World Cup Podcast: Saudis celebrate and Ronaldo's free

23.11.2022 - 01:13 rte.ie

Ed Leahy and Paul Corry join Mikey Stafford to look back on Day 3 of the World Cup as the Saudis struck a blow for the little guy and Cristiano Ronaldo was freed from his Old Trafford prison.Argentina were many people's fancy to crown Lionel Messi's career with the greatest accolade, but their 2-1 defeat to a very well-organised Saudi Arabia has raised serious questions.Mexico and Poland did them a favour by drawing 0-0, while in Group D we got another stalemate between Denmark and Tunisia, while the lads watched live as France came back from a goal down to begin their defence with a 4-1 win over Australia.On the day when Roy Keane gave his blunt opinion about the World Cup in Qatar, the Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand made headlines with hsi own comments about his conflicted emotions around the tournament.Ronaldo's departure from Manchester United by mutual consent made headlines away from the World Cup, but where will the free agent wind up after the tournament?The lads have a look ahead to tomorrow's matches, which sees a few heavy-hitters, Spain, Germany and Belgium, get their tournaments underway, as well as finalists last time out, Croatia.We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.

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World Cup 2022 soccer Sport cup Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Roy Keane Kasper Hjulmand Paul Corry Manchester Qatar France Germany Belgium Croatia Denmark Spain Argentina Australia Mexico Tunisia Poland Saudi Arabia

Former Ireland striker Kevin Doyle joins Raf Diallo and Ed Leahy to preview the 2022 World Cup semi-finals which pit Argentina against Croatia and France versus Morocco. He also talks about what he makes of Ireland's Euro 2024 qualifying opponents Netherlands and what can be learned from the Moroccans.

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DOHA: Cristiano Ronaldo first found himself unloved and unwanted by Manchester United. Now the unthinkable has happened — he has been dumped by Portugal. The superstar forward was largely a spectator as the side he has captained for so long threw off the shackles and romped to a 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the World Cup last-16 on Tuesday. Young striker Goncalo Ramos, brought in for Ronaldo, scored a stunning hat-trick and at least competed with his illustrious teammate for the headlines. Ronaldo came to the World Cup seeking respite after his troubled spell at Old Trafford this season, where he had become a peripheral figure under new manager Erik ten Hag. Those frustrations boiled over last month in an explosive TV interview in which he lashed out at the club and the coach, leading to an inevitable parting of the ways. The 37-year-old landed in Qatar to the usual fanfare, once again the focus of fawning attention from the world’s media. Things even went to script in Portugal’s first game, when he scored the opener from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win against Ghana, becoming the first man to score goals at five World Cups. But things went downhill from there. He huffed and puffed through games against Uruguay and South Korea but failed to find the net and Portugal were less than the sum of their considerable parts. Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who masterminded the side’s triumph at Euro 2016, finally took the decision to leave his star man out against the Swiss and was vindicated in spectacular fashion. Portugal turned on the style, with Benfica’s Ramos, 21, netting three times in a free-flowing attacking performance.

Morocco fans in London celebrate World Cup win over Spain

LONDON: Jubilant Morocco fans poured onto the streets of central London on Tuesday night to celebrate their team’s historic win over Spain in the last 16 of the World Cup.