Premier League stars lead World Cup goal rush

Doha, Qatar: There have been 280 goals at World Cup 2026 so far, but one league has been responsible for almost one in every four of them. It is neither Spain’s La Liga nor Germany’s Bundesliga, but England’s Premier League that has become football’s biggest supplier of goals on the biggest stage.

After the penultimate Round of 16 match between Egypt and Argentina, players from the England’s top flight have scored 69 of the 280 goals recorded so far, comfortably outpacing every other major European league and underlining why the Premier League continues to be regarded as the world’s most competitive domestic competition.

Spain’s La Liga sits a distant second with 33 goals, followed by Germany’s Bundesliga on 28, France’s Ligue 1 with 20 and Italy’s Serie A with 19. The figures are a reminder that while football’s biggest stars are scattered across Europe, it is England’s top flight that has delivered the greatest impact in front of goal. sos-zagle.org.pl

The Premier League’s influence has extended beyond goals. Five players from English clubs also feature among the tournament’s top 10 assist providers.

الأخبارالوطنيون ضمن التحدي.. والقادمون يسعون لترك بصمةاقتربت ساعة الحقيقة، ولم يعد يفصلنا سوى أيام قليلة عن انطلاقة منافسات دوري نجوم بنك الدوحة للموسم الكروي 2026 /2027، والمقرر أن ينطلق يوم 20 أغسطس الجاري، بعد أن أنهت جميع أنديت...فتح →

Perhaps the most surprising statistic belongs to Manchester City. The domestic double champions arrived at the tournament as the most represented club, supplying 19 players from 12 different nations more than any other club in the world. Yet despite that remarkable presence, only one City player has found the net.

That player is striker Erling Haaland (pictured). The Norwegian has been one of the stars of the tournament, sharing the second place in the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe on seven goals. His clinical finishing has powered Norway into the quarter-finals, including a memorable victory over Brazil that ranks among the biggest upsets of the knockout stage.

While City have relied on one prolific marksman, several other Premier League clubs have seen their international stars spread the goals around.

Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sunderland have each produced eight World Cup goals – the highest club totals among Premier League sides.

Crystal Palace’s tally has been spearheaded by Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr, whose four-goal haul has made him one of Africa’s standout performers. Arsenal’s contribution has come through a collection of internationals, including Germany’s Kai Havertz, who has scored three times, while Manchester United have been boosted by Brazil forward Matheus Cunha’s three-goal campaign.

The biggest surprise has come from Sunderland.

Fresh from a remarkable campaign that ended with a seventh-place Premier League finish and the club’s first-ever qualification for the UEFA Europa League, the Black Cats have seen their players carry that confidence onto the international stage. Dutch striker Brian Brobbey has led the way with three goals as Sunderland’s representatives have collectively matched the tournament’s highest club tally.

Liverpool are close behind with six goals, driven largely by Cody Gakpo’s three-goal contribution for the Netherlands, while Newcastle United’s internationals have combined for five goals, with DR Congo forward Yoane Wissa contributing three goals.

The goals have come from throughout the Premier League. Brighton & Hove Albion’s internationals have found the net three times and Tottenham Hotspur twice, while Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Chelsea and Everton have each added a goal to the league’s impressive World Cup tally.

Even the two clubs relegated at the end of last season have left their mark. Wolverhampton Wanderers’ players have scored four goals, while West Ham United’s internationals have added another two.

The numbers become even more impressive when viewed against overall player representation.

Manchester City topped the list with 19 players at the World Cup, narrowly ahead of Bayern Munich who had 18. Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal each contributed 16 players, followed by Barcelona with 15. Atletico de Madrid, Crystal Palace and Manchester United each had 12 representatives, while Liverpool supplied 11 and AC Milan and Real Madrid 10 apiece.

Yet when it comes to goals, it has not simply been Europe’s traditional giants leading the way. Clubs such as Crystal Palace and Sunderland have matched or even outperformed some of football’s biggest clubs.

The Premier League has not dominated because one club supplied the stars or because one nation carried the scoring burden. Instead, players from almost every level of the English top flight have travelled to North America and delivered for their countries.

Sydney: Teenage Australian sprint star Gout Gout on Thursday pulled out of next month's under-20 world championships after suffering a serious hamstring injury in training.

The 18-year-old has set the athletics world alight with a series of scorching runs.

He won the 200m at the Australian championships in April in 19.67sec, faster than Usain Bolt at the same age, and made his Diamond League debut last month in Oslo.

Gout chose to skip the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this month to focus on the under-20 world championships at Eugene in August, but his season has come to an abrupt halt.

"Unfortunately I suffered an injury to my left hamstring last night at training in Brisbane," he said on Instagram.

"I received this morning the MRI report, unfortunately the news is not good and I will not be able to compete in Eugene at the world U20 championships next month."

Gout said the scans revealed a grade three tear, which typically takes months of rehabilitation.

"My focus now will be on my rehab in the coming weeks and months and ensuring I come back in 2027 better and stronger and faster," he said.

Athletics Australia said it would support him in his recovery.

"Gout has had a phenomenal couple of years, and has a long and exciting athletics career ahead of him," a spokesperson said.

"While this will be disappointing for Gout himself as well as his many fans, unfortunately injuries are part of the sport.

"It is important that he takes the time to rehabilitate, recover and return to the track to compete when he is ready."

Doha, Qatar: Four years after their dream run in Qatar was ended by France in the World Cup semi-finals, Morocco return to familiar territory with a different status and a bigger belief.

The Atlas Lions left the 2022 tournament as the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, winning admiration across the globe despite falling short of a place in the final. They were the surprise package then. Today, they arrive as a team that has earned its place among football’s elite.

When Morocco face France in a highly anticipated quarter-final at Boston Stadium today, with kick-off at 11pm Qatar time, the contest will not be about an underdog chasing another fairytale. It will be a battle between two established contenders fighting for a place in the last four.

France remain favourites but Morocco have already proved they can compete with the best.

Didier Deschamps’ side have maintained the standards expected of a title contender throughout the tournament. Les Bleus swept through Group I with victories over Senegal, Iraq and Norway before easing past Sweden in the Round of 32. Their narrow 1-0 win over Paraguay in the last 16 showed another dimension to the French team as they displayed patience and resilience when their attacking quality alone was not enough.

Morocco’s journey has required greater character as they began with a creditable draw against Brazil before defeating Scotland and Haiti to secure second place in Group C. The Atlas Lions then survived a dramatic penalty shootout against the Netherlands after Issa Diop’s late equaliser forced extra time, before producing one of their strongest performances of the tournament in a convincing 3-0 victory over co-hosts Canada to reach a second successive World Cup quarter-final.

“We’re no longer a surprise today, and that’s a great source of pride,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after the victory over Canada.

“I think this is only the beginning and I hope we’ll keep producing this kind of run for many years.”

Ouahbi has also played down suggestions that revenge is motivating his team following their semi-final defeat to France in Qatar.

“We want to go as far as possible and make our people proud,” he said.

France, meanwhile, continue to rely heavily on the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe. The captain has scored seven goals in the tournament, placed among the leading contenders in the Golden Boot race, while his penalty against Paraguay took his World Cup tally to 19, leaving him just two behind Lionel Messi’s record of 21. With Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, creative playmaker Michael Olise and a wealth of attacking options around him, Mbappe leads one of the most dangerous forward lines in the competition.

Morocco, however, have the defensive structure and discipline to challenge any opponent.

France’s players take part in a training session.

Yassine Bounou has once again produced impressive performances on the biggest stage, while Achraf Hakimi remains one of the tournament’s standout right-backs.

Azzedine Ounahi rediscovered his scoring touch with two goals against Canada, although striker Ismael Saibari remains a doubt after suffering a hamstring injury in the previous round.

The meeting between Hakimi and Mbappe will be one of the key battles in Boston.

The two players developed a close friendship during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain, but that relationship will be put aside when they meet on opposite sides with a World Cup semi-final place at stake.

Deschamps expects Morocco to provide a far tougher test than France have faced so far.

“Morocco are one of the best teams,” the France coach said. “We played them four years ago in Doha and they also got to the Africa Cup of Nations final.”

France will also have disciplinary concerns, with Bradley Barcola, Manu Kone and Olise all one booking away from missing a potential semi-final.

History is on Les Bleus’ side, with France winning two of the previous three meetings between the nations, including their memorable 2-0 victory in the Qatar 2022 semi-finals. The other match ended in a 2-2 draw.

But Morocco no longer arrive looking for recognition, and standing in their way is a France side chasing a third consecutive World Cup final appearance.

The prize is a place in Dallas, where either Spain or Belgium will await in the semi-finals.

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan suggested that the referee may have had “a scoreline in mind” after Egypt’s World Cup run ended.

Egypt were minutes away from one of the biggest wins in their history before late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernández sent Argentina through to the quarter-finals.

“What I said to the referee was only that this is unjust,” Hossam Hassan said after the match. “I was saying maybe he had a scoreline in mind. Maybe he had something to hide,” he added.

Egypt were angered by a VAR decision that ruled out a Mostafa Zico goal for a foul earlier in the move. The national team also protested two late penalty appeals. One came moments before Argentina broke forward and scored the decisive goal.

Zico, who had scored Egypt’s second goal, went further after the match, saying the tournament appeared to be “being given to Argentina.”

Egypt had taken the lead through Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute before Zico doubled the advantage in the 67th, after Messi had seen an early penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir.

However, Romero began Argentina’s comeback in the 79th minute, Messi equalised four minutes later, and Fernández completed the turnaround in the 92nd minute.

The defeat ended Egypt’s best World Cup campaign after they reached the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

The post Hossam Hassan Accuses Referee of Injustice after World Cup Exit appeared first on KingFut.

عقدت الجمعية العمومية العادية الأولى لنادي الوعب وسط حضور رئيس النادي الشيخ حمد بن عبدالله بن خالد آل ثاني، ونائب الرئيس الشيخ علي بن عبدالله بن خالد آل ثاني، والمدير العام الشيخ الوليد بن عبدالله بن خالد آل ثاني، إلى جانب أعضاء النادي. وقد شكّل الاجتماع محطة بارزة في مسيرة النادي، حيث ناقش المجتمعون عدداً من القضايا الإدارية والمالية والتنظيمية التي تعكس حرص القيادة على تعزيز العمل المؤسسي وترسيخ مبادئ الشفافية والمشاركة، وتضمن جدول الأعمال اعتماد الخطة الاستراتيجية لرئيس النادي، ومناقشة تقرير الرئيس عن أعمال السنة المنتهية في 31 مايو الجاري، إضافة إلى استعراض برامج وخطة العمل للسنة المقبلة.
وتوجه الشيخ حمد بن عبدالله بن خالد آل ثاني، بالشكر إلى أعضاء الجمعية العمومية على مشاركتهم الفاعلة في الاجتماع الأول في تاريخ النادي، في لحظة تاريخية وفارقة، كما أعرب عن تقديره لوزارة الرياضة والشباب والمسؤولين عن القطاع الرياضي على الدعم الكبير الذي يقدمونه للأندية.
وقال : «نثمن الدعم المتواصل الذي تحظى به الأندية من وزارة الرياضة والشباب متمثلة في سعادة الشيخ حمد بن خليفة بن أحمد آل ثاني وزير الرياضة والشباب، وهو ما يمنحنا دافعًا كبيرًا لمواصلة العمل وتحقيق أهدافنا».
فيما أكد الشيخ الوليد بن عبدالله بن خالد آل ثاني، أن الجمعية العمومية عكست حالة التوافق بين مجلس الإدارة وأعضاء الجمعية، مشيرًا إلى أن المرحلة المقبلة ستشهد تنفيذ خطة تطوير متكاملة على المستويين الإداري والفني.
وقال»نعمل وفق رؤية واضحة لبناء منظومة رياضية متكاملة تحقق الاستقرار والاستدامة، مع توفير أفضل بيئة ممكنة للاعبين والأجهزة الفنية والإدارية. كما سنواصل الاستثمار في قطاع الفئات السنية، لأنه يمثل الركيزة الأساسية لمستقبل النادي، ونطمح إلى أن يكون الوعب محطة حقيقية لاكتشاف المواهب التي تخدم المنتخبات الوطنية والكرة القطرية
وأوضح أحمد عبدالسلام المشرف العام بالنادي أن الجمعية العمومية لنادي الوعب كانت مثمرة للغاية وشهدت تبادلا في الأحاديث بين الإدارة واعضاء النادي وتشاورا في العديد من الامور المتعلقة
وقال: «المرحلة المقبلة ستشهد إعادة هيكلة شاملة للنادي بما يتوافق مع رؤيتنا المستقبلية، مع التركيز بصورة أكبر على الفئات السنية، باعتبارها الأساس في اكتشاف المواهب وصناعة جيل جديد من اللاعبين القادرين على خدمة النادي
وتابع قائلا: «برنامج إعداد الفريق للموسم الجديد يبدأ بمعسكر خارجي في تركيا، سينطلق المعسكر الإعدادي يوم 16 من الشهر الجاري،وهدفنا المنافسة بقوة والتواجد في المراكز المتقدمة.