Author: index

Kalisto Pasuwa is not going to be sacked as Zimbabwe head coach

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Kalisto Pasuwa is not going to be sacked as Zimbabwe head coach in spite of failing to guide the team to CHAN knockouts.

The chairman of Zimbabwe Association has made the clear statement that the coach would remain in his job.

“Pasuwa would continue”, that’s what the chairman was quoted as saying.

Comparing all the four sides that were there in Group D in CHAN, nobody would say that Zimbabwe was the strongest, but, the Warriors were definitely not expected to be as toothless as they proved to be.

The opposition did not outplay them in any of the games. It’s actually they themselves who caused the defeats by refusing to take the goal scoring opportunities in the first two games.

They showed some tightness in their play when they faced Uganda in the last game, but, that performance did not mean much as they had already gone out of the tournament having lost the first two.

The lack of preparation was visible in Zimbabwe’s showings in the tournament and holding Pasuwa responsible for that, the fans had been asking for his sacking.

But, in the view of the decision makers in the Zimbabwe association, making too many changes too quickly in the coaching department is something which would only disturb the team and nothing else. Continue reading Kalisto Pasuwa is not going to be sacked as Zimbabwe head coach →

Anthony Hudson has been a man under pressure for a few months now

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Anthony Hudson has been a man under pressure for a few months now. Since taking over the New Zealand National team managerial job in 2014, the Brit has been trying to get a major competitor victory under the belt. New Zealand have been without a win for almost 2 years.

The last victory tasted by the team was back in September 2013 when a narrow 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia is fondly recalled. Even though Ricki Herbert helped the national team qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, he was soon replaced by Hudson due to a poor run of results.

The victory marks an important progression for the New Zealand national team, as Hudson used four debutants in this victory. The progression of youngsters like Henry Cameron is an important element in the success of any national team. Featuring for the national teams will help these young players to get much more attention when it comes to club football. This will indirectly help the national team once again. Hudson was happy with the performance of all his players and the team can now look forward to a good start to 2016. The 1-0 win over Oman was down to a solitary goal from Leeds United striker Chris Woods. Continue reading Anthony Hudson has been a man under pressure for a few months now →

Martin O’Neill says that he is relieved to have avoided the big guns

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Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill says that he is relieved to have avoided the big guns in the World Cup 2018 qualification group.

The details of the opponents were recently revealed and Ireland are in a group containing the likes of Wales, Serbia, Austria, Moldova, and Georgia. Almost all of them have an equal chance of reaching the finals. O’Neill is a manager under pressure due to various reasons. Unlike Wales, who have progressed a lot in recent times, Ireland have been an underdog for a considerable period of time. Even the arrival of O’Neill has not improved their fortunes.

At this stage, a tough draw with opponents like Spain, France, and Italy in the group stages would have proved extremely difficult for Ireland to handle. As it is, they will go into the qualification campaign with a real hope of reaching the finals. Ireland have not reached the finals of the World Cup since 2002. In fact, the team has managed to reach the finals only on three occasions in their entire history. Hence, they were relying upon a huge slice of luck in terms of the draw and this is what exactly Martin O’Neill has received. As a result of this draw, Ireland cannot only hope of qualifying for the finals but they can also hope for winning the group. Continue reading Martin O’Neill says that he is relieved to have avoided the big guns →

Now that Sepp Blatter resignated, doubts are starting to emerge in relation to the location of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups

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The resignation of Sepp Blatter brings forth a number of consequences as FIFA now has to delegate and select a new president that can replace the Swiss football administrator who has been hampered with corruption and bribery.

Sepp Blatter was the main supporter of having the 2018 World Cup in Russia despite all of the problems involving Ukraine as both countries are still in war following the annexation of Crimea.

However, since Blatter is no longer the president of FIFA this has casted a string of doubts concerning if whether or not the location of the next World Cup should and can be changed.

England is still hoping to host the 2018 World Cup and their dream might actually turn into a reality depending on who is elected as the new president of FIFA and if that person is willing to change the location of the approaching football tournament. Continue reading Now that Sepp Blatter resignated, doubts are starting to emerge in relation to the location of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups →

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Asia has been drawn

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Countries hailing from Asia aren’t infamous or characterized for being some of the top national sides in the entire world but nonetheless, excitement is starting to build up after the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Asia was completed and it has resulted in a number of interesting match ups.

The draw wrapped up with the following teams and groups being created:

Group A: U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Palestine, East Timor, Malaysia

Group B: Australia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh

Group C: China, Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan, Hong Kong

Group D: Iran, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Guam

Group E: Japan, Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore, Cambodia

Group F: Iraq, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei

Group G: South Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, Laos

Group H: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Philippines, North Korea, Yemen

 

China has become one of the favorites of qualifying into the upcoming 2018 World Cup after being pitted in what seems to be a fairly simply group which consists of: Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan and Hong Kong with almost none of those teams posing a real challenge or threat. The last time that the Chinese side managed to actually qualify and make it into the group stages of any World Cup was back in 2002 and they are hungry on returning to those spots. Continue reading The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Asia has been drawn →