Colombia had its best-ever World Cup finish in 2014 with a quarterfinal appearance. This squad will be looking to build on that and go even deeper. They have a strong roster, with a nice blend of talent from 2014 and new blood. There is a great coach at the helm in Jose Pekerman and real hope […]
Continue readingMexico has a formidable team on paper, but has El Tri hit poor form at the wrong time? Heading into the FIFA World Cup in Russia the Mexicans have managed a scoreless draw against Wales and an uninspiring win over Scotland. Neither of those teams made the finals, which has some alarm bells ringing for Mexico. Veteran midfielder […]
Continue readingPolitics and football are a poisonous blend, just ask Peru. The small nation was one of the best stories of qualifying, snapping a 36-year absence at the FIFA World Cup finals. But Peru was very nearly booted out after their government attempted to take control of football operations – in violation of FIFA regulations. That didn’t come to […]
Continue readingA tricky assignment for Serbia at the FIFA World Cup – lumped into a tough pool including Brazil. This will be just the second time Serbia has fronted the World Cup finals as an independent nation, after previously playing as Serbia and Montenegro. The last time they made the finals Serbia bottomed out in a group including […]
Continue readingThe proud footballing nation of Poland has fallen on lean times in recent years. After qualifying for four FIFA World Cups from 1974 to 1986, Poland has qualified for the finals just two times since. But there is plenty of cause for optimism in their return to the big stage. Poland beat the likes of Denmark in […]
Continue readingThere will be plenty of Irish footballers still gnashing their teeth over Switzerland playing at the FIFA World Cup. Switzerland made the finals in controversial circumstances after a sketchy (at best) penalty decision against Northern Ireland. That has been consigned to the history books, though, and the Swiss are here and the Irish are not. Switzerland would do […]
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