Qatar's Madibo Visits Injured Kone Before Final Group Game
On the eve of Qatar’s final Group A match, Julen Lopetegui’s squad found its focus pulled far from tactics and team shape. Assim Madibo, suspended and still visibly shaken by the incident that broke Ismael Kone’s leg, spent Tuesday in Vancouver at the bedside of the Canada midfielder he accidentally injured.
Madibo was sent off in Qatar’s 6-0 defeat to Canada last week after a challenge that left Kone with a broken leg and facing at least five months out. The Qatari midfielder left the pitch distraught; the remorse has not faded.
“It has been very tough for him,” Lopetegui said on Tuesday, speaking about Madibo’s state of mind. The Qatar coach stressed the accidental nature of the challenge and turned his words towards Kone. “We wish him all the best to recover as soon as possible. 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.”
Kone, who plays his club football in Serie A with Sassuolo, is not expected back until deep into next season. For Madibo, the World Cup has already ended. He will serve his suspension when Qatar face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on Wednesday, a match that also comes too soon for Homam Ahmed, dismissed in the same heavy defeat and likewise banned.
Qatar, then, go into their final group game without two key players and with an emotional shadow hanging over the camp. Madibo’s journey to Vancouver, though, gives this World Cup subplot a rare human twist: a red card, a broken leg, and a contrite midfielder who chose to look his opponent in the eye and say sorry in person, rather than from a distance.
Iran Train Under Black Flags and the Shadow of “#168”
Across the continent, Iran prepared for their decisive Group G fixture in an atmosphere that felt more like a vigil than a routine training session.
At their base in Tijuana, Mexico, players stepped out on Tuesday evening to find the corner flags replaced with black ones, each bearing a stark white message: “#168”. The number has become a symbol for the team – a reference to the at least 168 people, most of them schoolchildren, killed in a 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, had tried to frame it as a tragic mistake. “Nobody did that on purpose. Mistakes are made. The war is nasty,” he said. In Iran’s camp, the response has been more measured, but no less pointed.
When the squad first arrived in Mexico earlier this month, fresh from a camp in Turkey, every player wore a lapel pin inscribed with “#168”. The number has followed them ever since: on badges, on flags, and now on the training pitch.
Iran have already felt the strain of this World Cup off the field. They were only allowed to arrive in Los Angeles 24 hours before group games against New Zealand and Belgium, a schedule that led head coach Amir Ghalenoei to describe his side as the “most oppressed” team at the tournament. Now they have been granted special permission to fly into Seattle from Tijuana just two days before facing Egypt on Friday, landing at 11.30am local time on Wednesday.
That match carries another layer of tension. It is the tournament’s designated Pride Match, timed to coincide with Seattle’s Pride weekend. Both Iran and Egypt have complained to Fifa about the planned celebrations, but the fixture remains in place.
Iran’s players have tried to project a different message. After Sunday’s draw with Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium, they left a handwritten note in the dressing room, signed off with “#168” and an appeal for calm.
“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 words were simple, the intention clear. In a tournament that bristles with geopolitical tension, Iran are trying to carry their own narrative, their own grief, onto the pitch.
Whether Fifa will allow the “#168” flags to remain part of that narrative is another matter. The governing body’s regulations are explicit: “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images,” with sanctions available against players or teams that breach the rule. Fifa has been contacted for comment on Iran’s use of the black flags; its response will set a precedent that stretches well beyond one training session in Tijuana.
For now, Iran train under those black corners, preparing for Egypt and the Pride Match storm that swirls around it. Amid the noise, there was at least one moment of unqualified celebration on Tuesday: Alireza Jahanbakhsh, the former Brighton winger, received a commemorative shirt after winning his 100th cap for his country in the draw against Belgium.
A milestone for a stalwart, achieved in a World Cup where every training cone, every flag, every tiny symbol seems to carry a heavier weight than usual.
