Worldcup 2026 NEWS
Worldcup 2026
Why is it called Gilas Pilipinas?
Date: 2023-12-01 09:08:37 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 660 | Tag: peraplay
-
Erling Haaland struck twice as holders Manchester City moved a step closer to the Champions League knockout stages with a hard-fought 3-1 win at Young Boys peraplay
Haaland put City back into the lead on the artificial surface at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium after Switzerland international Manuel Akanji’s opener had been brilliantly cancelled out by Meschack Elia peraplay
Substitute Julian Alvarez had an effort ruled out by VAR but Haaland made victory certain with a smart finish four minutes from time peraplay
The win was City’s third in succession in Group G and they could now secure their spot in their last 16 for an 11th successive year with a follow-up victory over the Swiss side at home in a fortnight peraplay
There had been much talk over the synthetic pitch in the build-up to the game and heavy rain added another variable element but it proved a free-flowing encounter peraplay
Young Boys started well with Filip Ugrinic forcing a save from Ederson before Rodri headed wide from a corner peraplay
Jack Grealish, who ignored the persistent booing of the vociferous home crowd, teed up Jeremy Doku with a superb first-time ball but the Belgian slipped as he cut inside and Anthony Racioppi saved peraplay
The impressive Swiss keeper denied Haaland soon after but did have a moment of alarm when he spilled a Grealish shot peraplay
Matheus Nunes could only poke the loose ball weakly towards goal, however, and Loris Benito cleared off the line peraplay
Doku went close again after switching from the right to left wing but Racioppi brilliantly saved his curling effort and blocked a first-time Rodri shot peraplay
Young Boys had a good spell before the break with first Cedric Itten breaking clear but failing to beat Ederson peraplay
Itten then teed up Sandro Lauper with a neat flick but Nathan Ake got back to block before a powerful Lewin Blum effort was turned behind peraplay
Itten went close again from the set-piece as his header dropped narrowly over peraplay
(Getty Images)While that made for a lively end to the first half, the game truly burst into life early in the second peraplay
Akanji and Nunes both had chances before City grabbed the lead in the 48th minute peraplay
Rodri delivered a cross into the box and Ruben Dias, still forward following a corner, had a header tipped onto the bar by Racioppi peraplay
Akanji reacted the quickest to turn the ball in peraplay
City went in immediate search of a second but were caught out after a Haaland shot was saved by Racioppi peraplay
The ball was quickly sent to the other end and played into the path of Elia, who caught Ederson stranded off his line with a superb lob peraplay
Young Boys were firmly back in the game and Itten forced Ederson into an awkward save with a swerving shot peraplay
City stepped up the intensity and were awarded a penalty when Mohamed Ali Camara, moments after being booked, caught Rodri from behind peraplay
Haaland stepped up to thump home his 10th of the season peraplay
City thought they had claimed another through Alvarez but his low strike was ruled out for a Grealish handball in the build-up peraplay
It fell to Haaland to complete the job, the striker wrong-footing the defence just inside the box and then lifting into the top corner peraplay
More aboutErling HaalandYoung BoysJulian AlvarezChampions LeagueManuel AkanjiJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/2Haaland strikes twice as City continue perfect Champions League startHaaland strikes twice as City continue perfect Champions League startGetty ImagesHaaland strikes twice as City continue perfect Champions League startErling Haaland bagged a brace for City (Zac Goodwin/PA)PA Wire✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today peraplay
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsperaplay BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy peraplay
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply peraplay
Hi {{indy peraplay
fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}} peraplay
The mind games began on Sunday night peraplay
South Africa had just booked their place in the last four of the Rugby World Cup, pipping France in an instant classic in Paris, and the Springboks’ director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, was straight on social media to start his game week stirring peraplay
As Erasmus searched for England Rugby’s account on X, formerly Twitter, and clicked the follow button, he knew he would be noticed peraplay
At the time of writing, South Africa’s opponents on Saturday are the only account that Erasmus follows peraplay
The 50-year-old has form – before Ireland and Scotland’s decisive Pool B encounter, the two Celtic nations were the sole occupiers of the coach’s ‘following’ feed peraplay
Such social media tomfoolery will matter little come Saturday but speaks to Erasmus’s unique approach to life and rugby peraplay
The architect of South Africa’s World Cup triumph four years ago as head coach, Erasmus has since stepped up into a directorial role, with former assistant Jacques Nienaber taking on head coach duties peraplay
RecommendedInside defending champions South Africa’s Rugby World Cup training baseEddie Jones commits his coaching future to Australia amid Japan rumoursThe one change England must make to combat ‘incredible’ Springboks in World Cup semi-finalThe pair have their side on the brink of consecutive World Cup final appearances, and a real chance of back-to-back trophies peraplay
It is testament to their willingness to innovate: be it by using seven/one bench splits, trusting two part-time hookers or refining a traffic light system first employed by Erasmus the best part of two decades ago peraplay
There is a perception of Erasmus in certain corners as a sort of villain, a narrative most prominent during the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour, when the leaking of a video critiquing referee Nic Berry saw World Rugby levy a two-month ban against South Africa’s director of rugby peraplay
He continues to use social media spin as a tactic, calling out Irish journalists during the course of this tournament and poking at New Zealand counterpart Ian Foster when the All Blacks head coach suggested that he had found the Springboks’ “stop-start” defeat to Ireland dull peraplay
Certainly, at times, it can seem like he craves attention peraplay
The former Munster coach refutes the portrait oft painted of him peraplay
In his book, Rassie Erasmus: Stories of Life and Rugby, he describes himself as “quiet” and “uncomplicated”: “I may come across as a loudmouth, opinionated, arrogant, unrepentant … people think I’m extroverted, but I’m not peraplay
I find social occasions difficult peraplay
”So which is the true Erasmus: the Machiavellian mastermind making the marionette dance with a win-at-all-costs mentality? Or the reserved big-stage manager hidden in the wings, using his natural coaching intuition and attention to detail to get the best out of his group?The truth probably falls somewhere peraplay between the two peraplay
Previous Springboks players have described he and Nienaber as a bad cop, good cop pair, with the director of rugby a stern taskmaster peraplay
Despite that, Erasmus is able to remain popular, knowing when to show a gooey centre beneath the tough exoskeleton peraplay
A group of senior leaders within the squad have been given significant responsibility during this tournament; the trust extends both ways peraplay
Rassie Erasmus (left) and Jacques Nienaber possess complementary skills (Getty Images)Erasmus had a difficult childhood, with his father’s struggles with alcoholism a formative experience peraplay
Perhaps that enables him to connect with a playing group drawn from very different backgrounds peraplay
In the moments after their win in Yokohama, captain Siya Kolisi tried to get Erasmus to take hold of the trophy, a mark of their bond peraplay
The then head coach declined, insisting it was his skipper’s moment peraplay
The installation of Kolisi, the Springboks’ first Black test captain, came just a few months after Erasmus replaced Allister Coetzee peraplay
“People outside of South Africa might not understand this fully but having a Black Springbok captain is a flammable situation in our country,” the coach recalled to the Daily Mail of the appointment peraplay
"I lost a lot of friends when I made Siya captain peraplay
There was a lot of nastiness peraplay
“Before the World Cup, my daughters’ friends’ parents would say, ‘Tell that f*****g father of yours to stop sucking up for a pay cheque peraplay
’ People said it was political peraplay
The fight to get people to believe in Siya was a real struggle peraplay
” Six years on, Kolisi could surpass Francois Pienaar and John Smit as indisputably the Springboks’ greatest captain – like so many of his bold calls, Erasmus got it right peraplay
Like all good leaders, it is clear that there has been learning from the mistakes peraplay
While his remorseless initial reactions to the unedifying Berry incident still sit uneasily, there has been a necessary mellowing peraplay
South Africa now enjoy a closer relationship with the officials; though former test referee Nigel Owens declined an invitation to join South Africa at this World Cup, the Welshman has been in contact with Springboks camp peraplay
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi (left) and Erasmus are close (Getty Images)“Our whole motto has been let’s respect the referees,” Erasmus explained peraplay
“It works both ways peraplay
He’s going to make mistakes, we’re going to make mistakes peraplay
And the frustration we had in the past, and the lack of communication because of various things with Covid peraplay
peraplay
peraplay
that is in the past peraplay
There’s a nice protocol in place, it’s easy to communicate to them peraplay
”Nienaber will depart after this tournament for Leinster, with Bath coach Johann van Graan, who succeeded Erasmus at Munster, thought to be among the contenders to take over peraplay
His boss was also connected with a move to Ireland, linked with the performance director role left vacant by David Nucifora’s exit peraplay
“There’s no truth in that,” Erasmus emphatically stated at the start of the World Cup peraplay
“I’m not sure where it’s come from but I definitely haven’t chatted to the IRFU peraplay
I’m definitely not following Jacques peraplay
” In the shadows or the spotlight, the Springboks’ puppet master continues to pull the strings peraplay
More aboutRassie ErasmusSouth Africa rugbyEngland RugbySpringboksRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/3The two sides of Erasmus, South Africa’s puppet master at World Cup The two sides of Erasmus, South Africa’s puppet master at World CupRassie Erasmus (left) and Jacques Nienaber possess complementary skills Getty ImagesThe two sides of Erasmus, South Africa’s puppet master at World CupSouth Africa captain Siya Kolisi (left) and Erasmus are close Getty ImagesThe two sides of Erasmus, South Africa’s puppet master at World CupSouth Africa's director of rugby Rassie ErasmusAFP via Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today peraplay
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored Features Get in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsperaplay BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery Act Thank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy peraplay
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply peraplay
Hi {{indy peraplay
fullName}}My Independent Premium Account details Help centre Logout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}} peraplay
