All About The Beautiful Game
Well, that was exciting. The World Cup group stage is officially over, with 16 of the original 32 teams moving to the knockouts. Many of those 16 teams were not expected to advance: just look at Australia, who stunned Denmark to advance. South Korea advanced over Uruguay, Japan over Germany, Morocco over Belgium: the list … Read more
Group H has many of the biggest storylines in Qatar. For a starter, Ghana are playing Uruguay in a rivalry 12 years in the making. This stems back to the 2010 World Cup when Luis Suarez batted away the ball on the goal line, preventing Ghana from becoming the first African country to reach the … Read more
Group G has some of the typical World Cup powerhouses. Brazil, obviously, are fixtures in the tournament — they’ve never missed one and have more wins than any other country. Switzerland, too, are regulars at the tournament, having only missed the tournament once since the turn of the century. Cameroon missed out on qualification in … Read more
Group F of the World Cup has some of the most interesting teams in the whole tournament. Croatia reached the final in 2018, losing to France after an impressive run. That same year, Belgium finished third, narrowly losing to France in the semi-finals. Both nations will depend on a young core this tournament, with several … Read more
Group E has two of the strongest candidates for the World Cup: Germany and Spain. While both of these teams struggled in the tournament’s last edition, they have both won since 2010. Both have also rebuilt with some younger stars, including some of the best young players in the game. Japan, too, has a strong … Read more
In 2018, France won the World Cup after navigating through a tricky group that consisted of Peru, Australia, and Denmark. Four years later, they return to the tournament again being considered the favorites in a similar group. Not only are Denmark and Australia returning, but Australia additionally had to beat Peru in the World Cup … Read more
Group C could be a group with some surprises. Obviously, the focus is going to be on Lionel Messi and Argentina, who pose a threat as World Cup candidates. However, there’s going to be a lot of competition: Poland has an impressive team and has rid themselves of inept manager Paulo Sousa. Mexico, too, has … Read more
Group B is easily one of the most exciting groups in the World Cup, if not the most. The USA is returning to the tournament for the first time since 2014, with a completely new group of players. Wales, too, is returning from a (much longer) absence at the tournament, led by star Gareth Bale. … Read more
The World Cup has long been a proving ground for football’s most exciting talents. In 2006, FIFA created an award acknowledging this: the FIFA Young Player Award (YPA). In each tournament, the best player under the age of 21 would be given the award. So far, there have been some notable winners. In 2006, the … Read more
The Turkish Süper Lig certainly has no shortage of elite goalkeepers. Trabzonspor won the league last year largely because of the heroics of Turkish international Uğurcan Çakır, who allowed just 33 goals in 36 games. Galatasaray has long depended on Uruguay’s shot-stopper Fernando Muslera, who has played nearly 500 games for the club. Rivals Besiktas … Read more