World Cup

Match Report: England vs Slovakia: 2018 World Cup Qualifying Group F Match Day Eight 5th September 2017 A second-half stunner from young Manchester United prodigy Marcus Rashford completed a stellar comeback for Gareth Southgate’s England last night, as they moved onto the brink of qualification for next summer’s World Cup in Russia. A shock early […]

Envisaging a World Cup without La Albiceleste is like imagining the Argentine diet without red wine and beef. Yet a bad result in this, penultimate, round of qualifiers could make that nightmare a distinct reality, and put into the perspective the “failure” of three final defeats in as many years. As things stand Argentina are […]

The 1986 World Cup in Mexico complete with the wave, the ‘spider’ of the Azteca Stadium, the ‘Hand of God’ goal, and much more could have been so different. Originally intended to be hosted in Colombia, the South American nation was rife with economic unrest and corruption. The Colombia football governing body admitting in 1982 […]

We have made it, 35 vintage and memorable World Cup matches have been thoroughly reviewed and analysed. Five glorious tournaments have been added from 1998 through to 2014. This has spanned four continents and six host countries. It has seen some incredible shocks, some thrillers, goal fests, red cards, controversies and shambles. We’ve seen records […]

Well folks, this is our last World Cup Calendar match to review. I only wish I were able to finish this series on a high. The 2014 World Cup was an excellent tournament of football, yet the final in the Maracana was just disappointing all round. There were offsides aplenty, some ghastly striking from Gonzalo […]

One of the purest football tournaments in recent memory culminated in the Stade de France stadium, Saint-Denis, in July 1998. Both France and Brazil had coursed their way through the tournament with ease, stopping all who got in their way, both sides with justifiable reasons to believe that they would win the World Cup. Brazil […]

During this World Cup Calendar series, we have conquered the 2002 and 2006 tournaments and now, on July the 11th, it is the culmination of the 2010 World Cup. This is a personal victory for me, as it means I no longer need to watch match highlights which involves the arduous task of listening to […]

The battle for the bronze medal, the third/fourth place decider. The game that nobody wants to be involved in. The game that nobody wants to watch. The game that I can imagine not many of you really want to read about. This is understandable. It’s traditionally two teams who have given their all to reach […]

Imagine the pressure, you have a glittering and highly decorated career that culminates with you captaining your country in a World Cup final. That is what Zinedine Zidane had to deal with, and for 109 minutes, he dealt with it like a pro. Unfortunately, it only takes one moment of madness to turn the tide […]

I wanted to write about France’s win over Croatia today, from the 1998 World Cup. Two goals from the legendary Lilian Thuram, the hosts through to the final, and a scandalous red card to Laurent Blanc, with Slaven Bilic conning the referee. But I simply cannot write about that match. Why, you ask? Well, because […]

Apologies to any reader who is tired of reading about the Netherlands, I am aware that this is the third consecutive day that they have featured in the World Cup Calendar. In fact, today is the seventh feature of the Brazilian team, and the sixth appearance of the Dutch. There is a good reason for […]

Uruguay had been one of the tournaments success stories in 2010. They had topped group A, eased past South Korea in the pouring rain in the Last 16 and snuck past Ghana in the Quarter Finals. It wasn’t just the opposition that was tricky, they also had to play with their hands covering their ears […]

Netherlands faced Costa Rica in the quarter-finals of World Cup 2014, and it looked to be quite the interesting tie. The Dutch were still riding the shockwaves of their flabbergasting demolition-job of Spain. Costa Rica were certainly underdogs, although they had recorded excellent results against Italy, Uruguay and England, as well as eliminating Greece via […]

Today’s game was part of the reason that I decided to write this series. This match, Germany v Italy, the 2006 World Cup semi-final, may just be my favourite ever World Cup game. One of the world’s most iconic stadiums, some outstanding players and, above all else, some incredible drama. Late drama. The latest drama. […]

It’s a shame that the capacity of Nantes Stade de la Beaujoire is so low, as only 35,000 fans were able to watch the thrilling encounter between Brazil v Denmark live. Both Brazil and Denmark had won their respective Last 16 ties 4-1, with Brazil topping their group and Denmark finishing 2nd, behind France. Both […]

It’s going to be a sad day when Luis Suarez hangs up his boots, he just has this habit of creating memorable World Cup moments. Unfortunately for Ghana, just as it was unfortunate for Giorgio Chiellini, Suarez’s shenanigans proved costly. I’m not going to put you through the charade of pretending “the incident” is a […]