Brazil firm as bookmakers' favourites

Croatian media on Monday hailed their team as heroes after the small country's historic success in reaching the World Cup final where France beat them 4-2.

"Thank you, heroes! - You gave us everything!" read the Sportske Novosti frontpage.

"'Vatreni' (the "Fiery Ones" in Croatian), you are the biggest, you are our pride, your names will remain written in gold forever!" the newspaper said.

It showed a photo of captain Luka Modric who was awarded the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament, holding a trophy, although with a sad face after the defeat.

"Brave hearts - You made us proud," said Jutarnji List daily.

"Croatia celebrates you, you are our gold!" echoed the Vecernji List.

It noted that for the past month coach Zlatko Dalic's team "made Croatia better".

"They restored pride, pulled it out of the pessimism" reigning in the country whose economy remains among the weakest in the European Union.

More than 100,000 red-and-white-painted Croatian fans were expected to welcome the squad home later Monday in the capital Zagreb.

Argentina and Brazil won their 2024 Futsal World Cup semifinal matches and will face off in the tournament's final on October 6. The highly-anticipated match will kick off in Tashkent at 9:00pm Bangladesh time.

La Albiceleste beat France 3-2 with goals from Kevin Arrieta (2) and Claudino. It will be the team's third consecutive World Cup final under coach Matías Lucuix. Argentina won the title in 2016 (their only championship) and fell short in the 2021 final.

Brazil, meanwhile, also won 3-2 against Ukraine, with two goals from Dyego and one own-goal from Rostyslav. The Canarinha, led by coach Marquinhos Xavier, returns to a World Cup final after 12 years. Brazil are the tournament's most successful team, with five titles.

These two teams already faced off in a 2024 final: the CONMEBOL Copa America Futsal, where Brazil won 2-0 thanks to goals from Pito and Rafael Dos Santos.

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has lifted the freeze on the bank accounts of Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk, following the transfer of 18.35 million reais ($3.3 million) to the Brazilian government. The funds, which were transferred to the national coffers, settled fines imposed on Musk's social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).

The fines stemmed from an ongoing feud between Musk and Moraes, with the court penalising X for failing to comply with orders to block accounts accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech. The court had deemed this content a threat to Brazilian democracy. Musk, however, has repeatedly criticised the court's rulings, labelling them as "censorship" and pushing back against the platform's compliance.

Moraes had previously ordered access to X to be blocked in Brazil, one of the platform's largest markets, after it failed to remove content flagged by the court. The court had also penalised X for not appointing a local legal representative, a requirement under Brazilian law. The lack of compliance led to the freezing of Starlink's accounts, as the judge sought to recover funds for fines levied against X.

Although the freeze on Starlink's accounts has been lifted, the court confirmed that its decision to block access to X remains in place. This is because the social media platform has yet to comply with the content removal orders, and the issue of appointing a local legal representative is still unresolved.

Elon Musk, who owns 40% of Starlink's parent company SpaceX, continues to challenge Brazil's legal framework around X, even as the legal and financial pressures on his businesses in the country grow.

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Bluesky gains a million users as Brazil bans X

Brazil's decision to ban X, formerly known as Twitter, has triggered a surge in users for Bluesky, a growing social media platform. Following a ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court, Bluesky reported gaining one million new users in just three days. Bluesky was first announced as a Twitter-backed project in 2019 to develop an open, decentralised social protocol.

Earlier on August 31, Bluesky shared that it was experiencing "all-time-highs for activity on Bluesky" and quickly topped the free iPhone app chart in Brazil, surpassing Meta's Threads, which ranked second. While the platform was initially launched in 2021, it only fully opened to the public in February 2024. The platform reached over 6 million users by May 2024.

In the midst of this showdown, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appeared to bid farewell to his followers on X, encouraging them to follow him on other platforms with Bluesky leading the list.

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.