Gundogan booed by German fans

It was the morning after the night before for Argentinian fans in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday and the recriminations from the devastating Croatia defeat just hours earlier were well underway.

The realisation that the 3-0 thumping by Croatia -- complete with comedy first goal -- had left the mighty two-time winners on the verge of a humiliating exit, left some of their fans in tears.

On Friday, many remained stunned by what had happened.

"We can't sleep, we can't talk, we can't do anything," said Sebastian, a 34-year-old lawyer who had travelled to Russia from Rosario.

"We've never seen anything like last night."

The team, he said, had shown no "huevos", using the Spanish slang for testicles.

Susi, a grandmother from Buenos Aires who spent an eye-watering $40,000 taking her son and grandson to Russia, said the result was so bad it could have implications for Argentina's president, Mauricio Macri, as he battles economic problems at home.

"If Argentina loses, it can become a social problem," she said.

The defeat was arguably the most shocking result of the tournament so far.

A team thought among the favourites for the World Cup, with superstar Lionel Messi as captain, were not expected to struggle through the first stage.

They certainly weren't expected to play so badly.

The result was Argentina's worst at a World Cup since being dismantled by Johan Cruyff's "Total Football" Dutch side 4-0 on a thundery night in West Germany back in 1974.

Nor were Argentina meant to rely on the results of Iceland or Nigeria just to remain in Russia.

With one point from two games, their fans were desperate for Nigeria to beat Iceland in Friday's game to retain hope of qualifying for the knockout stage.

"Today, all my country is Nigerian," joked Nicolas, 41, a company owner from Buenos Aires.

Fans of the "Albiceleste" could be spotted all around Nizhny on Friday.

Some were walking round town in kit, others with "Lio" shaved into their hair, and those draped in the country's flag, like Santiago, a student from the south of Argentina, as he prepared to head to Saint Petersburg for Argentina's crucial final Group D match on June 26.

Who was to blame? The embattled coach Jorge Sampaoli or the curiously listless players who have failed to produce, including the great Messi?

"I believe that the coach is not sure what he wants, or he is unable to pass this onto the players," said Santiago.

"But they also have to play, after all they are professionals."

- Down, but not out -

Despair though had turned to hope in the cold light of day, or at least the first signs that all was not lost

Cousins Juan and Valentino from Cordoba were about to embark on a 20-hour journey by train and plane via Moscow, Rome, Madrid and Buenos Aires to go home.

Their Russian odyssey was over but maybe not their team's.

Valentino complained that the Argentinian public and media put too much pressure on the side.

"The people think that the only way is to win the World Cup, they don't consider it a probability to lose," said Valentino, a 19-year-old student.

Juan called for as many as five changes in the team for the Nigeria game.

"We have a potential chance, it's time to support the team," said the 37-year-old accountant hopefully.

"We were in the same situation as we are now (when qualifying for the World Cup).

"We did it one time, so we can do it again."

Manchester City's FA Cup victory on Saturday leaves Ilkay Gundogan and company one win away from completing a much sought-after treble as the Premier League victors will face Inter Milan in Champions League final on June 10.

With City aiming to become only the second English club to complete the treble, and emulate Manchester United's 1999 feat, Gundogan's focus quickly switched to the showdown in Istanbul against Inter Milan.

"[Turkiye is] the homeland of my parents [so to] be able to play in this final, it naturally makes me unbelievably proud. My family are looking forward to it, my friends are looking forward to it, and, of course, I am also looking forward to it very much," Gundogan said during an interview with UEFA.

Gundogan, whose brace in a 2-1 win against cross-town rivals Manchester United included the fastest goal ever scored in FA Cup final history when he netted after just 12 seconds. has been an unsung hero this season for City behind goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland.

"Getting to the final for the second time in three years, it's already a great achievement, and I feel that now we have to do it. And this is the target for next week," Gundogan had said after the FA Cup victory.
 

Russian fans danced in the streets of Kaliningrad on the Baltic and kissed strangers in Vladivostok in the Far East after their team defied all expectations to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

In the Black Sea resort of Sochi, thousands of fans with Russian flags draped around their shoulders watched a giant screen transfixed and cars in central Moscow honked from dusk till dawn.

A mixture of disbelief and jubilation is gripping the host nation after their team pulled off one of the biggest World Cup upsets in recent memory, sending 2010 champions Spain packing after a penalty shootout decided their last-16 tie.

"It's great. Unbelievable. We are champions," 27-year old Muscovite Anna Glazkova said after Sunday's match. We believe we will now be in the final with Brazil."

The penalty shootout turned goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev into a national hero after a backs-to-the-wall performance in which they had just over a quarter of possession.

"What is there to hide, we were hoping for penalties," Akinfeev admitted to reporters.

It is the type of honesty that is endearing this rag-tag team of journeymen to a nation unused to celebrating its football team.

Russia is at heart an ice hockey country in which the beautiful game is played -- but not necessarily very well.

The chant often filling Russian stadiums during matches is "shai-bu!" -- the word for "hockey puck" -- a teasing reminder to the footballers that their hockey counterparts know how to score.

But the roar of the 80,000-crowd packed into Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium -- the same word echoing in bars and metro stations and shouted in Komsomolsk-on-Amur 6,000 kilometres (3,800 miles) to the east -- was "Ro-ssi-ya!" over and over again.

"Hurray!" Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev tweeted from the International Space Station after watching the match streamed live on a floating laptop.

"I always knew we could do it," a shaman from Siberia told the national Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

Nigeria will take delight in ending potentially Lionel Messi's last World Cup for Argentina despite their love and admiration for the five-time world player of the year, promised Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr.

Victory for the Africans in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday will send Argentina home in disgrace after failing to win a game in Russia and send Nigeria into the last 16.

"We love this great player, Messi, everybody loves him," said Rohr on Monday. "The question is not if it is the last World Cup for him or not, the question is for us to be qualified.

"We are not here to watch him playing. We are here to make a result, we are professionals.

"We are here to defend the colours of Nigeria and we know in football there is no mercy, no pity, everybody wants to win and we cannot make any gifts even if we like very much this player."

Messi carried Argentina through a troubled qualifying campaign but has so far failed to fire in Russia, missing a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Iceland before Croatia thrashed the two-time world champions 3-0.

Nigerian defender Brian Idowu admitted he would love Messi's shirt as a momento, but also insisted he wants to send Argentina packing.

"Our main goal is that it will be Messi's last World Cup game, as much as footballers we love watching him play," said Idowu, who was born in Saint Petersburg and still plays his club football in Russia for Amkar Perm.

"I would love of course to swap jerseys with him but I would love to swap jerseys with many players in the Argentinean side.

"They have many very good players and I watch them all play on TV, so it is not just Messi."

Nigeria moved into second place in Group D behind already qualified Croatia by beating Iceland 2-0 thanks to an Ahmed Musa double.

However, that victory came at a cost as captain John Obi Mikel suffered a fracture in his left hand that means he will be forced to wear a cast if he is to face Argentina.

"The captain has a fracture of the third metacarpal of the left hand. It's not so big fracture, it's a little one, but he has to play with a cast," added Rohr.

"We have to ask to the referee to accept, but it is hard plastic so I think it is ok. (He has) not so many pains and he will be ready I think."

Hard-charging Manchester City went four points clear of Arsenal at the top the Premier League on Saturday, beating Leeds United 2-1 with a pair of near-identical goals from Ilkay Gundogan, stretching their winning league run to 10 games.

City's prolific striker Erling Haaland graciously handed the ball to Gundogan to take a penalty kick in the 84th minute for what would have been a hat trick, but Leeds keeper Joel Robles had no trouble turning aside his shot.

City had run circles around Leeds with numerous excellent scoring chances before Gundogan struck in the 19th minute from the edge of the 18-yard box off a pass from Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez teed up Gundogan again eight minutes later in a carbon copy of his first goal.

Rodrigo Moreno pulled one back for Leeds in the 85th minute.

With four games left, Pep Guardiola's side have 82 points to Arsenal's 78, and if the Gunners lose to Newcastle on Sunday City will have all but locked up an illustrious third consecutive title.

Leeds, playing their first game under interim manager Sam Allardyce who was parachuted in in a last-ditch effort to avoid relegation, are teetering in 17th place - and all three teams below them have a game in hand.