The Football Directory

Kuwait downed Nepal 3-1 in the opening match of the SAFF Championship 2023, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday, June 21. The Middle East nation, playing in the SAFF Championship for the first time as one of the two teams invited from outside the region, dominated the proceedings right from the get-go, producing waves of attacks to put pressure on the Nepal defence. Nepal, on the other hand, played on the counter and fought hard to penetrate into the final third. #football #saffchampionship2023 #nepal #kuwait

I 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 Sunil Chhetri scored twice as India dominated the first half of their SAFF Championship opener against Pakistan. India are well ahead of Pakistan on paper in almosts every way and the gulf in class could be seen as a mistake from the goalkeeper allowed India Sunil Chhetri to score an easy opener for the hosts. India then got a penalty due to a hand ball and Chhetri converted that calmly to double his side's lead. Chhetri thus equalled the record for second highest Asian international goal scorer of all time. India were cruising in the first half but it came to a boil close to half time when their head coach Igor Stimac provoked a melee by knocking the ball out of Pakistan's player's hands as he prepared to take a throw-in. Stimac ended up getting sent off after things calmed down. At half time, India lead 2-0. The second half turned out to be a more straightforward affair for the hosts. Chhetri completed his hat-trick while Udanta Singh turned in one in the last 10 minutes of regulation time. India won 4-0 and kept a clean sheet for a seventh consecutive match. #football #saffchampionship2023 #india #pakistan

🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 Argentina defeat Indonesia in the first clash between the sides at senior level. Messi out as Argentina cap Asian tour with win Lionel Messi was not in the squad as Argentina earned a 2-0 victory on Monday in a friendly against Indonesia in their short tour of Asia. The only previous meeting between the two countries was at youth level when the South Americans recorded a 5-0 win at the 1979 U-20 World Cup. A certain Diego Maradona grabbed a brace that day. #football #friendlymatch #argentina #indonesia

#football #nationcup #pakistan #djibouti

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Egypt seal Afcon qualification Egypt have sealed qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals after they defeated Guinea 2-1 in a Group D match played at Marrakesh Stadium in Morocco on Wednesday evening. The Syli National’s Serhou Guirassy put the ‘hosts’ (playing on neutral ground due to a lack of CAF-approved venues in their home country) into the lead, but the Pharaohs struck back via ‘Trezeguet’ to leave the game at 1-1 at halftime. Mostafa Mohamed then fired home a winner with just over 10 minutes of regulation to play to guarantee top spot in the group and a ticket to the Nations Cup tournament in Ivory Coast, which will be played from 13 January to 11 February next year. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #egypt #guinea

Iran too strong for Afghanistan in 2023 CAFA In the match held at the Dolon Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring for the Persians in the 20th minute with a header, Tehran Times reportd. Mehdi Taremi made it 2-0 in the 21st minute and found the back of the net from the penalty spot seven minutes later. Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored Iran’s fourth goal just before the halftime. Taremi completed his hattrick six minutes into the second half. Farshad Nour pulled a goal back in the 57th minute from a set-piece. Substitute Reza Asadi scored Iran’s sixth goal in the 67th minute. Team Melli will also play hosts Kyrgyzstan in Group B on Friday. Group A consists of host Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Oman. The respective group winners will face off in the final while the runners-up will play for third place, with both matches scheduled for June 20. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #iran #afghanistan

Argentina star Lionel Messi has claimed that he has no plans to play in the next World Cup. The forward, who recently confirmed his decision to join MLS side Inter Miami, helped his nation clinch the prestigious title in Qatar last year. However, despite expectations that he could help Argentina repeat the achievement in 2026, Messi has cooled expectations that he'll feature in North America. According to Efe News Agency, when asked about playing in the next edition, Messi said: 'I think not. [Qatar] was my last World Cup. 'I'll see how things go, but as it is right now, no, I won't go to the next World Cup.' The 35-year-old provided seven goal and three assists as Argentina clinched the third World Cup title in their history. Many have suggested that their success in December last year could effect the Ballon d'Or voting later this year - with Messi tipped to claim the title. However, the Argentine - who has won it seven times previously - has played down the importance of individual awards. According to Titan Sports, he said: 'Does the Ballon d'Or matter to me? No, it's no longer important to me. 'I've always said, the individual prizes are not what matters to me, but the collective ones are the most important. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup, the greatest prize for me.' The 2026 World Cup will be held across America, Canada and Mexico - so wouldn't be far from home for the Argentina legend. The 35-year-old is preparing to complete a blockbuster move to the MLS after confirming the news he will join Inter Miami. In a statement with Mundo Deportivo he said: 'I'm not going back to Barça, I'm going to Inter Miami.' 'I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami. I still haven't closed it one hundred percent. I'm missing some things but we decided to continue on the path. 'If the Barcelona thing didn't come out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more in my family,' said Messi. Messi, who will be 36 at the end of this month, had all-but ruled out a move to the US after his family set their heart on a return to Barcelona, but that became impossible because of the club's financial situation - and the player has decided to take the Miami offer over the astronomical sums proposed by Al-Hilal. The family already have a house in Miami and a move there has won out the Saudi deal that would have been worth over $214m a season for two campaigns and the option of a third year. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #messi #football #ballondor #fifa #worldcup #nomore

That was a mess of a friendly match, but the Selecao handled it as well as possible. Brazil encountered a racist fan incident, laser pointers from the stands and rash defensive challenges from Tunisia in a 5-1 victory on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #friendlymatch #brazil #tunisia

Lionel Messi arrived in China for a friendly fixture Argentina vs Australia and fans went crazy for the world cup winner. Leo Messi: Lionel Messi received a grand welcome when he arrived in China for Argentina’s friendly game against Australia in Beijing. The Argentina forward will then head to the US to join MLS side Inter Miami. Some Messi Fans were seen capturing photos with their smartphones when the former Barca legend was spotted at a hotel. Messi’s arrival was announced in a post on the organiser International Football Invitation’s official Weibo social media. In their post, they showed a video of players coming off an aircraft. The story is Argentina will take on Australia at the recently constructed Workers’ Stadium in Beijing. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #messi #arrival #beijing #wild #crazy

Germany salvages draw with Ukraine in charity friendly. Kai Havertz helped Germany salvage a 3-3 draw with Ukraine in a charity friendly that left neither team happy from a sporting perspective on Monday. #football #friendlymatch #charity #germany #ukraine

Uruguay dominate Italy to win first Under-20 World Cup 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 on Sunday to win their first Under-20 World Cup title. The Celeste's victory ends a streak of four consecutive wins by European teams in the tournament. Luciano Rodriguez scored the winning goal in the 86th minute in a header from close range, giving Uruguay a much deserved victory after dominating the entire match against Italy. More than 40,000 people, mostly cheering for Uruguay, attended the match at the Diego Maradona Stadium. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also present. Uruguay barely needed to count on their steady defense, which conceded only three goals in the tournament, all against England in the group stage. The South American team had clear chances to open the scoring much earlier in a free kick taken by Rodríguez, two long distance shots by captain Fabricio Díaz and a header by Anderson Duarte that forced Italy goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches to make one of the best saves of the tournament. Italy's Cesare Casadei, the top tournament's top scorer with seven goals, had a disappointing performance in the final. Neither Uruguay nor Italy were among the favorites when the U20 World Cup kicked off on May 20, but unlike Brazil, Argentina and England they faced less resistance from clubs about releasing players for the tournament. It is not mandatory for clubs to allow their players to take part in international youth competitions. Uruguay lost the final of the tournament in 1997 and 2013. Brazil were the last winner from South America in 2011. The title for the Celeste comes in the wake of Argentina's World Cup title in December, which also ended a sequence of wins by European teams. Earlier, debutant Israel beat South Korea 3-1 to secure third place in the same stadium in La Plata. Indonesia were initially scheduled to host the tournament, but the Muslim-majority country did not accept Israel's participation. FIFA decided to hand the organization over to Argentina one month before kickoff. #fifa #u20wc #final #uruguay #italy

Al-Ahly clinch record 11th CAF Champions League title Defender Mohamed Abdelmonem equalised on the night as Al-Ahly of Egypt drew 1-1 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco on Sunday to win the CAF Champions League for a record-extending 11th time. His goal cancelled the lead Yahia Attiyat Allah gave the defending champions and earned the Cairo club a 3-2 aggregate victory after building a 2-1 first-leg lead seven days ago. Defeat for Wydad ended a run of two final victories over Ahly, and they paid the penalty for concentrating on defending their fragile second-leg lead instead of seeking further goals. Unlike Europe, away goals count double in African club competitions when sides finish level on aggregate and Wydad would have retained the trophy had they won 1-0. Ahly pocketed a record four million dollars for winning and Marcel Koller became the first Swiss coach to win the premier African club comp #football #final 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔

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Man City 🆚 Inter ⌛️ Saturday 10 June 🏟️ Atatürk Olympic Stadium Inter’s path to Istanbul Following the group stage draw held in Istanbul last August, the Serie A side were pitted in a tough Group C that also included Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen. Bayern romped home as group winners with six wins from six and Inter pipped Barça to second spot condemning the Catalan side to the Europa League with a 1-0 win over Xavi’s side at San Siro key in the group’s outcome after a 3-3 draw at Camp Nou. Portuguese double Inter faced Portuguese big guns (Porto and Benfica) in both the Round of 16 and in the quarterfinals and after struggling to advance against FC Porto, edging through on a narrow 1-0 aggregate win, things were less complicated against Benfica where a 0-2 win in Lisbon gave Inzaghi’s side a huge advantage ahead of the second leg which ended 3-3. Milan derby A meeting with city rivals Milan set up a Derby della Madonnina semi-final, where once again a solid first leg performance and scoreline tipped the tie in favour of the ‘nerazzurri’ who advanced 3-0 on aggregate. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #uefachampionsleague #final #intermilan #mancity #istanbul #football

Duarte fires Uruguay into final. Anderson Duarte got the only goal as Uruguay beat Israel in the Argentina 2023 semi-finals. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #fifa #uruguay #israel #semifinal #u20wc

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi said Wednesday he’s going to join the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. “I made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue my journey there,” the seven-time world player of the year said in an interview posted by Spanish outlets SPORT and Mundo Deportivo. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #messi #intermiamicf

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in tears as he announces his retirement from football at the age of 41. Ibrahimovic revealed his decision to quit the game during an on-pitch ceremony following AC Milan's 3-1 win over Verona. Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought the curtain down on a long, trophy-packed career on Sunday, June 4, when he unexpectedly announced his retirement from football. Veteran striker Ibrahimovic revealed his decision to quit the game during an on-pitch ceremony following AC Milan's 3-1 win over Verona which ended their Serie A campaign. "It's the moment to say goodbye to football, not just to you," said Ibrahimovic on the San Siro pitch. "There are too many emotions for me right now. Forza Milan and goodbye." 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #ibrahimovic #zlatan #acmilan #football

The 2011 FIFA Club World Cup final was the final match of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, an association football tournament hosted by Japan. It was the eighth final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organized tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations as well as the host nation's league champions. The final was played between CONMEBOL's champion Santos and UEFA's champion Barcelona. Barcelona defeated Santos 4–0 and won their second FIFA Club World Cup, two years after they won their first one in 2009. The match was billed as a showdown between Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and the 19-year-old Santos forward Neymar, who would later go on to become Messi's teammate at both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.[Messi won the "duel" by scoring two goals in the final and being named man of the match as well as player of the tournament. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #santos #barcelona #fifa #world #club #final #2011

Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (French pronunciation: ​[fʁɑ̃k ʁibeʁi]; born April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing.Ribéry has been described as a player who is fast, tricky and an excellent dribbler, who has great control with the ball at his feet.While with Bayern, he was recognised on the world stage as one of the best players of his generation. The previous talisman of the French national team, Zinedine Zidane, once referred to Ribéry as the "jewel of French football". Ribéry's career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne. He left the club after seven years to join professional outfit Lille, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. In 1999, Ribéry joined US Boulogne, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two clubs (Alès and Brest), Ribéry earned a move to Ligue 1 club Metz in 2004. After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 to join Galatasaray, where he won the Turkish Cup. After six months at Galatasaray, he departed the club in controversial fashion in order to return to France to join Marseille. Ribéry spent two seasons at the club, helping the Marseillais reach the final of the Coupe de France in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, Ribéry joined German club Bayern Munich for a then club-record fee of €25 million. With Bayern, he won nine Bundesliga titles (at the time a Bundesliga record), six DFB-Pokal, one UEFA Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup, which include five doubles and one treble, amounting to a then club record of 24 titles over twelve seasons. His form for Bayern in the club's 2012–13 treble winning season saw him nominated alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the three-man shortlist for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or. During his long spell at Bayern, Ribéry was also known for his fruitful partnership with fellow winger Arjen Robben—together they were affectionately referred to by the nickname Robbery.He left Bayern in summer 2019, and subsequently joined Italian side Fiorentina, while Robben retired from football. Between 2006 and 2014, Ribéry represented the France national team 81 times. He played at two FIFA World Cups (2006 and 2010) and two UEFA European Championships (2008 and 2012). Individually, Ribéry is a three-time winner of the French Player of the Year award and also won the German award of Footballer of the Year, becoming the first player to hold both honours. He has also been named to the UEFA Team of the Year and declared the Young Player of the Year in France. In 2013, Ribéry won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.In 2013, he was also ranked fourth in The Guardian's list of the best players in the world. He is currently in charge as a technical collaborator of Italian Serie A club Salernitana, which was also his final club as a player. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #footall #legend #frenchman

Advantage Al Ahly in CAF Champions League final Al Ahly saw out the final few minutes to take a slender advantage into the second leg at the Mohammed V Stadium on 11 June Al Ahly maintained their unbeaten home record against Wydad Casablanca in the CAF Champions League after triumphing 2-1 in the first leg of the final at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night. Marcel Koller's side capitalised on poor marking to take the lead through Percy Tau at the end of the first half and Kahraba doubled their advantage just before the hour mark. The Red Castle had earlier been denied by the frame of the goal but they were given a lifeline when Saifeddine Bouhra stepped off the bench to halve the deficit for minutes from time with a precious away goal. Al Ahly had never lost to Wydad at home in the competition, although their head-to-head record in the final made for less stellar reading after being beaten on both occasions in 2017 and 2022. The hosts had the lion's share of possession but they struggled to create many chances in the first half as Sven Vandenbroeck's team made better use of the ball and threatened numerous times. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football

Italy see off Colombia to advance to semi-finals li Azzurrini will face either Korea Republic or Nigeria in the final four at Argentina 2023. Colombia 1-3 Italy Goals: Casadei (9), Baldanzi (38), Esposito (46), Torres (49) Tournament leading goalscorer Cesare Casadei added yet another goal to his tally (6) to lead Italy to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™ semi-finals. Casadei headed in the opening goal from Tommaso Baldanzi's corner kick to give Gli Azzurrini an early boost. Casadei then turned provider for Baldanzi, cushioning a header perfectly in the path for the Empoli man to double the lead. Shortly after half-time, Baldanzi added another assist to his name, cutting back for Francesco Esposito to score with a delightful flicked finish. Jhojan Torres gave Los Cafeteros a lifeline with a superb, curling effort from just outside Italy's penalty area, but it proved to be a mere consolation. The future looks bright for Italian football as the nation has booked a semi-final spot for the third consecutive U-20 World Cup. 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #fifa #football #italy #colombia #u20wc

Choi heads Taegeuk Warriors into semi-finals Korea Republic beat Nigeria 1-0 after extra-time to set up a FIFA U-20 World Cup semi-final against Italy. Korea Republic 1-0 Nigeria 🔔 LIKE➡COMMENT➡SUBCRIBE 🔔 #football #u20wc #quarterfinals #korea #nigeria