Football

Poor old Luka Modric. A player of such balletic beauty and grace, he could barely have been more elegant had he tiptoed on to the pitch down a sweeping ...

[Manchester United](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/22/manchester-united-up-for-sale-as-glazers-announce-plans-to-leave-old-trafford) and [Liverpool](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/10/jurgen-klopp-committed-to-liverpool-no-matter-who-owns-club) counterparts, seeing as both clubs, along with their freeholds atop the moral high ground, are now up for sale and vulnerable to folk wielding big bags of the old petro-pennies. [five-goal thumping](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/mar/07/tottenham-everton-premier-league-match-report) at Spurs to the [twin defeats](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/12/bournemouth-everton-premier-league-match-report) at Bournemouth, via humiliations against Leicester and Crystal Palace and everything in between. Peter Shilton, the bizarro-world Neville Southall, had already this year gone out of his way to have a pint with Nigel Farage on GB News and announce that he’d never take the knee. This one goes to everyone on that party bus with fixed grins and dead eyes, insisting they were lost in the carefree celebration of a successful season. Let it all out, José, just like Football Daily plans to do yet again while watching the end of It’s a Wonderful Life. Southend United, for selling the naming rights of their West Stand to a local firm of estate agents called Gilbert and Rose. [Three goals in 336 seconds](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/22/manchester-city-win-premier-league-title-aston-villa-match-report) later, City were ahead and certs for the title. None of them were having it – furious old pros will be furious old pros – and Walton displayed remarkable composure in the face of a knowledge-lite salvo. Less than five months later, Stevie [was sacked](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/20/steven-gerrard-leaves-aston-villa-after-disappointing-start-to-season), after which a former subordinate [took his old job](https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2022/nov/29/mick-beale-is-a-cosy-appointment-when-rangers-need-a-ruthless-rebuild) at Rangers. A slapstick masterclass, and upon being immediately substituted it’s just as well everyone in the stadium gave the Astaire of the Adriatic the standing ovation A player of such balletic beauty and grace, he could barely have been more elegant had he tiptoed on to the pitch down a sweeping staircase in top hat and tails. Hmm, all of a sudden, the penny’s beginning to drop.

How many times were we told this was the best World Cup ever? Mainly by people with a vested interest in spreading the message, it must be said. Fifa president ...

[Suarez’s infamous handball in the 2010 World Cup](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/ghana-vs-uruguay-feud-explained-luis-suarez-handball-world-cup-rivalries-2000185?ico=in-line_link). You could just imagine Malcolm Tucker on the phone to Infantino afterwards and calling him a lot of words beginning with fuck. In hindsight, it set the tone perfectly. It was hard not to see it as a furious reaction to all the negative PR the country had been getting predominantly from the West in the week building up to opening game. About as far away from the spotlight as you could get, two migrant workers died during the tournament (that we know of), one while working at a resort used by the Saudi Arabia team and another falling from a great height at the Lusail Stadium. [Germany’s players holding hands over mouths](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/germany-protest-covering-mouths-one-love-armband-fifa-lost-control-1989531?ico=in-line_link), symbolising they’d been gagged by Fifa over the OneLove armband, went everywhere. [ confronted BBC Persia reporter Shaimaa Khalil](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/iran-coach-carlos-queiroz-bbc-journalist-world-cup-questions-protest-1992404?ico=in-line_link) to ask why she didn’t question Gareth Southgate over the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. And to conclude that, no, it was definitely stuff actually happening to marginalised and exploited members of society, and not racism. The best World Cup ever! But in pics and clips, they truly are the best stadiums ever. How many times were we told this was the best World Cup ever? Mainly by people with a vested interest in spreading the message, it must be said.

Telegraph readers react to Argentina's epic World Cup final win over France and Qatar's hosting of the tournament as a whole.

Telegraph readers joined the rest of the footballing (and non-footballing) world in reacting to perhaps the wildest 120 minutes in football ever. [beat France](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/12/18/argentina-vs-france-world-cup-2022-final-live-score-messi-mbappe/) 4-2 on penalties after France fought back from 2-0 and then 3-2 down, with both sides having chances to win a [helter-skelter game](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2022/12/18/how-world-reacted-argentinas-crazy-world-cup-final-win/?) at the death before the shootout. [Messi](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2022/12/19/majestic-lionel-messi-writes-perfect-final-chapter-world-cup/) matched his idol Diego Maradona in winning international football's most coveted prize.

There are others who don't drink alcohol, some due to health or religious reasons or whatever, but certain people just choose not to.

However, I had a great time doing both and long may it continue. However, the South Americans then still cruising, seemingly, to a third World Cup triumph. Crowning a superb career with at last a World Cup winner’s medal… Plus the experience enhanced by the consumption of alcohol, sitting with friends. Now I’m not trying to recruit people into the alcohol admirers society. That of course is the absolutely massive bonus on top of football and alcohol, having been born a Geordie / Then totally out of the blue, ten minutes to go and out of the blue, Messi’s likely heir apparent, Mbappe, with two goals only a minute apart, the second one a sensational strike. Into extra-time and suddenly back to a more even match, Messi scoring the winner surely with 12 minutes to go of the second period of extra-time. I know there is a downside as well with the demon drink and if you don’t want to join the rest of us, then no problem. Then again, is there anything worse than waking up in the morning with a seriously bad hangover and a major contributor to that hangover, is the fact that Newcastle United lost a big match the previous day / night? Now if you have somehow found yourself on The Mag reading this and have no interest in football or alcohol, there was a thing called the World Cup Final on yesterday (Sunday) and I was in the pub, drinking alcohol, lots of it. Before, during and after the football, so much to talk about, some of that conversation, admittedly a very small part of it, was even about family and so on…

After Argentina and France produced arguably the greatest World Cup final of all time, Sky Sports News Rob Dorsett reviews Qatar 2022 and discusses what the ...

Thank God the football was such a pleasant distraction from all of this. The lack of alcohol was of course a huge factor. Next to the Al Bayt Stadium was a synthetic warm-up pitch. With hotel prices typically in excess of £500 per night, and beer prices more than £12 a bottle in the few hotels you could buy it - it seemed unaffordable and unattractive to many. Always looking for recycling bins within the FIFA facilities and on the street, and only very rarely finding one. It felt, even before the World Cup had started, that maybe FIFA wasn't running its own tournament. A fairly wealthy stooge who was delighted with his free England shirt and free tickets to a big World Cup game. There was a very short build-up to the tournament. The English FA, wrong-footed and fuming at FIFA, lit the Wembley arch in rainbow colours. It turned out that the interviewee was an entrepreneur, who owned a health and safety business in Saudi Arabia, who had won a contract with the Supreme Committee to oversee work practices in Doha. And when FIFA organised a 'meet-the-migrant-workers' choreographed photocall at England's team base in Al Wakrah, it was a hugely awkward and fully choreographed event. An extravaganza of footballing drama that went all the way, lurching sometimes towards France, sometimes towards Argentina.

TEHRAN – Argentina ended their long title drought by beating France 4-2 in penalty shootout of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. La Abliceste won the title ...

Thank you for making people to fight together in a peaceful atmosphere. Reportedly, around five billion people watched the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Regardless of final result, FOOTBALL brought billions of people together in a one-month period.

The World Cup in Qatar has been an amalgamation of so many of the game's wrongs played out in a hypermodern state that lacks reality...

Most of these issues were prevalent before the tournament began and will continue to act as no more than a fly in the ointment of enjoyment for most going forward; a mere crack on the edge of a television screen that projects year-round entertainment. The anger and astonishment that greeted Qatar being given the right to host this tournament meant the build-up to it actually taking place felt an inevitable time for some sort of stand to be taken, introspection to be forced upon football’s most influential stakeholders. The decision to remain on the field being left in the hands of a player and his manager once again allowed an individual to risk their long-term health due to a belief that playing on was of greater importance. The treatment of migrant workers has been an obvious and very real concern for over a decade now, but so many are still being treated as an underclass of humanity in Qatar and a disturbing number are still dying in their place of work. The World Cup in Qatar has been a disturbing intensification of this idea, an amalgamation of so many of the game’s wrongs played out in a hypermodern surveillance state that has no genuine interest in football. We care about Morocco becoming the first African team to reach a semi-final and Lionel Messi’s attempts to garnish his legacy with the ultimate crown because of how invested we are in the stage they are playing upon.

Deutscher Fussball-Bund (DFB), German football association, has appointed IMG as its exclusive sponsorship agency across APAC. The new partnership will see IMG ...

Adolfo Bara, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Football Events, at IMG, added, “German football has a history of excellence and international success, and we’re delighted to be working with DFB to develop new commercial opportunities for the national team. The deal bolsters IMG’s global football sponsorship portfolio. Henning Wegter, Senior Head Sales & Partner Management at DFB GmbH & Co.KG., commented, “We manage almost all of our commercial sales inhouse but are excited to handle sales in Asia and especially in China with the expertise and excellence of renowned partners such as

Emotional edits of Argentina's World Cup 2022 victory set to Swift's music are flooding TikTok. Sentimental, symbolic and reflecting on past struggles, ...

One user who made an edit of Neymar with her music wrote: “how can a white American woman write a song that fits perfectly with the struggles of a Brazilian football player trying to fit in and live in a European country…” The comments are a mix of people crying at the heavy emotion and football fans utterly bemused as to why Messi's career edits have been set to her music. To honor your privacy preferences, this content can only be viewed on the site it [Swifties](https://www.tiktok.com/@taylortapes/video/7178640722415848710?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7178640722415848710&q=taylor%20swift%20messi&t=1671448910405) have been flooding TikTok with edits of [Lionel Messi]() set to her music, namely “You're On Your Own Kid” from her album Midnights, with many being served up the Messi/Swift mash-up content despite having no interest in football. Lots of users are commenting that their ‘For You’ page page is now exclusively [football](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/sport/article/world-cup-2022-giant-killings) fancams on Swift's music. All it took was the greatest player of all time lifting the trophy at the end of the greatest final in history.

Main image: Fans in New York watch England v USA on a big screen in Times Square. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters. Sun 18 Dec 2022 04.30 EST ...