Live stream Venezuela vs. Brazil in World Cup Qualifiers for free from anywhere in the world.

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Switzerland's Mathias Flückiger has secured an early victory in the UCI Mountain Bike Overall World Cup at the UCI World Cup finals in Snowshoe, USA.

Fashion styles of English football players from the 1998 World Cup to the 2018 World Cup

Once every four years the world’s best women’s soccer players battle it out to honor their countries and chase the title of world champion. 

Sabina Falcone-Healey is a member of the England women's over-45 squad.

I had the fortune of landing a ticket for Saturday's quarter final match between Sri Lanka and England. Someone who had 2 grandstand tickets got sick and I was lucky to be asked whether I want it at list price :). At Rs. 4000 each I felt they were pricey but then at the event I met a friend who had paid double that for his ticket! I will comment on the ticket selling process later.

First of all, the stadium atmosphere was just incredibly amazingly fantastically electric and rocking. Being there is nothing like watching at home .. despite being able to see the match poorly, the environment is of course unbeatable. The fact that Sri Lanka gave England a total drubbing was awesome, even though as a result the game became quite non-competitive .. but I'll settle for non-competitive games up to the final and thrilling victory in the final (vs. to have it stolen like the last time).

This post is not about the quarter final match - its about Sri Lanka Cricket, the embattled organization which runs the sport in Sri Lanka.

As most people in Sri Lanka know, the organizers were hammered very very hard in the press before the World Cup started about their preparations, about how the stadiums were completed last minute and about every aspect of team selection to overall management. I'm not an expert on cricket- so I have no useful views on the cricketing aspects and will leave them alone. However, I do want to comment on the overall organization of the event.

I have made it to 3 matches in Colombo - the first was the loss to Pakistan, the second the rained out draw with Australia and the third of course the drubbing of England.

All these were held at the newly refurbished Kettarama Stadium of course- an absolutely AWESOME stadium now! I have been there a few months ago and it was a nightmare to get in and out. Now its a breeze and reminds me of the convenience of getting in and out of Purdue's Mackey Arena (for basketball). Once you are inside, the view is breathtaking. The atmosphere is amazingly electric. Every match was sold out (of course) to a capacity crowd of 35,000+.

I didn't make it to Hambantota for the first match but the news from there was that the brand new stadium there was absolutely amazing as well. The words from a friend (usually a skeptic) was "money well spent".

Same has to be said for Pallekalle in Kandy. That's again a new stadium (or a refurb'ed old ground; not sure) and while its not as built up as Hambantota or Colombo the location is just amazing and all the reports are that the place was fantastic.

There was not a single time in all the matches in Sri Lanka where something went wrong with the logistics. All the comentators have been giving kudos about the venues and the amazing environments offered by them.

I too was caught up in the press vendetta against Suraj Dandeniya (the head of the World Cup organizing team in SLC). While the work was indeed completed last minute it is time to give this gentleman a tip of the hat and acknowledge the amazing work they have done to deliver perfectly for Sri Lanka. Press  stories have a way of finding individuals guilty without judge or jury and this vendetta was played out by most of the newspapers in a merciless manner. Maybe Suraj has refused some passes for the press and their buddies? Who knows.

Yes yes I know there's one more match to be played in Sri Lanka. That's the one where Sri Lanka will whack the New Zealanders home :-). I am confident that too will go off without a hitch! At one level "may the best team win" may apply but, honestly, to hell with that .. Sri Lanka has to win to set up an amazing final in India against (most probably) India. Nothing like that victory!

(The NZ team has done amazingly well to get to the semi-finals and they've always stepped up big at the big occasions. Their country also suffered a massive earthquake recently .. only to be overshadowed by an even bigger one. If they go on to winning the tournament they'll again get some all-important PR for the recovery efforts there. To that extent I want NZ to win. Yeah, treacherous.)

Now about those ticket sales.

Fundamentally, this is a no-win situation for the organizers. 35,000 tickets for the match where 500,000 at least would love to watch in person. So no matter what approach is taken, there will be 465,000+ who will be crying foul!

There have been stories about how people stood in line, bought the ticket and turned around and sold it to someone else. I see no way to stop that - and keeping the ticket price low (lowest was Rs. 50 for group stage matches in Colombo) meant that anyone could buy them without any problem - a good thing in general.

Personally I have no issue with blackmarket sales (and I don't understand why they are banned) - the only problem it highlights is that the original ticket was sold too low! Why doesn't Sri Lanka Cricket sell the ticket for Rs. 10,000 if it can get away with it and make more money? Maybe they should've also set up an auction at EBay or something where people can bid and buy tickets at whatever price above the minimum price. No I'm not suggesting doing that for all tickets but rather for a percentage- you give some on a pure lottery, some for those who stand in line .. and the rest to the best price via auction with batches sold daily. I don't understand why they created a secondary market in the first place when they themselves could've run both the primary and secondary markets. Obviously I don't know enough about market economics.

The real problem is that many tickets seem to have been sold only to "known parties". The Colombo powers-that-be who want to watch the matches shouldn't have been able to buy through back channels. If they don't want to stand in line they can certainly afford to buy the tickets on the blackmarket if they want and let some poor guy make some money. Why should these fat cats be able to buy tickets at list?!

When you are at the match (and I went to A lower the first time (Rs. 250), to C upper the second time (Rs. 100) and to the grand stand for the quarter final (Rs. 4000) its clear that most in attendance were way above average in economic terms. In practical terms, that suggests that a lot of blackmarket sales were happening. If someone's a true fan, there's no amount of money that would make them sell the ticket - so the people who sold the tickets were not real fans. Or they were true fans who felt the money was more economically valuable for them than the experience (maybe they had a sick child or needed some home repairs or whatever ..). Or they were savvy businessmen who stood in line and sold the ticket for a profit. The bottom line is that there's no way to prevent normal capitalism from taking place and the value balance ending up wherever it ends up.

So while I too am frustrated I can't get a ticket for the semi-finals, I am only upset about connected people getting tickets at list price through backchannel means. The rest of the system I have no concerns with - and next time (20-20 World Cup next year) I hope Sri Lanka Cricket does a combination of lines, lotteries and auctions to sell the tickets.

Talking about tickets .. anyone have a spare grandstand ticket for the semi final they want to sell me at list price? :-)

India blind cricket team players. — CABI/File

With the Blind T20 World Cup in Pakistan just days away, the Indian government has yet to clear its blind cricket team for participation, India Today reported.

Although the Sports Ministry has issued a No Objection Certificate for...

This undated photo shows Pakistan blind cricket team. — Pakistan Blind Cricket Council

ISLAMABAD: A 16-member squad led by Nasir Ali has been announced by the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council for the upcoming Blind T20 World Cup 2024, slated to be held in Pakistan from...

The two biggest events in world sports are coming to America. And if President-elect Donald Trump is not thinking about them yet, organizers of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics certainly are.

In This thread , lets try to get all results and goal scorer for upcoming Exposure tour before world cup 

FIFA identified India as a possible host of U-17 WC in 2017 or 2019. If India can manage to build minimum seven world class stadiums then FIFA will give their green signal. It will be a great boost for Indian football as we will get a direct entry and also infrastructure will develop rapidly.

News Source - Anandabazar Patrika dated 11/06/2011

Fans from all over the world continue coming to Russia for the World Cup. In Moscow, football fans paralyzed many pedestrian streets having arranged mass festivities there. Most fans gathered on Nikolskaya Street, which is adjacent to Red Square. Crowds of football fans gathered on Nikolskaya Street to support their national teams. Russia is welcoming fans of all ages - one can see elderly people holding hands, young people partying and even young parents with children. Light garlands above the street created a very special atmosphere of a football carnival against the background of facades of historical buildings covered with flags of the countries participating in the championship.Representatives of Latin and South America predictably turned out to be most active football fans, for whom football is a religion. Peruvians and Mexicans attracted people's attention by performing  national dances and playing traditional musical instruments. Fans from Argentina gathered the largest number of fans around themselves as they were singing the national anthem in unison, infecting everyone around with football fever.The Moscow police were behaving in a very friendly way with foreign guests, but were firmly suppressing all attempts of the latter to drink alcoholic beverages in public places. Of course, unpleasant incidents are unavoidable, and foreign football fans already appear in crime reports. In St. Petersburg, a fan from Morocco was robbed after visiting the festival of FIFA fans on Konyushennaya Square. On the way back, the man found that he lost 2,500 euros and his iPhone 7. The loss was evaluated at about 200,000 rubles. The Moroccan fan could only speak Arabic, and it took police officers a lot of time to understand what he was trying to say.On June 11, a Chinese woman reported the loss of a designer backpack and an amount of money worth 3,000 dollars. The same day, an American man addressed the police saying that he was left without cash. A 25-year-old Egyptian reported the loss of his luggage. The young man could not overcome the language barrier and resorted to the help of his friend, who could speak English. It turned out that the men forgot about their bag with tickets inside as they were stunned with views of St. Petersburg. In Kaliningrad, Nigerian football fans asked local authorities permission to bring live chickens to the stadium. The authorities had to decline. For Nigerian fans, a chicken is their mascot that they bring to every venue.  They did not specify what they needed the chickens for, although it is generally believed that African football fans usually practice various magic rituals during football matches, and chickens are widely used in Africa for sacrifice. Nigeria will play against Croatia in Kaliningrad on June 16. World Cup 2018 scheduleJune 14thGroup A. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Russia - Saudi Arabia 18:00June 15thGroup A. Ekaterinburg. Egypt - Uruguay 15:00Group B. St. Petersburg. Morocco - Iran 18:00Group B. Sochi. Portugal - Spain 21:00June 16thGroup S. Kazan. France - Australia 13:00Group D. Moscow, "Spartacus." Argentina - Iceland 16:00Group S. Saransk. Peru - Denmark 19:00Group D. Kaliningrad. Croatia - Nigeria 22:00June 17Group E. Samara. Costa Rica - Serbia 15:00Group F. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Germany - Mexico 18:00Group E. Rostov-on-Don. Brazil - Switzerland 21:00June, 18thGroup F. Nizhny Novgorod. Sweden - South Korea 15:00Group G. Sochi. Belgium - Panama 18:00Group G. Volgograd. Tunisia - England 21:00June 19Group H. Saransk. Colombia - Japan 15:00Group H. Moscow, "Spartacus." Poland - Senegal 18:00Group A. St. Petersburg. Russia to Egypt 21:00June 20thGroup B. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Portugal - Morocco 15:00Group A. Rostov-on-Don. Uruguay - Saudi Arabia 18:00Group B. Kazan. Iran - Spain 21:0021st of JuneGroup S. Samara. Denmark-Australia 15:00Group C. Ekaterinburg. France - Peru 18:00Group D. Nizhny Novgorod. Argentina - Croatia 21:0022nd of JuneGroup E. St. Petersburg. Brazil - Costa Rica 15:00Group D. Volgograd. Nigeria - Iceland 18:00Group E. Kaliningrad. Switzerland - Serbia 21:00June 23Group G. Moscow, "Spartacus." Belgium - Tunisia 15:00Group F. Rostov-on-Don. South Korea - Mexico 18:00Group F. Sochi. Germany - Sweden 21:00June 24Group G. Nizhny Novgorod. England - Panama 15:00Group H. Ekaterinburg. Japan - Senegal 18:00Group H. Kazan. Poland - Colombia 21:00June 25thGroup A. Volgograd. Saudi Arabia - Egypt 17:00Group A. Samara. Uruguay - Russia 17:00Group B. Kaliningrad. Spain - Morocco 21:00Group B. Saransk. Iran - Portugal 21:00June 26thGroup C. Moscow, "Luzhniki". Denmark-France 17:00Group S. Sochi. Australia - Peru 17:00Group D. St. Petersburg. Nigeria - Argentina 21:00Group D. Rostov-on-Don. Iceland - Croatia 21:0027th of JuneGroup F. Kazan. South Korea - Germany 17:00Group F. Ekaterinburg. Mexico - Sweden 17:00Group E. Moscow, "Spartacus." Brazil - Serbia 21:00Group E. Nizhny Novgorod. Switzerland - Costa Rica 21:00June 28thGroup H. Volgograd. Japan - Poland 17:00Group H. Samara. Senegal - Colombia 17:00Group G. Kaliningrad. England - Belgium 21:00Group G. Saransk. Panama - Tunisia 21:00Playoff schedule30 June1/8 finals. Kazan. C1-D2 17:001/8 finals. Sochi. 1A - 2B 21:00July 11/8 finals. Moscow, the Luzhniki Stadium. B1 - A2 17:001/8 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. D1 - C2 21:002 July1/8 finals. Samara. E1 - F2 17:001/8 finals. Rostov-on-Don. G1 - H2 21:003 July1/8 finals. St. Petersburg. F1 - E2 17:001/8 finals. Moscow, "Spartacus." H1 - G2 21:006 July1/4 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. (A1-B2) - (C1-D2) 17:001/4 finals. Kazan. (E1 - F2) - (G1 - H2) 21:00July 7th1/4 finals. Samara. (F1 - E2) - (H1 - G2) 17:001/4 finals. Sochi. (B1-A2) - (D1-C2) 21:0010 July1/2 finals. St. Petersburg. 9pmJuly 11th1/2 finals. Moscow, the Luzhniki Stadium. 9pmthe 14 th of JulyMatch for third place. St. Petersburg. 5pmJuly 15The final. Moscow, Luzhniki 18:00

[Sports] :
South Korea defeated Oman three to one, achieving its first win in the current World Cup qualifying campaign.  The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, played Oman on Tuesday at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat in the second Group B match in the third round of the ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
The North Korean women's football team defeated the world's top ranked U.S. squad in the semifinals of the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup under way in Colombia, moving a step closer to winning their third World Cup title. North Korea claimed a one-nil victory over the U.S. in the ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
North Korea has captured its third FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup title after defeating Japan. The North’s women’s soccer team beat Japan one-nil on Sunday in the final at Estadio Nemesio Camacho El Campín in Bogotá, Colombia. Choe Il-son netted the winning goal in the 15th minute.  The team reached ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
South Korean forward Son Heung-min of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club has missed a Premier League match against Manchester United due to an injury. Tottenham won three-nil Sunday in Son’s absence at Old Trafford.  Son was substituted against Qarabağ FK in the team's Europa League opener Thursday with ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
Men's national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo has cast doubt over captain Son Heung-min's availability in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers next month. During a press conference on Monday, Hong announced the roster for October's World Cup qualifiers, which included the Tottenham Hotspur star ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has been excluded from the South Korean national football team’s roster for the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, after he sat out two recent Premier League matches due to a hamstring injury. The Korea Football Association(KFA) said Friday that it ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
The South Korean men's national football team is set to face Jordan in the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The qualifying match between the national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, and Jordan at Amman International Stadium is scheduled to begin at 11 p.m. Thursday, Korea time. While ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
South Korea defeated Jordan two-nil in its third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers without captain Son Heung-min. The national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-ho, beat Jordan at Amman International Stadium in the Jordanian capital on Thursday in their Group B match in the third round of ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
The South Korean men's national football team faces Iraq in the World Cup qualifier match on Tuesday night at home. Considered the toughest opponent for South Korea in the third round of the Asian qualifiers, a win against the Middle Eastern squad will give the Taegeuk Warriors a huge boost in their ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
South Korea defeated Iraq 3-2 on Tuesday in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, won the match at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, south of Seoul, in its Group B match in the third round of the Asian qualification tournament.  Captain Son Heung-min ...

[more...]

[Sports] :
The men’s national football team is set to face Kuwait and Palestine in mid-November in the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with the return of captain Son Heung-min, who sat out matches in October due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Hong Myung-bo announced the 26-member roster on Monday, ...

[more...]

The Grand Final competition will welcome 60 experts, divided into 20 teams, from all over the world.

Leading international survey expert reveals attitude towards participation, best players, and teams to the final in the Qatar 2022 World Cup competition.

Pro Soccer Star Victor Parra Has Just Been Selected For The World Cup!

World leading artificial grass supplier, Act Global, will provide pitches at the Homeless World Cup in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

CandoPack is the top manufacturer of cooler bags in China. Its products cover various sporting goods industries, such as sports cooler bags and sports drawstring bags. Welcome to customize.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup Flags infographic from UK Featherflags takes a currently popular topic in the news, and makes it relevant to the publishers business of making flags. This is the content they know about best.

From the publisher:

[This infographic] takes a look at the flags for the different countries in the 2023 FIFA women's world cup which is taking place from 20 July to 20 August 2023 and is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Check out this handy design to view the flags for the countries in the various groups of the tournament along with some interesting facts.

I like the simple infographics that tell one story really well. Not a lot fo text, and the flag images are the highlight of the infographic design. I love that they included the URL to the infographic landing page in the footer! Many people will share or repost an infographic without providing a link back to the original. This makes it easy for readers to track down the source and learn more if they were interested.

This design is missing a few things:

• I prefer to include the publisher’s logo on the infographic somewhere (usually in the footer). This only mentions the publisher’s website in text as part of the subtitle. It’s easy to miss, and that loses the publisher’s benefit of releasing the infographic in the first place.

• It’s missing some type of conclusion or call-to-action at the end. What should readers do after reading the infographic? It doesn’t have to be a hard sales pitch. Visit the website, sign up for our newsletter, learn more about flags on our site, etc. What action should the reader take after enjoying the infographic?

• Copyright or Creative Commons license.

Thanks to David for submitting the infographic!

Here are some links to ESL sites and lesson plans, etc, related to the World Cup.

Utilizing Budweiser’s vision, Trivium created a beer bottle that was both visually engaging and environmentally sustainable.

Why RSV cases are so high among Inuit children; Wales soccer fans confront their misgivings about Qatar at their first World Cup in 64 years; as Russia ramps up missile strikes, Ukrainians brace for a cold, dark winter; how a provincial billing change could reduce gender-affirming health care in Ontario; and more.

CBC Sports today announced the launch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa , website, which will become home to Canadian soccer fans across the country as the World Cup nears and the excitement for the world’s largest sporting event grows!

The comprehensive site offers viewers video highlights, feature stories and blogs from expert journalists stationed across each continent, a detailed history of all the players and teams participating in the tournament, classic FIFA moments and front line reports from South Africa.

On Dec. 4, at 12 p.m. ET, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa site, will feature live coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw, where 32 participating nations will learn their first round pools. CBC Television will also have live coverage, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is well underway, with Canada’s men’s team making its first appearance in the tournament since 1986. The host country Qatar continues to face global scrutiny for its criminalization of homosexuality and treatment of migrant workers.

Mikaela Shiffrin celebrated an emotional win in a women’s World Cup night race Tuesday, edging out Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova in another gripping duel of their ongoing slalom rivalry.

Lara Gut-Behrami has won a shortened World Cup downhill to close in on the injured Sofia Goggia in the discipline standings. She is on a four-race winning streak and overtook the absent Mikaela Shiffrin in the overall standings last weekend.

Shiffrin made a triumphant comeback to the World Cup Sunday, dominating the season’s penultimate slalom for career win 96 and locking up her record-equaling eighth season title in the discipline.

The 2024 Birds of Prey event in Beaver Creek will feature men’s and women’s World Cup races on back-to-back weekends, offering Mikaela Shiffrin an opportunity to compete in her backyard.

Canadian skier Nick Zoricic dies from head injuries after crashing heavily in a World Cup skicross race in Switzerland.

British number one Zoe Gillings is "over the moon" with World Cup podium in Valmalenco.

How some of Jersey's best cricketers have moved to Australia to try and help their chances of making the T20 World Cup.

BBC Sport looks at what England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have to play for in the Nations League - and how it ties into the World Cup.

After nearly six complete seasons, the Canadian Premier League finds itself at an inflection point. Ahead of Saturday’s championship match, it appears there’s some stability — and, consequently, an opportunity to further establish the league’s place within the rapidly growing soccer landscape.

Amidst the celebrations following Australia’s triumphant win against India in the Cricket World Cup, a viral picture of Australian batsman Mitchell Marsh has stirred controversy on social media. The World Cup victory, marking Australia’s sixth title in cricket history, took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, igniting fervent celebrations among the Kangaroos. Post-match ... Read more

The post Controversy Erupts as Mitchell Marsh’s Posture with World Cup Trophy Sparks Outcry appeared first on Pakistan Tribune.

DOHA, Qatar — A top Qatari official involved in the country's World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament "between 400 and 500" for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. It also threatened to reinvigorate criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup for the migrant labor that built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure needed for the tournament. The Supreme Committee and Qatar's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the British journalist asks al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from — as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality?" "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500," al-Thawadi responds. "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's been discussed." But that figure hasn't been discussed publicly by Qatari officials previously. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup. Those released figures put the total number of deaths at 40. They include 37 from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents. One report also separately lists a worker death from the coronavirus amid the pandemic. Al-Thawadi pointed to those figures when discussing work just on stadiums in the interview, right before offering the "between 400 to 500" death toll for all the infrastructure for the tournament. Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country's employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country. Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving those benefits directly from their employers. It also has updated its worker safety rules to prevent deaths. "One death is a death too many. Plain and simple," al-Thawadi adds in the interview. Activists have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers receive their salaries on time and are protected from abusive employers. Al-Thawadi's comment also renews questions on the veracity of both government and private business reporting on worker injuries and deaths across the Gulf Arab states, whose skyscrapers have been built by laborers from South Asia nations like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Mustafa Qadri, the executive director of Equidem Research, a labor consultancy that has published reports on the toll of the construction on migrant laborers, said he was surprised by al-Thawadi's remark. "For him now to come and say there is hundreds, it's shocking," he told The Associated Press. "They have no idea what's going on."  

HARRY KANE is now the clear favourite to win the World Cup Golden Boot after his hat-trick against Panama..