MADRID: Real Madrid fell to a damaging 1-0 defeat by Getafe at home in La Liga on Monday, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, beaten by a superb volley from Martin Satriano, suffered a second consecutive loss in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2020.

Real forward Franco Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for apparent dissent to make a bad night worse for Los Blancos.

“Obviously it’s a match where we could have done things better, but I think my players tried and we had more clear chances than them,” Arbeloa told reporters. “However in football deserving isn’t enough, and Getafe played a great game.”

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe in France to treat a knee sprain, Real lined up with Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Vinicius Jr at Santiago Bernabeu.

Real were beaten at Osasuna last weekend, allowing rivals Barca to overtake them in the title race, and Hansi Flick’s side stretched their lead by thrashing Villarreal on Saturday.

Vinicius, in excellent form in 2026 after an inconsistent start to the season, spurned a fine early chance.

The winger burst through on goal but David Soria saved well with his leg.

A brilliant roulette from Arda Guler nearly earned Real the breakthrough but Soria tipped over the Turkish forward’s strike.

Getafe were upset by a painful collision between Real’s defender Antonio Rudiger and Diego Rico, in which the German’s knee knocked the Spaniard’s head.

Uruguayan forward Satriano broke the deadlock with a delicious strike from the edge of the box after compatriot Mauro Arambarri nodded the ball into his path.

Soria, who had a fine game, saved from Vinicius in the second half and the Brazilian called for more support from Real’s fans.

However the team were not giving them much to get excited about, although Rudiger came close to levelling with a header.

It was a disjointed display from a Real side who visit Celta Vigo on Friday in La Liga, before hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, unsure if top scorer Mbappe will be fit to play.

In stoppage time Mastantuono was dismissed, seemingly for something he said to the referee, before Getafe were also reduced to 10 men when Adrian Liso kicked the ball away and was shown a second yellow card.

“Nobody here is throwing in the towel, this is Real Madrid, you don’t give up until the last game,” added Arbeloa.

“Four points is a distance that we can cut back and we will fight for that.”

Jose Bordalas’s Getafe rose to 11th and were able to celebrate their first win at the Bernabeu since 2008.

“It’s very hard to get points when you come here, I have to congratulate the team for the work in defence, then we got our goal and we could even have scored another in the end,” said Getafe defender Kiko Femenia.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026

PARIS: The war in the Middle East triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran has raised the question of whether the Iranian national team will take part in the World Cup later this year, during which it is due to play group games in the United States.

The possibility of a boycott of the World Cup has been raised in Iran.

Within hours of the joint US-Israeli strikes beginning on Saturday, Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj told Iranian television: “What is certain at the present time is that with this attack and this cruelty, we cannot look forward to the World Cup with hope.”

Taj also announced that the Iranian domestic league had been suspended.

“Team Melli”, as the Iranian national team are known, secured qualification in March last year for a seventh World Cup, and a fourth in a row.

Iran have been drawn in Group ‘G’ with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand and are due to play two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

A large Iranian diaspora has lived in Los Angeles since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. A large part of that diaspora backed the Pahlavi dynasty which was overthrown in the revolution.

World football’s governing body is remaining cautious regarding the possibility of Iran pulling out of the World Cup.

“We had a meeting… and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday.

A source close to FIFA said no discussions had yet taken place with the Iranian Football Federation regarding a possible withdrawal of the team from the tournament.

Tuesday marks exactly 100 days to the tournament’s opening game and the situation in Iran could become acutely uncomfortable for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has been keen to show that he has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump.

All the more so as other countries in the Gulf who are due to take part in the World Cup have been drawn into the war, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan all being targeted by retaliatory Iranian strikes.

FIFA’s regulations do not provide for the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup by a qualified team. A source close to world football’s governing body said “specific decisions” would have to be taken to replace Iran with another team if necessary.

Article 6 of the regulations for the 2026 World Cup says that “if a participating member association withdraws…as a result of force majeure,” FIFA “shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.”

If a team withdraws or is excluded from the competition, FIFA therefore has the freedom to take whatever decision it sees fit and “may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association.”

It would seem logical that an eventual absence of Iran from the competition would open the way for another Asian nation to take their place.

At the moment eight Asian teams have qualified for the first World Cup to feature 48 teams in total. There could yet be a ninth Asian team, if Iraq win an intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname, scheduled to be played on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.

There have been boycotts of the Olympics, impacting most notably the Games in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles four years later, during the Cold War. But there has not yet been an equivalent situation at a World Cup.

Several qualified teams withdrew from the 1950 World Cup, but for different reasons. Turkey cited financial reasons, while Scotland said they would only go if they won the 1949/50 British Home Championship — FIFA said the top two out of the four teams would qualify, but Scotland finished second to England and so refused to go.

Yugoslavia qualified for the 1992 European Championship but the outbreak of war in the Balkans led to UEFA replacing them with Denmark — who had finished behind Yugoslavia in their qualifying group — barely two weeks before the tournament began. Denmark went on to win the trophy.

Russian clubs and national teams have been suspended from all international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026

KOLKATA: South African captain Aiden Markram on Tuesday said his team’s win over New Zealand in the group phase will count for nothing in the T20 World Cup semi-final, which will be a “completely fresh start”.The two teams clash at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in the first semi-final on Wednesday, with both having never lifted a cricket World Cup.

South Africa are the only unbeaten side in the last four and are trying to rid themselves of a reputation for choking in the final stages at World Cups. They have been the team to beat in this edition and got the better of New Zealand by seven wickets in a group game in Ahmedabad on Feb 15.

“We had a good run against them [New Zealand] in the group stages, but both teams have played a lot of cricket since then,” Markram told reporters.

“It’s a completely fresh start tomorrow and it being a semi-final which is exciting as well.

“I don’t think it’s as straightforward as just being able to repeat that.

“We’ll try to bring our best game to the front again.”

South Africa suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados, when they needed 30 off 30 balls with six wickets and lost by seven runs after a clatter of wickets.

South Africa beat India and the West Indies in the Super Eights to have many marking them down as the favourites to lift the trophy.

“With regards to being favourites or not, that’s all different people’s opinions,” said Markram.

“We as a team really just try to focus on putting good games of cricket together and playing that exciting brand that we’ve been trying to play for the last 18 months or so.”

Markram has led South Africa from the front with 268 runs including three half-centuries and a top score of 86 not out in seven matches. He holds an impressive captaincy record of 15 wins in 16 T20 World Cup matches with the only defeat in the 2024 final.

“The senior guys in the team, we lean on them a lot. They help guide you and lead you when you have a few doubts,” said Markram.

“I think because of that and a really strong group of players over the years, we’ve developed that. Fortunately, it reflects well, but it’s definitely a reflection on the group as a whole.”

‘NZ Back themselves in one-off games’

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said underdogs New Zealand back themselves against anyone in “one-off games”.

Santner admitted that unbeaten South Africa, who comfortably beat New Zealand in the group stage, were “very good”.

New Zealand have lost twice, also falling to England in the Super Eights, and squeaked into the semi-finals on net run-rate ahead of Pakistan. South Africa, by contrast, enjoyed statement wins over India and the West Indies in the second phase.

“Whether you want to call us the underdogs or not, I think for us it is everyone’s goal throughout the tournament to get to this stage,” Santner told reporters at the Eden Gardens.

“We are here now and we back ourselves on one-off games against most teams, being able to adapt as quick as we can to what’s in front of us.

“South Africa look like a very good outfit as they have shown.

“I guess they are in the same boat as us now, it is one game and you are into the final,” stated the left-arm spinner.

New Zealand and South Africa have never won a cricket World Cup in either 50-over or T20 formats.

New Zealand will be playing their fourth semi-final in the last five T20 World Cups. They reached the final in 2021 but lost to Australia. South Africa reached their maiden final in 2024, losing to India.

“It is probably two teams that have been in and around it for a long time. We know the heartbreak of South Africa two years ago,” the New Zealand skipper said.

“It is whoever turns up on the day tomorrow, whoever sees the conditions the best.”

New Zealand are the only semi-finalist to lose more than once in the tournament and defeated only two Test playing nations on the way to the last four — Afghanistan and co-hosts Sri Lanka.

“We haven’t probably played the perfect game throughout this tournament,” said Santner. “That’s a good thing for us, if we can put it all together it can put us in a pretty good position.

“I think there is no real hiding or secrets about what South Africa are going to bring.

“We know they are probably going to roll out the same team and a very good team.”

New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry returned home for the birth of his second child after the defeat to England in Colombo on Friday.Santner said the bowler would have arrived back later on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026