"I'm strong and I have hope" - Pelé reports from the hospital

In view of the latest media reports about his health, Brazilian football legend Pelé (82) has turned to his fans on social networks. “My friends, I want everyone to keep calm and think positive. I am strong, have a lot of hope and am continuing my treatment," wrote the three-time world champion on Instagram on Saturday. “I have a strong belief in God and every message of love I receive from you all around the world gives me new strength.”

In addition, Pelé published a medical bulletin from the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo. “Edson Arantes do Nascimento has been admitted for a re-examination of his chemotherapy for a colon cancer diagnosed in September 2021. He is continuing treatment and is in stable condition," the statement said. "He has also responded well to treatment for the respiratory infection and has shown no deterioration over the past 24 hours."

The newspaper "Folha de S. Paulo" had previously reported that Pelé was no longer responding to chemotherapy. Cancer treatment in the hospital has been suspended and he is only receiving palliative care. For example, he gets medication for the pain and shortness of breath.

In September last year, Pelé had a tumor removed from his colon that doctors discovered during a routine examination. After the operation, Pelé was initially treated in the intensive care unit. He had to stay in the hospital for about a month after the operation. After that, Pelé was repeatedly in the hospital for chemotherapy.

Lionel Messi has now also arrived in the 1000 club. The 35-year-old played the 1000th game of his career as a professional soccer player on Saturday at Al-Rajjan's Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar. Messi captained the Argentina national team in the World Cup round of 16 against Australia.

It was Messi's 23rd World Cup game and he is now level with ex-Italian professional Paolo Maldini. Lothar Matthäus holds the record with 25 World Cup games, followed by Miroslav Klose with 24.

Lionel Messi scored in Argentina's quarter-finals for the first time in the knockout stages of a World Cup. The game seems decided after a goalkeeper buck, but Australia almost manages to make a comeback at the last minute. The highlights in the video.

What: ARD

Messi played the 169th cap of his career against Australia. There are also 778 games for FC Barcelona and 53 games for Paris Saint-Germain since his move last summer. Messi made his professional debut on October 16, 2004 in a city duel at Espanyol Barcelona (1-0), when he came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute.

The Dutch Prime Minister celebrated the Oranje team's round of 16 victory over the USA at the World Cup in Qatar with a joking tweet directed at his American counterpart. "Sorry Joe, football won," Mark Rutte tweeted on Saturday ("Sorry Joe, football won.")

He was referring to a pre-game video tweet by US President Joe Biden, in which he accepted a ball from US captain Tyler Adams and said: "It's called soccer, go USA!" call it soccer, go USA!"). In the end, the American footballers lost 3-1.

After the frustrating World Cup defeat, US national coach Gregg Berhalter wants to think about the future. For the 49-year-old it is not yet clear whether he will also lead the talented team to the home World Cup in 2026. "In the past few months I've been focused on the World Cup. In the coming weeks I want to clear my head and see what comes next," said the former Bundesliga professional.

With regard to the tournament in his own country, the coach is not worried despite the 3-1 draw against the Netherlands in the round of 16 in Doha. “Can we play well enough against top teams to win? The team is close,” stressed Berhalter. “Today's result was a bit strange when you watch the match. But the American public can be optimistic.” The Dutch were simply smarter when it came to converting opportunities. "Other than that there wasn't much between the two teams."

The Netherlands deservedly beat the USA and reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. An absurd goal by the Americans briefly creates suspense in the closing stages, but the Dutch find a quick answer. The highlights in the video.

What: ARD

The German record national player Lothar Matthäus sees a great need for reform after the early end of the DFB team. "There has actually been no sporting success in the last five years, although we have played five competitions. Nations League twice, European Championship once, two World Championships and always missing the target," the 1990 world champion complained to the TV channels RTL and ntv.

He demands consequences: "Now you have to make guidelines at the point where the leadership of the DFB is. We don't need the best academy if we don't have the mentality, passion and quality you need to compete at the top. I miss that emotional element of a captain, of a vice-captain.”

The German referee chief Lutz-Michael Fröhlich considers criticism of Daniel Siebert after his performance in the Uruguay-Ghana match completely inappropriate. Unlike, for example, the former referee Manuel Gräfe, Fröhlich certified that the Berlin referee Siebert had a flawless performance on Friday. “Daniel Siebert mastered the difficult task very well yesterday. He exhausted all possibilities to take the players with him in all important decisions and was very challenged in terms of communication," said Fröhlich.

Uruguay are eliminated early despite a win against Ghana. The South Americans are missing a goal in the long-distance duel with South Korea to reach the round of 16. A denied penalty enraged the South Americans after the game. The highlights in the video.

Source: ZDF

When Uruguay made it 2-0, Siebert denied the South Americans a penalty kick in three contentious scenes. Uruguay would have had to win 3-0 to advance to the knockout stages. Mainly because of an unpunished offense against Edinson Cavani shortly before the end of the game, there were riots and wild protests from the Uruguayan players. According to Fröhlich, Cavani deliberately put his leg in his opponent's path: "In the TV pictures, that's a comprehensible assessment for me and also the right decision."

According to a media report, Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, 82, is no longer responding to chemotherapy. Cancer treatment at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo has been suspended and Pelé is only receiving palliative care, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported on Saturday. He receives medication for the pain and shortness of breath. Palliative care includes the treatment of people with advanced disease and a limited life expectancy.

Pelé was taken to the hospital on Tuesday. His daughter Kely do Nascimiento announced that only her father's medication would be adjusted. The hospital said Pele had full control over his vital signs and was in stable clinical condition. Sports broadcaster ESPN Brasil, on the other hand, reported that Pelé had swelling all over his body. Pelé was diagnosed with a respiratory infection on Friday, which was treated with antibiotics.

In September last year, Pelé had a tumor removed from his colon that doctors discovered during a routine examination. After the operation, Pelé was initially treated in the intensive care unit. He had to stay in the hospital for about a month after the operation. After that, Pelé was repeatedly in the hospital for chemotherapy.

Pelé's health has repeatedly raised concerns in recent years. He underwent several hip surgeries. He also had problems with his spine and knees. Two years ago he had a kidney stone removed after a urinary tract infection. Pelé played 92 international matches and won three World Cup titles with Brazil's national team (1958, 1962, 1970).

The former national team captain Philipp Lahm rated the World Cup from the DFB selection "of course" as a "disaster". “We always need a team that you can really identify with. If there is no success, something is lost somewhere. You noticed that in the last three tournaments," said the 2014 soccer world champion, who worked as a columnist for the editorial network Germany during the tournament in Qatar.

The DFB selection was eliminated on Thursday despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica in the first round. In his function as tournament director of the home European Championship 2024, Lahm looked to the future. "We have to find a root and core that is clear to everyone in Germany. That is enormously important, gives stability and identification,” said the 39-year-old. "That's the be-all and end-all when I look at the EM 2024 in my own country."

The German team fails again in the group stage of a World Cup. Because Spain messed up against Japan and the DFB-Elf was once again negligent with their chances, the World Cup in Qatar is over for Germany. The highlights in the video.

What: ARD

The failure must be analyzed. "Where are we standing? Where do we want to go? And then you have to make decisions. I'm not one for quick fixes. You have to work through it, analyze it and draw the right conclusions from it,” said Lahm.

Doha (AP) - With a song on his lips, Spain's national coach Luis Enrique greeted the fans of his World Cup team on the day when there was no play or training. The 52-year-old published a small video on Instagram on Saturday, especially for FC Barcelona supporters, who made a song by Spanish reggaeton singer Quevedo a World Cup song – it says: “Quedate” (“Stay”). "Let's see if we stay until the final," said Luis Enrique before disappearing into the gym. "That's our goal." The Spaniards will play against Morocco in the round of 16 on Tuesday (4 p.m. / ARD and MagentaTV). Spain was second in Group E ahead of Germany in Qatar.

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo said he was only upset about a spell from an opponent when he was substituted against South Korea. “Before I was substituted, a player told me to go faster. I told him to shut up," Portugal's captain said after the 2-1 draw with South Korea. The opponent has "no authority" for such an announcement. Ronaldo missed out on setting Eusebio's Portuguese World Cup goal record after a poor performance.

Ronaldo described the "polemic" surrounding his substitution in the 65th minute as unnecessary, but justified it with the heat of the game. The offensive player left the field morosely and scolding. It was initially speculated that he was complaining about national coach Fernando Santos' decision to replace him. Santos had already declared immediately after the game that Ronaldo had felt provoked by the opponent. "He was mad at a South Korean player," said Santos.

South Korea wins the long-distance duel against Uruguay in a dramatic way. Against favorite Portugal, the South Koreans secured their ticket to the round of 16 only in injury time thanks to Hwang's goal. The highlights in the video.

What: ARD

Portugal had already secured their ticket to the round of 16 before the defeat, and despite the 1-2 draw, the Portuguese did not give up first place either. "No one likes to lose," said Ronaldo. "But we knew beforehand that we were already qualified and it was only by a miracle that we would not finish first." This should not be a justification. “South Korea did well, they deserve credit. We have to learn our lesson,” demanded the 37-year-old. Opponent in the round of 16 is Switzerland on Tuesday. "I hope we learn from this. We have to win the knockout game, we want to get to the next round," said Ronaldo.

"I'm not there to be her boyfriend or her father, big brother or grandfather - yes I could be for some if I had started early."

(France national coach Deschamps, 54 years old)

After the end of the German team at the World Cup, the interest of television viewers has fallen again. The last game of the group stage on ZDF stayed well below the five million mark. An average of 4.268 million people wanted to watch the live broadcast of the game between Serbia and Switzerland on Friday evening, which, according to the broadcaster, led to a market share of 16.5 percent. More viewers found the ARD “The Advent Festival of 100,000 Lights” with 5.047 million (21.1 percent).

Before the DFB selection was eliminated on Thursday evening, the ratings for the games without German participation had increased. The top value came in the match between Poland and Argentina on Wednesday with 6.72 million and a market share of 25.1 percent.

The average of the ZDF games in the preliminary round was around 4.78 million. Four years ago at the games of the World Cup in Russia this value was still over 9 million. Telekom, which broadcasts all World Cup games in Qatar, does not publish any figures.

In the debate about the consequences of the German World Cup preliminary round, Kevin-Prince Boateng spoke out for personnel consequences at the German Football Association. "There can't be a 'keep it up' at the DFB after this debacle. I even think that a slight personnel earthquake would do the DFB good. It would shake up the association,” wrote the 35-year-old Bundesliga professional from Hertha BSC on Sport1. "Federal coach Hansi Flick, manager Oliver Bierhoff, President Bernd Neuendorf and the players - everyone has to question themselves, everyone has made mistakes."

The national team has returned to Germany after the embarrassing loss of the preliminary round at the World Cup in Qatar. The plane landed at around 6:15 p.m. on Friday evening for a stopover at Munich Airport. When getting out, Thomas Müller made a brief statement.

Source: WORLD

The DFB selection failed on Thursday evening despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica in the World Cup preliminary round and has already left the final round. Flick's contract as national coach runs until the home European Championship in 2024. He had ruled out resigning after the World Cup debacle. The responsible DFB director Bierhoff also assured that he would continue to plan with Flick.

Matthias Sammer still believes in the quality of the national team after another World Cup preliminary round in Qatar. "We have great players. We are not small. We are Germany, we are big," said the 55-year-old Sammer on MagentaTV: "We have now failed several times, but because of issues that are very easy to control."

According to the external advisor to Borussia Dortmund, German football as a whole must now be looked at from various aspects. "We have to talk about it, do we still have an identity in our football? Education will definitely be an issue. That's what I would focus on," said Sammer, adding: "I honestly don't think I'm totally depressed about any topic."

Meanwhile, Sammer does not believe in quick personal consequences for national coach Hansi Flick or other officials at the German Football Association. “We should be talking on a substantive level at this point. I don't like talking about heads right away," said Sammer.

England football legend Gary Lineker feels very entertained by the World Cup preliminary round in Qatar. “The greatest group stage in World Cup history is coming to an end. According to the current status, it cannot be repeated because the plan for 2026 envisages that there will no longer be simultaneous games on the last day of the game, but 16 groups of three," wrote Lineker, who is a TV expert in Qatar, on Twitter. Unlike the current World Cup, 48 teams are to compete in the USA, Mexico and Canada in four years.

In the recent past, the mode with eight groups of four had established itself. Now switch to groups of three. The mode has been criticized for the possibility of agreements, because one team is always left out on the last day of the game. "I think they should reconsider. Imagine in how many groups two teams can reach the same result on the last day of the game,” commented Lineker.

From the point of view of ex-functionary Matthias Sammer, the abolition of the position of sports director at the German Football Association was a mistake. "A sports system without a superordinate sports director - that is the image of the German Football Association," said Sammer on Magenta TV and added: "I've made enough mistakes in my life. But the mistake of abolishing this position, you have to come up with the idea first.”

Sammer himself worked in this capacity at the DFB between 2006 and 2012. After the German national team lost the World Cup, the 55-year-old would like this position to be held again in the future. "The fact is that this person is also partly responsible for the big guidelines," said Sammer: "A sports director sets the big lines and, in my opinion, they need a corrective every two years to make the right adjustments to the small screws turning direction.”

Sammer named record national player Lothar Matthäus as a possible candidate. Born in Saxony, he would also be willing to help the DFB in another capacity. However, he would no longer fill all the posts himself, probably including that of sports director, said Borussia Dortmund's external advisor in a panel of experts.

A return of Brazil's soccer superstar Neymar for the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar is still open. “We still have 72 hours, we still have a chance. Let's wait and see," said team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar late on Friday evening after the 1-0 defeat in the final preliminary round match against Cameroon. "They haven't started the ball yet. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow,” he said, referring to left-back Alex Sandro, who was also injured. The Brazilians start the knockout phase of the tournament against South Korea on Monday (8:00 p.m.).

Until then, they are threatened with further absences because second left-back Alex Telles and attacker Gabriel Jesus were injured against Cameroon. Both complained of knee pain. Neymar, on the other hand, injured his ankle in the first group game against Serbia (2-0) and has been out ever since.

After Brazil, Switzerland qualified for the round of 16 in group G of the preliminary round. The Confederates defeated Serbia 3-2 (2-2) in a highly entertaining game and made it into the knockout phase for the third time in a row. Xherdan Shaqiri (20th minute), Breel Embolo (44th) and Remo Freuler (48th) scored in front of 41,378 spectators for the Swiss, who now meet Portugal with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The Serbs scored goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic (26') and Dusan Vlahovic (35'). Also in their fourth World Cup in a row, Serbia failed in the preliminary round and finished last with just one point.

Switzerland win a thrilling exchange of blows against Serbia and reach the round of 16. After the game, however, everyone is talking about Granit Xhaka. The Swiss shows obscene gestures and provokes the Serbs. There are pack formations. The highlights in the video.

Source: ZDF

Despite a lucky win against Brazil's B team, Cameroon were eliminated from the tournament at the same time. Vincent Aboubakar (90.2) secured the West Africans a flattering 1-0 (0-0) win against the record world champions with his header, but that wasn't enough for the knockout round. Group winners Brazil have already qualified and are looking to take the next step towards their sixth World Cup title against South Korea next Monday. Because Cameroon's goalscorer Aboubakar took off his jersey while celebrating, he saw his second yellow card in the game shortly before the end and had to leave the field with yellow-red.

Cameroon celebrate a sensational victory over Brazil, but are still eliminated from the World Cup. Aboubakar decides the game in stoppage time - and is thrown off the field immediately afterwards. The highlights in the video.

Source: ZDF

The German national team returned to Germany one day after the embarrassing first-round exit at the World Cup in Qatar. The plane landed at around 6:15 p.m. on Friday evening for a stopover at Munich Airport. While the majority of the DFB entourage flew straight on to Frankfurt, a small group led by Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller ended their journey in the Bavarian capital.

Defender Antonio Rüdiger was the first to leave the so-called VIP wing at the airport in a dark blue jacket and climbed straight into the waiting limousine. He didn't want to talk any more than Manuel Neuer, DFB director Oliver Bierhoff or David Raum. Only Thomas Müller, who had indicated his departure from the national team with emotional words on Thursday evening, revealed a small insight into his emotional world: "I feel medium," said the 33-year-old offensive player from FC Bayern.

With the exception of Leroy Sané, all Munich professionals who traveled to Qatar came out of the terminal. Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann could welcome his World Cup stragglers back to team training earlier than expected. Since Monday, and initially until December 9th, a skeleton squad from Munich has been preparing for the second half of the Bundesliga season. It is currently unclear when the players will return.

After the DFB-Elf were eliminated from the preliminary round again at the World Cup, the discussion about the consequences is in full swing. Lars Wallrodt, head of the sports department, is "very tired" when he hears the statement from DFB President Neuendorf and finally calls for a "Klinsmann effect".

Source: WORLD | Lars Wallrodt

Ex-world champion Toni Kroos has suggested a rethinking of the sporting orientation of the German national team with a view to the home European Championship 2024. "It is absolutely a main task towards the next tournament, and it really has to be from the next international match that at some point we really say we have a clear eleven, or at least 13 or 14 players," said the Real Madrid professional on Friday Magenta TV. In the future, a permanent set of professionals should "do as many international matches as possible," said the former international in a panel of experts: "Then they play badly, but then they play again. We should find a formation regardless of names.”

You have to get away from "making it right for three or four players so that they are happy," said the 32-year-old Kroos, citing the English national team as an example. "Probably the best individual player, Phil Foden, doesn't play with the Three Lions because, according to the coach, he doesn't fit in there. And I think we also have to find a clear eleven with automatisms, both offensively and defensively," said Kroos.

In any case, there is no shortage of capable professionals. "We have quality players. It mustn't happen to us that we're twice eliminated from the group. We can lose to Brazil twice in the final, but you can't be eliminated in those two groups," said Kroos. The midfielder was still there in the preliminary round in Russia in 2018, but in Qatar he only watched in front of the television after his retirement.

"It hurt me," said ex-soccer manager Reiner Calmund after the German national team lost the preliminary round in Qatar. In his opinion, however, Hansi Flick cannot be blamed. Now it's time to focus all your energy on the European Championships in Germany.

Source: WELT | Marcus Tychsen

Otto Addo is no longer national coach of Ghana after the World Cup. "It was clear that I would retire after the World Cup. My family and I see our future in Germany. I like my role in Dortmund. Even if we had become world champions, it would have been the end. It's a family decision," said the 47-year-old on Friday. Ghana went into the third game second in Group H but were eliminated by a 2-0 loss to Uruguay.

Addo is still under contract with BVB in the junior division. With the club's approval, Addo took over as Ghana coach earlier this year and led the team against Nigeria to the World Cup finals. This lengthened Addo's engagement. The plan was always for the native of Hamburg to return to BVB. Recently, however, rumors had arisen that Addo could stay longer in Ghana if he was successful.

Manuel Graefe does not believe that the German referee Daniel Siebert will be allowed to officiate more games at the World Cup in Qatar. "An otherwise really good performance in a very difficult game will unfortunately mean that he will not receive another game as a referee," wrote the ARD referee expert on Twitter after Siebert's match between Ghana and Uruguay (0: 2 ), in which Siebert denied the South Americans a penalty kick in the final phase.

For Gräfe (“clear foul play on Cavani”) it was a wrong decision. "That's the lot of the referee - especially at a World Cup," Graefe tweeted. "No World Cup for the DFB - but the causes of the problems lie deeper everywhere." Gräfe was probably also referring to the early tournament end of the German national team. With the DFB selection going home, Siebert actually had the chance to continue playing in the knockout round.

Uruguay are eliminated early despite a win against Ghana. The South Americans are missing a goal in the long-distance duel with South Korea to reach the round of 16. A denied penalty enraged the South Americans after the game. The highlights in the video.

Source: ZDF

A decision at a World Cup has never been so close. Japan wins against Spain over a contentious scene and shoots Germany out of the World Cup. An animation shows that the ball was not out of bounds before the decisive goal.

According to a report by the Guardian, the world football association Fifa and the tournament organizers are considering changing the format for the upcoming mega World Cup in 2026. So far, the first finals are to be played in 16 groups of three with 48 teams in the USA, Canada and Mexico in the preliminary round. According to the report, the possibility of twelve groups of four is currently being discussed "informally" during the World Cup in Qatar.

If the top two in the group and the eight best third-placed teams progress in this mode, that would lead to 104 World Cup games – that would be 40 more games than are currently on the schedule in Qatar.

With 16 groups of three and the following four knockout rounds, a total of 80 World Cup games will be played. This mode was criticized for the higher risk of collusion, since a nation must be free of play. Fifa expects significantly higher income from the increased number of games in the three-country finals. 16 countries that qualify in addition to the previous 32 will benefit.