LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Grant Wahl, one of America’s best-known soccer writers, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was 48.
U. S. media sitting next to him said Wahl fell in a segment of Lusail Stadium reserved for reporters during overtime of the game, and reporters next to him called for help.
Rescuers responded very quickly, treating him for 20 or 30 minutes at the scene and then pulling him out on a stretcher, said Keir Radnedge, a veteran British sports journalist who worked nearby at the time.
The World Cup organizing committee said he was taken to Doha’s Hamad General Hospital, but did not say the cause of death. the wishes of the family,” he said in a statement.
We remain shocked and saddened by his passing and extend our deepest condolences and condolences to his wife, family, friends and colegas. pic. twitter. com/PmWVdftKZl
– FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Wahl, who wrote for Sports Illustrated for a decade and then introduced his own website, was a leading voice in introducing professional football to an American audience more accustomed to viewing sports as a school-level game. He also took a critical look at the organizational bodies. of foreign sport.
He “really helped put the major sports in the United States on the map,” Radnedge said.
“Grant had a solid ethical compass, about where to play and how to play. . . help set criteria for people,” he said.
Learn more: https://t. co/aUH29yqg3b pic. twitter. com/Y9jLDy90ge
– News from the sky (@SkyNews) December 10, 2022
Wahl was covering his eighth World Cup. He wrote on his online page on Monday that he had visited a medical clinic during his stay in Qatar.
“In spite of everything, my body collapsed in the most sensitive part of me. Three weeks of poor sleep, altitude tension and a lot of work can do this to you,” Grant Wahl wrote. in something more serious on match night USA. I can feel my upper chest take on a new point of tension and discomfort. “
Wahl wrote that he had tested negative for COVID-19 and sought a remedy for his symptoms.
“Today I went to the medical clinic in the main media center and was told I had bronchitis. I was given a course of antibiotics and cough syrup, and I already feel a little better a few hours later. But still: Not good,” he wrote.
– Jesse Marsch (@jessemarsch) December 10, 2022
Wahl tweeted Wednesday that he celebrated his birthday that day.
“We can count on Grant to provide insightful and entertaining stories about our game and its key players,” the U. S. Soccer Federation said. U. S. in a statement. ” Grant’s confidence in the power of the game to advance human rights has been and will continue to be an inspiration. “everyone. Grant has made football his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing are no longer with us.
Wahl’s wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, tweeted that she was grateful for her husband’s “football family” and friends who had reached out.
“I’m shocked,” wrote Gounder, an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, an attending physician at Bellevue Hospital Center and a contributor to CBS News.
– Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 10, 2022
U. S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet that U. S. officials were in contact with the Qatari government “so that his family’s wishes are granted as temporarily as possible. “
Wahl wore a rainbow jersey in support of LGBTQ rights at the opening of the U. S. World Cup. He was told by the U. S. against Wales on Nov. 21 and wrote that security denied him access and told him to take off his shirt. Gay and lesbian sex is criminalized in Qatar, a conservative Muslim emirate.
Wahl wrote that he was detained for 25 minutes at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and then released through a security commander. Wahl said FIFA apologized to him.
Among Grant Wahl’s paintings before he started canopy, exclusively a Sports Illustrated story about LeBron James in 2002, when James was a junior at St. James in S. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.
“He’s been great to be with. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron,” James said in Philadelphia after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the 76ers. Going back to myself as a teenager and had Grant at our construction in St. V’s. It is a tragic loss. It’s unfortunate to lose someone as big as him. I wish his circle of family well. May he rest in paradise.
– FIFA. com (@FIFAcom) December 10, 2022
A voter at FIFA’s annual awards, Wahl is one of 82 journalists honored last week through FIFA and the AIPS foreign sports press deal for attending 8 or more World Cups.
“His immense love for football and his reports will be missed by all who adhere to world football,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
Wahl graduated from Princeton in 1996 and worked for Sports Illustrated from 1996 to 2021, known for its school football and basketball policy. He then introduced his own website.
Wahl worked for Fox Sports from 2012 to 2019.
His death at the World Cup stunned his fellow journalists covering the matches.
“You come to a World Cup as a journalist to work, to share the stress, the pressures but also the pleasures and fascination of it, and to share that with your readers, your listeners, your viewers. That’s what Grant did, that’s what he enjoyed doing. Everyone identified that enthusiasm in him,” Radnedge said.
“So for him to be with us at such a young age is a big impact. “
—
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews. com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter. com/AP-Sports
When the Premier League returns to play on Boxing Day, Jesse Marsch expects above all to see a much more advanced Leeds United defense, capable of playing the final games and securing the deserved points.
[ MORE: Premier League | World Cup Calendar Schedule ]
At least that’s one of the many things the Leeds boss told NBC Sports’ Tim Howard in an exclusive interview from sunny Spain, where the 15th-ranked PL team enjoys an educational camp in hot weather as the 2022 World Cup arrives in Qatar. an end. USMNT stars Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson are not (yet) among them, as they have 10 days off to recharge.
One of them, a USMNT legend with 121 caps and the other, a popular choice to one day manage the Yankees, Tim Howard and Jesse Marsch touched on more than a dozen main topics in their hour-long verbal exchange, divided into two parts: Part 1 on Leeds and the Premier League (above), and Part 2 on the USMNT’s race to the World Cup knockout stages (below).
[ SEEDS OF THE WORLD CUP: analysis of Argentina vs Croatia | Preview France vs Morocco ]
Some opted for Jesse Marsch quotes, about his time at Leeds so far. . .
“I realised that when we play at home, it’s vital that we constitute what the enthusiasts want to see, which is passion, power, running and aggressiveness and commitment to play the match that lasted over 90 minutes. It becomes a feature of what we want to be here, because that’s what enthusiasts demand.
“It’s a big club and there’s a lot of pressure, but I think I have compatibility with the behaviour and concept of what the club is. I think that’s one of the reasons club officials have been chasing me to bring me here, because they think I have compatibility with the mentality of what we do here.
. . .
“We play smart football. I think the biggest merit is that we realized the way we should play and who we should be, that we can compete with the most productive. We can compete with the most productive groups in the world. “
“And then there are other moments where we seem volatile defensively and we want to blank some things. We let too much trouble slip away. There were a number of games where I felt like we were at the most sensitive part of the game and felt like we were the biggest team, and we came out without problems.
“Part of that is that we are young, there are a lot of players we have who are new to the Premier League and what is the aim of each game, and part of that is just proceeding to have interaction in our process and upbringing. “believe. . . It’s hard: defeats are more than wins are yours, and finding a way in those deep moments to find answers and stay positive occasionally will determine how much we can drive our learning curve and how smart we are as a team. Maybe, and how fast we can be a smart team.
. . .
“The biggest advantage [of the World Cup break] is that we have time, mentally and physically, to restart. You have played in the Premier League for many years, with the intensity of what the league is, thinking about betting the total. “season until Boxing Day and the Christmas match list, it’s crazy.
“When I was in Germany and Austria, we had a little break in winter where you can join. So, I’m grateful, but we have to prepare because when we come back, the games come back temporarily and furiously opposed. “for us.
“I think the disadvantages for us, we were on the right track: clearly the win against Liverpool; the second leg win against Bournemouth; I think the performance against Tottenham, although it was a defeat and it was frustrating that we lost the game in the end, we played very well in that game.
“I think we’re in a recovery, and the key for us is to pick up where we left off. “
. . .
“The big challenge is that, defensively, we just need to be more stable. We feel that it is too simple to create wonderful opportunities in front of us and that we conceded too many passes. . . We think part of that is that when you take the lead, we almost went into shield mode to protect your head instead of staying on the front foot to keep going after the game.
“I had a consultation after a game, where Gary Lineker from ‘Match of the Day’ asked me, ‘It turns out your team is weakening and you’re more open and your competitiveness is making you lose goals. ‘and I said, ‘Actually, I feel like we’re not competitive enough right now,’ and I think he went crazy.
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Argentina and Croatia face each other in the semifinals of the World Cup and all eyes are on Lionel Messi, who intends to take a step towards fulfilling his only wish: to win the World Cup.
ARGENTINA VS CROATIA LIVE STREAM
La Albiceleste has done things in the most difficult way in this World Cup, but they are among the last 4 and are the big favorites against a damn Croatian team. Lionel Scaloni has noticed that his team improves during the tournament and there is a greater balance between this midfield and this Argentine defense. In addition, they have Messi.
As for Croatia, once back we were all surprised. Luka Modric pulls the strings and pushes back the years in midfield, as Croatia have notably reached the semi-finals in 3 of their six World Cup appearances. Zlatko Dalic has a full roster of veterans and as they showed in their quarter-final win over Brazil, the 2018 finalists can hold on, thwart and then attack when they get the chance.
[LIVE: 2022 World Cup schedule, how to watch, scores, center]
Here’s everything you want for Argentina vs Croatia.
Obviously, everyone will be keeping an eye on Lionel Messi as he lends a hand against the Netherlands by showcasing his otherworldly skills. Others have also accompanied Argentina, namely Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo de Paul and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield. In defense, Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi had good tournaments, while Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel will miss this match by sanction.
Croatia has the talented and experienced trio of Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic in midfield, while youngster Josko Gvardiol has been sensational in midfield, as has Borna Sosa at left-back. The star of his penalties against Japan and Brazil has had goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and Croatia will ask him for more heroism if they want to disappoint Argentina.
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Defending World Cup champions France face Morocco with a wonderful package in a mouth-watering World Cup semi-final.
Everyone expects France to progress, but this World Cup has many surprises, the maximum involving Morocco.
LIVE STREAM FRANCE – MOROCCO
Didier Deschamps’ look beat England in the quarter-finals, as Les Bleus looked fragile defensively but had plenty of quality in attack. Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann interfere at other times and the French are stepping up. Their quest to become the third team in history to win consecutive World Cups is fine and, in fact, on track.
As for Morocco, well, what to say that has not already been said about the adventure of the Atlas Lions until the semifinals?They made history as the first African team to triumph in the knockout stages and beat Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages, appearing courage, power and quality, as they are the overall unit of the team. Only a few months after the start of the work, which was done through an assignment manager Walid Regragui. The fact that Regragui was born in France and the fact that several of his players play in France adds an extra touch to this intriguing clash.
[LIVE: 2022 World Cup schedule, how to watch, scores, center]
Here’s everything you want for France vs Morocco.
Kylian Mbappe, the World Cup’s most sensible scorer, remained quiet in England, but Griezmann pulled the strings in his new role as No. 10 and Giroud made the impression with the winning goal as the French continued to find a way to win. think Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Chrismost Sensibleher Nkunku, all absent from this tournament due to injury, the strength of their team is sensational. In silence, Aurélien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot were also very good in midfield. The only challenge is that France has not yet kept its cage inviolate, and it is vulnerable at the counter.
As for Morocco, their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was exceptional, as was captain Romain Saiss (who suffers a biceps femoris injury) while Achraf Hakimi, Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech bring them genuine quality in the wide areas. The star of the show was Sofyan Amrabat in midfield, while Azzedine Ounahi was a revelation alongside him. The truth is that the entire Moroccan team has shone and has left 4 blank goals in five games so far in the World Cup. They are well disposed defensively but break with their goal and their capabilities when they have the opportunity to attack. They are so dangerous, especially with their enormous size that it has made all their World Cup matches look like home games.
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The 2022 World Cup calendar is closed and this tournament in Qatar has been sensational as the knockout stages will capture the world.
[ LIVE : Watch the World Cup in Spanish on Peacock ]
Japan, Australia and Morocco have reached the knockout stages with so many massive surprises during the tournament, but the Atlas Lions are the only ones in the trio to reach the semi-finals. Germany, Denmark and Belgium crashed in the organizational phase.
In the quarterfinals, Croatia eliminated favourites Brazil by consequences to blow up the tournament, while Argentina beat the Netherlands by consequences in an epic encounter.
[ PLUS: World Cup rosters for all 32 ]
The other in the table saw Morocco stun Portugal and will face France in the semi-finals after Les Bleus beat England.
So, yes, quarter-ultimates, semi-ultimates and ultimate be dynamite. bring. this. sur.
[MORE: How to Watch the Premier League in the U. S. UU. ]
Below you will find the full program, main points on how to watch the matches and everything you need.
[ PLUS: World Cup odds ]
Match – Tuesday, December 13: Argentina vs Croatia (preview/live) – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 2pm
Match – Wednesday, December 14: France vs Morocco (preview/live) – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 2pm
Game 63 – Saturday, December 17: Losers Match vs Losers Game 62 – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan – 2pm
Game 64 – Sunday, December 18: Winners Game vs Winners Game 62 – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 10 a. m.
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