Sweden was pitted in a tough group for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification draw results has already been announced and some nations were lucky while some others did not have such a pleasant placing and Sweden is one of the unfortunate ones as the Sweden nation was placed in what is considered to be the toughest group as they have to play against the likes of: France, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg and Netherlands.

Group A is already being labeled as the group of death due to the amount of top class nations and Sweden has their work cut out if they want to advance into the next World Cup.

Before having any hopes of qualifying to the 2018 World Cup, Sweden has to focus in advancing through the 2016 Euro’s and so far they have managed to hold their ground and are located in the 2nd spot of Group G with 12 points having been gathered from the 6 matches which have been played so far at this point in time.

One of the issues that the Sweden national side might face is the fact that the team of Erik Hamrén is starting to build a dependency on ZlatanIbrahimovic and this is evident by the amount of goals that Sweden has been scoring in their past few matches. Continue reading Sweden was pitted in a tough group for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications

Fabio Cannavaro has revealed that the process of qualifying for the World Cup

Former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro has revealed that the process of qualifying for the World Cup will always be difficult and this is especially true in the case of the European teams for the 2018 edition.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus star was recently part of the qualification ceremony for the upcoming tournament. Group stages have been announced for the qualification phases. Cannavaro is one of the experienced players to be able to talk about qualification for this tournament. After all, he has managed to feature in four world cups in his stellar career. There was a crowning moment when he led the team to success in the 2006 edition.

Cannavaro says that he is not worried about other teams failing to make it into the tournament as long as Italy reach the finals. The future of the Italian national team continues to be under doubt. After being knocked out at the two stages in the last World Cup, they were expected to perform well under the regime of Antonio Conte. However, the former Juventus manager is yet to imprint his stamp on the team. Italy have been given a tough group for qualification, as they will be alongside 2010 World champions Spain. Continue reading Fabio Cannavaro has revealed that the process of qualifying for the World Cup

Senators of the United States do not want Russia to host the 2018 World Cup

A few days ago it was confirmed and revealed to the public that 13 U.S senators have asked the international soccer organization FIFA to start considering another country instead of Russia as the host for the upcoming 2018 World Cup.

One of the main reasons of why these senators do not want Russia to host the forthcoming competition is because of the ‘’ ongoing violations of the territorial integrity of Ukraine’’.

There were a number of lawmakers hailing from U.S. which are saying that allowing the 2018 World Cup to take place will inappropriately bolster the prestige of Vladimir Putin when it should be condemned instead of improved.

These lawmakers include: The Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson, the Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin and the Arizona Republican John McCain. All of them have told the former FIFA president Sepp Blatter to start considering using another country as host instead of Russia as it’s simply not the ideal location according to them. Continue reading Senators of the United States do not want Russia to host the 2018 World Cup

Jose Pekerman has admitted that Radamel Falcao is in a very bad shape

Jose Pekerman has admitted that Radamel Falcao is in a very bad shape on the mental fronts, but, he is sure he would be able to sort the striker.

Pekerman has picked Falcao for Colombia’s next couple of friendly matches despite him being out of contention for Manchester United’s senior squad for quite some time.

Falcao’s form has been so poor that he struggled even at the junior level for the Red Devils recently.

Sources say that the Manchester United management would not opt to sign Falcao on a permanent basis as had been suggested at the start of the summer when the 29-year old had made his way to Old Trafford on loan.

According to Pekerman, Falcao’s problem has a lot to do with self belief. He does not seem to have enough of that at the moment, He needs support from people around him and he will get every bit of that in the Colombia changing room.

Talking about Falcao, the Colombia boss said, “Look, it’s quite difficult for the player himself as well. It’s a bit of a mess. But, at this point of time, we need to take care of him. He is a special talent, an asset for the side.” Continue reading Jose Pekerman has admitted that Radamel Falcao is in a very bad shape

Russia needs to work harder to Reduce Racism

Russia have admitted that they need to work harder in order to reduce racism levels within the country before the World Cup 2018. The nation has been hit hard with several scandals involving racist abuse of players.

The likes of Christopher Samba and Samuel Eto’o have complained of racial abuse, even from their own supporters on certain occasions, during their time in Russian football. This issue has not surfaced a lot after Russia were awarded the rights to host the 2018 edition. In recent weeks, though, it has been grabbing a lot of attention and the general secretary of the Russian football union has accepted that racism issue needs to be tackled sooner rather than later.

A report from an individual committee presented more than 200 cases of racial abuse of players in the Russian league over the last two years. Such an incredible number of incidents will lead to the World Cup 2018 getting bad press if it is allowed to persist. In a recent Europa League match between Feyenoord and Roma, Ivory Coast international Gervinho was taunted with bananas from the opposition supporters. Italy, Spain, and Russia seem to have been the worst hit regions when it comes to racial abuse of players. Continue reading Russia needs to work harder to Reduce Racism