MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Saturday at the World Cup (all times local):
5 p.m.
A prominent group which campaigns against racism and anti-gay abuse in sports has accused St. Petersburg authorities of having it evicted from premises in the city.
The Fare Network, which helps FIFA and UEFA investigate cases of discriminatory behavior by fans, had planned to operate “diversity houses” in Moscow and St. Petersburg with exhibitions and talks on human rights.
Fare says the lease on their part of a St. Petersburg building was abruptly canceled and other tenants were told not to sub-lease space to Fare.
Executive director Piara Powar says “it seems to be clear that the project in St. Petersburg has been subject to a political attack of the kind that shows how debates about human rights are curtailed by powerful conservative political forces in Russia.”
However, Powar says Fare has only “anecdotal evidence” of the city government’s involvement.
Fare plans to open its event at new premises elsewhere in St. Petersburg later Saturday.
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4:50 p.m.
Iceland is hanging in with Group D favorites Argentina at 1-1 at halftime in a match that has all the ingredients for an upset.
A Sergio Aguero strike in the 19th minute was canceled out just 4 minutes later when Alfred Finnbogason swept a loose ball into the Argentina net off another broken play by the South Americans’ defense.
Iceland, the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, has been content to surrender most of the possession but the chances have fallen fairly evenly. Iceland’s strategy of long-range counterattacks and pressuring the Argentines’ shaky backline seems to be working.
Goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero and the defenders in front of him have repeatedly left loose balls in the middle of the area, creating second chances for Iceland.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s volley just before the break was the last of those, but it went wide.
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4:25 p.m.
Alfred Finnbogason buried a rebound off a broken play by Argentina’s defense to bring Iceland level just minutes after a Sergio Aguero strike had given the South Americans the lead at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium.
Aguero spun his defender near the penalty spot to create enough space to beat goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson to his right. The 19th-minute goal was the first serious threat from the Argentine attack, which has seen Lionel Messi force a pair of straightforward saves from Haldorsson but not much else.
Finnbogason drove home a loose ball that had been parried into traffic by Argentine keeper Wilfredo Caballero to make it 1-1 in the 23rd.
Iceland missed a fantastic chance in the 10th when their pressure forced a breakdown on Argentina’s backline. Caballero was forced to stab away an ill-advised back pass, and the ball wound up at the feet of Kari Arnason, whose volley missed a fairly open net.
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4:05 p.m.
Argentina has the early edge in their opening World Cup match against Iceland — at least in the stands.
Fans of Lionel Messi & Co. outnumber their Icelandic counterparts perhaps 10 to one inside Spartak Stadium in Moscow. Their singing has filled the 45,000-seat stadium since well before kickoff.
The South Americans did politely quiet down long enough for Iceland fans to get in the first of their famed “Skol” chants and a song of their own. But the few sections of fans wearing Iceland’s dark blue are nearly swallowed up by the sea of sky blue-and-white Argentina jerseys.
The match is the first for each team in a group that also includes Croatia and Nigeria, who play later Saturday in Kaliningrad.
Iceland is the least populous nation ever to play in the World Cup. The entire country’s population is only about seven times bigger than the stadium’s capacity.
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3:05 p.m.
Lionel Messi is joined in Argentina’s attack by the fit-again Sergio Aguero to face Iceland at Spartak Stadium in Moscow. Aguero had knee surgery in March but returned in a warmup friendly against Haiti two weeks ago.
There is no space in the starting lineup for Juventus playmaker Paulo Dybala.
Iceland’s No. 10 Gylfi Sigurdsson is fit to start despite, like Aguero, ending his English Premier League season in March because of a knee injury. Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has opted for Alfred Finnbogason to lead the attack in a likely 4-5-1 formation.
It’s the first game in Group D. Croatia plays Nigeria later Saturday.
Lineups:
Argentina: Willy Caballero, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lucas Biglia, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Maximiliano Meza, Javier Mascherano, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Otamendi, Eduardo Salvio, Sergio Aguero.
Iceland: Hannes Halldorsson, Birkir Mar Saevarsson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alfred Finnbogason, Kari Arnason, Aron Gunnarsson, Hordur Magnusson, Emil Hallfredsson.
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2: 52 p.m.
Midfielder Paul Pogba scored a late winner to help France to a 2-1 win against Australia in their World Cup opening game in Group C on Saturday.
Pogba was unimpressive until the 81st minute at the Kazan Arena, when he set up a fine one-two with substitute Olivier Giroud to beat Australia ‘keeper Mat Ryan with a shot that took a deflection, hit the bar and crossed the goal line.
After a balanced first half, France was awarded a penalty following a VAR review, the first of the World Cup, and scored to take the lead in the 58th minute. After checking images of a tackle from behind by Joshua Risdon on Antoine Griezmann, referee Andres Cunha pointed to the penalty spot. Griezmann sent a powerful strike into the net that left ‘keeper Ryan stranded.
Australia equalized within four minutes with captain Mile Jedinak converting from the penalty spot after Samuel Umtiti handled the ball in the box.
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2:38 p.m.
France has taken a 2-1 lead against Australia with less than 10 minutes left to play in the World Cup Group C game. Paul Pogba scored following a fine one-two with substitute Olivier Giroud after his shot took a deflection, hit the bar and crossed the goal line.
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2:20 p.m.
France has been awarded a penalty following a VAR review, the first in the World Cup, and scored to take the lead against Australia.
After checking images of a tackle from behind from Joshua Risdon on Antoine Griezmann, referee Andres Cunha pointed to the penalty spot. Griezmann sent a powerful strike into the net that left ‘keeper Mat Ryan stranded to give France a 1-0 lead.
Australia equalized within minutes with captain Mile Jedinak converting from the penalty spot after Samuel Umtiti handled the ball in the box. Jedinak took the kick and sent France ‘keeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way
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1:55 p.m.
Germany coach Joachim Loew says goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is looking confident ahead of the team’s World Cup opener against Mexico, despite missing most of the season with injury.
Neuer, a star of Germany’s World Cup-winning team in 2014, played just four times this season for Bayern Munich because of a fracture in his left foot.
Loew says “he looks self-confident in training, the Manuel Neuer that we’ve always known.”
Loew adds that Neuer has been “very calm, stable and he’s in a very good mood. You could see that in the weeks and month before that he was working to strengthen his stamina.”
Ahead of Sunday’s game against Mexico, Loew revealed Germany spent Friday concentrating on corners, free kicks and penalties to deal with a perception that set-pieces might be a weak point for the 2014 champions.
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1:46 p.m.
It’s 0-0 at halftime between France and Australia in their World Cup Group C opener in Kazan.
The French have been dominating in the early stages and had the best chances before Australia settled in.
Australia defenders Trent Sainsbury and Joshua Risdon have been doing a fine job in making sure Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe did not get too many balls.
Applying coach Bert Van Marwijk’s orders, the Socceroos are putting on a composed but aggressive display that has been working well so far.
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12:55 p.m.
Julian Draxler says it’s “not true” that his Germany teammates Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan are feeling isolated in the squad following controversy over their photo with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Arsenal’s Ozil and Manchester City’s Gundogan, who are both of Turkish descent, posed with Erdogan during the Turkish president’s visit to Britain last month.
Gundogan, who gave Erdogan a shirt with a message “to my revered president,” was jeered by fans during last week’s friendly win over Saudi Arabia.
Draxler says reports “that Mesut Ozil was not up to his best or that Ilkay Gundogan was a bit subdued, that’s not true.” He’s praised Ozil as “probably our most creative player on the pitch and so I’m sure that Mesut oezil will be there when we need him.”
Germany starts its title defense against Mexico in Moscow on Sunday.
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12:05 p.m.
France coach Didier Deschamps has opted for a three-pronged attack of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele to face Australia in the World Cup Group C opener.
Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Corentin Tolisso have been selected in a three-man midfield, with Benjamin Pavard, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane and Lucas Hernández making up the back four.
Australia captain Mile Jedinak has been confirmed as a starter in place of Massimo Luongo, who started as screening midfielder in recent friendlies. Striker Andrew Nabbout will assume the scoring duties for the Socceroos.
Lineups:
France: Hugo Lloris, Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez, Corentin Tolisso, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe.
Australia: Mat Ryan, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Mark Milligan, Aziz Behich, Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie, Tom Rogic, Robbie Kruse, Andrew Nabbout.
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11:35 a.m.
Laurent Ciman has left Belgium’s World Cup squad, the team says on its official Twitter account, although it has not said if the defender’s departure means that center back Vincent Kompany is fit again after injuring his groin in a warmup match two weeks ago.
Coach Roberto Martinez took Los Angeles FC defender Ciman to Russia as a stand-by player in case Kompany was not fit for Belgium’s opening Group G match against Panama on Sunday.
The team says that despite returning to Belgium, Ciman will remain on stand-by until Sunday evening.
Kompany and Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen have not been training with the Belgium team in recent days.
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11:10 a.m.
French president Emmanuel Macron will travel to the World Cup only if Les Bleus make it to the semifinals.
But the French players will have the support of a former French president during their opening match against Australia in Group C.
FIFA says Nicolas Sarkozy, an avid football fan who served as president from 2007-12, is among the guests at Kazan Arena.
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10:30 a.m.
Some soccer fans will follow their team anywhere to see it play in the World Cup. For five friends from Croatia that meant cycling 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) all the way from Zagreb to Kaliningrad in Russia.
The epic trek took them 15 days, cycling for 10 hours a day as they pedaled through Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.
On the way they encountered a number of challenges including a broken bridge. As they reached their final destination, the group collapsed into a bar and celebrated with a well-earned drink.
They’re now looking forward to Saturday’s game between Croatia and Nigeria.
Frane Lukovic, a 46-year-old lawyer from Zagreb, insisted it was nothing out of the ordinary for long-distance cyclists such as himself.
For Lukovic, the trip represented a personal comeback, having been diagnosed with skin cancer six years ago.
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10 a.m.
While fans from around the world are singing and celebrating the World Cup on Moscow’s streets, they can’t go to the most famous place in the Russian capital — Red Square.
Barriers staffed by police officers have blocked off the square for several days, with authorities citing the need to build and dismantle stages for a national holiday and a World Cup-themed opera performance last Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mexico supporter Cesar Reyes, peering past the barriers, says “it’s a real shame it’s closed because it’s one of the best places to visit when you’re in Moscow. It’s a real shame that people will miss it because it’s closed for special event and there’s no opportunity to appreciate this building.”
Russian police have closed off a number of roads and other areas for security reasons over recent days. It’s unclear when the square will be reopened.
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More AP World Cup coverage: www.apnews.com/tag/WorldCup
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