Alisson Becker feels for Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian expected to bring Brazil a record sixth World Cup title. "His position perhaps has more pressure than being the president of the country," the Seleo's top goalkeeper said. Brazil is unbeaten in 20 World Cup openers since 1934, winning 17 going into Saturday night's match against African champion Morocco. Having conquered the globe with Pel, samba soccer and canary yellow jerseys, Brazil was once the nation others emulated. No more. Brazil hasnt won the title since 2002 and has moved past the quarterfinals just once since, a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 semis on home soil in Belo Horizonte. "We're here to try to change history, try to put Brazil back to where it never should have left, which is at the top," striker Vincius Jnior said Friday through an interpreter. "We are at the same level as the other major teams." Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semis, losing 2-0 to France four years ago. The Atlas Lions won their continent's title controversially in January they lost 1-0 to Senegal but were awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory because the Lions of Teranga left the field for 15 minutes during stoppage time in protest of a penalty kick awarded to their opponent. Brazil is ranked sixth in the world and Morocco seventh. "In modern football, there is no how we say? small-time team," Ancelotti said through an interpreter. "They are definitely up to the task." In their one World Cup meeting, Brazil won 3-0 in the 1998 group stage behind goals from Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Bebeto. "We all respect Brazil. Some people say its not the Brazil of before. Well, its still Brazil," Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi said through an interpreter. "They're passionate. They love football. They have great qualities. They really want to win this World Cup." En route to the title during the 1994 World Cup in U.S., Brazil became famous for the baby-rocking goal celebration by Bebeto, joined by teammates Romrio and Mazinho. Ancelotti wouldn't mind more prancing. "It's not banned to dance in the new regulations of FIFA. This is not forbidden," he said. "They want to optimize the time of play, but you can still celebrate and dance." Brazil Faces Great Expectations Back Home Brazilian fans don't anticipate a title. Some expect one and others demand it. "We have a possibility to compete to win," Ancelotti said, switching to English. "We have a good feeling." Ancelotti, the first non-Brazilian to coach the team at a World Cup, took over in May 2025 from Dorival Jnior. He has win a record five Champions League titles leading AC Milan and Real Madrid, and he is the only coach to win championships in all five major European leagues. "I respect him very much. Ive read all his books," Hakimi said playfully. "Maybe Ill have an advantage over him. I know all his secrets." Hot Weather Expected In New York Area A temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) is forecast for kickoff at MetLife Stadium, site of the final on July 19. "We are used to the heat. Were Africans," Hakimi said. Morocco And Brazil Captains Are Friends But Not For The Next 5 Weeks Hakimi and Brazil captain Marquinhos are Paris Saint-Germain teammates and on May 30 they helped their club win a second straight Champions League title. Hakimi said he took two days off before starting World Cup preparations. "When we play together at PSG we have a good laugh and we said on the (World Cup) pitch were not teammates," Hakimi said. "We will talk, of course, but we each want to win and may the best win." Neymar Is Still Sidelined With A Calf Injury Picked for his fourth World Cup at age 34, Neymar is still recovering from a torn right calf and Ancelotti said the nation's career leader with 79 goals won't be ready to play Saturday. "We hope that he can be back in full training next week," Ancelotti said. "When we called up Neymar we didnt only call him up for his footballing qualities, which are undoubted, but also for his experience, because he can be an example for the young players that we have in the squad." Reporting by the Associated Press.

The Americans have high hopes for this tournament, and two standout midfielders will be instrumental in deciding the outcome

Infantino takes a swipe at Italy: maybe they'd qualify with 64 teamsGianni Infantino, FIFA president, continues to stir controversy with his statements about the World Cup and the number of countries participating in this first historic edition.On this occasion, the head of world football was asked about his idea of increasing the number of teams in the World Cup, which had already been raised at the FIFA Council, and he surprised many by mentioning Italys absence."For now, we are enjoying this first historic World Cup with 48 teams.Maybe Italy would qualify with 64 teams. I could expand it to 228 and see if they qualify," he said to CazeTV before the opening in Mexico.As expected, his words were not well received in the boot-shaped country and were seen as a sign of disrespect. This year, Italy suffered its third consecutive elimination in the World Cup qualifiers. It has not appeared at footballs biggest stage since Brazil 2014.This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in here.

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American president Donald Trumps UFC White House card has hit a significant snag, with bad weather delaying a press conference at the historic Lincoln Memorial.

FIFA have provided a remarkable and bizarre excuse for the embarrassing number of empty seats captured by TV cameras at the World Cup.

The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in uncharted waters after seeing their 27-point halftime lead melt at the hands of the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Fans watched it from their couch at home. The Spurs all but watched it from the three-point line. But I digress. Whether or not Spurs fans believe their team should be heading into Saturdays Game 5 with the series even at two games apiece, its time to move on. Now, its time to assess what itll take for San Antonio to bounce back and do what only 14 teams in NBA history have pulled off and only one in the NBA Finals. Thats winning three straight games to overcome a 1-3 series deficit. On the bright side, two of those teams joined the club this year. Lets start there. How can the Spurs become the third team to rally from 1-3 this season? Historically, in a seven-game playoff series, teams that have gone down 3 games to 1 have come back to win the series in 15 of 288 tries, or 5% of the time. That number used to be 4% until this years Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons came around in the first round of this years playoffs. So how did they do it? One reason is they got big contributions from their stars. Lets focus on the Pistons, another young and frisky team like the Spurs. All-NBA point guard Cade Cunningham scored over 30 points in each of Detroits final three games of their series against the Orlando Magic, which all had to be Piston wins. He rarely saw the bench, racking up 44, 42 and 39 minutes in those games. Tobias Harris, a 15-year veteran, also played a pivotal role. Harris was the teams second-leading scorer in each of the latter three games and scored 30 alongside Cunningham in Detroits decisive Game 7 win. And whoever wasnt scoring the basketball for the Pistons was dominating on the glass. Players like Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson helped give Detroit the rebound advantage in each of the final three wins, and their scrappy 43% shooting was enough to do the rest. The 76ers had a similar formula against the Boston Celtics, led by Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Lean on your stars, and dont take a possession off. Every Philadelphia starter played heavy minutes, with little contribution from the bench. They also got a little luck, as the usual sharp-shooting Celtics went ice cold from the three-point line. (Ironic considering how San Antonio just performed from three in Game 4.) Whatever attack plan the Spurs roll with going forward, they have to play smarter and more efficiently. Theres no time to waste. Victor Wembanyama cannot be off his game for a single minute. Just like LeBron James wasnt for the 2016 Cavaliers. One team has overcome a 1-3 deficit in the NBA Finals. Do the Spurs have the same makeup? Every basketball fan of a certain age remembers how special the 2016 NBA Finals was. Its an anomaly in the history of basketball. Now, the ball is in the Spurs court to repeat that anomaly. Unlike that Cleveland Cavaliers team, San Antonio wont have to win three straight games against a team that won 73 games in the regular season with the greatest shooter in history in Stephen Curry. They do, however, have to win three straight games against a Knicks team that has won 14 of their last 15 games these playoffs and just stopped the presses with the largest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals. So how did the Cavs pull it off? Its pretty simple: LeBron James. Not to take away from the other contributors on that Cleveland team, but the definition of carrying is what LeBron James did in games five, six and seven of the 2016 Finals. The first and hardest order of business for a team down 3-1 is making the uphill climb in games five and six just to even the series again. In those games, James exploded with 41 points apiece, while also pacing the Cavs in assists, steals and blocks across the two games. Also notable: just three turnovers in 86 minutes of playing time. That was miracle number one. Then, with everything on the line in Game 7, after playing 43 minutes each in the previous two games, James stayed on the court for a whopping 47 minutes of gametime. (Theres 48 minutes in an NBA game.) He didnt hit the bench outside of a quick water break in the first quarter. That means he didnt open the door for a game-changing point swing in his absence. When the job was finished, James became the first player in NBA history to lead all players on both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks across an entire playoff series. And perhaps most notably, he played 131 of 144 minutes over the final three games of the series. In other words, for the Spurs to pull off the same miracle rally against the Knicks, Wembanyama has to be amazing. But does he have it in him? Spurs 1-3 deficit leaves a career-defining opportunity for Wembanyama Wembanyama is San Antonios equivalent of LeBron James. He has been compared to Tim Duncan, Shaquille ONeal and all of the other greatest big men in the history of basketball. Its time for The Alien to work some sci-fi. The Spurs will need ample contributions from their stars to have a chance at clawing their way back in the NBA Finals. That means heavy minutes for Wembanyama. But Wemby has only played 40 minutes in a game nine times in his career and never in back-to-back games. If the Spurs want a shot at a Game 7, let alone a Game 6, that likely will have to change. Its hard enough for a player Wembys size to play that many minutes at such a high clip; hes already been playing at well above his season average in the playoffs. But its another thing to play 40 impactful minutes at the latest stage of a 100+ game season and in the biggest games. These young Spurs may very well be running on fumes and adrenaline at this point in the season. And even when Wembanyama has played 40 minutes or more in a game this season, San Antonio is just 3-4. Remember, no team has come back to win the NBA Finals after dropping the first two games at home. Thats where the Spurs find themselves. Now, Wembanyama and company must do the unthinkable to dig out of their latest hole or not think anything at all. Read also:Inside a San Antonio great-grandmothers incredible Spurs collectionI could have done better: Spurs eager to move on from Game 4 collapse, prepare for Game 5 at homeBCSO to increase security presence at Frost Bank Center for Game 5 of NBA Finals, sheriff says

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is day to day with left knee inflammation.Ohtani was out of the starting lineup for Friday night's series opener at the Chicago White Sox. But manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani could play this weekend and remains in line to make his next scheduled start on the mound on Wednesday.Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday nights 8-6 win at Pittsburgh.Hes doing fine today, Roberts said before Friday's matchup with the White Sox. I think that we got some pictures. There was no findings. Its just the normal wear and tear. I thought initially it was a hamstring, it was the knee. So it just kind of got upset, swelled up a little bit.Ohtani, 31, is batting .305 with 13 homers and 40 RBIs in 67 games for the NL West leaders. On the mound, the reigning NL MVP is 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts.Ohtani had surgery on his left knee in September 2019. Roberts said the swelling is in the back of the knee.Thats where a lot of the swelling with the knee kind of like builds, Roberts said. But again his range of motion today is good and so if it was another time in the season hed be in there tonight.Ohtani did not speak with the media before the game.Alex Call was in the leadoff spot for Los Angeles and Santiago Espinal stepped in as the designated hitter.Roberts also said utilityman Tommy Edman is on track to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. Edman, who is coming back from offseason ankle surgery, is on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is on the 60-day IL because of a back issue, could start playing catch soon.(Glasnow) feels great, so hes going to start kind of ramping things up, Roberts said.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The death of celebrated British artist David Hockney features on many of Saturday's front pages.

Gastgeber USA ist bereit fr den Start ins Turnier - und erinnert sich an die letzte Weltmeisterschaft in den USA.[mehr]