Tag: 2010

FIFA has sparked life back to Argentina’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

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Argentina’s quest of qualifying for the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup is not going as smooth as it’s supporters wanted it and expected it to be as they are currently positioned at the 5th spot after 14 qualification matches with 22 points from all those games.


Argentina is competing in the CONMEBOL group which consists of: Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia and Venezuela. There are a total of 10 national sides competing for a top 4 spot that can allow them to directly qualify for the next edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Despite having top players including: Messi, Dybala, Mascherano, Pastore and Higuain, Argentina has suffered shocking results and their latest one was when Argentina lost 0-2 against Bolivia.

In this defeat against Bolivia, Messi was believed to have verbally abused the referee of that game which ultimately saw him receiving a 4 match suspension which would see the star of Barcelona being unable to play in any of Argentina’s remaining qualification matches. (more…)

INFANTINO NOT MOVED BY WC HOOLIGANISM THREAT

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that he is not moved by the threat of hooliganism making the rounds in the media ahead of World Cup 2018 in Russia.


The BBC did a documentary that featured a Russia fan saying chaos is “100% guaranteed” at the mundial in Russia.

At the last Euro tournament in France, there were violent clashes between Russian and English fans. Many believe this would reoccur in Russia next year but Infantino is “not all concerned.” He said he has full confidence in the hosts to manage any situation.

“They have been in contact with UEFA and French organizers to learn the lessons from France. As part of this, the Russian government has put in place an ID system which will help us when it comes to any potential trouble,” Infantino said.

The president also spoke about the next editions of the number one football tournament. He said for the sake of travel, multiple host nations for the 2026 World Cup would have to be “ideally” close to one another. The tournament would see an expansion to 48 teams but the bidding for it is yet to begin. (more…)

Chris Coleman says that he will not consider renewing his contract

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Wales manager Chris Coleman says that he will not consider renewing his contract when it expires at the end of the World Cup 2018 campaign.


He says that his decision will not change even if Wales manage to qualify and do well at the World Cup. Coleman has completely revolutionised to the national team since taking over in 2012. They come on the back of an impressive campaign at Euro 2016 where they reached the semi-finals in unexpected circumstances. Prior to the Euro 2016, Wales had struggled to even qualify for a major tournament let alone think about reaching the semifinals.

Coleman has also been helped by a new generation of extremely talented players coming through to the national team. The likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have added to the gritty players like Ashley Williams . The team now has more talent than ever before. Even though Wales did enjoy players like Ryan Giggs, the former Manchester United winger was not helped by quality elsewhere on the pitch. The scenario is different from Bale and Ramsey, who can seek the help of other quality names on the pitch. Coleman started out with four defeats in his first four games and it remains the worst record of any new Wales manager. However, he is now one of the most in demand international managers around.
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WORLD CUP 2018: BRAZIL STILL IN THE RACE

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After recent performances at the FIFA world Cup 2018 qualification matches, many have questioned the hopes of seeing the star studded Brazilian team in the Cup Finals in Russia come 2018. The team’s head coach Dunga said the team’s qualification is far from conclusion.

The South American giants fought back from two goals down to draw level with Paraguay in a crucial match. Brazil men national team has won only two games of six. The team has played a draw in three matches and lost one.

Coach Dunga even admitted that the qualification is complicated. The results from the match with Paraguay leaves out the option of automatic qualification for the five-time world champions.

In the match against Paraguay, amazing strikes from Dario Lezcano and Edgar Benitez gave Paraguay the lead. However, a lapse in concentration in the final ten minutes turned the game around for The Little Canary as they scored two goals. Ricardo Oliveira struck in the 80th minutes followed by an impressive effort by Barcelona star, Dani Alves in injury time.

Brazil would face group leader, Ecuador next. Dunga still insists that it isn’t over but “complicated.” In his post-match interview, Dunga said: “The beauty of football is that the next match of ours is against the leader.” (more…)

Bury’s David Flitcroft is hoping to sign new players in January

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David Flitcroft has set his eyes in signing a few performers in this January transfer window but in order to add these players into his team, the 41 year old English manager might have to offload some players of his own in order to create enough space and avoid having an overblown squad with too many players which will unnecessarily increase the wage bill of the team.

Even if Flitcroft does indeed decide to release some of his players and generate some cash from those sales, the manager is well aware that he has his limits when it comes to signing new players to his team as Bury FC does not have the same kind of financial freedom as other clubs when it comes to luring in top players to his team but nonetheless, he will do everything in his power to sign the best players that he can but more importantly is to strengthen the areas of his team which have appeared to be the most vulnerable.

‘’With the injuries we`ve had over the past four or five weeks it`s important that we try and bring some potential signings to fruition. However, it`s not easy because a January transfer window is never easy. You`re usually trying to wrestle with clubs, wrestle with players and different deals’’ (more…)

The preliminary qualification to the World Cup 2018 is set to see a number of top African teams

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The preliminary qualification to the World Cup 2018 is set to see a number of top African teams come up against some lesser-known rivals, but former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o says that the gap between the top and bottom teams has reduced significantly in recent years.

Teams like Algeria have been able to become successful in the Africa Cup of Nations in recent years. They have been able to cause an upset by beating the likes of Ivory Coast along the way. Cameroon were once one of the biggest teams in African football, but they have been reduced to the stature of being minnows due to the constant infighting.

Eto’o is the goal scoring legend for the national team, but he has retired from international duty since 2014. His absence will be a major blow for the national team. Despite his absence, the 34-year-old striker is confident that Cameroon will be able to do well in the upcoming qualification group. The national team will go straight into the second qualification round due to their significantly better stature. They will face winners of the first-round qualification.Eto’o is an extremely successful player at the level of a World Cup competition. He has featured in four tournaments from 1998 to 2004. (more…)