FSoccer world champions France will be without sick Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot in the semifinals against Morocco. Bayern professional Upamecano is initially on the bench and is replaced in central defense by ex-Leipziger Ibrahima Konaté. The 27-year-old midfielder Rabiot is not even in the French squad, with Youssouf Fofana playing in midfield.
Upamecano and Rabiot had missed the final training of the Équipe Tricolore before the game. According to media reports, both suffer from a cold. Apart from these two changes, coach Didier Deschamps offers the same starting XI against surprise team Morocco as he did in the quarter-finals 2-1 against England.
Morocco will start without Yahia Attiyat Allah and Selim Amallah, both of whom are on the bench, after exhausting performances in the knockout stage so far. Coach Walid Regragui announced on Tuesday that no professional would definitely fail. Against the world champion, he switches his defense to a five-man chain.
6:33 p.m.: Another death in Qatar
Another death occurred at the World Cup in Qatar. Security guard John Njue Kibue, a Kenyan migrant worker according to CNN, died in hospital three days after falling at the final stadium in Lusail on Tuesday, World Cup organizers said. It is now being investigated how this incident could have happened. The victim’s family will receive any outstanding monies, it said.
A worker apparently from the Philippines had already lost his life during the tournament. The man died as a result of an accident during repair work in the team hotel of the Saudi Arabian delegation. The death of US sports journalist Grant Wahl, who collapsed in the media stand during the quarterfinals between Argentina and the Netherlands, also caused dismay during the World Cup.
5:29 p.m .: For Croatia, the game for third place is “a grand finale”
After the clear semi-final defeat against Argentina, the Croatian national team is determined to secure third place at the World Cup. For many teams, the game for third place at a World Cup is no longer of great importance. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said: “For us the game on Saturday is a big final, not a small one. It’s about a medal. It’s a big deal to get a bronze medal at a World Championships.”
The Croatians have some personnel worries. “Josko Gvardiol is suffering from a foot injury, Marcelo Brozovic feels sick,” said Dalic and made it clear: “We need all the players on Saturday. We need to freshen up the team because this game is a big deal for us. Being third or fourth in the world – that’s a difference.”
3:11 p.m .: Faeser would wear the “One Love” bandage again
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser still considers her appearance with the “One Love” bandage at the World Cup in Qatar to be correct and would repeat it. “Yes,” she answered in an interview with “Zeit” when asked if she would wear the bandage again. Fifa must change, demanded the 52-year-old. “The fact that she banned the clubs from wearing armbands shortly before the start is underground,” said Faeser about the world football association.
Faeser watched the German national team’s first World Cup group match against Japan (1-2) live in the stadium on November 23, wearing the “One Love” armband that the captains of several teams originally wanted to wear on the pitch. “The One Love bandage stands for women’s rights, for the rights of homosexuals, against any form of discrimination,” said the SPD politician. “It was clear to me that I was polarizing. But that was mainly a sign against the behavior of FIFA. It was incredibly important to me to show our attitude here for our country.”
As sports minister, she “could have made it very easy for herself and criticized the whole thing from Germany,” said Faeser. “Instead, I went to Qatar and raised the issue of the human rights situation and the exploitation of the migrant workers who built the stadiums with Prime Minister Al Thani and Fifa President Infantino.”
“You put the whole burden of the story on the shoulders of the players”
“The DFB has not had a clear position on Qatar since 2010,” says football author Dietrich Schulze Marmeling. There had been considerable communication difficulties before the World Cup, during which it had not been decided exactly how action should be taken. The responsibility was left with the players.
2:27 p.m .: Cause of death determined by US sports journalist
US sports journalist Grant Wahl died of natural causes at the World Cup. This was announced by his wife Celine Gounder after an autopsy in New York. Accordingly, Grant died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm (widening of the main artery) with a bruise in the pericardium. “No resuscitation or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to Covid. His death was unrelated to vaccination status,” Gounder wrote. Accordingly, there were no inconsistencies.
Wahl had collapsed in the media stand at the Lusail Stadium during the quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands. Rescue workers had still initiated life-saving measures and brought him to the Hamad General Hospital. Wahl died at the age of 48. The journalist himself had previously written on the Internet that he was in poor health.
Wahl said he was detained by security forces for 25 minutes ahead of the USA-Wales preliminary round match on November 21 for wearing a rainbow-colored T-shirt to show his support for the LGBTQI* community. LGBT is the English abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Each letter represents one’s gender identity or sexual orientation. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to seven years in prison.
1:31 p.m .: DFB Vice President finds Qatar criticism excessive
DFB Vice President Ronny Zimmermann thinks the criticism of World Cup hosts Qatar is too harsh. The allegations against the awarding of the World Cup to the emirate were fine, and the human rights situation had to be criticized, said Zimmermann of the “Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung”. “But I find this general and absolute rejection exaggerated, because it also leads to nothing other than rejection on the other side.” In recent years, Qatar has “changed many things positively, also with regard to the working conditions of migrant workers”.
Ronny Zimmermann (right) during the World Cup in Qatar in conversation with fan representatives from the DFB fan embassy in Doha
Those: pa/dpa/Federico Gambarini
In addition to criticism, it is also important to respect the culture and history of a country, explained the President of the Baden Football Association (BFV) in Karlsruhe. He often missed that. “It was the first time in my life in an Arab country and frankly, after all the negative reports, I was very surprised at the openness and friendliness with which one was received,” said Zimmermann.
Conversations with locals, foreign workers or Europeans who have been working in Qatar for many years have shown him a different picture than that painted in Germany. Nevertheless, he did not want to “play down the problems described” in any way, said Zimmermann.
