Drinking Issues

Something unusual happened in two of Egypt's matches in the World Cup. Moahmed El Shenawy won the man of the match award for his performance against Uruguay and Mohamed Salah won the same award after the match against Saudi Arabia. Even though it might be a prestigous title by some how, both refused to take the trophy of this title.

It wasn't a protest against FIFA or anger due to the results. El Shenawy and Salah refused to take the trophy that is sponsored by Budweiser. As Muslims, they didn't want to be connected to something that is forbidden in their religion like drinking alcohol.

This kind of controversy is not the first that was connected to Anheuser-Busch, a brewing company that is sponsoring the World Cup since 1986.

World Cup sponsorship is an interesting business. FIFA sponsorship profit in 2014 World Cup was about 1.6 billion dollars. It gives a chance for companies to get exposure in one of the worldwide main events and being advertised in every World Cup event. One of the biggest advantages is the fact that these companies get an absolute monopoly on the field. For example, if you want to buy something to drink in the stadium and you want to pay with a credit card, you can only do it with Visa credit card, as they are World Cup sponsors.

Anheuser-Busch, a Belgian-Brazilian brewing company, is sponsoring the World Cup for more than 30 years. Although their leading brand is Budweiser, the only World Cup they missed since 1986 was the World Cup that took place in United States in 1994. As a leading sponsors, they are the only company that its beers are allowed to be sold inside the stadium. The connection between FIFA and Anheuser-Busch is so strong, that FIFA decided in January 2011 to extend the agreement with the company until 2022.

Sometimes this agreement can cause political problems. In 2012, the Brazilian parliament approved a bill that will allow selling beer in stadiums during the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. In Brazil it became popular to mock this decision, named it "Budweiser Bill". Maybe in order to make this decision more acceptable, another beer brand has been sold in the stadiums during the games, the local brand Brahma, which is unsurprisingly also part of  Anheuser-Busch's brands.

FIFA is not the only one that facing problems with beer brands. During Euro 2016, Carlsberg made a rebranding due to a law in France that forbids alcohol advertising. Someone in the Danish brand thought about a creative way in order to keep their place, as their commercials used part of their slogan without mentioning the brand name.

A clash between the rules and sponsorhip can cause some weird situations. In last March, after another MLS match, Vancouver Whitecaps fans got a chance to vote for their MVP, sponsored once again by Budweiser. To their surprise, the winning goal scorer, Alphonso Davis, wasn't even nominated. Later on, the team said that 17-years-old Davies can't be nominated because he is younger than the legal drinking age.

The future of the football will be more dependent on the sponsors. In the case of the Egyptian players, FIFA decided to remove Budweiser logos from the official publictaions. FIFA did it also when players from Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal won the title. These incidents are rising a question about the limit of the tensions between political or cultural issues and the sponsors' products. The next World Cup will be in a country that forbids selling alcohol, until then we will have to wait to the moment that it will be clear which of these sides will be more dominant.

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World Cup Preview: Panama v Tunisia

Who? Panama - Tunisia
Where? Mordovia Arena, Saransk
When? June 28, 20:00 (CET local time)

Panama (Yossi Medina)

Panama just conceded six from England and nine in the whole tournament. In their first two matches they tried, but in the end they were far from the competitive level of their opponents. Yet, Panama presented during the game against England a name that everyone will know – Felipe Baloy.

He is not young as many in this World Cup, but since Sunday, Baloy will have eternal life as the first World Cup goalscorer of Panama. It's not obvious, because Baloy is actually playing as a defender. In the age of 37, Baloy find an international recognition.

During his career he played at the places that nobody think about. Except from playing in his home nation, he had short spells in Colombia and Brazil, before he arrived to Mexico. He spent more than a decade there and won two Mexican titles with Monterrey and Santos Laguna.

As Panama national team player he played in four Gold Cups. At his first campaign in 2005 he was part from a team that reached all the way to the historic final against USA. In the final, Panama couldn't handle USA and lost in penalty shooutout 1:3, as Baloy was the only player of Panama that converted his kick.

With a long history, Felipe Baloy is now part of another great moment for his nation. Panama is defeated, but still proud. Now they will face their last challenge – winning in the World Cup for the first time.

Tunisia (Uri Levy)

The final game of the group stage is taking place in one of the most rare cities the World Cup ever took place at - Saransk. Saransk is a city of around 330,000 habitants in Mordovia, a county in the eastern part of Russia. In series of articles before the World Cup, the English Independent described Saransk as ‘Strange’, mentioning that the city has no club in Russina Premier League, and highlighted the unpleasant past of the city as a Gulag centre. For Soviet Russia’s dissident movement, Mordovia was instantly associated with the Gulag. The first camps appeared there as early as the 1930s; for a while after 1960 it the only region housing “dangerous” political enemies of the Soviet state. With this cargo, Saransk will host one of the last matches of this World Cup group stage - Tunisia against Panama.

The Tunisians are already eliminated, but among the four Arab representatives she probably impressed the most. Gave a great fight to England, lost with pride & style against Belgium and all is left is to grab a first World Cup victory since 1978, against tiny but lovely Panama.

For the Tunisians this World Cup wouldn’t be entitled as a great success, but coach Nabil Maaloul has told the media that the effort that the players have put in to the trainings and games has nothing but make the Tunisian people proud. After losing its two stars, bringing in young or anonymous replacement - the Tunisians has managed to score three goals and did not broke apart against European rivals like Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

A victory in Saransk and it might count as a good tournament for the Carthage Eagles, and they will be remembered as the team who had no fear, despite the odds that were against them. But if they lose, nobody will remember the good minutes against England or Belgium. They will forever be those who arranged the Panamanians their first ever victory in the competition. The ball is in their legs.

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World Cup Preview: England v Belgium

Who? England - Belgium
Where? Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
When? June 28, 20:00 (CET local time)

England

England is in a complete euphoria. The 6:1 win against Panama made everyone believe that maybe in this World Cup they will have a better chance for winning the title. Now, after they clinched their spot for the next stage, they will try to do more interesting things in the World Cup.

For example, England can complete this stage with three wins, a record they had only in 1982 World Cup. They can even have one of their best scoring World Cup campaigns, as they only scored more in 1966.

Another notable record that maybe would be broken in this World Cup will be Gary Lineker's record for most goals in a single World Cup. While Lineker scored 6 goals in 1986, Harry Kane already netted 5. According to the reports, Kane might leave Russia for a while due to his wife pregnancy. The English FA is aware to the situation and says that Kane is not schedule to leave the team until the end of the tournament.

With their hope and optimism, England is facing one of the most dominant team in 2018 World Cup. If they will make it through, there is a big chance that the football will really come home.

Belgium

Until now, Belgium presents maybe the most entertaining football in the tournament. With eight goals and two wins, Belgium already clinched their spot in the round of 16. Their last match against England is expected to be interesting, but it's going to be complicated.

The results combination, made England and Belgium to be almost completely tied for the first place. The only tie breaker that works is the fair play points. Currently, Belgium is ranked second as they got more yellow cards. If the game tonight will end with a win, there is no problem and the first place will be clear. The problem will be in case of a draw.

In a case of a draw, the teams will still be tied and once again the fair play tie breaker will be used. As this match will be the last, teams will know in such case if it will be better to finish first or second in order to avoid a harder path to the later stages. Belgium, who currently have one yellow card more than England, will need to work hard to maintain this lead if they want to finish second.

By the way, if England and Belgium will be tied at the end of the night also by fair play points, a drawing of lots will decide the first place. It happened only once in the history of the World Cup, while Ireland and Netherlands were tied for the second place in 1990. Will Belgium be part of a weird moment?

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World Cup Preview: Senegal v Colombia

Who? Senegal - Colombia
Where? Samara Arena, Samara
When? June 28, 16:00 (CET local time)

Senegal (Omri Tancman)

After a long draught of appearances in World Cups, Senegal is arriving to its last game of the group stage knowing that all they need to do is not to lose to Colombia. To do so, Senegal must keep a clean sheet. The task will not be easy. Senegal hasn’t managed to maintain a clean sheet against Poland or Japan and the mission will not be easier against Colombia. The responsibility for this important mission lies very much on the bold shoulders of Kalidou Koulibaly.

Koulibaly, one of the best central defenders in the world, leads the defence of Napoli since 2014 and has been constantly linked to the biggest clubs in the world. Diego Maradona, Napoli’s legend, stated this year that if Koulibaly was white he would be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. Koulibaly himself tries not to give too much importance to racial issues. When referring to Maradona’s praises he himself said that "some black players are already at the best clubs in the world and I hope to be part of that one day, too."

Koulibaly’s somewhat independent attitude resonates also to his perspective towards Senegal’s decisive match against Colombia. According to Koulibaly the most important thing is that they are totally independent. According to the strong commanding Centre Back “when Senegal depends only on itself it is very good.” In a way, this phrase represents a wider state of mind of current Senegalese football. Koulibaly’s responsibility is to rise to the occasion and to make sure the game against Colombia can be a demonstration of independence.     

Colombia (Idan Seggev)

With the back against the wall, Colombia managed to achieve a wonderful 3-0 victory over Poland which keeps their chance to qualify alive. It was a completely different team who controlled the match since the kick off and took advantage their supremacy on the field in order to score three beautiful goals in front of 42,800 crazy fans. The most exciting moment, of course, was to see El Tigre Falcao fulfill his dream completely by scoring a goal in the World Cup.

Despite all the joy, Colombia still achieved nothing until now.  Their last match of the group stage will be against Senegal, which proved already that they can be very dangerous, even though their made a draw against Japan.  The good news is that Colombia depends on itself and with a win they will qualify for sure to the next round. There is a possibility that even a draw can be enough but only if Poland, which is already been eliminated, will beat Japan.

Defensive midfielder, Carlos Sanchez, will return to the starting lineup instead of Barrios while Mateus Uribe, who came in as a sub against Poland and played well, will start next to him. Pekerman won't seem to make changes besides this one, and most probably that we'll see the same lineup. Even though it'll be a clash between two physical teams, Juan Fernando Quintero will continue to receive credit from Pekerman due to his great performances so far. The Colombian fans are on their way to Samara to support their national team and make them feel like they play in Barranquilla in their most important match since the quarter final against Brazil four years ago. With the current atmosphere and form, I won't gamble against them.

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World Cup Preview: Japan v Poland

Who? Japan - Poland
Where? Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
When? June 28, 16:00 (CET local time)

Japan (Yossi Medina)

Japan couldn't wish for a better situation to be before their last match. Japan is leading group H with four points and will face Poland. At the beginning, Poland considered as the best team in the group, but for this match they will come after they already been eliminated.

All that Japan needs to do now is to win. It wouldn't be an easy task, as Japan usually fails against European opponents. In the previous seven games against team from Europe, Japan managed to win only twice. The first was in home soil against Russia and the second was against Denmark in 2010. This defeat eventually led Japan to its last World Cup round of 16 appearance.

Five players can make history for Japan in this match. If they will play, they will made their 10th World Cup appearance and will equal Hidetoshi Nakata's record for the most capped Japanese in this tournament. These players will be Eiji Kawashima, Makoto Hasebe, Yuto Nagatomo, Shinji Okazaki and Keisuke Honda.

Japan showed its versatility during the World Cup. The games against Colombia and Senegal were two completely different matches and in both Japan had different missions. The Japanese managed to handle both the Colombian attacking style and the Senegalese mixed style. Now they will need to see how they will play against Poland.

With a lot of hope, Japan wants to do it and they can do so. If they will qualify for the next stage, it will mark another great achievement for the Japanese football.

Poland (Eden Roitfarb)

The modern Polish football team just doesn’t seem to be cut for the big tournaments. Since the 1986 World Cup, they have either been eliminated in the group stage (3 times) or haven’t even qualified (5 times). Their European Championship record has also been rather disappointing. This comes in direct contrast to their qualifying performances, who are usually attacking, impressive and inspiring. But none of these adjectives can describe their appearance vs Colombia in Kazan. The Poles lacked ideas and a backbone and were outclassed on route to a 3-0 defeat. That defeat means elimination, and the only thing left is to fight for some pride in the last match vs Japan.

Trying to explain to the Polish nation what went wrong, Robert Lewandowski said: "We fought and tried to do our best, but we couldn’t do anything more ... fighting is not enough to win World Cup matches, you also have to have quality”, perhaps hinting about the lack of service he has received from his teammates. Lewa will try to bow out from the tournament with his first ever World Cup goal, and but he is clearly disappointed with himself and his compatriots. Unsurprisingly, the future of coach Nawalka is also in doubt after the poor campaign, and he took full responsibility for the failure: “For me, this failure hurts the most, I take responsibility for it. I do not have a jumble in my head, it's sport, football”. Nawalka made some questionable decisions these World Cup. One of the bizarre one’s was to put in injured defender Kamil Glik vs Colombia down 3-0 at the 80th minute while having attacking or creative options on the bench like Arek Milik or Karol Linetty. A win vs Japan might be nice for all involved, but Poland face an uncertain future at this point.

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World Cup Preview: Switzerland v Costa Rica

Who? Switzerland - Costa Rica
Where? Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
When? June 27, 20:00 (CET local time)

Switzerland (Yossi Medina)

Switzerland, a nice and peaceful country, was in the middle of political controversy suddenly. The goal celebrations of Xhaka and Shaqiri followed by full discussion whether they both should be banned. In the end, FIFA decided that they will be fined by 5000 Swiss Francs each.

They were not the only players to be fined. A third player joined, celebrate and was punished. Stephan Lichtsteiner joined his friends and showed his solidarity. In an action made by a captain, a leader of the team. With 102 caps, Lichtsteiner is worth to be the one who holds this title and now he hopes that he will do the best in his last World Cup.

Switzerland finds themselves once again playing against a CONCACAF team in the last matchday. Four years ago they defeated Honduras 3:0 in the last game, as they began the day with one point less from the second place. This time Switzerland will enjoy an interesting advantage, as now they are in the second place with one point more than Serbia.

With an another chance for reaching the round of 16, Switzerland can be satisfied from their performance until now. Now they need to be concentrate enough in order to prevent any slip against Costa Rica.

Costa Rica (Omri Tancman)

After two matches, Costa Rica lost its chance to qualify and now all that remains for the veterans of Costa Rica is a solid performance against Switzerland. This might not be easy at all since Costa Rica are in very bad form recently. Costa Rica have won only three of their last fourteen matches in all competitions. Moreover, they have lost eight of their last ten matches. Furthermore, they didn't score in six of their last nine appearances including their last two games in the World Cup and did not even manage a shot on target against Brazil.

It seems that there is no one to blame since the whole team is very weak. Nevertheless, Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica's captain and forward is not performing at the same level as in the previous World Cup. While in Brazil Ruiz shone and led the Costa Ricans to the quarter finals, in this campaign in Russia, Ruiz wasn't able to lead his troops to scoring ability. According to Ruiz, as he stated prior to the game against Brazil, the third game should be a win for Costa Rica.

The Costa Ricans proved already some of their defensive ability, as they managed to withstand the Brazilian pressure for 90 minutes. In order to win, Costa Rica has to score. Much of this responsibility lies on Ruiz's shoulder.

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World Cup Preview: Serbia v Brazil

Who? Serbia - Brazil
Where? Otkritie Arena, Moscow
When? June 27, 20:00 (CET local time)

Serbia (Eden Roitfarb)

It seems that since losing to Switzerland, the Serbian national team is dealing mainly with politics rather than football. In case you live under a rock, here is a quick reminder: Serbia faced a Swiss team full of players with roots in former Yugoslavia – mainly from Kosovar descent. Two of them, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, have scored and celebrated by marking the Albanian double eagle gesture. In the aftermath, the Serbian FA called for both players to be banned for the political provocation and even made an official complaint to FIFA. An even more controversial statement was made by coach Mladen Krstajić, who tried to talk football and complained about the outrageous non-penalty call that involved Aleksandar Mitrovic and two Swiss defenders but ended up calling for German referee Felix Brych to be tried in The Hague tribunal for war crimes. He himself can face sanctions from FIFA for this slip up.

After this loss, Serbia are in a do or die situation, and there is no worse opponent to face at this point than Brazil. To put it very simply, Serbia are in a “win and in” situation that can even put them in first place in a certain scenario. A draw and they depend on Costa Rica to beat Switzerland in order to have a chance through a tiebreaker. Brazil struggle heavily with European opponents since the 2014 World Cup, and Serbia would count on that fact to try and do the unthinkable. Both teams have a rich history and met regularly in the first World Cups, when Serbia where still known as Yugoslavia, but the Balkan’s only win came at the first ever tournament in 1930 – a win that also helped knock out the Brazilians from the group stage, and what a story it would be if Serbia would recreate this history.

Brazil (Vitor Buratini Mendes)

The only feeling that the Brazilians felt minutes after the final whistle of the game against Costa Rica was that of relief. After a difficult game, in which the team created good opportunities that ended in the hands of goalkeeper Keylor Navas, many believe that now the Brazilian team will be able to play better with a better rhythm to their game. Question being – will these hopeful thoughts really come in to fruition?

The game against Costa Rica presented a big problem: the winger Douglas Costa, who filled Willian’s shoes very well and who was perhaps the best player in the match, was injured at the end of the game and will not be available to play for the next two matches. Another replacement was right-back Fagner who took Danilo's place as the latter was injured as well. What appeared to be a major problem, luckily for Brazil, ended up not even an afterthought. Fagner made a great match, playing even better than Danilo.

The game against Serbia might be the most difficult so far: there are many rumors that changes in the starting lineup will be made, such as Renato Augusto in place of Willian and moving Coutinho to the right wing. Either way, the game will be very diffcult and in a scenario that the team loses Brazil will hang their hopes for advancing in the tournament tied to a Swiss loss against Costa Rica.

On another note, Neymar scored his first goal of the tournament in the last matchday and we are all left with the hope of this being a sign that the team's star will now be playing better? He is undoubtedly the player who has the most potential to impact the match, even coming back from injury. Fans around the world and Brazil espcially, want to see Neymar's talent to play more than he has shown and that he will just stay focused on football and not care about the referees.

The opposing team has talented, high-profile players such as Kolarov and Milinkovic-Savic but this does not seem to be a major obstacle for the Brazilian team. It's easy to see that Brazil has high chances of winning the match and securing the first place in the group. If things go as planned, there are great chances of a rematch between Brazil and Germany in the next phase.

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World Cup Preview: Mexico v Sweden

Who? Mexico - Sweden
Where? Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
When? June 27, 16:00 (CET local time)

Mexico (Meir Lozowick)

If you would ask the Mexican fans how they felt when Toni Kroos scored his decisive goal against Sweden, the majority of those fans would be disappointed. Guaranteed qualification to the round of 16 was already behind the corner, and in one second, elimination from the tournament is still an option. However, if you would ask anyone of the Mexican players how they felt in the last minute of the game, the response will probably be something unrelated. Some would say that slept, others might say that they read a book. But why? Cause the Mexican national team was inside an airplane on route to Moscow back from Rostov. It’s not a coincidence or a matter of finding a cheap flight. The Mexican football association adopted a motto of “don’t look at the neighbour's grass but only your own”. Meaning: the team has to gain the qualification by their own. Gaining it with some help from others would be a nice bonus.

The situation for Mexico is quite clear: win or draw against Sweden will guarantee qualification from the first place in the group. The situation could be very different with losing against Sweden. If that will happen, Mexico would have to do exactly what they don’t want and count on others. Assuming that Germany would win against South Korea by two goals or more, Mexico would be eliminated. The last thing that Mexico would like to do, is to count on South Korea to do their job.

The goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa demonstrate the positive & confident attitude during the press conference, saying that Mexico's faith is in its own legs and this is the only thing that matters. Ochoa put all of his faith in Juan Carlos Osorio's decisions. From his side, Osorio has demonstrated that he can learn the opponent and prepare the team well. He claims that Mexico should break the record this tournament and go the furthest they have ever been. Now it’s on him to show that he can keep up his players to his words. The first step: reaching the round of 16.

Sweden (Yossi Medina)

In the last few days, one name became the main issue in the Swedish national team. Jimmy Durmaz became the main person for critics after the defeat against Germany. Durmaz made the foul who gave the free kick against Sweden and later became the winning goal of Germany.

Durmaz received racial abuse for this incident. Even though he was born in Sweden, people decided to mention his Turkish and Syriac origin. With an experience of 45 international caps for his nation, this abuse that focused his ethnicity was a line that nobody should cross.

In elegant way, Durmaz faced the media few days ago. "When you threaten me, when you can call me a terrorist, then you have gone far beyond the border", said Durmaz. "I am proud to play in the Swedish national team and I will never let any racists destroy that pride", he said as he gives a clear answer to all those people.

Jimmy Durmaz is not the only immigrant that plays in Sweden during this World Cup. His teammate, Isaac Kiese Thelin, was born to a Congolese father. Both won together the U-21 European Championship with Sweden in 2015. Moreover, for years Sweden had Zlatan Ibrahimovic as their captain, another player that is not a native Swedish player.

Sweden will have to work hard against Mexico if they still want to play at the next stage. As usual, they will need to do it together. If in the beginning it was about playing as a team, now it became to be about playing together equally as an all-Swedish team.

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World Cup Preview: South Korea v Germany

Who? South Korea - Germany
Where? Kazan Arena, Kazan
When? June 27, 16:00 (CET local time)

South Korea

South Korea never was a real contender for qualifying to the next round. Yet, the unusual opening of the group made South Korea to be a in the list of the potential qualifiers in specific combination of results. The first thing they need to do is to defeat Germany.

South Korea played against Germany twice at the World Cup in the past, but it never was an easy task. In 1994, Germany led 3:0 by the 37th minute and the Koreans managed to score twice lately to a 3:2 defeat. Eight years late, in front of their local fans in Seoul, Germany won again 1:0 in the semi finals with a goal by Michael Ballack.

The main question among the Koreans is whether Son Heung-Min can lead the team for a better final match. Even if South Korea wouldn't win this match, they at least looking for a decent performance after their first two games. The hope is that Son will be in good shape, especially after his goal against Mexico.

This match may be South Korea last match in this competition. Without points and after scoring a single goal, South Korea want to prove that they have what it need in order to be a good opponent against Germany. Will it happen?

Germany

There is no words that can explain the importance of Toni Kroos goal against Sweden. Within few second, Germany changed their disastrous campaign opening for a hope to the next matches. Their match against South Korea will be their chance to make a first check for it.

During the last days, Germany spoke about anything but football. Unusually, one of the most professional teams in the world, find themselves dealing with controversies and discipline problems of the players. Joachim Löw is experienced enough and managed to handle it, but it was a sign for an upcoming failure.

After they defeated Sweden, Germany is facing much easier opponent as South Korea. Germany is holding great record against Asian teams. Except from the two wins against South Korea, they won each of their other four clashes against teams from this continent. Moreover, the goal difference in this matches is enourmous – 23 goals scored and only 3 goals against.

Germany have another mission, but they need to wait for other results. The Germans know that finishing in they can find an early match against Brazil, maybe even in the round of 16. As group F will be in the early hour of the day, Germany can't even make a calculations that will help them to avoid such meeting.

In any case, Germany wants to prove that they are real contenders to win the title once again. If they will fail against South Korea, it will be a massive failure. Qualifying to the knockout will be the moment for them to show their abilities and their power, no matter who will be against them.

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World Cup Preview: June 26

Don't miss a preview today!

Australia v Peru (16:00 CET time)
Will the Socceroos qualify for the next stage?
http://bit.ly/TheBoxingKangaroo

Denmark v France (16:00 CET time)
The all-European clash brings us an amazing throwback
http://bit.ly/GoalkeepingThrowback

Iceland v Croatia (20:00 CET time)
Iceland already qualified, will Iceland join them to the round of 16?http://bit.ly/UnstoppableVatreni

Nigeria v Argentina (20:00 CET time)
The chaos in Argentina is everywhere, Nigeria wants to use it for a knockout spot
http://bit.ly/DontCryArgentina

World Cup Preview: Iceland v Croatia

Who? Iceland - Croatia
Where? Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
When? June 26, 20:00 (CET local time)

Iceland

As suspected previously, Iceland has experienced a hard time with being favorites vs Nigeria. The Super Eagles, led by an Ahmed Musa double, won the game and complicated Group D even more towards the last matchday. On Tuesday, Iceland and Croatia will square off – and perhaps Heimir Hallgrímsson and his boys would relish the opportunity to play underdogs once again and return to their comfort zone against the impressive Croatians.

Although drawing the first game vs Argentina felt like a victory, a brief look at Iceland’s fixtures reveals us a gloomy picture – the have not won a match since their last World Cup qualifier against minnows Kosovo, on October 9th, 2017. During that span, the team drew 3 times and lost 5. On the other hand, Iceland beat Croatia in their last meeting in Reykjavík in June 2017 and have finished above them in the World Cup qualifying group.

This time, the match will take place in Rostov. Besides the fact that Croatia have won the group and will perhaps field a weakened side, Iceland can enjoy a sort of a home advantage – 3 of their squad play their club football for local FC Rostov: Sverrir Ingason, Ragnar Sigurðsson and Björn Sigurðarson. Anecdotes aside, Iceland know they are in a must win situation to keep their chances alive. Even that might not be enough, as it very much depends on the result between Nigeria and Argentina. No doubt that every goal will count, as goal difference can play a factor in such a tight group – a fact that makes Gylfi Sigurðsson’s missed penalty vs Nigeria even more crucial and painful. Iceland would want to do their part and hope their fairy tale story will continue further.

Croatia

Within 90 minutes, Croatia have instantly become Russia’s summer hit and some even dared to question whether they can go all the way this time. That’s what happens when you defeat Argentina 3-0 with such an emphatic performance.

For many, it reminded for a minute the 1998 team that beat Germany in the same score line. Instead of Šuker and Boban, the show was taken over by dynamo’s Modrić and Rakitić, who prove time and time again they are massively underrated in their Real Madrid and Barcelona roles respectively. Modrić’s strike against Argentina was an exact copy of an important Champions League goal he scored for Los Blancos vs Manchester United in 2013. Ante Rebić, who scored the opener and was equally impressive, is already linked to Tottenham Hotspur. He has revealed he had an intention to swap shirts with Lionel Messi after the game but nixed the idea since “The Argentines made such a bad impression on me, I expected much more”.

The 2 opening wins, along with how the rest of the group shaped up, means Croatia’s chances to finish first are around 99.8%, according to predictions. This surely means they can use the last game vs Iceland as an opportunity to rest some players and take it easy, with the next round on Sunday already in mind. If so, we might see names like Marko Pjaca, Mateo Kovačić and Milan Badelj get some minutes. The latter have played an important in Croatia’s qualifying campaign that included 2 games vs Iceland. Although the Nordic’s finished above the Balkan’s, Croatia have won 4 out of the 6 meetings the two faced, including a crucial one in the 2014 World Cup qualifying playoffs.

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World Cup Preview: Nigeria v Argentina

Who? Nigeria - Argentina
Where? Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg
When? June 26, 20:00 (CET local time)

Nigeria

African football has started to rise in the recent days of the World Cup. Between Senegal's two matches, Nigeria defeated Iceland and gave a chance of qualification for the Super Eagles. If you consider the other results in this group, Nigeria maybe can feel that defeating Argentina would not be a surprise.

Since their game in Friday, everyone talks about Ahmed Musa. His numbers became historical: he became Nigeria's all-time World Cup top scorer and the first Nigerian to score in two different World Cups with four goals. In his career he scored 15 international goals and now he is ranked 6th, above some Nigerian legends such as Julius Aghahowa and Jay-Jay Okocha.

Nigeria will face Argentina in a point that they couldn't ask for better. A team that was among the favorites to win and looks like a wounded animal. Nigeria will try to use in order to have an advantage over their opponents, all the way to the round of 16. Yet, Nigeria need to face its past as they lost all their matches against Argentina in the World Cup.

With high dreams and expectations, while all Africa is watching them, Nigeria is the hope to make something different. If they will win and Argentina will be eliminated, it can be a beginning of an interesting chapter in the African football history.

Argentina

Chaos. There is only one word that can describe the situation of the Argentine national team. Nobody thought that Argentina will be with only one point after the first two games, knowing that they are closer more than ever to being eliminated at the end of the group stage.

The poor performance against Croatia made many to think that maybe Argentina is not as strong as many thought. The feeling is that Argentina can't really perform well in this World Cup and they know who is the responsible: the coach, Jorge Sampaoli.

The reports from the Argentine camp are talking about some kind of revolt against Sampaoli. According to the local media, the players demands that Sampaoli will resign. Some reports even said that the players recommended Jorge Burruchaga, the national team general manager, as their coach for the match against Nigeria.

In these cases, you can always hope that one will give its best show, AFA chairman, Chiqui Tapia. Since the match against Croatia, Tapia slams constantly the media. He says that they are publishing lies and accused them in lack of patriotism.

Since Thursday night, a lot of things changed. Argentina, that felt they have no chance to qualify, saw how Iceland fail to defeat Nigeria and gave them some hope. The fans can barely believe that La Albiceleste can do something in this World Cup now, but what is football unless than believe making the impossible to possible?

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World Cup Preview: Australia v Peru

Who? Australia - Peru
Where? Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
When? June 26, 16:00 (CET local time)

Australia (Yossi Medina)

If someone thought a few months ago to tell the Australian squad that they may qualify for the round of 16, they will probably tell you that you are completely insane. Australia had a bad qualification campaign and only playoff wins against Syria and Honduras gave them the tickets to Russia. Now they only need to defeat Peru and hope that France will defeat Denmark in order to qualify.

It's been a while since Australia won against a South American team in an official match. It was in the 2001 Confederations Cup against Brazil. Since then, Australia keep failing against teams from South America in two World Cup games (Brazil in 2006 and Chile in 2014) and two more in the Confederations Cup (Argentina in 2005 and Chile in 2017).

Another thing that the Australians will look for is scoring from an open play. Their two goals in this tournament were scored by Mile Jedinak from the penalty spot. Moreover, their last goal in 2014 was also a penalty scored by Jedinak. It means that their last open play goal was actually the incredible volley kick of Tim Cahill against Netherlands.

No matter if Australia will qualify or not, winning against Peru could bring a massive support to the Australian football (even though they prefer to call it soccer). It can be the great finish for the World Cup campaign, with a hope for more success in the future.

Peru (Omri Tancman)

After Peru’s match against France, Peru lost any chance to qualify to the next stage. Peru’s goal for the game against Australia is mainly to hold the line and to give a positive performance. The task will not be easy when considering the history of Peru in last games in their previous performances in World Cups. Two of these most remembered games were in Spain 1982 and in Argentina 1978. In 1982 Peru lost 5-1 to the host Spain while in 1978 Peru lost 6-0 to Argentina.

This game is still remembered for bad reasons. Argentina had to beat Peru by a difference of at least 4 goals in order to proceed to the next stage. This game is still an open wound in the history of Peruvian soccer. According to the alleged claims, the result was fixed and in return Argentina was supposed to help Peru during operation Condor. The “deal” was that in return to Peru’s help during the match, Peru will send a few dissidents to Argentina which will get rid of them afterwards. These rumours were never confirmed and until today it remains as one of the most shameful moments of Peruvian football.

For Peruvians, those dark days are something everyone wishes to forget and nowadays the aim is to build for the future. As Peru’s Argentinian coach, Ricardo Gareca stated, “The events in this World Cup will help Peru grow”. In fact, when facing future challenges such as the Copa America 2019 and the World Cup of 2022, Peru has a young generation, boosted with experienced players such as Farfan and Guerrero. This squad is supposed to learn from the current experience and build on it for the future. A respectable performance against Australia can be a good start.

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World Cup Preview: Denmark v France

Who? Denmark - France
Where? Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
When? June 26, 16:00 (CET local time)

Denmark

One Instagram post in the last week is worth a full throwback for Denmark. It was in June 24, 1998, 20 years ago. Denmark met France for the last match of the group stage, knowing that a draw will be enough to qualify for the next stage. Even though that France eventually defeated them, Denmark quailed since South Africa failed to win in their game.

This memory was posted by Peter Schmeichel, the legendary goalkeeper of Denmark in that World Cup. Peter will sit comfortably while his son, Kasper, will try to do the same with Denmark in 2018. Kasper showed in this World Cup more than once why he is worth the place as a leading goalkeeper not only in Denmark, but also in a league like the Premier League.

It took a long time until Kasper Schmeichel reached this peak. Kasper failed to impress, played in some of lowest levels, such Scottish team Falkirk and League Two side Notts County. In 2012 he arrived to Leicester. It took three seasons in the Championship and one more season in the Premiership bottom, until he finally found himself in his greatest moment.

The marvelous 2016 season, the year that Leicester City surprised the world all the way to the English title, was Kasper's moment. With one of the most impressive defensive record in the league and his first championship title, Kasper could feel some of the glory that his father had.

Today, it's clear that Kasper will not be close to Peter's achievements. Maybe he will never reproduce the iconic somersault from 1999 Champions League final, but Kasper can do something else. He can still make a decent journey with Denmark in the World Cup. If that will happen, Kasper Schmeichel may have a special place in the Danish football hall of fame, right next to his father.

France

Didier Deschamps and France can be satisfied enough with their way until now. With 6 points in their first matches, Les Bleus are already thinking about the next stage. The calculations are now updated to see whether it will better to be in the first or the second place, after Argentina might fail to reach the round of 16.

France and Denmark met a few times in the past during the World Cup. Except from 1998, the teams also played each other in the 2002 World Cup, also in the last match day. Denmark won 2:0 in a game that was the grand finale for one of the worst World Cups in the history of France. 16 years later, France are in a completely different position.

One of the amazing facts about France is about their second consecutive knockout stage appearance. Amazingly, it happened only once before, in 1982 and 1986. For years France failed to impress for two World Cups in a row. Notably, we can mention their two group stage eliminations in 2002 and 2010, four years after reaching the World Cup final.

France are always favorites in these matches. Now all they have to do is enjoy the game and check what will be their destiny in the future of this World Cup.

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World Cup Preview: June 25

Don't miss a preview today!

Uruguay v Russia (16:00 CET time)
The battle for the first place: http://bit.ly/RussiaFinalDay

Saudi Arabia v Egypt (16:00 CET time)
The Arab derby, the sad end of this World Cup: http://bit.ly/EndOfTheirRoad

Iran v Portugal (20:00 CET time)
Carlos Queiroz battle for the round of 16: http://bit.ly/QueirozFight

Spain v Morocco (20:00 CET time)
Herve Renard says goodbye to the World Cup: http://bit.ly/CestFiniHerve

World Cup Preview: Spain v Morocco

Who? Spain - Morocco
Where? Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
When? June 25, 20:00 (CET local time)

Spain (Yossi Medina)

Spain is living in a dream. Only few days ago, the whole team looked like a full chaos. Without the late coaching change, it was common to think that Spain may be a huge disappointment. In the conclusion of the group stage, Spain is currently in its best situation, as they are on the top of the group and facing Morocco, which already knocked out.

Thanks to Diego Costa, Spain already score the same number of goals as they score in Brazil four years ago. With three goals until now, Costa is in shape to look for more goal and maybe aim Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Golden Boot.

For the captain Sergio Ramos, clinching the round of 16 spot could ensure him a Spanish record. Ramos, who currently made 15 World Cup appearances, can equalize Iker Casillas' 17-caps record as the most capped Spanish players in World Cup.

Spain's match against Nigeria in 1998 is well remembered, but since than Spain won their last two World Cup matches against African teams with wins against South Africa in 2002 and Tunisia in 2006. Playing another match against team from Africa should be an easy task, but Spain would consider this game as their most important match in the World Cup until now.

Morocco (Uri Levy)

Morocco disappointing World Cup will be finished with a match against Spain.  In their last match, the Atlas Lions has outclassed Portugal everywhere on the pitch, except in the box itself. They created chances, but simply couldn't score. Unless Morocco was conceding so fast and early in the game, we might have been discussing the heroic performance by the North Africans. 

Overall, Morocco is a great loss for the World Cup. A talented, varied and quality team, that in 180 minutes did everything right except scoring.  Herve Renard proved his quality as a tactical coach, but he lacked the right planning with his frontline. Morocco wasn't lethal up front, and eventually that is what went against them. Morocco became the first team to be officially eliminated from the World Cup.

Yet, the French coach chose to conclude beautifully the Moroccan experience in the tournament after the last game. “I am proud. I am proud of my players. I am proud of my staff. I am proud in this country. I am proud”. With these words, Morocco will hope to surprise the Spaniards, and leave Russia with a direct impact on the knockout stage. This alone, would be a respectable, though not enough, achievement.

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World Cup Preview: Iran v Portugal

Who? Iran - Portugal
Where? Mordovia Arena, Saransk
When? June 25, 20:00 (CET local time)

Iran (Uri Levy)

Iran is about to play its most important match in its football history, and its for many reasons. A victory over Portugal, and Iran will go for the first time in history to the knockout stage. It is also a private derby for Carlos Queiroz, the Portuguese coach of Team Melli, who was coaching Portugal in 2010 and was fired after a loss to Spain. He is now the longes serving coach Iran national team has ever had.

The movement of letting Iranian women to enter football stadiums in the country is progressing and advancing thanks to the World Cup. The sportive interest & achievements, as well as the high presence of female Iranian fans in the national team games are an imminent proof for the Iranian government that football is stronger than politics.

The match against Spain was broadcast for families and women at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, for the first time in 37 years. The movement for opening Iranian stadiums for women is led online by the Twitter account @openstadiums which is doing a massive work in arousing the awareness to the matter.

Against Spain the Iranian fans has stole the show and made Kazan sound and feel like the Azadi itself. The atmosphere in the Kazan Arena was simply electrifying. The Iranian fans took over the Tatarstan capital, present everywhere from the streets, to the metro, all the way to the stands.

Carlos Queiroz surprised all by leaving Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Iran's star player on the bench, instead starting with Mehdi Taremi and Karim Ansarifad with Sardar Azmoun, for whom it could have easily been a home match as he plays for local Russian club, Kazan. The Iranian defence was highly organised and coped well with the Spanish attempts. Iran did not fell apart from the Spanish goal, but attacked, defended well, and even scored an equaliser, which the linesman called off. “That’s ok, we are going to the last game with our heads up. We have a knockout spot to fight for”, Queiroz told BabaGol after the match.

The last match day in Group B is going to be as intense as it gets, as a serious option to make history is on the line for the Iranians.

Portugal (Yossi Medina)

The narrow win of Portugal against Morocco doesn't make an easy life for them. At the end of the day, Portugal are just one point above Iran and the match against Queiroz and his players may be crucial. Portugal, the European champions, are might facing an early elimination for the second consecutive World Cup.

Portugal face Iran once in the World Cup. In 2006, they won 2:0 from goals of Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was Ronaldo's debut goal in the World Cup and today he is the hottest player in the tournament with four goals. As usual, he is rewriting the history of his team, as he is the first Portuguese to score more than three goals in a single World Cup since Eusébio in 1966.

Another one who is facing the history is the manager, Fernando Santos. Four years ago, as the manager Greece he succeed to qualify for the knockout stage with just four points and a negative goal difference. For Portugal it will be much harder to do same this time, as they probably will be eliminated with a defeat, unless Spain will be defeated by Morocco with a higher score.

The Portuguese are anxious, but they are aware to the fact that they are the favourites. If they will manage to be calm and patient as Spain played against Iran, there is no chance that Portugal will finish this game without the necessary points.

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World Cup Preview: Saudi Arabia v Egypt

Who? Saudi Arabia - Egypt
Where? Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
When? June 25, 16:00 (CET local time)

The Arab Derby was supposed to be one of the most fun games to watch in the 2018 World Cup Group Stage the, but due to the early exit of both teams, it is turned in to a sad symbol of the Arab teams failure in the tournament.

Egypt’s World Cup campaign has went down the hill after two losses to Uruguay & Russia, while the Saudi one hasn’t prompted to be from the first moment with a hammering loss at the firs game to the hosts and a positive display against the Uruguayans.

The match will take place with many stories and rumours around the Egyptian team. Few reports suggested that Mohamed Salah won’t join his friends to Volgograd; the fact that Ramzan Kadyrov handed the star a honorary citizenship of Chechenia; stories about the presence of celebrities, artists, friends and family members who were wondering around the team’s; Cúper’s contract talks and many more. If you’ll ask any Egypt fan about the way the World Cup was handled by the FA and all involved you won’t hear any good things.

Though, an Arab Derby against the Saudi is a good option to finish this experience in a good taste. Egypt is likely to let Essam El-Hadary play, in order that the veteran goalkeeper, will be able to break the record of the oldest player to play the World Cup at 45 years of age.

Nobody in the country would admit it, but gaining a victory on a the country that succeeded Egypt’s role as the Sunni leader of the region, would a great pleasure for the fans. In addition, many Egyptian players (8 in the squad) are playing in the Saudi league and Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi head of FA has donated to Al-Ahly in the past year, was given presidency of honour at the club, and eventually, due to the fans protests was removed from the title.

On the other side, the Saudis, who had an expected but weak tournament want to win as well. Pizzi, who is willing to continue after the World Cup, knows that only a victory on a better side as Egypt would be counted for him when negotiating with his bosses next month.

The Arab World Cup will finish with a regional derby, that was supposed to be festival of fans and Middle Eastern football, but instead will be a quiet farewell for two famous teams as the Pharaohs & the Green Falcons.

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World Cup Preview: Uruguay v Russia

Who? Uruguay - Russia
Where? Samara Arena, Samara
When? June 25, 16:00 (CET local time)

Uruguay (Gilad Seroussi)

La Celeste already won its place in the next phase before even playing their last match in the group stage. Yes, it is happy rare days in Uruguay. But after a decent performance in the first game the team didn't play well in the second one, and Tabarez is still searching for the right formula.

Facing the explosive host team, Uruguay are going to try a different game plan; no more trying to be the initiating side, but back to the familiar style of a team that lets the opponent take the initiative and then striks with quick counter attacks. The injured Josema Gimenez will probably be replaced with Sebastian Coates, playing alongside Godin and Caceres in a 3 man backline. Laxalt and Nandez will be the wide players, the position causing the biggest headache to Tabarez, with the second designated specifically to stopping Russian winger Cheryshev. While Laxalt will be very familiar with that role, the same he is completing in Genoa, Nandez is still struggling playing wide. Another change will be Lucas Torreira debut in the starting lineup of Uruguay, adding more vertical play to Vecino and Bentancur in the middle of the field. Upfront no changes; Suarez will lead the line and alongside him Cavani will look for his first goal in the World Cup.

Don't expect sexy football from Uruguay, unlikely any change in formation and lineup will do it, as they will try to be formidable in the back as they've been so far, and more clinical upfront. As the great Edinson Cavani put it: "Our joy is from giving all we got on the pitch". I wish la Celeste will enjoy it again.  

Russia (Eden Roitfarb)

The Russians have qualified from a group stage for the first time since the 1986 World Cup, then still known as the USSR. Amazingly, Stanislav Cherchesov’s men have produced another impressive attacking performance, this time dismantling Egypt 3-1. Again, Russia beat an Arab team, but unfortunately for them, Uruguay come from South America and are a whole different challenge. With two hard fought 1-0 wins, Oscar Tabarez’s team almost look like the international version of Atletico Madrid, a team you never want to play against in an important game.

With that in mind, it is very likely that an even tougher opponent would wait in the next round – Portugal or Spain are favorites to qualify from Group B, which faces Group A in the next round. The exact order would only be known after Russia would play, so it would be impossible to predict beforehand which spot would be more appealing. Therefore, Russia would want to get the best result possible, and a draw would be enough to secure first place.

One of the topics discussed around the team lately is the alleged suggestions by foreign journalists that there might be cases of doping within the squad. This is due to the surprising two victories, and also because the Russian players ran the greatest distance on pitch than any other team in the tournament. In response, team doctor Eduard Bezuglov said that his players undergo twice as many drug tests than other teams, and that they are in good shape because of their own training and the support of the whole country – which helps them perform well. Undoubtedly, Russia would need to work even harder to compete with Uruguay.

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World Cup Preview: Poland v Colombia

Who? Poland - Colombia
Where? Kazan Arena, Kazan
When? June 24, 20:00 (CET local time)

Poland (Eden Roitfarb)

The final second round match-up for the group stages has all the characteristics to become a classic. Poland faces Colombia, and there is no result that would satisfy both. After both lost their opener, the pressure is high and only a win would be acceptable – its do or die. When you combine this fact with all the attacking talent that will be present in the Kazan Arena, and perhaps also the goalkeeping naivety, we can expect some goals.

After getting the edge over Łukasz Fabiański in goal vs Senegal, Wojciech Szczęsny produced a terrible blunder that looked more like his old Arsenal self, rather than his current status as the Juventus No. 1. While the first goal was cruel and unlucky for Poland, the second one had Polish fans embarrassed and disappointed. They have expected more from the team.

One of these fans is Wojciech’s father and a former national goalie himself, Maciej, who blasted the player's performance - including his own son and leader Robert Lewandowski. According to dad, the younger Szczęsny was moving “as if to a liquor store”, and that Lewa “was probably not even on the field in the first half”.

Wojciech hasn’t responded to these comments, and the question is whether he will have the chance to do so on the pitch or whether coach Adam Nawałka will reinstate Fabiański to the lineup. Fabiański has signed this week for West Ham United from Swansea City and was one of the few bright spots in the Swans’ relegation campaign after producing a great individual season.

Another visible problem for the Polish was the absence of defender Kamil Glik. Although dressed and on the bench vs Senegal, it is likely he has not yet received a green light from team doctors to play, but that may change come Sunday due to the match importance.

Colombia (Idan Seggev)

No one, not even the most pessimist fans, could imagine this debut of Colombia in the World Cup. Except for the defeat, it was the horrible match that the team played which should concern the players, the staff and the fans. From a team with the potential to reach the quarter-final, Colombia lost to Japan and will play a crucial match against Poland in order to avoid elimination. More bad news? For Poland, it will be crucial as well, since they lost to Senegal. Prepare yourself for a World War III at the beautiful Kazan Arena stadium.

One change will be for sure in Colombia's lineup for Sunday match – Carlos Sanchez won't be in it. The midfielder who was sent off after only three minutes will be replaced most probably by Wilmar Barrios, although it still wasn't confirmed by Pekerman. There will be several questions due to the poor performance versus the Japanese:  Will Pekerman use again his center-back duo after their horrible form, especially Davinson Sanchez? Just a reminder, Colombia still has on the bench players like Yerry Mina and experienced Cristian Zapata. Another question is whether Muriel will start over Izquierdo who disappointed a lot? People will ask even if Mojica will receive more credit in such crucial match or will it be the 34-year-old veteran Farid Diaz?

The most important question will be if James Rodriguez 100% fit and start the match? When he entered in the second half against Japan, he looked more like 50% fit and was very slow. If he won't be completely able to play, It will be Juan Quintero again.

The answers to these questions will be given only few hours before the match just like Pekerman does always. This way or another, there's no second chance for Los Cafeteros who must win in order to keep their dream alive.

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