World Cup news: Sandro big question mark at Brazil, Morocco possible without Aguerd | football world cup

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Rice can be used again in England for the quarter-final against France

5:19 pm: England coach Gareth Southgate can again call on Declan Rice for the quarter-final against France at the World Cup. The 23-year-old West Ham United midfielder missed training on Wednesday due to illness, but seems to have recovered.

Kalvin Phillips, who was seen as a possible replacement, stated that Rice was better. “I think he’s fit, he’s training again and he’s fine,” said Phillips.

Rice was a starter in all of England’s matches in Qatar. Phillips, on the other hand, has yet to feature in the World Cup after a long-term shoulder injury. The 27-year-old Manchester City midfielder is now available again if Southgate needs him.

“I’m ready,” said Phillips. “If something goes wrong, I will stand there and do my best to be fit enough for 90 minutes.”

England is also likely to have Raheem Sterling back on Friday. The attacker had flown back to England to be with his family after a burglary.

England and France play at Al Khor on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Croatia has Sosa back for quarter final against Brazil

4:08 pm: National coach Zlatko Dalic of Croatia has Borna Sosa at his disposal for Friday’s quarterfinal against Brazil. The defender missed the round of 16 against Japan due to illness.

However, it is still questionable whether Sosa will be in the starting line-up against Brazil, as Dalic was satisfied with the game against Japan. Croatia qualified for the quarter-finals on a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. “We will not make many changes, because the eighth final went fantastic for us,” said Dalic.

Dalic sees playing against Brazil as the pinnacle of international football. “There is nothing better than playing against Brazil. You can only dream of that. We know what Brazil means to football, but we have nothing to lose. We have to fight and do our best.”

The match between Croatia and Brazil is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. in Al Rayyan.

Sandro big question mark at Brazil for World Cup quarter finals

3.01 pm: Brazil will most likely have to do without Alex Sandro in the quarterfinals of the World Cup against Croatia on Friday. The left back is still suffering from a hip injury. National coach Tite said in the run-up to the game that he still wants to assess Sandro at the last training session, “but it is expected that he will not be there,” said the coach.

Sandro, who plays for Juventus, was injured in the group stage and missed the game in the round of 16 against South Korea (4-1). In that game right back Danilo played left back.

The match between five-time world champions Brazil and Croatia starts at 4 p.m. and is played at Doha’s Education City stadium.

Morocco in quarterfinal World Cup possible without defender Aguerd

3:01 pm: Morocco must make it possible on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Portugal without defender Nayef Aguerd. The 26-year-old West Ham United player has sustained an upper leg injury and according to the technical staff it is not certain that he will be able to take action.

Aguerd was taken off against Spain in the final phase of regular time. The defender left the field in tears and then saw his team hold on and eventually join the last eight via penalties.

Two days after the game against Spain, Morocco again opted for rest, as the match against Spain demanded a lot from the team physically. Sofyan Amrabat confessed after the duel with Spain that he was hampered by a back injury. That’s why he took a syringe.

Morocco – Portugal starts on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Instagram followers keeper Noppert almost quadrupled during World Cup

12.31 pm: The number of Instagram followers of Oranjekeeper Andries Noppert almost quadrupled during the World Cup in Qatar. Prior to the tournament, the sc Heerenveen keeper still had about 27,000 followers, on Thursday there were 106,000. This is evident from a count by the ANP. With this, Noppert, who was first at the bottom of the list, has overtaken teammates Teun Koopmeiners, Kenneth Taylor and Justin Bijlow.

Attacker Cody Gakpo is number two: his follower count has grown by more than 90 percent in the past two weeks. Luuk de Jong is the only one in the World Cup selection who lost followers during the tournament.

The number of Instagram followers of players in Orange varies enormously. With 16 million followers, Memphis Depay has by far the largest following on the platform. He is followed by Virgil van Dijk (12.9 million followers) and Frenkie de Jong (10.9 million). On Friday, the Dutch national team will play against Argentina in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Sterling rejoins the English selection on Friday after a break-in

11.02 am: Raheem Sterling is set to rejoin England’s World Cup squad. The 28-year-old attacker from Chelsea, who had to miss the round of 16 against Senegal (3-0), had returned home because his house was raided last week.

“The Three Lions attacker has temporarily left camp due to family circumstances and is expected to return to the team in Al Wakrah on Friday,” the English Football Association said. England will take on reigning world champions France at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.

National coach Gareth Southgate previously stated that it was still unclear whether Sterling would rejoin the selection. Sterling played 81 times for the England national team and scored in the first game against Iran at this World Cup. The 27-year-old footballer also took part in the second game against the United States, against Wales he was on the bench.

According to English media, armed persons had entered Sterling’s house on the night from Saturday to Sunday, while his family was at home. Captain Harry Kane wished his teammate the best of luck and hoped to see him again soon. “It is never easy when you see that a teammate and friend has to deal with something like this. We have to wait. I am sure that Raheem will consult with the coach and make the best possible decision for him and his family.”

Injured Mendes and Pereira leave training camp Portugal

10:44 am: The injured Portuguese internationals Nuno Mendes and Danilo Pereira have left the training camp of the national selection in Qatar. Both defenders are continuing their rehabilitation at their club Paris Saint-Germain, the Portuguese federation reported.

Their commitment to the quarterfinals at the World Cup against Morocco next Saturday was already questionable, but it is now clear that they will not play at all at the World Cup.

Pereira only played the first group match against Ghana. Then he broke three ribs in training. Mendes injured his left thigh again in the second group match with Uruguay and had to be substituted.

Fanwalk Oranje in Lusail with fluorescent dancers

9:33 am: The KNVB has slightly adjusted the traditional fan walk of the Orange supporters in Qatar for Friday’s quarterfinal against Argentina, which starts at 10 p.m. local time (8 p.m. in the Netherlands). “We are going to do a lot with lights, including those fluorescent dancers,” said a spokesman for the KNVB. It is already dark when the Dutch supporters come together and follow the Oranjebus towards the stadium in Lusail.

The matches that the Orange has played at the World Cup so far were earlier in the day. It was always light when the Orange fans celebrated a party in the run-up.

The Netherlands is in the minority in terms of supporters on Friday. There are 1400 Orange supporters in the stands in the Lusail stadium, the KNVB said. About 50,000 Argentines are expected to attend the game.

The Orange double-decker was present for the first time at the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. Since then it has been a tradition for Dutch supporters to gather and celebrate at final tournaments and walk behind the bus, with loud music, towards the stadium more than two hours before the match.

400 Orange fans still buy tickets for the quarterfinals via FIFA

8:20 am: The Dutch national team will receive the support of 1400 Orange fans in the stands of the Lusail stadium on Friday during the quarterfinals of the World Cup against Argentina. 1000 supporters had already secured a ticket through the KNVB, 400 others have bought an admission ticket through the channels of FIFA in recent days, the Dutch football association reports.

The Lusail Stadium can hold nearly 90,000 people. Argentinian fans are expected to occupy more than half of all seats in the stadium. The South Americans have been supported throughout the tournament by a loyal fan base, just like Brazil.

The quarterfinal between the Netherlands and Argentina starts on Friday at 8 p.m. Dutch time. The winner will face Brazil or Croatia in the semi-final on Tuesday. That match is also at the Lusail stadium, just like the final.

Louis van Gaal previously called on Dutch fans to travel to Qatar after all. “We were overwhelmed by the USA in the stadium. I only saw a few Dutch people in the stands. It would be very nice if the country would support it.”

Virgil van Dijk during a Orange training.

Ⓒ RENE BUILDMAN

Last training Orange for the quarterfinals at the World Cup against Argentina

7:01 am: The Dutch national team will complete the last training on Thursday for the quarterfinals at the World Cup against Argentina on Friday. The team of national coach Louis van Gaal will appear on field 6 of Qatar University at 4 p.m. Dutch time. Journalists are only welcome for the first fifteen minutes, after that Orange will continue behind closed doors.

The Argentinians, with national coach Lionel Scaloni, will start their last training session at 5 p.m., at the same complex, but on field 3. The media are also only welcome at the start of the South Americans.

Van Gaal and Scaloni also both give press conferences in Doha, Van Gaal at 1.30pm and Scaloni at 2.15pm.

Matches are not scheduled for Thursday at the World Cup. Croatia and Brazil will play the first quarterfinal on Friday, followed in the evening by the meeting between the Netherlands and Argentina.

On Saturday it will first be the turn of Morocco and Portugal, then reigning champions France and England.