Pundit and former German international striker Sandro Wagner apologised on Monday for his "ill considered" remark when he commented on the World Cup match between Germany and Spain the day before for the German TV channel ZDF.
Wagner said in the 79th minute of the match that he first believed the traditional Qatari long white robes called thawb were bathrobes.
"I thought before that the whole corner was full of German fans. Then I realised it was the Qatari bathrobes," Wagner said.
Wagner tweeted an apology on Twitter on Monday.
"It was an ill-considered saying with an inappropriate remark that I would be better off not saying. If anyone felt offended - sorry, that was zero point zero my intention."
The 34-year-old played eight games for Germany before retiring in 2020.
ZDF has stated that there will be no further consequences for Wagner, who will again be commentating Wednesday's game between Poland and Argentina.
Cameroon coach Rigobert Song praised his team's fighting spirit after they salvaged a 3-3 draw against Serbia at the World Cup on Monday, without first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana who was left out of the squad for disciplinary reasons.
Onana was marked as "absent" on the team sheet at Al Janoub stadium and Song explained that he had to put the team first for a game that left the Indomitable Lions on one point in the group before they play Brazil.
"He is a very important player but we are in a competition and my role is to put the team first ahead of an individual," Song told a news conference amid reports of a falling out over tactics.
"He is one of the best keepers in Europe. This is not about his performances but you have to preserve the squad," he added about the Inter Milan keeper.
"Maybe we needed a strong signal. It's a big risk that I took. But I'm the dad of these kids so when I have to take risks and make decisions, I do that and I stand by what I do."
The 46-year-old Song, who won a record 137 caps for Cameroon and played in four World Cups with the African side, has yet to decide whether Onana will be sent home or if he will get a second chance.
"We will see if he continues. We will see if he abides by the rules again," he said.
Stand-in keeper Devis Epassy struggled, notably allowing too much space on his left for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but Song was not concerned.
"We were leading and then after those two (stoppage-time) goals we thought it was over, but we saw that the players rallied back and I can only be happy about that," Song said.
"The most important is to give the Cameroon people emotions. What matters is the mindset and the collective spirit and in that regard we played a great game. We showed fighting spirit."
Cameroon, however, have a mountain to climb in their last Group G game on Friday as they need to beat Brazil to stand a chance of making the knockout phase.
"It is possible. We believe in it and we did not come here just to go through the motions," Song said.
"Cameroon still has a part to play in this World Cup."
Joe Allen believes Wales need the "performance of their lives" to beat England and make World Cup progress.
Wales must beat England for the first time in 38 years on Tuesday to be in with a chance of making the knockout stage.
Even then, unless England are beaten by a four-goal margin, Wales will need Iran and the United States to draw their final match to make the round of 16 in Qatar.
"I think everyone is hurting because of the situation we find ourselves in and the disappointment of the result (losing 2-0 to Iran) and only having one point after two games," said Allen, who returned as a substitute in Friday's defeat after two months out with a hamstring problem.
"That's the hurt at the moment. It’s a feeling of missed opportunity in the first two games.
"We’ve had the time needed to digest that disappointment.
"Our focus now moves onto getting on the training pitch, putting in the work and preparing for the performance of our lives against England."
England have recorded six successive victories since Wales last beat their neighbours, 1-0 at Wrexham in May 1984 in the now defunct British Home Championship.
Their last competitive meeting was at Euro 2016 when Daniel Sturridge scored a stoppage-time winner to secure a 2-1 England win, a game that Swansea midfielder Allen played in.
Playing down the British 'derby’ factor, Allen said: "I don’t think we could be more motivated. We’re in the World Cup and have to win.
"Regardless of who we play in it, we all know what’s at stake and what a huge moment it is for our nation.
"It’s about putting everything into it. Ideally you want it to be in your hands but this is the situation we find ourselves in.
"While there’s still a glimmer of a chance of going through we’ve got to throw everything we can at it."
Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have failed to make a real World Cup impact after being Wales’ standard-bearers for the past decade or so.
Bale did convert the penalty that secured a 1-1 draw against the United States, but the pair have been off the pace after coming into the tournament with minimum game time.
Defender Ben Davies said: "Gareth and Aaron have turned up for Wales over and over again.
"They have shown the quality they have and, to be honest, I don’t think we’d be here without them.
"To criticise them in any way is probably very unjust. I think we have to put our faith in them and that they can do it for us one more time."
The Wales squad began their training session on Sunday by observing a minute’s silence in memory of Gary Speed on the 11th anniversary of his death.
Speed, capped 85 times as player, is credited with laying the foundations for Wales’ success over the last decade during his time as Wales manager between 2010 and 2011.
Allen said: "Gary was a great man, he’s often in the players’ thoughts. He was an inspiration first and foremost as a player and then as a manager.
"He played a big part in the start of the journey that this team has been on. We remember him very fondly."
Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro is confident captain and talisman Enner Valencia will be fit and firing for his side's decisive final World Cup group game against Senegal.
Former West Ham and Everton striker Valencia has scored all three of Ecuador’s goals in the tournament so far but is carrying a knee injury.
The 33-year-old struck twice in the 2-0 opening-night win over hosts Qatar and then grabbed the vital equaliser in the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.
Those results have left the South Americans needing just a draw from their final Group A outing on Tuesday to qualify for the last 16 but Valencia’s fitness is a worry after he was forced off in both games.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Alfaro said: "Unfortunately he has a knee sprain but he has a big heart and wants to be in every battle for our national team.
"He wants to be there and, of course, his leadership is something that we always need.
"He’s an extraordinary player. He’s someone I would always pick for my national team. We’ll try to have him ready for the upcoming match.
"If he’s not ready from the beginning I hope he can be present at some point but I have confidence because I know that he will want to be there. He’s feisty."
Ecuador are level with the Netherlands at the top of the group on four points, with Senegal a point further behind.
Alfaro insists there is no prospect of his side simply playing for a draw.
He said: "We can’t just change our playing style and our essence. We are not just thinking about getting a draw.
"I told my players that if we come out just trying to draw the game, we wouldn’t be successful. We need to be protagonists. That’s our playing style."
Senegal realistically need to win to have hope of progress. There is a scenario where a draw would suffice if the Netherlands suffer an unlikely defeat to already-eliminated hosts Qatar, but coach Aliou Cisse is not counting on that.
The former Birmingham and Portsmouth midfielder said: "For us there is no other option – we have to play a perfect game to try to win.
"I hope that he (Valencia) will not be there, he is one of the best players in the tournament and Ecuador are a great team.
"The objective is to do like Morocco, who we congratulate for a very good victory against Belgium. This can be a source of inspiration for us because it will be imperative to win."
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz will not allow himself or the team to fall into the trap of any mind games and 'self destruct' ahead of their crucial Group B showdown against the United States.
The Iranian Football Federation has complained to FIFA about the USA removing the Islamic Republic symbol from the nation’s flag in some social media posts in the build-up to Tuesday night’s match at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Queiroz himself also become embroiled in a war of words with Jurgen Klinsmann after the former Germany striker spoke about how Iran had been deemed to have deployed gamesmanship and "worked the referee" during their win over Wales.
The squad has also played against a background of widespread anti-government protests in Iran, which were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in custody in September having been detained for allegedly failing to follow the country’s Islamic dress code.
Nevertheless, former Manchester United assistant manager and Real Madrid boss Queiroz insisted he and all of the players were fully focused on their next game – and the chance to progress to the last 16.
Iran are second in Group B on three points, one point behind leaders England and one ahead of the USA, with all four nations still in contention for a top-two finish.
"I need to be with my mind preparing them to play the best football on the day," Queiroz said.
"Because if my mind falls in the trap to pay attention and destruct with all those things, I am lying to football. I will not do that to my father and I will not do that to the game."
Queiroz added: "If after 42 years in this game as coach, I still believe that I could win games with those mental games, I think I did not learn anything about the game and this is not the case.
"Those collective set of events which are surrounding this World Cup, I hope it will be a good lesson for all of us in the future and that in the next event, we will learn that our mission here is to create entertainment and at least during 90 minutes, make the people happy."
In a Twitter thread posted on Saturday night, Queiroz had called for Klinsmann to resign from his role as a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group, labelling the German’s comments as "outrageous" and a "disgrace to football".
Former USA manager and 1990 World Cup winner Klinsmann has also faced wider criticism for his remarks, which were made during punditry for the BBC, and sought to smooth the waters in an subsequent interview on Sunday.
Queiroz had also been pressed during Monday’s pre-match media conference for further response to Klinsmann’s outburst.
However, Queiroz again looked to defuse tensions when asked if he felt Iran would continue to face criticism ahead of their final group match.
"(I have) no comment (on Klinsmann) just a reference that I always worked and I always believed in my life that a football team must be based on the work ethics and principles of what is a team," the Portuguese coach said.
"When we respect and we commit ourselves to the values and principles of being part of a team, we can only be better, more stronger.
"This is what I always believe in my life and I will always work in that direction, to create a coach code of conduct in terms of principles and values that can make the players believe that every single morning when they wake up, they only have one challenge in mind – to be better, to compete against themselves and they need to be better than the others."
"When we are a team that moves with the feeling of harmony, it is like a collective brain that thinks and acts at the same time.
"This is what in our first game (against England) was not so good, but we (went) back to the roots and in the second game we are able to implement our collective strategic thinking, feeling and acting and that is why we become more strong."
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