We’re entering the second week of FIFA corruption trials for three men in New York City and already the court cases are providing more entertainment than an HBO series. The FIFA scandal keeps getting weirder, and that’s not really a good thing for fans of the game, but it’s great for fans of an interesting narrative.
Italy, oh Italy.
Italy did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but they reserved a hotel to serve as the team's base all the same. Now, they're on the hook.
Fortunately for Italy, Denmark DID qualify for the World Cup, and are now in the market for a hotel to serve as the team's base this summer. You can see where this is going.
The 90’s are back. Geometrical patterns are hot right now and we couldn’t be more excited about some of the World Cup jerseys. While Nike opted for cleaner, standardized and simplistic designs, Adidas went the extra mile and took a risk in bringing back the 90’s. Here are our favorites so far:
Germany
Die Mannschaft’s jersey is clearly reminiscent of the 1990 home kit. This time, however, it is a strictly black and white format instead of the tricolor (black, red and yellow). The jersey is both edgy and nostalgic. What else could you ask for?
The speculation began even before Sweden beat Italy to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and once that final whistle blew everyone wanted to know what was going through the mind of one Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
On Wednesday, New Zealand capitulated in their quest for the World Cup, losing 2-0 to Peru after a scoreless first leg. Peru, obviously was ecstatic, declaring the following day a national holiday. New Zealand, on the other hand, has taken the loss pretty hard, if this alarming item from the New Zealand Herald is any indication:
The list of the 32 nations competing in the World Cup was finalized on Wednesday night. That also meant the list of 179 nations not competing in the World Cup was also finalized. While 15 percent of the countries who compete in FIFA will be preparing for the World Cup draw on Dec. 1, the remaining countries, constituting most of the world’s population, will be wondering “What if…” for the next four years.
It’s moments like these that make you fall in love with soccer all over again. Moments like these that remind you of the emotional attachment billions of people around the world have to a simple, beautiful game.
Peru hasn’t been to a World Cup since 1982, but all that will change after La Blanquirroja beat New Zealand 2-0 in the second leg of their World Cup intercontinental qualifying playoff on Wednesday evening. The 2-0 aggregate victory sent Peru to the 2018 World Cup, ending a 36-year wait.
And so it’s settled. On November 15, Peru claimed the final spot in the 32-team field for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, bringing us to the final event before the June 14 kick off at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow: the draw to determine the eight groups of four for the finals.
