FIFA World Cup 2026: Saibari ruled out as Morocco coach Ouahbi vows f…

Massachusetts [US], July 9 (ANI): Morocco will be without in-form forward Ismael Saibari for their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final against France, but head coach Mohamed Ouahbi insists the Atlas Lions will stick to their philosophy as they chase a historic place in the semi-finals. sport-tr.bet

Saibari, who injured his hamstring during Morocco’s 3-0 Round of 16 victory over Canada, has failed to recover in time for Thursday’s (local time) clash against the two-time world champions.

“He’s not ready but I hope it’s not the end of the tournament for him," Ouahbi told reporters, as per Reuters.

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The PSV Eindhoven forward has been one of Morocco’s standout performers at the tournament, scoring in all three group-stage matches before converting the decisive penalty in the shootout victory over the Netherlands in the Round of 32.

Despite the absence of one of his key attacking players, Ouahbi said Morocco would not deviate from the style that has taken them to the last eight.

“With regards to preparing for the match, there will not be any surprises. I have nothing to hide. I’m not somebody who is keen on surprises, and those of you who have analysed our games, you know that we have a clear idea of how we want to play," he said, as per Reuters.

“Of course, the key will be to hurt them when we have possession, but it’s not only on the wings. We have to be patient with the ball, and to find where we can go through on the sides or in the centre," said Ouahbi.

“We’ve proven that we can hurt any team, and that’s the goal. But I’m not going to go into too many details," he added.

The meeting is a rematch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final, when France ended Morocco’s dream run with a 2-0 victory. However, Ouahbi believes both teams have evolved significantly over the last four years.

“Every match is different, has its own context, its own history, and it’s not going to be the same as in 2022," he said.

“What is important is that now we have a team that is different. We’re going to face a different French team than the one from four years ago. Both teams are even better and that’s normal because we are two federations, two countries that work very well," Moroccan head coach said.

Ouahbi also rejected suggestions that simply reaching the quarter-finals should satisfy his players.

“I always like to say that we’ll take stock of the situation at the end of the tournament," he said. “We’re not going to listen to people who will say, ‘Oh, it’s great what you have done up till now’. France might be favourites, but we were going to do everything possible to win. Being at this stage is not a bonus. The bonus is to win the World Cup."

France arrive in Foxborough with a perfect record, having won all five of their matches. Didier Deschamps’s side topped Group I before defeating Sweden and edging past Paraguay in the Round of 16 courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe penalty.

Mbappe, who has scored seven goals in the tournament, leads a potent French attack featuring Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola as Les Bleus seek a third successive FIFA World Cup semi-final appearance.

Morocco, unbeaten in 10 matches since January’s Africa Cup of Nations final, are aiming to defeat France for the first time after four defeats and two draws in their previous six meetings. The winners will face either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler Mohsin Khan has decided to enter the Uttar Pradesh T20 League (UPT20 2026) auction ahead of the upcoming edition of the tournament. The pacer, who has been a part of the Kanpur Superstars team for the last two seasons, has decided against being retained by the team. Khan was last seen in action for LSG in IPL 2026 where he picked up 11 wickets in 7 matches and was one of their best bowlers in the season.

Mohsin Khan to enter UPT20 auction

As per The Times of India, Mohsin has decided to enter the UPT20 auction as he wishes to go with the flow and explore. The pacer, who has had a fair share of injuries in the past, has declared that he is completely fit for action. As per the report, Kanpur Superstars were very keen to retain Sameer Rizvi, Adarsh Singh, Shubh, Aaqib Khan, Pankaj and Vineet Panwar apart from Mohsin. However, the pacer informed the franchise that he wishes to enter the auction instead.

“This year, I will go for the auction. I want to explore and go with the flow. I am fit for action,” Mohsin Khan told the publication.

In his first UPT20 season, Mohsin picked up 15 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 6.94. He was retained by the franchise in 2025 but missed the tournament as he was out due to injury. Talking about his journey in the IPL, Moshin Khan has been a part of LSG since 2022. His best season came in his very first year where he bagged 14 scalps in 9 matches. The following year, he played only 5 matches and took 3 wickets. Khan then played 10 games in 2024 after which he missed the entire IPL 2025 campaign due to injury concerns. Despite that, he was retained by LSG ahead of the mini-auction.

In IPL 2026, Mohsin registered his maiden five-wicket haul in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders, finishing with outstanding figures of 5/23. He averaged 20.72 in the season at an economy rate of 8.14.

The post LSG pacer Mohsin Khan opts against retention, to enter UPT20 2026 auction in bid to ‘explore’ appeared first on Inside Sport India.

Test cricket has always been regarded as the purest and most demanding format of the game. It is where patience, technique, temperament and tactical awareness are tested over multiple days. It is also the format by which cricketing greatness has traditionally been measured. But if Test cricket is truly the pinnacle of the sport, why are women given so few opportunities to play it?

The numbers tell a compelling story. In 2025, men’s cricket featured 42 Test matches across seven series, driven by the World Test Championship cycle, ensuring every series carried context and significance. Women’s cricket, however, had just one Test-the Ashes Test in January. In 2026, six months into the calendar, only one women’s Test has been played, with England and India set to contest just the second from July 10.

For the first time in history, Lord’s, the Home of Cricket will host a women’s Test match. Almost 50 years after Lord’s welcomed women for its first international fixture in 1976, the iconic venue will finally stage the longest format of the women’s game. England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt will also become the first English woman to captain a Test side at Lord’s, making it another historic milestone.

But while the occasion deserves celebration, it also highlights a larger problem.

Unlike their male counterparts, women do not have a robust red-ball pathway. Male cricketers spend years playing domestic first-class competitions such as the Ranji Trophy, County Championship or Sheffield Shield before earning a Test cap. Those tournaments help them master the unique demands of red-ball cricket-leaving deliveries outside the off stump, batting through sessions, managing changing pitch conditions and building long innings. Women, on the other hand, have almost no comparable domestic structure. Many make their Test debut with little or no multi-day experience.

In fact, of the 12 ICC Full Member nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe do not play women’s Test cricket at all, while New Zealand has not played a women’s Test since 2004, with its focus shifting almost entirely to white-ball cricket. As a result, most women cricketers grow up playing only T20s and ODIs, leaving them with very little experience of the red-ball game.

Yet, they are still judged by the same standards.

When batting collapses occur or matches end in draws, criticism often focuses on quality rather than exposure. But technical excellence cannot be developed in isolation. With women’s cricket increasingly centred around T20 leagues, bilateral ODIs and ICC events, players are conditioned for white-ball cricket. The patience, defensive technique and tactical depth that Test cricket demands simply cannot be developed through occasional one-off matches.

The absence of regular Test cricket also means the women’s game has been denied the traditions that define the format. Men’s cricket is built around iconic contests such as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Ashes and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, rivalries that have grown over decades and become part of cricket’s identity. But there is no Goswami-Clarke Trophy, no Raj-Edwards Trophy, no equivalent contests that fans eagerly anticipate. Not because women’s cricket lacks legends worthy of such recognition, but because the format has never been given enough continuity to create those traditions. Without regular bilateral Test series, there is little opportunity for rivalries, legacies and history to take shape.

Every time a women’s Test is scheduled, it is celebrated as a historic occasion. While these moments deserve recognition, one match every year or two is not enough to help the format grow. A single Test cannot create rivalries, build experience or help players develop into red-ball specialists. It creates excitement for a few days, but not a strong future for the format.

If Test cricket is truly considered the highest form of the game, then women deserve more than occasional opportunities to wear the whites. They need a proper domestic red-ball structure, regular Test series and an international calendar that gives Test cricket the importance it deserves.

Until that happens, calling Test cricket the pinnacle of cricket while giving women so few chances to play it remains one of the biggest contradictions in the sport.

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Massachusetts [US], July 9 (ANI): Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has dismissed suggestions that his side has already exceeded expectations at the FIFA World Cup 2026, insisting the Atlas Lions are targeting the title as they prepare for a blockbuster quarter-final clash against France on Thursday (local time).

Morocco face France in a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where Les Bleus ended the North African nation’s historic run. This time, however, Ouahbi believes his team has every reason to dream bigger despite acknowledging France’s status as favourites.

“We will take stock at the end of the tournament," Ouahbi told reporters, as per Reuters. “I will not say anything now because we can have more. We are not going to listen to people who will say ‘what you have done up to now is wonderful’."

“France are favourites but we will do everything possible to win tomorrow and qualify for the semi-finals," he added. “I don’t like this feeling ‘we have done well to get here and all the rest is bonus’. No, the bonus is to win the World Cup. This is how we have come this far and we will go further."

Ouahbi stressed that his players must approach the contest without fear against one of the tournament’s strongest teams.

“It is not a question of assets," he said, according to Reuters. “The Moroccan side is evolving as is France. The key is to play the match without regrets. There are things to improve tomorrow. We have to play at 2,000% and not think what we have done up to now is not bad."

France enter the last-eight encounter chasing a third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final appearance. Didier Deschamps’ side have won all five of their matches so far, topping Group I before defeating Sweden and edging past Paraguay 1-0 in the Round of 16 thanks to a penalty from captain Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe has scored seven goals in the tournament, second only to Lionel Messi’s eight, and headlines a formidable French attack alongside Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola. Young midfielder Desire Doue has also impressed after winning the decisive penalty against Paraguay.

The match will also be a landmark occasion for France coach Didier Deschamps, who is set to equal Helmut Schon’s record by managing his 25th FIFA World Cup match. Deschamps, who is due to step down after the tournament, is also chasing his 20th World Cup victory as coach.

Morocco, meanwhile, have continued their impressive rise since reaching the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago. Ranked seventh in the world, the Atlas Lions finished second in Group C before defeating the Netherlands on penalties in the Round of 32 and overcoming co-hosts Canada 3-0 in the Round of 16, with Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice and substitute Soufiane Rahimi adding a late goal.

The Atlas Lions are unbeaten in 10 matches since January’s Africa Cup of Nations final but are still searching for their first-ever victory over France, having lost four and drawn two of their previous six meetings.

The winners of Thursday’s quarter-final will book a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals, where either Spain or Belgium await. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Will July 7 now be remembered as another dark day in Atlanta’s sporting history?

It is difficult to describe it any other way. The aftermath of the Argentina-Egypt World Cup match has turned French referee François Letexier into the central figure of a global controversy. At the heart of it all is Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which has become the focal point of debate across the footballing world. The discussions have become so intense that, at times, they seem to overshadow even one of the city’s darkest sporting memories—the controversy surrounding the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Back then, it was July 27, 1996. The Summer Olympics were underway when a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park. Authorities later identified extremist Eric Rudolph as the man responsible for the attack. The explosion left one person dead and injured 111 others.

Nothing of that magnitude happened physically after the Argentina-Egypt match on July 7. There were no casualties. Yet millions of football supporters around the world feel something far more intangible was taken away from them. The outrage over Letexier’s decisions has divided the football community like few refereeing performances ever have.

Away from football, Letexier is a lawyer by profession. Many believe that explains his officiating style. Critics argue that he places greater emphasis on applying the laws of the game to the letter than preserving its spirit. Maintaining the flow of football, they say, is secondary to ensuring every technical aspect of the rulebook is followed. His reliance on VAR has drawn criticism before, and Tuesday’s Round of 16 clash only intensified those concerns.

The biggest talking point came when Egypt’s Mostafa Ziko thought he had scored against Argentina. While the Egyptian players celebrated, Letexier reviewed the sequence through VAR and ruled that, nearly 30 seconds before the goal, midfielder Marwan Attia had committed a foul on Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez during the build-up. The goal was disallowed.

The controversy stems from what happened after that challenge. Egypt completed several more passes before Ziko eventually found the net. Had the goal stood, Egypt would have gone 3-0 ahead. Whether Argentina could have staged the remarkable comeback that followed is now one of football’s biggest “what ifs.”

The debate became even louder towards the end of the match. Egypt felt Mohamed Salah was brought down inside the penalty area, but no penalty was awarded. More significantly, the referee did not even consult VAR.

How could two situations in the same match be treated so differently?

Technically, the Laws of the Game allow VAR to review an attacking phase leading to a goal. The referee was within his rights to go back and identify a foul if he believed one had occurred. But whether to scrutinise an incident that far back in the build-up remains a matter of judgement. That naturally raises another question: if such extensive review was justified for Argentina’s benefit, why was VAR not used for Egypt’s penalty appeal?

It is precisely this inconsistency that has split opinion across the sporting world.

The controversy has reached well beyond football. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov publicly criticised FIFA, alleging that the governing body consistently favours football’s biggest stars. He questioned how a goal could be ruled out because of an incident so far earlier in the move, while Egypt’s penalty appeal received no VAR review at all.

The Egyptian Football Association reacted immediately after the final whistle. Following an emergency meeting, it lodged a formal complaint with FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee against Letexier, alleging biased officiating and requesting that he be removed from officiating any remaining matches at the tournament.

Whether FIFA acts on that request or not, it will not change Egypt’s fate. Their World Cup journey is over, and they must now wait another four years for another opportunity.

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan did not hold back after the match.

“What the referee did to us was institutional theft,” he said. “He found a reason to review and cancel our goal, but when it came to us, he suddenly became blind.”

Hassan went further, suggesting that commercial interests influence football’s biggest tournament.

“FIFA talks about fair play, but acts differently. When the intention is to ensure the bigger teams reach the latter stages, what is the point of inviting teams like us? Keeping Messi in the tournament is also a commercial decision. Billions of dollars are involved. That is why decisions like these are made against smaller nations.”

The Egyptian coach revealed that he confronted Letexier after the match and told him history would never forgive his decisions. He suggested the referee may have succumbed to pressures beyond the game itself.

The controversy has added to a growing list of issues surrounding the World Cup in the United States. Since the tournament began, there have already been complaints over ticket prices and concerns about the treatment of Iran. Now, many believe another underdog has been denied its rightful chance.

Inside the Egyptian dressing room after the final whistle, Mostafa Ziko and goalkeeper El Shenawy were reportedly in tears. Captain Mohamed Salah tried to console them.

“The whole world saw what happened to us today,” Salah reportedly told his teammates. “We did not lose. We were made to lose.”

It is only natural that Egypt’s players and coaching staff would protest after such a painful exit. But after Tuesday night in Atlanta, many observers across the football world appear to be giving serious thought to the questions raised by Hossam Hassan.

Are underdog nations truly competing on equal terms? Or do commercial interests worth billions of dollars influence the biggest decisions in world football?

Also Read: Did the Officials Get It Right? Breaking Down the Biggest Calls in Argentina vs Egypt

The post The Night Atlanta Became Football’s Most Controversial Stage appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.