FIFA WORLD CUP - QATAR 2022 ⚽️🇶🇦

Live reporting by Joseph Kizza
(Scroll down the page for earlier updates)
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6:05 pm  |  FULL TIME: MOROCCO WIN

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-2 Morocco 🇲🇦

For now, as celebrations continue in the Moroccan camp in Doha and back home in Rabat, it is the end of this live text commentary. Glad you followed along. On to the next.

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6:03 pm  |  FULL TIME: MOROCCO WIN

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-2 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco managed to pick a draw against 2018 finalists Croatia in their opening game and have now stunned the second-ranked team in the world, Belgium, with an important 2-0 victory that has buoyed them to the summit of the group.

The Atlas Lions are the first African nation to win in Qatar and will now prepare for their last group game against Canada very much pumped up. Canada, meanwhile, play Croatia less than an hour from now - at 7pm.

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6:00 pm  |  FULL TIME: MOROCCO WIN

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-2 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco are the first African nation to beat Belgium in a World Cup match. Before today's game, Belgium had won three and drawn one of their previous four meetings with African sides - all coming in the group stage of the competition. Their last such game had been a 5-2 win over Tunisia in 2018 at the Russia edition.
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5:56 pm  |  FULL TIME: MOROCCO WIN

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-2 Morocco 🇲🇦

And there goes the final whistle. Morocco take the points.

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90 (+2) mins  |  ⚽️  GOAL! - Aboukhlal (Morocco)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-2 Morocco 🇲🇦

BANG, BANG, BANG! HELLO? Make that two for M.O.R.O.C.C.O. !!!!!

Yep, you read that right. From a Morocco attack, Hakim Ziyech plays a pass into the path of Zakaria Aboukhlal, who blasts past Thibaut Courtois for what should be the winner. Surely!

That goal reminds you of Japan's Takuma Asano's winner against Germany. The Belgian fans have their heads buried in their hands, not believing the nightmare unfolding before them.

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90 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

FIVE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME.
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90 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco have their first corner of the game at the 90th minute!
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86 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Coming into this match, Belgium had won each of their last eight group stage games at the World Cup. If they beat Morocco now - which seems very unlikely - The Red Devils will become the first nation ever to win nine group games in a row at the competition.

They have to score first though - to equalise.
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83 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Time is running out for Belgium.
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81 mins  |   🔁  SUBSTITUTION (Belgium)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Belgium throw on their BIG GUN - Romelu Lukaku. They need him. Thomas Meunier is the man taken off to give way for the Inter Milan marksman.
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80 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Belgium's Axel Witsel and opponent Hakim Ziyech clash as they vie for the ball - but they will be back up quickly.

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79 mins  |   🔁  SUBSTITUTION (Morocco)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Substitution for Morocco, as Azzedine Ounahi gives way for Jawad El Yamiq.
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77 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

The Devils want an instant response. But Morocco have a strong say in this.
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75 mins  |   🔁  SUBSTITUTION (Belgium)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

And not long after, Belgium make more reforms. Charles De Ketelaere is thrown into the fray, with Michy Batshuayi coming off. Leandro Trossard replaces Thorgan Hazard.
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73 mins  |  ⚽️  GOAL! - Sabiri  (Morocco)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

Now that's how you smash it in! Abdelhamid Sabiri delivers the freekick and with it beats Thibaut Courtois on the near post for Morocco's first goal of Qatar 2022.

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71 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Another change for Morocco before they can take their freekick.
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70 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

It is end to end stuff now, with both sides hot on pursuit for a breakthrough.
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68 mins  |    🔁  SUBSTITUTION (Morocco)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Now it is Morocco making a double substitution. Selim Amallah is off and on comes Abdelhamid Sabiri. Achraf Hakimi is also off for Yahya Attiat-Allal to have his chance on the global stage.
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66 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Chance after chance for Belgium but Morocco defend in numbers.

Dries Mertens is on the edge of the box and lets rip towards goal, but Morocco keeper Munir saves brilliantly.
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63 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco are having a good go at the Belgians - and Angers man Boufal is doing all sorts of trickery and causing problems at the Devils' back. A good spell for Walid Regragui's side.
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60 mins  |   🔁  SUBSTITUTION (Belgium)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Double change for Belgium. Dries Mertens replaces Eden Hazard, as Youri Tielemans comes on in place of Amadou Onana. That's quite a statement from Roberto Martínez, you would think.
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56 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CLOSE! Sofiane Boufal twists and turns past his minder to curl a low shot goalwards, which hurtles just outside the bottom right post and out. That was close! Courtois was well and truly beaten.
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54 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

The Red Devils pour forwards and Thorgan Hazard delivers a cross into the box, but the Moroccan defence quickly intervene to stop the attack.
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52 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

On the other end of the pitch, Belgium captain Hazard cuts in to draw Munir Mohamedi into a fine save with a low shot that Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui turns away from and fails to block.
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50 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Hakim Ziyech has a sight of goal from a Morocco attack but he will have to do much, much better than that to beat Thibaut Courtois.
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48 mins

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Will Belgium bring on Romelu Lukaku? He has been seen engaged in a warmup session before restart. So if you asked me, highly probable that the Inter Milan man, who has scored 68 international goals, will be introduced.
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5:05 pm   |   KICKOFF! - SECOND HALF UNDER WAY

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

That first-half goal that never was will have definitely fueled a whole lot of belief within the Moroccan following. Action resumes inside Al Thumama Stadium for the second half.

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4:52 pm   |   HALF TIME - GOALLESS AT THE BREAK

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

That was a very telling first half, with Belgium bossing possession, but Morocco almost turning the tables with the disallowed goal at the death.
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4:50 pm   |   HALF TIME - GOALLESS AT THE BREAK

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

And that was the last action of the opening half.
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45 mins (+1)   |   ⚽️❌ DISALLOWED GOAL

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Was there an offside? Yes, says the referee after running over to the pitchside monitor to play back the episode. Romain Saïss was a tad offside as the ball was being released.

Moroccan celebrations cut short. Relief for Belgium.

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45 mins (+1)   |  VAR CHECK

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

But hold on.

There is going to be a VAR check.
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45 mins (+1)  ⚽️  GOAL! - Ziyech (Morocco)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-1 Morocco 🇲🇦

What a banger from Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech from a freekick to beat Thibaut Courtois for the opening goal - and send the crowd wild.

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45 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

ONE MINUTE OF ADDED TIME.
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41 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Relentless Belgian pressing sees Thomas Meunier attempt to thread a pass to teammate Michy Batshuayi, but it is a tad too heavy for the Fenerbahçe forward who scored the winner against Canada.

The flag was already up anyways!
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39 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CLOSE! Belgium have a freekick in Kevin De Bruyne territory. The Belgium fancies his chances but is disappointed to see his curled effort float over the bar. He will need it to sting like a bee the next time such an opportunity arises.
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37 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco have done well to hold off De Bruyne and co, but the Belgian juggernaut presses on. The Manchester City player's good effort fails to beat Munir Mohamedi after the Moroccan goalkeeper's defender blocks the effort for a corner.

Thorgan Hazard sweeps in the corner kick but again, the Morocco keeper leaps high to punch the ball out of danger.
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34 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CHANCE! Achraf Hakimi races on the right wing, as he always does. It is a good run and as his teammates try to get into the Belgium box, the PSG defender goes for goal - but his thunderous shot is off-target.
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32 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Belgium are back on the attack - and it looks lethal. Thomas Meunier is the next man to receive the ball but he tries to feed a pass into the box and it is so easy for goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi to collect.
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29 mins  |  🟨  YELLOW CARD - Onana (Belgium)

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Amadou Onana becomes the first player to be booked in this game. And because of that, the Everton midfielder will miss the next game.
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27 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

That must have struck a bird or two! Selim Amallah, who plays for Standard Liège in Belgium, squanders a rare Morocco opportunity in the Belgian final third when he blazes a pass from Achraf Hakimi into the Doha skies. The goal posts are down, lad.
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25 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco won their last meeting with Belgium in all competitions, winning 4-1 in a friendly back in March 2008. They had lost their two games against The Red Devils before then.

Here though, Roberto Martínez's side are dominant and are having more of the ball.

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22 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Oh my! Courtois tempts danger by teasing Youssef En-Nesyri just inches out of his goal, but the Belgium goalstopper has composed nerves and manages to send the ambitious En-Nesyri sliding over the line - without the ball halfway into the first half.
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20 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CLOSE! Chelsea man Hakim Ziyech thinks he has a sight of goal, so he unleashes a fierce shot, which flies over Thibaut Courtois and over the bar.

Morocco haven't been allowed to penetrate the Belgian final third that much in this game and this was a very good chance.
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18 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CHANCE! Morocco lose possession in the red zone, allowing Borussia Dortmund forward Thomas Meunier to test glovesman Munir Mohamedi, but thankfully for the defender who lost the ball inside the box, his keeper won't have much trouble gathering that.
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16 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Belgium have a freekick. And the take is a devillish idea featuring three players, but De Bruyne's final sweep is blocked out for another - you guessed right - corner.

Morocco do well to defend the corner as they have so often done already in this contest. Their Europeans opponents are going hard on them here.
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13 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco regroup to defend yet another corner after Saïss and goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi fail to communicate well, ending with the Morocco captain heading out the ball. The resulting corner take is cleared - again.

The Devils are huffing and puffing.
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11 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Romain Saïss does not allow Manchester City man Kevin De Bruyne to weave around him, so he tags him down and Belgium get a freekick just outside the box. Very close.

De Bruyne sweeps in the freekick and it is dealt with effectively by the Atlas Lions.

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9 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Look away now Morocco.

Belgium have never lost a World Cup match against an African nation, winnng three and drawing one of their four meetings - all coming in the group stage of the competition. Their last such game was a 5-2 win over Tunisia in 2018 at the Russia edition.
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6 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Belgium are relentless in the Moroccan box, but eventually the men in white clear the danger after a second successive Belgium corner is whipped in with no fruit.
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4 mins 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

CHANCE! Eden Hazard plays through Michy Batshuayi, who sees an advancing Munir Mohamedi and the Morocco keeper puffs like an adder to block the effort out for a corner.
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1 min 

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

And just like that, the players have hit the ground running. Morocco captain Romain Saïss receives the ball on the right flank and skips past his minder to unleash a long pass into the box, which is too deep for a teammate to get to the end of, and Courtois easily gathers.
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4:00 pm  |   KICKOFF! - Game under way!

🇧🇪 Belgium 0-0 Morocco 🇲🇦

Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos is handling this contest. And the action begins in earnest!

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku is on the bench. Real Madrid glovesman Thibaut Courtois is making his 99th appearance for The Red Devils.
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3:55 pm 

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

There is a palpable sense that this is going to be a cracker of a game! I have a very strong feeling. Don't you?

Anthems under way.
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3:52 pm 

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

Al Thumama Stadium is soaked in red as the pre-match ceremony animated by the fancy pyrotechnics gets under way. The spectators are in full song, lending vocal vibrancy to the atmosphere
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3:49 pm 

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

This is Belgium's 50th World Cup match, placing them among an elite club of only 12 nations to have played that many games in the competition. Only two of this group lost their 50th game, eight won theirs and one drew.

The two who lost are England in 2002 (against Brazil) and Spain in 2010 (against Switzerland). Spain may have lost their 50th World Cup match, but they went on to win the tournament that year in South Africa after beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.

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3:37 pm 

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

The Atlas Lions supporters are raring roaring to go inside Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, with less than half-an-hour to kickoff.

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3:30 pm  |   Costa Rica stun Japan

 🇯🇵Japan 0-1 Costa Rica 🇨🇷

Meanwhile, Costa Rica have beaten Japan 1-0 - in today' earliest fixture - through Keysher Fuller's 81st-minute deflected strike to leave Group E wide open and hand a potential lifeline to Germany, who were beaten 2-1 by Japan in their opener and next face Spain tonight at 10pm.

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3:27 pm  |   Starting XIs

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

Belgium are going with a 3-4-3 formation:

Thibaut Courtois (GK) Thomas Meunier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Thorgan Hazard, Amadou Onana, Axel Witsel, Timothy Castagne, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard (C), Michy Batshuayi

Morocco are going solid at the back with a 4-3-3 formation:

Munir Mohamedi (GK), Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss (C), Noussair Mazraoui; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Selim Amallah, Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Boufal, Youssef En-Nesyri

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3:22 pm 

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

In their respective opening group games, Morocco produced a goalless result against Croatia while Belgium beat Canada 1-0 through Michy Batshuayi's 44th-minute strike.

Croatia and Canada will face off later today at 7pm.

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3:17 pm  |   Second WC meeting

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

This is the second World Cup meeting between Belgium and Morocco.

They previously met at USA 1994, with Belgium winning 1-0 in that one. In the picture below from that June 19 contest 28 years ago, Belgium's Georges Grun (#13) goes for a slide tackle on Morocco's Abdelkrim El Hadrioui in the first half, with Grun's teammate Luc Nilis (#8) close by.

Coincidentally, the two nations were in Group F in that edition, which is the same case here in Qatar. Only Morocco, with no point and bottom, failed to progress out of the group. Belgium advanced together with leaders Netherlands and Saudi Arabia - all on six points.
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3:10 pm  |   Red Devils take on Atlas Lions

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

Today is another day of yet more World Cup action and the first of two matches selected for our live text coverage is a Group F contest between 2018 bronze medalists Belgium and Morocco, whose best performance was in 1986 when they became the first African nation to progress to the second round.

This is Morocco's sixth World Cup edition while it is a 14th appearance for Belgium, who came Qatar ranked second in the world. The Atlas Lions come in ranked 22nd.
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3:02 pm  |   Stars rise to the occasion

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

Saturday was the first day of full action without a draw at this FIFA World Cup edition in Qatar.

Mitchell Duke scored Australia's winner against Tunisia in a Group D 1-0 result.

Robert Lewandowski scored his first World Cup ever as Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Group C.

Kylian Mbappe's brace against Denmark in Group D powered defending champions France into the round of 16 - with a game to spare.

And Lionel Messi scored to inspire Argentina to a 2-0 win over Latin American rivals Mexico in Group C to keep their progression hopes alive.
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3:00 pm  |   WORLD CUP DAY 8 COVERAGE

🇧🇪 Belgium v Morocco 🇲🇦 (4pm)

MITCHELL DUKE . . .

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI . . .

KYLIAN MBAPPE . . .

LIONEL MESSI . . .