Football world cup heads

ZAGREB: Still riding the wave of their historic World Cup run, Croatia are heading for a potential reality check as their new season starts with a friendly against Portugal in Faro on Thursday.It will be the tiny Balkan nation's first match since the side led by star midfielder Luka Modric succumbed to France in the World Cup final in July - a loss celebrated like a victory by underdogs who had never made it so far on the world stage.That fairytale glow took the spotlight off controversies plaguing football in Croatia, from the unsavoury ultra-nationalism of its hardcore supporters to a litany of legal problems.But fans will be reminded of the former when Croatia face England in its first Nations League home match on Oct 12.The game will be played in an empty stadium - punishment by UEFA for the swastika drawn on a pitch in Split, on Croatia's Adriatic coast, ahead of a Euro 2016 qualifier with Italy.The perpetrators were never found, but it was not the first time Croatian … [Read more...] about Football: World Cup finalists Croatia face Portugal but look to the future

BERLIN: World Cup winner Philipp Lahm will head the Euro 2024 organisation if the German bid wins the nod next month to host the continental tournament, the country's football association (DFB) said on Thursday (Aug 16). Lahm, who captained Germany to the 2014 World Cup title and has since retired, is currently a bid ambassador, with the German candidacy competing with Turkey for Euro 2024.European soccer body UEFA is set to pick the winning bid on Sep 27."It was my wish from the start of my activity as ambassador for the Euro 2024 bid to take over long-term responsibility," the 34-year-old Lahm, who won 113 caps for Germany and retired from football last year, said in a DFB statement."This new task as tournament chief offers a very interesting possibility for that."The DFB said it was important to tie Lahm to the association on a long-term basis and the decision had wide support among its board members."Philipp Lahm did an outstanding and engaged job as ambassador and I am … [Read more...] about Football: World Cup winner Lahm to head Euro 2024 if German bid wins

SAMARA, Russia: One of the central themes from the early stages of the World Cup in Russia is the number of penalties being awarded, many following the intervention of video assistant referees (VARs).Gylfi Sigurdsson's missed penalty in Iceland's 2-0 loss to Nigeria on Friday was the 12th of the tournament in the first 26 matches, of which nine were scored.In Brazil four years ago, there were only 13 penalties in the entire tournament. The World Cup record, set in 2002, stands at 18.The role of VAR goes a long way to explaining this trend, with six penalties so far being awarded following a video review.A penalty was also disallowed in Brazil's win over Costa Rica on Friday after VAR deemed there not to have been a foul on Neymar.FIFA's director of refereeing, Massimo Busacca, said before the tournament that VAR would not be perfect at the tournament and so it has proved, with inconsistency in decision making frustrating teams and fans alike.Both Brazil and England felt that VAR … [Read more...] about World Cup heading for record number of penalties