It will be the 41-year-old Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup participation, “but I can say that internally it seems like his first World Cup for him,” said Martinez: “He is an indispensable player within the team because he is the goalscorer. In our offensive game, his statistics reflect how important he is.”
The coach himself will resign from his position after the XXL finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada. “My contract expires after the World Cup. That’s nothing new, just a fact,” Martinez confirmed reports that were sold as exclusive news a few hours earlier: “We’re now concentrating on finishing the work we started three and a half years ago.”
Turnaround for Iran player: Torabi can continue the World Cup
Offensive player Mehdi Torabi can continue his participation for Iran as planned. The inconsistencies surrounding the visa have now been clarified, as the association announced. It was previously said that 31-year-old Torabi’s visa had been declared invalid after his first entry for the 2-2 draw against New Zealand.
Torabi has now been issued a second visa with which he can easily enter the USA for further games. According to its own information, the Iranian association was also supported by the world association FIFA. Iran will face Belgium and Egypt in the preliminary round. The two games will take place in Inglewood near Los Angeles and in Seattle.
Norway and Erling Haaland celebrate their opening victory
The Norwegian national team got off to a successful start in the World Cup. Outsiders Iraq were defeated 4-1 (2-1) in Group I, with Scandinavian superstar Erling Haaland scoring two goals. Read more about the game here.
Military service: mockery for South Korea’s captain Son
The national players of World Cup participants South Korea have responded to ridicule of captain Heung-Min Son with a media boycott. As several media outlets, including the American sports magazine The Athletic, report, the team refuses to speak to South Korean journalists. Only the official Fifa media events will take place. The spark of the dispute was that journalists made fun of Son’s exemption from military service.
