MM Footy News

Manchester United snack a victory against the Spurs to retain 2nd place in the league and are five points below Manchester City. Tottenham are back in 3rd place with 20 points and are eight points behind the top. Both teams played very defensively as they couldn't afford to concede a goal. The Red Devils played with a 3-4-1-2 formation and the Spurs played with a 3-5-1-1 formation. Man United head coach Jose Mourinho is known for parking the bus against the top teams, and has been criticised for making the matches "boring". In the 9th minute, Romelu Lukaku plays a one-two with Marcus Rashford in the penalty box, but Lukaku misses a crucial opportunity to take an early lead for Man United. In the 41th minute after Lukaku fails to clear the ball after a corner kick, England international Eric Dier had only the keeper to beat but David de Gea saved his shot. As Tottenham's main striker Harry Kane couldn't play this match due to injury, it had been difficult for

Here are the games I recommend to watch this weekend. Enjoy :) Napoli vs Inter Milan Saturday: 21:45 CET (+3) - 20:45 local time, San Paolo, Naples         Top of the table Napoli prepare to take on 2nd place Inter Milan to fight for the top spot in Serie A. The visitors currently have 22 points and are two points below Napoli.         Despite Napoli struggling in the Champions League, they have won every match in the Serie A so far, and will want to keep their winning streak. Spanish keeper Jose Reina has been one of leagues best keepers and has four clean sheets out of eight matches. At the back Napoli have Kalidou Koulibaly and Raul Albiol who have been a major factor in why Napoli has been so solid. Koulibaly and Albiol have a combined total of 92.5% pass accuracy rate. In the middle, Napoli have Slovakian international Marek Hamsik who currently has a goal and an assist this season. He is the player that helps shift Napoli from defense to offense. Up front Napoli have

As the groups of the World Cup Qualifiers are completed (except for Africa with one match-day left) we will take a look at the ups and downs of each group. Countries in  bold  will be participating in the 2018 World Cup, while the countries that are  underlined , are in the playoffs. South America In the South American qualifiers, there are 10 teams in one group. The top four teams in the group automatically qualify to the World Cup. 5th place enters a playoff round against the winner of the Oceanian qualifying tournament. The rest cannot qualify. 1.  Brazil  41 points 2.  Uruguay  31 points 3.  Argentina  28 points 4.  Columbia  27 points 5.  Peru  26 points 6. Chile 26 points 7. Paraguay 24 points 8. Ecuador 20 points 9. Bolivia 14 points 10. Venezuela 12 points Ups After a disastrous 2014 World Cup for Brazil, they dominated in the 2018 Qualifiers. As they already secured a World Cup spot in March, they scored 41 goals with striker trio Neymar, Gabriel Je

As the groups of the World Cup Qualifiers are completed (except for Africa with one match-day left) we will take a look at the ups and downs of each group. Countries in  bold  will be participating in the 2018 World Cup, while the countries that are  underlined , are in the playoffs. Asia   In the Asian qualifiers there are two groups of six teams in this round. The top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the World Cup,  the 3rd place teams from Group A and B have a play-off match against each other. The remaining teams can't qualify for the World Cup.  Group A 1. Iran 22 points 2. South Korea 15 points 3. Syria  13 points 4. Uzbekistan 13 points 5. China 12 points 6. Qatar 7 points Ups Iran were the first nation to qualify for the 2018 World Cup as they took the top spot in Group A and only conceded two goals, with Aliereza Beiranvand having eight clean sheets. A main reason for Iran's success was their solid back line and forwards.

As the groups of the World Cup Qualifiers are completed (except for Africa with one match-day left) we will take a look at the ups and downs of each group. Countries in bold will be participating in the 2018 World Cup, while the countries that are underlined , are in the playoffs. Europe In the European qualifiers, there are 9 groups of six teams. 1st place in each group qualifies directly to the World Cup. 2nd place teams enter a playoff round against each other. The rest cannot qualify. Group A 1. France 23 points 2. Sweden  19 points 3. Netherlands 19 points 4. Bulgaria 13 points 5. Luxembourg 6 points 6. Belarus 5 points  Ups After a unsuccessful Euro 2016 for Sweden and Zlatan's retirement, the Nordic country had a successful qualifiers as they finished above the Netherlands and beat France 2-1 in injury time. Bulgaria were the surprise package of the group with shocking wins over the Netherlands and Sweden, but just feel short of a playoff spot. In t

Europe In the European qualifiers, there are 9 groups of six teams. 1st place in each group qualifies directly to the World Cup. 2nd place teams enter a playoff round against each other. The rest cannot qualify. Faroe Islands vs Latvia Sat: 19:00 CET (+3) - 17:00 local time, Torsvollour, Torshavn       Faroe Islands take on Latvia and are looking for a win to get 3rd place in the group which would be a huge achievement as they have a population of only 50, 000 inhabitants. Latvia have lost their last nine matches in a row and are desperately trying to end their losing streak.       Despite Faroe keeper Gunnar Nielson conceding 15 goals, he has four clean sheets and has helped them reach 93rd in the FIFA rankings. At the back is Faroe captain and veteran Atli Gregersen who controls the back line and has an 83% pass accuracy rate. In the middle, Faroe Islands have Hallur Hansson who is the playmaker for the team and plays for AC Horsens who are in 4th place in the Da

Asia   In the Asian qualifiers there are two groups of six teams in this round. The top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the World Cup,  the 3rd place teams from Group A and B have a play-off match against each other. The remaining teams can't qualify for the World Cup.  Playoff match: Syria vs Australia Thursday: 15:30 CET (+3) - 20:30 Local time, Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong, Malaysia          The first match is a playoff game between Syria and the Socceroos. This is the first time that Syria have been this far in the qualifiers and can qualify to the World Cup for the first ever in their history. Due to the ongoing civil war in Syria, the team is forced to play away from home since 2011.         The big strength of Syria's team is their defence. The defenders to watch are Moayad Ajan and Alaa Al Shbli who both play for Zamalek SC in Egypt, control the back line and have been the main reason why Syria has made it this far. In the middle Sy

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Hannover 96          Borussia  Mönchen gladbach defect Hannover 96 2-1 giving them a crucial victory in a 2nd half thriller. As Gladbach scored in the last minute, Hannover players are very disappointed to not get anything out of the match. If the match would have finished 1-1, Hannover would be in a Champions League spot.          In the 2nd minute Hannover had a chance as Martin Harnik's shot goes just wide. Gladbach midfielder Thorgan Hazard sets up a oppurtunity for Lars Stindl in the 37th minute outside the box, but he just misses the goal. In the 40th minute, Gladbach have another chance as after their free kick Hannover player Martin Bakalorz is accused of a handball by the Gladbach players and supporters, but the referee waves play on.             Bakalorz has opportunity a minute into the second half, but his shot is blocked by Swiss international Nico Elvedi. French midfielder Michael Cuisance, who is having a fantastic match, gives a