Unless it’s the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA Champions League, fans seldom get a chance to see superstars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr on the same pitch. However, famous toy brand Lego has taken things a step further by gathering this quartet in the very same room. As part of its latest commercial for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada (beginning on June 11), Lego Instagrammed a video recently, featuring Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, and Vinicius building the World Cup Trophy together with the popular plastic chips. They captioned the post: “Incredible. Iconic. Heroic.” The post immediately went viral, notching up a whopping 2.6 million ‘likes,’ with fans hailing it as one of the best World Cup advertisements ever. One Instagram user wrote: “This ad might break the internet,” while another said: “The world wasn’t ready to see so much talent together.” A third simply termed it: “Historic.” The toy brand will also be releasing mini figures of the four football superstars, with Messi and Ronaldo also getting a ‘Football Legends’ set that will allow fans to build a larger model of the two greats in different, iconic goal celebrations.
04 April,2026 09:31 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentChelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has been dropped for the team's next two matches following comments he made during the international break. The 25-year-old said on a podcast this week that he would like to live in Madrid, amid speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid. Fernandez had already said last month, after Chelsea's Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, that he did not know whether he will be at Chelsea next season. Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior confirmed on Friday that a decision has been taken by the club to remove the Argentina international from the team for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Port Vale and next weekend's Premier League meeting with Manchester City. "I spoke with Enzo about an hour ago," Rosenior said. "As a football club, with me as part of the decision, he won't be available for tomorrow's game or Manchester City next Sunday. "It's disappointing for Enzo to speak that way. I've got no bad words to say about him but a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build." Fernandez joined Chelsea for a then-British record £107 million ($142 million) in 2023 and was appointed vice-captain the following year. "Enzo, firstly, as a character, a person and a player, I have the utmost respect," said Rosenior. "He's frustrated because he wants us to be successful. "In terms of the decision, it's not all about me, or the sporting directors, the ownership, the players, we are aligned in our decision. The door is not closed on Enzo. It's a sanction. You have to protect the culture, and in terms of that, a line was crossed." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 April,2026 09:19 AM IST | London | AP | PTIPep Guardiola is encouraging his Manchester City players to focus on the future, after they beat English Premier League title rivals Arsenal in the League Cup final. The Spaniard believes reaching a historic eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final will give his side enough motivation to beat Liverpool in their quarter-final clash on Saturday. “It was a long time ago already,” said the City manager of the 2-0 win over the Gunners at Wembley. “It’s nice to win another title. It was a good test against a good team. We finished one and think of the next one. Tomorrow, we have chance to make another incredible milestone — eight semi-finals in a row, which has never been done, so we are up for it,” said Guardiola on Friday. Meanwhile, Arne Slot’s off-colour Liverpool face an unenviable to best the Sky Blues considering their injury situation. Slot confirmed that star goalkeeper Alisson will miss the clash along with the already injured Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong. However, Mohamed Salah who picked up a knock during the international break with Egypt, has recovered in time. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 April,2026 09:18 AM IST | Manchester | AgenciesIranian soccer had a good week on its troubled path to playing World Cup games in the United States in June. A first face-to-face meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino since the U.S. and Israel started a war against Iran on Feb. 28 made genuine progress in soccer diplomacy at the end of a fraught month. The Iranian soccer federation's upbeat readout of the meeting in Turkey made no mention of moving World Cup games to Mexico - a subject Infantino has repeatedly shut down for the past two weeks. Infantino also offered tangible help for the squad to prepare for the World Cup in the next two months. Most Iran players are with clubs in the national league that has shut down during the war. Iran's World Cup hosts in Arizona said this week they were pressing on with training camp upgrades plus local and federal security plans - echoing the "stick to the schedule" mantra FIFA has used. Infantino stayed on in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya to watch Iran rout Costa Rica 5-0 in a warmup. Clearly, the next two months are full of uncertainty for the Iran team and nation itself amid mixed messages about U.S. intentions for the war. Still, talk of Iran boycotting soccer's biggest event or seeking to move its games from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexico has faded. The Iranian delegation is due at its Tucson training camp no later than June 10 for the June 11-July 19 tournament. Iran soccer's miserable month The war immediately cast doubt on Iran's ability and willingness to fulfill a World Cup entry secured in March 2025 as one of the best teams in Asia.In the first half of March, government officials variously suggested the team could not play at the World Cup, could not travel to the U.S., and FIFA should move Iran's games to co-host Mexico. A spokesman for the Iran Football Association did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment. Iran has not withdrawn its entry with FIFA.Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared to suggest hosting Iran games was possible, without advocating for an unprecedented late change to a World Cup schedule. U.S. President Donald Trump added to the confusion. He variously said "I really don't care" if Iran comes to the World Cup, that players were not safe - he seemed to mean they were at risk from regime reprisals at home - and promised they would be treated like stars. FIFA has been the most consistent commentator, and Infantino the only top soccer official openly talking about the delicate diplomacy: That Iran will come to the U.S., that the schedule will not change, and no formal negotiations about Mexico had or would take place. Iran, therefore, is on track to come to Arizona and start preparing for a first game on June 15 against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams stadium in Inglewood. Iran soccer's better week The FIFA-mandated break for clubs to release their players to national teams gave World Cup squads up to nine days together and two warmup games. Iran was scheduled to go to Jordan, another World Cup team, where Nigeria and Costa Rica were invited to be opponents in back-to-back games. When the war spread across the Middle East, those games were switched from Jordanian capital Amman to the safety of Antalya in southern Turkey. For most Iran players, a 2-1 loss to Nigeria last Friday and the win against Costa Rica on Tuesday was their first competitive action since the Persian Gulf Pro League stopped. In Antalya, the Iran team protested the U.S.-backed military strikes by holding up children's backpacks and photos of victims of the war during the national anthems. Meeting FIFA's presidentAhead of Iran's trip to Turkey, FIFA declined to confirm details about which officials would go there for the best - and, realistically, first - chance to meet Iranian federation leaders during the war. Infantino landed on Tuesday morning. He spoke to a room full of players and coach Amir Ghalenoei, and met privately with federation officials Mehdi Mohammed Nabi, and Omid Jamali. In a later Instagram post, Infantino promised FIFA's support to give the team "the best possible conditions" to prepare for the World Cup.More detail came in an Iranian federation readout, which FIFA later confirmed was an accurate summary of Infantino's various meetings. Iran's World Cup schedule The World Cup draw was made on Dec. 5 in the presence of Trump, minutes after he was awarded the first FIFA Peace Prize by Infantino. The venues for games were confirmed one day later. Several of Iran's delegation, including federation president Mehdi Taj, were denied visas to enter the U.S. That remains a key problem ahead of the World Cup. After playing New Zealand in Inglewood, Iran is due to return there six days later to play Belgium, the Group G top seed. Iran completes the group in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. FIFA had the option to put Egypt vs. Iran in Vancouver but chose to keep Iran inside the U.S. FIFA had about 200,000 total tickets available for those three Iran games and most are sold. Changing cities to Mexico would expose FIFA to compensating fans, broadcasters and sponsors who have paid for flights and hotels according to the official game schedule. Iran has chosen Arizona as its training base, at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson. World Cup rules require teams to enter the host nation at least five days before its first game. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
03 April,2026 10:50 AM IST | Istanbul | AP | PTIUEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin warned that Italy risks not being able to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey due to the condition of the country's stadiums, which he called "some of the worst in Europe". Italy last hosted a major international football tournament in 1990 and many of its top stadiums were either built or refurbished for that World Cup. Most of those are now in a sorry state. "Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, of that there is no doubt. I just hope that the infrastructure (in Italy) will be ready. If that's not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy," Ceferin said in an interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport published on Thursday. "Maybe Italy's politicians should ask themselves why the football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe." Ceferin added that Italian football's biggest problem was "the relationship between the football authorities and politics". In October, Italy has to name the five stadiums that will host matches at Euro 2032, with 11 cities currently candidates: Rome, Florence, Bologna, Verona, Milan, Genoa, Bari, Naples, Turin, Cagliari and Palermo. Italy can present new stadiums or ones which need to be redeveloped as long as works begin by March 2027. Only one, Juventus's Allianz Stadium in Turin, is completely ready to host matches at the summer international tournament. Inter Milan and AC Milan recently purchased the San Siro from the city of Milan and are hoping to complete a new 71,500-capacity arena on the same site as the current stadium by 2031. However, the public prosecutors' office in Italy's economic capital is probing the sale of the land for alleged bid-rigging. Roma were given the green light by the local authorities in Rome to build a new stadium in the east of the Eternal City, while Fiorentina's Stadio Artemio Franchi is being redeveloped. Last month the city of Naples presented a renovation project for the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Serie A champions Napoli play their matches. The Maradona project, which includes the elimination of the running track which borders the pitch, has a budget of 200 million euros ($230 million) and was presented by mayor Gaetano Manfredi as something that needing doing "regardless of 2032". This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
03 April,2026 10:02 AM IST | Rome | AFPThomas Tuchel said Phil Foden's place in England's World Cup squad is "not a guarantee" after failing once more to hit peak form for the Three Lions. Foden struggled in an unfamiliar role up front in the absence of Harry Kane in England's 1-0 friendly defeat to Japan on Tuesday. After a bright start to the season, the 25-year-old has also slipped down the pecking order for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in recent weeks. "He tried everything. I would say he was excellent in camp but, yeah, he struggles to show it on the pitch," said Tuchel. "Obviously he didn't have a lot of minutes for City recently, then he came to camp with the brightest smile and was so good in training. "And I thought he will just surprise us and will play with the same verve and excitement but he struggles to have the full impact." Foden has rarely taken his best City form on to the international stage, even on the run to the Euro 2024 final fresh from collecting Premier League player of the year awards. And he faces stiff competition from Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers for an attacking midfield berth in Tuchel's squad. "It's not a guarantee that he will come," added Tuchel when asked if he can take a struggling player to the finals in North America. Defeat to Japan was just Tuchel's second in 12 games as England boss, but he is yet to beat a side ranked among FIFA's top 20 over a year into his reign. After also drawing 1-1 against Uruguay last week, the German said a difficult March "will not define us" as he remained confident England can end their wait since 1966 to win a major tournament this summer. "We will not let go of our dream, we will not let go of the question 'why not?'" said the former Chelsea boss. "Now the most important thing is that the players reintegrate with their clubs, have a good end of the season, and then we have them in pre-camp and prepare them properly and take steps from there." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
03 April,2026 09:58 AM IST | London | AFPItaly's soccer federation president resigned amid political pressure on Thursday, two days after the Azzurri failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Gabriele Gravina's decision will likely lead to the ouster of Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso, too.Italy's Sports Minister Andrea Abodi called for a change in the country's soccer leadership after Gravina oversaw two sets of disappointing World Cup qualifiers.Italy's chances of reaching this year's tournament in North America ended after a penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff on Tuesday. Fans have been asking for big changes in the Italian federation after missing out on the World Cup again. Italian coach Gattuso under pressure to resign Former Italian midfielder and now coach, Gattuso, is under pressure to resign after Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time. Azzurri lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties.Italy were in the World Cup playoffs after they failed to beat Norway in the group stage of qualifying. Italy knew a win against Bosnia would put them through to the marquee tournament in the US. However, a shock defeat has left the Italians shell-shocked as they missed a third consecutive World Cup.The Italians looked set to qualify after Moise Kean opened the scoring to give the visitors a lead. However, everything unravelled soon for the Azzurris. Just before half-time, Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for a reckless tackle, and the Italians were down to 10 men. In the second-half, Kean had a golden chance to double Italy's lead when he raced through on goal from his own half but missed the target.That miss came back to haunt Italy as their worst nightmares came true after substitute Haris Tabakovic equalised in the 79th minute. The tall striker put the ball in the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble in the visitors' box.Eventually, Italy lost 4-1 on penalties and will go at least 16 years without playing at the FIFA World Cup. After the match, Gattuso said he will announce his future soon. (With AP Input)
02 April,2026 07:41 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentKerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman said that the Argentina football team had deceived the state by failing to show up for a game despite being paid for it.Abdurahiman stated that he had a strong desire for Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team to visit Kerala and play a game in the state."For that, I had held several discussions. It was also not an easy task to find sponsors to arrange the Rs 250 crore to be paid to the international football team. But, after receiving the money, the Argentine football team cheated us. We did not expect such a betrayal from them. Not coming after promising to do so," the minister told a TV channel.He claimed that after asking, he discovered that Argentina had done this to five other nations."They took money from those countries, but never went there to play. It is a situation where a case will have to be filed against the Argentine football team, and they will have to pay us compensation," Abdurahiman said.He said that he was really looking forward to their arrival and that, therefore, their deception was disappointing and made him sad."It has disappointed the football lovers in Kerala. I don't know to whom I will tell my disappointment," he added.In November of last year, the minister announced that Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team would visit Kerala in March of this year. Lionel Messi visited India for the 'GOAT India Tour 2025' Lionel Messi toured India in December 2025 as part of the "GOAT India Tour 2025", visiting Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi from December 13–15. The tour featured fan events, youth clinics, and a celebrity match, though it faced controversy in Kolkata regarding crowd management and a short appearance.Messi was joined by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul during his visit, which was a huge success. The Argentine star did not visit Kerala during this tour.A separate proposal for Messi and Argentina to visit Kerala in March 2026 for a match was cancelled following payment disputes. (With PTI Input)
02 April,2026 06:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentSpain star Lamine Yamal on Wednesday condemned the anti-Muslim chants made by Spanish fans during a friendly soccer game in the latest incident to dent the nation's sporting image. The Spanish government and the soccer federation also condemned the chants, and police said they were investigating the behavior by fans during Tuesday's game between Spain and Egypt in the city of Barcelona. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants made by part of the fans at RCDE Stadium were disrespectful and intolerable. He said it didn't matter that the chants were not directed at him personally. "I understand that not all fans are like that, but to those who chant these things: Using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you look ignorant and racist," he wrote on Instagram. "Football is for enjoying and cheering, not for disrespecting people for who they are or what they believe." Racist abuse against players are not uncommon in Spain. Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has often been subjected to racist taunts during soccer matches. Sexism has also been an issue, as Spanish soccer endured one of its most embarrassing incidents when then-federation boss Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the 2023 Women's World Cup final. He was eventually found guilty of sexual assault. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente also condemned the anti-Muslim chants after the game, which was part of the team's preparations for the World Cup. "I feel total and absolute repulsion towards any xenophobic or racist attitudes," he said. "They are intolerable." The game ended in a 0-0 draw. The Egyptian Football Association decried the anti-Muslim chants, calling them a "reprehensible racist act." It also condemned the lack of respect shown when the nation's anthem was played before the match. "These actions are entirely unacceptable in football stadiums and represent a negative phenomenon that must be collectively addressed and eradicated," the EFA said in a statement. It added that it "highly appreciates the statements of rejection and condemnation issued by the Spanish Football Federation, the Spanish Ministry of Sport, as well as officials and football figures across Spain, all of whom denounced the racist incidents witnessed during the match." The EFA said it was working with "FIFA officials and all relevant stakeholders and international institutions to prevent such offensive incidents from occurring in football stadiums" worldwide. "What happened is completely unacceptable, and FIFA remains committed to combating racism and discrimination in football," it said. "We stress the importance of preventing any recurrence of such incidents and working diligently to eliminate this phenomenon altogether." Egypt is a majority-Muslim country. "Hate, racism, and xenophobia have no place in stadiums or in our society," Milagros Tolon, the Spanish minister in charge of sports, said Wednesday. Catalonia's regional police said "we will investigate yesterday's Islamophobic and xenophobic chants at the RCDE Stadium during the friendly match Spain-Egypt." Barcelona-based club Espanyol condemned what it called "racist behavior" at its stadium. "Such actions are reprehensible and unacceptable, do not represent the values ??of sport, and must be firmly condemned and eradicated from all sporting venues," Espanyol said. The club claimed that its supporters were being unfairly blamed for the incident in a "smear campaign" and that the national team fans came from "very diverse geographical and footballing backgrounds." Last year, an Espanyol fan accused of racially insulting Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams during a Spanish league game in 2020 accepted a deal to avoid prison time. Spain is due to play Saudi Arabia at the World Cup, and also faces Cape Verde and Uruguay in Group H of the 48-team tournament. Egypt has games against Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G. Spain was hosting Egypt for the game, which had originally been expected to be played in Qatar before the region was affected by the Iran war. A "Finalissima" game there between South American champion Argentina and European champion Spain was canceled after they couldn't agree to reschedule. FIFA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Tuesday's chants. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 10:52 AM IST | Madrid | AFPManchester City star Erling Haaland boasts an incredible collection of supercars, and that has only grown in size with the Norwegian striker recently adding an ultra-rare Mercedes-Maybach Virgil Abloh to his garage. The luxury supercar is estimated to be worth a whopping £400,000 (approximately Rs 5 crore) and is one of only 150 models in existence. The sedan was designed with the help of Louis Vuitton’s artistic designer, the late Virgil Abloh. Haaland’s car features a dual-tone colour scheme — the roof, bonnet and boot of the car is jet black, while the sides feature a sandy hue. Some of the other stunning cars in the 25-year-old’s collection include an Aston Martin DBX 707 (£350,000; approximately Rs 4.4 crore), a Rolls Royce Cullinan (£300,000; approximately Rs 3.7 crore), a Porsche 911 GT3 (£160,000; approximately Rs 2 crore), a Range Rover Sport (£120,000; approximately Rs 1.5 crore), an Audi RS6 Avant (£120,000; approximately Rs 1.5 crore), and a Mercedes AMG-GLE Coupe (£90,000; approximately Rs 1.1 crore). On the pitch, Haaland recently won the EFL Cup with City and remains a vital part of his team’s EPL title bid.
02 April,2026 10:32 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentArgentine football legend Diego Maradona’s childhood home in Villa Fiori, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, has been converted into a soup kitchen for the poor. Although the property no longer belongs to the Maradona family, the wall outside it bears a mural of the 1986 World Cup-winner along with the title — The House of God. While the home itself no longer exists, the dirt yard upon which it was built has been lent to a group of volunteers, who prepare food for the poor. As per British tabloid The Sun, Leonardo Fabian Alvarez, a pastor who runs the makeshift soup kitchen, said: “People who have lost their jobs come to the line, collecting food and whatever we give them.”
02 April,2026 10:29 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentADVERTISEMENT
-1775138817637_d.png "Gattuso (Pic: AFP)")
-1775134909184_d.png "Lionel Messi (Pic: AFP)")
