MM Footy News

Latvia travel to London on Monday to face England in the second fixture of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Latvia beat Andorra in a 1-0 win where Riga FC keeper Krišjānis Zviedris got a clean sheet on his national team debut. Meanwhile England’s new manager Thomas Tuchel got a 2-0 win over Albania on his debut with the Three Lions.  Harry Kane celebrating with the team after scoring against Albania Image Source: England Football Team Facebook Page Tuchel has made a few changes in England's back line as Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis Skelly became the youngest player in history to score on his senior England debut which was against Albania. With a 94% pass accuracy rate and having won 71% of the duels he's faced in this season's Premier League, the 18-year old will be ready for Monday. A key player for the Three Lions is Jude Bellingham who controls the middle of the park, has scored seven goals and got six assists for Real Madrid in the La Liga this season. He's also play...

         As the groups of the World Cup Qualifiers are completed, we will take a look at the ups and downs of each group. Countries in  bold  will be participating in the 2018 World Cup . The countries that aren't in bold will not be competing in the 2018 World Cup.                                                                                                                           Africa In the African qualifiers, there are 5 groups of four teams. The 1st place teams in each group qualify directly to the World Cup.  The remaining teams cannot qualify for the World Cup.  Group A 1. Tunisia 14 points 2. DR Congo 13 poi...

In the African qualifiers, there are 5 groups of four teams. The 1st place teams in each group qualify directly to the World Cup.  The remaining team cannot qualify for the World Cup. These will be the last matches for every team except for South Africa and Senegal. Group A: Tunisia vs Libya Saturday: 19:30 CET (+2) - 18:30 local time, Stade Olympique de Rades, Rades         Tunisia have the opportunity to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2006. The visitors Libya will be playing for pride. As Tunisia are top of the group and are three points above the DR Congo, all they need is a draw to qualify.          33 year old captain Aymen Mathlouthi has two clean sheets and has played a key role, as Tunisia have only conceded four goals in five matches. At the back Tunisia have Ali Maaloul who controls the back line, and helped Egyptian side Al Ahly reach the CAF Champions League final. Another decent player is Marse...

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 spo...

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 ...

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 s...

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 w...

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...

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 G: Spain vs Italy            Spain came on top by winning an impressive 3-0 against Italy. As Italy are playing a 4-4-2 formation, a draw against Spain could be good enough to take the top spot in Group G.            However it doesn't go as planned for the Azzurri (blues), as Isco scores a stunning free kick in the 13th minute after AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci gets a foul in the edge of the penalty box. This forces Italy to play attacking football, despite the attack being Italy's weak spot. In the 22nd minute, Matteo Darmian gives a cross to Torino FC forward Andrea Belotti, however David de Gea makes a fantastic save to keep Spain in the lead. Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has kept Ita...