Category: Sociedade

A selecção de Marrocos entra em campo esta quarta-feira, 9, diante da França, nos quartos de final do Mundial 2026, com o objectivo de continuar a escrever uma página histórica para o futebol africano.

Única equipa do continente africano ainda em prova, os Leões do Atlas procuram garantir uma vaga nas meias-finais da competição, num confronto marcado para as 20h00, diante de uma das selecções mais fortes do futebol mundial.

Marrocos chega ao duelo com a confiança reforçada depois de uma campanha marcada por exibições consistentes e resultados que colocaram a equipa entre as melhores do torneio. A selecção marroquina pretende repetir o feito alcançado no Mundial de 2022, quando se tornou a primeira equipa africana a atingir as meias-finais de uma Copa do Mundo.

Do outro lado, a França surge como uma das candidatas ao título e aposta na qualidade individual dos seus jogadores, na experiência em grandes competições e no histórico recente de conquistas internacionais para superar o adversário africano.

O encontro coloca frente a frente duas selecções que já protagonizaram duelos decisivos em Mundiais, com Marrocos a procurar contrariar o favoritismo francês e manter vivo o sonho de conquistar um lugar entre as quatro melhores equipas do mundo.

A partida poderá representar mais um momento marcante para o futebol africano, caso Marrocos consiga superar a França e alcançar novamente uma fase inédita numa competição de nível mundial.

O Conselho de Críquete da Inglaterra e País de Gales bloqueou os planos de realizar a final de um torneio T20 para nações europeias no Lord’s.

As discussões para criar uma ‘Euro Nations Cup’ anual, tanto no futebol masculino quanto no feminino, começaram no início deste ano.

Os tabuleiros de críquete da Irlanda, Escócia e Holanda são desenvolvendo o conceito e esperava jogá-lo já no início do próximo verão.

Fontes disseram à BBC Sport que o Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) apoia a ideia de ajudar a desenvolver o críquete europeu e está disposto a disponibilizar o Lord’s.

Esperava-se que o terreno de Sir Paul Getty em Wormsley, com quem o MCC tem uma parceria estratégica, também pudesse ser usado para sediar jogos.

No entanto, entende-se que o BCE indicou que não assinaria um acordo de organização necessário para que um torneio internacional T20 se realizasse na sua jurisdição.

Uma fonte indicou que o BCE temia uma reação negativa dos condados devido ao críquete internacional realizado na Inglaterra ao mesmo tempo que a temporada nacional.

No início deste ano, os organizadores estavam positivos quanto ao envolvimento do BCE e optimistas quanto à possibilidade de a Inglaterra participar no torneio.

Mas em Março, o presidente-executivo do BCE, Richard Gould, complicações citadas sobre adequar o evento aos compromissos internacionais existentes da Inglaterra.

O BCE recusou-se a comentar quando abordado pela BBC Sport.

A rest day at the World Cup provides the opportunity to take stock of how the biggest-ever edition has gone so far.

Have pre-tournament presumptions about off-field issues been proved correct? Which players and teams have set the storylines on the field? And what will be the legacy of the 2026 competition?

Who has been the big star of the World Cup so far?

The man who supposedly had the fairytale ending to his World Cup career four years ago: Lionel Messi.

Few would have predicted the Argentina legend, at 39 years old, delivering the game-changing, headline-grabbing performances he has so far. The current World Cup’s top scorer has further fuelled his claim to be the greatest of all time.

But the A-listers have all shown up at this World Cup. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Ousmane Dembele and Vinicius Jnr have been among the goals. Jude Bellingham has been a game-changer for England. And even Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a couple of moments to hit back at his critics.

With the leading actors centre stage there has been less room for breakout stars, but Switzerland’s 20-year-old Johan Manzambi has made his name – along with Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha. USA’s Folarin Balogun made a flying start, too, but his World Cup story took a twist…

Has the 48-team format been justified?

The first-ever 48-team World Cup was preluded with concerns about batterings, mis-matches and predictable results and, unsurprisingly, there were hammerings in the group stage.

Qatar, Curacao, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Iraq each experienced heavy losses – and Ronaldo was among the players to feast on weaker opposition when Portugal put five past Uzbekistan.

But there were upsets too – and the campaign of Cape Verde is the biggest endorsement of the expanded tournament.

Among the smallest nations ever to qualify for a World Cup, they held European champions Spain to a goalless draw in the group stage and then gave world champions Argentina a huge scare in the last 32.

Elsewhere, Qatar drew with Switzerland, Curacao repelled Ecuador, and DR Congo took a point off Portugal to reach the knockouts for the first time.

The bloated group stage was a marathon and the equations required for teams to qualify as best third-place sides rankled. But whatever FIFA boss Gianni Infantino’s reasons for increasing the size of the tournament – a gift to the world or a grab for more money and votes – it’s hard to argue the new and rarely-seen faces at this World Cup added extra colour and intrigue.

Who else has broken new ground?

It’s not just the minnows breaking new ground.

Switzerland have reached a first World Cup quarter-final since 1954. South Africa made it out of the group phase for the first time ever. Co-hosts Canada earned their first-ever point and win en route to the last 16. Norway have never made the last eight before.

For fans of many countries, this is a World Cup which has delivered memories to treasure.

Why has there been so much late drama?

There have been more stoppage-time winners than we’ve ever seen before at a World Cup – 10 of them after Argentina’s incredible turnaround win over Egypt.

Hydration breaks and VAR checks have led to inevitable extensions of each match, and that added time has delivered incredible moments.

The Algeria-Austria ding-dong deep into injury time was jaw-dropping. Iran’s disallowed winner in the final seconds against Egypt cost them a knockout place. Brazil’s Gabriel Martinelli scored the latest winning goal in a World Cup knockout game (since 1966) – a 95:00 heartbreaker for Japan.

This has been a World Cup where you have to keep watching to the final whistle.

Is football now a game of four quarters?

Boos have rung out midway through each half during games at this World Cup. Fans in the stands have made it clear they do not like the hydration breaks. While the three-minute stoppage for players to grab a drink has been necessary in the burning heat many matches have been played in, the blanket rollout – even to matches taking place in air-conditioned stadiums – has drawn criticism.

While some have pointed to their introduction as being advertising opportunities, they have changed the way football is played. Defensive teams have the chance to reset midway through a half. Struggling sides can get redirection from their coaches. England, in particular, have benefited from Thomas Tuchel’s frantically issued words of wisdom in these moments.

“These breaks are so important to give players a break during tournament play, while also allowing all coaches a dedicated moment in every match – not just depending on the weather conditions – to engage directly with their players,” said Infantino after England’s win over DR Congo. It appeared to be the first time the FIFA boss had deviated from clearly labelling the intention of the breaks to be for physical reasons.

Are hydration breaks here to stay? If so, football matches being split into quarters could be the lasting legacy of this World Cup.

How much of a problem has the weather been?

As mentioned above, it has been a hot, hot summer in North America. So far, though, the show has largely been able to go on.

For instance, France and Paraguay baked in 39C in Philadelphia on July 4 – but kept playing, despite the city’s Independence Day parade being shelved.

There have been three weather-impacted matches, with Mexico’s games against Ecuador and England pushed back an hour, and France-Iraq delayed for two hours at half-time, because of storms.

There could be more disruption to come, with a thunderstorm forecast around the time of the England vs Norway game in Miami, but three games out of 96 is a relatively low ratio, given six out of 63 were impacted at last summer’s Club World Cup.

Has this been a political World Cup?

When Infantino controversially handed USA President Donald Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December, the closeness of their relationship could not have been more clear. That connection emerged again when Trump revealed he had personally called Infantino to get Balogun’s suspension reviewed ahead of USA’s last-16 tie with Belgium

“It stinks,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville on ITV about the decision by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to allow Balogun to play. But it’s not been the only case of political interference at this tournament.

Iran captain Mehdi Taremi described his team as “oppressed” by the logistical restrictions which had forced them to move their training base from USA to Mexico, saw staff denied visas to enter the US, and limited the time they were able to spend in US host cities before and after their matches.

The US conflict with Iran was always going to make their participation difficult, but there has also been the high-profile non-admittance of Somali referee Omar Artan and seven-hour detention of Iraq striker Aymen Hussein at a Chicago airport.

Fans from Iran, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, Morocco and Jordan have all found it either impossible or very difficult to secure visas to attend a tournament which has been impacted by international affairs.

What innovations have been a success?

While games have been extended by the mandatory hydration breaks, they have been sped up in other areas.

It’s been notable there have been fewer instances of physios coming on to the pitch, with a new rule meaning any treated player has to spend a minute on the sidelines.

Subs have also scampered off to avoid incurring yellow cards for taking longer than 10 seconds to exit the pitch, while goal-kicks and throw-ins have been overturned when players fall foul of a five-second countdown.

Before games, the huge flags of each nation have made for an impressive spectacle. The entire squads marching out on to the pitch in full kit to sing the national anthems is another break from tradition – but seems to have gone down well. Similarly, in-stadium announcements when yellow or red cards have been issued seems a sensible way to keep everyone informed.

The new offside technology, which involved every player at the tournament being body scanned, has largely been a success – except for when it didn’t work as Switzerland won a penalty to equalise against Qatar.

The audio alert sent to assistant referees when a player is more than 10cm offside so they don’t need to delay raising their flags has been a step forward.

There was also the decisive use of the motion-sensing microchip inside adidas’ Trionda ball which revealed the faintest of touches from Igor Matanovic which meant Josko Gvardiol was offside when he thought he’d tapped in a last-gasp equaliser for Croatia against Portugal in the last 32.

Of course, there have been refereeing and VAR decisions which have been criticised. Egypt have lodged a complaint to FIFA about the “unfair” refereeing of their game with Argentina, while France appealed a Michael Olise yellow card and England weighed up a similar protest to Jarell Quansah’s red. But there have also been examples where technology has sped up and brought increased accuracy to officiating.

And, most importantly, have the fans – at home and at the World Cup – had a good time?

Ticketing was a huge issue in the run-up to this World Cup and has continued to draw negative headlines, with huge prices put on seats in the stands. It will be an issue forever associated with this World Cup.

However, despite the frustrations of many supporters about the cost of attending this tournament, stadiums have, largely, been well filled throughout.

And have those fans watching from afar or in attendance had a good time? Well check out these videos and tell us what you think…

Lionel Messi, the World Cup‘s all-time leading goalscorer, was among 29 players selected to represent Major League Soccer on Wednesday against the LIGA MX All-Stars on July 29 at the MLS All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Messi has 12 goals and eight assists in 14 matches this season for Inter Miami CF.

Messi is among 13 World Cup players selected to the MLS All-Star roster.

Among the others include Cape Verde defender Steven Moreira from the Columbus Crew and four players from the United States team, including NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, Charlotte FC, center back Tim Ream, Columbus Crew defender Max Arfsten and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter.

It’s unclear if Messi plans to play in the All-Star game after sitting out last year’s exhibition match, which led to a one-game suspension that Inter Miami FC Jorge Mas owner called “draconian.”

Messi, the leading scorer at this year’s World Cup, helped defending-champion Argentina rally from a two-goal deficit to beat Egypt 3-2 on Tuesday.

Argentina faces Switzerland on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The World Cup final is July 19.

Here is the complete MLS roster for the All-Star game:

GOALKEEPERS (3)

— Maxime Crepeau, Orlando City

— Matt Freese, New York City FC

— Brian Schwake, Nashville SC

DEFENDERS (10)

— Max Arfsten, Columbus Crew

— Lucas Herrington, Colorado Rapids

— Richie Laryea, Toronto FC

— Anthony Markanich, Minnesota United FC

— Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Chicago Fire FC

— Steven Moreira, Columbus Crew

— Daniel Munie, San Jose Earthquakes

— Andy Najar, Nashville SC

— Jackson Ragen, Seattle Sounders FC

— Tim Ream, Charlotte FC

MIDFIELDERS (9)

— Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

— Pep Biel, Charlotte FC

— Rodrigo De Paul, Inter Miami CF

— Evander, FC Cincinnati

— Carles Gil, New England Revolution

— Zavier Gozo, Real Salt Lake

— Hany Mukhtar, Nashville SC

— Thomas Müller, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

— Ashley Westwood, Charlotte FC

FORWARDS (7)

— Hugo Cuypers, Chicago Fire FC

— Anders Dreyer, San Diego FC

— Julian Hall, New York Red Bulls

— Son Heung-min, LAFC

— Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF

— Petar Musa, FC Dallas

— Sam Surridge, Nashville SC

Reporting by The Associated Press.

A República Democrática do Congo (RDC) enfrenta uma nova suspeita de infecção pelo vírus Ébola numa altura em que o número de mortes associadas ao surto já atingiu cerca de 600, segundo informações divulgadas por autoridades sanitárias.

O caso suspeito foi identificado numa nova província do país e está a ser investigado pelas equipas de saúde, que realizam testes laboratoriais para confirmar ou descartar a presença do vírus. As autoridades reforçaram a vigilância epidemiológica e o acompanhamento de possíveis contactos.

A situação aumenta a preocupação no país, que já enfrenta desafios na resposta a surtos devido às dificuldades de acesso a algumas zonas afectadas, limitações de infra-estruturas sanitárias e necessidade de mobilização de recursos humanos e materiais.

As equipas de saúde continuam a implementar medidas de controlo, incluindo a detecção precoce de casos, sensibilização das comunidades e reforço das acções de prevenção para evitar uma maior propagação da doença.

O Ébola é uma doença viral grave, com elevada taxa de mortalidade, que exige uma resposta rápida das autoridades de saúde para interromper as cadeias de transmissão e proteger as populações em risco.

A RDC tem registado vários surtos de Ébola ao longo das últimas décadas, sendo considerada um dos países mais afectados pela doença no continente africano.

Bem-vindo ao nosso Quem sou eu? jogo.

As regras são simples. Cada dia surge um novo jogador de futebol e o desafio é adivinhar quem ele é com o menor número de tentativas possível.

Após cada palpite errado, você desbloqueia uma nova pista. Adivinhe a resposta depois do menor número possível de pistas para marcar mais pontos.

Três é uma boa pontuação, quatro ou cinco pontos é excepcional.

Então participe e volte para mais amanhã.

O jogador de hoje e as pistas dadas pela BBC Sport Adam Millington.

Depois de mais testes? Acesse nosso dedicado Testes de futebol e Testes de esportes páginas e inscreva-se para receber notificações para receber os questionários mais recentes diretamente no seu dispositivo.

Sean Jansen fará sua primeira internacionalização por uma seleção irlandesa muito diferente, no confronto de sábado pelo Campeonato das Nações, contra o Japão, na Austrália.

O número oito do Connacht fará sua estreia em Newcastle como parte de um pacote que mostra apenas três sobreviventes – o suporte Tom O’Toole, o segundo da linha James Ryan e Jack Conan, que passa do número 8 para o lado cego – da vitória por 33-31 sobre a Austrália.

Os suportes do novato Connacht, Billy Bohan e Sam Illo, assim como a linha de trás do Ulster, Bryn Ward, também estão na fila para fazer sua estreia após serem nomeados para o banco.

Tadhg Beirne, que saiu do banco contra a Austrália, é o capitão do time pela primeira vez desde o início, enquanto a prostituta Ronan Kelleher fará sua 50ª internacionalização.

São nove mudanças no total no XV titular que enfrentou a Austrália. Atrás do pelotão, Jamie Osborne passa de ala a lateral, com os alas Jimmy O’Brien e Stuart McCloskey sendo os únicos outros sobreviventes do time titular em Sydney.

Robbie Henshaw chega para fazer parceria com McCloskey nos centros, com Jacob Stockdale ocupando o papel de Osborne na ala.

Ciaran Frawley e Craig Casey formam uma nova parceria de zagueiro.

O ala Robert Baloucoune continua indisponível depois de ter sido impedido de jogar contra a Austrália devido a uma lesão no tendão da coxa após ser inicialmente convocado para o XV titular, enquanto a primeira linha Jeremy Loughman também está de fora após sofrer uma concussão contra os Wallabies.

Jogadores como o capitão da turnê Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose e Hugo Keenan estão descansados ​​antes do confronto do próximo fim de semana com a Nova Zelândia, em Auckland.

Seleção da Irlanda enfrentará o Japão:

Iniciando o XV: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Ciaran Frawley, 9 Craig Casey; 1 Tom O’Toole, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 4 Tadhg Beirne (c), 5 James Ryan, 6 Jack Conan, 7 Nick Timoney, 8 Sean Jansen.

Substituições: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Billy Bohan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Bryn Ward, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Bundee Aki.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said it has been business as usual in the football operation through the turmoil surrounding the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga.

The 54-year-old Texas native credited the school’s leadership and boosters when asked at Big 12 media days on Tuesday how he has managed an offseason he couldn’t have imagined in his younger coaching days.

“We’ve all been in this together,” McGuire said. “I have good mentors, and I have a very strong football team. If you would walk into that building from right now, or even January, any point of this saga, the football side of it, you wouldn’t think that anything was wrong, different.”

McGuire again defended the school’s support of Sorsby, including the plan to let him play even after the Cincinnati transfer admitted he placed bets on Indiana games when he was a freshman with the Hoosiers.

Sorsby played the past two seasons with the Bearcats before joining the defending Big 12 champion Red Raiders on a lucrative deal for his name, image and likeness.

The QB ultimately abandoned a legal effort to regain his eligibility after the NCAA suspended him for gambling, and has said he will wait until next year to enter the NFL draft.

Texas Tech, which went 12-2 last season, stood behind Sorsby when he went to rehab over his gambling and after he sued the NCAA to regain his eligibility.

“I’m not going to ever change that I’m going have my players’ backs,” McGuire said. “It’s really easy to tell a mom or a dad that you’re going to be there to help their son grow into the man they’re supposed to be, and then all of a sudden, whenever adversity hits, or something like the situation we had, that you turn your back on them.”

McGuire said he talked to Sorsby in the past couple of days, and Sorsby is working out in the Dallas area, where he played in high school. McGuire said he expects Sorsby to make occasional trips to Lubbock and that he will have access to the school’s athletic facilities.

“My biggest thing why I want to be there is because I have addicts in my family,” the coach said. “Some of them are no longer with us. But the biggest thing for me right now is he continues to get help so there’s no relapse and he can be the person and the player that he’s meant to be.”

Tight end Terrance Carter Jr. said he stayed in touch with Sorsby through the offseason after their relationship blossomed in just a few months together.

“When we found out he was going into rehab, I sent him a quick text, ‘I love you, bro,’” Carter said. “We still text a lot to this day. So I can say our relationship is strong. It’s more than just football for me. So just being there for my brother, that’s all I can do.”

Will Hammond Could End Up As Red Raiders’ Starting QB

Quarterback Will Hammond started twice and came off the bench once for an injured Behren Morton before tearing the ACL in his right knee last season.

McGuire said Hammond could be ready for the season opener Sept. 5 against Abilene Christian, but it’s possible the Red Raiders could wait until the third game Sept. 18 against Houston.

Without the knee injury, Hammond might have been the projected starter this season, and Carter said he was confident in the quarterbacks regardless of Sorsby’s status.

That’s not to say Sorsby’s former teammates were indifferent toward his fate.

“Coach McGuire always preaches about the ‘what’s next’ mentality,” center and captain Sheridan Wilson said. “This is just, unfortunately, just another ‘what’s next’ moment. It breaks my heart, obviously. It breaks a lot of people’s hearts because that’s a friend of ours. We’d love to have him on the team, but at the end of the day, we’re still chasing the Big 12 championship. We have to move on.”

While Texas Tech officials were widely criticized over the possibility of Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders after admitting to gambling on his team’s games at Indiana, McGuire said fellow coaches were supportive behind the scenes.

Some of the criticism came after Texas Tech posted a video in which president Lawrence Schovanec, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and McGuire tried to explain their reasons for supporting Sorsby.

“Some of the statements we made, we were making them to Red Raiders,” McGuire said. “I was not going to change the public opinion across the board. What we were trying to explain in any video or anything like that was to get our fan base and our boosters and our alumni to understand exactly what we were trying to do. We owed it to them. And really that’s the only people that we owed it to.”

Reporting by the Associated Press.

O MPLA participou num encontro internacional sobre cooperação de comunicação entre partidos políticos, realizado na República Popular da China, onde partilhou a experiência angolana no domínio da comunicação partidária.

A iniciativa, promovida pelo Partido Comunista Chinês (PCC), reuniu responsáveis de comunicação e líderes de opinião de diferentes formações políticas do mundo, com o objectivo de promover a troca de conhecimentos, experiências e boas práticas na área da informação política.

Segundo o Departamento de Informação e Propaganda do Comité Central do MPLA, a delegação angolana integrou um programa de dez dias que incluiu visitas a projectos de desenvolvimento, centros tecnológicos, cooperativas agrícolas, unidades fabris, órgãos de comunicação social e iniciativas de combate à pobreza na China.

Durante o seminário de alto nível que encerrou o programa, os participantes analisaram os avanços da China no combate à pobreza e as estratégias de desenvolvimento adoptadas pelo país, com intervenções de representantes do Partido Comunista Chinês, membros do Governo, académicos e investigadores.

O MPLA esteve representado por Celso Malavoloneke, antigo secretário de Estado da Comunicação Social, que participou nas actividades de intercâmbio e reflexão sobre os desafios da comunicação partidária no contexto internacional.

O encontro juntou representantes de partidos políticos da África, Europa, Ásia, América Latina e Caraíbas, reforçando o diálogo e a cooperação entre estruturas de comunicação política de diferentes países.

Havia preocupações compreensíveis sobre como seriam as partidas. Os preços dos ingressos em níveis surpreendentes, com os torcedores tendo que viajar centenas ou milhares de quilômetros para assistir à próxima partida, deixaram muitos temendo um ambiente ruim nos jogos, disputados diante de milhares de assentos vazios.

Não foi esse o caso.

A Fifa, fortemente criticada pelos altos preços dos ingressos, afirma que 99,7% dos assentos disponíveis foram ocupados. São mais de 4,4 milhões de pessoas presentes nos jogos da fase de grupos, sendo que esse número é atualmente de 6,2 milhões após as duas primeiras fases a eliminar.

Isso coloca a média de público em pouco mais de 65 mil por partida, atrás apenas de 1994 – realizada nos EUA – que teve pouco menos de 69 mil em cada jogo.

Não foram apenas os torcedores que compareceram, mas também os grandes jogadores.

Nós temos um Corrida da Chuteira de Ouro para sempre com quatro dos melhores jogadores do mundo na disputa. O argentino Lionel Messi tem oito gols, o francês Kylian Mbappe e o norueguês Erling Haaland com sete cada, e o inglês Harry Kane com seis.

É a primeira vez na história de uma Copa do Mundo que três jogadores marcam sete ou mais gols no mesmo torneio.

Com a participação de 48 nações, havia preocupações de confrontos massivamente unilaterais, embora os oprimidos tenham fornecido algumas das melhores histórias.

A ilha caribenha de Curaçao, o país mais pequeno a qualificar-se para um Campeonato do Mundo, respondeu à goleada por 7-1 sobre a Alemanha empatando com o Equador, enquanto a campanha do Qatar incluiu uma derrota por 6-0 para o Canadá, mas também um empate 1-1 com a Suíça, classificada nos quartos-de-final.

Entretanto, Cabo Verde, com Vozinha, de 40 anos, na baliza, produziu uma das maiores histórias de azarões da história dos Campeonatos do Mundo, empatando com Espanha, Uruguai e Arábia Saudita para chegar aos oitavos-de-final, onde deu um grande susto à campeã Argentina antes de perder por 3-2 no prolongamento.