Gianni Infantino praised the organization of the Russia World Cup and restates that the first Middle East host could expand the tournament. Speaking at FIFA’s closing press conference of the four-week World Cup, the FIFA president said: ”For a couple of years, I was saying this would be the best World Cup ever, today I can say it with more conviction because I lived it and you lived it. It is the best World Cup ever.”
Journalist Jamil Chade of the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper covering the football World Cup, reported on social media he was expelled from his hotel after failing to acquiesce to a request to pay the emir of Qatar's food bill.
London Heathrow Airport its busiest June on record, as more than 7 million passengers traveled through the UK’s hub (+5.4% vs June 2017). On June 26th Heathrow saw a 50% increase in the number of passengers traveling to Russia, compared to the same time last year, as fans traveled out for the football
France is only one step away from reaching the fourth World Cup final of its rich football history. Didier Deschamps’ team beat Uruguay 2-0 and now has qualified for its sixth World Cup semifinal.
Uruguay has passed this Saturday to the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia after beating Portugal 2-1.
Vladimir Putin despite all the sanctions imposed on his administration by foreign countries, is a much respected leader for his direct no-nonsense approach to issues, and he wants to make sure the World Cup hosted by Russia becomes an impeccable, unforgettable global event, in line with the grandness of his beloved two-continent country.
After trading lower for a good part of Tuesday's session, the Ibovespa closed higher for the third consecutive day (+0.64%), to 71,404.59 points, driven mainly by the shares of Petrobras and Vale. The improvement in the U.S. stock markets also helped to recover the benchmark stock index in Brazil, although concerns remain about a world trade war.
A plague of small flying insects have caused chaos for fans, locals and the media in the city of Volgograd where England and Tunisia played on Monday.
Argentina’s Diego Maradona has come out to defend Lionel Messi after the Barcelona attacker missed a penalty in his team’s draw against Iceland on Saturday. Speaking to Telesur, the 1986 World Champion said: ”I missed five penalties in a row and I was still Diego Armando Maradona.
Germany cancelled all media activities on Monday following their 1-0 defeat to Mexico in their 2018 World Cup opener on Sunday. The team trained behind closed doors while a news conference with former captain Philipp Lahm on Germany's bid for the 2024 European Championships was cancelled.