Ecuador have left defender Byron Castillo out of their 26-man squad for the World Cup despite the player being deemed an Ecuadorean national by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
CAS decided earlier this month that Ecuador could play at the Qatar World Cup after dismissing a claim by Chile that Castillo had been ineligible to play during the qualifiers.
But coach Gustavo Alfaro has decided not to call up Castillo after Ecuador got a three-point deduction for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs ($106,033.29) for the “use of a document containing false information”.
Mueller, Ruediger fit
Muscat: Germany’s defensive leader Antonio Ruediger and attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller will be fit for Germany’s opening World Cup Group E match against Japan next week, coach Hansi Flick said on Tuesday. Both players are nursing injuries and did not train with the squad in Oman on Tuesday.
They will also miss the final warm-up match against Oman on Wednesday.
The Germany-Japan match is on Wednesday.
“Thomas Mueller has now had a bit of a break but trained well in Munich and will continue to do so here,” Flick told a news conference. “We need a lot of quality in these positions if we are to be successful. I expect Thomas, just like Antonio Ruediger, to start training with the team on matchday minus four for the game against Japan.”
Iran ‘can protest’
Doha: Iran’s players are free to join in the protests sweeping their country over women’s rights while they are playing at the World Cup but must do so within the rules of the tournament, national team coach Carlos Queiroz said on Tuesday.
The rights activist HRANA news agency said 344 people have been killed and 15,280 arrested over the last two months of nationwide protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police.
Iran’s players covered up their national team badge when they played two warmup internationals in September, which was interpreted as a sign of support for the protests.
“The players are free to protest as they would if they were from any other country as long as it conforms with the World Cup regulations and is in the spirit of the game,” Queiroz told a news conference.
“But you can also express yourself on the field in the game of football and the players have only one thing on their mind and that is to fight to qualify for the second round,” he said.
Harit injury
Rabat: Morocco’s Olympique de Marseille forward Amine Harit has sustained a knee injury, the Ligue 1 club said on Monday, just over a week before the country’s opener with Croatia.
“Harit, injured during the match against AS Monaco on Sunday, has suffered a sprain of the cruciate ligaments of the left knee,” Marseille said in a statement.
The club did not give a timeline for the 25-year-old’s recovery after he was carried off on a stretcher before the hour mark during Marseille’s 3-2 win in Monaco.
French media said he was likely to miss the World Cup.
Bale ready for Wales campaign
Cardiff: Wales captain Gareth Bale says he is 100 per cent fit to play for his country at their first World Cup since 1958.
Wales kick off their campaign against USA next Monday. The 33-year-old Bale is Wales’ all-time top scorer with 40 goals in 108 games but has struggled with injuries this season. At a news conference on Monday, he said: “I’m fully fit and ready to go. If I need to play three 90s (minutes), I’ll play three 90s.
“It’s been difficult, mentally more than anything. I guess for everybody, the last three or four weeks, it’s been difficult, even hearing stories of players going down and knowing they’re going to miss the World Cup.”
The captain said Wales were determined to speak out about human rights and LGBT issues surrounding the tournament. “Of course, for us as footballers, it’s been a difficult subject to talk about,” he said. “But we can shed light on the problems there are going on.”
Reuters
