Argentina need to sort things out

Lionel Messi scored twice as Inter Miami beat the defending Major League Soccer champions the Columbus Crew 3-2 to clinch the Supporters' Shield awarded for the best regular season record.

Messi had been subdued until the 45th minute when he put Inter ahead -- chesting down a long ball into the box and getting a lucky bounce off Crew defender Malte Amundsen before poking home.

Minutes later, Messi made it 2-0, taking advantage of a poorly assembled wall to curl a laser-precision free-kick into the corner past the stationary Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte.

But 20 seconds after the start of the second half, Columbus pulled a goal back when the ball fell to Diego Rossi just inside the box and he cleverly curled his shot into the far corner.

Straight from the restart, Columbus gifted Miami a third when Schulte raced off his line but with defender Rudy Camacho in his way, he dropped the ball to Luis Suarez who headed into the unguarded goal.

The Crew battled back again though and made it 3-2 through a Cucho Hernandez penalty after Noah Allen handled in the box.

But once again, the momentum Columbus had gained was lost when Camacho was sent off for a second yellow card after a studs up challenge on Federico Redondo.

Seven minutes from the end though, the Crew had a glorious chance to grab a point -- and deny Miami their celebration -- when a penalty was awarded for handball against Ian Fray after a VAR review.

But this time Colombian Hernandez's penalty was weak and Miami keeper Drake Callender dived to his right and saved.

The champions of MLS is determined by the winner of the MLS Cup playoffs -- where Eastern Conference rivals the Crew and Miami could meet again.

Argentines took to the streets to celebrate their 1-0 victory over Colombia in the Copa America final on Sunday after Lautaro Martinez scored an extra-time winner in Miami.

After a tense 90 minutes finished 0-0, Martinez latched onto a through ball before lifting his shot over Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas in the 112th minute to secure Argentina's third consecutive international title and a record 16th Copa win.

Whole families were out in Buenos Aires in the early hours of the morning, surrounding its famed obelisk in white and blue team shirts despite cold winter temperatures.

"We could not ask those guys for anything more, they do not stop giving us joy amid all the economic tension that we live with day-to-day," said Pablo Rutz, a 26-year-old student, referring to 300% annual inflation that has stretched household budgets past the breaking point.

Photo: Reuters

Start of play at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, was delayed by more than an hour after thousands of fans without tickets tried to force their way in.

The game marked the final international appearance of at least one top Argentine player, with forward Angel Di Maria, 36, having said the Copa will be his last tournament.

Captain Lionel Messi, 37, and defender Nicolas Otamendi, 36, are also nearing the end of stellar careers.

Messi, who is not in Argentina's squad for the Paris Olympics, injured an ankle in the first half and eventually left the field in the second, as fans bowed to him from the stands.

Photo: Reuters

The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner was then seen sobbing on the sidelines, with an ice pack on his ankle.

"When Messi cried, I also cried, but now I'm happy," said 17-year-old Damian.

Colombia came into Sunday's match on the back of a remarkable unbeaten run of 28 games and despite the huge disappointment, their fans were confident the team would bounce back.

"We deserved better, it's a shame, but there can only be one winner and it's Argentina," said visibly disappointed 22-year-old law student Frank Ospina as he left a park in Bogota where he had watched with hundreds of others.

"We'll win another time."

Colombian president Gustavo Petro said last week that government offices will be closed on Monday.

France winning the World Cup trophy in Russia, Chinese kitchen and bathroom appliance maker Vatti Corp is now in the spotlight -- it is time for the company to deliver on a bold promise. 

Vatti, as a sponsor for the French national soccer team, said a month ago that if France won the title at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it would refund customers who made purchases of designated products between June 1 and July 3, based on invoice value.

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WC celebrations rock Paris

On Monday, the Guangdong-based company said it had started the promised refund process, after the marketing campaign helped it net total sales of about 1 billion yuan ($150 million) during the promotional period, a year-on-year increase of over 20 per cent.

The sales of designated products, such as dishwashers and water heaters, which were listed in the refund initiative, hit around 79 million yuan, with online sales accounting for 29 million yuan and offline sales standing at 50 million yuan.

Vatti said the company will afford the refund of sales through its own online store, and its distributors and retail partners will be responsible for refunding offline sales and third-party online sales.

Also, total costs of the refund only include manufacturing and promotional cost, which is less than the combined sales price of 79 million yuan, thus exerting little impact on the company's bottom line, the company added.

"We chose to launch such a campaign to support the French team because the temperament of the French team is very compatible with our passionate, smart and fashionable brand image," Vatti said in an interview with China Daily.

The shares of Vatti surged as much as 9 per cent by midday on Monday before the rise narrowed to about 4 perc ent at closing, when share prices stood at 15.18 yuan.

Ma Bing, a 33-year-old bank employee in Beijing, bought a dishwasher in June after seeing Vatti's advertising post on an elevator.

"Well, my wife has been asking for a dishwasher for a long time. I am also a big fan of the French team. The dishwasher saved me from my wife's nagging when I stayed up at night for football matches. It was a good deal," Ma said, adding he has registered the refund information at a Vatti online store.

Vatti is one of a number of Chinese companies that are cashing in on the World Cup. Their combined spending on advertisements for this year's tournament hit $835 million, $400 million more than the next biggest spender, the United States, and easily exceeding that of host country Russia, according to market-research company Zenith.

Liu Buchen, an independent expert in the home appliances industry, said it is good for Chinese companies to experiment with creative marketing campaigns, but more effort is needed to ensure that enterprises do deliver their promises and consumers' rights are protected.

Copyright: China Daily/ Asia News Network

Can Croatia cross one final hurdle come Sunday night and become the ninth nation to win the World Cup? Standing in their way are France, whose sole ambition will be to claim that coveted piece of glory for the second time at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

As an independent nation, Croatia might not have a rich history as far as their participation in the biggest show on Earth is concerned but since their World Cup debut in 1998, eight years after being liberated from Yugoslavia, it has been a spectacular journey for them.

Coincidentally, it was also the year that France became the seventh nation to win the World Cup, which was on their home soil, by defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

More interestingly, it was France who shattered Croatia's dreams by defeating their first 'golden generation' in the semifinal of that tournament 2-1, thanks to two quick blows from Les Bleus defender Lilian Thuram after Croatia's Davor Suker had scored in the 46th minute.

Even in that defeat, Croatia became only the second team after Portugal to have the best finish as debutants. They were placed third following a 2-1 win over Holland in the position deciding game, where Suker scored his sixth goal to win the Golden Boot.

If that was a big statement by an up and coming footballing nation, then the exploits of their next generation, now marshalled by Luka Modric, is no less spectacular as they have reached the finals despite a below-par qualifying campaign.

Croatia launched their campaign in Russia with a 2-0 win against Nigeria before pulling off a magnificent 3-0 win against two-time winners Argentina. They beat Iceland in the last group league game to move into the round of 16 with the maximum number of points.

And in the last three knockout games, where they had to battle it out beyond regulation time, Croatia showed tenacity and the will to fight till the end.

Croatia's round of 16 game against Denmark was a classic example of their never-say-die attitude. After conceding an early goal, they equalised and took the game to extra time, where Modric missed a penalty. However, the Real Madrid midfielder showed courage and stepped up in the shootout to convert his spot kick.

In the quarterfinal against hosts Russia, which they won in the shootout after a 2-2 draw, they faced a similar scenario. This was also the case in the semifinal against England before Mario Mandzukic hit the winner in the 109th minute.

The Juventus forward might not be as prolific as Suker was on the big stage but he has the knack of scoring goals from out of nowhere. Croatia actually have individual winners in Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic, the Inter Milan forward who has been in fine form.

Croatia's last three games might have started slowly but gradually picked up with the progression of the game, which is a hallmark of a good team.

They also showed how athletically fit they are as they had to play for 120 minutes in all three previous games.

Against England at Saint Petersburg, many thought it would be impossible for them to survive if the game went beyond regulation time. Surprisingly though, it was England who slowed down as the game progressed. In addition, when the Turkish referee blew the final whistle, Croatia were heading for another crack at the goal.

France midfielder Paul Pogba previously said that he wants to earn his own star on the shirt on Sunday. However, the world will not be surprised to a see the birth of a new star.

Iceland needed police help to keep their World Cup plans on track after coach Heimir Hallgrimsson put his bag on the wrong bus in a comical start to their debut campaign.

Hallgrimsson's bag was on a bus headed for northern Iceland rather than the team coach bound for the airport on Saturday, a slip that delayed the group's departure by half an hour while the item was recovered.

"It was good for the guys that they can laugh at me," Hallgrimsson told AFP on Sunday after the team's first World Cup training session close to the city of Gelendzhik on Russia's sunny Black Sea coast.

"Hopefully it's the only mistake of the tournament."

Assistant coach Helgi Kolvidsson said the bag contained a computer that had "20 years of work on it".

"We had to get the police to stop the bus while Heimir bought us a round of coffee at the airport," he added.

The Nordic side embarked on a fairytale run at Euro 2016, peaking with an astonishing 2-1 win against England as they came from a goal down to condemn Roy Hodgson's team to a humiliating last-16 exit.

In Russia they face another daunting challenge, with an opening match on June 16 against 2014 World Cup runners-up Argentina. Croatia and Nigeria are their other group-stage opponents.

Hallgrimsson said the experience gained at Euro 2016 would help Iceland, who face pressure from fans at home who want to taste success in their first ever World Cup appearance.

"We have a clue now about what we are getting into," he said. "We are not as lost in the air as we were before the Euros. Hopefully we can surprise Argentina and maybe other teams too," he said.

Iceland staff said Everton midfielder and team talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson has recovered from a knee injury and is "ready" to face Lionel Messi's men.

But team captain Aron Gunnarsson did not take a full part in Sunday's session, held in temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in front of several hundred local people.

The bearded Cardiff City midfielder's knee injury sustained in April is an "injury concern" for the opening match, according to former Iceland international Gudni Bergsson.

"We are hoping that he will be fit on the day, but we will see about that," he said.