy, he stated that he does not feel contempt for the Mexican people and that he spoke from sporting passion.

The apologies failed to completely dissipate the unrest on social networks. Several users pointed out that xenophobia disguised as “football passion” should not be normalized, while others considered Feinmann’s gesture sufficient. The debate about the limits of sports rivalry remains open.

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Fulham signs Álvaro Arbeloa in a carousel of technicians

The London club signs the former Madrid interim after a chain of moves.

Fulham announced in the early hours of Wednesday the hiring of Álvaro Arbeloa as their new coach. The movement closes a carousel of technicians that involved Real Madrid and Benfica.

Arbeloa, 43, left Madrid at the end of last season. There he had been interim coach after the departure of Carlo Ancelotti. Now he signs for three years with the London team.

A chain of relays

The replacement began when José Mourinho took charge of Real Madrid. Mourinho came from Benfica, a club that appointed Marco Silva to cover his departure. Silva arrived from Fulham, where he spent five years.

Thus, Arbeloa occupies the position left by Silva. The Spaniard will have the mission of improving the team’s performance in the next Premier League season.

Career as a technician

Arbeloa spent most of his career as a coach in Madrid’s youth ranks. His interim role in the first team gave him visibility, although he managed few games. Now he makes the jump to a demanding league.

Fulham is looking for stability after constant changes on the bench. With Arbeloa, the club is betting on a young coach with knowledge of elite football.

The move has generated interest in European football because of the dynamic between the three clubs. They were all rearranged after a series of strategic decisions.

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Brazil and Germany: the decline of two World Cup giants

The two historic powers of world football are going through their worst streak in decades.

Brazil and Germany, the two most successful teams in World Cup history, are experiencing a decline that seems to have no brakes. Canarinha, five-time champions, said goodbye to North America 2026 in the round of 16, something that had not happened since Italia 1990. Since then, the team had reached at least the quarterfinals in seven consecutive editions, with two titles included (1994 and 2002).

For the first time in its history, Brazil has six World Cups without lifting the trophy. The sixth star looks increasingly distant.

Germany: from the semi-final to oblivion

The Mannschaft, four-time champions, were eliminated in the round of 32 against Paraguay. It is the third consecutive edition in which Germany does not surpass the eighth; in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 he did not even pass the group stage.

The contrast is brutal: between 2002 and 2014 the Germans played in the semifinals in four World Cups in a row. Today, they don’t even secure a ticket to the round of 16. Although this is not their longest drought without a title – between 1990 and 2014 they spent five tournaments – achieving the fifth star seems like a distant feat.

The bottom has not yet arrived

Neither Brazil nor Germany have hit rock bottom: both continue to qualify for the World Cups. But its decline is evident. Italy, for example, has already missed the last three editions. History shows that powers can cease to be powers if failures accumulate.

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