Winning the World Cup is the pinnacle of any player’s career. So few get the chance to even play in the competition, let alone win it, that the feeling is preserved just for the rarefied few, whose magic has lit up the global game. But only one side can claim the be the first World Cup winners, and when Uruguay romped to the title (scoring 15 goals in just four games), their final goal was scored by a one-armed man.
Continue reading “El Divino Manco – The One-Armed Wonder”
Following England’s 10-0 demolition of San Marino over the international break, there have been questions asked over the value of these kinds of fixtures, and whether the micro-nations should have to pre-qualify in order to join the Qualification groups with the nations that stand a realistic chance of reaching the main event. I’m sure Harry Kane very much enjoyed his four goals, taking him past Jimmy Greaves in the England scoring charts, but really shouldn’t those goals be a thing of the footballing past?
The short answer, the TL:DR, is no.
Continue reading “Should We Introduce Pre-Qualifying?”
As we head into the international break, Norway are optimistic. They haven’t been to a World Cup since the 1998, and haven’t had this much confidence in a side since a halcyon period in their footballing history where they performed well in 1938 and at the 1936 Olympics, where they beat hosts Germany. But they are beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, this is their time. A win against Latvia, and a draw against the Netherlands, should see them into the playoffs for World Cup Qualifying. A slip up by Turkey will make that easier. And the playoffs are a lottery. Unlucky and they will have to get past Portugal or Spain. But if the draw goes their way they might end up with a much simpler proposition – Finland, or Ukraine, or Scotland. And with this group of players, nothing is impossible.
Continue reading “Norway are on the Edge of History. Can they Achieve Greatness?”