Nunez says Uruguay ready for World Cup fight

Doha — Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez says his team are not favourites to win the World Cup but they will put up a valiant fight when the tournament begins in Qatar on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a training session in Abu Dhabi before their tournament opener against South Korea on November 24, the Liverpool striker said he was looking forward to his first World Cup with dreams of lifting the trophy.

“We come here and we know that we’re not favourites, but we're going to fight,” Nunez said. “Four years ago I watched the tournament on TV and now I’m here with all the beasts. This has only just begun.

“The first game is the first objective and South Korea are a strong team, they’re in the World Cup for a reason ... everyone is strong, but so are we. We want to go far, our goal is to win the World Cup.”

Uruguay coach Diego Alonso had his full squad of 26 players at the session in Abu Dhabi, where the team will remain until Saturday when they travel to Qatar.

Meanwhile, Ghana scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes to secure a convincing 2-0 win over Switzerland in their World Cup warm-up friendly in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Defender Mohammed Salisu broke the deadlock with a looping header from a poorly defended corner as Ghana took a 70th-minute lead. A storming run from Kamaldeen Sulemana four minutes later was blocked by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer but the ball popped up for Antoine Semenyo to fire home from close range.

Both countries were using the match to prepare for their opening games at the World Cup.

Ghana take on Portugal in their Group H opener at Doha’s 974 Stadium next Thursday, while the Swiss play the same day against Cameroon in their opening Group G game at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah. 

Iran’s winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the focus of the team will be on the competition, not political issues related to the country’s nationwide protests.

Asked whether the players would chant Iran’s national anthem during the world’s biggest football event, Jahanbakhsh said “celebration and chanting the anthem is a personal decision and we are trying not to make a big deal out of it”.

Several Iranian athletes have expressed support for antigovernment demonstrations triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September.

The upcoming World Cup is expected to spur $1.8bn in bets in the US, a figure that would set a record for the most bet-upon football event in the country.

The American Gaming Association  released a report saying it expects 20.5-million American adults to place a bet on the World Cup.

“With more than half of all American adults having access to legal betting options in their home market, legal sports betting will deepen American fan engagement in the most-watched sporting event in the world,” association senior vice-president Casey Clark said.

Reuters