NIGERIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAYS WORLD CUP 2018 IS THE NEW FOCUS

After failing to qualify yet again for the African nation Cup in 2017, Nigeria men’s national football team has apologized to the nation through a written statement from the Football Federation.

The Super Eagles fell to a 1-0 defeat in Alexandria, Egypt in the second leg match after playing a 1-1 draw in Kaduna, Nigeria. The match played on Tuesday, 29th March 2016 was won by the hosts with a strike in the second half. The strike was poorly defended and resulted in the lone goal of the game.

The woes of the team were compounded when one of the group members withdrew from the tournament and Confederation of African Football (CAF) cancelled all points from matches against them.

The statement from the NFF reads: “The NFF, like most Nigerians, are saddened by The Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final competition, following a 1-0 defeat by seven–time African champions Egypt in Alexandria.”

The Super Eagles lost the golden opportunity to qualify through their sloppiness as Egypt equalized, after a goal from Etebo put the host in the lead. After the draw, the confidence The Super Eagles displayed against The Pharaohs in Alexandria was below par, especially when compared to the decent performance in Nigeria. Continue reading NIGERIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAYS WORLD CUP 2018 IS THE NEW FOCUS

Kevin Muscat’s debut season as manager was a huge success and he wants more

Kevin Muscat turned into the coach of the Australian outfit Melbourne Victory on October 31 of 2013 and this was the first time that Muscat has ever been in charge of any professional club as the head coach but despite it being his first time, his managerial career has been a huge success as the Australian coach pushed Melbourne Victory to the A-League Championship and Premiership titles of the 2014-15 season.

This is the best possible way that Kevin Muscat could have kicked off his managerial career and now the Australian has stated that he is eager for what is to come and he does not want to put a limit on what is possible to accomplish as anything is possible.

Melbourne Victory’s Kevin Muscat revealed some of his plans for the future as he said: “I wouldn’t put a ceiling on anything. But I’ve been around long enough in a professional environment to know you’re judged on what you do tomorrow, not what you’ve done yesterday. I won’t look too far ahead. Of course, I’ve got aspirations. I’ll reach for the stars and if I fall somewhere short, great.  At this point in time I’m driven by one thing and that’s to bring some more success to this football club. And we all know what success looks like at Melbourne Victory.”

For the time being, Muscat wants to lift more titles with Melbourne Victory and have more success with the team but he also hinted out the possibility of coaching other teams outside of Australia as he has big aspirations of winning big things and achieving further success. Continue reading Kevin Muscat’s debut season as manager was a huge success and he wants more

England and Scotland will be coming up against each other in a competitive game

England and Scotland will be coming up against each other in a competitive game yet again and manager Roy Hodgson is already looking forward to this feisty encounter. The two teams first played against each other back in 1872 and this is seen as more of the oldest rivalries in world football.

Further, England and Scotland are the oldest football playing nations. The duo will be facing each other on November 11, 2016. They have been brought together for the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifier. Even though England are extremely disappointed not to be hosting this tournament, they will relish the prospect of overcoming Scotland once more.

Scottish football has been on the decline over the last few years and this is especially true in the case of the national team. While the likes of Wales have recovered sufficiently, Scotland are yet to become a top nation in world football. They have shown signs of resurgence under Gordon Strachan, but they will have to go a long way before overcoming the memories of the defeats in 2013 and 2014 against England. Hodgson says that he is already looking forward to the atmosphere before and during the game. The reverse fixture with Scotland hosting England will take place in June 2017. Continue reading England and Scotland will be coming up against each other in a competitive game

The chairman of the Polish football association believes that Russia should not host the 2018 World Cup

Zbigniew Boniek is the chairman of the Polish football association and he has expressed his point of view concerning Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup and their conflicts involving Ukraine.

The former Juventus player and current chairman of the PFA said: “Hosting the World Cup in Russia is a disastrous mistake, it’s a country engaged in war, who invaded another country. In 2010 when FIFA chose Russia to host the World Cup the situation was totally different. But now when Russia is at war with Ukraine? There should be a clause in the contract between FIFA and the host country that enables the executive committee to strip that country in the event of a war. Or violating the charter of the United Nations,”

Russia was awarded with hosting the 2018 World Cup ahead of  England and joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium in December 2010 but things hasn’t been easy for the Russian government and nation in its entirety as they are continuously receiving criticism due to the economic problems and a number of other things that Vladimir Putin and his citizens are experiencing. Continue reading The chairman of the Polish football association believes that Russia should not host the 2018 World Cup

Dunga is someone who has often been misunderstood in Brazil

Dunga is someone who has often been misunderstood in Brazil. People have problems with his attitude. The media does not like him either.

There was a section of the fans that thought the condition of Brazilian Football was only going to get worse with him being appointed as the replacement of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

But, a few months down the line, it’s hard to find the critics of the Brazil boss. There is no one criticizing or crucifying him at the moment and why would there be? He has done such an incredible job for his country.

The 7-1 massacre versus Germany was a disaster for Selecao. It was nothing less than that.

Having revived them from there and that too so well, Dunga must be given some credit now. He very rarely gets that.

Whatever he has touched since taking over from Scolari, he has managed to turn it into gold and that’s because he has gone about things intelligently. Continue reading Dunga is someone who has often been misunderstood in Brazil