Cristiano Ronaldo

In Favour — Internationally, he may possibly be the best player at the moment, considering his remarkable statistics. He never disappoints: Ronaldo has already scored 20 La Liga goals this season and just this week, he netted his 56th goal in 57 games for Real Madrid in the Champions League. During the previous season, he scored a total of 17 goals in the Champions League campaign, which saw Real Madrid winning the "Decima’. Moreover, the Real Madrid marketing machine works in his favour as well.

Against — The World Cupalways influences the final decision in some way or another. Just take Fabio Cannavaro, back in 2006, as an example. He only netted one goal in the World Cup and Portugal failed to qualify to the last 16. One should remember, however, that he was not in the finest physical conditions to play.

Lionel Messi

In Favour — Messi won the Golden Ball during the World Cup, despite not being decisive considering that he used to play with Barcelona. Last season, Messi achieved no titles with Barcelona, however, his goals were unceasing and he is the leading goal-scorer of all time, both in La Liga and the Champions League.

Against — In reality, Messi’s drawback is that being the leading goal scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League will not benefit him this year since the voting for this Ballon D’Or had already been closed, therefore it may seem a bit improbable to see Messi winning a fifth one, without having won any trophy this year and especially after failing to win the World Cup.

Manuel Neuer

In Favour — He is a World Cup winner and that effects the final decision significantly. More than having won the World Cup, he also had an impressive season following his performances with Bayern Munich. He swaps the goalkeeper role with that of a sweeper in every match, showing how drastically important it is for goalkeepers to use their legs so they can safeguard and endure the squad’s possession without reducing the tempo.

Against — The fact that he is a goalkeeper. This is not a judgement on his position, but simply a historical fact. The latest goalkeeper to have made it to the final shortlist was Gianluigi Buffon, back in 2006, while the only goalkeeper to have won the award was Lev Yashin, way back in 1963. Nowadays, football values goals more than clean sheets.

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With Michael Mifsud suspended for this match after being red-carded against Italy last month, Ghedin opted for the young Jean Paul Farrugia (who plays in Slovakia with Spartak Trnava) as the lone striker, supported by the hard-working midfield, Andre Schembri, who match after match constantly shows his importance in the squad. Andrew Hogg was confirmed again as he is performing well with his club in Greece.

Bulgaria took the lead just after 5 minutes, after Galabinov, who probably was in an offside position, put the ball behind Hogg after a great cross by the captain Popov, who later on in the match, missed the chance to put Bulgaria in front again after missing his penalty. It seemed that this early goal would make the match easier for the home side, but the Bulgarians were not able to dominate the match, and consequently finding that the second goal that would have made the match was going to be difficult against Ghedin’s team.

The Maltese started the second half very aggressively, and after some good combinations upfront, Farrugia was fouled in the box, earning a penalty which was the reward for their performance ’til that minute. Failla was in charge to take the penalty, and without any signs of pressure or over-enthusiasm, he scored a beautifully played penalty to equalise the score. The Bulgarians were shocked by this equaliser and they started to put the ball in the box frequently but without having any patterns or ideas in order to create serious attacks.

In the 75th minute though, Rowen Muscat fouled Micanski in the penalty area and the referee had no doubts in giving Bulgaria a penalty. But luckily enough, Popov send the ball to the skies, with the result remaining at 1-1. The Maltese had to prepare for a huge assault in the last 10 minutes, and they showed that they were able to defend well, keeping this positive result until the final whistle.

As the referee ended the match, the Maltese gathered in the middle of the pitch to celebrate this positive result. A draw which gives Malta her first point in this group and the first goal in this group as well. Now the Maltese are penultimate, with 1 point over Azerbaijan whom the Maltese will be facing next March in Bakù.

Forza Malta!

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Italy beats Malta only 1-0 in a match where the Maltese side interpreted a good defensive display making Italy’s offensive formation find it difficult to overcome the defence and score. Graziano Pelle scored on his debut in the 26th minute after a confusion in the penalty box with the ball getting into the legs of Graziano Pelle’ who had to pass the ball towards an empty net. This is the 7th Italian victory in 7 matches against Malta, and Antonio Conte established a new record, the first Azzurri coach to win the 1st 4 matches. But these statistics do not make Antonio Conte happy, because of Italy’s display, especially the lack of goal scoring opportunities. Against the 155th classified in the Fifa rankings, a lotwas expected  from the Italian squad, considering the fact that they were coming from a disappointing 2-1 win over Azerbaijan, who were trashed by Croatia 6-0 tonight. In fact, Italy’s playing style was very slow and predictable and the Maltese took advantage from this situation because they could re-organize themselves well in the defence.

The "Azzurri’ never dominated the match despite hitting the post twice which may give the impression that Italy controlled the match.  Malta played a 3-5-2 defensive formation, which made the fullbacks marking Italy’s wingers, their main threat. In addition to this, Malta played for around 60 minutes with 10 men after Michael Mifsud was severely sent off. In the last minutes, Bonucci was also sent off after obstructing Andre Schembri, and now he will miss the super clash against Croatia who are at the top of the group with them.

Match Statistics

Malta 0-1 Italy

Malta (3-5-2): Hogg ; Agius, Camilleri, Zach Muscat; Paul Fenech, Mintoff (27’ 2ndhalf Baldacchino), Failla (48’ 2nd half Bezzina), Briffa, Rowen Muscat; Mifsud, Schembri(40’ 2ndhalf Cohen). Substitutes: Haber, Vella, Grioli, T.Vella, Kristensen, R. Fenech, Pisani, Scicluna, Farrugia. Coach. Ghedin.

Italy (3-5-2): Buffon; Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini; Candreva, Florenz (14’ second half Aquilani), Verratti, Marchisio, Pasqual; Pellé (31’ second half Ogbonna), Immobile(20’ secondhalf Giovinco). Substitutes: Sirigu, Perin, Ranocchia, De Sciglio, Parolo, Poli, Pirlo, Destro, Zaza. All. Conte.

Referee: Hategan (Romania)

Scorers: 23’ Pellé

Booked: Briffa (M); Darmian (I)

Sent-off: 26’ Mifsud (M), 28’ second half Bonucci (I)

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The relationship between both associations (MFA and FIGC) is very stable. This is helping the Maltese football make the necessary improvements in order to ensure that the football in Malta grows and fulfills its potential. Some positive influences are that year after year, Maltese coaches are attending coaching seminars at Coverciano, the place where great coaches were "produced’ such as Arrigo Sacchi and Antonio Conte. A fruitful result of this relationship is that the Maltese national team is guided by an Italian coach, Pietro Ghedin, who was the assistant manager of the "Azzurri’ between 1995 and 2003 before he went to coach the female national team of Italy. Recently, we had players who also went to play for Italy, one of them being Andrei Agius who had many spells in Italy, including the successful season at Latina where he won the promotions for Serie B. Another player, Zach Muscat, is being observed by Italian scouts who represent teams from Serie B and Lega Pro. In addition to this, some Italian clubs are observing our youth players as well (aged between 16-19) and this promises to be a good help so that in the future, the mentality of the team will be different and it will help to reduce the gap with other national teams. On the other hand, every year the Maltese football see many Italian players being bought by Maltese clubs in order to help them to reach their targets. Many Italian players find Malta as a suitable place to play football because it doesn’t generate a lot of pressur. Therefore, the players can play without extra thoughts and maybe they can re-launch their careers here and reach their potential, hoping that some day, they may return to Italy to join a top club. These experiences benefit more Maltese football because ’making experiences outside of Malta, helps players to grow both as a mentality of race, and physically and because workouts are more hard abroad as here in Malta on football and are not professional.’

Obviously, Italy are the natural favourites to top this group and qualify for Euro 2016. They won their first couple of matches against Norway (0-2) and Azerbaigan (2-1) and are at the top of the group together with Croatia. Pietro Ghedin can’t be too happy about the first matches of his boys in this group, not for the results gained, but for the poor perfomances. In the first match, Malta lost 0-2 away against Croatia despite having played with 10 men for almost an hour and in the following match they got trashed by Norway at Ta’ Qali.

Malta vs Italy, a match which can be the turning point for the Maltese National team to start producing positive performances and, why not, getting a good result.

Forza Malta, always and for ever!

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Pietro Ghedin started this match with a 5-3-2 formation, with Michael Mifsud and Andre Schembri, who probably was the best Maltese on the pitch apart from Hogg, upfront. Roderick Briffa, who returned from an injury, started as right back instead of the suspended Steve Borg who was sent off in the match against Croatia. Malta started brightly but after around 10 minutes, they started to make mistakes upfront, exposing the defence and consequently conceding two goals from quick counter attacks. If both goals did not terminate the match, the third goal conceded early in the second half had put an end to an improbable Maltese comeback. The Maltese did not showed their character and their reaction was very poor, in fact the second half was very quiet with Norway controlling the possession of the ball most of the time.

At the end of the match, Malta’s captain, Michael Mifsud, said that he and his team mates now have to move on and forget this match and concentrate on next Monday’s match when they will host Italy who are at the top of the group joined by Croatia. He added that this match should be used only as a reference to avoid the many mistakes done during this match especially at the back. On the other hand, the Norwegian coach retained himself very satisfied by his team’s performance and he is hoping that this performance together with the result will boost Norway in order to follow their aim of reaching a play off place as third-place in the group.

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But Paul Gascoigne was always an alcoholic, since the beginning of his playing career, and this addiction took over him, resulting in an uncontrollable situation. The biggest issue is that this problem affected other characteristics. The wife beating, fuelled by alcohol, has been his biggest concern right now and this shows that even his behaviour is affected. It seems that his huge ego is now replaced by fear and loneliness covered up by arrogance.

Sadly enough, this talent has been robbed by a potential killer disease; alcohol and Gascoigne look to be in a desperate and miserable battle. Right now, he is playing what is probably is the biggest match of his life – whether he stays alive or not. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was hospitalised in a Dorset medical facility after he suffered a relapse last week, breaking his record of being clean for the past seven months. He looked exhausted and fragile as he was seen being led to an ambulance. The retired footballer, now 47, said he is determined to stop drinking permanently and is confident he can beat his alcohol problem.

Looking at his recent concerns about alcohol, it seems that it is impossible for him to stop drinking, but hopefully the geniality he used to use during his career may help him to solve his problem.. It’s a pity seeing one of the greatest talents in modern football being tortured by this problem.

“No one is ever going to be good as I was”. This is one of his famous football quotes he used to say, which shows the huge ego he had. Right now he is in his biggest match of his life, and although his ego has disappeared, it would be better for him if he stood up and showed how good he is by overcoming his alcohol problem.

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After the early exits of the males’ teams from European competitions earlier this summer, it’s time for the Hibernians Ladies FC to represent Malta in the UEFA competitions since they have won the Maltese Premier League last season, after a fierce battle against their arch rivals, Birkirkara FC. They will compete in the 1st qualifying round of the UEFA Women Champions League, in a group stage format in Cluj, Romania, between the 9th and 14th of August. Hibernians will have a tough challenge in Group 2, when they will face the hosts CFF Olimpia Cluj, Raheny United FC, Ireland, and FC NSA Sofia, Bulgaria. CFF Olimpia Cluj will probably provide the toughest challenge to Hibernians. They are highly experienced in these competitions, and they have even reached the last 16 during the 2012/13 campaign. Moreover, since their foundation in 2010, they have always triumphed in their league, with wins as high as 26-0 and 27-0.  Their matches will be played in the Victoria Someseni Cluj, which has a capacity of 5,000 spectators and in the newly constructed, Cluj Arena, which has a capacity of 30,000 spectators and already hosted Cluj (males’ team) in UEFA competitions.

“There is a great atmosphere and lot of enthusiasm among the players, since this will be the first European experience for various players, especially the youngest ones. We are getting in form day after day, and our coach is focusing a lot on the tactic so that we will be tactically disciplined on the pitch” These are the thoughts of Hibernians’ vice captain, Ylenia Carabott, about the team’s atmosphere and how they are preparing themselves for this tough challenge in Romania. Moreover, she added that she is highly confident that the team can provide a huge display against all teams, despite them competing in a weaker league and not having the adequate facilities unlike their opponents.  

In the meantime, I would like to wish all the players and the members of the staff a huge good luck. Their football level may not be equivalent to their opponents’, but they have worked very hard during these warm summer months and hopefully, their effort will be appreciated by everyone. Finally, I have no doubts that they will defend the colours of our flag with enough pride and courage.

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Sliema Wanderers were the first Maltese team in action in these preliminary rounds. They hosted the glorious team from Hungary, Ferencvaros FC, in a match which ended in a 1-1 draw. Against all odds, Sliema dominated the match where they even missed penalty early in the match, and later on they  scored a marvellous goal in which Stanley Ohawuci dribbled past 4 players before making the score 1-0. In the final minutes of the match, Sliema had almost gone in front again when Andrea Scozzesse hit the woodwork. It was just because of a mistake from the goalkeeper that Sliema suffered the equaliser, because they outclassed the opponents throughout the match. The attendance was not an enthusiastic one, with only around 200 fans attending the match. One should appreciate the efforts that these players have done, considering that the league has finished just 2 months ago and now they are already playing in the highest levels and producing a brave performance. Sliema could be able to make it to the next stage since they have strengthened the squad by foreign players and by the Maltese International captain, Michael Mifsud, despite some critics and scepticism which rose regarding this transfer. Sliema will return in action for the second leg, on the 10th July in Hungary.

 Hibernians was the other team to have played the first leg at home, when they hosted the Slovakian team of Spartak Trnava in a repeat of the 1970 qualifiers where both these teams had met each other. This match was highly controversial, when after 10 minutes of play, Hibernians were already down one man because of a send off, and later on fans showed their anger towards their coach due to some controversial decisions he took throughout the match. Hibernians showed a courageous performance after being 0-3 down already at halftime. As soon as the second half started, Hibernians fought back and reduced the score for 2-3, but in the final minutes the suffered the fourth goal which condemned them to a 2-4 loss. Once again there was a lack of attendance, there were no more than 200 persons in the stands. One should admire the fact that despite this match was a European qualifier and having financial troubles, the coach utilized players born between 1994-1996, among them, Joseph Mbong (making his debut) and Jurgen Degabriele (already made his debut last season). Hopefully, Hibernians will produce a good performance in order to keep their hopes alive, when they face the return leg on the 10th of July in Slovakia.

The last team in action was Birkirkara FC, who had a difficult match away from home in Hungary against Diosgyor FC. As expected, Birkirkara proved to be well equipped and will return Malta with a positive result, where despite losing by a score of 2-1, one has to say that they played the entire 2nd half with 10 players and suffered the 2-1 just in the final instants of the match. Despite playing away in a stadium which was fully packed with home fans, Birkirkara handled the pressure well and showed a great performance, where amongst others stood out the performance of the U/21 Maltese captain, Zach Muscat where he even hit the post in the early minutes of the match. The 2nd leg is scheduled on the 10th of July and hopefully Birkirkara can produce another courageous performance in order to advance to the next round.

Despite now being in the peak of summer, the preparations of these clubs have not stopped and with the utmost seriousness and dedication they are working for their upcoming matches. As a fan of Maltese football, I would like to wish them every success, because by their successful results they can create enthusiasm among the Maltese fans. Forza Malta!

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Group A:  

There is a huge demand to perform well for the Brazil squad, since they are the hosting country. The authorities are cautious both on the performance on the pitch and outside the pitch, where the protests are still going on due to the injustice over the lower class natives. The Brazilian fans are still furious with their coach, Scolari, due to the exclusion of their favourite player, Luis Fabiano.  Twelve years ago, Brazil won the cup for the last time and they are considered the sole favourites of being the winners with Neymar, their top player or their "craque’ as they say in Portuguese, being tipped to emulate Pele back in his victorious days.

Croatia’s coach, Niko Kovac is encouraging his squad to consider their inaugural match against Brazil as their last day alive, in order to express their maximum potential. Croatia will depend a lot on their physical midfield and with players like Kovacic, Modric and Rakitic they will surely be a team to beat in this group.

Mexico always produces some great talents, but they never succeed in a World Cup, with their best result being a quarter final back in 1986. Their coach, Herrera, said that they have nothing to lose but their pride and glory, meaning that we will see a highly motivated Mexico in this group.

The calm after the storm began for Cameroon after their disagreements with their association about their bonuses. The Cameroon squad is now in Brazil and with the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Joel Matip in their team; they cannot be put aside in this group.

Group B:

Torres, Diego Costa or "falso nueve’? Probably, this is Del Bosque’s only concern before the upcoming matches of Group B. Together with Brazil, they are the top favourites since they have recently won the last edition of the European Championship, but most of all they are the holders of this tournament since winning the last edition back in 2010, when in the final they met Netherlands and beat them 1-0.

The same Netherlands will be in their group and they will have a repeat of that final on the opening match of the group. Van Gaal, the Netherlands’s coach, has the task of bringing the trophy to the Netherlands for the first time in their history, after losing all finals the played in. If he recovers from the injury, Robin Van Persie, apart from wearing the armband, will be the leader upfront once again.

Chile will be participating in the World Cup for the second time in a row and just like in 2010, they will encounter Spain once again. Chile have a strong squad especially both in midfield and in offensive and with the help of their main man Arturo Vidal (if he recovers just in time) and Alexis Sanchez, they will surely provide some spectacular matches in this group.  

Australia’s coach Postecoglu has no pressure to win the tournament or to reach the highest places, but he still wants his team to perform well and with the help of their captain, the highly-experience Tim Cahill, they have all the cards in rule to have a satisfactory tournament.

Group C:

There’s a lot of optimism in Japan’s squad. Against all odds, their star player Keisuke Honda said that they will pass the group without any difficulty. Ambitious and decisive, Alberto Zaccheroni’s squad is ready to defy the odds in this group.

Jose Pekermann is surely not a rookie name in this competition. He will be leading Colombia from the touchline hoping that the “Cafeteros” will produce some enthusiastic football as they showed throughout the qualifying campaign. Their only drawback will be the absence of their prolific striker Radamel Falcao who is out due to a serious injury.

Ivory Coast hope that their rapid development of their style of football and the injection of youth players can help them to achieve more than four years ago, meaning to at least qualify from the group stages.

Noted for its solid defence and physical midfield, Greece will try to defy the odds by challenging for the top places in this group. Despite having won the Euro 2004, it is not one of Europe’s top teams, therefore they should pull up their sleeves in order to gain more respect in European Football. Greece has an ageing team and that could be their main drawback, but upfront they can rely on their prolific striker, Kostas Mitroglou.

Group D:

Repeating the 2006 triumph in Germany is Italy’s main ambition, but their squad is not considered one of the favourites, therefore they have less pressure to achieve their targets. Their last edition was a complete disaster, eliminated from their group with only 2 points. But in the last couple of tournaments, they reached the final in Euro 2012, and last summer they reached the 3rd place in the Confederations Cup. This shows the successful work that Prandelli is doing for this squad…Could he top his work by triumphing in the Maracana on the 13th July? The "Azzurri’ still have a great team and with players like Pirlo, De Rossi and Balotelli, they can surely reach the Last Four.

Roy Hodgson is optimistic about his England young selection. He said that his team is even better than that of Euro 2012. England are trying to end their long streak without a trophy since 1966, despite being called the “founders of football”. In every tournament, the England fans are always optimistic…but this year, they may have better reasons to do it with that squad. England will be led by Steven Gerrard, who after saw his Premier League dreams vanish, will try to motivate the England squad to reach the final in the Maracana….

…but first he must overcome his partner at Liverpool, Luis Suarez, who will be the main danger together with Edinson Cavani in the Uruguay squad. Oscar Tabarez will surely want to see good performances from his team after their recent successes in the Copa America, in the last World Cup (3rd) and in the Confederations Cup (4th).

Probably one of the teams, if the not the most team, who actually is not being given too much publicity and exposure. Costa Rica are surely the underdogs of this group, and they will try to transform the lack of attention on them in a surprising journey throughout Group D. Joel Campbell could not be a popular name with the football fans, but he may change his status if he performs up to his standards — he is on the Arsenal FC books as well.

Group E:

In recent years, Switzerland have made some important developments, which put them on map of European Football. They will try to do better than 2010, when they got eliminated in the group stages despite beating Spain on Match Day One! Stephan Lichsteiner, Xherdan Shaqiri and Xhaka are some of the most popular Swiss names who will try to lead their national side to achieve its targets.

With Antonio Valencia being their only main top player, Ecuador will still be a tough challenge in Group E. They are noted for their rapid football when being in the offensive and for their rough challenges when being in the defensive area.

“Les Blues” are one of the favourites for the final victory in this year’s edition. And with the likes of Benzema, Giroud, Varane and probably the youngest best midfielder around, Pogba, no one can blame the French if they are very optimistic. They showed some great football in the friendly matches, and probably Deschamps will demand the same style of football in the World Cup.

Luis Fernando Suarez, Honduras’s coach said that his players know their targets and are highly focused on the tournament. Most of the Hondurian journey will depend on the promising Andy Najar, who plays for Anderlecht FC. He is considered as pure talent, and there would be no surprise if he puts up some great performances in display.

Group F:

Unbeaten in qualifying with the exception of their dead-rubber finale with Uruguay in Montevideo, Alejandro Sabella will be hoping to lead Argentina to their first World Cup triumph since 1986. Having only progressed beyond the quarter-finals once since then, La Albiceleste have a lot to prove. Ambitions within the camp are high, captain Lionel Messi is the same age now as Diego Maradonna was in 1986, which is reason enough for some to suggest a third star will be knitted above the team crest.

The only debutants in the tournament, the combined forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be hoping to leave an impression and announce themselves to world football. Safet Susic’s attacking style will be a breath of fresh air to a tournament that has become increasingly defensive and tactical in years gone by. The Bosnians took their qualifying group by storm, winning eight and losing only one of ten games, scoring a whopping 30 goals in the process, and with players like Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic they will sure provide some pretty displays on the pitch.

Coach Stephen Keshi, referred to as a God back in Nigeria, has impressed at the helm since taking over in 2011. Capturing the hearts of a nation with his amazing motivational skills, Keshi led The Super Eagles to their third African Cup of Nations success in 2013. Favouring a squad of local players, as well as the household Premier League names, he has successfully eliminated any trouble makers from the squad, creating a healthy atmosphere between the 23-man squad.

Together as a squad since March, there won’t be a player in the Iranian squad who doesn’t know their job when they line up for their opener with Nigeria. Carlos Querioz’s detailed planning will ensure Iran will still have a say in Group F. Backed by passionate supporters who flooded the streets after qualification was secured, the Iran team will be hoping to give them even more reason to celebrate at the tournament.

Group G:

Germany are always one of the team to beat in a World Cup, and even when they are not amongst the favourites; in most cases they always reach the Last Four. Their last triumph dates back to 1990, and in their last 3 outings, they lost the final once and got eliminated from the semi-finals twice. The team will be led by Phillip Lahm, and together with his fellow partners, they will try to bring the trophy back to Berlin.

Kevin Prince Boateng has put Ghana under the spotlight by stating that the Black Stars can win the World Cup this summer. Probably, he forgot that Ghana must face Portugal, the USA and Germany in Group G. Despite this, Ghana can still be a tough team to beat since having many players who play in the top leagues around Europe, and just like four years ago, they will try to advance at least till the quarter finals.

Cristiano is the name, Ronaldo is the surname. He is Portugal’s top player without any doubts and the Portugal fans are all hoping that he will produce the same performances that he produces with Real Madrid. But apart from Ronaldo, there are other players on whom Portugal can count. Portugal have always produced great players but always fail in achieving an international success, and this World Cup could be a huge occasion for them.

Have you ever imagined the USA without Landon Donovan? Well, this summer you can watch them without him rather than imagining it. Klinsmann has injected some youth players together with the experienced players, including Julian Green who has only played once in senior football. Klinsmann himself admitted that it is difficult to win the World Cup, but dreams cost nothing (so could be this the secret towards an "American Dream?’)

Group H:

Belgium have made a huge improvement in its football policy in recent years. The result? A highly talented squad, if not the golden generation of Belgium football history. Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel and Romelu Lukaku are some of the names who can help the "Red Devils’ to achieve success in Brazil.

Russia has a new star, called Fabio Capello. With his strict rules and a disciplinary attitude, Capello will hope that their journey in Brazil lasts longer than their actual flight to Brazil.

Korea Republic can be considered as a regular participant in the World Cup despite rarely advancing through the final phases of the tournament – except in 2002 when they reached the semi-final in a highly controversial way. Their coach, Hong Myung Bo, gave orders to hold the training sessions between closed doors, in order to keep his tacticts as a secret. What does Hong Myung Bo have in store for his opponents?

After their participation in the 2010’s edition, Algeria will try to achieve better results, and despite their stronger opponents in this group, they will still try to give a tough challenge they are capable of delivering, since they have players who play in the top leagues around Europe, such as Taider, Mesbah and Belfodil.

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"THE WORLD CUP OF ALL WORLD CUPS’. This is how this year’s World Cup is being referred to. This year, the World Cup takes place in Brazil, where football is not just a hobby, but it is a religion. Moreover, its underlies how much Brazil is under the gun, both due to its preparations (which were highly criticised during recent years for being slow paced), and even due to its national team. 12 years have passed since their last triumph in a World Cup, and in addition to this they want to replace the humiliation of 64 years ago by a triumph, when they had lost the final at the Maracana against Uruguay. That match is referred to as the "Maracanazo’, and it represents the lowest point in Brazilian football.  So have a seat, and let the drama commence!

There will be 12 cities that will host the FIFA World Cup’s matches. The city that will commence this global tournament will be Sao Paolo. Its stadium, "Arena Corinthians’ (65,000 spectators) will host the opening ceremony followed by the inaugural match between Brazil and Croatia. This stadium created a lot of scepticism around the organizers due to some fatal incidents which happened throughout the preparations, and it is not the only stadium that has suffered some damage. Salvador is another city that will host the matches in its stadium, "Arena Fonte Nova’ (52,000 spectators).  The "Arena Pernambuco’ (44,000 spectators) found in the city of Recife (the capital city of the Brazilian economy), is one of the 12 stadium which will host the matches as well. Porto Alegre is one of the most famous cities in Brazil due to its beautiful scenery and its stadium, "Estadio Beira-Rio’ (48,000 spectators) which is also the home of the famous Brazilian club, Internacional, will be one of the most attractive stadiums in Brazil. A curious fact about this area is that it has a subtropical climate, so an umbrella would be very useful for the supporters during the matches.

Apart from the stadiums that are already used by the Brazilian clubs, there will be stadiums that were constructed on purpose for the tournament. One of these stadiums is "Estadio Das Dunas’, (42,000 spectators) found in the city of Natal. Its main attraction is its surroundings, which take the form of flower petals. The organizers were aware of the fact that they had to reach all habitants and in fact, Manuas, which is found near the Amazonian rainforest, will host some matches as well, including the highly anticipated match between Italy and England; its stadium is called "Arena Amazonia’ (42,000 spectators). The city of Fortaleza, noted for its attractive beaches, will host the matches in its stadium "Estadio Castelao’ (52,000 spectators). Despite being late in its preparations, the city of Curitiba will be hosting the matches in its stadium "Arena Da Baixada’  which has a capacity of 41,000 spectators. It is not a surprising fact, that one of the stadiums is named after a Brazilian legend. This stadium is called "Estadio Nacional Mane Garrinchia’ (68,000 spectators) and it is settled in the capital city of Brazil, Brasilia. This stadium has already hosted some matches from the Confederations Cup which was held last summer. An important stadium, which will be hosting one of the semi-finals as well, is "Estadio Mineirao’ (57,000 spectators) and it is settled in the famous city of Belo Horizonte.

One has to leave the best for last, and naturally you cannot forget to mention the main attraction of all stadiums, the famous "Maracana’ (73,000 spectators). In the 1950 World Cup, the stadium had almost reached 120,000 spectators during the final between Brazil and Uruguay. This stadium is found in of the most beautiful cities in the world, Rio de Janeiro, which is characterised by the statue of Christ the Redeemer and the favelas found on the outskirts of the city, and it is no surprise that this stadium will host the final as well on the 13th of July.

With the World Cup just a few days away we are getting close to a hora da onca beber agua. Or in English, "the time that the jaguar drinks water’. The moment of truth for all organizers is getting near and they, together with the FIFA authority and the supporters as well, will be hoping that despite all the trouble they encountered throughout the preparations, their hard work will produce successful results…and for the organisers, hope that this will bring luck to their national team.

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