Football Fever Next: The Much-Awaited FIFA World Cup-2022 Kicks Off from November 20 in Qatar!

The FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup-2022, the quadrennial international football tournament, is set to begin from Sunday, 20 November till Sunday, 18 December in Qatar. The much-awaited event, coincidentally the 22nd version on 2022, has several other features: the first time ever it's being held in the Arab world or in the Middle East; the first time it's being organized during the northern autumn season (winter in India) instead of the usual summer months of May, June and July, and this decision was taken considering the intense heat conditions in Qatar during the summer; the FIFA World Cup event returns to Asia after 20 years and only the second time it's being hosted entirely in Asia; and it is the last tournament to be held with 32 teams, the decision finalized in 2017 to expand it to 48 teams from FIFA-2026 to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico. The inaugural match will be between host Qatar and Equador at 9.30 PM IST on 20 November, 2022. 

FIFA World Cup-2022 will have 8 Groups with 4 teams each and at the Group stage teams in each group will clash with each other on a round robin basis during November 20--December 3. The top two teams in each Group will progress to the last 16 or the pre-quarterfinal stage with each match on a knockout basis during 3--7 December. The quarterfinals are scheduled during 9--11 December; the semifinals on 14 and 15 December; the third place playoff match on December 17; and the Final on 18 December at 8.30 PM. Barring the first two days and an occasional day thence all days will have 4 matches a day--the first match starting at 3.30 PM and the next three till past midnight that is 12.30 AM the next day. These timings are for India only. There will be 64 matches in all and channel Sports 18 has bagged the telecast and streaming rights in India. This time the tournament has a reduced timeframe of 29 days. 

Therefore, in India this time the football fever will start from the afternoon hours every day instead of mostly the late night hours which had always had special effects of lightening, thunderstorms and pounding rains. France are the defending Champions of 2018, and it's time for you now to fix your favorite nations, teams and superstar players to cheer for all the way. Over to super soccer! 

The Benefits Of Indoor Soccer

If you are a fan of North American soccer, you probably hate it when October rolls around and the Major League Soccer season is finished. However, at this point the NFL and NBA seasons are firing up, which tends to take your mind off the problem. However, if you actually play the game, winter is a pretty desolate time, since there is little or no outdoor soccer activity – especially in northern states, where there is snow on the ground. You can feel all your training slipping away from you, and just know it is going to be a tough job to get back in form next year.

Therefore, this comes as one of the biggest benefits of indoor soccer. It’s a perfect place to keep your ball skills honed to perfection – or as close to perfection as they ever are. No longer do you have to relearn half of what you know in the spring – instead, you can be pretty close to match shape after a couple of weeks. Of course, indoor soccer isn’t the same as playing outdoors, but in the absence of the real thing, it’s a pretty good substitute.

Actually, indoor soccer is a good place for people to learn about the game in general. Playing indoors can be a more casual and less intimidating affair than getting out on the field, and so it tends to attract more casual participants who then often evolve into full-fledged players. The same applies to kids – indoor soccer is a good introduction, and the timing lines up well with the school year. In fact, it would be interesting to know how many kids that ended up playing pro soccer started out playing indoors.

The other nice thing about indoor soccer is that it makes reuse of existing sports facilities. There are essentially two variants of this. The first is when the game is played on a larger arena which is about the same size as an ice hockey rink – and often is an ice hockey rink covered with artificial turf. The other variant is when it is played on a basketball court, although this can be a bit difficult to do on a traditional hardwood surface. On the other hand, a high-performance polymer surface works well both as a basketball court and as an indoor soccer venue.

If you are interested in playing indoor soccer, then here are a few things that you should know. First of all, a normal indoor soccer game has 6 players per side, as opposed to 11 in outdoor soccer. Second, the game isn’t played over two 45-minute halves – instead, amateurs play two 25-minute halves, and the pros play four 15-minute quarters. Third, you’re allowed to bounce the ball off the boards around the arena – this isn’t out of bounds. Last, there is no offside rule, although in some games it is illegal to loft the ball from one penalty area to another. If you understood all that, then you know enough about indoor soccer to give it a go ahead – so why don’t you?

Euro Cup-2012: World Champions Spain Creates History! Italy Demolished!

World Champions Spain dominated the Euro Cup-2012 football Final right from the start of the match and produced a result that beat the most one-sided Final in the history of Euro Cup football when Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 in 1972. On Sunday the 1^st of July, 2012 Spain trounced Italy 4-0 perfectly dividing the match scoring two goals each half. Spain created history by winning the Euro Cup consecutively in 2008 and in 2012 and equaled Germany’s record of three Euro Cup wins. Spain also maintained its record of not conceding a single goal in a knockout match since 2006. 

Much was expected of Italy after their terrific 2-1 victory over Germany in the second Semi Final with Mario Balotelli emerging as the new Italian hero. But yesterday Italy failed to cope with Spain’s perfectly coordinated passes, pace and persistent attack from the very first minute. In the first half David Silva and Jordi Alba scored in the 14^th and the 41^st minute while in the second half Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored the third and the fourth goals in the 84^th and the 88^thminute.

After halftime Italy tried desperately to level the score and created a few opportunities inside the Spanish box, but the Spanish goalkeeper defended stoutly as ever in a knockout match. To worsen Italian chances their midfielder Thiago Motta had to be taken out of the ground due to hamstring injury and since Italy used up all its substitutes by then the team got reduced to ten men from the 64^th minute. As the game progressed the Italian team started looking tired and utterly demoralized as their body language clearly showed. Balotelli who failed to do any magic looked to be furious when he left the field at the end. 

Spain won again due to its attacking spirit and for that spirit only we enjoyed their matches in the FIFA World Cup-2010 and supported them wholeheartedly. They also silenced their critics who say Spain’s endless passing strategy makes the game boring, but one fact that emerged in yesterday’s match was that Spain kept possession of the ball most of the time and this fact showed their superiority, definitely not boring strategy. In fact, many other soccer teams increasingly show the ‘boring’ trend of playing for penalties thus restricting the game to midfield action. It was not for nothing that Octopus Paul became a great fan of Spain predicting its final triumph in 2010 World Cup!

Spain and all Spain supporters the world over are celebrating! We join them in the ecstasy too for a deserving victory. 

Well...

As I hoped Spain indeed won! Then why the break? Well, celebrations took place before the match began! Spain deserved to win, they won! But...

It was not worth the World Cup final! It was real pain! Each team was so desperate not to lose that they forgot to play soccer! Foul...most foul! It was a competition for committing the largest number of fouls!

Meantime Team India lost the first test against Sri Lanka very convincingly. Everybody worried about Indian bowling, but the it was the star batsmen who let the team down. And of course, Murlaitharan got exactly what he wanted to retire with. 800 wickets! A feat very tough to beat. Congratulations to Murali and his team!

FIFA 2010: A New World Champion!

             Vs.

      







All set for a New World Football Champion to emerge tonight!

Netherlands, two time runners up in 1974 and 1978, never became the Champion.

Spain never made it to the final before.

I am going to support Spain all the way, not because Octopus Paul made the prediction for a Spain win; but because Spain has been playing tremendous attacking soccer after the starting loss to Switzerland. Their passes and coordination are beauty to watch. Netherlands too have their highs in terms of marauding moves. Some rate it to be the best ever final of all World Cups!

But I am for Spain to be the New Champions!

See you later!

Football 2010: World Cup of Upsets?

France and Italy never made it to the last sixteen. England and Portugal failed to qualify for the quarter finals. Brazil crashed out at the quarter final stage. Argentina suffered a crushing defeat to bade adieu to FIFA World Cup 2010. They were all strong contenders for the title. And yet!

For many the biggest upset would be Brazil losing to Netherlands. While credit must be given to the winning team, one cannot stop wondering about Brazil's inability  even to equalize. In fact, Brazil never played the kind of football they are known for in this World Cup. Yes, they kept winning till the quarter final stage, but those wins were against mostly weaker sides and not convincing by any means. North Korea, a rank outsider, nearly cornered them. Then, that hand ball goal for Brazil with the referee joining in the circus still stinks.

Demanding Dunga's head would hardly be a solution. Brazil must find an answer for their football.

FIFA Technology Averse? Why?

Football is very physical, very tough, involves lots of tearing, pushing and legging and a part and parcel of the human body. Is this the reason for FIFA's puzzling unwillingness to welcome technology in? They want it to remain a dangerous primeval sport that it was? They say human errors add charms to the game! But human errors at whose cost?

That Super Sunday Soccer was mouth watering and incredible. England and Germany racing full swing up and down the field promised what was expected. But, that goal that wasn't given in spite of clear replays robbed the jest out of England. Well, you only say this game is totally body oriented and so your horrible decisions would definitely affect the bodies. Of course, England could have bounded back and altered the course of the game, but that goal that wasn't given still stank.

Mexico matched Argentina in pace and fury. It was a game to relish. But, your decisions again marred it. Bravo, Mexico still fought like lions even after conceding a tragic suicidal second goal. You see, it affects. Now, your so-called charms had harmed England and Mexico beyond repair. And yet, you say no to technology that's readily available and that had transformed the game of cricket already.

Technology or no technology, the question remains. How can you allow such decisions in a championship of this level? Not to mention the other affected matches or those in the offing.

Anybody listening or rather watching?