Senegal qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia by beating South Africa 2-0 in a World Cup qualification replay on Friday. For the second goal, South Africa capitulated in perhaps the most painful way possible: the shambolic own goal.
Senegal get their second thanks to an own goal by Thamsanqa Mkhize. Cruel. #whatahowler pic.twitter.com/EJLNFooJIR
Only 30 teams can qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Here's a complete list of the teams that have qualified, which we will update when new teams qualify.
1) Russia. Host-UEFA
2) Brazil. CONMEBOL
3) Iran. AFC
4) Japan. AFC
5) Mexico. CONCACAF
6) Belgium. UEFA
7) South Korea. AFC
8) Saudi Arabia. AFC
9) Germany. UEFA
10) England. UEFA
11) Spain. UEFA
12) Nigeria. CAF
13) Costa Rica. COCACAF
14) Poland. UEFA
15) Egypt. CAF
16) Iceland. UEFA
17) Serbia. UEFA
There’s easy goals and then there is this abnormal, ghostly goal Chile scored in the 1973 World Cup Intercontinental Playoffs against the Soviet Union.
But why ghostly? Some context is required in order to understand how this came to pass. In the 1970s, the Cold War was in full swing. The USA and the Soviet Union were competing to achieve world hegemony in terms of political and economical influence.
Northern Ireland's World Cup hopes were all but dashed Thursday as the hosts lost 1-0 to Switzerland in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. The goal came via a Ricardo Rodriguez penalty in the 56th minute. Ricardo Rodriguez should not have scored that goal because a penalty should not have been called. Take a look for yourself:
Taylor Twellman is adamant that this is a penalty and you know what, reader? Taylor Twellman is wrong.
Of the four UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs, few would have expected this sort of entertainment from the Croatia vs. Greece match. Greece, a team that once turned winning while attacking as little as possible into an art form, were away to a resolute Croatia with its star striker on the bench in what is usually a cagey first leg. But the match was refreshingly exciting.
Adidas has been the official match ball sponsor for the World Cup since 1970. Below is a complete guide to every World Cup ball.
As you can see, Adidas didn’t really start branching out in design until 2002. Which ball is your favorite?
For almost an entire year, Argentina’s national team refused to speak with the press. The boycott was the result of a terrible run in qualifying which led to extremely harsh criticism from the media, including an unfounded substantiation that Ezequiel Lavezzi had been dropped for smoking pot after training.
FIFA’s international breaks can be full of thrilling competition between the world’s best. This break will see some of the most intense matches outside of a major competition you’ll ever see in the UEFA and intercontinental playoffs to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The18.com knows you don't have time to waste when it comes to your soccer news. That's why we've created the fastest rundown in soccer. Greg Ellis takes you through 18 different soccer topics, and spends 18 seconds on each. This time he goes over the most iconic celebrations, the worst hairstyles, the best soccer movies, World Cup qualifiers, soccer robots and much more. If you liked this episode Watch Episode 2 of 18 Things in 18 Seconds.