Articles
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Dear Antoine Griezmann: You’re Not a Gang Member, You’re a Tourist
Today, the World Cup starts, and for the next month, I, like many, will attempt to shut off and ignore absolutely everything around me that does not concern the World Cup. So why does Antoine Griezmann think he can just kick open the door while my eyes are glued to Russia-Saudi Arabia on Match Day…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Achraf Hakimi
Before Achraf Hakimi had even yet to emerge from the tunnel and take his first steps on the hallowed pitch of the Santiago Bernabeu, he had made history. In uniform and penciled in on Zidane’s team sheet to start at right-back against Espanyol, Achraf had officially become the first Moroccan international to ever play for…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Rodrigo Bentancur
With Lucas Torreira reportedly on the verge of completing a big money move to Arsenal, much of the international media’s attention has been focused towards him with regard to Uruguay’s prospects of success at the FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, international teammate Rodrigo Bentancur is every bit as important to the La Celeste’s chances…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Gareth Southgate chose his England squad for the upcoming World Cup in Russia on 16th May 2018, and needless to say there were quite a few eyebrow-raisers. One interesting pick was 22-year old-Ruben Loftus-Cheek, a midfielder at Chelsea who spent the 2017/18 season on loan at Crystal Palace. Although naturally a centre midfielder, manager Roy…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Nemanja Radonjić
Nemanja Radonjić is 22 years old, has never played a competitive game at the senior level for Serbia, and now plays for Red Star Belgrade after a failed stint in Italy. He may just be Serbia’s secret weapon this summer. When Serbia coach Mladen Krstajić picked Radonjić in his 23-man squad for Russia, quite a few eyebrows…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Daniel Arzani
Yet another graduate of the ever-so-popular FFA COE, Iranian-born winger Daniel Arzani is the youngest player in the Australian World Cup squad. He’s not even 20 years old, and the fact he is going to Russia is a rare feat for an Australian. However, the national media has been raving about him and they would…
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Scouting World Cup Stars: Benjamin Pavard
In recent years, France has produced a striking amount of young defensive talent. Whether we’re talking about Raphaël Varane from Lens, Samuel Umtiti from Lyon, or Clement Lenglet from Nancy, we are now seeing many of France’s defensive exports lead defenses from all over Europe to success. This is no different for Stuttgart’s new defensive…
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What Sampdoria Needs To Address In The Summer 2018 Transfer Market
After witnessing the performances decline the second half of the Serie A season, Italian club Sampdoria should be active when the 2018 summer transfer window opens. The Genoese club was in contention for Europa League spot in the early stages of the 2017/18 campaign and the Doriani played some splendid football but the lack of…
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Paraguay at the 2010 FIFA World Cup: How adversity and inspiration gave La Albirroja a magical ride in South Africa
THE BEGINNING Qualifying for four consecutive FIFA World Cups is something to be proud of, no matter what continent you come from. Taking out of consideration the powerhouses around the world, there are very few countries with a history deemed inferior to those previously mentioned that would maintain the same level of consistency during the…
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Revisiting Peru’s Shock Win over Scotland in the 1978 World Cup
“We’re on the march with ally’s army, we’re going to the Argentine, and we’ll really shake them up, when we win the World Cup because Scotland are the greatest football team.” Those were the lyrics from the chorus of Scotland’s 1978 World Cup song which was titled “Ally’s Tartan Army.” These days, viewed as a…
