World Cup

World Cup: France and Denmark Play a Goal-less Draw
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: France and Denmark Play a Goal-less Draw

France and Denmark today played a goal-less draw in the on-going 2018 FIFA World Cup. The French had already qualified while Denmark needed a draw to ensure their qualification. https://youtu.be/UvFP1ITZ7To According to Didier Deschamps, the French coach "We have reached our goal and the most important thing for us was to top the group. It has not ended up a very exciting match because the Danish team were satisfied with a draw as it meant they would qualify. But all the same, while their defence was very good, we had a number of scoring opportunities. We didn't need to take risks in the match though as this result was ok for everyone. We tried to get a win but the last 15 minutes was, shall we say, a 'neutral' kind of match. It was a choice on Denmark's part and you can understand i...
World Cup: Peru Defeats Australia 2:0
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Peru Defeats Australia 2:0

In a match between two home bound teams, Peru defeated Australia 2:0. Peru opened scoring in the 18th minute through Carrillo and then doubled their lead in the 50th minute through Guerrero. Though the two teams are already out of the tournament, the Peru side left with some dignity. https://youtu.be/fR-txBJG-B4 After the match Ricardo Gareca, Peru's Coach said "Often times you look at situations and you look at what needs to be done. We had all of this great support from our fans in the stadiums, so we took the defeats really hard. I’m really proud of my players. Along the whole journey they always got back up when they were knocked down. Over time, they have learned how to rise to the challenge." The Australian Coach, Bert van Marwijk on his part has nothing but praise for hi...
World Cup: Croatia Wins Iceland 2:1
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Croatia Wins Iceland 2:1

Iceland's run in the World Cup was brought to an end in their 1:2 loss to Croatia. The Croatian team had already qualified prior to the match while Iceland needed to win the match to stand any chance of qualifying. Milan Badelj opened scoring for the Croatians in the 53rd minute and Iceland equalized from the penalty spot in the 76th minute. The match was laid to rest in the 90th minute when Perisic scored Croatia's second goal. https://youtu.be/wfy1ojdPyzA Croatia ends the group stage with 9 full points while Iceland leave with just a point. Croatia will now take on Denmark in the first knockout stage. Zlatko Dalic, the Croatian Coach was full of confidence in his post match conference. He said "We have three wins, nine points, with a goal difference of 7-1. That only goal we ...
World Cup: Nigeria Loses 1:2 to Argentina, Crashes Out of the World Cup
Africa, Nigeria, Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Nigeria Loses 1:2 to Argentina, Crashes Out of the World Cup

The Nigerian Super Eagles this evening lost 1:2 to the Argentinians. In a match which promised to be highly competitive, Argentina came needing a win to qualify while Nigeria needed a draw. Messi scored his first goal and Argentina's first of the night in the 14th minute. That was however all that was seen of Messi as he was always surrounded by Nigerian defenders. In the second half, Nigeria equalized from the penalty spot after Leon Balogun was pulled down by Mascherano. The scores stayed at 1:1 till the 86th minute when Marcos Rojo shot in Argentina's second goal. https://youtu.be/RmlkAOwJ1gI After the match, the Nigerian Coach Gernot Rhor said "We have a very young team who lack some experience, but in four years we’ll be very strong. I want to thank our supporters who have...
World Cup: Iran Gives Portugal a Scare, Plays a 1:1 Draw
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Iran Gives Portugal a Scare, Plays a 1:1 Draw

The Portugal team was nearly eliminated by Iran in a match which finally ended 1:1. Portugal had taken the lead in the 45th minute through Quaresma which saw the first half ending 1:0. In the 53rd minute, Ronaldo had his penalty saved by the goalkeeper, missing an opportunity to double their lead and take his goal tally to 5. He was to rue that miss as Iran equalized from the penalty spot in the 3rd minute of additional time after a penalty was awarded following a VAR verdict. Things went hairy for Portugal as Iran came close to taking the lead before the end of the match. They also made appeals for a second penalty after they claimed their player was pushed down in the 18 yard box. According to Carlos Queiroz, Iran's coach "It was a football game that we honoured and we brought p...
World Cup: Morocco Holds Spain to a 2:2 Draw
Africa, Morocco, Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Morocco Holds Spain to a 2:2 Draw

Morocco ended their World Cup campaign with a fiery performance which saw them holding Spain to a 2:2 draw. Morocco opened scoring in the 14th minute through Boutaib and Isco leveled things up for Spain 5 minutes later. The match continued in a stalemate until the 81st minute when En-Nesyri scored Morocco's second. Knowing that a loss to Morocco who were already out of the tournament could see them joining them on their way out, Spain threw everything at the Moroccans and were rewarded in the first minute of the additional time through Iago Aspas, a goal which was seriously contended by Morocco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzuo2YhzZQU Spain now heads into the second round top of their group with 5 points.
World Cup: Russia Loses 0:3 to Uruguay
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Russia Loses 0:3 to Uruguay

The Russian team experienced their first loss of the tournament, losing 0:3 to Uruguay. Luis Suarez opened scoring for Uruguay in the 10th minute and in the 23rd minute, Uruguay got a second off an own goal. Russia was reduced to 10 men when Igor Smolnikov was shown a second yellow and matched off in the 36th minute. Following the sending off, the score remained the same until the 90th minute when Cavani scored Uruguay's 3rd. After the match, the Russian coach, Stanislav Cherchesov said "Even when we had ten people on the pitch, they were running hard and they wanted to attack more that’s why I brought on a substitute. Psychologically we are well prepared for the next games. I believe that we should come to some conclusions, during the training sessions: this is one thing and when yo...
World Cup: Egypt Ends World Cup without a Win, Loses 1:2 to Saudi Arabia
Africa, Egypt, Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Egypt Ends World Cup without a Win, Loses 1:2 to Saudi Arabia

The Egyptian team lost 1:2 to Saudi Arabia, ending their World Cup campaign without a win. Having earlier lost to Uruguay and Russia, they ended without a single point. Salah opened scoring in the 22nd minute while the Saudi's leveled scores in the 6th minute of the first half additional time. They scored two goals and conceded 6, with Mohamed Salah getting the only goal against the Saudis. The Saudi's scored again in the 5th minute of the second half's additional time to secure a 2:1 win. https://youtu.be/lEzuFPeSBcA The Egyptian goalkeeper who also became the oldest person to play at the world cup had this to say "I apologise to the Egyptian people on my behalf, and for my colleagues, after the three defeats. We tried and did not have luck - this is football. I'm proud of wha...
World Cup: Senegal Draws 2:2 with Japan
Africa, Senegal, Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Senegal Draws 2:2 with Japan

Senegal has drawn 2:2 with Japan in their second group match. The Senegalese opened scoring in the 11th minute through a Sadio Mane tap in. 23 minutes later, The Japanese leveled up the score through Takashi Inui ending the first half in a 1:1 draw. In the second half, Senegal took the lead in the 71st minute through Moussa Wague. However, the Japanese equalized through Keisuke Honda in the 78th minute. The match ended in a 2:2 draw, giving Senegal 4 points from two matches and Japan 1 point from two matches. Senegal will now take on Colombia on the 28th while Japan will take on Poland at the same time.
World Cup: Harry Gets a Hat-Trick as England Trashes Panama 6:1
Sports, World Cup

World Cup: Harry Gets a Hat-Trick as England Trashes Panama 6:1

The English team this afternoon, thrashed the Panama team by 6:1. John stones opened scoring for England in the 8th minute while Harry Kane doubled the lead in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot. England continued to show their superiority by scoring a third in the 36th minute through Jesse Lingard while in the 40th minute, Stones scored again to get his second and England's 4th goal. Harry Kane rounded off the first half with a second goal from the penalty spot, getting his second and England's 5th goal. The second half saw fewer goals as Harry scored his hat-trick and England's 6th in the 62nd minute, rounding off England's scoring for the match. Panama however managed to get a goal back through Felipe Baloy, recording their first ever World Cup goal. Speaking on the match...