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

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

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

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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South Africa beats Lesotho to move to the COSAFA Cup semifinals

South Africa managed to beat Lesotho by 4-2 on penalties to move to the COSAFA Cup semifinals on Saturday.

The match ended 1-1 following the normal time, and the game went on to the penalties.

The match started well for the South African team where they created a number of occasions. However, they will fail to take their chances and will allow Lesotho back into the game. The South African team will get a good occasion in the 14th minute when they will be awarded a free-kick. Unfortunately, for them, Modiba will miss the target by putting the ball over the crossbar.

It is Lesotho that will open the score on their first occasion of the match in the 19th minute. The goal will come from a solo effort of Jane Thaba-Ntso. The latter will find his way into the box after an amazing run and will unleash a fierce box that will give the South Africa keeper, ReyaadPieterse no chance.

South Africa will attempt to come back into the game, but they will be let off by poor passing and great defending by Lesotho. The match reached half-time 1-0 for Lesotho. (more…)

Alexei Sorokin claims that the nation will be spending as much as $ 10 billion

Russia 2018 Organizing Committee Alexei Sorokin claims that the nation will be spending as much as $ 10 billion on improving the facilities are ahead of the World Cup 2018 in Russia.


There has been much speculation about the World Cup going ahead as planned. This is due to several allegations and sanctions being imposed on the nation. Russian athletics has received a huge setback with allegations of doping by a large number of players. This has threatened the feasibility of World Cup 2018, which is being promoted as a very clean tournament, going ahead as scheduled.

Sorokin confirmed that there are no changes to the plan initially made by the Russians in order to successfully host the World Cup. There will be a total of 11 cities involved in hosting different games over the course of the tournament, which runs between June 14 and July 15. Moscow, Samara, Saransk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, and Rostov-on-Don. Unlike Brazil, Russia are planning to finish all their work regarding stadiums before the end of 2016. This will allow the country plenty of time to focus on other activities like improving transport and hotel infrastructure. Brazil made the mistake of being involved only in stadium construction throughout the 10 year period since they knew they would be hosting the tournament. (more…)

WORLD CUP 2018: BRAZIL STILL IN THE RACE

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…)