The last two editions of the FIFA World Cup (2010 and 2014) have clearly brought one key message to the fore — team cohesion and chemistry. The 2010 winners Spain were predominantly made up of two sides — Barcelona and Real Madrid — with more than half the team being constituted of Catalan players. This […]
Belo Horizonte (Brazil), July 7 (IANS) Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger said the absence of Neymar will provide Brazil with extra motivation in their World Cup semifinal here Tuesday. The Bayern Munich midfielder told reporters that Brazil would be determined to win for the forward, who suffered a fractured vertebra in the Selecao’s 2-1 victory over Colombia Friday, […]
The Hague, July 7 (IANS) Dutch news media praised a daring decision by coach Louis Van Gaal to replace the goalkeeper for the penalty shoot-out against Costa Rica, which led the team to the semifinals against two-time champions Argentina in Sao Paulo Wednesday. Van Gaal brought on substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul after 120 minutes of 0-0 […]
Belo Horizonte (Brazil), July 7 (IANS) Argentina have been boosted by the return to fitness of Sergio Aguero ahead of their World Cup semifinal against the Netherlands Wednesday. Aguero has missed the Albiceleste’s past two matches against Switzerland and Belgium with a hamstring injury but looked untroubled during a light training session here Sunday, reports Xinhua. […]
Roseau (Dominica), July 7 (IANS/CMC) Andre Fletcher’s second half-century in as many days paired with Sheldon Cottrell’s incisive three-wicket burst, propelled West Indies to a 39-run victory over New Zealand and a share of the two-match Twenty20 series here Sunday. Sent in at Windsor Park, West Indies rallied to 165 for six off 20 overs, thanks […]
Belo Horizonte (Brazil), July 7 (IANS) There is no escaping the impact of Neymar’s tournament-ending back injury on Brazil’s hopes of lifting a sixth World Cup title, but they seek to do “something different” in their Word Cup semifinal match against Germany here Tuesday, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. “We have lost something which we didn’t […]
Buenos Aires, July 7 (IANS) Lionel Messi is on the way to surpass Diego Armando Maradona’s mark of number of games played with the Argentine national team when he face the Netherlands Wednesday. The Barcelona’s forward capped 91 times after Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Belgium Saturday, reports Xinhua. Javier Zanetti, vice president of Italy’s Inter Milan, […]
Kolkata, July 4 (IANS) With midnight FIFA World Cup matches whetting one’s enthusiasm as well as appetite, special late-night food delivery service and themed food and drinks have added to the soccer mania in this eastern metropolis. It’s not just the ace footballers who have upped the ante for the win. Leading restaurants and hotels have […]
Berlin, July 4 (IANS) Per Mertesacker and Thomas Mueller, perhaps, are dead right: The Germans are a tribe of moaners. Ahead of the quarterfinal against France on Friday, both of Germany’s World Cup players and coach Joachim Loew feel like shutting themselves away. “I don’ t want to have to say sorry for having won the […]
London, July 3 (IANS) India’s Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek moved into the semi-final of the men’s doubles while Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau were knocked out of mixed doubles of the Wimbledon at the All England Club here Thursday. Sania and Tecau, who were seeded sixth, went down 5-7, […]