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Tag: World cup

  • Southgate rubbishes Arsene Wenger’s World Cup plans

    Southgate rubbishes Arsene Wenger’s World Cup plans

    England manager Gareth Southgate says Arsene Wenger’s plans for a biennial World Cup make no sense.

    FIFA over shifting the showpiece competition from its current quadrennial cycle into a biennial format, a move promoted by Wenger.

    “I’m not quite sure where everything is, “Southgate said ahead of his side’s clash with Hungary. “I saw some initial proposals, they seem to be doing the rounds, and I’m not quite sure exactly what’s on the table now.

    “It seems to change every time I speak to [CEO] Mark Bullingham and the [English] FA. There’s been another presentation and another set of proposals, it’s hard to keep up with really.

    “All I would say is everybody needs to be there, in the discussion, club football, international football, I think I’ve said before there can be tweaks to the calendar that would help everybody.

    “If there were maybe slightly fewer windows but you get players together for a longer period of time, that might help the clubs and the international teams.

    “But if there’s only one per year, I don’t really understand that as a concept from FIFA when international football is such an important part of what you do.

    “As I said at the start if you’re a player and you miss that one month or however long a break’s supposed to be, you don’t have an international career at all that year. That doesn’t seem to make sense to me.”

  • Players back World Cup changes – Arsene Wenger

    Players back World Cup changes – Arsene Wenger

    Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists he has the players’ support for a World Cup every two years.

    Wenger is pushing the change, despite burnout fears from some players.

    He told La Repubblica: “The players are with me. I want to group the qualifiers in one or two international windows and leave the players with their clubs for the rest of the season.

    “It is to create not a closed and exclusive but inclusive circle, giving opportunities to all countries. It can make people happy. Tradition does not mean standing still.

    “They have consulted a certain number of top players and I know they would prefer to play more important games.”

  • Super Eagles players start arriving Lagos for CAR clash

    Super Eagles players start arriving Lagos for CAR clash

    A few players in the Super Eagles squad have begun to arrive ahead of their 2022 World Cup qualifying double-header against the Central African Republic.

    Nigeria host the Wild Beasts on October 7 in Lagos, before travelling for the reverse fixture three days later.

    Kaizer Chiefs’ Daniel Akpeyi, CSKA Moscow’s Chidera Ejuke as well as Alanyaspor FC’s Chidozie Awaziem are the early birds.

    They have also arrived at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, which will act as their camp.

    More players are expected as Gernot Rohr’s squad starts preparations for the fixtures on Tuesday.

    Following victories over Liberia and Cape Verde, Nigeria lead Group C with six points.

    Unfortunately, Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi and Watford midfielder Peter Etebo will play no part due to injury setbacks.

  • UEFA urges FIFA to stop pushing World Cup plan

    UEFA urges FIFA to stop pushing World Cup plan

    European football’s governing body UEFA has urged FIFA to stop pushing its plan for a two-year World Cup and instead to engage in “genuine consultation” over reform of the international match calendar.

    FIFA is conducting a feasibility study into holding the World Cup on a biennial basis, a change from the current four-yearly cycle, but has made no secret of its desire to switch to such a format.

    Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager who is now FIFA’s head of Global Football Development, said this month he was “100% convinced” of the switch.

    “UEFA is disappointed with the methodology adopted, which has so far led to radical reform projects being communicated and openly promoted before having been given, together with other stakeholders, the chance to participate in any consultation meeting,” UEFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

    UEFA said there were numerous concerns about the impact of such a switch including the “dilution” of the World Cup’s value, risks of players being over-worked and women’s football suffering from annual men’s tournaments.

    “These are just some of the serious concerns that the FIFA proposal provokes at first glance.

    “And they cannot be dispelled simply with unsubstantiated promotional slogans on the supposed benefits of a thicker calendar for final tournaments,” the statement added.

    UEFA said it had asked, on Sept. 14, for a meeting with FIFA and the 55 European member associations but has yet to get a reply.

    FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned this month of a potential European boycott of the World Cup if FIFA’s plans went ahead.

    “We can decide not to play in it,” Ceferin, head of European soccer’s governing body, told The Times newspaper.

    “As far as I know, the South Americans are on the same page. So good luck with a World Cup like that.

    “I think it will never happen as it is so much against the basic principles of football

  • Cricket W/Cup Qualifiers: Nigeria lose to Uganda by 43 runs

    Cricket W/Cup Qualifiers: Nigeria lose to Uganda by 43 runs

    Nigeria’s Senior Women’s Cricket team, playing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup qualifiers in Botswana, on Saturday lost their third group B game to Uganda.

    Nigeria lost by 43 runs to their East African rivals at the Botswana Cricket Association oval, in Gaborone, after Uganda elected to bat by winning the toss.

    The fielding prowess of the Nigerian team, limited Uganda to 104 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

    A very confident Nigerian side went in to chase in the second innings with the opening partnership of Esther Sandy and Kehinde Abdulquadri scoring 20 runs in four overs.

    The fall of both wickets in the fifth and eighth overs respectively began Nigeria’s woes, especially after Captain Blessing Etim and Salome Sunday were both `run out’ in the eighth over and more wickets fell after that.

    Omonye Asika, who struggled to hold on, scoring 13 runs in 12 balls, was run out in 9.2 overs as Joy Efosa followed immediately after being bowled out with the next ball and so did the rest of the team.

    The Female Yellow Greens managed to score 61 runs, all out in 14.5 overs.

    After the game, team coach Onome Oghenekevwe said he believed his team was the better side, but were unlucky.

    “Today’s game was tough. We started well and held the Ugandans down in the first inning.

    “We started well in the second innings. We were 20 runs in the first four overs, but from the sixth over, we lost grip of the game and had five `run outs’.

    “Those run out were our key players and we just gave away the game. I believe that we are the better side, but events didn’t work out in our favour today,’’ he said.

    Nigeria will face Cameroon in her last group B game on Monday. The team had defeated Sierra Leone and lost against Namibia earlier.

    Meanwhile, Group A comprises host Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

    Only one team is expected to qualify from the 11-nation tournament expected to end on Sept. 19.

  • Guinea’s World Cup qualifier postponed in coup aftermath

    Guinea’s World Cup qualifier postponed in coup aftermath

    Football governing bodies FIFA and CAF have postponed Monday’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match involving Guinea and visiting Morocco.

    The decision to postpone the game is as a result of Sunday’s coup d’etat in the west African country, as well as the reported detention of its president, Alpha Conde.

    “The current political and security situation in Guinea is quite volatile and is being closely monitored by FIFA and CAF.

    “To ensure the safety and security of all players and to protect all match officials, FIFA and CAF have decided to postpone the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying match Guinea versus Morocco.

    ”The match had been scheduled to be hosted in Conakry, Guinea on Monday,” CAF disclosed in a statement late on Sunday.

    It added that information about rescheduling the match would be made available at a later date.

  • World Cup qualifiers: Iheanacho secures Super Eagles victory against Liberia

    World Cup qualifiers: Iheanacho secures Super Eagles victory against Liberia

    Super Eagles of Nigeria started their qualifying campaign with a commanding win in Lagos on Friday.

    Kelechi Iheanacho’s brace guided Nigeria to a 2-0 victory over Liberia in their opening fixture in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

    The game was, however, decided in the first half of the one-sided game as the former youth international Iheanacho put Nigeria through in the 22nd and 44th minutes.

    The second half of the game had the Super Eagles tone down the pace of the game with fewer shots on goal with Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen losing a glorious chance to add to the tally.

    The second half, however, had the coach of the team make five changes with first double substitute Paul Onuachu coming in for Osimhen while Samuel Kalu came in for quiet Moses Simon.

    Late into the game, both Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi made way for the Captain Ahmed Musa and right full back Shehu Abdullahi.

    While late deep into the extra time, Joe Aribo was substituted for newly signed Watford midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo.

    The two goal hero, Iheanacho was, however, awarded the Man of the Match to pocket the N1m prize money from one of the sponsors, 33 Export.

    Iwobi who also put up a 5-star performance walked away with another cash prize of N1m courtesy Another NFF partner, GAC Motor for the Most Valuable Player for the match.

    With the win the Super Eagles top the Group C of the Qatar 2022 qualifiers with three maximum points.

    The Super Eagles are due to face the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on Tuesday Sept. 7, for the Day 2 World Cup elimination fixtures.

  • England will use World Cup heartbreak against Denmark – Maguire

    England will use World Cup heartbreak against Denmark – Maguire

    Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes England must use previous hurt to spur them on to glory.

    The Three Lions take on Denmark in the second semi final at Euro 2020 on Wednesday.

    England lost in the World Cup semi finals to Croatia three years ago and now have a chance to erase that memory with a win at Wembley this week.

    “The motivation is there,” Maguire said, per the BBC.

    “Losing the semi-final at the World Cup hurt a lot.”

    He added: “I think we’re in a lot better place than we were.

    “The experience of that, we’ve learnt from it. We’ve had a lot of big games in that period to improve and a lot of time spent together on the training pitch, friendlies and qualifiers. Every game we play we feel we improve.

    “In this tournament, from the first game to the Ukraine game, there’s a lot of differences in the principles that we’re demanding from each other. Of course we’re in a better place now, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”

  • I’m better now than 2018 World Cup – Harry Kane

    I’m better now than 2018 World Cup – Harry Kane

    Tottenham striker and England captain Harry Kane believes he is a better player since the 2018 World Cup.

    Kane won the Golden Boot at that tournament as England reached the semi finals.

    As they prepare for their second Euro 2020 group game against Scotland, after defeating Croatia 1-0 in the opener, Kane spoke about his own progress as a player in the past three years.

    “I’ve become a better player and I’ll hopefully continue to do that over the next three years as well,” he told reporters.

    “I’ve got a lot more experience, my game understanding is a lot better. I feel like I’ve got better at knowing when to drop deep and when to run in behind, using that to my advantage.

    “We all have to believe we can win it. That’s the reason we’re in this competition, to try to win it. That’s the only way you’re going to get far in tournaments. Of course we believe we can win it.”

  • UEFA: Super League players will be banned from World Cup and Euros

    UEFA: Super League players will be banned from World Cup and Euros

    UEFA president Alexander Ceferin has promised to punish participants in the Super League and says that any players involved “will be banned from the World Cup and Euros”.

    The announcement of a new European competition that would see a number of top clubs break away from the Champions League has been met with fierce opposition over the past 24 hours.

    UEFA has now revealed its stance, with Ceferin calling for the football world to rally against the “cynical plan” that is threatening to cause huge division across the continent’s major leagues.

    “I cannot stress more strongly how everyone is united against these disgraceful, self-serving proposals, fuelled by greed above all else,” the UEFA president said while unveiling the new Champions League format that is set to come into effect in 2024.

    “We are all united against this nonsense of a project. Cynical plan, completely against what football should be. We cannot and will not allow that to change.

    “Players who will play in the teams that might play in the closed league will be banned from the World Cup and Euros. We urge everyone to stand tall with us as we do everything in our power to ensure this never ends up in fruition.”

    Asked if the Champions League will continue without the 12 clubs reportedly founding the Super League, Ceferin responded: “Yes, of course. In Europe, there are many good clubs and devoted fans. You heard the changes already today of the UEFA changes from 2024. We will do it with or without them.”