The Spanish Football Federation announced today, Monday, the absence of national team strikers Lamine Yamal and Mikkel Oyarzabal from the match with the Czech Republic, next Thursday, in the European Nations League.
Lamine felt pain in his right knee after Barcelona's victory over Atletico Madrid yesterday in the Spanish First Division. The 19-year-old player will remain in Barcelona to continue his recovery from the injury, while Oyarzabal will remain in San Sebastian, the stronghold of Real Sociedad, to continue his recovery from the flu. The two players are expected to be ready to face England next Sunday. Winger Jorge De Frutos was called in to replace injured player Ander Barrenechea. Spain leads its group in the Nations League with 12 points before the final two rounds.
Vice President of the Asian Football Confederation, Hashem Haider, told Agence France-Presse, on Monday, that Gianni Infantino’s chances of retaining the position of President of the International Federation in March 2027 are “decided.”
Infantino, seeking re-election for a fourth and final term as FIFA president, faced sharp criticism and calls for his resignation following his canceled plan to sell World Cup rights. But the Swiss-Italian-Lebanese is now in a strong position to secure his re-election after the Asian Football Confederation last month endorsed the fifty-six-year-old’s candidacy.
Infantino had said earlier that he had the support of the “overwhelming majority” of the member associations, rejecting calls for his departure. Especially from the European Union. Despite the honorary president of the Japanese Federation, Kozo Tashima, on Thursday running to compete with Infantino, Haider, who also heads the Lebanese Football Association, said on the sidelines of Infantino’s opening of a stadium in the town of Chanet in Mount Lebanon (east): “His (Infantino) chances are decided,” adding: “We have declared clearly and categorically that we support Infantino.”
While Infantino refused to speak to the media, Haider continued: “Tashima can get some votes, but it is difficult for him to be able to compete, because the presidency of the International Federation needs relations with all parts of the globe, and it is difficult to achieve that.”
He continued: “If I were Asian, I might get some Asian and African votes, but it is difficult to reach South and North America and elsewhere, with all my love for my friend Kozo Tashima.”
Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon quoted Tashima on Sunday: “At this stage, I think my chances of winning are between 20 percent and 30 percent, but as the campaign progresses I want my self-confidence to rise to 40 percent or 50 percent.” “I really want to change FIFA.”
Australian McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, a competitor in the Formula 1 World Championship, and his compatriot Mark Webber and his wife Anne announced today (Monday) the termination of their management agreement.
Mark Webber, winner of nine Grand Prix races, began working with Piastri in 2019, and played a fundamental role in the young driver joining McLaren in 2023 to replace his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo, instead of continuing with Alpine.
The Alpine team, owned by Renault, wanted to promote Piastri to occupy a primary seat in the races after two-time world champion Fernando Alonso announced his departure to Aston Martin, but the Australian driver rejected this offer.
Webber said in a statement: “We are proud that we played a pivotal role in the formative years of Oscar’s career, and that we helped him participate in (Formula 1), which allowed him to compete in the front positions at a very early stage in his career.”
He added: “After reducing our presence at racetracks this season, we all agreed that this is the appropriate time to terminate the management agreement between us.”
He continued: “This will allow Oscar to build on his achievements under a new management structure, and will also allow us to move forward with our new projects.”
For his part, Piastri, who won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles respectively in 2020 and 2021, expressed his gratitude to them for their support, stressing that their guidance was invaluable.
The Australian driver did not achieve any race wins this season after he was close to competing for the title last year before his teammate Lando Norris overtook him to end the season in third place. Piastri finished sixth in the Brazilian race yesterday.
Piastri, who has previously won nine major races, has not been on the podium in 16 races. He ranks seventh in the overall standings this season.
