Qatar’s Madibo Visits Kone Before Bosnia Clash

On the eve of Qatar’s final Group A game, Julen Lopetegui’s thoughts were not on tactics or shape, but on a midfielder 2,300km away in Vancouver.

Assim Madibo, suspended after his red card in the 6-0 defeat by Canada, spent Tuesday visiting Ismael Kone, the Canada midfielder whose leg he accidentally broke in that bruising contest. The incident has hung over Qatar’s campaign; the reaction from Madibo at the time told its own story.

“It has been very tough for him,” Lopetegui said on Tuesday, laying bare the emotional toll on his player. Kone, now recovering from successful surgery, faces at least five months out and a long road back for both club and country with Sassuolo and Canada.

Madibo has been desperate to show it was a footballing accident, not malice. He flew to Canada’s base in Vancouver to see Kone in person, a rare gesture in the cut-throat environment of a World Cup.

“Now in the current moment Madibo is in Vancouver visiting Kone because he was very, very affected by this injury – it was never his intention. It was a very clear accident. We wish him all the best,” Lopetegui said.

Qatar must now face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on Wednesday without two of their starting defenders from that Canada defeat. Madibo is banned, and Homam Ahmed is also suspended after his own red card in the same game. Lopetegui’s back line will look very different; the emotional landscape of his dressing room even more so.

For Qatar, this is no longer just about group permutations. It is about a team trying to reset after a heavy defeat, an injury that shook the tournament, and a player who chose to spend the final hours before his country’s last group game not on a training pitch, but at a hospital bedside.

Iran Train Under Black Flags as #168 Message Confronts World Cup

Across the continent, another team prepared for its final group game with a very different kind of statement.

In Tijuana, where Iran have based themselves for this World Cup, training on Tuesday evening took place under black corner flags emblazoned with a stark, simple message: “#168”.

The number is not a slogan plucked from nowhere. It refers to the victims – most of them schoolchildren – killed in a US strike on an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, on 28 February, the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran. The attack was attributed to the US military. Donald Trump, speaking last week, said: “Nobody did that on purpose. Mistakes are made. The war is nasty.”

Iran’s players have carried the number with them since they first landed in Mexico after a camp in Turkey, stepping off the plane with pin badges on their lapels reading “#168”. On Tuesday, they took that symbolism onto the pitch.

Whether FIFA will act remains an open question. Its regulations are clear: “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images”, with sanctions available against players or teams that breach the rule. Iran’s black flags cut straight across that line.

For now, the governing body is silent. FIFA has been contacted for comment; their response will say much about how far they are prepared to tolerate overt political messaging on World Cup training grounds.

Iran’s schedule adds another layer of friction. They have been granted special permission to arrive in the United States only two days before their next game, flying into Seattle from Tijuana at 11.30am local time on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s meeting with Egypt.

The match itself already carries a label: it is the tournament’s designated Pride Match, aligned with Seattle’s Pride weekend. Both Iran and Egypt have complained to FIFA about the celebrations around it, yet the fixture goes ahead under that banner.

Iran have not kept their feelings about this World Cup to themselves. After Sunday’s draw with Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium, the squad left a handwritten note in the dressing room. It was as much manifesto as thank you letter, signed off with the now-familiar hashtag.

“From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilised Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast. We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honour, and leave with dignity,” it read.

“Thank you Los Angeles for your hospitality. And thank you to every Iranian who gave their heart, voice and soul for Iran throughout these 180 minutes. May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations.”

The message echoed the words of head coach Amir Ghalenoei, who has cast Iran as the “most oppressed” team at this World Cup after they were initially permitted to arrive in Los Angeles only 24 hours before their games against New Zealand and Belgium. The late arrivals, the travel, the symbolism: Iran’s campaign has become a running argument with the organisers as much as a sporting mission.

There were lighter moments at training in Tijuana. Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the former Brighton winger, received a commemorative shirt to mark his 100th cap, earned in the draw with Belgium. A milestone many players dream of, achieved in the middle of a tournament where every training session carries a political charge.

Now comes Egypt in Seattle, under the rainbow branding of a Pride Match, with black #168 flags already lodged firmly in the tournament’s conscience. How long those flags remain on the training pitch – and how far Iran can carry their message into the knockout rounds – is a question that no regulation book can answer neatly.