Goal 90

The 2022 fifa world cup is officially underway and as we predicted, it has already been chock full of surprises. Even before a ball was kicked, Karim Benzema has sustained a thigh injury in training and has been ruled out of the world cup. 

This makes the tournament the first of its kind where neither of the top two ranked players in the Ballon d’or will feature. Sadio Mane is also out with a knee injury effectively denting Senegal hopes and aspirations for the tournament.

After the first 90 minutes were completed, another unwanted record was made. Qatar had become the first host nation to lose an opening match at a World Cup.

Not fancied against the Ecuadorians, many expected them to still put up a fight and come away with at least a draw. It was not to be though,as they were easily brushed aside  in the first half, prompting scores of Qatari fans to leave the stadium at the end of the first half.

To say that the surprises followed on day 2 would be an understatement. The game between Iran and England delivered more talking points that we could have imagined. 

The match itself was a mere formality as England trounced their opponents by a whopping six goals to two. Perhaps, what was a little curious was that Harry Kane did not get on the scoresheet. 

But what caught our attention was the mood of the stadium when the Iraniian anthem was being sung. Boos and jeers could be heard all over  and no - these were not by the English fans. 

Iran’s fans were seen booing their own anthem and the players were visibly in agreement.

The World Cup often feels like a movie with a very good plot and riveting plot twists on the way. It also has subplots, redemption arcs, suspense, comic relief, and thrills. Sometimes it even gets spooky, and on a few occasions, the action is turned all the way up.  And as you know, every good action movie has a hero and a villain. In football, heroes are in abundance, but today, we want to focus on the villains of the game. Here are the World Cup’s greatest villains.

5 Footballers Who Spoke Against Their Clubs

This week has been all about Cristiano Ronaldo and his groundbreaking interview with Piers Morgan. The Portugal legend bore it all in that interview and had words for everybody. Including – and perhaps especially – his current employers, Manchester United.

That prompted us to look at times when football players have spoken against their clubs while still under contract. Let’s dive right in.

The FIFA World Cup is the greatest celebration of football in history. In one month, all the emotions of the game are felt across the world as the colorful exhibition of culture from every corner of the world gives way to a clash of styles and talent.  

For the players, it is the greatest opportunity to represent your country and cement your legacy in a sport that easily forgets the names of its heroes.  

But as much as the tournament brings joy to everyone involved, there are some players to whom the mention of the world cup evokes not only memories of apathy but of regret and pain even if their country wins it.  

So, without much ado, here are the unluckiest players in the history of the  World Cup

7 Footballers Who Switched Countries Right Before The World Cup.

It is every footballer’s dream to play in the World Cup, and many will do anything to achieve that dream. Even if it means switching allegiances at the very last minute.  But what if we told you that that’s not the only reason footballers switch countries right before a tournament? They do this for many different reasons, and we’ll find out in this video.  Here are 7 footballers who switched countries right before a World Cup tournament.

The wait for the biggest tournament on the planet is finally over. At long last, we get to see the biggest football players on the globe slug it out for the most coveted piece of silverware in the footballing universe.  

But while we’ll be seeing some of the biggest names in football out in Qatar, there are still quite a number of these superstars who will not be there. And with all teams having dropped their final lineups, we now know for sure who didn’t get on the plane to Qatar this November.  

Here are the biggest players missing from the 2022 World Cup.

Erling Haaland

Sergio Ramos

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Mo Salah

David De Gea

Paul Pogba

Ngolo Kante

Reece James

David Alaba

Timo Werner

Exactly a week to the kickoff of the World Cup, Piers Morgan released only a snippet of what is sure to be the greatest interview in the world of football this year. The English journalist managed to not only get Cristiano Ronaldo on the interview, he got the Man United striker to bare it all, and it has absolutely broken the internet.  The full interview will air on Wednesday and Thursday, but from the snippets that dropped over the weekend, we’ve already heard Ronaldo take shots at Erik Ten Hag, Ralf Rangnick, Wayne Rooney, and a couple of execs at Man United.

For the first time in more than two decades, Argentina will go into a World Cup tournament as one of the real favorites. Yes, even when they got to the final in 2014, they were not favorites at the start.

But right now, everything is pointing to the Albiceleste going all the way this time and winning the World Cup for the first time since Diego Maradona led the nation to success in Mexico ‘86.

But why do we think Argentina will finally win the World Cup in Qatar in about a month? Well, firstly their squad.