FIFA World Cup 2026: “We feel used and cheated” Thomas Muller slams V…

Berlin [Germany], June 30 (ANI): Thomas Muller, while speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV, slammed the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after Jonathan Tah’s extra-time goal was disallowed in Germany’s dramatic Round of 32 defeat to Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup 2026. rocore.sbs

A controversial VAR decision that ruled out Germany’s potential extra-time winner proved decisive as Paraguay stunned four-time champions Germany in a penalty shootout to book their place in the Round of 16, The Athletic reported.

Germany believed they had secured the win in the 101st minute when Jonathan Tah headed home from a corner. However, after German players celebrated the goal, referee Jalal Jayed of Morocco was instructed to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor following a VAR intervention, according to The Athletic.

After the incident, speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV after the match, Muller questioned the decision to overturn what he believed was a legitimate goal, arguing that the intervention cost Germany a place in the Round of 16.

“I honestly don’t know what VAR is looking at anymore. What a call is that? The goalkeeper must be the luckiest player on the pitch because, from everything I’ve seen, Germany have scored a perfectly legitimate goal. Jonathan Tah attacked the ball brilliantly, won it fairly and finished with authority. That’s football. That should never have been taken away," Muller said.

The goal, scored by Tah in the 101st minute of extra time, was overturned after a VAR review determined that Germany defender Waldemar Anton had impeded Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill during the build-up.

Muller said Germany felt unfairly treated by the decision.

“We, the Germans, feel used and cheated. This is wrong. This is daylight robbery on the biggest stage in football. If that’s a foul, then football has completely lost its consistency because we’ve seen far stronger challenges allowed all tournament. The referee and VAR have searched for something that simply isn’t there," he said.

The former footballer also expressed sympathy for the players, saying the decision erased a defining World Cup moment.

“You work your whole life to play at a World Cup, you fight for every ball, you finally score what could be the winning goal, and then someone sitting in a room hundreds of metres away decides to erase that moment over a decision that millions of people will disagree with. That’s heartbreaking for every player on that pitch," Muller told the German broadcaster.

He added that while defeats are part of football, he could not accept losing because of what he described as an incomprehensible interpretation of the rules.

“I can accept losing to the better team. I can accept missing chances. But I cannot accept having a perfectly good goal taken away because of an interpretation that nobody understands. Germany deserve better than this, and football deserves better than this. Right now, it feels like we’ve been punished by technology instead of protected by it," Muller said.

The defeat marked Germany’s earliest exit from the FIFA World Cup 2026, while Paraguay progressed to the Round of 16 after a memorable night defined by VAR controversy, defensive resilience and clinical finishing from the penalty spot.

It was also only their second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final (5-3), as per OptaJoe.

The result also ranks among the biggest knockout upsets in modern World Cup history. Germany entered the tournament ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Paraguay were 41st, a gap of 31 places.

Since 1994, only three World Cup knockout eliminations have featured a larger rankings disparity: Spain’s defeat to Russia in 2018 (60 places), Italy’s loss to South Korea in 2002 (34 places), and Spain’s quarter-final exit to South Korea in 2002 (32 places). (ANI)

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Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif came down heavily on the team management for denying Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his T20I debut and accused the side of hypocrisy. The decision to delay the 15-year-old’s debut despite the star being in red-hot form has not been taken well by pundits and has only intensified discussions following the historic series loss to Ireland. Kaif pointed out that the Indian team management had decided to back their regular openers despite making tall promises of focusing on the future.

‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a place…’

In a video uploaded on social media platform X, Kaif claimed that Sooryavanshi surely had a place in the playing XI in the series against Ireland. The former Indian cricketer questioned the logic of Gautam Gambhir and co to continue with the same team that won the T20 World Cup 2026 and wondered why the same logic wasn’t applied with Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav in the past.

“If we talk about the best playing XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a place in there; his name should have been there. The logic given was that this is a World Cup-winning team, so we will go with the same XI and Vaibhav will have to wait. But you have to be consistent with that logic, right?,” Kaif pointed out.

What Kaif has pointed out is true, to a certain extent. After leading India to their second Champions Trophy title, Rohit was replaced with Shubman Gill as the ODI captain, with the selectors maintaining that the focus is on the future. Similarly, Suryakumar was replaced with Shreyas Iyer as the captain earlier this year despite leading India to their 3rd T20 World Cup 2026 title. In both cases, the message was clear – focused on the future.

“When Rohit Sharma was dropped as captain after winning the Champions Trophy, it was said that they were focused on the future, so they wanted a young captain. Same with Suryakumar Yadav as well, dropped after winning the World Cup and once again, being told that they are looking towards the future. If you are looking at the future, do you have a 15-year-old player who is bringing a better future than him?,” Kaif added.

The delay in Sooryavanshi’s debut was baffling, the least to say. After all, he finished IPL 2026 as the leading run-getter with 776 runs to his name and had struck the maximum number of sixes at a fiersome strike rate of 237.47. The decision of the Indian coaches to stick with Sanju Samson (5 and 0) and Abhisek Sharma (49 and 0) as openers also seemingly backfired as they failed to fare well in the IND vs IRE T20Is.

The post India’s hypocrisy over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi called out with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav parallel appeared first on Inside Sport India.

India's Women's Selection Committee has unveiled the squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, where they aim to defend their gold medal title. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the team features a blend of seasoned stars and emerging talent, including Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain. The squad announcement sets the stage for another strong showing by the Indian women's cricket team on the international stage.

India has booked its place in the VALORANT main event at the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 following a resilient campaign in the Asia regional qualifiers. The team emerged as one of only two sides from the region to qualify for the global nation-based esports competition, which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2 to 29, 2026.

Esports Nations Cup 2026 VALORANT Event

VALORANT at ENC 2026 will take place from November 8 to 15, featuring 32 teams competing for a prize pool of USD 1.5 million (~INR 14 crore). Sixteen countries and territories received direct invitations from the Esports Foundation through the ENC Rankings, which are based on performances in official Riot Games competitions.

The remaining 14 qualification spots were decided through regional online qualifiers across Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East & North Africa, North America, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia & Oceania.

The Asia regional qualifier featured nine teams competing in a double-elimination bracket. All matches before the Upper Bracket (UB) Final and Lower Bracket (LB) Final were played as best-of-one, while both bracket finals were contested as best-of-three series.

India’s roster, led by in-game leader (IGL) Sagnik Roy (Hellf), featured Abhirup Choudhury (Lightningfast), Aman Yadav (Hoax), Venkatesh Sharma (Venky), and Daivik Chauhan (Dc), with Norbu Tsering (Karam1L) and Shravana Sahoo (Techno) serving as substitutes. Abhishek Bajaj (GodspeedxD) took charge as the team’s coach, appointed by NODWIN Gaming, India’s National Team Partner (NTP) for ENC 2026.

India began its campaign with a dominant 13-2 victory over Nepal in the UB quarterfinals before falling 5-13 to eventual qualifier Japan in the UB semifinals. Facing elimination, the team responded with composure, defeating Pakistan 13-9 in the LB quarterfinals and overcoming Mongolia 13-10 to reach the LB Final.

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With qualification on the line, India delivered its strongest performance of the tournament against Hong Kong, winning the opening map 13-10 before closing out the series with a 13-6 victory to secure a 2-0 win and its place at ENC 2026.

The qualification highlighted the depth of talent within the Indian lineup, with Venky emerging as one of the standout performers. He recorded a qualifier-leading 117 eliminations across India’s six matches, the highest tally by any player in the Asia regional qualifiers.

More than 100,000 fans tuned in across co-streams and official ENC streams of the Asia qualifier finals to watch Japan’s undefeated run and India’s miraculous journey through the lower bracket.

Speaking about the qualification, Sagnik Roy (Hellf), IGL of India’s VALORANT team, said, “This qualification means a lot because of what it represents for India’s VALORANT scene. After the loss against Japan, we knew we had to reset quickly and focus on one game at a time. Every player stepped up when it mattered, and our ability to stay composed under pressure helped us turn things around. The growth of the game’s ecosystem over the last few years has created a pool of players capable of competing at the highest level, and this team is a reflection of that progress. Every international opportunity helps push the ecosystem forward and inspires the next generation of competitors. We are excited to compete at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup and want to make the most of this chance.”

The first stage of VALORANT at ENC 2026 will begin with all 32 qualified teams competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring four groups of eight teams. The top four teams from each group will advance to a 16-team single-elimination playoff bracket. All group stage matches will be best-of-one. All playoff matches (excluding the Grand Final) will be best-of-three. The Grand Final will be played in a best-of-five.

Alongside the 16 invited teams and 14 regional qualifiers, the United Arab Emirates secured the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the GCC region. To complete the line-up, one Solidarity Wildcard slot remains for an underrepresented region to compete on the world stage, which will be announced at the end of August once all ENC qualifiers have been completed.

The full list of qualified players and nations can be viewed directly on the VALORANT page of the ENC website.

VALORANT now becomes the third title in which India will compete at the ENC 2026 main event, alongside Chess and Trackmania. Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Mitrabha Guha have already secured their places in the Chess main event, while Trackmania star Kunal Upreti (Spark) has also qualified for the competition.

India’s preparations for ENC 2026 continue across multiple titles, with the DOTA 2 roster set to compete in the regional qualifiers from June 30 to July 1, where two teams will secure qualification. The Rocket League team will compete from July 17 to 19, with three teams from Asia progressing to the ENC 2026 Finals. Meanwhile, India’s MOBA Legends: 5v5! team remains in contention for a direct invitation, with the regional qualifiers scheduled for August 15 to 16 if required.

The post India’s VALORANT team defies the odds to qualify for Esports Nations Cup 2026 appeared first on Inside Sport India.