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Tag: Argentina

  • Maradona’s medical team on trial in former great’s death

    Maradona’s medical team on trial in former great’s death

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    BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Eight health care professionals will stand trial in the death of soccer great Diego Maradona in 2020, an Argentine court has ruled.

    The date of the proceedings has yet to be set, but they are unlikely to begin before next year, the court said Tuesday.

    A medical board’s report previously given to prosecutors concluded that Maradona was in agony for more than 12 hours, did not receive adequate treatment and could still be alive if he had been properly hospitalized.

    Three judges from an appeals court in San Isidro, outside Buenos Aires, confirmed the charges brought by prosecutors of homicide by negligence against the members of Maradona’s medical team.

    Neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov are accused of failing in their care for Maradona. Maradona’s medical team also included psychologist Carlos Díaz, doctors Nancy Forlini and Pedro Di Spagna, nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni and nurses Ricardo Almirón and Dahiana Madrid.

    Maradona, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, died of a heart attack on Nov. 25, 2020, at a rented residence outside Buenos Aires following brain surgery two weeks earlier. He was 60.

    Maradona’s autopsy showed he died of natural causes.

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    More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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  • Buenos Aires airport turns into unofficial homeless shelter

    Buenos Aires airport turns into unofficial homeless shelter

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    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — At the start of the long Easter weekend, the airport in Argentina’s capital is eerily quiet before dawn, hours before it will fill with travelers. About 100 people who sleep inside the facility are getting ready to start their day.

    One of them is Ángel Gómez, who has been living in the Jorge Newbery International Airport for two years and has seen how the number of people joining him has soared.

    “After the pandemic, this became a total invasion,” Gómez said early Thursday as he sat next to a sign advertising the Perito Moreno glacier, an iconic tourist attraction in the Patagonia region.

    As passengers and staff start arriving early in the morning, dozens of people are still sleeping, some on chairs and others on the floor. Some have blankets, but many sleep directly on the floor, strewn across the airport with their few possessions close by.

    The airport, known colloquially as Aeroparque, has practically become a homeless shelter at night. Once passengers start arriving, some of the overnighters head off to spend the day at soup kitchens, though others hang around the airport grounds begging for change at traffic lights and some stay seated in chairs blending in with the travelers.

    It’s a stark reflection of the rising poverty in a country where one of the world’s highest inflation rates is making it difficult for many to make ends meet.

    “If I pay rent, I don’t eat. And if I pay for food, I’m on the street,” said Roxana Silva, who has been living at the airport with her husband, Gustavo Andrés Corrales, for two years.

    Silva gets a government pension of around 45,000 pesos, which is equivalent to about $213 at the official exchange rate and about half of that on the black market.

    “I don’t have enough to live on,” Silva laments.She said that she and her husband take turns sleeping so someone is always watching their possessions.

    More and more Argentines are finding themselves in Silva’s situation as inflation worsens, hitting at an annual rate of 102.5% in February. Although Argentina has been used to double-digit inflation for years, that was the first time the annual rise in consumer prices reached triple digits since 1991.

    The high inflation has been especially pronounced for basic food items, hitting the poor the hardest. The poverty rate rose to 39.2% of the population in the second half of 2022, an increase of three percentage points from the first six months of the year, according to Argentina’s national statistics agency, INDEC. Among children under age 15, the poverty rate increased more than three percentage points to 54.2%.

    Horacio Ávila, who runs an organization devoted to helping homeless people, estimates the number of people without a roof in Argentina’s capital has soared 30% since 2019, when he and others carried out an unofficial count of 7,251 people in this city of around 3.1 million.

    Amid the increased cost of living and diminishing purchasing power, more people started to look to the airport as a possible refuge.

    Laura Cardoso has seen this increase firsthand in the year she has been living in the airport “sleeping sitting up” on her wheelchair.

    “More people just came in,” Cardoso said while accompanied by her two dogs that she says make it difficult for her to find a place to live because no one wants to rent to her. “It’s packed with people.”

    Mirta Lanuara is a new arrival, living in the airport only about a week. She chose the airport because it’s clean.

    Teresa Malbernat, 68, has been living in the airport for two months and says it’s safer than being in one of the city’s shelters, where she says she was robbed twice.

    The Argentine company that operates the airport, AA2000, says it “lacks police power” and “the authority to evict these people” while also saying it has the obligation to ensure “non-discrimination in the use of airport facilities.”

    For Elizabet Barraza, 58, the sheer number of homeless people living in the airport illustrates why she’s choosing to emigrate to France, where one of her daughters has been living for five years.

    “I’m going there because the situation here is difficult,” Barraza said as she waited to board her flight. “My salary isn’t enough to rent. Even if they increase the salaries, inflation is too high so it isn’t enough sometimes to rent and survive.”

    “I don’t want to come back,” Barraza said.

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  • ‘Best in the world’: Messi scores his 100th goal for Argentina

    ‘Best in the world’: Messi scores his 100th goal for Argentina

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    The Albiceleste captain, his country’s all-time record goalscorer, netted a hat-trick in a 7-0 win against Curacao.

    Argentina captain Lionel Messi has passed the 100-goal mark for the reigning world champions in a 7-0 friendly win over Curacao.

    Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi hit the 100-mark after he opened the scoring against the Caribbean island Minnows in 20 minutes in Santiago del Estero on Tuesday.

    It came 17 years after he opened his Argentina account in a 3-2 defeat to Croatia in March 2006.

    The 35-year-old added another goal shortly after the half-hour mark to make it 3-0 and then completed his hat-trick on 37 minutes with the fifth as Argentina toyed with their outclassed opponents.

    It was his seventh hat trick for the national team.

    “You cannot describe Messi in words,” said fellow goalscorer Nicolas Gonzalez. “He’s the best in the world and he shows it match after match, day after day. Every time he touches the ball, he makes you smile.”

    Messi came into the game not just as his country’s all-time record goalscorer, but with more goals than the next two top marksmen – Gabriel Batistuta with 56 and Sergio Aguero with 41 – put together.

    This was Argentina’s second match since winning the World Cup in dramatic style against France in Qatar in December – triumphing 4-2 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw – and it was always going to be about Messi reaching 100 goals.

    He sits third in the all-time list, behind great rival Cristiano Ronaldo (122) of Portugal and Iran’s Ali Daei (109).

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  • Carlos Alcaraz wins Argentina Open after three-month injury layoff | CNN

    Carlos Alcaraz wins Argentina Open after three-month injury layoff | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Carlos Alcaraz capped off a stunning return from injury as he defeated Cameron Norris 6-3 7-5 to win the Argentina Open on Sunday.

    Prior to last week, last year’s US Open champion had been out of action for more than three months as he recovered from hamstring and abdominal injuries.

    But the 19-year-old, ranked second in the world behind Novak Djokovic, made a seamless return to competitive tennis in Buenos Aires, dropping only one set during the course of the tournament.

    Against Great Britain’s Norrie, Alcaraz took control of the contest by winning seven straight games between the end of the first set and start of the second.

    He failed to serve out for the match at 5-3 in the second set but wrapped up the victory three games later with a brilliant forehand drop shot.

    “It’s been a great week for me, a dream week after a long time with no competition. Coming to Buenos Aires and showing the level I showed is amazing and really special. It has been an emotional week, too,” Alcaraz said, according to Reuters.

    It was the Spaniard’s seventh ATP Tour title and his first since winning the US Open in September – a victory that made him the youngest man ever to top the world rankings.

    On Sunday, he became the youngest player to win the Argentina Open.

    “I felt very comfortable playing the final,” Alcaraz added.

    “I knew it was going to be really difficult. I started really focused on what I had to do at the beginning – my game, my level. This is the level that I have to play in finals.”

    On Tuesday, Alcaraz will begin his title defense at the Rio Open – the first of five ATP Tour titles he won in 2022 – as he bids to make up ground on Djokovic at the top of the rankings.

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  • Study: Don’t blame climate change for South American drought

    Study: Don’t blame climate change for South American drought

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    Climate change isn’t causing the multi-year drought that is devastating parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia, but warming is worsening some of the dry spell’s impacts, a new study says.

    The natural three-year climate condition La Nina – a cooling of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide temporarily but lasted much longer than normal this time – is the chief culprit in a drought that has devastated central South America and is still going on, according to a flash study released Thursday by international scientists at World Weather Attribution. The study has not been peer reviewed yet.

    Drought has hit the region since 2019 with last year seeing the driest year in Central Argentina since 1960, widespread crop failures and Uruguay declaring an agricultural emergency in October. Water supplies and transportation were hampered, too.

    “There is no climate change signal in the rainfall,” said study co-author Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College in London. “But of course, that doesn’t mean that climate change doesn’t play an important role in the context of these droughts. Because of the extreme increase in heat that we see, the soils do dry faster and the impacts are more severe they would have otherwise been.”

    The heat has increased the evaporation of what little water there is, worsened a natural water shortage and added to crop destruction, scientists said. The same group of scientists found that climate change made the heat wave last December 60 times more likely.

    And cutting down trees in the southern Amazon in 2020 reached the highest rate in a decade and that translates to less moisture being available farther south in Argentina, said study lead author Paola Arias, a climate scientist and professor at the Environmental School of the University of Antioquia in Colombia.

    The team of scientists at World Weather Attribution use observations and climate models to see if they find a climate change factor in how frequent or how strong extreme weather is. They compare what happened to how often it happened in the past, and they run computer simulations that contrast reality to what would have happened in a world without human-caused climate change from burning of fossil fuels.

    In this drought’s case, the models actually show a slight, not significant, increase in moisture from climate change but a clear connection to La Nina, which scientists say is waning. It will still take months if not longer for the region to get out of the drought — and that depends on whether the flip side of La Nina — El Nino — appears, said study co-author Juan Rivera, a scientist at the Argentine Institute for Snow Research, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences.

    In the past, the team of scientists has found no obvious climate change connection in some droughts and floods, but they do find global warming is a factor in most of the severe weather they investigate.

    “One of the reasons why we do these attribution studies is to show what the realistic impacts of climate change are. And it’s not that climate change makes everything worse,” Otto said. “Not every bad thing that’s happening now is because of climate change.”

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    See more of AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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    Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

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    Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • 2 U.S. mountaineers among 3 dead climbing Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Americas

    2 U.S. mountaineers among 3 dead climbing Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Americas

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    Two Americans and a Norwegian died over the past four days while climbing Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas, Argentine police said this week.

    U.S. mountaineer Ayn Vincent Day, 41, died on Wednesday after going against the advice of his guide and summiting the nearly 7,000 meter (23,000 foot) mountain, said Deputy Commissioner Marcos Paez, the head of the rescue team.

    On Saturday, 62-year-old Moi Oystein of Norway became the first fatality of the 2022-2023 ascent season, which began in December, after becoming ill at a spot on the route known as La Cueva, at 6,000 meters above sea-level.

    The following day, U.S. military veteran John Michael Magness, 58, also died having reached Camp Independencia at an elevation of 6,300 meters.

    Magness was a member of Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, according to the group which helps veterans and their families with education expenses. Magness and two other Army veterans were participating in the “Aconcagua Challenge” expedition to raise funds and awareness for Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, the group said.

    “He was our classmate, teammate, and friend; he was our hero, serving others until the end,” the group wrote on social media.

    Situated near Argentina’s border with Chile, Aconcagua is the tallest mountain outside of Asia, and is one of the so-called Seven Summits — a goal of many mountain climbers around the world.

    Argentine media, citing official sources, reported the death this season of five other mountaineers, four of them foreigners, in the area of El Chalten, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, 2,300 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

    Tyler Armstrong, a 9-year-old California boy, broke a mountain-climbing record in 2013 when he became the youngest person to scale Mt. Aconcagua.

    ARGENTINA-ACONCAGUA-FEATURE
    View of the Aconcagua mountain in Argentina taken on February 2, 2013. The Aconcagua is the highest mountain (6962 meters/22,841 feet) of the Americas, the second in the world and one of the “7 Summits.”

    DANIEL GARCIA/AFP via Getty Images


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  • Prices have not peaked yet, says CEO of one of the world’s largest consumer goods firms

    Prices have not peaked yet, says CEO of one of the world’s largest consumer goods firms

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    Unilever CEO Alan Jope photographed at the World Economic Forum in May 2022.

    Hollie Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    The CEO of consumer goods giant Unilever said Tuesday that prices would likely continue to rise in the near term, adding that his firm had a playbook for high inflation thanks to its business dealings in markets like Argentina and Turkey.

    Speaking to CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Alan Jope talked about how his firm was managing its operations in the current climate.

    “For the last 18 months we’ve seen extraordinary input cost pressure … it runs across petrochemical derived products, agricultural derived products, energy, transport, logistics,” he said.

    “It’s been feeding through for quite some time now and we’ve been accelerating the rate of price increases that we’ve had to put into the market,” he added.

    “So far, the consumer response in terms of volume softness has been very muted, the consumer has been very resilient,” Jope said.

    “We do see the prospect of higher volume elasticity as winter energy costs hit, as households’ savings levels come down and that buffer goes away and as prices continue to rise,” he said.

    Last October, Unilever published its third-quarter results for 2022, with the firm reporting price growth of 12.5%.  

    Jope was asked if he foresaw any moderation when it came to inflationary pressures. “It’s very hard to predict the future of commodity markets,” he replied.

    “Even if you press the oil major CEOs, they’ll be a little cagey on giving an outlook on energy prices.”

    Unilever’s view, he said, was that “we know for sure there’s more inflationary pressure coming through in our input costs.”

    “We might be, at the moment, around peak inflation, but probably not peak prices,” he went on to state.

    “There’s further pricing to come through, but the rate of price increases is probably peaking around now.”

    Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

    Unilever has a global footprint and owns brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s.

    During his interview with CNBC, Jope touched upon the international dimension of his business and how the experience of operating in a range of markets was steering it through the current climate.  

    “Nobody running a business at the moment has really lived through global inflation, it’s a long time since we’ve had global inflation,” he said.

    “But we’re used to high levels of inflation from doing business in places like Argentina, or Turkey, or parts of Southeast Asia,” he added.

    “So we do have a playbook, and the playbook is that it’s important to protect the shape of the P&L by landing price.”

    “And so it’s not that we’ve taken more price, we just started acting earlier than many of our peers, and the guidance that we’ve been getting from our investors is they support that and feel that that’s an appropriate action.”  

    This, Jope explained, was “something we have learned from being in these high inflationary markets, though … much of that inflation is currency weakness, historically.”

    “But now those markets are having to deal with the combination of commodity pressure and currency weakness. So our instinct is to act quickly when costs start coming through.”

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  • 68 dead, 4 missing after plane crashes in Nepal resort town

    68 dead, 4 missing after plane crashes in Nepal resort town

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    POKHARA, Nepal (AP) — A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard. At least one witness reported hearing cries for help from within the fiery wreck, the country’s deadliest airplane accident in three decades.

    Hours after dark, scores of onlookers crowded around the crash site near the airport in the resort town of Pokhara as rescue workers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below. Officials suspended the search for the four missing people overnight and planned to resume looking Monday.

    Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a raging fire.

    “The flames were so hot that we couldn’t go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldn’t help him,” Tiwari said.

    It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said.

    A witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began descending to land, watching from the terrace of his house. Finally, Gaurav Gurung said, the plane fell nose-first towards its left and crashed into the gorge.

    The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. before crashing.

    The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines, was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west. It was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

    Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site, about 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) away from Pokhara International Airport. The aircraft’s fuselage was split into multiple parts that were scattered down the gorge.

    Firefighters carried bodies, some burned beyond recognition, to hospitals where grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, family members appeared distraught as they were escorted in and at times exchanged heated words with officials as they waited for information.

    Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district, said he expected rescue workers to find more bodies at the bottom of the gorge.

    Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the crash, set up a panel to investigate the accident.

    ”The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue,” he said.

    South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it’s still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene. The Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane.

    Omar Gutiérrez, governor of Argentina’s Neuquen province, reported on his official Twitter account that an Argentine passanger on the flight was Jannet Palavecino from his province.

    The Facebook page of Palavecino says she was manager of the Hotel Suizo in Neuquen city.

    On the page, she described herself as a lover of travel, and of adventure tourism. “I am passionate about the mountains! Riding my bike in cycling. I love my garden and the countryside. I like to paint!” she wrote.

    Her account has many photos of her in the mountains.

    Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. The city’s new international airport began operations only two weeks ago.

    The type of plane involved, the ATR 72, has been used by airlines around the world for short regional flights. Introduced in the late 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, the aircraft model has been involved in several deadly accidents over the years.

    In Taiwan two earlier accidents involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircrafts happened just months apart.

    In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 flight crashed while trying to land on the scenic Penghu archipelago between Taiwan and China, killing 48 people onboard. An ATR 72-600 operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Taipei in February 2015 after one of its engines failed and the second was shut down, apparently by mistake.

    The 2015 crash, captured in dramatic footage that showed the plane striking a taxi as it hurtled out of control, killed 43, and prompted authorities to ground all Taiwanese-registered ATR 72s for some time. TransAsia ceased all flights in 2016 and later went out of business.

    ATR identified the plane involved in Sunday’s crash as an ATR 72-500 in a tweet. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the aircraft was 15 years old and “equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.” It was previously flown by India’s Kingfisher Airlines and Thailand’s Nok Air before Yeti took it over in 2019, according to records on Airfleets.net.

    Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, company spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

    Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety database, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.

    Sunday’s crash is Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

    The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepal’s aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.

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    This story corrects the surname of Omar Gutiérrez, governor of Argentina’s Neuquen province.

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    Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Elise Morton in London, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed reporting.

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    Find more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

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  • FIFA reviews chef’s ‘undue access’ to hold World Cup trophy

    FIFA reviews chef’s ‘undue access’ to hold World Cup trophy

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    ZURICH — FIFA is taking “appropriate internal action” to address breaches of World Cup protocol by a celebrity chef who held the gold trophy on the field, soccer’s governing body said Thursday.

    The chef, who is known as Salt Bae and is regularly seen with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, mingled with Argentina players and posed for photos after their victory over France in an epic game on Sunday in Qatar.

    FIFA describes the trophy as “a priceless icon” which “can only be touched and held by a very select group of people, which includes former winners of the FIFA World Cup and heads of state.”

    “Following a review, FIFA has been establishing how individuals gained undue access to the pitch after the closing ceremony at Lusail stadium on Dec. 18,” the world soccer body said. “The appropriate internal action will be taken.”

    The chef, who has a restaurant in Doha, was a regular guest of FIFA with VIP access during the World Cup and posted photos and video clips on social media.

    After Argentina’s win in a penalty shootout following a thrilling 3-3 draw, he was filmed grabbing the arm of captain Lionel Messi on the field to get his attention. The soccer great seemed irritated in the film clip though later posed for a photo that Salt Bae posted on Instagram.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • World Cup champions Argentina forced to evacuate victory parade by helicopter after being swarmed by jubilant fans

    World Cup champions Argentina forced to evacuate victory parade by helicopter after being swarmed by jubilant fans

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    A parade to celebrate the Argentine World Cup champions was abruptly cut short Tuesday as millions of people poured onto thoroughfares, highways and overpasses in a chaotic attempt to catch a glimpse of the national team that won one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time.

    So many jubilant, flag-waving fans swarmed the capital that the players had to abandon the open-air bus transporting them to Buenos Aires and get on helicopters for a flyover of the capital that the government billed as an aerial parade.

    “The world champions are flying over the whole route on helicopters because it was impossible to continue by land due to the explosion of people’s happiness,” Gabriela Cerruti, the spokesperson for President Alberto Fernández, wrote on social media.

    APTOPIX Argentina Wcup Soccer
    The Argentine soccer team that won the World Cup title ride on an open bus during their homecoming parade in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.

    Rodrigo Abd / AP


    After flying over key points of Buenos Aires where fans had gathered, the helicopters returned to the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association outside the capital.

    Some fans continued celebrating in the streets, while others headed out of Buenos Aires with long faces, complaining they were not able to pay their respects to the team that brought home the country’s first World Cup trophy since 1986.

    “We’re angry because the government didn’t organize this properly so we could all celebrate,” said Diego Benavídez, 25, who had been waiting since early morning to see the team. “They stole the World Cup from us.”

    Others, however, took it in stride.

    “I’m not disappointed, we lived the party,” said Nicolás López, 33, who was in downtown Buenos Aires with his 7-year-old daughter.

    ARGENTINA-FBL-WC-2022-FANS
    Fans of Argentina cheer as some of the team members leave on a helicopter, after parading on a bust to celebrate their win in the Qatar 2022 World Cup tournament, in Buenos Aires province, on December 20, 2022.

    TOMAS CUESTA/AFP via Getty Images


    Football association head Claudio Tapia blamed law enforcement for the change in plans. “The same security organisms that were escorting us are not allowing us to move forward,” Tapia wrote on social media. “I apologize in the name of all the champion players.”

    The bus had been moving at a snail’s pace for more than four hours through the throngs of humanity before the overland parade was cut short. Team Captain Lionel Messi and the rest of the players waved at the massive crowd as they carried the World Cup trophy aloft after securing the country’s third title.

    “This is madness, it’s indescribable,” said Brian Andreassi, 23, as he walked downtown wearing the team’s jersey. “There are no words.”

    The World Cup and the success of the Messi-led squad brought much-needed good news for a country that has been stuck in economic doldrums for years, suffers one of the world’s highest inflation rates and where nearly 4-in-10 people live in poverty.

    “There’s an immense union among all Argentines — unity, happiness. It’s as if you can breathe another air, there’s another energy in the air,” said Victoria Roldán. “My body and heart are about to burst.”

    Carrying a World Cup replica, the 32-year-old and her 36-year-old sister, Mariana, were eager to catch a glimpse of the team and in particular its captain, Messi.

    “We’re dying to see him,” Roldán said. “Seeing him with that immense smile, with those bright eyes filled with hope, it really fills our heart with joy and happiness. … I think that Leo has deserved it for years, and this was his moment.”

    Argentinians celebrate their nationâs third World Cup victory
    Argentinians celebrating their nation’s third World Cup victory, in the capital Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 20, 2022.

    Diego Radames/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


    The players were all smiles as they watched the multitudes gathered to see them, many trying to get as close as possible to the bus. An estimated 4 million people were in the streets by Tuesday afternoon, according to local media citing police sources.

    Celebrating fans took over highways, avenues and the access routes into the capital as temperatures climbed to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

    Thousands had set up camp since early Tuesday morning at the Obelisk, the iconic Buenos Aires landmark that is the traditional site of celebrations.

    “We’re a little disoriented because we don’t know the bus route and a little frustrated because we traveled so many kilometers and may not be able to see them,” said Giselle Pisani, 34, who traveled 350 kilometers (220 miles) with her family from the town of Olavarria.

    The Argentine president declared a national holiday Tuesday so the country could celebrate the World Cup victory.

    The song “Muchachos,” which was written by a fan and became a popular unofficial anthem for the Argentine team at the World Cup, filled the streets as fans joined in singing it over and over again.

    Some fans also paid tribute to Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, the captain of the 1986 squad that won the World Cup and who died two years ago, with flags bearing his name and face. “This is for Diego, who’s seeing it from heaven,” fans chanted.

    “This is a party. The last time Argentina was a champion I was 3 years old, I don’t remember anything,” said Yael Torchinsky, 39. “I want to live this intensely because the Argentine people need this happiness.”

    Argentinians celebrate their nationâs third World Cup victory
    Argentinians celebrating their nation’s third World Cup victory, in the capital Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 20, 2022. On Sunday, Lionel Messi-led Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties in Qatar to bag the nation’s third FIFA World Cup title.

    Mariano Gabriel Sanchez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


    By mid-afternoon, fans started filling up Plaza de Mayo in front of Government House, amid rumors the players might go there for a reprise of the festivities for Argentina’s 1986 World Cup victory that were held there. Fernández’s administration had offered the palatial mansion, popularly known as the Casa Rosada, or Pink House, according to Security Minister Aníbal Fernández.

    The raucous welcome for the team began before dawn as thousands of fans lined up to greet them upon their return from Qatar.

    The players were beaming as they descended from their plane in Ezeiza, outside Argentina’s capital, shortly before 3 a.m. onto a red carpet. Messi was the first one out, carrying the World Cup trophy, flanked by coach Lionel Scaloni, who put his arm around the captain as they walked past a sign that read, “Thank you, champions.”

    The team was welcomed by rock band La Mosca singing “Muchachos,” and several players, including Messi, could be seen singing the words as they boarded the bus taking them to the Argentine Football Association headquarters.

    It took the bus an hour to travel the 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the airport to AFA headquarters, where the players were welcomed with fireworks, and then spent the night. In the morning, Messi posted a photo on social media showing him hugging the World Cup trophy next to him while he slept.

    Several players also posted photos of the plane ride on social media. In one, Nicolás Tagliafico posted an image of the World Cup trophy buckled into an airplane seat as if it were just another passenger.

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  • People Are Calling Out Salt Bae For Surrounding Argentina’s Team At World Cup

    People Are Calling Out Salt Bae For Surrounding Argentina’s Team At World Cup

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    Celebrity butcher and restaurateur Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bae, apparently left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths after he surrounded Argentina’s soccer team on the field after their World Cup victory on Sunday.

    The restaurateur was also captured holding the World Cup trophy in videos online, and in a photo he posted on his Instagram account on Monday. One video showed Gökçe grabbing Argentina team captain Lionel Messi by the arm as the soccer star tried walking away — although the famous butcher posted another clip on his Instagram Story on Monday that showed Messi shaking his hand.

    It apparently wasn’t the first time the soccer star met Gökçe; in 2018 the butcher was captured preparing a steak for Messi in a YouTube video.

    People on Twitter accused Gökçe of being intrusive and trying to steal the spotlight from Argentina’s team as they celebrated their momentous win. Other Twitter users wondered why he had such close access to the team, and whether he was even allowed to hold the trophy, which “can only be touched and held by a very select group of people,” according to the FIFA website.

    FIFA did not immediately return a request for comment.

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  • Huge crowds welcome Argentina team after World Cup victory

    Huge crowds welcome Argentina team after World Cup victory

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    BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Thousands of fans lined up in the middle of the night to try to get a glimpse of the Argentina soccer team that won one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time ahead what is scheduled to be a day of celebrations in Buenos Aires.

    Members of the team, led by captain Lionel Messi, were all smiles as they descended from the plane in Ezeiza, right outside Argentina’s capital, shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday onto a red carpet that had been rolled out for the squad.

    Messi was the first player from the plane carrying the World Cup, flanked by coach Lionel Scaloni, who put his arm around the captain as they walked past a sign that read, “Thank you, champions.”

    The players were welcomed by rock band La Mosca singing “Muchachos,” a song that was written by a fan to the tune of an old song by the band and became a popular unofficial anthem for Argentine fans at the World Cup in Qatar.

    The newly crowned champions of the world boarded an open top bus and several, including Messi, could be seen singing the words to “Muchachos” while they waited for everyone to get on to travel to the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association.

    The bus moved at a snail’s pace as fans, many of whom were waving Argentine flags, swarmed the bus on a highway, eager for a glimpse of the players as law enforcement officers tried to keep them at bay.

    Throughout the trip, Messi held on the World Cup as players waved to fans and often sang along with them.

    It took the bus around one hour to travel approximately 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the airport to AFA headquarters, where the players were welcomed with fireworks.

    They will sleep at AFA headquarters for a few hours before boarding the bus later Tuesday to the Obelisk, the iconic Buenos Aires landmark that was a sea of people Sunday afternoon after the team won the country’s third World Cup, and its first since 1986.

    President Alberto Fernández declared a national holiday Tuesday so the country could celebrate the victory.

    The day after the streets of Argentina turned into massive parties following the Sunday victory, many kept a close eye on the flight that brought the players home to celebrate. As the plane got closer to Argentine soil, almost 200,000 people were tracking its path online and news channels gave live coverage of the arrival.

    In the afternoon, people started arriving at the airport and outside the AFA headquarters in hopes of getting a glimpse of the team.

    Many were also already at the Obelisk, seemingly ready to spend the night there to ensure a prime spot for Tuesday’s festivities.

    Several players posted photos of the plane ride on social media.

    Messi held the World Cup on the plane. Nicolás Tagliafico, meanwhile, posted a photo of the World Cup buckled into an airplane seat as if it were just another passenger.

    As of early Tuesday morning there were no official plans for Fernández, or any other political leaders, to take part in the celebrations despite earlier rumors that the players would go to Government House, which was offered up for the celebrations, according to Security Minister Aníbal Fernández.

    The World Cup and the success of the Messi-led squad has brought much-needed good news for a country that has been stuck in economic doldrums for years, is suffering one of the world’s highest inflation rates and where almost four-in-10 people live in poverty.

    Fernández retweeted several messages of congratulations for the World Cup victory from other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    “Thank you for this greeting President Putin,” Fernández wrote on Twitter after a telephone call with the Russian leader. “Let the happiness that today unites Argentina with so many countries in the world serve as an example: Our societies need unity and peace.”

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  • World Cup champion Argentina returns home to a jubilant Buenos Aires | CNN

    World Cup champion Argentina returns home to a jubilant Buenos Aires | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad arrived home to a jubilant Buenos Aires in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with massive crowds lining the streets and cheering their champions’ return.

    Captain Lionel Messi stepped off the plane first, holding the gold trophy aloft, followed by his triumphant team onto a red carpet at the airport, greeted by reporters, officials and a live band.

    As the team bus departed the airport, it was immediately swarmed by cheering supporters dressed in the national colors of blue and white. Videos show the bus inching forward slowly behind a police escort, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving the Argentine flag and setting off firecrackers in the night.

    The air was filled with cheers as the crowd sang and danced; the players, standing on the open top deck, waved to their adoring supporters.

    Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to line the streets of the capital later on Tuesday, which has been declared a national holiday, for the team’s victory parade following their thrilling penalty shootout victory over France in Qatar on Sunday.

    The team will first spend the night at the Argentine Football Association’s training ground, according to state media agency Télam.

    Crowds of supporters had camped out at the training site on Monday ahead of the team’s arrival, with photos showing fans spilling out of cars parked on its grounds. Some laid on blankets on the grass while others lounged on picnic chairs around coolers.

    The team’s highly-anticipated return continues several days of nonstop celebration across the country and among fans overseas, following Argentina’s explosive win against France.

    Lionel Messi leads the Argentina team as they step off the plane in Buenos Aires on December 20.

    Argentina players wave from the top of a bus after their arrival in Buenos Aires.

    Superstars Messi and Kylian Mbappé faced off on the pitch, in what has widely been called the greatest World Cup final of all time.

    Mbappé was defending France’s 2018 win at the tournament in Russia, while 35-year-old Messi was playing in his final World Cup match, looking to claim the trophy which had eluded him for so long.

    Argentina took an early lead in the first half – but France roared back in the second half, reaching a 2-2 tie that forced the match into extra time.

    Fans gather outside the Argentine Football Association's training ground ahead of the team's arrival.

    Argentina fans wave flags outside the national men's team training ground ahead of their arrival in Buenos Aires.

    Messi scored his second goal of the match to restore his team’s lead – but Mbappé scored a second penalty to grab his hat-trick and take the final to a penalty shootout, which ended with triumph for Argentina after France missed two shots.

    Hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Buenos Aires after the World Cup triumph, flooding the central 9 de Julio Avenue. Social media videos showed jubilant fans climbing on top of street poles to wave the Argentine flag; others on the ground danced, sang and chanted in celebration.

    The triumph in Doha was Argentina’s third World Cup win and its first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the team to victory in Mexico.

    Sunday’s win also marked a change in fortunes for Argentina after three recent defeats in major finals – the 2014 World Cup, and the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.

    Fans gather in Buenos Aires on December 19.

    Those losses prompted Messi at one point to announce his retirement from international football – though the almost-unanimous national outcry convinced him to reverse track, before wining the Copa América in 2021.

    Now, with the World Cup also under his belt, Messi has cemented his status as one of the all-time soccer greats alongside Maradona and Brazil’s Pelé.

    “I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match Sunday, according to Reuters.

    “I am proud of the work they did,” he added, fighting back tears as he was embraced by his players. “I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”

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  • Fans to welcome French team in Paris after World Cup loss

    Fans to welcome French team in Paris after World Cup loss

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    PARIS — Fans are set to welcome the France team in central Paris on Monday evening after its loss against Argentina in in one of the greatest finals in World Cup history.

    Kylian Mbappé and his teammates, who left Qatar on Monday, are expected to go to Place de la Concorde in the evening to greet supporters, according to a statement from the French Football Federation.

    In contrast with 2018, when France won the World Cup in Russia, the players will not have a parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue.

    In his first message published on Instagram and Twitter following Sunday’s defeat, Mbappé posted a photo of himself, head down, behind the World Cup trophy with the message: “We will be back.”

    More than 24 million people — eight out of 10 viewers — watched the final on French TF1 television, a record high.

    France played its part in one of the most memorable finishes in World Cup history, even though the defending champions failed to retain the title. Mbappé’s hat trick of goals helped give France a 3-3 draw with Argentina after extra time, leading to a penalty shootout.

    ———

    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Argentina erupts in ‘pure joy’ over World Cup win after 36 years

    Argentina erupts in ‘pure joy’ over World Cup win after 36 years

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    Football is more than a game, they say. On Sunday, that truism came alive in the heart of Buenos Aires.

    It was visible on the faces of the young men and women whooping from atop traffic lights, in dancing little girls with the nation’s flags painted on their cheeks, and in elderly men fighting back tears. In the embraces between strangers. The anthems that hovered over the city. The simultaneous pulsating of a sea of people to the drums of victory.

    Football is hope, and hope is contagious.

    Argentina’s hard-fought World Cup win over France in Qatar has triggered an outpouring of emotions in the South American country. Joy and relief are competing with deep gratitude to the national team led by Lionel Messi who was finally able to hoist the one coveted trophy that had eluded him. It was Argentina’s first World Cup victory since 1986 when Diego Maradona led the country to glory.

    “Bien, Argentina, bien,” one man said quietly to himself, as he looked around at the throngs descending on the Obelisco de Buenos Aires – the capital’s iconic landmark – to celebrate the victory.

    “It really is a sensation like no other,” said Marilé Oviedo, 32. “It’s happiness. That’s what it is.”

    Argentina fans celebrate winning the World Cup at the Obelisco with fireworks [Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters]

    Tens of thousands of people flowed through the arteries of the nation’s capital towards the obelisk, chanting, singing, jumping and dancing under giant flags stretched across the width of entire avenues.

    Anthems reverberated off the ornate balconies of Sante Fe Avenue, paying homage to Messi and the spirit of Maradona – who passed away two years ago – who many believe was looking down upon them today.

    “Soy Argentino! Es un sentimiento que no puedo parar!” they sang. “I’m Argentinian! It’s a feeling I can’t contain.”

    The World Cup final was as dramatic as they come. Argentina dominated play for most of the regulation 90 minutes, until French phenom Kylian Mbappé sunk two goals within a minute to draw his side level. A thrilling period of extra time followed, in which each side managed to score a goal, leading to the excruciating penalty kicks and the brilliance of Argentina keeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez in stopping two shots.

    Messi had said before the tournament that this would be his last World Cup, although after this victory he told an Argentinian media outlet that he wasn’t done with the national squad just yet.

    martinez
    Penalty shootout hero, Emiliano Martinez, won the tournament’s Golden Glove [File: Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

    The victory set off a wave of euphoria across Argentina, where people have been struggling with an economic crisis and inflation at nearly 100 percent this year. The World Cup was, for many, a necessary reprieve from an otherwise brutal 2022 that had left people disillusioned and exhausted.

    Near the obelisk, people climbed on top of bus shelters, scaled the foliage of a giant BA sign, set off firecrackers and sung the de facto Argentina World Cup anthem, Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar (Boys, now we’re excited again) on loop.

    The phrase “World Champions” was projected on the obelisk, and a giant banner in the form of a jersey was unfurled down the resplendent Teatro Colón opera house. In Messi’s hometown of Rosario, neighbours gathered around his childhood home with flags and horns.

    President Alberto Fernandez said he had no words to describe the moment, except to say, on Twitter: “Always together, always united”.

    The team was also congratulated by leaders around the world on Twitter. “Your joy crosses the Andes,” wrote Chilean President Gabriel Boric. “This will be remembered as one of the most thrilling football matches!”  tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The team will return to Buenos Aires on Monday, where crowds are expected to gather again to welcome their heroes – much like they did when the team won the Copa America tournament last year.

    Arrangements are under way for official celebrations although local media are reporting that the team will avoid the obelisk and the presidential palace out of safety concerns because of the sheer number of people who will likely want to join in.

    “We’re seeing an incredible effervescence, a display of pure joy,” said Mario Guarella, 80, who came out of his apartment on Santa Fe Avenue to get closer to the thousands of people marching to the obelisk. “It’s the culmination of all that sacrifice and effort.”

    His eyes welled up with tears, talking about what it meant to his country to have won the trophy. “I’m feeling unity that I hope can serve to end the divide in our society,” he said. “The light blue and white is bringing us together, like it always has.”

    María José Zeni, 43, with her toy poodle Carlitos in her arms, said she cried for almost the entire game. “We always have to suffer in order to enjoy it even more,” she said, standing on Santa Fe Avenue. “I’m happy for Messi, for the team, and for all Argentinians. We always have to struggle for things. Finally, this is some joy.”

    Rodrigo Ronchetti, 40, was out with his family, marvelling at the endless stream of people hoping to get to the obelisk. He was quite certain his family wouldn’t make it there – crowds had started gathering the previous night in anticipation.

    In a stroller, his daughter Amanda, not even a year old, squirmed in her Argentina jersey onesie. “Best day of her life,” he said, smiling.

    Though Messi said he isn’t done playing for the national side, there is a sense among many Argentinians that the end of an era is near.

    Argentina's captain and forward #10 Lionel Messi lifts the FIFA World Cup Trophy during the trophy ceremony after Argentina won the Qatar 2022 World Cup final football match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 18, 2022. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
    The 35-year-old forward, Lionel Messi, lifts the World Cup trophy [Adrian Dennis/ AFP] (AFP)

    “I don’t know if we’re ever going to see someone like that again,” said Rubén Barrionuevo, 42, watching from the sidelines in Buenos Aires. He took comfort in the fact that the next generation is in the wings.

    “There are lots of kids on the little neighbourhood pitches that play really well. One day, someone is going to come out of there.”

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  • Argentina leads France 3-2 in extra time of World Cup final

    Argentina leads France 3-2 in extra time of World Cup final

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    Argentina took a 3-2 lead against France, the defending champion, at the 2022 World Cup final in Lusail, Qatar, on Sunday. The game had headed into 30 extra minutes in a 2-2 tie. 

    The anticipated match marked Lionel Messi‘s last World Cup game, as the popular Argentinian athlete announced after his team’s win against Croatia in last week’s semi-finals.

    Argentina started off strong in Sunday’s match, and had gained a 2-0 lead over France by half-time. Both Messi and Angel Di Maria scored goals during the first half of the game, with Messi scoring on a 23rd-minute penalty kick after a foul on Di Maria. Thirteen minutes later, Di Maria scored after finishing off a five-pass team move involving a deft flick from Messi. France’s Kylian Mbappé scored his team’s first goal in the 71st minute, and quickly followed up with another.

    Di Maria, who started for the first time since sustaining a foot injury during Argentina’s match against Poland in the final round of group games, took the place of Leandro Paredes in the midfield as the team again rolled out a 4-4-2 formation, with Messi leading as one of two forwards. Mbappé started up front for France alongside Olivier Giroud, who had overcome a minor knee injury. Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot also started after having previously been replaced by Ibrahima Konaté and Youssouf Fofana, respectively, due to illness.

    Messi now has 12 World Cup goals — the same as Brazilian icon Pelé — and is the first player to score in the group stage and every round of the knockout stage in a single edition of the tournament.

    Argentina v France: Final - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
    Kylian Mbappe of France scores the team’s first goal from the penalty spot past Emiliano Martinez of Argentina during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar.

    RG – E – IVILL / Getty Images


    The player’s appearance at the World Cup, for the 26th time, was a record in itself, breaking what was previously a tie with Germany’s Lothar Matthäus. Those matches have been spread over five World Cups, beginning in 2006. Messi’s 12 goals mean he is tied with Pelé in sixth place for most World Cup goals scored by a single player in the tournament’s history.

    Among the cheering crowds filling the stands at Lusail stadium on Sunday was French President Emmanuel Macron. About 45 minutes before kickoff, Macron was seen chatting in the VIP section with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who played for four seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, and France midfielder Paul Pogba, who has had to watch the entire World Cup from the sidelines due to an injury.

    Pogba scored in the final when France won the 2018 World Cup but was not fit for selection at this tournament. Macron also attended the final four years ago, when France beat Croatia 4-2, and later celebrated with players in the locker room.

    The World Cup champions will earn $42 million in prize money for their soccer federation while the losing team in the final will get $30 million from a FIFA prize fund of $440 million.

    Not all of the money goes to players, but they are expected to receive a substantial portion. French players such as Kylian Mbappé are in line to be paid a bonus of 554,000 euros (or $586,000) by their federation for winning the final, French sports daily L’Equipe reported.

    Third-place team Croatia earned $27 million in prize money and Morocco, which ended in fourth place, will be paid $25 million.

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  • Live updates | Argentina plays France in World Cup final

    Live updates | Argentina plays France in World Cup final

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    LUSAIL, Qatar — The Latest from the World Cup final between Argentina and France:

    ———

    The World Cup final is heading into extra time with Argentina and France level at 2-2. Two goals by Kylian Mbappé toward the end of the second half have put the defending champions back in the game.

    ———

    Kylian Mbappé has made it 2-2. Just one minute after scoring on the penalty the France forward strikes again, on a volley.

    ———

    Kylian Mbappé has scored on a penalty kick for France. Argentina is still in the lead 2-1.

    ———

    The second half of the final at Lusail Stadium has begun.

    ———

    Argentina has a 2-0 lead against France at half-time in the World Cup final after goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria.

    Messi scored on a 23rd-minute penalty kick after a foul on Di Maria. Thirteen minutes later Di Maria finished off a flowing team move involving a deft flick from Messi.

    Messi now has 12 World Cup goals — the same as Brazil great Pelé — and is the first player to score in the group stage and every round of the knockout stage in a single edition of the tournament.

    ———

    Angel Di Maria has made it 2-0 for Argentina in the World Cup final.

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    Lionel Messi has scored on a penalty to make it 1-0 for Argentina against France. It was Messi’s 12th World Cup goal.

    ———

    Lionel Messi is making a record 26th appearance at the World Cup, breaking a tie with Germany great Lothar Matthäus.

    Messi’s games have been spread over five World Cups, starting in 2006. He has 11 goals in total, tied for sixth in the all-time list.

    Messi has said this is likely to be his last World Cup.

    ———

    The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and defending champion France has started.

    ———

    French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived at Lusail stadium for the World Cup final.

    About 45 minutes before kickoff, Macron was chatting in the VVIP section with Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who played for four seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, and France midfielder Paul Pogba, who has had to watch the entire World Cup from the sidelines due to an injury.

    Pogba scored in the final when France won the 2018 World Cup but was not fit for selection at this tournament.

    Macron also attended the final four years ago, when France beat Croatia 4-2, and later celebrated with players in the locker room.

    ———

    The closing ceremony for the World Cup featured artists from around the world performing songs from the official soundtrack of the tournament in Qatar.

    The performers at Lusail stadium included Nigerian singer Davido and Qatari-based songwriter Aisha, Congolese artist Gims and Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Ozuna.

    The show, featuring fireworks and a light show, was meant to celebrate the world coming together for the monthlong tournament in the Gulf emirate.

    ———

    Lionel Messi will lead an Argentina team containing Angel Di Maria, who starts for the first time since sustaining a foot injury against Poland in the final round of group games.

    Di Maria takes the place of Leandro Paredes in midfield as Argentina again rolls out a 4-4-2 formation, with Messi one of the two forwards. Nicolas Tagliafico is preferred to Marcos Acuña at left back.

    Kylian Mbappé starts up front for France alongside Olivier Giroud, who has overcome a minor knee injury. Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot come in for Ibrahima Konaté and Youssouf Fofana, respectively.

    ———

    The lineups for the World Cup final:

    Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Julián Álvarez, Lionel Messi.

    France: Hugo Lloris; Jules Koundé, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurélien Tchouaméni, Antoine Griezmann, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud.

    ———

    Blue, white and red face paint is being applied and Champagne is on ice as France collectively crosses fingers and toes in hopes that Les Bleus will win their third World Cup title by beating Argentina.

    French TV carried live images of the France team leaving its hotel in Qatar en route for the championship match and of the players arriving at the stadium. Among them, a smiling Kylian Mbappé looked particularly relaxed.

    In Paris, the Metro operator marked the momentous occasion by temporarily renaming one of its stations, changing the stop “Argentina” to “Argentina-France, let’s go les Bleus!”

    Players past and present sent messages of support.

    “Playing a World Cup final is a childhood dream. Let’s go and get this third star! Allez les Bleus!” Zinedine Zidane posted on Instagram.

    Striker Karim Benzema, the Ballon d’Or winner who missed this World Cup with a torn left-thigh muscle, posted: “The hour is come. All together. Let’s go.”

    ———

    World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak is the first from Poland to handle the title game.

    Marciniak, 41, missed working at the European Championship last year due to a heart problem.

    “Only I and my team know how difficult of a time it was for me,” Marciniak said of his Tachycardia illness from which he has now recovered.

    Marciniak has refereed both finalists already in Qatar. He handled France’s 2-1 win over Denmark in Group D and Argentina’s 2-1 win against Australia in the round of 16.

    One of his assistants in the final is following in his father’s touchline steps. Tomasz Listkiewicz will hold a flag as an assistant running the line just as his father Michal did at the 1990 final in Rome, when defending champion Argentina lost 1-0 to West Germany.

    ———

    The World Cup champions will earn $42 million in prize money for their soccer federation while the losing team in the final will get $30 million from a FIFA prize fund of $440 million.

    Not all the money goes to players, but they are expected to get a good chunk of it. France players such as Kylian Mbappé are in line to be paid a bonus of 554,000 euros ($586,000) by their federation for winning the final, French sports daily L’Equipe reported.

    Third-place team Croatia earned $27 million in prize money and Morocco, which ended up in fourth, will be paid $25 million.

    ———

    Argentines woke up ready to watch the national team play for its third World Cup title amid a national feeling of unity and joy that is rare for a country that has been engulfed in an economic crisis for years and has one of the worst inflation rates in the world.

    Argentina will face France in the final in Qatar and fan Guillermo Ortiz says “the whole city is dressed with the flag.”

    Argentina last reached the World Cup final in 2014 but lost to Germany. Everyone in the country agrees the sense of anticipation and excitement for this year’s game is far higher than it ever was for that match in Brazil.

    ———

    It’s now or never for Lionel Messi.

    The Argentina superstar’s once-in-a-generation career will be defined — for many — by whether he leads his country to the World Cup title.

    Can he finally, at the age of 35, win soccer’s biggest prize to secure his place alongside Pelé and Diego Maradona in the pantheon of the game’s greatest ever players?

    Standing in his way is France, the defending champion, and Kylian Mbappé, the player best positioned to take over from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s marquee name.

    That’s if he hasn’t already.

    ———

    Argentina arguably has the World Cup’s most fervent fans.

    They are known for their rhythmical singing, incessant drumming and trance-like ferocity, and the country’s history of success at the World Cup is rivaled by few.

    Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 and lost in the final three times. This fervor will only grow as Lionel Messi leads Argentina against defending champion France in the final in Qatar.

    Argentines take pride in the intensity and they are proud to be known for it around the world. They care deeply about soccer and they are among the best in the world at it.

    ———

    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • For Lionel Messi, now is all

    For Lionel Messi, now is all

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    Doha, Qatar – “Now is all” is a trademark phrase used by Qatar 2022 organisers. On Sunday, it could not be more apt.

    The stage for a grand farewell is set at Lusail Stadium. The audience numbers will be touching 89,000. Billions across the world will be watching.

    On paper and the pitch, Argentina will take on France in the World Cup 2022 final at Lusail Stadium. But for the majority, it has been advertised as a Messi show. He’s slated to be the conductor of football’s greatest show reaching its finale, and the boy from Rosario reaching the pinnacle of his career.

    That’s what the script says, at least.

    Sunday’s culmination of the first World Cup to take place in the Middle East will be Messi’s last outing at the tournament. It’s not so much that he wants to leave that indelible mark on this tournament – and emulate the great Diego Maradona – it’s that he, and the millions following him across the world, want the World Cup to be Messi’s World Cup, his last, his best, his only.

    The episodes preceding this finale have certainly highlighted that storyline and pointed to that very happy ending (not for France, of course).

    Messi scored in Argentina’s first match at Qatar 2022 – a shock loss to Saudi Arabia.

    Messi scored in the most recent – a stunning humbling of last year’s finalists Croatia.

    In between, he scored three more and provided an assist that not only re-affirmed his status, his stature and his giant-like presence but also sent non-believers to put their pot of gold next to the blue and white stripes.

    “It’s only Messi, wallah (by God), it’s only Messi,” said Mohammad Nahawi, a Brazil supporter left in awe of Messi after the Argentinian’s spectacle against Croatia in the semifinal.

    “I support Brazil but I love Messi. This guy, wallah. It’s 99.9 percent him and 0.01 percent the rest of the players [on the team]. Nobody can stop this guy.”

    Messi’s is a tragic story, one of incomplete dreams, unfulfilled desires and of heights he dreams of. But for Sunday, the stage is set, the script is written and the grass is being watered. It may very well be the that dream will be complete, the desires fulfilled, the heights achieved.

    The ball dances to his tune, so should the sport. But it hasn’t yet. Not until he lifts the trophy that matters the most, to him, to the country, to those billions wearing the number 10 stripes and singing his name across Rosario, Kerala, Dhaka, Bangkok, and Doha.

    “Pfft, no words for him, he’s Messi,” Dong, who travelled to Qatar from China to watch Messi play, said. “He’s been just.. so perfect. And he’s showed us those god-like moments. You can’t stop him, no way. Argentina will be champions and Messi will lift the trophy.”

    There has been an extraordinary demand for Messi’s number 10 shirts as he powered his way to the final. It was sold out in some countries and running low in others.

    The demand was such that Adidas issued a statement saying the company was “working to get more jerseys to fans so they can celebrate an incredible journey for the national team”.

    “He’s the special one, the best one, the crazy one, call him what you will, he’s the one,” said Federico who was born in Rosario, the city that gave the world Messi.

    “Nobody can take the ball from him, he’s just in that place right now. He’s having his best World Cup and we’re so proud of him and what he’s done so far.”

    As the final whistle blew in the semifinal against Croatia, Messi stood alone at the halfway line on the pitch. He looked up, looked down, and hunched over before going into a bear hug with the substitutes.

    He realised he was within touching distance of fulfilling his dream, the dream of a nation and the millions wearing the blue and white stripes with 10 on the back.

    France have already lost once in this tournament. But they want to become only the third side to win back-to-back world cups (Italy 1934 and 1938, Brazil 1958 and 1962) so a win will not be handed over on a plate.

    It can’t just be about Messi at Lusail Stadium on Sunday. But having seen the trail he’s left behind in the last month or so, and how the peacefulness of a late November evening was destroyed with utter disdain by Argentina fans celebrating his goal against Mexico, it might very well be.

    Messi is the joint top-scorer at World Cup 2022 wiht five goals [Paul Childs/Reuters]

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  • Key players in World Cup final between France and Argentina

    Key players in World Cup final between France and Argentina

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    DOHA, Qatar — Lionel Messi will line up for Argentina and Kylian Mbappé will be on the opposite side for France on Sunday in the World Cup final.

    Messi has been there before, but lost in the 2014 final to Germany. Mbappé won the 2018 title after scoring a goal against Croatia.

    However, neither will be able to win the gold trophy entirely on their own at Lusail Stadium.

    Here is a look at some of the key players on both teams, and their coaches:

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    LIONEL MESSI

    The 35-year-old Messi is the heart and soul of the Argentina team, the tournament’s co-leading scorer with five goals and tied for the most assists with three. Look for the Paris Saint-Germain forward to burst into creative life when he sees a chance to make something happen. A World Cup title would finally complete Messi’s elevation alongside Diego Maradona to icon status.

    JULIAN ALVAREZ

    Alvarez made it off the bench to replace Lautaro Martinez as the World Cup progressed and scored four goals in four starts with Argentina. The 22-year-old Machester City player is a powerful runner who created a perfect partnership with Messi in the 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinals.

    EMILIANO MARTINEZ

    Martinez is an imposing 6-foot-4 goalkeeper with a personality to match his stature. “Dibu” would be favored if the final goes to a penalty shootout. The 30-year-old Aston Villa keeper made key saves in Argentina’s shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and in last year’s Copa America semifinals.

    NAHUEL MOLINA

    Molina is an energetic fullback with the toughness expected of any Argentina defender. The 24-year-old Atletico Madrid defender also has attacking instincts. He received the no-look pass of the tournament from Messi to score against the Netherlands.

    ENZO FERNANDEZ

    Fernandez started the tournament as a substitute but was in the team to stay after scoring with his fast feet and a curling shot in Argentina’s victory over Mexico. The 21-year-old Benfica player anchors the center of midfield and will be trying to stop Antoine Griezmann’s forward forays.

    LIONEL SCALONI

    Scaloni was an assistant coach at the 2018 World Cup — when Argentina exited in the round of 16 against France – and is now an unheralded success in the top job. He brought a 35-game unbeaten run to Qatar that included ending a long wait for a Copa America last year. The 44-year-old Scaloni has succeeded in surrounding Messi with a midfield that lets him flourish.

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    KYLIAN MBAPPE

    Mbappé is France’s fastest, most dynamic scoring threat on the field. The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward is tied with Messi with a World Cup-leading five goals. A standout game against Argentina will place him among the all-time greats.

    ANTOINE GRIEZMANN

    The 31-year-old Griezmann has been a revelation for France at this year’s World Cup. Once a goal-scoring winger, the Atletico Madrid forward has added relentless defensive protection to his creative craft. A duel could develop with Messi between the lines of Argentina’s attack.

    HUGO LLORIS

    The 35-year-old Tottenham goalkeeper is poised to become the first-ever captain of two World Cup-winning teams. A quiet-spoken leader by example, he now holds France’s all-time appearance record.

    RAPHAEL VARANE

    At his third World Cup, the 29-year-old Varane is a fixture in the center of a France defense that keeps changing because of injury and illness. The four-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid is back to near his elegant best after an injury scare in October.

    AURELIEN TCHOUAMENI

    Tchouaméni arrived on the world stage ahead of schedule in the midfield role Paul Pogba had for France four years ago. He matched Pogba’s shooting power with his goal against England. Learning at Real Madrid this season, after spurning Mbappé’s urging to go to PSG, should prepare the 22-year-old midfielder for facing Argentina.

    DIDIER DESCHAMPS

    In his 11th year as France coach, Deschamps can become only the second man to lead two World Cup-winning teams and the first since 1938. The 54-year-old Deschamps has integrated inexperienced players to replace injured veterans without losing any of his team’s typical calm assurance.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Messi, Mbappe, other leading storylines for World Cup Final

    Messi, Mbappe, other leading storylines for World Cup Final

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    DOHA, Qatar — Lionel Messi’s last chance. Kylian Mbappé’s shot at emulating Pelé. A third World Cup title for either Argentina or France.

    Sunday’s final is rich with storylines as the 22nd edition of the World Cup ends with a title match fit for the occasion.

    Here are five things to know about the final:

    MESSI’S MOMENT

    Is Lionel Messi the greatest soccer player of all time? The debate will rage forever because there can never be a definitive answer. Some — especially younger soccer fans — think so, while others will point to Pelé and Diego Maradona, particularly because they won the World Cup — the sport’s ultimate prize. It is why, to many, Messi needs to win the World Cup to join Pelé and Maradona in the pantheon of the greatest ever players, even if deciding who is No. 1, 2 and 3 comes down to individual choice. Argentines would still be split between Maradona and Messi. And there have been striking similarities between them as Messi displays the kind of relentless brilliance and fighting spirit shown by Maradona when leading the team to the title in 1986. Messi is heading into his second World Cup final, having been on the losing team in 2014 when he was contained well by Germany except for one chance that he dragged wide in the second half. Can he seize his chance this time in likely his final appearance on soccer’s biggest stage?

    MBAPPE’S DOUBLE?

    Mbappé might not have won the biggest prize in club soccer — the Champions League — but he is taking the international game by storm and is one victory away from winning back-to-back World Cups by the age of 23. He can emulate Pelé’s achievement in winning his first two World Cups — not just that but leading the team as its star player. Mbappé is soccer’s latest superstar, leading the new wave of talent in the game after 15 years of domination from Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It will be regarded as a real baton-passing moment if Mbappé wins the World Cup at the expense of the 35-year-old Messi.

    THIRD TITLE

    Both Argentina and France are looking to win the World Cup for the third time. It would leave the winning team in outright fourth place on the all-time list, behind Brazil (five), Germany and Italy (both four). Three of Germany’s titles were won by West Germany (1954, 1974 and 1990). A victory for France would rubber-stamp its status as the dominant national team of this generation, with its previous titles coming in 1998 and 2018. Argentina won its titles in 1978 and 1986. Both of the countries won their first World Cup title when hosting the tournament.

    DESCHAMPS’ TREBLE

    Deschamps has already won the World Cup as a player (1998) and a coach (2018), like Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer. Neither Zagallo nor Beckenbauer won it twice as a coach, though Zagallo did achieve that feat twice as a player to make him a three-time career champion. History beckons, then, for Deschamps, who was an industrious, deep-lying midfielder as a player — once referred to as “The Water Carrier” by French player Eric Cantona because of his ability to stifle attacks from opponents and then pass the ball simply to more creative players around him. Pragmatism is the key to his coaching style as well, with France renowned at both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups for defending compactly, hitting teams on the break and being clinical with its finishing. In Russia four years ago, France averaged 48% possession in matches and averaged six shots on goal per match — the second lowest at the tournament. In Qatar, France — hurt by injuries to key players — might not have been the best team but it is the most efficient. “I’m not the most important person,” Deschamps said. “It’s the French team.”

    GOLDEN BOOT

    Four players are in realistic contention to win the Golden Boot, the award given to the top scorer at the World Cup. Of course, Messi and Mbappé are among them. They each have five goals so far, one more than Argentina striker Julián Álvarez and France center forward Olivier Giroud. According to tournament regulations, if two or more players are tied on goals and have played the same number of games, the one with the most assists takes the prize. FIFA’s technical study group will decide what counts as an assist. Of the four players in contention, Messi currently leads the way with three assists, one more than Mbappé. No player has scored more than six goals at a World Cup since Brazil striker Ronaldo had eight in 2002.

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    Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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