分类： sports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – In a 2024 FIFA World Cup Group E storyline that has captured global soccer attention, 29-year-old German striker Deniz Undav boasts one of the most electrifying scoring rates in the tournament – yet he remains stuck on Die Mannschaft’s bench heading into the final group stage match against Ecuador.

Across just 69 minutes of World Cup game time, Undav has notched three goals and two assists, meaning he contributes to a goal roughly every 13.8 minutes. That astonishing rate outpaces some of the biggest names in world soccer: Lionel Messi (37.4 minutes per contribution), Kylian Mbappé (48.8) and Erling Haaland (51.2) all trail far behind the in-form German forward.

For many players, being benched despite such elite production would spark frustration and public pushback. But Undav says he has fully embraced his role as a super-sub for the tournament favorites.

“If I weren’t happy, if I wasn’t content, I wouldn’t be here,” Undav told reporters at a Wednesday press conference, a day ahead of the Ecuador matchup. “I accept the role.”

Germany enters the match already having secured top spot in Group E, marking a major turnaround after consecutive early group stage exits following the country’s 2014 World Cup title. Die Mannschaft will kick off their knockout round run next Monday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against the third-place finisher from another group, likely either Paraguay or Australia. A win against Ecuador would give Germany its 12th consecutive victory, tying a national team record set between 1979 and 1980.

For Ecuador, the stakes could not be higher. The South American side has just one point from its first two group matches, meaning only a full three points from a win over Germany will keep their knockout round hopes alive.

German head coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed Wednesday he plans only mandatory lineup rotations for Thursday’s match, forced by two key defensive absences. Center back Nico Schlotterbeck will miss the remainder of the tournament after tearing a ligament in his left ankle during Saturday’s win over Ivory Coast, while left back Nathaniel Brown is sidelined with an adductor injury. Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger is expected to step in for Schlotterbeck, and Hoffenheim’s David Raum will take Brown’s place at left back.

“We want to prepare ourselves for the knockout phase,” Nagelsmann explained. “We all say that Deniz really would deserve to be in the starting lineup but we have an idea for the team, we talked about it with Deniz and other players, and tomorrow we will do the rotations that are necessary.”

Undav’s path to World Cup contention has been far from conventional. The striker cut his teeth in Germany’s lower divisions, playing for Havelse, Braunschweig and Meppen between 2017 and 2020, before moving to Belgian second-tier side Union Saint-Gilloise, where he helped the club earn promotion to the top flight. He earned his first move to a top European league in 2022, signing with England’s Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, before switching to VfB Stuttgart for the 2023-24 Bundesliga season.

Last season, Undav enjoyed a breakout campaign in Germany’s top flight, finishing second in the league with 19 goals – trailing only Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane’s 36. He made his senior Germany debut in March 2024, and has an incredible nine goals in 11 international appearances to date, with just three of those outings coming as a starter.

His World Cup performances have followed this same super-sub pattern: he entered the 7-1 opening win over Curaçao in the 64th minute, immediately notching one goal and two assists, then came off the bench in the 60th minute against Ivory Coast, scoring twice to lead Germany to a 2-1 comeback victory.

Nagelsmann sparked controversy earlier this year after a March friendly against Ghana, when he commented that Undav only scored the match-winning 88th-minute goal because he came into the game with fresh legs, and lacked the stamina to start. The coach apologized for the remarks shortly after, and on Wednesday both he and Undav appeared fully aligned on the striker’s role.

“Whether I’m in the starting lineup or coming on later, it doesn’t matter,” Undav said, sitting alongside Nagelsmann at the press conference. “It’s important that the team wins. I joined from the bench twice and we won both games. I’m very happy about that.”

In another lineup confirmation, Nagelsmann announced he will stick with 40-year-old veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer between the posts for the remainder of the tournament. Neuer returned to the national team for this World Cup after a two-year absence, pushing backup Oliver Baumann out of the starting spot. Nagelsmann added that goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg spoke directly to Baumann about the decision, and the backup understood the call.

“Oliver really understood,” Nagelsmann said. “I understand completely from the human side, and if we only approached it that way it would be obvious, but we have to look at the large picture. It’s not always pleasant to make these decisions but those decisions have to be made.”

Undav’s breakout tournament has even created an unexpected supply issue for German kit supplier Adidas. The company briefly ran out of the letter “V” to print fan jerseys, due to soaring demand for shirts with Undav’s name alongside fellow fan favorites Kai Havertz and Aleksandar Pavlovic. Stock has since been restocked, and Undav says he is honored by the outpouring of support.

“My friends, my family already have a jersey. I really didn’t have to order anything new,” Undav joked. “I’m very honored by it.”

While Germany is focused on fine-tuning for a deep tournament run, Ecuador is fighting to avoid an early exit. The South Americans entered the World Cup on a 19-game unbeaten streak, but suffered a brutal 1-0 opening loss to Ivory Coast after conceding a 90th-minute winner. They followed that result with a scoreless draw against Curaçao, outshooting their opponents 28-10 but being denied by 15 saves from Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room, including two first-half shots off the crossbar from John Yeboah and Alan Minda.

“I am convinced that we have a chance to meet our goals,” Ecuador head coach Sebastián Beccacece said Wednesday. “We’ll have the taste of happiness if we win and the taste of sorrow if we don’t, and that’s life for you.”

Beccacece also addressed an incident following Saturday’s match at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, where his wife and daughters were confronted by an angry Ecuador fan frustrated with the team’s results. The coach said his family was unharmed, and he framed the confrontation as a product of passionate fan disappointment.

“I talked to my wife, my daughters. They told me what happened. I haven’t seen it,” Beccacece said. “The first thing I asked was whether anything serious had happened. They said no. Nothing. And at the end of the day, I interpret this as a fan feeling hurt because of the results. I think anyone should be able to express themselves without reaching this level of confrontation.”

CHESTER, Pennsylvania — For the Ivory Coast men’s national soccer team, the Philadelphia metropolitan area has emerged as an unexpected and fruitful home base during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The West African side set up its training camp and team accommodations in the region, even hosting a pre-tournament friendly that drew roughly 10,000 local supporters, and has already kicked off its group stage campaign with a statement 1-0 win over Ecuador.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – For thousands of die-hard Scottish football supporters, the trip to the 2024 World Cup marked a historic moment: their nation’s first appearance on the sport’s biggest global stage in 26 years. But for the kilt-clad, bagpipe-playing members of the iconic Tartan Army, the first lesson of their South Florida adventure came fast – summer heat in Miami is unlike anything most have ever experienced.

In the days leading up to Scotland’s highly anticipated group stage matchup against Brazil this Wednesday, the faithful took over Miami Gardens’ beachside spots, waterfront bars and public spaces, ready to celebrate their team’s long-awaited return. What greeted them was a mercury peak hitting 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius), paired with unforgiving afternoon humidity hovering between 63 and 66 percent.

“Right now in this kilt, I am sweating. Absolutely sweating. It’s crazy heat,” said Hayden Sutherland, one of the thousands of fans who traveled across the Atlantic for the momentous occasion. Sutherland and the Tartan Army have worked their way across the U.S. East Coast ahead of the match, starting with a fan tour stop in Boston before heading south to Florida. While partial cloud cover over the Hard Rock Stadium – home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins – offered a small reprieve from the scorching sun, many fans said the swelter has been nonstop since their tour began.

Ironically, the traveling supporters would not have found much cooler comfort back home. Scotland is currently facing an unseasonable, rare heat wave of its own, with Tuesday temperatures hitting an unexpected high of 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Even so, Miami’s combination of heat and thick humidity has proven to be a far greater test.

“I’ve been to warmer places, but the humidity is just killing me,” noted Peter Wright, another traveling Scottish supporter. “Here, I can walk 100 meters and I’ve got a bit of sweat on. In Boston, I was walking miles and it was lovely.”

Nearly all the traveling fans have held fast to beloved tradition, sporting the iconic knee-length Scottish kilt to matches and fan gatherings. Opinions are split on whether the traditional garment helps or hurts in the heat: some fans say the breathable woven fabric offers unexpected relief, while others report the thick material traps heat and adds to their discomfort.

Outside the stadium, fans crowded into whatever shaded spots they could find, fanning themselves with program booklets, hats and any available flat surface. When asked how the group was coping with the extreme conditions, Wayne Sutherland – Hayden’s father – joked with a classic Scottish response: “Just beer. We’re two Scots. No water, just beer.”

That heavy demand for cold beer has already left bars scrambling along the Tartan Army’s tour route. While Miami rolled out the welcome with a dedicated “beer barge” for the traveling supporters, Boston-area bars struggled to keep up as the group of thousands drank through local stock during their earlier stop.

If the heat has dampened the group’s legendary enthusiasm, though, there is no sign of it. Despite Scotland falling to Brazil 3-0 after conceding a goal in just the seventh minute of play, the stands filled with Tartan Army supporters barely sat down for the full 90 minutes. All day long, from pre-game tailgates to the final whistle, the iconic fan chant “No Scotland, No Party” echoed across Miami Gardens – proof that even sweltering heat and a tough loss cannot dim the spirit of the world-famous Scottish fanbase that has waited 26 years for this moment.

This report was contributed by Gracie Fisher, a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute, as part of Associated Press World Cup coverage.

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — In a commanding group stage finale that secured their place in the tournament’s knockout round, five-time FIFA World Cup winners Brazil delivered a dominant 3-0 victory over Scotland on Wednesday, powered by a sparkling brace from star forward Vinícius Júnior and a late welcome return of talisman Neymar from injury.

Vinícius Jr. continued his scorching hot run of form across Brazil’s group stage campaign, becoming the only member of the squad to find the back of the net in all three of the team’s preliminary matches. He opened the scoring for Brazil just seven minutes into the contest, then grabbed his second of the night right before the halftime whistle. That double pulled him level with France’s Kylian Mbappé on four tournament goals, leaving him just one strike behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who currently leads all scorers at the competition with five goals. Midfielder Matheus Cunha added the third goal for Brazil to cap off the scoring.

The most anticipated moment of the night came in the 76th minute, when 34-year-old Brazilian icon Neymar made his tournament debut after a right calf injury forced him to sit out the team’s first two group stage matches. Even before Neymar officially left the bench to start warming up along the sideline mid-way through the second half, the majority-Brazilian crowd packed inside Hard Rock Stadium began chanting his name in a thunderous show of support. When the forward finally trotted out onto the pitch to enter the match, the stadium erupted into deafening cheers from the home away from home crowd.

Neymor currently stands as Brazil’s all-time leading goal scorer at the international level, with 79 goals across 130 appearances for the Seleção. The veteran forward has featured in every World Cup for Brazil over the past 16 years, notching eight total goals across his three previous tournament appearances.

For Scotland, the match marked the end of their first World Cup campaign in 26 years, after qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1998. The side quickly earned a reputation as one of the tournament’s most beloved underdog stories, drawing global attention for the passionate, party-like energy brought by their loyal fanbase, nicknamed the Tartan Army. Before the match, fans from Scotland had turned areas of Boston and Miami Gardens into lively celebration zones ahead of their team’s final group stage fixture. Despite the valiant effort, Scotland fell short of advancing out of the group stage for the ninth consecutive World Cup qualification attempt, extending their decades-long knockout round drought.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Brazilian football icon Neymar stepped onto the FIFA World Cup pitch for his first appearance in this year’s tournament Wednesday, making a successful comeback from a month-long calf injury just in time for the competition’s knockout round starting next week.

The 34-year-old forward, who missed Brazil’s opening two group stage matches through the right calf injury, entered the match as a 76th-minute substitute with Brazil already holding a comfortable 3-0 lead over Scotland. The final scoreline held firm, securing Brazil’s place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Neymar’s return had been teased for days: the Brazilian camp confirmed earlier this week he had recovered enough to be available for selection, matching head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s early projection that the star would feature off the bench rather than starting. When Neymar rose from the substitutes’ bench to begin warm-up sprints and stretches along the sideline in the second half, the stands packed with Brazilian fans erupted into deafening roars. Cheers grew even louder when he officially checked into the match and made his first touch of the ball.

Hours before kickoff, Neymar had already given fans a sign of his readiness: he was one of the last players to exit the team bus upon arrival at Hard Rock Stadium, flashing a cheerful thumbs-up, waving to crowds and high-fiving well-wishers on his way to the locker room.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Brazil star Vinícius Júnior – who netted two of Brazil’s three goals against Scotland – called Neymar’s return a landmark moment for the whole squad. “Our idol is back, a guy who always fought hard and did everything to be here, returning after a spell out with injury,” Vinícius said, speaking in Portuguese. “I hope he can keep evolving and keep improving, helping us throughout the competition. That’s what matters most.”

A day before the match, Ancelotti had confirmed Neymar’s fitness and his place in the squad, telling reporters: “He trained very well this week. He is fit and able, ready to play. We are very happy that he is back. He is a high-quality player.”

The calf injury that kept Neymar sidelined ahead of the tournament kept him out of action for more than a month, with a full training session on Sunday marking the final clearing hurdle for his return. This World Cup marks Neymar’s fourth consecutive World Cup appearance for Brazil, and he enters the knockout rounds as the nation’s all-time leading international goalscorer, with 79 goals across 130 senior caps. He has previously scored eight goals across the last three World Cup tournaments.

Neymar’s place in the 2024 squad has been a topic of heated debate among Brazilian football fans in recent months. The star has struggled for form and fitness since tearing his left knee ACL during a 2023 World Cup qualifier, with just four goals in eight club appearances for Brazilian side Santos this season. Still, his teammates have voiced full confidence in his ability to contribute to Brazil’s World Cup run. “Every player here will be a huge help to us in this competition,” Vinícius reaffirmed Wednesday.

This report was compiled with contributions from AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames.

The 2025 men’s FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada has produced no shortage of underdog stories, and 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha stands out as one of the tournament’s most unexpected breakout sensations. Now, fresh off his standout performances on soccer’s biggest global stage, the veteran shot-stopper finds himself a free agent after his contract with Portuguese second-tier side Chaves expired — and he has not ruled out continuing his playing career in Brazil, where local fans turned him into a social media sensation overnight.

In an exclusive interview with Brazilian journalist and digital influencer Daniel Braune, Vozinha confirmed that his deal with Deportivo Chaves has reached its end, and he is actively searching for a new club to extend his professional career. The goalkeeper catapulted to international attention immediately after his heroic performance in Cape Verde’s opening group stage match against reigning European champion Spain on June 15, where he kept a clean sheet to secure a historic 0-0 draw for the first-time World Cup qualifiers. He followed that iconic showing with another solid performance in a 2-2 draw against South American powerhouse Uruguay, cementing his reputation as one of the tournament’s biggest surprise standouts.

“I ended my contract with my previous club, Deportivo Chaves, and at the moment I still don’t have anything lined up,” Vozinha told Braune in the interview published on Braune’s YouTube channel. “I’m open to everything. Let’s see what comes up.”

Brazilian internet communities have embraced Vozinna as a fan favorite, with prominent Brazilian influencer Casimiro Miguel, widely known as Cazé, driving a massive surge in his online following. Before the World Cup, Vozinha had roughly 50,000 followers on Instagram; that number has now exploded to nearly 16 million, all thanks to organic viral promotion from Brazilian fans. Speaking about the possibility of playing in Brazil, Vozinna expressed open enthusiasm. “It would be good,” he said with a smile. “We’ll see.”

The goalkeeper already has experience with the country, having previously held a preseason training camp there when he played for Angolan side Progresso do Sambizanga. Beyond a potential playing move, he says he is eager to return to Brazil even for a visit to thank the fans that lifted him to global fame. “If I have the opportunity, I’d like to go, also to thank everyone for all of their support,” he said. “And I think that many of my teammates want to go as well.”

Growing up, Vozinha cited three legendary goalkeepers as his career idols: Belgium’s Michel Preud’homme, Dutch great Edwin van der Sar, and Italy’s iconic Gianluigi Buffon. Right now, however, all of his focus is fixed on one goal: leading first-time World Cup entrant Cape Verde out of the group stage and into the knockout round. A victory over Saudi Arabia this Friday in Houston will be enough to secure the small island nation — home to just over 500,000 people — a spot in the round of 32.

“My dream, and the dream of all Cape Verdeans, is to reach the next round,” he said. “It’s huge just to be in the World Cup, and to advance when no one thought that we could even get a point, would be extraordinary.”