Vinicius Jr.
The attacking winger Vinicius Jr. has become a prominent player in world football after joining Spanish giants Real Madrid. During the past season, Vinicius netted 22 goals and provided 20 assists. He has a tendency to score big goals, scoring in the semifinal of the Champions League against Manchester City and then again, the title-winning goal against Liverpool in the final. Vinicius is considered one of the best young forwards at the moment.
Ansu Fati
Ansu Fati is often referred to as one of the top wonderkids in football. He scored his first goal for Barcelona when he was just 16-years old. While Fati suffered from injuries during the last two seasons, he has played quality football since returning to full fitness. Fati scored his first goal for Barcelona as a 16-year-old. In his first match for Spain, Fati became the national team's youngest-ever goal scorer. He has made only four senior international appearances since his debut in 2020, scoring just one goal. However, his future promises to be very bright.
Nuno Mendes
Nuno Mendes from Portugal will catch eyeballs with his speed and technical skills. He plays for PSG in club competitions. The 20-year-old has scored two goals and assisted twice for the French giants. In March 2021, Mendes made his Portugal debut. It is likely that Mendes will play a key role in Fernando Santos' Qatar trip as he has played 16 international matches for Portugal.
Jude Bellingham
At the age of 17, Jude Bellingham made his senior England debut. A world record transfer fee for a 17-year old occurred when Bellingham moved from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham's talent can be measured by the fact that his transfer set a record transfer fee at that time. As a regular goal scorer for Dortmund, Bellingham has scored 19 goals and assisted on 20 during his time there. Gareth Southgate will count on Bellingham to play an important role for England.
The aforementioned individuals have the best possibility of succeeding at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, but there are still a lot of other young players that can impress.
Paris Sant-Germain were already trailing by 2-1 in the game. The former Barcelona player picked up the loose ball from Sergio Ramos from at least 27-30 yards from goal and placed an unstoppable shot towards the keeper’s right flank to strike the equalizer in the 55th minute.
Subsequently, PSG went onto win the match 4-3. The French Champions extended their lead at the top of the table to 35 points, five above second placed Lens.
Messi has finally found his mojo back in the ongoing 2022-23 season after a poor run of form in his debut season in France. So far, he has scored a total of 12 goals in 17 matches in all competitions along with 13 assists.
The greatest #LionelMessi #Messi🐐 pic.twitter.com/JNFiLu1qAM
— RohanSantosh (@RohanSantosh2) October 29, 2022
With FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar just less than a month away, Messi’s form would be crucial for Argentina’s chances in the mega event.
“WHAT A GOAL-LIONEL MESSI,” a fan tweeted reacting to Messi’s goal.
“Lionel Messi with a Bearing from outright. That’s Fantastic Goal from the GOAT,” another fan commented.
Leboeuf has urged fans to shift their focus away from Messi and Ronaldo as the era of the duo has changed.
“Football crazy fans have to stop focusing on those players and we don’t have to compare them anymore. They have been fantastic players but the time has changed,” said Leboeuf.
As per the former French international, the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are the emerging talents who are going to rule world football in the coming years.
“We want to see Haalamd and Mbappe more. Some new promising players are going to come up and we have to recognise their talents. We have to admit that Messi and Ronaldo are no longer the best players,” he said.
Notably, both Messi and Ronaldo are not in the best of forms in their respective second-leg fixtures in the round of 16 as PSG and Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League in the first knock-out round of the season’s competition.
Ronaldo is believed to have been left 'furious' after being told that he would not be in the squad for the clash at the Etihad Stadium, which resulted in him taking a trip to his native Portugal for warm weather training.
Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to leave Manchester United at the end of the season if they don't qualify for the Champions League, with a move to PSG high on his agenda, FootballTransfers reports.
Ronaldo has flown to Portugal with his future on his mind and, with United's Premier League struggles to make a top-four spot unlikely, he is planning his next move.
The report adds that a return to Serie A with Juventus has been ruled out, while a reunion with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon is also highly unlikely.
As a result, CR7 is courting a move to Paris which would see him sensationally team up with Lionel Messi and Neymar at the Ligue 1 giants in a dream forward line.
Manchester United have been disappointing since Ronaldo's return, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being sacked in December to be replaced by veteran coach Ralf Rangnick.
Ronaldo's form has suffered since the German became interim boss, and the Red Devils are currently in fifth, one point behind Arsenal, while the Gunners have three games in hand.
In the first half of the season, Ronaldo maintained his reputation as a devastating goalscorer as he frequently found the target and in big games, too.
He has 15 goals in all competitions since his return, but the majority of those came in the first six months of the season.
By his standards, he is on a dreadful run of goalscoring form currently, finding the net on just one occasion in his last 10 matches.
Lionel Messi has returned to Argentina's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador, the Argentine Football Association said on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward missed the Albicleste's last qualifiers against Chile and Colombia earlier this year as he recovered from a bout of Covid-19.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni also included seven uncapped teenagers in a provisional 44-man squad: Franco Carboni, Valentin Carboni, Alejandro Garnacho, Nicolas Paz, Tiago Geralnik, Luka Romero, and Matias Soule, reports Xinhua.
Argentina will meet Venezuela in Buenos Aires on March 25 and Ecuador in Guayaquil four days later.
The two-time World Cup winners have already qualified for the football showpiece tournament, to be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
The provisional squad:
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Juan Musso (Atalanta) and Esteban Andrada (Rayados).
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), German Pezzella (Betis), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax), Nehuen Perez (Udinese), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla) and Franco Carboni (Inter).
Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Leandro Paredes (PSG), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Guido Rodriguez (Betis), Roberto Pereyra (Udinese), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Nicolas Paz (Real Madrid), Tiago Geralnik (Villarreal) and Valentin Carboni (Inter).
Forwards: Lionel Messi (PSG), Lautaro Martinez (Inter), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Julian Alvarez (River Plate), Joaquin Correa (Inter), Giovanni Simeone (Hellas Verona), Lucas Boye (Elche), Matias Soule (Juventus), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) and Luka Romero (Lazio).
The 34-year-old striker, who is departing after more than two decades of playing for the club and setting several goal-scoring records for Barca, has been a free agent since July 1 when his contract with the club expired.
The Argentinian, who had guided his country to title triumph over arch-rivals Brazil in Copa America last month, had verbally agreed a new deal on reduced wages, but the Catalan club pulled the plug at the last minute.
FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta had said on Saturday that the talks over a new contract were off, adding that, "We've been in negotiations for more than two months and these discussions have now concluded. We cannot register the player (Messi) because we don't have room for him in our wage bill."
Messi enjoyed tremendous success at Camp Nou, winning 10 La Liga titles, four Champions League crowns and the Ballon d'Or six times.
Speaking at a press conference, which was also attended by the entire first team, Messi reiterated that he wanted to continue with the club and did "everything he could" to stay.
"I don't know what to say here. These recent days I've been thinking, giving lots of thought to what I could say, and the truth is that I can't think of anything. This is really difficult for me after so many years being here my entire life," Messi was quoted as saying by metro.co.uk.
"I'm not ready for this and honestly last year with all the nonsense with the burofax and everything, I knew what I wanted to say. But this year, this year is not the same. This year my family and I were convinced that we were going to stay here, that we were going to stay at our home -- that's what we wanted more than anything.
"We always made this our home, we were at home, and we thought we would be staying here in Barcelona. The time we've had here in the city has been amazing. But wow, today I have to say goodbye to all of this.
"I'm been here so many years, my entire life, since I was 13. After 21 years I'm leaving with my wife, with my three little Catalan-Argentine kids and I can't tell you everything we've lived in this city and I can't say that in a few years we won't come back, because this is our home and I promised my children that.
"I'm just really grateful for everything, all my teammates, all my former teammates, everyone at the club, everyone who has been by my side. There's so many people, even some I only met a few times. I have so much respect. So many beautiful things have happened -- also some bad things -- but all of this helped me to grow, helped me to improve, and made me the person that I am today. I gave everything for this club, for this shirt, from the first day I arrived until the very last."
It is rumoured that French club Paris Saint-German are at the frontrunners to sign Messi on a free transfer and have offered the legend a two-year deal in excess of 40 million euros per season along with huge signing-on fee.
Barcelona president Laporta had shut the door on the deal saying, "We cannot find a way around the current financial fair play rules and it doesn't make any sense to continue (with discussions). The player also needs some time to assess the offers that he has on the table, and we need to respect that. It is painful, but we must now go on without Messi. It's very sad, but it is a challenge and we need to address it as such."
Barcelona announced Thursday that Messi will not stay with the club, saying that the Spanish league's financial regulations made it impossible to sign the Argentina star to a new contract.
He is leaving after 17 successful seasons in which he propelled the Catalan club to glory, helping it win numerous domestic and international titles since debuting as a teenager.
Barcelona said in a statement that a deal for a new contract had been reached but financial obstacles made it impossible for the player to remain with the club.
Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles, the club said.
It blamed Spanish league regulations for not allowing the club to sign a new contract with the player. His previous one had ended on June 30.
As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona, it said. "Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.
FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandizement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life, the statement said.
Messi had asked to leave Barcelona for free at the end of last season but had his request denied by then-president Josep Bartomeu. Joan Laporta took over the presidency and appeared to have convinced Messi to stay. But Laporta had said recently that the club was struggling to fit the player's salary even with hefty reductions accepted by the player into the league-controlled salary cap.
In Messi's previous contract, signed in 2017, he reportedly earned 138 million euros ( 163 million) per season.
The league had announcement on Wednesday that it secured 3.2 billion in private equity funding to help the clubs, which appeared to pave the way for Barcelona to re-sign the Argentina star. But the deal with Messi fell through after club officials met with the player's representatives in Barcelona on Thursday. Some local reports said it was Messi who had changed his mind about staying, while others said it was the club that got upset with new demands made by the player's staff.
Barcelona was one of the clubs hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The league slashed its salary cap last season and the club had been trying to clear cap space by releasing some of its players. It had only signed free agents this summer including Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia to avoid paying transfer fees.
The league has worked hard over the years to create stability through strict economic control that kept clubs from going into heavy debt. President Javier Tebas had said earlier that the league would not take a huge hit by losing a player like Messi, noting that it continued to thrive after Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to Juventus a few years ago.
It was unclear whether Messi was already in talks with other clubs, but he has previously been linked with cash-rich Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine made no immediate public statement.
Messi will be leaving after having won 35 titles. He helped the club win the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.
While with the club, Messi earned himself a record six Ballon d'Or awards as the world's top player. He is the team's all-time scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances, and the top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals in 520 matches. He also is the player with most matches with the club.
He was the top scorer in the Spanish league in eight seasons, and the top scorer in the Champions League on six occasions. His 26 goals against Real Madrid are a record for the cl sico matches against Barcelona's fiercest rival.
Messi arrived at Barcelona at age 13, when he and his family came to Spain to try his luck at Barcelona's youth academy. He made his official debut on Oct. 16, 2004, and two years later helped the club win its first Champions League in a squad led by Ronaldinho.
Sunday's 2021 Copa America final, in which he led Albiceleste to a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Brazil, ensured he was fifth-time lucky in the final of a major international tournament and he will have something to show to those who questioned his commitment to the national team.
Angel Di Maria struck in the 22nd minute, off a long ball by Rodrigo De Paul, as he lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Ederson to score the winning goal.
Apart from that strike, which was helped by slipshod defending from Renan Lodi, the Argentines weren't that successful in breaching the Brazilian defence in the first half.
They had only three shots in the period. De Paul, however, was the shining star in midfield.
Messi himself shot wide off the goal in the 32nd minute as he couldn't dribble past Brazilian defence completely and shot from outside the box.
The visitors were set back in the 52nd minute as Richarlison netted the ball. However, relief came for Messi & Co soon as the strike was deemed off-side.
Argentina survived anxious moments even after that as Brazil came close to equalising.
But goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who had made his international debut only this year and impressed in the semi-finals against Colombia saving three penalty kicks in the shoot-out to help his team enter the final, once again proved to be the hero.
In the 57th minute, Richarlison had an opportunity to draw level from point-blank range.
However, Martínez was up to task as he blocked the shot.
In the 86th minute, the 28-year-old parried a strike from Gabi to keep the home side at bay.
A minute later though, Messi was on the prowl but just as luck has failed him in the previous finals - the 2007, 2015, 2016 Copa America as well as the 2014 World Cup -- this time too he couldn't get past goalkeeper Ederson.
It appeared to be an easy an chance by his standard but the 34-year-old messed it up against an approaching Ederson.
But that didn't cost anything to Argentina since minutes later, when the whistle blew, the entire Albiceleste jumped on a teary-eyed Messi.
Six years ago, after losing the final of Copa final to Chile in penalties, he wept even as the bus reached the team hotel. A year later, in the 2016 Copa final, he just couldn't take any further criticism and decided to retire only to come back to fulfil his dream and fill the lacuna five years later.
The criticism from Argentina may have been harsh but understandable.
The last time Argentina had won a major international trophy -- the Copa America itself -- was way back in 1993 when Messi was just six and Di Maria was only five. And the last time Albiceleste had scored in the Copa final, was in 2004.
Iniesta, who had led the Catalan giants since 2015, moved to Japanese side Vissel Kobe earlier this summer.
Messi, 31, has previously led Barca in Iniesta's absence but will now begin the campaign as the club's regular captain, according to a club release.
Messi is the club's all-time record goalscorer with 552 in all competitions.
Ronaldo and Messi combined to win all the Best Player awards in the past decade since 2008, either when it was named FIFA Ballon d'Or due to merger of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or, or the Best FIFA Men's Player after 2016, reports Xinhua news agency.
As the list was selected by a panel of FIFA Legends for their achievements during the period July 3, 2017 to July 15, 2018 inclusive, the duo seemed to lose something significant for their national team's under-par performance at the FIFA World Cup, the biggest tournament of the year, as both exited from the round of 16 in Russia.
The World Cup was obviously a stage to prove themselves for Mbappe and Modric, with the former winning the FIFA Young Player Award and the latter bagging the Golden Ball Award of the tournament.
World champions France also have forward Antoine Griezmann and central defender Raphael Varane in the list. Other contenders included World Cup Golden Boot Award winner Harry Kane, Belgian attacking midfield duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, and Egypt's forward Mohamed Salah, who finished a glittering season with English Premier League (EPL) side Liverpool.
France's coach Didier Deschamps and his fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, who steered Real Madrid to their third straight UEFA Champions League title last season, were nominated for the Best FIFA Men's Coach.
Apart from Deschamps, head coaches of other World Cup semi-finalists, Zlatko Dalic (Croatia), Roberto Martinez (Belgium) and Gareth Southgate (England), were also among the 11 nominees. The other national team's coach was Russia's Stanislav Cherchesov after the World Cup hosts reached the quarter-finals.
The other five candidates for the award were Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Juergen Klopp (Liverpool), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) and Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona).
Nominees for Best FIFA Women's Coach and Player were also announced on Tuesday.
Winners of the four categories will be chosen by a process involving stakeholders from across the world of football, including players, coaches, fans and media, with public voting to close on August 10.
FIFA will announce the final lists of the three nominees for each of the four categories, as well as for the FIFA Puskas Award, the FIFA Fan Award and the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award, at the start of September.
The winner will be announced at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London on September 24.
According to police, a group of people who had come to take a bath in the river on Sunday found the body of Dinu Alex. Alex's relatives identified the body.
The body apparently floated some 30 km downstream from his house at Arumannoor.
Alex, a diehard Messi fan, was devastated after Argentina was thrashed by Croatia on June 21 0-3.
He was last seen by his mother watching the match on TV. She told him to go to bed as he had to go to work the next day.
But on Friday, his mother found the kitchen door wide open and Alex was missing.
A suicide note was recovered from the house in which Alex wrote: "I have no more interest in this world. I am proceeding towards death and none is responsible."
A police dog traced Alex's final journey to the river that was in spate.
Alex was unmarried and worked as an accountant in a private company here.
"The other day I was talking to a friend and he told me, 'Look, if you had stayed with Spain, you'd already be world champ,'" Messi, who has had Spanish nationality since 2005, said with a laugh during an interview on Argentina's Channel 13, reported Efe.
As he told it, when he was "15 or 16 years old," the coach of the Spanish national under-17 football squad, "half joking, half seriously," offered him a place on the team.
"But not for a minute did I have any doubts," Messi said, convinced that, if he had played with Spain in 2010 and won the South Africa World Cup with that team, "it wouldn't have been the same" as winning it with the team from the land of his birth.
While a teenager, Messi left his native Rosario to begin in the lower ranks of FC Barcelona, where he was provided with hormonal growth treatment and where he has had innumerable triumphs.
For that reason he said he was sure that, if he continues playing in Europe in the future, it will not be with any other team but the one where he has spent his entire career.
"I'm more certain every day that Europe will be my only place. But I've always said I hoped to play football in Argentina some day, though I don't know if that will happen...but I keep it in mind," he said.
Before settling in Spain, Messi trained with Newell's Old Boys in Rosario, the team with which he would like to play if he ever goes back to live in Argentina.
"Being champion with Argentina would be something unique," Messi said.
"We all want Messi to win the World Cup. He deserves it. But, to be realistic, Argentina team level is lower than Germany or Spain. Those two teams will be favourites of the tournament I suppose," Crespo told TASS news agency on Tuesday.
"Thanks to Messi we qualified to the World Cup. Without him our national team cannot achieve good result," he added.
The opening ceremony for the Football Park in St. Petersburg gathered about a hundred residents and tourists with children on Saturday, as well as Russia's former forward Dmitry Sychev, Russia's people's artist Vasily Gerello and Crespo who took part in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 world championships.
Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.
Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Otamendi and Javier Mascherano will all be 30 or over when the World Cup in Russia kicks off.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, who turns 31 in June, on Sunday told Argentine television programme "La Cornisa" that results have to come their way no matter how well they play, otherwise he and his international colleagues will run out of time to etch their names in history books.
"We depend on the results, unfortunately," Messi said. "We feel that if we are not champions ... we will not have another."
Bidding for a third World Cup title and their first since 1986, the Jorge Sampaoli-coached Argentina have been drawn in the same group as Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria.
"I imagine being in that final (in Moscow on July 15) and lifting the trophy," said Messi, who added that the team's defeat to Germany in extra-time of the 2014 edition in Brazil still evokes pain.
"It (World Cup glory) is a lifelong dream and every time that a World Cup approaches the dream becomes a little stronger. The 2014 final was painful because we came so close. Winning a World Cup is what we all want," Messi added.
Messi also talked about the heartbreaks Argentina suffered in three consecutive major international finals: the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Copa America.
"I cried many times because of games like these, for lost finals, for what they mean and for not being able to achieve the dream of a country," Messi said.
Despite his glut of titles with FC Barcelona, Messi has still not won any major silverware with his national team.
"They (the three finals) were tough blows," Messi said. "It seems like having reached three finals doesn't help us at all," he added.
He added: "The World Cup is getting closer and my head is there, but here (in Barcelona) I also have important things.
"It's amazing, people are telling me they want us to win, but I try to live day to day and not burn stages. What makes me forget everything is to be with my children, my wife, my family. The rest is secondary. The birth of my first son made me not close myself in to football. I don't like to lose ... but you can't always win," he added.
Under Valverde, who joined the club last summer, Barça have built a 11-point lead at the top of La Liga, reached the Champions League round of 16 and qualified for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, Efe news report.
"Since the new coach's arrival, he was very clear from the beginning about what he expected from the squad and we adapted fast to his instructions, ...," Messi said at a promotional event.
"We became defensively stronger and in the attacking line we have high quality players," the Argentine superstar said.
Messi said that he was optimistic about Barcelona's season, noting that the club is still alive in all competitions.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner said that the squad was delighted with the arrival of Philippe Coutinho and Yerry Mina, who joined the club during the winter transfer window.
Asked about the possibility of winning another Ballon d'Or, he said: "Individual awards are not my aims. My aims are the team's ones and thank God we are on the right path."
Only Xavi Hernandez (767) and Andres Iniesta (642) have played more games for Barca than the 30-year-old who made his debut on October 16, 2004.
And nobody has got close to the 523 goals he has scored for the club, who currently lead the Liga Santander with a four point gap over Valencia, reports Xinhua news agency.
As many as 23 of those goals have come against Sevilla in 21 league games against the side from the south of Spain. With the form Messi is in, it would almost be a surprise if he didn't add to that total on Saturday night.
It is fair to say that Barca have not been at their best at times this season, as shown by their 0-0 draw away to Olympiakos in the Champions League on Tuesday or the slightly fortunate 2-0 win away to Athletic Club Bilbao last weekend.
Messi and goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen were the architects of last weekend's win with Messi opening the scoring and Ter Stegen frustrating all of their rival's efforts.
Meanwhile, Barca are still without the injured Dembele while Luis Suarez is struggling for form in front of goal, limiting Barca coach Ernesto Valverde's options in attack, given that he appears to have little faith in former Valencia forward Paco Alcacer.
Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic will play in midfield. Valverde has injury issues and Rafinha is still sidelined along with Andre Gomes, Arda Turan and Sergi Roberto and Inesta doubtful until the last minute.
Sergi Roberto's injury means Nelson Semedo will play at right back while Denis Suarez could also appear against his former club.
Sevilla have won their last three games to end a mini-crisis, but the last of those was only on Wednesday night in the Champions League, meaning they have had little time to recover before visiting a ground where they have lost on nine of their last 10 visits.
In a dramatic final round on Tuesday in the South American zone qualifiers, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Colombia booked their tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Xinhua news agency reported.
Needing the win to avoid missing the World Cup for the first time since 1970, Argentina got off to a bad start against Ecuador who were already out of the contention.
Equador took the lead in the first minute with Romario Ibarra firing from close range after combining smartly with Roberto Ordonez.
Argentina took just 12 minutes to equalize with Messi's first-time strike after Angel Di Maria's pull-back.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner gave the visitors the lead eight minutes later when he snatched possession from Ecuador's defence before thumping a shot past Maximo Banguera.
Messi pocketed his third goal just after the hour mark, chipping into the top left corner from the edge of the box while being dragged to the ground.
The result broke a run of four matches without a victory for Argentina in the Conmebol qualifiers.
Before Tuesday, their last win in the qualifying tournament was against Chile on March 23 with a 1-0 margin.
"It's an enormous feeling of happiness," an elated Albiceleste coach Jorge Sampaoli told TyC Sports moments after the final whistle.
Brazil earlier eliminated Chile with a 3-0 home victory, Venezuela wrecked Paraguay's hopes with a 1-0 win in Asuncion, Uruguay won 4-2 at home to Bolivia and Colombia clinched an automatic place by drawing 1-1 with Peru.
By finishing fifth in the 10-team Conmebol group, Peru earned the right to meet Oceania winners New Zealand in a two-legged playoff.
Also among the final 10 nominees were PSG's Edinson Cavani, Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels, reports Efe.
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard, AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci and Real Madrid midfielder Isco Alarcon were also nominated on Monday.
France Football annually awards the Ballon d'Or to the world's best football player. The winner will be announced in December.
The nominees:
Neymar (Barcelona-PSG)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
David De Gea (Manchester United)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Edin Dzeko (Roma)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)
Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan)
Isco Alarcon (Real Madrid)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
At the pre-match press conference on Friday, Valverde said he wanted his charges to "extend the winning streak" for as long as possible, Efe news reported.
"Tomorrow's match is very important to us, and we know that the rival will be extra-motivated. We should be up to a derby match, because there is an emotional part that matters," he said.
"This match is special for them (Girona) and we have to know how to approach this kind of match," the coach said. "They are playing at a good level and they were good against Sevilla. I see an optimistic atmosphere there and a will to stay in the top-flight."
Valverde hinted that Luis Suarez, who was on the bench against Eibar earlier this week, will start on Saturday.
A journalist asked the coach about his role in the superb form being shown by superstar Lionel Messi, who has scored nine goals in five La Liga matches, including four against Eibar on Tuesday.
Valverde quipped that his only contribution was putting Messi in the line-up.
"I have not been able to play a cross to him," the coach said, confirming that he has no plans to rest the Argentine. "I am not accustomed to substituting a player who has scored four goals in one match."
A total of 25,000 professional footballers took part in a poll to nominate the best players. The footballers who received most votes in their line are on the list of 55.
Ronaldo (4) and Messi (5) share nine Ballon d'or amongst them and are favourites to add one more to the tally during the next award ceremony.
"FIFPro and its affiliated player associations invited professional footballers worldwide to pick a team of 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 attackers who were the best at their position during the 2016-2017 season," FIFPro said in a statement.
Real Madrid dominated the list after winning both La Liga and the Champions League in 2016-17, with Keylor Navas, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Isco, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo all in line to make the XI.
Pepe is listed as both a Real Madrid player and a Besiktas player, after moving to the Turkish team in the summer.
Champions League runners-up and Serie A champions Juventus had four players on the list comprising Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala.
English Premier League (EPL) champions Chelsea have three nominees in Eden Hazard, David Luiz and N'Golo Kante.
David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku (previously with Everton), Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic (formerly of Chelsea) represent Manchester United.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are nominated from Arsenal, while Philippe Coutinho is the only Liverpool player on the list.
Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe is the youngest player on the list, at the age of 18, fresh from sealing a loan move to PSG from Monaco. The teenager scored 27 goals in 60 games for the French champions last season.
However, Claudio Bravo, Hector Bellerin, Kevin de Bruyne, Dimitri Payet, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are among the 12 players who were included last time but missed out this year.
The 2016 World 11 included Manuel Neuer, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Andrés Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The following is the list of 55 players:
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Buffon-Italy, Juventus
David De Gea-Spain, Manchester United
Keylor Navas-Costa Rica, Real Madrid
Manuel Neuer-Germany, Bayern Munich
Jan Oblak-Slovenia, Atletico Madrid
Defenders
David Alaba-Austria, Bayern Munich
Jordi Alba-Spain, Barcelona
Dani Alves-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Jerome Boateng-Germany, Bayern Munich
Leonardo Bonucci-Italy, Juventus/AC Milan
Dani Carvajal-Spain, Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini-Italy, Juventus
Diego Godin-Uruguay, Atletico Madrid
Mats Hummels-Germany, Bayern Munich
Philipp Lahm-Germany, Bayern Munich (Retired)
David Luiz-Brazil, Chelsea
Marcelo-Brazil, Real Madrid
Javier Mascherano-Argentina, Barcelona
Pepe-Portugal, Real Madrid/Besiktas
Gerard Pique-Spain, Barcelona
Sergio Ramos-Spain, Real Madrid
Thiago Silva-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Samuel Umtiti-France, Barcelona
Antonio Valencia-Ecuador, Manchester United
Raphael Varane-France, Real Madrid
Midfielders
Thiago Alcantara-Spain, Bayern Munich
Sergio Busquets-Spain, Barcelona
Casemiro-Brazil, Real Madrid
Philippe Coutinho-Brazil, Liverpool
Eden Hazard-Belgium, Chelsea
Andres Iniesta-Spain, Barcelona
Isco-Spain, Real Madrid
N'Golo Kante-France, Chelsea
Toni Kroos-Germany, Real Madrid
Nemanja Matic-Serbia, Chelsea/Manchester United
Luka Modric-Croatia, Real Madrid
Mesut Ozil-Germany, Arsenal
Paul Pogba-France, Manchester United
Marco Verratti-Italy, Paris Saint-Germain
Arturo Vidal-Chile, Bayern Munich
Forwards
Gareth Bale-Wales, Real Madrid
Karim Benzema-France, Real Madrid
Edinson Cavani-Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain
Paulo Dybala-Argentina, Juventus
Antoine Griezmann-France, Atletico Madrid
Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Sweden, Manchester United
Harry Kane-England, Tottenham Hotspur
Robert Lewandowski-Poland, Bayern Munich
Romelu Lukaku-Belgium, Manchester United
Kylian Mbappe-France, Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi-Argentina, FC Barcelona
Neymar-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
Cristiano Ronaldo-Portugal, Real Madrid
Alexis Sanchez-Chile, Arsenal
Luis Suarez-Uruguay, Barcelona
Barca, with plenty of substitutes in the line-up, were not quite themselves in the opening minutes during the match on Tuesday and they owed their first goal to a poorly executed tackle in the area by Eibar's Alex Galvez, Efe news reported.
The referee awarded the penalty and Messi converted from the spot to make it 1-0.
The Argentine striker forced a pair of good stops from Eibar goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic in the 26th and 37th minutes before Paulinho got the second goal for the hosts in the 38th, connecting with a thunderous header off Denis Suarez's corner kick.
Barcelona took firm control in the second half, scoring three goals in the space of 10 minutes - a pair of them by Messi - while conceding one to Eibar's Sergi Enrich.
Messi added a fourth goal in the 87th minute to make the final 6-1.
Earlier on Tuesday, Valencia pounded Malaga 5-0 to move into third place in La Liga. Like Barça, Valencia benefited from a great individual performance.
With Valencia leading 1-0 on a goal by Santi Mina, Simone Zaza sealed the triumph for the hosts, scoring three times between the 54th and 62nd minutes.
Rodrigo completed the rout with a goal in the 86th minute.
"It was an enormous pleasure to have shared these years with you Neymar, friend. I wish you a lot of luck in the next stage of your life. See you," Messi wrote on Instagram.
Neymar came to Barca's training ground on Wednesday morning to confirm he is leaving for French club Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Messi wrote "TKM," which means "te quiero mucho" or "love you a lot."
Neymar is set to join French heavyweights Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) in a world record transfer fee of £198 million ($261.86 million). The deal would see the forward pocket around $35.57 million every year.
Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013, forming a hallowed partnership with Messi and Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. They were called "MSN".
MSN led Barca to a treble in 2015, scoring 364 goals between them across three seasons.
A civil ceremony for Messi, 30, and Antonela Roccuzzo, 29, was held at a luxury hotel in the city of Rosario on Friday, reports the BBC.
Messi met Roccuzzo when he was just five years old. She is the cousin of his best friend, Lucas Scaglia, who also became a professional football player.
The couple, who now live in Barcelona, have two sons together.
Among the guests at Friday's wedding were Messi's Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Neymar, Gerard Pique and his wife, Colombia's pop star Shakira. A number of guests flew into Rosario on private jets.
The groom's siblings - Maria Sol, Rodrigo and Matias Messi - served as witnesses in the ceremony, along with the bride's sisters, Paula and Carla Roccuzzo, Efe news reported.
Argentinian singer Abel Pintos performed one of Roccuzzo's favorite numbers, "Sin principio ni final (Without beginning or end)" during the exchange of rings.
Argentina's Clarin newspaper has variously called the wedding "the wedding of the year" and "the wedding of the century".
About 150 journalists received accreditation to enter a special press area, but were not given full access to the venue.
"No. I don't think so," the former Barcelona vice president told Xinhua.
"I know Messi very well. He and his family are my good friends. I think he has settled in Barcelona. He has been in Barcelona all his life," he was quoted as saying.
But Soriano, who worked in Barcelona between 2003 and 2008, did not exclude the star's possibility of leaving Nou Camp when his contract expires next year.
"Or at least next year, maybe he can finish that career (in Barcelona). After that he can go to China or US. But now I think he will stay in Barcelona."
Messi has been linked with a move to the Etihad ever since his mentor, Pep Guardiola, first joined the Manchester club last summer.
Messi, who turns 30 later this month, is talking about a new deal with Barcelona and reports said that he will take home 504,000 pounds-a-week in a deal worth 26 million pounds a season.
"This year I would choose Cristiano Ronaldo to win it," Ronaldo, a three-time recipient of football's highest individual honour, was quoted as saying by Fox Sports on Sunday.
"In the past two years he has been decisive. His statistics can't be ignored," the former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid star striker added.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a four-time winner of the FIFA player of the year award, has scored 40 goals and provided 12 assists in 45 matches for Real Madrid in the 2016-17 season, reports Xinhua news agency.
Meanwhile, Messi -- who has received the honour five times -- has scored 54 goals and provided 19 assists in 52 matches.
Real Madrid won the title of the Spanish La Liga and will play Juventus in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday. Barcelona, meanwhile, won the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
"I love watching Messi with the ball at his feet," Ronaldo said. "He scores goals and everything else. Both players are fantastic but it's a cruel comparison. Both players deserve respect," he concluded.
Ronaldo also revealed that if it was not for his arguments over his weight with then Real Madrid head coach Fabio Capello, he would have stayed longer than five years at the Spanish capital giants.
"I didn't want to leave. I started to have a lot of problems with Capello. If I was 100 grams overweight, he would take me out of the team," Ronaldo said.
"I am tolerant, I want to understand other points of view. But with him, I just couldn't," the two-time World Cup winner who has scored 83 league goals in 127 games for the Spanish capital giants between 2002 and 2007 before moving to AC Milan, added.
"I understand his position as the manager, but sometimes in football, 100 or 200 grams doesn't make the difference. It's about what you actually do, and he didn't see what I actually did, what I could contribute, as the be all and end all."
Ronaldo, who also played for Inter Milan, captured two Spanish La Liga titles during his time in Madrid before departing midway through the 2006-07 season.
The two unstoppable players wrapped up the match just before halftime.
After failing to win the La Liga championship and eliminated in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, the Barcelona squad nonetheless closed the Luis Enrique era - this was his last game as Barca's head coach - by winning its third straight Copa del Rey tourney, a consolation prize for a team with no trophy in the big competitions this season, Efe news reported.
Alaves held off Barca at Vicente Calderon Stadium until half an hour through the first half, when the game changed thanks to the efficiency and talent of Lionel Messi and Neymar.
First it was Messi, who took a pass at the edge of the box from Neymar and left-footed it into the net for a 1-0 lead at minute 30.
Not so fast. Just three minutes later the young Alaves striker Theo Hernandez tied it up 1-1 with a curling shot from outside the box into the far corner of the net.
But that was it for Alaves. It looked like a 1-1 tie going into halftime, and in the second half anything could happen, right? Wrong. At minute 45 of the first half, Neymar drove the ball into the net to make it 2-1.
And then the seemingly impossible happened. There was still enough injury time for Barca's Paco Alcacer to take another brilliant pass from Messi, get around Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco to score and make it 3-1 at halftime and 3-1.
After a scoreless second half, Barcelona took home its third straight Copa del Rey championship, a fond farewell for coach Luis Enrique.
Messi, who has already served one match of that suspension, was banned for insulting an assistant referee during Argentina's World Cup qualifying match with Chile on March 23.
"The FIFA Appeal Committee has upheld the appeal lodged by the Argentinian Football Association, on behalf of the player Lionel Messi, against the decision taken by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, lifting the sanctions imposed on him as a result," an official statement by FIFA said.
"Following a hearing which took place in Zurich on 4 May 2017, the Appeal Committee has set aside the decision taken by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 28 March 2017, which, in application of art. 77 a) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), had found Lionel Messi guilty of infringing art. 57 of the FDC for having directed insulting words at an assistant referee."
The 29-year-old was suspended after he allegedly abused the assistant referee during a heated discussion after he was called for a couple of fouls.
FIFA, however, asserted that abusive behaviour by players towards officials cannot be condoned and warned Messi to be careful in future.
"Despite the fact that the FIFA Appeal Committee considered Lionel Messi's behaviour as reproachable, the former concluded that the evidence available was not sufficient to establish to the appropriate standard, i.e. to the comfortable satisfaction of the members of the Appeal Committee, that art. 77 a) of the FDC, according to which the Disciplinary Committee is responsible for sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials' attention, could be applied," the statement said.
"The Appeal Committee nevertheless underlines the importance of always showing respect to the match officials, stressing that such a principle is essential in football and any unsporting conduct that may be contrary to the principles of fair play cannot be accepted.
"In view of the above decision, the suspension for four matches imposed on Lionel Messi, which entered into force on 28 March 2017, and the fine of CHF 10,000 have been lifted," it added.
Argentina's next World Cup qualifier is against Uruguay on August 31 at Montevideo.
Speaking on Spanish radio, the Catalan defender, who is well known for speaking his mind, first of all spoke about his irritation at what he sees as bias in the Spanish press, reports Xinhua news agency.
"You question the fightback against Paris Saint-Germain (Barcelona overturned a 0-4 first leg defeat with a 6-1 victory in the second leg), and you question its value, but nobody mentions that Sergio Ramos' goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League final was offside," said Pique.
The defender then discussed the cases brought against Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar, which saw the Argentine given a 21-month prison sentence and questioned the treatment they had been given while tax cases against Real Madrid players have been handled in a more discreet manner.
"I don't have anything against Real Madrid players, but there are other things about the club that I don't like. I don't like to see the Directors' Box at Real Madrid and see the personalities who pull the strings in this country sitting there," commented Pique.
Many Spanish politicians and important names from big business can indeed be seen sitting next to Real Madrid President Florentino Perez on a regular basis. But Pique made special reference to a recent photo showing State Prosecutor Marta Silva Lapuerta, (the person who insisted the prosecution of Messi continued) sitting behind Perez in a recent game in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
"I don't like the Directors' Box and what happens there... Charges against Messi, Neymar....nothing against Cristiano. That is how it's always been," said Pique.
French teenager Kylian Mbappe announced himself in dramatic fashion on Saturday, overshadowing Messi as France beat Argentina 4-3 in the World Cup last 16.
That took his goal tally for the tournament to three -- two behind England talisman Harry Kane and one behind Belgium's Romelu Lukaku.
Messi and Ronaldo, captain of the Portugal side beaten 2-1 by Uruguay, also on Saturday, had been on a quarter-final collision course but the closest they will now come to each other in Russia is the airport departure lounge.
While they have set goal records tumbling both in Europe and Spain year after year, amazingly neither has ever been able to find the net in a World Cup knockout match in a combined 14 games.
For all Messi's brilliance at club level with Barcelona, it appears the 2014 final defeat to Germany is the closest he will ever come to winning the World Cup.
Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, a European champion with Portugal two years ago, will be 37 by the time the next global showpiece rolls around -- meaning it is unlikely he will improve on a run to the semi-finals in 2006.
The exits of the pair, both five-time world players of the year, confirmed on the same day, the stage is clear for a handful of young, hungry pretenders to seize the spotlight.
Leading the charge is the 19-year-old Mbappe, who achieved a feat no player had accomplished in 60 years, becoming the first teenager to score twice in a World Cup match since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958.
"I'm very happy, and it's flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele," said Mbappe, born a few months after France won the 1998 World Cup.
"But he's in another category. Still, it's great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats."
The Paris Saint-Germain striker, who as a child had posters of Ronaldo plastered across his bedroom wall, has three goals in three starts in Russia.
He finds himself trailing England striker Kane in the race for the Golden Boot, but his terrorising of the Argentina defence underlined his growing menace. He's not so much as arriving as arrived.
After four straight seasons with 20 or more goals in the Premier League, Kane is now demonstrating his ability on the biggest stage of all, leading England's attack and captaining the side.
He struck twice in an opening win over Tunisia before bagging a hat-trick in his next outing and is the key figure for a youthful England side.
"It's going well, there's still a long way to go, the most important thing is winning games," said the 24-year-old Tottenham star.
Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez described Kane as an "emblematic player" ahead of their meeting with England in the last 16 on Tuesday.
Belgium's Romelu Lukaku is also enjoying a breakout World Cup campaign, answering his critics in resounding style after a disappointing campaign in Brazil four years ago.
The 25-year-old scored twice in successive matches in Group G, the first player from any nation to do so at the tournament since Diego Maradona in 1986.
He is Belgium's record scorer with 40 goals in 71 appearances and will be central to their hopes as Roberto Martinez attempts to finally get the best out of a golden generation.
Messi bursted onto the scene after a quiet first hour as he dribbled past defenders in majestic fashion to double the Argentine lead in 65th minute, firing a left-footer from the box, that hit the left post before finding the net.
It took 26-year-old Messi eight years and 623 match minutes to earn his second World Cup goal, the first one coming in 2006 against Serbia Montenegro.
Debutantes Bosnia made a forgettable start as the conceded the fastest own goal in World Cup history in just two minutes and eight seconds but impressed as the game wore on with their fantastic defence, specially the way they managed to stifle Messi for most of the part.
A change of tactics in the second half revived Argentina, who had gone with a 5-3-2 formation but resorted back to 4-3-3.
Substitute Vesad Ibisevic had the honour to score Bosnia's first ever World Cup finals goal, five minutes form the whistle, when he shot the ball in as Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero approached and failed to block.
At Porto Alegre, Karim Benzema hit a brace in France's 3-0 win over 10-man Honduras in a Group E game, where goal-line technology made its debut.
At the start of the second half, a volley from Benzema, who had put his side ahead with a penalty conversion, hit post and bounced back into the area. Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares tried to pull the ball out but referee Sandro Ricci declared it an own-goal after employing the new technology.
Winston Palacios was handed a red card after two fouls on on Paul Pogba. Benzema scored his second goal in the 72nd minute from a difficult angle.
"It is a Champions League final and we have suffered a lot to get here. We know that it won't be easy to be champions again," Messi told UEFA's media service.
"The anthem lets you know that it is a different game, a special game for the competition," the four-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner added, Efe news agency reported.
"We are playing against a very difficult and powerful opponent. It is a final where anything can happen, but we will prepare in the same way we did for the previous finals," Messi said.
Messi recalled his two goals scored in the two finals of the Champions League against Manchester United in Rome (2009) and London (2011), which were decisive in the team's victory.
"They are very significant parts of my career. The first one because we practically finished the game and were lifting the cup at 2-0. The second one because it made it 2-1 at a point where the game was well-balanced and that is why I celebrated so wildly," he explained.
The Argentine star promised that Barca would prepare to its best capability the final, as usual.
"As things stand I think that giving Messi a break would not be a bad thing," the 1978 World Cup winner told TyC Sports. "Or maybe he should take a decision to have rest."
The comments come as the Albiceleste run the risk of being eliminated from the Copa America in Brazil before reaching the knockout stage, Xinhua news reported.
Lionel Scaloni's men lost their first match against Colombia 2-0 before salvaging a 1-1 draw with Paraguay on Wednesday thanks to a second-half Messi penalty. The two-time World Cup winners must beat Qatar in their final group match on Sunday and rely on favourable results from other matches to progress to the quarterfinals.
"The players feel the need to give him (Messi) the ball. There is a lack of personality," Kempes said. "What would happen if you take Messi out of this team? Why don't we (rest him) and try to form a team without Messi? That might allow some other players, who are very good for their clubs, bloom for the national team."
Messi, who turns 32 next week, is Argentina's all-time leading scorer with 68 goals in 132 appearances. But the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has yet to win silverware for Argentina, whose title drought in major tournaments dates back to 1993.
The field was in bad shape on Sunday, when Argentina defeated Qatar 2-0, with dry patches visible along the sidelines and areas where the turf was completely gone, reports Efe news.
Messi ripped the Arena do Gremio, saying that the field was in terrible condition.
The superstar striker told the press that all the fields on which Argentina had competed in the Copa America "are very bad", making it hard to control the ball when taking a shot on goal.
The stadium's management, following tournament rules, did not allow Brazil or Paraguay to practice at Arena do Gremio ahead of Thursday's quarterfinals match.
The policy was put in place by Copa America organisers to prevent wearing down the turf ahead of a match.
As was the case before previous matches, the teams were not allowed to take the field at Arena do Gremio before playing their match.
Venezuela, however, were able to practice at Arena do Gremio on the eve of its match with Peru, the first of five Copa America contests played in Porto Alegre.
Brazil will not only have an edge as host, but forward Everton, who plays for Gremio, will be in action on his home field against Paraguay.
Brazilian national soccer team coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, better known as "Tite," and assistant coach Edu Gaspar had a walk-through at the stadium on Monday to get a first-hand look at field conditions.
Coach Tite's squad has improved its level of play on the field and is heading into the clash with Paraguay at Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre fresh off a 5-0 blowout of Peru in its last match in the group phase.
Brazil, however, will have to win without midfielder Casemiro, who will miss Thursday's quarterfinals match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Paraguay have been a tough opponent, knocking off Brazil the last two times the squads met in the knockout phase of the Copa America - in Argentina in 2011 and Chile in 2015.
Premier League side Liverpool, crowned in UEFA Champion League last season, saw Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in the list, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Other contenders for the award were Dutch hopefuls Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
For women's category, World Cup in France undoubtedly served as a big criteria. American title-winning striker Megan Rapinoe, winning Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the quadrennial tournament, was nominated alongside her national teammates Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle.
French club Lyon, treble winners in league, cup and Champions League, witnessed Lucy Bronze, Ada Hegerberg and France's internationals Amandine Henry and Wendie Renard amongst nominees.
US coach Jill Ellis, the first coach to have won two Women's World Cups, will be the favourite for the Best Women's Coach glory. Ellis recently announced that she would step down as the world champions' head coach in early October.
Her main rivals will be England's manager Phil Neville and Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands.
Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp is among the Best Men's Coach nominees, also featuring Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Tottenham Hotspur's Mauricio Pochettino, both from Premier League outfits.
Tite, who guided Brazil to recent Copa America title, and African Cup of Nations champions Algeria's Djamel Belmadi, were also included in the list.
Votes by national team captains, national team coaches and selected media, and the fan vote conducted through the FIFA website, are weighted 25 percent each when deciding the final result.
The FIFA award ceremony will be held in Milan on September 23.
The Barcelona forward was also fined 50,000 US dollars by South American football governing body CONMEBOL on Friday.
The ruling means Messi will miss Argentina's friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Germany in September and October. Messi has seven days to appeal the decision, reports Xinhua news agency.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner made the allegations after being sent off for an altercation with Gary Medel in Argentina's 2-1 defeat of Chile in the Copa America third-place playoff last month.
After the match Messi said: "We don't have to be part of this corruption. They [referees] have showed us a lack of respect throughout this tournament." Messi also said the competition was "set up" for eventual champions Brazil to win.
The 32-year-old had already been suspended for one competitive match and fined 1,500 US dollars for his comments and the red card.
"It's unacceptable that there have been unfounded accusations that misrepresent the truth and put to judgement the integrity of Copa America," a CONMEBOL statement read.
"The accusations represent a lack of respect for the competition, all the players involved and the hundreds of professionals of CONMEBOL."
The winner will be announced in Monaco on August 29 during the draw for the 2019-20 Champions League group stage, Efe news reported.
Barcelona star Messi, who won the 2018-19 La Liga crown with the Catalan side, was the top goalscorer in last season's Champions League with 12 strikes.
Ronaldo won the top-scorer's trophy in the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals which Portugal won, besides helping Juventus win the Serie A title last season.
Liverpool's Van Dijk helped shore up his side's defence as it finished a close second in the Premier League before winning the Champions League.
Real Madrid star Luka Modric of Croatia won the award last year.
The midfielder won after a jury made of 80 coaches from clubs taking part in the Champions League and the Europa League, as well as 55 journalists from each of UEFA's 55 member associations selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group voted for him.
Apart from Messi, Ronaldo and van Dijk, the other seven players in the fray are:
* Alisson Becker (Brazil/Liverpool) 57 points
* Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool) 51 points
* Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool) 49 points
* Eden Hazard (Belgium/Real Madrid) 38 points
* Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus) 27 points
* Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands/Barcelona) 27 points
* Raheem Sterling (England/Manchester City) 12 points.
Incidentally immediately after Disha’s performance at the opening ceremony, a photograph of the “Malang” actress with none other than the football legend Lionel Messi turned up. The picture must be at least 5 to 6 years old because both Disha and Messi look very young in it. It is not clear at what time did the Indian heartthrob had the chance to pose with the Argentine professional footballer.
https://twitter.com/Tera_saa/status/1186186525069008896
Now, only Disha can reveal her connection with the captain of the Spanish Club Barcelona.
Tiger And Disha Dating Or Not?
Both Disha and Tiger have never accepted their romantic liaison. Rather they have always denied being in a relationship. However, time and again, the pair is spotted either having lunch or dinner or even going on a drive together. So when the duo performed at the ISL the rumors about their dating surfaced again. The “Bagghi 2” actress shared pictures of their trip as well as performance on social media.
All the posts showing their pair glittering in gold dust are simply fabulous. But what triggered speculations and rumors was a post by Disha in which she is sitting with Tiger on the sidelines of the ground of football. The backs of Disha and Tiger are towards the camera and there is one more person who is also sitting quite close to Tiger in the snap. He is probably one of the members of the ground staff.
The image has an interesting caption from Disha. She has captioned it “Bhai, Bhai” which is quite intriguing considering she is a part of the picture. One thing is for sure that the picture has given some work to the netizens who are now busy speculating about the equation between Disha Patani and Tiger Shroff.
This was Messi's first Ballon d'Or since 2015 and comes after he scored 54 times for club and country in 2018-19, in which Barcelona won La Liga, reports BBC Sport. Before 2015, the Barcelona forward had won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011 and in 2012.
In a glittering ceremony that took place at the Theatre du Chatelet on Monday night, the 32-year-old Argentine confirmed all the predictions that he was the outstanding favourite for this year's trophy, edging out Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk who helped Liverpool to win the title of the Champions League last season.
Juventus and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, was third in the voting.
Messi had won the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award in September, and he was the top scorer in the Champions League last season with 12 goals before Barcelona were beaten by Liverpool in the semifinals.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have won the award 11 times in the past 12 years.
Meanwhile, Megan Rapinoe defeated England defender Lucy Bronze to win the Ballon d'Or for the best female player of the year. Megan led the US to win the World Cup in France in July.
The 34-year-old also won the FIFA Women's Player of the Year award, and she won the Golden Boot for being top scorer and the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup.
Considered to be the benchmark for any footballer, the Ballon d'Or award is given to the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists.
Speaking to IANS, Dhumal made it clear that there have been no such discussions and while the setback from the pandemic will be huge, salary cut of skipper Virat Kohli and his boys isn't in the mind of the board.
Also Read: COVID-19 Outbreak: Indian Sportsmen Urge Countrymen To Extend Helping Hand
"No, we have not spoken about this (pay cut). Whatever the steps after this setback, it will be taken judiciously and keeping the interest of all people in mind. Any step taken needs to be thought out and right now we haven't even thought about it. Obviously this is a big setback, but we will go about this in a way that nobody gets affected. These things can be discussed once things settle down," he said.
Players' wages have been cut in recent times and even a club like Barcelona had to ask its football stars to take a wage cut leading to reports that the likes of Lionel Messi weren't too happy with the decision due to coronavirus outbreak.
But Messi came out and cleared the air. "A lot has been written and said about the football first team at Barcelona, when it comes to the players' salaries during this state of alarm.
"First of all, we would like to clarify that we have always been willing to accept a wage cut, because we understand perfectly that this is an exceptional situation and we are always the first to help the club when we have been asked to.
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"For that reason, we cannot help but be surprised by the fact that from within the club there are those trying to put us under the microscope or apply pressure for us to do something that we have always been clear that we would do.
"If an agreement has taken a few days to be reached it is simply because we were seeking a formula to help the club and also to help its employees in these very difficult times," explained Messi.
In fact, even the Indian cricketers have come out and made donations as the country looks to fight the coronavirus outbreak with skipper Kohli himself donating Rs 3 crore along with his actress wife Anushka Sharma.
Meanwhile, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) today said that the coastal city of Shantou in southern China will remain as hosts of the third Asian Youth Games that will be held from November 20 to 28, 2021.
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"The OCA while maintaining a very strict isolation policy is still continuing its activity and liaising with the various Asian Games Organizing Committee to ensure that the preparations for the Games are not hindered," said OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam in a letter written to the Presidents and Secretary Generals of all Olympic bodies under its ambit.
"In this respect, I have the pleasure to inform you that the OCA in coordination with the Shantou 3rd Asian Youth Games Organizing Committee (SAYGOC) has decided the dates and sports programme of the 3rd Asian Youth Games."
A number of Olympic qualifiers were scheduled to be held this year in China and most of them were shifted out of the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 3000 people in the country.
The disease has since spread to most countries around the world, leading to restrictions on movement of people and quarantine measures that ultimately forced the International Olympic Committee to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to August 23, 2021.
(IANS)
The group stage draw for 66th season of Europe's premier club football competition was completed amid Covid-19 pandemic in Geneva on Thursday.
The two heavyweights face off each other in Europe's elite competition next month along with Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and Hungarian giants Ferencvaros.
Beaten 2020 finalists Paris Saint-Germain will take on Manchester United and RB Leipzig in Group H. English Premier League champions and 2018 UCL winners Liverpool will face Ajax as well as Atalanta and Midtjylland of Denmark in Group D.
The official result of the #UCLdraw! 🤩
Most exciting group stage match? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/d7ynuEjPq3
— #UCLdraw (@ChampionsLeague) October 1, 2020
Reigning champions Bayern will take on Atletico Madrid. Among other notable match-ups, 13-time European champions Real Madrid meet Inter Milan in Group B while
The group stage commences from October 20, and all six rounds of games will take place within eight weeks in a crammed schedule that is even more packed than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski was named 2019/20 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
"It's an amazing feeling. I would like to thank the teammates and coaches I work with every day. Obviously I'd like to thank my family as well," said Lewandowski as per the Bayern's official website on Thursday.
"As a little boy I dreamed of playing in the big stadiums. Standing here now means a lot to me," continued the 32-year-old.
He scored 55 goals in 47 games on the way to the 2020 treble - he only missed five games - and was the top scorer in the Bundesliga (34 goals), Champions League (15) and the DFB Cup (6).
His teammate Manuel Neuer was adjudged goalkeeper of the year in Europe while Joshua Kimmich was chosen as best defender. Manchester City's De Bruyne won the prize for the best midfielder.
Bayern coach Hans-Dieter Flick received the UEFA Men's Coach of the Year 2019/20 award.
The jury was composed of the 80 coaches of the clubs which participated in the group stages of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group from each of UEFA's member associations.
In women's category, Pernille Harder, finalist with Wolfsburg, now with Chelsea, won the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Player of the Year, her second time taking the accolade after her success in 2018.
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