World Cup Insight

Before football comes home, it had to stop by the beach. Russia fans had one last chance on Sunday night to savour a squad that had already shattered all their expectations for this tournament. And they did it again in a bittersweet valedictory in Vladimir Putin’s dream city by the sea. All the best stories are comings-of-age, and Russia seemed to grow with each match, teaching a skeptical public that it was OK to believe again, that they wouldn’t suddenly embarrass them, that this time things would be different. It left pretty much everyone here asking the same question: where on earth did this side come from? Pressing a more gifted Croatia squad, belting in sublime curlers from 25 yards, nodding in equalisers in the 115th minute? “Guys! I am proud of you! I love you! Savour this moment!” yelled striker Artem Dzyuba in a fiery speech that mirrored a nation’s emotions just before Russia went out on penalty kicks. Long before that moment, high up in the stands, fans were starting to b...

Long touted as World Cup contenders thanks to an abundance of talent, Belgium claimed their biggest scalp ever in beating five-time winners Brazil to reach just their second semi-final. A 'golden generation' featuring Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku exited tamely to Argentina four years ago and blew a huge chance at Euro 2016 when on the kind side of the draw. Now in their prime, this group of players is unlikely to get a better opportunity to win a major international tournament than over the course of the next week, with France to come in the last four on Tuesday. Courtois stands tall The giant Chelsea stopper needed every inch of his 6 feet 6 inch (1.99 meters) frame to prevent Neymar hauling Brazil into extra-time with a stunning stoppage time save on Friday. "I know Neymar likes to curl it that way. I was ready and made a good save," said Courtois. "I have been unfairly criticised a lot this year. Today I proved again who I...

How would you expect a young England team with no experience at this level to come back from the most painful punch they will ever take? Would you even hope to see them drag themselves up off the canvas and do anything quite like this? Here in Moscow, almost at midnight, Gareth Southgate’s World Cup novices reacted to unprecedented disaster with unprecedented nerve, bravery, and barely precedented success. Because the fact that England are in the World Cup quarter-finals, facing Sweden in Samara on Saturday, is not even the half of it. Never mind that this will be their most winnable quarter-final since Cameroon at Italia ‘90. Forget any questions about whether they would rather face Croatia or Russia in the Moscow semi-final next Wednesday. All that must wait, at least for a day or two. It will take some time to get over this. Not just because England won on penalties, a draining 4-3 come-from-behind shoot-out that was its own drama, with its own arc of what felt like an imminent f...

There is a time for the great one to collapse. That is what happened to the two players that are considered as two greatest football player that ever grace their foot on earth. How the mighty fallen is the word that fits the fate of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Their greatness could not helped Argentina and Portugal advanced to the quarter-final. Messi and co. stopped by France, and Ronaldo on Portugal could not defeat Uruguay. For Messi and Argentina, There had been talk of them conjuring a repeat of 1990 when defeat by Cameroon inspired a defiant spirit that carried them to the final and, in some of their cruder challenges, it felt they might be following that template rather too closely. But the difference between then and now is that team could actually defend; this side can merely struggle. Dreams can endure only so long before they are overwhelmed by reality – and there are few realities quite so brutally uncompromising as the pace and finishing of Kylian Mba...

Germany fans all around the world a few days ago mourned. Came to Russia as a defending champion, Germany is optimist that they can repeat what they achieved in Brazil four years ago. Moreover, they joined in a group that relatively easy. They were in group F with Sweden, Mexico, and South Korea. But, they could not go through to the knock-out stage. The signs of the so-called curse for the defending champion already seen in their first match. Shockingly, they lost 1-0 to Mexico. After that defeat, hope is shines back in the second match. They were able to defeat Sweden by 2-1 with a late-goal winner from Kroos. This win definitely made their chance to avoid the curse was open. With South Korea as their last opponent in the group stage, the chance was as wide as a highway. South Korea lost in their 2 matches, so Germany in theory could beat them easily. However, the fate said otherwise. In yet another shocking match, Germany lost 2-0 from South Korea. That defeat was even more pai...

Football is not foreign with a mistake. Sometimes, referee decided a foul or an offside when in fact it is not. It will be a disadvantageous for the team that get these wrong decision and creating a controversy. But, it will be a lot different from now on. In the World Cup 2018 Russia, there will be something new and different. After Goal Line Technology, referee will get another support. That new technology is VAR. What is VAR actually? And what will it do? We will explain it for you. VAR Definition The Video Assistant Referee system, known as VAR, is football's first use of video technology to reach more correct decisions. The system was trialed in the FA and Carabao Cups last season, as well as the German and Italian leagues. The system has already been used in the World Cup group stage to correct and clarify decisions, including Diego Costa's first goal against Portugal, France's penalty against Australia as well as Sweden's penalty against South Korea. T...

After we gave you the six stadiums that will become the venue for 2018 World Cup Russia in part one, we will continue the list of the stadiums used in Russia. These are the six remaining stadiums for this tournament. Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don Founded: 2014 Capacity: 45,000 Surface: Grass Home club: FC Rostov World Cup games: Four group stage and one knockout round match. Not to be confused with Rostov (that's a different place), Rostov-on-Don is located in the southern portion of Russia, and just 350 miles north of Sochi. It plays hosts to the following games: Brazil vs. Switzerland on June 17, Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia on June 20, South Korea vs. Mexico on June 23, Iceland vs. Croatia on June 26 and a round of 16 match on July 2. Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg Founded: 2017 Capacity: 67,000 Surface: Grass Home club: FC Zenit Saint Petersburg World Cup games: Four group stage and three knockout round matches. Krestovsky Stadium,...