Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will not be going to the World Cup after he was left out of Mexico’s preliminary roster, with coach Gerardo Martino opting to include injured duo Raúl Jiménez and Jesús Corona instead. Despite the fact that two of his key attacking players are currently injured, Martino decided to exclude Hernández, the former Manchester United striker who now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Martino had insisted he would wait as long as possible to announce his selection in order to give Jiménez and Corona time to recover, and both were part of a 31-man roster that will later be winnowed down to 26 for next month World Cup in Qatar. Despite the fact that two of his key attacking players are currently injured, Martino decided to exclude Hernández, the former Manchester United striker who now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Argentine coach had hinted at that decision ahead of a couple of September friendlies, saying “we are simply going with other forwards.”

Walking fan missing

Madrid: A 41-year-old Spanish soccer fan who set out to walk to Qatar to attend the World Cup has gone missing in Iran, where unrest has erupted in the past few weeks, Spain’s foreign ministry has confirmed. Santiago Sanchez was last heard from on October 1 when he sent friends a picture of himself on the Iraq-Iran border with the caption: “Entry to Iran”. Some Spanish media suggest Sanchez had been arrested by the Iranian authorities, and his parents in Madrid told Telecinco TV channel that was the most likely possibility. “A 99 per cent chance that he is in a prison in Iran, but the (Spanish) embassy has told my daughter that until they go to the prison to see him and have the permission of the Iranian government, they cannot give that news,” his mother Celia said.

De Roon injury

Bergamo: Netherlands midfielder Marten de Roon has a muscle injury less than four weeks before the World Cup, his Italian club Atalanta said. Atalanta said De Roon has a thigh strain and its medical staff could not specify how long he will be out. The 31-year-old De Roon was in a 39-man preliminary squad named last week by coach Louis van Gaal.

In line of fire

London: British foreign secretary James Cleverly faced criticism after telling gay soccer fans heading to Qatar that they should show some “compromise” and be “respectful of the host nation.” The comments were quickly disavowed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office, while a senior figure in the opposition Labour party called them “shockingly tone deaf.” Homosexuality is criminalized in Qatar.

“One of the things I would say for football fans is, you know, please do be respectful of the host nation. “They are trying to ensure that people can be themselves and enjoy the football, and I think with a little bit of flex and compromise at both ends, it can be a safe, secure and exciting World Cup,” Cleverly told LBC Radio.

Socceroos’ video

Brisbane: The Australian men’s soccer team has issued a three-minute video which highlights Qatar’s human rights record. It also includes its treatment of foreign workers and restrictions on the LGBTQI+ community, and demanding genuine reform as a legacy of the Gulf country’s staging of the World Cup.