The final round of World Cup group fixtures begin on Monday, with 10 spots remaining in the round of 16. Six nations - Russia, Uruguay, France, Croatia, Belgium and England - have already qualified. Eight others - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Panama and Poland - have already been eliminated. The fate of the rest remains undecided. Some can be confident of progression, others less so, and several will fear the prospect of elimination on goal difference, head-to-head records, fair play points or even the drawing of lots. There is also the small matter of first and second-place group finishes, which determine who plays who in the knockout stages. Group A Russia and Uruguay are through and all that is left to decide is
Tag: World Cup
Netherlands vs Portugal – A game with 4 red cards and 16 yellow cards
In World Cup matches, the level of physicality tends to escalate when top teams face off against each other, but in the 2006 World Cup Round of 16 match in Germany, it escalated to an unprecedented level. What probably made this even more surprising was that it was Portugal and the Netherlands who were involved, not exactly the two sides are known for being very aggressive. But from the start of the game, Russian referee Valentin Ivanov had no control, as he was forced to hand out a record four Red Cards and an unprecedented 16 yellow cards, both of which are records in any FIFA tournament. The Netherlands entered the match as a strong favorite, having won all three of
Netherlands – Team to lose 3 World Cup finals
Netherlands is the only team in the World Cup to qualify for 3 finals and lose all 3. Details about their all 3 final defeats here. 1974 World Cup finals vs Germany West Germany was led by Franz Beckenbauer, while the Dutch had their star Johan Cruyff, and their Total Football system which had dazzled the competition. The start of the match was delayed as the ground staff at the stadium had removed the corner flags for the tournament's closing ceremony (which preceded the final) but then forgot to put them back. With just a minute gone on the clock, following a solo run, Cruijff was brought down by Uli Hoeneß in the German penalty area, and the Dutch took the lead from the ensuing penalty by Johan Neeskens before any German player
Sheikh ‘Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’ disallows a goal in World Cup 1982
One of the most memorable controversies surrounding the FIFA World Cup was the match between Kuwait and France in the 1982 World Cup hosted by Spain. In their only ever World Cup appearance, Kuwait were put into a group with England, France and Czechoslovakia, and were not expected to win anything. But, after managing a 1-1 draw in their match against Czechoslovakia, Kuwait faced France. Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the then president of the Kuwait Football Association, left his seat from the stands and stormed onto the field, removing his players from the field in protest of a French goal that he believed had been scored only after his players had heard a whistle blown from the stands and stopped playing. The
Legends who won the World Cup as Player and Manager- Beckenbauer and Zagallo
Mario Zagallo Mario Zagallo has a unique place in World Cup history - the only man to have been associated with four World Cup winning teams. In Brazil, he is a legend. During his time as a player he was part of the Brazilian team who lifted the World Cup in 1958 and 1962. Zagallo then coached the 1970 side to another glorious victory. He completed his unique achievement as assistant coach in 1994. The great Brazilian’s fingerprints are indelibly stamped across his country’s World Cup history, and therefore stamped across the finest World Cup history there is. His first winner’s medal came as part of the famous Brazil side of 1958. Pelé scored twice in the 5-2 victory over Sweden and Zagallo marked