Tag: England

England 2018 Fixtures Confirmed

Now it has been confirmed that England will play world champions against New Zealand after a long gap. They have played in the year 2014. Their fixtures for the 2018 Old Mutual Wealth Series (OMWS) have been confirmed recently.

Eddie Jones’ team will play four Test matches in next the series of season at Twickenham Stadium and the match will be against South Africa on 3rd November), against New Zealand on 10th November), against Japan on 17th November and against Australia on 24th November. Continue reading England 2018 Fixtures Confirmed

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will utilize video technology

For the very 1st time in the history of football, a FIFA World Cup competition will use video replay which is aimed towards helping referees in a few of their decisions involving penalties, red cards and goals.


Every other choice that thefield referee has to make will completely dependent on that person.

Video technology has been tested for the past few years on a number of different leagues and countries including USA, Germany, Portugal, Brazil and Australia. It appears to have brought forward positive results and now it’s going to be put to test in the biggest football competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup.

There have been a number of incidents that have occurred in past editions of previous FIFA World Cup that have angered fans and players. One of those controversial moments emerged during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when England was facing off with Germany in the round of 16. Continue reading The 2018 FIFA World Cup will utilize video technology

RUSSIAN EMBASSY – BBC FILM IS SHOCKING

The Russian embassy to the United Kingdom has described the documentary by the BBC as “shocking.”


The media outfit released a film ahead of the World Cup 2018 in Russia, detailing the risks associated with England participating in the high-profile tournament.

The embassy opines that the BBC’s efforts aim at discrediting the host of the tournament.

“The film title Russia’s Hooligan Army shot and broadcast by BBC Two with the Russia-hosted 2018 World Cup in mind is quite shocking. One gets the impression that its goal is to sow fear in British society and warn the fans against travelling to Russia.

“The filmmakers from the government-funded channel did their best to discredit Russia and the forthcoming World Cup,” a statement from the embassy reads.

The documentary features Russians who commented on the forthcoming event. One Russian fan that was featured told another source that his words were “grossly misinterpreted” by the British press. The fan, who is the former leader of a football fan group referred to as Spartak Gladiators, said he – appearing as ‘Vasily the Killer’ – was misconstrued by the media. Continue reading RUSSIAN EMBASSY – BBC FILM IS SHOCKING

CASILLAS STILL FIT FOR 2018.

Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas has stated that he is still in good form and can play at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.


The 35-year old legendary goalkeeper has a remarkable career with a record 167 caps for his country. He served as second choice goalkeeper at this year Euro.

Julen Lopetegui signed Casillas for Porto in 2015, and he had hoped to be the first choice for the team. However, David De Gea had taken the spot light leaving Casillas as plan B. Speaking to Porto Canal he revealed that he is still very much fit and will perform well at the 2018 World Cup.

“I have never given up, to avoid problems I stepped aside. Lopetegui told me that he was going to bet on David De Gea and I accepted it, but I haven’t left the Spanish national team yet. Why can’t I play at the World Cup in Russia?

“I played the entire qualification phase for the Euro and it was decided to make De Gea the first-choice [for the tournament]. The dream hasn’t been taken away. I look good. If I had been playing poorly I’d be the first to say it,” he said. Continue reading CASILLAS STILL FIT FOR 2018.

Martin O’Neill Happy with Point against Serbia

After having just completed the testimonial for the celebrated Robbie Keane, the Republic of Ireland were in danger of slipping to an early defeat in the World Cup 2018 qualification.


They were trailing Serbia 2-1 going into the last 10 minutes of the game. This was the first World Cup qualification game for Ireland. After having done so well to qualify for the Euro 2016, it was up to the team to show that the qualification to the European Championship was no fluke. Jeffrey Hendrick helped Ireland opened the scoring after just three minutes.

Just when it seemed that the game would end with this early goal,Kostić came up with an equaliser just after the hour. Buoyed by the goal, Serbia started playing in a spirited fashion. Equally, Ireland’s morale slipped quite substantially and the team was unable to cope with the sudden onslaught of pressure from the home team. They conceded a penalty just before the 70th minute and it was duly put away byTadić. Just when it seemed that Serbia would hold onto this lead, Daryl Murphy came up with a late equaliser to secure at least a point for the away team. Martin O’Neill was later pleased with this point from a difficult away trip.
Continue reading Martin O’Neill Happy with Point against Serbia

Williams believe that Wales can win the World Cup

Wales captain Ashley Williams believe that Wales can win the next World Cup in 2018. He said that the team has been boosted by their performance at the Euros in France and that they are looking forward to participating in many tournaments in the future.

Ashley Williams, who currently plays for Swansea City, has been instrumental for his team and believes that the team can replicate this performance on a regular basis. He said that they have a good coach in Chris Coleman and that the latter has successfully built a team that can take on the best team in the world.

Ashley Williams said that they were amazed by the support that the team has received in the tournament. He said that even back home he was amazed by the way people welcomed the team back. He said that he cannot imagine the crowd reactions if ever Wales had managed to win the tournament.

For Williams, it has hard to accept the defeat by Portugal, but he believes that the defeat will not damage their progress. He believes that the team has reached a new level and that the only way now is up. He said that he would be hoping that they can repeat the same performance in Russia and hopefully win the trophy. Continue reading Williams believe that Wales can win the World Cup

Sepp Blatter has been immensely successful with Technology

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been immensely successful in trying to keep technology of the game for a long time.

However, his legacy will soon be forgotten since new presidentGianni Infantino has promised the arrival of video refereeing from the World Cup 2018 in Russia. Major tournaments like the World Cup and Champions Leagues have been used as testing venues for new technologies in the past. There have been numerous calls for video technologies to be a major part of the game. Several refereeing decisions have been seen even in big games and it has been the source of much discontent.

Since almost every other sport has adopted technology in favour of more agreeable decisions, football’s reluctance to adopt technology has been surprising so far. International Football Association Board (IFAB) recently claimed that it would be testing several aspects of technology over the next two years. Even though it will be quite a while before video refereeing becomes a standard part of club football, this is seen as a step in the right direction. Goal-line technology is the last major introduction of science into the game. It will be followed by the Hawk-Eye at the Euro 2016. UEFA has found that Hawk-Eye will be used to resolve goal line disputes. Continue reading Sepp Blatter has been immensely successful with Technology

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