The Nation Newspaper

Tag: world cup

  • Argentina sack coach Bauza

    Argentina sack coach Bauza

    Edgardo Bauza has been sacked as Argentina coach after less than a year in the position, it was announced on Monday.

    The 59-year-old succeeded Gerardo Martino in August, the former Barcelona boss standing down after leading Argentina to a second consecutive Copa America final defeat to Chile.

    However, Bauza oversaw just three wins in his eight matches at the helm, with the South American powerhouse consequently slipping out of the automatic qualification spots for the 2018 World Cup in CONMEBOL qualifying.

    The former Sao Paulo boss saw his future come under serious doubt following a 2-0 defeat to Bolivia in the altitude of La Paz last month, a match they played without suspended talismanic captain Lionel Messi.

    Bauza was initially backed by newly elected Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia, but a change in stance has finally resulted in his dismissal.

    “We told Bauza that he is no longer the coach of the national team,” Tapia told reporters on Monday.

    Argentina sit fifth in qualifying for Russia 2018, a position that carries an intercontinental play-off spot, with four games remaining.

    Bauza’s replacement faces the no small task of a friendly against Brazil – who have already booked their place at the World Cup – in Melbourne on June 9.

    Argentina’s next qualifier will be against Uruguay in Montevideo, with home matches against Venezuela and Peru followed by a tricky trip to Ecuador.

  • US, Mexico, Canada in joint bid for 2026 World Cup

    The United States, Mexico and Canada announced a joint bid to stage the 2026 World Cup on Monday, aiming to become the first three-way co-hosts in the history of FIFA’s showpiece tournament.

    The bid was announced at a press conference in New York attended by the head of CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani along with US Soccer Federation chief Sunil Gulati and Mexico counterpart Decio de Maria.

  • World Cup 2026: FIFA reveals allocation for 48-team tournament

    World Cup 2026: FIFA reveals allocation for 48-team tournament

    FIFA is proposing a six-nation play-off tournament to decide the last two slots at the 48-team World Cup in 2026.

    Football’s world governing body has revealed its plans for how the 48 places will be allocated, with 16 European teams set to qualify.

    The proposals — approved by FIFA’s president and his counterparts at the six confederations — are expected to be ratified by the FIFA Council on May 9.

    FIFA members voted in January to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams.

    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he was “satisfied’’ with the proposals and that European nations would be “fairly represented’’.

    All six confederations will have at least one team in the expanded tournament, with no inter-confederation play-offs prior to the play-off tournament.

    The World Cup hosts will still qualify automatically, with their slot taken from their confederation’s quota.

    The recommended places for each confederation are:

    • Africa – 9 (up from 5)
    • Asia – 8 (up from 4 or 5)
    • Europe – 16 (up from 13)
    • North, Central America and Caribbean – 6 (up from 3 or 4)
    • Oceania – 1 (from 0 or 1)
    • South America – 6 (up from 4 or 5)

    Should the proposals be ratified, as expected, it will consist of one team from each confederation except UEFA, with the final team taken from the confederation of the host country.

    Two teams will be seeded based on their FIFA ranking.

    They will then face the winners of two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams, with the prize a place in the World Cup.

    The play-off will be played in the World Cup’s host country, with November 2025 suggested as a possible date for the 2026 qualifying play-off.

    It will also double as a test event for the main tournament.(NAN)

  • Delhi hosts India’s first Fifa tourney

    Delhi hosts India’s first Fifa tourney

     

    The Under-17 World Cup will kick off in New Delhi, marking India’s first-ever Fifa tournament, world football’s governing body said on Monday despite initial concern over air quality in the world’s most polluted capital.

    After a week-long inspection, authorities selected six cities across the country including Mumbai and New Delhi for the under-17 matches, Fifa said.

    “The match schedule has been created following a thorough analysis of players’ health, competition format, team movements, weather, local festivities, geography and other factors,” said Jaime Yarza, head of Fifa tournaments, in a statement.

    Last month Fifa Under-17 World Cup tournament director Javier Ceppi said that air quality in Delhi was a “serious concern”, particularly since the tournament will be held in the same month as the Diwali festival, when residents celebrate by setting huge amounts of fireworks.

    Pollution levels spiked to record levels in Delhi around Diwali last year, forcing schools to shut as authorities ordered a series of emergency measures including a temporary ban on construction.

    A 2014 World Health Organisation survey of more than 1 600 cities ranked Delhi as the most polluted.

    Monday’s statement said at least eight matches would be held at each venue, with India’s football-mad city of Kolkata set to host the final at its Salt Lake Stadium.

    While cricket is India’s No 1 sport, Kolkata is often regarded as the premier football city and it is just as common to see youngsters kicking a ball on the streets as wielding a bat.

    India are currently 130th in the Fifa world rankings, wedged between minnows Suriname and the Dominican Republic and with little sign that an upturn in fortunes is around the corner.

    The Under-17 World Cup will be held from October 6-28.

  • Ambition is not arrogance – Lukaku

    Ambition is not arrogance – Lukaku

     

    Romelu Lukaku says there is nothing wrong with ambition after reportedly opting to reject a new contract at Everton.

    The Belgium international’s apparent move to refuse fresh terms earlier this month came despite his agent Mino Raiola having previously insisted an agreement was “99.9 per cent done”.

    Everton top scorer Lukaku has regularly spoken of his desire to play in the Champions League and win trophies, but he insists that should not be mistaken for arrogance.

    “The decision has already been made so I can’t talk about that,” Lukaku, who still has two years left on his Everton contract, told reporters ahead of Belgium’s World Cup qualifier against Greece.

    “There is nothing wrong with ambition. You have to embrace it and where you are as a footballer.

    “Sometimes people will mistake things that I say but it’s just ambition that I have; I want to win titles and trophies and I don’t think people should take that as arrogance – people should embrace it.

    “This is what footballers need to achieve if they want to become the best, and I think young kids need to learn that too.

    “I have made a long way until now but the road is still long and I know I have to improve and get better. I want to help Everton as much as I can, as well as the national team. I think a lot of stuff can be achieved.”

    Lukaku has scored 21 Premier League goals in 28 matches this season, putting him two clear of Harry Kane at the top of the scoring charts.

    Ahead of the Greece game, Belgium boss Roberto Martinez – formerly his manager at Everton – tipped Lukaku to become the world’s best number nine.

  • USA launches 2017 kit for W/Cup qualifiers

    USA launches 2017 kit for W/Cup qualifiers

     

    Fans cheering on the USA at their World Cup qualifier against Honduras next month could be forgiven for confusing their team with England.

    The US announced on Wednesday their team’s new men’s and women’s kit for the 2017 season, with Nike opting for an all-red strip.

    The new 2017 strip is almost identical to the England away kit worn by Harry Kane and Co

    The new kits, are a bold red colour palette, made from recycled polyester, and also features Nike’s AeroSwift technology.

    USA’s shirt also features the words ‘1 Nation’ and ‘1 Team’ on the inside cuffs of the sleeve, with ‘USA’ displayed on the neckline.

    The shorts are also red with black elastic side tape with the socks featuring red and orange on the calf.

    Their kit is very similar to England’s second kit, with the notable difference being the badge and the Three Lions’ choice of blue around the neckline.

    The USA team will debut their new kit on March 24 in their crucial World Cup qualifying match against Honduras in San Jose, California.

  • Buffon could go beyond Russia 2018

    Buffon could go beyond Russia 2018

     

     

    Veteran and iconic Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon could play on after the 2018 World Cup, according to his agent.

    Buffon celebrated his 39th birthday last month and the Italy international – out of contract at the end of next season – has shown no signs of slowing down

    A seven-time Serie A winner in Turin, Buffon will be 40 when the World Cup takes place in Russia next year but Silvano Martina believes his client is still good enough to continue.

    “He wants to reach 2018 and the tournament in Russia,” Martina told Rai Sport.

    “Considering his spirit, his current form and the love he has for this sport, it’s very possible he could continue playing after the World Cup.”

    When Buffon does eventually call time on his career, AC Milan’s teenage sensation Gianluigi Donnarumma is seen as the heir to his throne.

    Donnarumma is Milan’s undisputed number one keeper at the age of 17, while he has already earned two caps for Italy.

    Martina, however, doubts Juve will be able to lure Donnarumma from San Siro.

  • Akpokona warns against underrating Algeria

    Akpokona warns against underrating Algeria

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ahead of Super Eagles clash with Algeria in continuation of the World cup qualifiers later in the year, veteran coach Lawrence Akpokana has warned that it would be dangerous to underrate the Algerians following their early exit from the ongoing Nations cup in Gabon.

    He said rather than see their early exit as an advantage; Nigeria should rather see it as a challenge to work harder with a view to emerging victorious in the forthcoming rematch.

    The former Rangers international handler noted that the Algerians would have felt embarrassed by the exit being one of the hot favorites but added that they would be gingered to fortify and pump all the arsenals in their armory into the world cup qualifiers.

    “If we take them for granted it would be dangerous and I hope we don’t.  The mere fact that they crashed out early is not an indication that they are weak and as one of the top ranking countries in the continent, they would want to prove that the exit was a fluke which means they would treat the qualifiers with greater attention so we must work harder  for that tie,”,” he said.

    The Eagles were able to earn a 3-1 victory in the first leg  at the Nest of Champions November 12  last year, with the return leg billed for  Algiers later in the year. Algerian coach Georges Leekens who was looking forward to the return leg incidentally has resigned following the team’s poor showing in Gabon even as fillers from Algeria indicate that search for a new coach has already started

  • Worker dies at Qatar World Cup stadium

    Worker dies at Qatar World Cup stadium

    A worker has died at one of the 2022 World Cup venues in Qatar, tournament organisers have confirmed.

    The 40-year-old British man, who had been employed at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, passed away on Thursday.

    “The relevant authorities have been notified and the next of kin has been informed,” the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in a statement.

    “An immediate investigation into the cause of this fatality is underway and further details will be released in due course.

    “The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy shares our deepest condolences with the family for their loss.”

    It is the second confirmed death of an employee at one of the venues for the 2022 tournament in the last three months. An unnamed worker lost their life at the construction site of the new stadium Al Wakrah last October.

    The SCDL published a worker’s welfare report last February that revealed that two Indian employees had died, though the incidents were unrelated to their work.

    A 52-year-old painter suffered cardiac arrest during a lunch break in the canteen of the Khalifa International Stadium site last October, and later passed away in hospital, according to the report.

    In January, a 55-year-old vehicle driver also died following a heart attack at his accommodation, while a further six people sustained injuries.

    The SCDL introduced new labour regulations in 2014 to safeguard the welfare of workers, after human rights groups had raised concerns about safety standards and living conditions.

  • Bahamas 2017: Beach Eagles know opponents February 28

    Bahamas 2017: Beach Eagles know opponents February 28

     

    Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles will know their group and opponents at the forth coming FIFA Beach World Cup billed for Bahamas on February 28.

    The  Beach Soccer World Cup will hold from April 27 to May 7th.  Already hosts Bahamas, Tahiti, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Nigeria and Senegal have picked their qualifications while the remaining eight teams will emerge after qualification tournaments in the coming weeks.

    World Soccer ruling body FIFA noted in a release Tuesday that it is exactly 100 days to the Bahamas 2017 where 16 teams will face off on the white sands of The Bahamas.

    To mark the milestone, Prime Minister of The Bahamas the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, other Bahamas government officials and members of the media will soon tour the new beach soccer stadium, which is nearing completion.

    “The Bahamas is the first country in the Caribbean to host a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, a huge honor for us. With just 100 days to go, we are moving full steam ahead with our preparations and are working hard to ensure that the local community buys into this world-class event that will showcase The Bahamas’ sun, sand, sea and sports, and of course, our amazing culture and hospitality to the rest of the world,” said Jeffrey Beckles, Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Chairman.

    “The beginning of the 100 day countdown means that the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 is just around the corner. It will come very quickly, and we are all looking forward to it. It is a very exciting moment and it is great to see how the event is firmly walking onwards, building up to what will be a spectacular sports festival,” added Joan Cusco, FIFA Beach Soccer Committee Member.

    Recall that Nigeria beat Morocco 6-1 en-route qualification for the event which has been described as marriage of entertainment and sports.