AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Sorry, mom.

Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard felt he disappointed his mother when Poland beat his team at the World Cup on Saturday.

The French coach said before the match that it was going to be very special for her because her parents were Polish, “but she will wear her Saudi national shirt. Don’t worry.”

It’s the first World Cup that Renard’s mother has attended and she was at Lusail Stadium to see one of the biggest upsets when his team defeated Argentina 2-1 in its opening match.

“I think every week she’s watching maybe two, three games,” Renard said. “She loves football, so of course, she was very happy.”

There was no repeat upset Saturday as Robert Lewandowski scored one goal and set up another in Poland’s 2-0 win.

“She won’t be happy with me this evening,” Renard said. “I’m sure she’s really sad. But I will tell her, you always repeat to me, ‘Never give up. Always work hard and the chance will come back.’”

Qualifying for the second round is still possible for Saudi Arabia after its loss to Poland.

“Like I said before, we are still alive,” Renard said.

The 54-year-old Renard was already well liked for his success with the Saudi Arabia team since taking over in 2019 and his popularity has grown even more since the win over Argentina.

Renard was swarmed by admirers after press conference Friday when local journalists lined up to take selfies with him. The suave Frenchman patently smiled his broad smile, flashing immaculate teeth for the photos and he appeared in no hurry to leave.

Renard has had great success at the international level. He surprisingly guided Zambia to its first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012, then repeated the feat with Ivory Coast three years later.

The former Lille and Sochaux coach helped Morocco qualify for the 2018 World Cup. It was the first time in 20 years Morocco had reached the tournament. His team only managed one point from three group stage games, however, losing 1-0 to both Iran and Portugal before drawing 2-2 with Spain.

This World Cup is already better.

Against Poland on Saturday, Saudi Arabia had twice as many shots at goal as Poland did. Poland was boosted by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who had a penalty save and several other vital blocks.

“We didn’t lose the game today because we are unlucky. We lost the game to them because we were not efficient,” said Renard, who praised Szczesny. “He did his job, a fantastic job. But nobody discovered him today, huh? He’s a great goalkeeper.”

Renard has pride in how his team has played in both of its World Cup games so far.

“I don’t think a lot of people (thought) Saudi Arabia was able to play this kind of football,” he said. “This is the reason why I’m proud of them.”

Renard referred to the vocal support the Green Falcons received at Education City Stadium, where the enthusiastic Saudi fans turned the game into a home one, and he hopes for more of the same for the final group game against Mexico on Nov. 30 back at Lusail – where his team beat Argentina.

“I hope they won’t give up,” Renard said of the fans. “Because when you are fans, you need to support your team when it’s a fantastic day, but you also need to support your team to make the history during the third game.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Ukrainian Culture and Data Plan Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has held a conference with Belgium’s Minister of International Affairs, European Affairs and International Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions Hadja Lahbib at the Nationwide Artwork Museum of Ukraine and the Sophia of Kyiv Nationwide Sanctuary Complex.

Previous Uk Primary Minister Boris Johnson and the UK’s major impartial healthcare facility company have teamed up to launch an urgent Christmas attractiveness for health care provides to be sent to Ukrainian hospitals.

The News And Times Information Network – Blogs By Michael Novakhov – thenewsandtimes.blogspot.com

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With Neymar out for at least another match, Brazil coach Tite must now start thinking about a replacement – and this time he has plenty of options.

Brazil is not as Neymar-dependent as it used to be, and Tite could go several different ways to replace the Paris Saint-Germain forward for Monday’s Group G match against Switzerland.

Neymar hurt his right ankle in Brazil’s opening 2-0 win against Serbia on Thursday. He has ligament damage and team doctors have not given a timetable for his recovery — or said if he will be able to recover at all.

Tite brought nine forwards to the World Cup, and could also add a midfielder as Neymar’s replacement if wanted.

The most straightforward option would be to use Rodrygo in Neymar’s position, keeping Raphinha, Vinícius Júnior and Richarlison in attack. Rodrygo playes more as an attacker at Real Madrid, but he has trained in Neymar’s “No. 10” playmaking position while with Brazil in Qatar.

Another alternative would be to put an extra midfielder in Neymar’s position — Manchester United’s Fred or Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães, for example — freeing up attacking midfielder Lucas Paquetá, who played closer to defensive midfielder Casemiro against Serbia.

Another attacking midfielder available to Tite is Everton Ribeiro, while the other forwards in the squad are Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Gabriel Martinelli and Pedro.

Neymar attracted most of the attention from the tough Serbian defense, which kept roughing him up from the start. He was fouled nine times during the game, the most by any player at the World Cup in the first round of matches in the group stage.

Neymar is Brazil’s second-best all-time scorer with 75 goals, two behind Pelé’s record with the national team. The last time he was out at a World Cup — because of a back injury sustained in the quarterfinals against Colombia in 2014 — Brazil went on to get embarrassed by Germany 7-1 in the semifinals.

Tite won’t be able to count on right back Danilo, who also sprained his ankle against Serbia. Danilo’s replacement will likely be veteran Daniel Alves, although Tite could also use central defender Éder Militão in the position.

Brazil, seeking its first World Cup title in two decades, faces Cameroon in its last group match. It can reach the round of 16 in advance with a win on Monday if Cameroon doesn’t defeat Serbia in the other group match.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican, has twice withstood challenges from more conservative factions of her party; more than a decade ago, she mounted a historical write-in campaign to beat a tea party favorite, and this year she won reelection after inflaming the ire of former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Murkowski defeated fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who was backed by Trump, to win her fourth term in office. Murkowski won the ranked choice election with 54% of the vote with help from independents and Democrats.

Murkowski didn’t make Trump a focus of her campaign, emphasizing instead her seniority, record of delivering projects and funding for Alaska, and willingness to work across party lines as she sought to build a coalition of support.

“Thank you, Alaska. I am honored that Alaskans – of all regions, backgrounds and party affiliations – have once again granted me their confidence to continue working with them and on their behalf in the U.S. Senate. I look forward to continuing the important work ahead of us,” she said in a short statement after she won the race.

Trump figured prominently in the race, especially after Murkowski both called on him to resign and then voted to impeach him after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. In 2020, before that year’s election and before Tshibaka jumped into the Senate race, Trump announced plans to campaign against Murkowski following her criticism of him: “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”

Trump later endorsed Tshibaka, which she credited with helping elevate her candidacy and name recognition. Murkowski’s impeachment vote and criticism of Trump were among the reasons state Republican party leaders cited last year in censuring her, further highlighting the moderate’s at-times fraught relationship with her own party.

Of the ten House members who voted to impeach Trump, six were up for reelection. Four decided to not seek reelection, and only two won their races. Of the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial, Murkowski was the only one on the ballot this year. Trump was not convicted in the Senate trial.

Murkowski is no stranger to tough races.

She eked out a win in 2004, winning the seat she was appointed to in late 2002 by her father, then-Gov. Frank Murkowski, who had held the Senate seat for two decades before that. She won the 2010 general election with a historic write-in campaign after losing her party primary to a tea party favorite Joe Miller.

This year’s elections in Alaska, though, was held under a new system approved by voters in 2020 that implemented open primaries and ranked vote in general elections. Under the new system, the top four vote-getters in a primary, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.

Many saw the new system as favorable to a candidate like Murkowski, who referred to coalition building in a campaign as “kind of my strong suit.” The largest segment of registered voters in Alaska is independents.

The race also included Democrat Pat Chesbro, who ran a low-profile campaign, and Republican Buzz Kelley, who suspended his campaign after his fourth-place primary finish and endorsed Tshibaka.

Chip Wagoner, an independent voter, said he disagrees with Murkowski on issues like abortion; Murkowski supports abortion rights. But Wagoner said she listens, something that he said he doesn’t see a lot of in either major party.

“I think it’s critical that we elect people who are not so partisan that they don’t listen to the other side,” he said. He said that he was also “impressed that she stood up to Trump.”

Before the 2020 election Trump said that he would campaign against Murkowski after she’d levied criticism against him. Her impeachment vote was a point of contention raised by Trump in campaigning for Tshibaka.

“She voted to impeach me, and I did more for this state than any president in history,” Trump said to applause during a summer rally in Anchorage with Tshibaka and Republican Sarah Palin, whose House bid Trump endorsed. Palin also lost her race. Trump carried Alaska in 2016 and 2020.

Trump cited as accomplishments efforts that had been pushed for years by Alaska’s congressional delegation, including Murkowski, such as oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and support for a road through a wildlife refuge to provide access to an all-weather airport for residents of an isolated community. The lease sales and potential land swap that could lead to a road have been mired in litigation.

Democrat John Hartle said that on his ballot he ranked Chesbro first and Murkowski second, ultimately expecting his vote to go to Murkowski. Kelley was the first candidate eliminated in the tabulation rounds of ranked voting conducted by state elections officials Wednesday. Chesbro was next, and more than 20,500 of her 29,078 votes went to Murkowski.

Hartle said that he wanted to send a message to Murkowski that there are “a lot of Democratic voters in the state” and to “encourage her to listen to what they have to say.”

A major concern for Hartle this election cycle was the nation’s democracy. Hartle, who is from Juneau, said that he found it “scary” that so many people promoted the falsehood that the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden was “stolen.”

Tshibaka acknowledged that Biden was president but said in a questionnaire from media outlets that there were “unresolved questions about what happened” in that election.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat who did not seek reelection to the state House this year, said he ranked Murkowski first. He said he disagrees with her on some fiscal, tax and other issues. But he said something shifted for him “in the last six years, in the sort of Trump-era of the country and in this era where … truth and objectivity are being contested effectively as a political game.

“These are like very fundamental things,” he said. “And I think the luxury of disagreeing over certain issue areas or being an absolutist about political party, it’s like, we’re not in that time.”