🚨🗣 Salah on the match officiating:
"The less I say about it, the better. I don't want to end up with a hefty fine from FIFA... but you know what it is." 🇪🇬🇦🇷
This is a face of a man who is used to being fouled every time week in week out and knows he won’t get anything by referees because his name is Mohamed Salah.
Feel sorry for Egypt, they were not just playing against 11 men they were playing against a whole corrupt institution which goes beyond this football game.
Incredible Egyptian goal is disallowed because of a foul far away, then same situation a few minutes later and goal for Argentina not disallowed! No VAR, nothing? FIFA again looks like a corrupt joke, playing favorites for stars.
Jose Mourinho:
“The Portugal players are full of selfish and overrated players. How can you claim to have three of the best midfielders in the world and not create a single goal-scoring opportunity in the whole 90 minutes? Ronaldo made several runs inside the box but received no passes. He was all alone inside the 18-yard box, yet no crosses or passes reached him. I think Ronaldo’s teammates were the reason they didn’t progress to the quarter-finals.”
🚨Zlatan Ibrahimović on Spain eliminating Portugal from the FIFA World Cup:
🗣️ “Portugal should be ashamed of that performance. Not because they lost to Spain, but because they never played like a team that wanted to win. They had Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, one of the greatest goalscorers football has ever seen, yet they spent most of the game passing sideways, backwards and taking the easy option. If you are going to start Ronaldo, then have the courage to play for him. Instead, they looked selfish, predictable and completely out of ideas.
Bruno Fernandes is one of the most talented creators in football, but talent means nothing if you don’t use it correctly. Too many times he looked for another pass instead of putting the ball where it hurts defenders. Ronaldo was making runs, asking for crosses, waiting inside the box, and the service never came. What is the point of having the best finisher if you refuse to feed him? That is not football intelligence.
Spain deserve enormous credit because they kept believing until the very end. They moved the ball with patience, controlled the rhythm and waited for Portugal to make one mistake. Mikel Merino punished them when the moment arrived. That is the difference between a team with a clear identity and a team full of individuals trying to solve everything on their own.
Portugal did not lose because Cristiano Ronaldo was on the pitch. They lost because they never adapted to the players they had. They lacked imagination, they lacked bravery and, above all, they lacked unity. Football rewards teams that think together. Tonight Spain thought together. Portugal thought separately. That’s why one nation is celebrating, and the other is going home.”
His career may not have ended how it wanted to be but make no mistake, he’s one of the greatest players of all time and should be remembered for his prime years and accolades. A true legend of the game as a football fan.
There won’t be a player like him ever.
No tattoos, No smoking, No alcohol, Extremely disciplined, Blood donor, Built from nothing, Charity without noise, Global icon, Most Hated, Most criticised, Top at everything, Ageing but still at top, etc... etc...
We will love you forever @Cristiano