World Cup

…that’s what springs to mind when harking back to that glorious summer when football once again won the heart of the world. It could all have been so different. The finals had been awarded to Colombia but they withdrew from hosting duties in late 1982. The country had more serious issues to contend with such […]

“The continuity of the match was incredible. It went from end to end, side to side and nobody was rolling over. There was no faking, there was no nothing, they just purely entertained everybody who wanted to watch football.” “Football won tonight, even if the Russians lost.” Those were the words of footballing legend Brian […]

Scoring the winning goal against a rival with three minutes remaining. Ending a 47 year spell without defeating a rival. Preventing a rival from progressing to a third place play-off in a World Cup. June 21st 1978 is a day which goes down as one of the most exemplary days in Austrian football history. Whilst […]

With the 2018 World Cup countdown well and truly underway, there are several nations with their eyes on the famous trophy, perhaps none more so than two sides who have given so much to the beautiful game on the international stage throughout the decades: France and Brazil. The daunting list of potential opponents for both […]

The dust has settled after the prestigious World Cup draw in Russia last week and the groups are in. They have been decided, discussed and dissected by millions of people around the world. Last week, I wrote a mini-series showcasing all 32 teams, conveying how they qualified. Now that we know who they are playing, […]

Morocco/ المغرب November 11th 2017 The top two teams in Group C, Morocco and Ivory Coast, met in Abidjan in what was a winner takes all cup final, the victor progressing to the World Cup finals. Morocco squeezed past Equatorial Guinea in the Second Round, 2-1, and ended up in a tricky group which featured […]

The third instalment of “How They Qualified” features three UEFA nations, two South Americas, including the story of how Argentina almost missed the World Cup, a CONCACAF team’s debut qualification and an African team who made World Cup 2002 a memorable affair. Serbia/ Србија October 9th 2017 All the focus of Group D was on […]

Part two of this mini season entitled How They Qualified involves the second batch of teams to qualify for Russia 2018. There are five European teams in this section, including a World Cup debutant and three past winners. Furthermore, two African teams and a CONCACAF side also feature. Germany/Deutschland October 5th 2017 Germany booked their […]

With the draw for the 2018 World Cup draw just days away, 32 nations eagerly anticipate the results of the draw, which pits the creme de la creme of international football teams against each other. The dust has settled, people have come to terms with the fact that Italy won’t be there, nor will Chile, […]

We now know the identities of the 32 teams that will battle it out for glory in Russia next summer and it is shaping up to be a fantastic World Cup. Fans can look forward to seeing the greatest players on the planet locking horns in shiny new stadiums, with passionate crowds roaring them on. […]

Age Hareide’s Denmark pulled off arguably the shock of Europe’s 2018 World Cup Qualification campaign in the final game of it at The Aviva Stadium last night, by trouncing The Republic of Ireland 1-5 to Qualify for next summer’s Tournament. They did so in some fashion as Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen netted an incredible hat-trick […]

Sweden beat Italy to a place in next year’s World Cup after a goalless draw in Milan in what turned out to be Buffon’s swansong. There was a common consensus on a warm, Parisian evening back in June 2016 that the end of an era had approached. Italy had just beaten Spain by two goals […]

Sweden secured a slender advantage from the first leg of their World Cup play-off against Italy after a 1-0 victory in Stockholm on Friday. “The result changes nothing. Today we could’ve done more and done it better, but there’s a lot at stake over the 180 minutes,” Giampiero Ventura said in his post-match conference. The […]

Match Report: Serbia vs Georgia: 2018 World Cup Qualifying Group D Matchday Ten 10th October 2017 A late strike from substitute Aleksandar Prijovic was just about enough to give Serbia automatic qualification to next summer’s Russian World Cup and victory over Georgia on a nervy night in Belgrade. The hosts entered the tie-on top of […]

13th October 1993, Gérard Houllier’s French side is a certainty to qualify for the World Cup in the USA the following summer. Les Blues sit pretty at the top of Group 6 with a four-point-cushion, ahead of Sweden in second place. A further point separates the Swedes from Bulgaria in third. With 13 points accumulated […]

It seems quite some time since a World Cup was hosted by a country without serious question marks hanging over their suitability. Brazil’s stadia have for the most part become hideously over-sized white elephants, not to mention the hysteria over fears of crime and mass protests at public spending in the run-up to 2014. South […]

Modern day football is never too far away from controversy, conflict and corruption, which makes the uplifting stories that little bit more special. The rise of the Syrian football team is just one such story. The war-torn nation, after a series of gruelling affairs both on and off the pitch, face Australia tomorrow night as […]

Sixty years is a long time, too long for fans of the Red Dragon. Wales’ only World Cup appearance came in 1958, a spirited run to the quarterfinals halted by a certain 17-year-old from the Brazilian streets of Bauru called Pele. The 1960’s and early 70’s were campaigns to forget, a quarterfinal appearance in the […]

Northern Ireland secured second spot in Group C with two games yet to play after overcoming Czech Republic 2-0 at Windsor Park on Monday. The West Brom duo of Jonny Evans and Chris Brunt bagged the all-important goals in a jubilant night in Belfast, where Northern Ireland won five matches in a row for the […]