Here are your latest World Cup headlines on Thursday, November 24.
Bale to make history against Iran but says victory 'more important'
Gareth Bale wants to make becoming the most-capped men's player in Welsh football history "even more special" by leading Wales to World Cup victory over Iran. The forward is set to overtake Chris Gunter, who will be among the substitutes for Friday's encounter, and win his 110th cap at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha on Friday (10am UK kick-off time).
Wales have been boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Joe Allen, who has been out since mid-September with a hamstring injury, with the Iran game now being treated as a must-win following Monday's 1-1 draw with USA.
"I haven't really been focusing on the cap thing to be honest, just trying to focus on the game," said Bale, who made his Wales debut in 2006. "On a personal level it's an amazing achievement, it's an honour to represent my country so many times. But it's more important that we try and get the victory. Hopefully we can and it'll make it even more special."
Bale played the entire game against the USA which, like so many in this tournament, went well beyond 100 minutes due to stoppages and substitutions.
The 33-year-old, who had just 30 minutes of football under his belt for LAFC before the tournament, said in the month leading up to the competition he had been dealing with a "few little issues". But Wales manager Rob Page, asked at his own pre-match press conference about the possibility of resting Bale against Iran, insisted the player was ready for the second group game, adding: "Good luck not picking him."
"I'm feeling OK, obviously it took a few days before I could feel my legs again," added Bale. "But we are professionals, we try to recover and do the best we can. Playing 104 minutes, or whatever it was, isn't ideal when you've got a game four days later. Everyone is doing all they can to recover for the next game. I've not played loads before I came here, but I've dealt with it before and it won't be a problem."
Wales are also confident of handling the early-afternoon heat in Doha, with the temperature expected to be around 29°C when the game kicks off at 1pm local time. Training has been tweaked in recent days with Page's side starting earlier to acclimatise themselves to the hot conditions. Bale said: "It's warm, it's not crazy warm. Training is different to a game as the intensity is different. We have a plan as a squad on nutrition and hydration. As long as we can execute that, it will put us in a better position to deal with the heat and humidity."
Wales' opponents told not to play goalkeeper
Iran have been told they should not play goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in their match against Wales after he suffered a concussion against England.
Beiranvand collided face first with team-mate Majid Hosseini and was in need of treatment for several minutes. Incredibly, he was allowed to briefly continue before leaving the field on a stretcher.
The PA news agency understands FIFA has been in daily contact with the Iranian federation since the injury and have told them that they should follow the concussion protocol and not allow Beiranvand to play. Iran's team doctor has the final say, but FIFA is taking the matter extremely seriously and has stressed to the federation in the strongest terms that he should not play.
Brain injury charity Headway said it was "an utter disgrace" that Beiranvand had been allowed to play on against England.
Iranian players 'not under any pressure' after anthem silence
Iran forward Mehdi Taremi says he and his team-mates are not under any pressure after failing to sing their national anthem in their World Cup opener. The team made a strong statement as they stood silent when the anthem was played prior to their 6-2 defeat by England in Qatar on Monday, with the action interpreted as a show of support for mass anti-government protests in their country.
There have been reports the players could later face reprisals but, while Taremi and coach Carlos Queiroz were reluctant to discuss political matters at a press conference on Thursday, the striker claimed there was no problem.
"I said that I don't want to talk about political issues but I can give you a very short sentence in response to your question because I respect you," said Taremi, who scored both of Iran's goals against England. "No, we are not under any pressure. The fact is that we have come here to play football. Not only us, but all the players who are present in Qatar have come here to play football. I cannot change anything, thousands of other people like me cannot change anything."
Asked if he had a message for the protesters in Iran, Taremi, speaking through an interpreter, said: "Whatever I say here is not going to have impact anywhere. Whatever was reported I am not going to elaborate, sorry."
Queiroz, sat alongside Taremi, insisted he had no issue with questions of a political nature but suggested he felt Iran were being asked more than their fair share of them, adding: "You asked me if I think it's fair that sometimes they ask us some kind of questions. It's your right to do those questions, but what I feel strange, as a normal citizen of the world, is you don't ask the same kind of questions to the other coaches and other national teams, knowing that they have so many problems at home, and cause so many problems all over the world."
Riot police called to stadium in chaotic scenes ahead of World Cup match
Riot police were called into action ahead of Portugal's World Cup opener against Ghana on Thursday as fans faced more trouble getting into the stadium.
A video posted on social media shows riot police marching around the perimeter of Stadium 974 in Doha ahead of the Group H clash, amid claims that Ghana fans were trying to "squeeze" their way into the stadium as they faced major ticket check delays. A large amount of empty seats could be seen in the stadium as the sides kicked off, with fans missing the start of a largely uneventful first half which finished 0-0.
The Sun reporter Martin Lipton said: “If you’re wondering about all the empty seats, one late arrival has just, somewhat breathlessly, told me it’s ‘chaos’ outside, with lots of fans delayed and unable to get in and riot cops trying to keep order. Traffic was pretty bad on the way here. So that’s not really a surprise. But it’s a shame.”
Southgate: England won't be pressured into protests
England manager Gareth Southgate has not ruled out his team joining Germany in making a gesture to highlight human rights concerns at the Qatar World Cup but says they will not be pressured into doing so. The German team covered their mouths for the team photo before their opening World Cup match against Japan on Wednesday, while the Australia squad released a video highlighting issues in the host country before the tournament began.
Seven European nations competing at the World Cup - including Wales, England and Germany - planned to wear OneLove anti-discrimination armbands during the tournament, but were dissuaded from doing so following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.
Ahead of England's clash against the United States on Friday, Southgate said: "I don't think we should feel any pressure - I think we've spoken on these particular topics for over a year and we've supported all manner of good causes either as individuals or the collective.
"I think there's a risk that everybody tries to escalate - if we tried to do a better video than Australia did, that would be impossible; whether we try to come up with a better gesture than Germany. I think we've got to be comfortable that we know what we stand for. That's not to say we won't do anything moving forward if the timing's right, but I think if we are rushing to be seen to be doing something, we could make an error that doesn't land well."
Southgate acknowledged that England have faced some criticism for dropping their plan to wear the armbands. Two other members of the OneLove group, Belgium and Switzerland, also declined to make gestures during their respective opening matches.
"We're definitely highly supportive of our LGBTQ fanbase and I know some of them feel a little disappointed in terms of the armband not being worn," added Southgate. "We will be criticised for that, but sometimes we've just got to accept the criticism and move on with it. I think if we're confident about ourselves and where we stand, we shouldn't worry about needing to do something (in order) to be seen to be doing it."
The PA news agency understands Germany will face no disciplinary action from FIFA under Article 11 of the code. It states anyone "using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature" may be sanctioned. The OneLove group is understood to be considering legal options, but the German football federation confirmed that as of Thursday morning no appeal had been lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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