Formation : 4-2-3-1 Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Belgium The Golden Glove winner and Chelsea goalkeeper (as of now !!) performed superbly throughout the tournament. He was never out of the action and gave a sublime goalkeeping performances in Belgium’s quarter-final win over Brazil, in which he produced one of the saves of the tournament to prevent... Continue Reading →
Portugal 3 - 3 Spain Pre-match drama, an early penalty, two world class bangers, a howler, a late goal and of course, top-class football... This match had it all. Everyone pretty much expected a cagey, conservative affair given their first match. But how brilliantly they surprised us !! With all the background stuff that seemed... Continue Reading →
Awarded for the first time in 2006, FIFA’s best young player award is usually a hotly contested prize to honour the best player aged 23 or under. This time, however, there was surely no contest... Kylian Mbappé does not celebrate his 20th birthday until December but the France forward has been an undoubted star of... Continue Reading →
0 - The no. of straight red cards issued in the World Cup for violent play. 0 - Neither Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi have ever scored a goal in a World Cup knockout match : Ronaldo : 0 goals in 6 games from 25 shots (514 mins) Messi : 0 goals in 8 games... Continue Reading →
Read highlights of Round 1 and Round 2 here.. Best XI Goalkeeper Iran’s Alireza Beiranvand gets the nod in goal after the group stage. Coming from a difficult upbringing while working in a carwash and as a pizza delivery driver before becoming a professional footballer and saving a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty against Portugal... He has been brilliant in... Continue Reading →
Read highlights of Round 1 here... It's a gift that keeps on giving. More bangers, last minute goals and last minute bangers !! To the extent that you keep applying the law of averages in the back of your mind and fear that the knockout stage would be anticlimatic. Hope this fun ride doesn't stop... Continue Reading →
The World Cup is just around the corner and Russia 2018’s 32 guests are now known. This qualifying campaign has thrown up several surprises in the form of new comers and prodigal sons. And ever since the start, this qualification process has been filled with drama, controversy, and fantastic stories. All 210 FIFA member associations... Continue Reading →
Nomadic Nerd's Corner 