Tag Archives: POLAND

GERMANY TO RETAIN WORLD CUP TITLE IN 2018?

Germany have remained an obvious force to reckon with in the round leather game for years.


They are undoubtedly the most consistent side in the game through several generations. After breaking their jinx to lift the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, they remain a strong force to retain the title at the tournament in Russia next year.

The strength in depth, the succession planning, consistency, confidence and good management all favour them ahead of the competition for the World Cup 2018 title. Joachim Low has taken an experimental and youthful side to the ongoing Confederations Cup and it might pay off next year. Only three players from the 2014 squad provide experience at the Confed Cup but the benefits would be reaped for many years.

Manuel Neuer is strong in goal – arguably the best keeper in the world for the past three years. Barring any injury, he is expected to start in goal next year. Joshua Kimmich has had a bit of a snag under Bayern Munich Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who prefers experience to youth. However, Kimmich would likely get a spot in the first team next year. Mat Hummels and Jerome Boateng are decent and expected central defensive options. In left back, Jonas Hector or Marcel Schmelzer could easily boss opponents. Continue reading

Stanislav Cherchesov is optimistic about the upcoming 2017 Confederations Cup

The 2017 Confederations Cup is the only edition of that football competition that the Russian national football side has ever managed to qualify and the only reason why they were qualified is because Russia is serving as the hosts.


When it comes to qualifying for the Confederations Cup, it’s something that Russia has never really managed to do and the furthest round that the Russian national side has reached was the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championship which was back on 2008.

It’s clear that Russia has struggled trying to reach the advanced stages of the bigger international football competitions but nonetheless the head coach of the Russian national side StanislavCherchesov is feeling like his team is going through a very impressive progress and that his squad is being rebuilt. Continue reading

Russia falls to lowest ranking

The Russia football team has fallen to their lowest spot in the FIFA ranking following their poor showing at the Euro 2016 in France.


Russis now 53rd in the table and is the lowest that Russia has attained since their record low of 1998.

This is the good reflection of the Russian side that participated in the Euros 2016 where they only managed to get 1 point from the 3 matches. Their performance was so poor in France that fans have called for the team to be disbanded and to rebuild one from scratch.

The Russian Federation said that they were disappointed with the performance and that they are currently looking for ways to improve the team. They said that they would need to have a clear strategy in place to ensure that young players are developed properly. Continue reading

Leonid Slutsky has sparked Russia’s national football team back to life

Fabio Capello was sacked as the head coach of the Russian national football team on July of 2015 and a few days later it was confirmed that Leonid Slutsky was selected as the man to replace Capello and guide Russia through the 2016 Euro’s and so far things have been going superbly well for the 44 year old manager.


During Fabio Capello’s time in charge of Russia, he was the highest-paid national coaches in the world of football but after a string of underwhelming results Capello was sacked and it seems like this decision was a good one for the Russian national football team as they have secured triumphs over Moldova, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Montenegro and Lithuania with their new manager.

Russia has qualified to the 2016 Euro’s after sealing 4 successive victories and advanced through the group stages of the international competition where they will be facing off with Wales, Slovakia and England in Group B.

Under the guidance of Leonid Slutsky, Russia has claimed an overwhelming 7-0 triumph over Liechtenstein and from there on they have been on a run of positive results. This is what the Russian national team needs in order to progress past the group stages of the 2016 Euro’s.

If Leonid Slutsky and his team are able to ride this momentum of victories, it might be enough for them to snatch the 2nd spot of Group B and continue advancing through the next rounds of the 2016 Euro’s which would be a huge accomplishment for the Russian national team as they have historically struggled trying to make it past the group stages. Continue reading

Yuri Zhirkov continues to make Impressive Plays

Appearing on the Russian scoresheet would be Yuri Zhirkov who continues to make some impressive plays.

He’s not the only Russian player appearing on the scoreboards through and impressing players as Dmitri Payet, KinglseyComan, Andre-PieereGignac and Aleksandr Kokorin have also been making some impressive plays. We all know that Russian teams haven’t been in the best of positions lately and they need all the help they can get but it looks like Zhirkov is a well-rounded player with great form who might be a great addition to his team.

In other news, we have France winning their very first match since attacks that occurred on November 13 and this game ended with a 4 to 2 victory. This was a friendly game against Russia in the Stade De France in Saint-Denis. We also have a 25th birthday being celebrated by N’GoloKante and at the same time, he managed to celebrate his very first international goal. Antoine Griezmann is to thank for setting up the clean goal and giving the hosts a clean victory. Continue reading

Liverpool appear to have beaten stiff competition from several Russian clubs

Liverpool appear to have beaten stiff competition from several Russian clubs for the signature of highly rated Serbian teenager Marko Grujic.

The 19-year-old has been watched by several top clubs across European football. However, the likes of Liverpool were one of the first to comment with an official offer for the player. Just days after it was believed that the Premier League outfit had agreed a £ 7.5 million deal for the player, it emerged that CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg were looking to hijack the deal. The Russian league represents a great attraction for Serbian players and both these top Russian clubs were looking to take advantage of this fact.

Signing players at this age for this price will allow CSKA Moscow and others to sell him at a substantial profit later on. Liverpool, however, appear to be signing the player with a long-term view. The Premier League club recently went through a managerial change that has seen them appoint former Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp. The signing ofGrujic appeared to be a major doubt over the last few weeks, but a few days ago, the player confirmed that he has indeed signed for Liverpool. Continue reading

Fabio Capello says Real Madrid needs to find Reason behind Drop form of Ronaldo

Russia’s national team coach Fabio Capello says that Real Madrid should fully investigate the reasons behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s dip in form. After being one of the renowned goal scorers in the world, the Portuguese superstar has now gone to matches without a goal.

This is unlikely to be a major concern for any other player. However, Ronaldo has scored an astonishing 30 goals in just 20 games this season. His performances have been a major factor in Madrid setting a new record in Europe by winning 22 matches in succession. Capello says that there must be other reasons to Ronaldo’s dip in form.

Capello managed Real Madrid for a short period of time and led them to the league title. The Italian is now in charge of Russia, where his future is also less certain after not having been paid for several months. The Russian FA is understood to be not in a position to pay the £ 6 million per year contract of the Italian. Until now, rich benefactors have made it possible for Russia to hire coaches like Guus Hiddink. At this situation, this has not been possible, but Capello is not worried about the situation with Russia. The former England boss has called for the Real Madrid medical staff to investigate Ronaldo. Continue reading