Messi breaks Maradona’s record with goal against Australia

Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, on Saturday broke Diego Maradona’s record by scoring his ninth goal at a World Cup. In his 1,000th career appearance, the 35-year-old netted his 789th goal.

It was also Messi’s first in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

His effort gave Argentina a 1-0 lead against Australia and took him one clear of Maradona and just one behind compatriot Gabriel Batistuta.

Messi scored at three separate World Cups before this year, but had never found the back of the net in a knockout match.

Now, after finding the target twice during the group stages, Messi has finally broken his duck in the knockout stages.

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Ronaldo becomes first player to score in five W’Cups

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cups on Thursday as Portugal opened their campaign in Qatar with a 3-2 defeat of Ghana in Group H.

Ronaldo shrugged off a tumultuous week which saw him dramatically leave Manchester United to bury a second-half penalty to set Portugal on their way to victory.

Andre Ayew equalised for Ghana shortly afterwards but Portugal took a 3-1 lead with goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao.

After Ronaldo was substituted, the Ghanaian side scored their second goal from Osman Bukari’s strike to bring them back into the game.

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Ronaldo to replace Ighalo at new club

Saudi Arabian club, Al-Hilal, are looking to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.Ronaldo is now a free agent after Manchester United terminated his contract this week, following his interview with Piers Morgan.

In the interview, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner criticised the club, its owners and manager Erik ten Hag.

The 37-year-old is currently at the World Cup with Portugal and scored in their group fixture against Ghana on Wednesday.

United received an offer for Ronaldo from Saudi Arabia in the summer, but the deal eventually fell through.

In the interview with TalkTV, Ronaldo claims he turned down the move, which was worth around £305m.

Sky Sports claims if Al-Hilal get to sign Ronaldo, they will listen to offers for Odion Ighalo, whose contract is up in the summer.

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Saudi Arabia declares public holiday after Argentina win

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has publicly announced that there will be a public holiday in the country on Wednesday after the Saudi team edged Argentina 2-1 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.According to Arabnews, King Salman approved a suggestion made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to celebrate the national team’s victory with a holiday.

All public and private sector employees and students at all educational stages will be given a holiday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Saudis celebrated beating the South Americans in the opening game as they stopped Lionel Messi, ending a 36-game undefeated run for the Argentines.

The Arabians had always lost badly against big countries with the most demeaning being the 8-0 lost to Germany in the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan.

In the historic win against Argentina, Saleh Alsheri scored the equalizer in the 48th minute before Salem Aldawseri scored the decider five minutes later.

Saudi Arabia will go on to face Lewandowski’s Poland side on Saturday.

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Ronaldo to leave Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future.

Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch.

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Ondo Govt to sell off Sunshine Stars FC

The Ondo State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Bamidele Ologun, has said the state government is ready to sell off Sunshine Stars Football Club.Ologun said this during a press briefing to end a four-day partnership scouting programme between Sunshine Stars and Moyero Football Club.

He explained that with the right investors the government would sell off Sunshine Stars FC which was set up by a former military administrator of the State, retired Col. Ahmed Usman, in 1995.

Ologun said that the state was looking for investors that would come on board and run the club professionally, different from what had been done in the past.

“The state can decide to sell the club, Sunshine Stars FC, if we get the right price and most importantly if the right company that has the right experience comes on board.

“What is important to us is to develop these sports and developing these sports doesn’t have to be done by the state government.

We are looking at investors who will come on board and run this club professionally and these days you know money is very essential in football, it’s big business and ordinarily, government doesn’t have anything to do with business,” he said.

He reiterated that the state was ready to sell off the club so that the government would concentrate on the development of sports at the grassroots level.

“The government should just be there to form policies and other things; so why not (sell) the club. For example if my friend, Adriano (foreign scout) gets back to Europe and he is able through our partner, Mr Lanre Moyero, bring a billion dollar for us to get Sunshine Stars FC.

“And for us, once Sunshine Stars FC is sold, for example, we can always have resources to do what we need to do, grassroots football, that is the main deal; that is where there is real development.

“What matters to the government is for Sunshine Stars FC to be run professionally.

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Saudi Arabia defeat Messi-led Argentina 2-1 in World Cup Game

Saudi Arabia in a shocking performance have defeated World Cup favourites Argentina 2-1 in a display of resilience at the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.After a dominant first half, Argentina failed to secure all three points after having two goals cancelled before the half time whistle. Seven time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, scored the only goal of the match for his side through a penalty in the first ten minutes of the match.

Both Messi and Lautaro Martinez had their goals cancelled after a VAR intervention for offsides in the build up.

The Saudi Arabia side turned the game around immediately after the second half resumed with Saleh Alshehri’s goal, 48′, leveling up with Argentina and Saleh Aldawsari’s 53rd minute winning goal.

Saudi Arabia’s keeper, in a stunning performance, stalled all possible goals from the opposition up until the final whistle.

Argentina have their 36 games unbeaten run come to a shocking end by the middle eastern nation.

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Arsenal Celebrate Players As World Cup Begins

Football club, Arsenal, has celebrated some of its players as they don their various countries' jerseys to play in the World Cup.Arsenal shared a photo collage of their players in the World Cup on their Twitter handle on Sunday.

The club captioned the photo, “Ten Gunners. Seven Nations. One Arsenal. Even when we’re apart, we remain as one family.”

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Credit: Twitter | Arsenal