Euphoria levels are still high in Argentina after the World Cup title. People are not tired of celebrating and talking about Messi's masterstrokes, Dibu Martínez's antics in the penalty shootouts vs. the Netherlands and France, or Enzo Fernández's bright future.
PARIS - France striker Kylian Mbappé has shrugged off Argentina keeper Emiliano Martínez's taunts after the World Cup final, saying he did not "waste energy on such futile things" as he awaited the return of Paris Saint Germain teammate Lionel Messi.
Mbappé became the second player to score a World Cup final hat-trick as he dragged his country back into the match with a late second-half double and an extra-time penalty, which was still not enough as Argentina prevailed in a shootout.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said his team does not need winter signings as it is in good shape to resume the season in LaLiga, where they trail leaders Barcelona by two points.
The Italian coach considers that having healthy players, such as striker Karim Benzema, will be the key to face the schedule that awaits the Madrid side, who will be looking to defend their LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League titles.
El PSG volvió a la acción de la Ligue 1 tras el parón que significó el Mundial, enfrentando al RC Estrasburgo, en un partido que básicamente fue una cápsula de exhibición de las mejores virtudes y los peores defectos de Neymar Jr.
La estrella brasileña brilló con una asistencia en la victoria por 2-1 del PSG y dejó a todos boquiabiertos al dejar en el camino a un rival con un movimiento que incluyó elástico y túnel. ¿Lo malo? Se fue expulsado luego de una terrible simulación.
Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar has many haters for one simple reason: he dives a lot. Those haters had their prayers answered on Wednesday during PSG’s 2-1 victory vs. Strasbourg when Neymar was red carded for diving.
OK, so technically it was a second yellow card, but either way the referee sent Neymar off for simulation.
His two yellow card offenses happened in less than two minutes during the second half. The first yellow card in the 61st minute was for him accidentally catching an opponent’s face with his hand. Then 85 seconds later Neymar did this.
After sending 11 players to the World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain's season resumes Wednesday with the Ligue 1 leaders needing to find motivation for a home match against 19th-place Strasbourg.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier gave his pre-match press conference Tuesday and outlined how many of the club's World Cup stars would be available for selection — including France's Kylian Mbappé, Morocco's Achraf Hakimi and Brazil's Neymar — but Argentina's Lionel Messi had been given extended leave until early January.
The World Cup final ended nearly a week ago but the drama around it continued as the match referee showed a photo on his phone during a news conference to respond to claims that Lionel Messi's extra-time goal should not have stood.
Argentina won the final in Lusail, Qatar, 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 following 120 minutes of action, with Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappe bagging a hat trick for France.
Erling Haaland is back ladies and gentlemen. The 22-year-old Norwegian superstar has spent the last month patiently waiting for the club season to resume. His last game for Manchester City was on Nov. 12 in which he failed to score.
That wouldn’t be the case against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Thursday.
Do you miss the World Cup? Well, you are not the only one.
In terms of spectacle, Qatar 2022 was fun and set an all-time goal-scoring record for the tournament. The 32 teams participating in the event bagged a combined 172 goals, one more than the 171 we saw in France 1998 and Brazil 2014.
That's an average of 2.68 goals per game. Not bad, right?