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Liverpool Seek 'Special' Anfield Night to Salvage Troubled Season

Arne Slot's future as Liverpool manager could depend on the outcome of Tuesday's clash with PSG. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Arne Slot's future as Liverpool manager could depend on the outcome of Tuesday's clash with PSG. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
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Liverpool Seek 'Special' Anfield Night to Salvage Troubled Season

Arne Slot's future as Liverpool manager could depend on the outcome of Tuesday's clash with PSG. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Arne Slot's future as Liverpool manager could depend on the outcome of Tuesday's clash with PSG. FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Liverpool have a mountain to climb to oust holders Paris Saint-Germain from the Champions League but are hoping the Anfield factor can salvage a bitterly disappointing season.

Crowned champions of England less than a year ago, the Reds sit fifth in the Premier League and fell short in both domestic cup competitions, said AFP.

The Champions League represents one final chance of silverware but it is a long shot after the team were outclassed 2-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Parc des Princes.

Six-time European champions Liverpool are still alive in the competition thanks to PSG's profligacy and they have overcome greater odds in the past under the lights at Anfield.

"It's down to us to be in the best shape possible to make a special evening on Tuesday," said captain Virgil van Dijk.

"We are at home and we have to show belief that we can do it. It needs a special performance but I'm lucky I have been part of special performances so I will try and bring that across for the team."

Van Dijk was part of the side that beat Lionel Messi's Barcelona 4-0 in 2019, overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit in the semi-finals on Liverpool's way to Champions League glory.

That night may have been the high point of Jurgen Klopp's glorious reign, which included three Champions League finals in five seasons.

Barring a miraculous fightback, Tuesday could be the final Champions League chapter for the key figures in that Klopp side.

- Slot's future in doubt -

Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have both confirmed they will leave Anfield at the end of the season.

Van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson Becker remain for now, but there is no guarantee Liverpool will be in the competition next season despite five English sides being assured of qualification.

A 2-0 win over Fulham on Saturday gave Slot's men some breathing space from the chasing pack in the battle for Champions League football and also snapped a three-game losing streak.

Adding to uncertainty, Slot's position remains in serious doubt towards the end of his second campaign in charge.

Liverpool fans chanted the name of former midfield favorite Xabi Alonso after last weekend's 4-0 demolition by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Alonso, who left Real Madrid in January, is the prime candidate to take over should Slot be dismissed at the end of the season.

The Dutchman issued a rallying cry after the Fulham win to try and get the fans back onside for the visit of the European champions.

"This was a massive win not only for the league but looking forward to Tuesday. Not only for the players but also for the fans. After a 4-0 loss and a 2-0 loss everybody could do with this win," said Slot.

"One thing is clear is that on Tuesday we need our fans. There were fans in Paris but we had a very hard time.

"Anfield has shown many times that it can lift the team to another level and we need that again. Half an hour before the game the players need that support and need to feel it is going to be another special evening."

At the very least Slot needs his side to salvage some pride.

Another embarrassment like the ones suffered recently in Manchester and Paris, but this time on home soil, could be the final straw for many fans.

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Sports

Brazil, Morocco Headline Group C as Scotland and Haiti Return to the World Cup

Moroccan fans cheer during a friendly soccer match between Morocco and Ecuador in Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Moroccan fans cheer during a friendly soccer match between Morocco and Ecuador in Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Brazil, Morocco Headline Group C as Scotland and Haiti Return to the World Cup

Moroccan fans cheer during a friendly soccer match between Morocco and Ecuador in Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Moroccan fans cheer during a friendly soccer match between Morocco and Ecuador in Madrid, Spain, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Five-time champion Brazil faces African powerhouse Morocco in Group C, which also includes Scotland and Haiti — two teams returning to the World Cup after long absences.

All matches will be played in the United States, with Brazil playing in New York, Philadelphia and Miami. Scotland will face both Haiti and Morocco in Boston, while Haiti and Morocco will play each other in Atlanta.

Brazil Brazil, the most successful nation in World Cup history, last won the title in 2002.

Since then it has been eliminated in the quarterfinal stage at every tournament except in 2014, when as host it reached the final four, but suffered a humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.

Croatia sent the Brazilians home in a penalty shootout four years ago in Qatar.

This time Brazil will be led by Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior and Barcelona’s Raphinha. Madrid forward Rodrygo has been ruled out of the World Cup because of a knee injury.

The team was underperforming in World Cup qualifiers, including stinging losses to archrival Argentina, when the Brazilian soccer confederation recruited veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid. Though he guided the team across the finish line, Brazil finished only fifth in South American qualifying.

Ancelotti has won five Champions League titles but at the World Cup his only coaching experience was as an assistant manager for Italy under Arrigo Sacchi during the 1994 tournament in the United States, when the Italians lost the final to Brazil.

Morocco finished fourth at the last World Cup — the best result ever by an African team. It beat Spain in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up France in the last four.

The team is entering the World Cup fresh off a chaotic end to the Africa Cup of Nations, which it hosted in December and January. Morocco lost the final to Senegal but the result was overturned in March by the Confederation of African Football, which ruled that Senegal forfeited the final by leaving the field of play without the referee’s authorization.

Coach Walid Regragui quit after the final, and Morocco will have a new man in charge at the World Cup: Mohamed Ouahbi, who led Morocco’s under-20 team to the Youth World Cup title.

Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

Haiti The Caribbean country is set to make its second World Cup appearance, and first since 1974, after winning its CONCACAF qualifying group.

In 1974, Haiti was eliminated after three consecutive losses against Italy, Poland and Argentina. The team is likely to struggle against its group-stage opponents this time around as well.

Coached by Frenchman Sebastien Migne, Haiti currently sits in 83rd place in FIFA's world rankings, ahead of only New Zealand among the 48 teams that have qualified for the World Cup.

The team will be led by 32-year-old Duckens Nazon, the joint-top scorer in CONCACAF qualifying with six goals, including a hat-trick while coming off the bench in a 3-3 draw at Costa Rica.

Scotland Scotland will be playing in its first World Cup since 1998 thanks to a late win over Denmark in its final qualifier last year.

The team will be led by Scott McTominay, who scored one of the goals in the dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark that sealed Scotland’s return.

Coach Steve Clarke has been in charge since 2019 and will be the first man to lead the nation at three major tournaments. Scotland was eliminated in the group stage at the 2020 and 2024 European Championships.

It has never made it past the group stage in its eight previous World Cup appearances. It also faced Brazil in 1998, being narrowly beaten 2-1 by the then defending champion.

Sports

Organizers Postpone Imane Khelif’s April 23 Paris Fight after Shoulder Injury

Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 66kg - Final - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Imane Khelif of Algeria in action against Liu Yang of China. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 66kg - Final - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Imane Khelif of Algeria in action against Liu Yang of China. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
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Organizers Postpone Imane Khelif’s April 23 Paris Fight after Shoulder Injury

Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 66kg - Final - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Imane Khelif of Algeria in action against Liu Yang of China. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 66kg - Final - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Imane Khelif of Algeria in action against Liu Yang of China. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo

Olympic champion Imane Khelif injured her left shoulder while training over the weekend and was forced to postpone a professional fight scheduled for later this month in Paris.

Organizers said Monday that her April 23 fight at the iconic Salle Wagram in the French capital against German boxer Julia Igel was delayed to a date yet to be announced, The AP news reported.

“This decision follows the injury sustained by Imane Khelif during a training session this weekend in Paris,” the organizers said in a statement.

A medical examination carried out Monday revealed “a painful syndrome in the left shoulder,” they said. “Due to the intensity of the biomechanical demands involved in high-level boxing, the medical team deemed the athlete’s condition temporarily incompatible with competition.”

The event was also set to feature two bouts for WBA titles and organizers decided to reschedule the entire evening.

“The health and physical integrity of our athletes remain our absolute priority. We wish Imane Khelif a speedy recovery. At an event of this level, including WBA championships, it was essential to guarantee optimal conditions for all participating boxers,” said former boxer Brahim Asloum, the promoter of the gala.

Tickets already purchased will be refunded, organizers added.

Khelif won the Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games amid international scrutiny on her and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting — another gold medal winner — and misconceptions over both boxers’ sex.

Both fighters were allowed to compete by the IOC after being disqualified from the 2023 world championships by the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association. The IBA claimed the women failed unspecified eligibility tests.

However, the IOC applied sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics and said Khelif and Lin passed.

World Boxing took over as the sport’s governing body last year, and it implemented a sex eligibility policy last August requiring all fighters to take a one-time genetic test designed to identify the presence of a Y chromosome. Khelif has not competed in World Boxing-sanctioned events since the implementation of the test.

Sports

Russian Swimmers to be Allowed to Compete with Flag and Anthem after Restrictions Dropped

Neutral Athlete Russia, Kliment Kolesnikov reacts after winning gold medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, on Aug. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Neutral Athlete Russia, Kliment Kolesnikov reacts after winning gold medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, on Aug. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
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Russian Swimmers to be Allowed to Compete with Flag and Anthem after Restrictions Dropped

Neutral Athlete Russia, Kliment Kolesnikov reacts after winning gold medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, on Aug. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Neutral Athlete Russia, Kliment Kolesnikov reacts after winning gold medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, on Aug. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

The governing body for international swimming and aquatic sports will allow athletes from Russia to compete without restrictions and with their national flag and anthem.

The decision marks a major shift in how a key sport treats Russia ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

World Aquatics said Monday it will remove restrictions which had required Russian and Belarusian athletes to be vetted and to compete under neutral status.

“Senior athletes with Belarusian or Russian sport nationality will be permitted to compete in World Aquatics events in the same way as their counterparts representing other sport nationalities, with their respective uniforms, flags and anthems,” World Aquatics said in a statement. It had previously relaxed the rules for junior athletes.

World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam added: “We are determined to ensure that pools and open water remain places where athletes from all nations can come together in peaceful competition.”

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov thanked Al Musallam “for his firm position on this issue” and said they'd discussed the issue together in January.

“It is very important that international sporting dialog is bearing fruit and enables the orderly restoration of sporting ties,” Degtyaryov, who also heads the Russian Olympic Committee, wrote on the social media app Max.

Ukraine has previously objected to efforts to allow Russian athletes to return to competition. Last month it led boycotts of the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies after Russians were allowed to compete under their national flag.

Ukraine's men's water polo team appeared Monday to be forfeiting a scheduled World Cup game against a team of Russians competing as “Neutral Athlete B” in Malta, The AP news reported.

World Aquatics oversees sports like swimming, diving and water polo and is an influential voice in the Olympic movement. It says Russian and Belarusian athletes will have to undergo four anti-doping tests and “background checks” before competing after Monday's decision. It wasn't immediately clear what would be checked.

Its decision applies only to its own events like the world championships but could add momentum within the Olympic world for a full return of Russian athletes ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the International Olympic Committee.

In December the IOC recommended removing restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes for international youth events and letting them compete under national flags. The IOC still kept its neutral requirements for senior competitions and Russians and Belarusians were officially referred to as “Individual Neutral Athletes” at the Winter Olympics in February.