World Cup quick hits: Star whacks US pundit and Mabil’s heartwarming moment

Source : ABC NEWS

There’s friction in the Fox Sports USA studio as Zlatan Ibrahimovic drops an “ignorant” comment, Ronaldo’s off the pace and frustrates his teammates with a dire display against DR Congo and the Tartan Army pushing Boston beer supplies to their limits.

Here are today’s quick hits from the FIFA World Cup.

1. Diogo Jota honoured in Portugal game

The untimely death of Portugal star Diogo Jota in July last year has hung heavy over both Liverpool and Portugal this past season.

The 28-year-old played his final game of football for Portugal, winning his 49th cap in the 2025 Nations League final victory over Spain. 

Two weeks after that, he married the mother of his three children, Rute Cardoso, but then just two weeks after that, he was dead, the victim of a car accident alongside his brother André Silva.

The group he left behind “want to honour his memory every day”, said Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez.

“Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the plus one and will always be the plus one,” he added.

Those were not just empty words.

Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, recently met with the team and gave each player a bracelet bearing their name and Jota’s.

“We have received this with a lot of love,” midfielder Vitinha said.

And on game day in Houston, Jota was honoured during the national anthem, his picture displayed on the big screen. But that was not the only reminder the team carried with them.

His parents, Isabel and Joaquim Silva were both in attendance in Houston, the camera cutting to them during the anthem and when João Neves opened the scoring for Seleção das Quinas in the opening five minutes.

2. Friction in Fox studio

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was never shy of the odd flyby in his playing days, and as a pundit has lobbed a grenade at his American colleagues on Fox Sports, indirectly branding Landon Donovan “ignorant” — to Thierry Henry’s obvious delight.

As France limped to half-time at 0-0 against Senegal on Wednesday (AEST), Fox Sports commentator Donovan lit the touchpaper by describing the French team as “arrogant”.

“France [are looking] arrogant, a little casual, just sort of going through the motions,” former US international Donovan said.

Henry was not impressed.

“Actually, I will skip that one. I just don’t get it,” he said in the studio at half-time when asked about the comments. 

“So, because you are not 1-0 up or 2-0 up or 3-0 up after 15 minutes that those words have to come out? 

“If people don’t know how Senegal can play or how good Senegal are, that’s on them.”

Donovan then doubled down on his comments during the second half.

“I heard Henry at half-time and he wasn’t happy, maybe, about [my] ‘arrogant’ comment, but the reality is they were very poor in the first half,” he said.

“They are a much better team than they showed. I know Senegal are a good team, but everybody expects much more from this French team.”

At full time, the French, having successfully completed a 3-1 victory following a far more impressive second half display, Alexi Lalas backed up his compatriot.

“We had that little fun back and forth between Landon and Thierry about whether the French were arrogant in the first half, we can have that discussion,” Lalas said.

“But the reality is that if they are arrogant, it’s because they can do things like that.”

Enter Zlatan.

“It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence,” Ibrahimovic said, before dropping the hammer on his American colleagues.

“Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence.”

Lalas did not respond on camera, but Henry couldn’t hide his surprise, the former France international’s eyes widening in delight at having the Swedish star on his side.

3. Thirsty Scots drain Boston of beer

The Tartan Army are known as being a fun-loving group, raucously roaring their support for their side, win, lose or draw.

And that support is thirsty work.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that before, during and after their victory over Haiti in Boston — their first victory in a World Cup finals game since 1990 and just fifth win ever at the sport’s global showpiece — the supporters wanted to make the most of the local watering holes, even invading Fenway Park.

So much so that emergency supplies were called in to deal with the volume of drink being consumed.

Now, bars in Boston are gearing up for a second tidal wave of drinking ahead of Friday’s clash with Morocco in the same city.

“I’ve been in this business for over 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Billy DeCain, general manager of the Sam Adams Tap Room in the city centre, told Reuters.

At one point last weekend, the bar had to call in a special truck delivery from a Sam Adams brewery to cope with the seemingly insatiable demand for beer from the Scots, and even then DeCain worried that they might have to resort to selling only cans.

“We just about made it through. If we didn’t have those emergency deliveries, it would have been a tall task,” he said on Wednesday.

Scotland’s third group game, against Brazil, is set for Miami.

Florida, you have been warned.

4. Portugal ‘a better side without’ Cristiano Ronaldo

A day after Lionel Messi rolled back the clock with a sublime hat-trick performance against Algeria, the contrast Cristiano Ronaldo struck in a 1-1 draw against DR Congo was depressing and stark.

Ronaldo managed just three shots, none of which troubled the keeper, in a dire display in which the 41-year-old veteran showed his age, managing just 25 touches, the fewest of any starting player.

Playing in his sixth World Cup, a record he jointly holds with Messi, Ronaldo had two solid chances to win the game in the second half but steered both wide.

The second chance saw him attempt to take the ball while off balance, with his skipper, Bruno Fernandes, in a better position behind him.

Fernandes was likely forcing himself to bite his tongue so hard that he was in danger of needing surgery after that blunder from the living legend, who has now won a record 229 caps. 

About that effort, Thierry Henry said on Fox Sports: “The team needs to score. Not you need to score,” noting that Ronaldo not making a run badly impacted Fernandes’s chances.

Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said Ronaldo didn’t get the support he needed in the game.

“We have to utilise all the players on the pitch,” Martínez said. 

“The lead attacker [Ronaldo] needs to be close to the six-yard box and we need to get the ball [to him].”

Martínez said he never thought about taking Ronaldo off when Portugal were searching for a goal. “It makes no sense to get the best goalscorer in world football out in a game that you need goals,” he said.

But Portugal come into this tournament as one of the favourites thanks to a squad packed with attacking talent.

There is an argument that they are a stronger side without Ronaldo in it — an argument he made quite successfully himself in Houston.

Kevin Prince-Boateng said age had caught up with him and he needed to step away to help his team succeed.

“Ronaldo, if he were to be a real team player, he would step down and let the young players flow. 

“Because Portugal is a better side without him.”

5. Mabil’s star-struck reaction to David Basheer

Never underestimate the power that watching sport on TV can have to kids.

When Awer Mabil was asked a question by SBS doyen David Basheer, the Socceroo star couldn’t help but be somewhat starstruck.

“Sorry, you’re David, right? From SBS?” Mabil said, a huge grin lighting up his face after Bashir had finished asking a question at the Socceroos press conference.

“I grew up watching you, so I’m a little …

“I forgot about your question. I just started reflecting because I grew up watching SBS as a kid, because it was on free TV, so you’re doing The World Game, that’s where I used to see all my highlights from the world of football.

“So thank you for giving us. You gave me good memories as a kid.”

An ode to the valuable institution that is SBS as much as one of its most valued servants, David Basheer.