Herve Renard acknowledged Saudi Arabia benefited from an 'off day' for Argentina in their "crazy" World Cup win.

Saudi Arabia came from behind to sensationally shock the South American champions 2-1 in their Group C opener at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.

Argentina led through Lionel Messi's 10th minute penalty and had a further three goals disallowed in the first half.

"If we conceded a second goal, I think this game is finished," said Saudi Arabia coach Renard, adding he was "not happy" with the first-half display from his team.

"The determination was not good," he said. "At a World Cup, you have to give everything, because we cannot play how we played in the first half."

After the break, however, Saudi Arabia caught the Albiceleste out twice in quick succession, scoring through Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari to turn the match on its head and secure a lead they defended bravely until the final whistle.

Renard thanked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for not "putting too much pressure" on his side, explaining that helped Saudi Arabia to prepare "very well".

"And today," he added. "All the stars in the sky were in the same line for us.

"But don't forget Argentina is still a fantastic team. They came here without losing in 36 games.

"They are South American champions, they have amazing players, but this is football, sometimes it can happen – things that are crazy."

Renard could understand why Argentina underperformed in a game in which they were huge favourites.

"Can you imagine Lionel Messi playing against Saudi Arabia? He will say they have to start well, but the motivation is not like when he plays Brazil," Renard said. "This is football.

"We made history for Saudi Arabia. This will stay forever. This is important.

"But we need to think about moving forward. We still have two games that are very difficult for us."

Renard added: "Anything can happen. You can win the first game and not qualify. You can lose the first game and be world champion for Argentina. It's possible.

"Let's enjoy this competition and be ready for the second game."

Wales football chiefs are demanding answers from FIFA after fans were told to remove and discard rainbow-coloured hats before going into the World Cup game against the United States.

The Wales team's LGBTQ+ supporters group, known as the Rainbow Wall, has representation in Qatar, and its bucket hats were being worn by a number of fans arriving at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Monday.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said it had played a part in the Rainbow Wall bucket hats being created and was "extremely disappointed" female fans were instructed to give up the items.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FAW said: "The FAW has collated information on these alleged incidents and will be addressing this matter directly with FIFA today."

Former Wales footballer Laura McAllister was among those affected and told the BBC the security was "pretty heavy-handed", although she "snuck" her hat into the stadium.

The FAW has itself faced criticism from the Rainbow Wall group after backing down in the face of FIFA opposition to captain Gareth Bale wearing a 'OneLove' armband during the USA game.

Fearing Bale might be yellow-carded for wearing the armband, which would have been in defiance of instruction from tournament organisers, Wales opted against taking the planned stance.

The 'OneLove' gesture in Qatar was intended as a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, in a country where same-sex sexual activity is criminalised.

Wales were among seven European teams that had planned to field their captain in the armband before jointly electing not to do so after being made aware of possible ramifications from world governing body FIFA.

The Rainbow Wall group said that "a huge opportunity had been missed for the FAW to send a message of solidarity inclusion; not only for LGBTIQ+ people in Wales, but also for LGBTIQ+ people in Qatar who face criminalisation, surveillance, violence and fear in their own country".

In a statement, the group added: "Later in the day we were appalled to see Rainbow Wall bucket hats confiscated by security from female fans as they entered the stadium for the USA v Wales game.

"Allyship sometimes means having uncomfortable conversations and standing up for what you believe in. We hope the FAW will be able to make an alternative and meaningful show of solidarity for LGBTIQ+ people over the coming weeks in Qatar."

Lautaro Martinez put Argentina's stunning 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their World Cup Group C opener on Tuesday down to their own "mistakes".

Lionel Messi put La Albiceleste ahead early on from the penalty spot at Lusail Stadium, but two goals in the space of five second-half minutes from Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari completed one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.

Martinez, who had two efforts ruled out for offside with the score at 1-0, lamented his side's sloppiness and says their focus needs to turn immediately to their two remaining Group C games against Mexico and Poland.

"We lost the game due to our mistakes more than anything in the second half," he said. "In the first half we had to score more than one goal, but this is the World Cup.

"Now to rest and think about what is coming. It's two big games now. Mexico and Poland are going to make difficult rivals, as it was today too. 

"In the second half we made mistakes; we have to correct that for what is to come.

"The defeat hurts a lot. We wanted to start by winning, but it's over. We need to think about the games that are coming."

The defeat was Argentina's first since July 2019, when they lost 2-0 to Brazil, ending a run of 36 matches unbeaten.

The result saw Lionel Scaloni's men lose a World Cup match after scoring the first goal for the first time since 1958 against Germany, while it was the first time they lost after leading at half-time since the 1930 final against Uruguay.

Germany are not used to World Cup failures and do not intend to reflect on their Russia 2018 experience as they prepare to begin their 2022 campaign against Japan.

Die Mannschaft are four-time world champions and have reached at least the semi-finals at four of the five tournaments since the start of this century – more than any other nation over this period.

But the exception came four years ago as Germany – then the holders – exited in the group stage, losing to Mexico and South Korea.

It was the first time since 1950, when Germany were last absent from the World Cup, that they had failed to progress beyond the first round.

Defender Niklas Sule's only finals appearance to date was in the 2-0 reverse against South Korea, and it is not an experience he is particularly keen to revisit.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he told the media.

"We are in a fast-paced society where there is no time for success and failure. I also explicitly mention the successes. What happened yesterday no longer interests anyone." 

Germany, who will be without the injured Leroy Sane, have been drawn into a tough group that includes Spain and Costa Rica as well as Japan, but they rebounded impressively in qualification.

After hosts Qatar, Hansi Flick's side were the first to book their place at the finals, with only England (39) scoring more goals in the European qualifiers (36).

"We have the quality to go far," World Cup debutant Jamal Musiala added. "We go in with the mindset to win the title. We believe in it and are all eager for it to start now."

Opponents Japan have won only one of their last eight World Cup matches, although that sole victory – in their Russia opener against Colombia – was enough to take them through to the round of 16 last time out.

The Samurai Blue have plenty of experience on the global stage, appearing at a seventh straight finals, although they have never advanced to the second round at consecutive editions.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Germany – Jamal Musiala

Thomas Muller has been Germany's main man at recent World Cups, with his 10 goals and six assists in 16 appearances the most of any player since his finals debut in 2010. Only Miroslav Klose (16), Gerd Muller (14) and Jurgen Klinsmann (11) have more World Cup goals for Die Mannschaft.

But Muller may no longer be a guaranteed starter under Flick, with Bayern Munich team-mate Musiala the face of this younger team.

The 19-year-old, who could have instead been playing for England in Qatar, is more than capable of picking up the mantle, having scored nine goals and assisted six more in the Bundesliga this season. His 15 goal involvements are the most of any teenager across Europe's top five leagues.

Japan – Takumi Minamino

Minamino, like Musiala, is in line for his World Cup debut, despite being named in Japan's preliminary squad as long ago as Brazil 2014.

An underwhelming stint at Liverpool slowed the attacker's progress at club level, and he has netted only a single goal for Monaco this season, having been limited to just 333 minutes in Ligue 1 across nine appearances.

However, for Japan, Minamino was the key man in qualification, scoring 10 goals and assisting four – form he will hope to carry into the finals.

PREDICTION

This is the first meeting between Germany and Japan at a World Cup, but Die Mannschaft are unbeaten across their two previous encounters in friendlies – and Stats Perform's prediction model expects them to maintain that record.

In his first game as a head coach at a major tournament, Flick is given a 65.4 per cent chance of leading Germany to victory.

Japan are an outside 14.1 per cent shot, while the draw is rated at 20.5 per cent – a result Germany perhaps cannot afford with Spain still to play. 

Luis Enrique expressed sorrow for removing Jose Gaya from Spain's World Cup squad but insisted he made the right call despite Valencia apparently claiming the left-back's injury was minor.

Gaya was cut from the Spain selection last week after suffering an ankle injury in training, and although media reports at the time suggested his recovery would only be brief, Luis Enrique replaced him with Barcelona's Alejandro Balde.

After returning home, Spanish publication AS reported Gaya's club quickly declared him fit.

But when Luis Enrique addressed the media on Tuesday ahead of Spain's World Cup opener against Costa Rica, the coach was adamant Gaya's injury would have ruled him out for a chunk of the group stage at least.

For the Spain coach, doing without a player for so long was non-negotiable.

"With regard to Gaya, it happens everywhere," Luis Enrique told reporters. "I have to make decisions.

"If I followed my heart based on his professionalism, he'd be here, but I can't make decisions based on my heart. I have to use mind.

"In three games he'd not have been able to play 100 per cent. I have to make the best decision for the whole team and the whole country. Imagine if I'd listened to Valencia or what Gaya wanted, which was normal, and then imagine if [Jordi] Alba is injured.

"We'd start the World Cup with no left-back, then imagine what you'd say about me. You'd ask why we risked the situation.

"My mind said I should make the best decision for the team, and there's no doubt the best is to have two fully fit full-backs for the World Cup."

Luis Enrique's explanation did not satisfy everyone in attendance, with the former midfielder pressed on why he could not have just played someone else slightly out of position.

But Luis Enrique did not believe that was an option.

"No, you might not believe this, but I can't keep waiting for someone [to be fit], because no one else will be able to adapt to demands of left-back," he added.

"A winger can act as a wing-back at times, but left-back is unfortunately the only position I cannot wait for.

"If it happened to a centre-back, I'd wait, but I only have two players for the left-back position. I'm truly, deeply sorry for Gaya, I really like him, he's a great guy and he has had very bad luck, but I have to think with my mind what a coach should do.

"He's been unfortunate with the injury, he did it while crossing, and it was something I'd never seen before. But I'm sure he'll get something positive in future."

Luis Enrique was followed by Spain captain Sergio Busquets, who at 34 is the elder statesman in La Roja's squad.

Spain's group is among the youngest at the tournament, with six of their players aged 20 or younger.

But Busquets does not believe the younger players' age makes them any less competent.

Asked about the presence of his Barcelona team-mates Pedri and Gavi, Busquets said: "They are very young players, but they've received awards already and they are very well known in spite of their age.

"But they are here as part of the national team to contribute as they can. If the coach decides to field them, then it's a collective group - it's not about individual talent.

"But obviously, having players who are so skilled is great."

Jordi Alba is determined to stay at Barcelona until his contract expires in 2024 and hopes he could still be reunited with Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.

Spain left-back Alba has his focus on World Cup duties for the coming weeks, believing La Roja are well-placed to challenge in Qatar, with a first game against Costa Rica coming up on Wednesday.

At the end of the last transfer window, Alba was linked with a shock move to Italian giants Inter, but he said in an interview with Cadena Ser that "nobody told me anything" about that prospect.

"My intention is to stay until the end of my contract because I think I can help; when I don't, I'll be the first to go," said the 33-year-old, a five-time LaLiga winner with Barcelona.

"I've improved and people who know realise it. Many things were heard about my decision at the club, but I decided to stay. Nobody told me anything about Inter."

Alba said he helped out financially stricken Barcelona with his contract after last year's European Championship, at a time when the club were looking to cut costs.

"Whenever they asked me for help from the club, I gave it. Nobody can say otherwise," he said. "Whenever the club has asked me for anything, and whatever it is, I have helped. I am from Barcelona and I feel the colours."

He saw Messi, Barcelona's record scorer and greatest player, leave to join Paris Saint-Germain after a contract offer was withdrawn, with the Catalans unable to afford to keep him.

Almost 18 months later, Messi continues to be linked with a switch back to Barcelona.

"Of course I would like Leo Messi to return to Barca," said Alba, in a separate interview with Cope. "He is the player with whom I have had the best understanding on a field and for the club it was a great loss."

Such is the intense focus on Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Spain national team can feel like a poor relation at times. However, the success they enjoyed from 2008 to 2012, winning two European Championships and the World Cup, meant the group united the country, and Alba feels they could also have an outstanding 2022 World Cup.

He said of the team's coach, a former Barcelona boss who played for both Clasico rivals: "Luis Enrique has done very well.

"We hadn't met our expectations for a while and the European Championship [where Spain reached the semi-finals] was very good.

"People got hooked again and I think they will do it again with the World Cup. I hope and want to go far in this World Cup."

Saudi Arabia produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history as they came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1 in their Group C opener on Tuesday.

La Albiceleste, who are one of the favourites to triumph at Qatar 2022, started well at Lusail Stadium and went ahead after 10 minutes courtesy of Lionel Messi's penalty.

Lionel Scaloni's men saw three efforts ruled out for offside before half-time – a reprieve that Saudi Arabia took full advantage of in the space of five minutes early in the second half.

Saleh Al Shehri pulled Herve Renard's side level, before Salem Al Dawsari sealed a famous win soon after with a sumptuous strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Mohammed Al Owais denied Messi inside the opening two minutes but he was powerless to stop the superstar's cool penalty after 10 minutes, the spot-kick given after Saud Abdulhamid had hauled down Leandro Paredes.

La Albiceleste twice thought they had extended their advantage before the half-hour mark, yet strikes from Messi and Lautaro Martinez were ruled out for offside.

Remarkably, Martinez had another effort chalked off for offside 10 minutes before the interval as Scaloni's side looked to take full advantage of Saudi Arabia's high defensive line.

Saudi Arabia pulled level with their first shot three minutes into the second half, Al Shehri powering past Cristian Romero and flashing a low shot into Emiliano Martinez's far corner. 

They completed an extraordinary turnaround just five minutes later when Al Dawsari cut inside from the left and whipped in a superb strike from 18 yards. 

Messi had an effort cleared off the line in the closing stages as Saudi Arabia held on for a famous win against a side 48 places above them in the world rankings, despite a lengthy stoppage after Mohammed Al Burayk had taken a knee to the face from his own goalkeeper.

What does it mean? Saudis snap Argentina's lengthy unbeaten run

Argentina looked like they would cruise to victory when Messi slotted home from 12 yards early on, yet their 36-game unbeaten run came to a crashing halt after a wild start to the second half.

Those quick-fire strikes from Al Shehri and Al Dawsari secured just a fourth World Cup win for Saudi Arabia and ensured Argentina will need to do it the hard way if they are to progress to the knockout stages.

Magical Messi

It will be scant consolation for Messi, but the 35-year-old's goal saw him become the fifth player to score at four different World Cup tournaments (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022) after Pele, Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Old boys off the pace

Argentina became the first team in World Cup history to have four players aged 34+ in their starting XI (Messi, Nicolas Otamendi, Angel Di Maria and Papu Gomez). That scarcely looked an issue during the first half, but Argentina sorely lacked energy and vigour as they chased a leveller after Saudi Arabia had taken the lead.  

What's next?

Both sides are in action again on Saturday, with Argentina taking on Mexico and Saudi Arabia facing Poland.

Italy deserved to automatically qualify for the 2022 World Cup given their status as European champions, according to head coach Roberto Mancini.

Top seeds Italy finished second to Switzerland in their qualifying group and then suffered a shock loss to North Macedonia in March's play-off semi-final.

It means Italy have missed out on successive World Cups, having also failed to reach Russia 2018, though they did win Euro 2020 in between those qualifying disappointments.

However, Mancini insists the Azzurri should not have had to go through the qualifying process for Qatar on the back of conquering their continent last year.

"Not only the European champions but the winners in every continent," he added in an interview with Corriere Della Sera. "I am saying it for football's good. 

"Likewise, who won the title in the previous edition should always be involved. It used to be like this in the past. Football does not only make good decisions for itself."

Italy moved on from their World Cup heartbreak by advancing to next year's Nations League Finals, where they will be joined by Croatia, Spain and the Netherlands.

The longer-term aim for Mancini is to reach Euro 2024 and then the next World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico a little under four years from now.

Mancini, who is under contract with the Azzurri until after that tournament, said: "I stayed because I want to take revenge [by reaching the World Cup]. 

"But right now we can't look so far ahead. The 2026 World Cup is far away. Now we must focus on the Nations League Finals and the qualification for the Euros.

"I wanted to stay to chase the World Cup, but nothing is definitive in football and things can still change. We want to go to the next World Cup and hopefully win it."

Italy lost 2-0 to Austria in a friendly on Sunday and are next in action in four months' time when hosting England in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

Recent history suggests the outcome of Croatia's World Cup Group F opener against Morocco on Wednesday will give a good indication as to how far they can go at Qatar 2022.

After all, Croatia have lost their opening match in three of their five appearances at the World Cup, and on those occasions they failed to get out of the group.

In the two exceptions, they found themselves among the last four, with Zlatko Dalic guiding Croatia all the way to the final four years ago, ultimately losing to France.

While they may have been a little 'Jekyll and Hyde' in nature in the past, there is undoubtedly an underlying feeling of confidence ahead of the matchday one encounter with Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium, the scene of Qatar's 2-0 defeat to Ecuador on Sunday.

Much of the 2018 squad is no longer in the picture, but they still came through qualifying with relative ease and earlier this season topped a Nations League group also featuring Les Bleus and Denmark.

"We just need to take it game by game," striker Marko Livaja said.

"For us, our focus needs to be on the game against Morocco, where we'll need to give 100 per cent, and I think we have really good chances to repeat something similar to what we did in Russia."

Andrej Kramaric added: "We have quality and we can repeat the result from Russia, but it's stupid to talk about it and announce it.

"It's important that we pass the group, and then we'll see what happens."

However, Morocco will believe they can cause a stir after coming through their own qualification campaign in emphatic fashion.

The Atlas Lions won all six games in the second round of the CAF section, scoring 20 and conceding just once – both of which were the second best in the entire round.

They then thrashed the Democratic Republic of Congo 5-2 on aggregate in the third and final stage of qualifying, making them the only team to progress with a winning margin of more than one goal.

Their record at the World Cup is not spectacular, having only ever got out of their group once (1986) in five previous qualifications.

But this will be their second successive appearance at the tournament, a feat they have only accomplished once before, and head coach Walid Regragui clearly has talent at his disposal.

Arguably chief among them is Hakim Ziyech, who provided a reminder of what he is capable of with an outrageous goal from inside his own half in a 3-0 pre-tournament friendly win over Georgia last week.

The Chelsea midfielder, back in the fold after falling out with the previous coach, will be a key leader on the pitch and rallied the troops ahead of the tussle with Croatia.

"We know what we have to do to make everyone proud," he told Morocco's official YouTube channel. "I think for everybody it's a big stage now to show what we are capable of as a team and as a country.

"We are preparing properly. I think we were up to it against Georgia. We feel good, there is a good feeling within the team."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Morocco – Youssef En-Nesyri

While much of the focus will be on talents such as Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi, En-Nesyri will have a lot of the goal-scoring burden on his shoulders. Whether he can cope with that pressure is another matter.

The striker did net against Georgia last week, but generally the Sevilla player has been out of form for 18 months. He has not been helped by injuries, but he has also been wasteful, with his four non-penalty goals in 33 LaLiga games since the start of last season being significantly under his 7.2 non-penalty expected goals (xG) return.

He does have World Cup experience, though, and he will be aiming to become the first Moroccan player to score at two different editions after netting four years ago in Russia.

Croatia – Marcelo Brozovic

Dalic has routinely spoken about how Croatia will focus everything on making the most of their strength: the midfield.

Brozovic has established himself as one of Europe's best deep-lying playmakers over the past four years, and his work allows Luka Modric to push up slightly higher.

Although he has missed a chunk of the season with Inter through injury, Brozovic is averaging the third-most successful passes (60.1) and fourth-most interceptions (1.7) per 90 minutes among Serie A midfielders this term (minimum 350 minutes played), highlighting what he can offer on and off the ball.

PREDICTION

While Morocco certainly have players capable of troubling Croatia, the latter are unsurprisingly clear favourites for this clash.

According to Stats Perform's AI model, Dalic's side have a 47.8 per cent chance of starting their campaign with a win, despite their patchy past record in World Cup openers.

A draw is rated at 27.4 per cent, putting the likelihood of a Morocco win at a marginally lower 24.8 per cent. Nevertheless, it does suggest the Atlas Lions have a credible chance of at least getting a result.

Leroy Sane will miss Germany's World Cup opener against Japan with a knee injury, the German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed.

The Bayern Munich winger was absent from Die Mannschaft's final training session in preparation for the Group E fixture at Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.

The rest of Germany's squad took part in the session.

A DFB statement read: "The German national team must be without Leroy Sane in their World Cup opening game against Japan on Wednesday.

"The 26-year-old attacking player from champions FC Bayern Munich is unavailable against the four-time Asian champions due to knee problems. The remaining 25 players of the German World Cup squad took part in the final training session in Al-Shamal.

"After lunch, the four-time world champions' squad head to Qatar's capital, Doha, where captain Manuel Neuer and company will spend the night before the opening game."

While the loss of Sane, who has scored 11 times in 45 appearances for his country, obviously represents a blow, head coach Hansi Flick does have a wealth of attacking options to choose from with Serge Gnabry, Julian Brandt, Mario Gotze, Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala all available.

Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams believe the United States have every chance of beating England, with their confidence having not taken a hit in Monday's draw with Wales.

Pulisic supplied the assist for Timothy Weah's deserved opener at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium but the USA were unable to hold on in their opening World Cup game.

Walker Zimmerman's clumsy tackle on Gareth Bale handed Wales' talisman a chance he duly took, lashing home from 12 yards to send the large Welsh contingent behind the goal into raptures.

While Wales were able to celebrate snatching a point from what was their first World Cup game since 1958, the USA were left to lament not making the most of a bright first half.

The USA's expected goals (xG) of 0.66 far exceeded Wales' 0.17 in the first half, albeit they only had three attempts, despite having 66.7 per cent possession.

Pulisic, however, is confident that the USA can match England, who beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, in their next Group B game on Friday.

"Absolutely. I think we have a good enough team to make it out of this group," he told reporters.

"England is our next test, we've got to be aggressive and go to win the game."

It was a sentiment echoed by captain Adams, who said: "Yeah, I think we match up well against them.

"Football is a game of inches, it comes down to mistakes or minimal details. We're obviously going to try and execute our game plan.

"We trust in the coach's ability to set us up well, but they're very flexible as well. At the end of the day it comes down to certain moments."

Head coach Gregg Berhalter fielded the USA's youngest team in a World Cup match since 1990, and Pulisic acknowledged there were nerves among the squad, with the nation having failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia.

"The nerves were there, we were all excited, but now we have to take this experience into the next one," Pulisic said.

"There's a lot of positives from the game in general. The team looks good. Now we have to figure out how to put that together for 90 minutes.

"A point in the first game is better than none. We have to move on, learn from this, it's a lot from our first game.

"I want to win. I'm very competitive. I love this team so much, I'm honoured to play in a World Cup for my country so the least I can do is give it all that I have."

Wales manager Rob Page was relieved to gain an "important point" in their World Cup opener against the United States, and praised Gareth Bale's intelligence in winning a second-half penalty.

The United States took a deserved first-half lead through Timothy Weah, though an improved Welsh side came back in the second and equalised via Bale's 82nd-minute spot kick.

The 1-1 draw leaves both two points behind England after the first games in Group B in Qatar after the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, but Page was happy enough with a point and suggested his team were the ones who could have won it late on.

"It was a really important point for us," he told reporters at his post-match press conference. "I thought for the last 10 minutes if anybody was going to go on to get the winner it was going to be us as well."

Bale's penalty made him just the fourth player to score a World Cup goal for Wales after John Charles, Ivor Allchurch (two) and Terry Medwin, all in their 1958 campaign.

The Los Angeles FC forward had an otherwise quiet game, but once again stepped up when his country needed him, winning the penalty when he got across USA defender Walker Zimmerman and drew the foul.

"We've sort of evolved Gareth's position, put it that way," Page explained about his star player. "He can still play out wide, of course he can, but I like to give him the freedom to come inside and play off a frontman.

"He's very good at finding those spaces, he's intelligent, he's got a wise head, so he puts himself in those positions in the box to be able to get us penalties, and defenders commit to making tackles, and if they don't get their timing right in the box, inevitably it's a penalty." 

Welsh full-back Neco Williams played 79 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and was visibly emotional at full-time, later revealing he had only found out last night that his grandad had passed away.

Williams posted on Twitter after the game: "Yesterday was the toughest news I've ever had to face and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandad past away last night.

"To go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team-mates and family."

Wales face Iran in their second Group B game on Friday.

Argentina head to their first World Cup since Diego Maradona's death but the Albiceleste great will be there in spirit.

That was the message from Maradona's former agent Guillermo Coppola at the opening of CONMEBOL's 'Tree of Dreams' in Doha to celebrate South America's rich football heritage.

Lionel Scaloni's side are among the pre-tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of Tuesday's Group C opener against Saudi Arabia, searching for a first World Cup crown since a Maradona-inspired triumph in 1986.

There has not been a South American winner of FIFA's top tournament since Brazil in 2002, but Coppola hopes that will change for Argentina in their first outing since Maradona passed in November 2020.

"This is going to be the first World Cup that [Maradona] is not physically with us," said the 74-year-old. "But Diego will always be with us.

"The most precious good for Diego was the football. It wasn't life, which is the most precious good that human beings have.

"It wasn't freedom – to be able to decide and to do – which is the second one, the freedom for him was the ball.

"Where a ball rolls there is Diego, do not forget this, when you see a ball rolling say, there is Diego."

Argentina ended a 28-year wait for major silverware by beating Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final.

That makes this the first World Cup they enter as champions of South America since USA 94 and former Argentina captain Javier Zanetti expects his country to come out fighting as a unified group.

Speaking alongside World Cup winners Oscar Ruggeri and Mario Alberto Kempes, Zanetti added: "It means a lot to have a united, consolidated, solid group.

"I trust that Argentina is a group that came to Qatar knowing well what they want."

While Zanetti, now Inter vice-president, acknowledged the ill-timing of the November World Cup, he has little doubt Argentina will hit the ground running.

"We cannot know about the physical condition because this World Cup is atypical," the 49-year-old continued. 

"It is being played in November and many consecutive games were played recently, so there is a lot of fatigue.

"But in general, I trust that players and national teams will arrive in good condition."

Gareth Bale says it is "incredible" to be a World Cup goalscorer but admits he would trade his strike for three points after earning a late 1-1 draw against the United States.

The Wales captain rescued a point for his side with his 82nd-minute penalty after he was fouled by Walker Zimmerman, cancelling out Timothy Weah's first-half opener in Qatar.

It meant the spoils were shared at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, with Rob Page's side picking up a point in their first World Cup match since 1958, to sit joint-second in Group B.

Speaking afterwards, Bale – who now has 41 goals in 109 appearances for his country – acknowledged he was always going to take the crucial spot-kick, but says he would have rather not scored and still won.

"[It was] always me," he told ITV Sport on penalty duties. "[I had] no doubts in my head. I feel like I have to step up, and I'm happy to do so.

"[It is] incredible. But I'd rather have had the three points, to be honest. [It was] not a good first half. They played really well and we were poor.

"But a great talk by the manager at half-time changed a few things around and the boys came out fighting, like we always do. It showed character, we will go again."

Having struggled with fitness issues over the past year, including limited game-time at club level with Los Angeles FC, there were question marks over how much involvement Bale would have against the USA.

But the former Real Madrid forward played the full match, including a lengthy helping of additional time in the second half, which left him bemused.

"I was a little bit tired towards the end," he added. "I can't believe it was nine minutes added on – I don't know where that came from. But we have to dig deep for our country."

Wales next play Iran on November 25 before wrapping up their Group B campaign against England four days later.

Raphinha hopes Brazil will have reason to dance in celebration at the World Cup as he joked Tite's side have 10 routines rehearsed for goals.

Brazil are among the tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of their Group G opener on Thursday against Serbia as the Selecao aim for a first World Cup triumph since 2002.

Barcelona winger Raphinha was one of many to celebrate in support of Vinicius Junior, who was told in September by a Spanish journalist to stop dancing "to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey".

Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Richarlison – all members of Tite's 26-man squad in the Middle East – were other notable supporters of Brazil team-mate Vinicius.

Raphinha appears a likely contender to start for the five-time world champions and he intends to give Brazil further reason to celebrate in style at the World Cup.

"To tell you the truth, we already have dances prepared for up to the 10th goal," an upbeat Raphinha said on Monday.

"We have some 10 dances prepared for each match, one for the first, one for the second, one for the third ... If we score more than 10, then we'll have to start innovating."

Pedro, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli are the other attacking options at Tite's disposal and Raphinha has no doubts Brazil will go out to play free-flowing football.

"With Vinicius we gain more speed on the attack, while with [Lucas] Paqueta we have more control near the midfield," former Leeds United forward Raphinha added.

"But Brazil has a characteristic of always being offensive-minded, no matter who gets to play."

Richarlison, like Raphinha, will be a World Cup debutant for Brazil after scoring 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.

The Tottenham striker wants to produce performances befitting of the number-nine shirt handed to him as he aims to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Ronaldo Nazario.

"When you wear the number nine jersey with the Brazilian national team, all you want to do is score goals," Richarlison said. "With these team-mates, I'm sure the goals will come."

Neymar came into criticism for posting a photo with six stars on his shorts, referencing a hopeful Brazil triumph at the World Cup, but Richarlison has no problem admitting the Selecao's hopes.

"We are dreamers, we are going after this sixth star no matter what people are going to say," he added.