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Tag: World cup

  • 2022 World cup will be my last – Neymar reveals

    2022 World cup will be my last – Neymar reveals

    Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil, forward Neymar has said that the 2022 World Cup will be his last as he “doesn’t have the strength to put up with more football”.

    Speaking on Sunday, October 10, the enigmatic striker said he might not be emotionally capable of playing in 2026 so he will give his all in the next world cup so Brazil can win it.

    Neymar, who has played in two World Cups and is his country’s second top scorer of all time behind Pele, will be 34 when the 2026 tournament rolls around.

    “I think it will be my last World Cup,” the 29-year-old told DAZN.

    “I will play it like it is the last because I don’t know if I will still have the mental strength to put up with even more football.”

    “I will do everything to get to the 2022 World Cup in great shape and will do everything to win for my country, to fulfill my biggest dream since I was little,” added the Paris Saint-Germain star.

    Neymar played in the 2014 World Cup on home soil and scored four goals.

    But a back injury he sustained ensured Brazil were humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals.

    Four years later, in Russia, Brazil were knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals.

    He has only won the 2013 Confederations Cup and an Olympic gold medal in Rio in 2016 with Brazil.

  • UEFA urges FIFA to stop pushing World Cup plan

    UEFA urges FIFA to stop pushing World Cup plan

     European football’s governing body UEFA has urged FIFA to stop pushing its plan for a two-year World Cup and instead to engage in “genuine consultation” over reform of the international match calendar.

    FIFA is conducting a feasibility study into holding the World Cup on a biennial basis, a change from the current four-yearly cycle, but has made no secret of its desire to switch to such a format.

    Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager who is now FIFA’s head of Global Football Development, said this month he was “100% convinced” of the switch.

    “UEFA is disappointed with the methodology adopted, which has so far led to radical reform projects being communicated and openly promoted before having been given, together with other stakeholders, the chance to participate in any consultation meeting,” UEFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

    UEFA said there were numerous concerns about the impact of such a switch including the “dilution” of the World Cup’s value, risks of players being over-worked and women’s football suffering from annual men’s tournaments.

    “These are just some of the serious concerns that the FIFA proposal provokes at first glance.

    “And they cannot be dispelled simply with unsubstantiated promotional slogans on the supposed benefits of a thicker calendar for final tournaments,” the statement added.

    UEFA said it had asked, on Sept. 14, for a meeting with FIFA and the 55 European member associations but has yet to get a reply.

    FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned this month of a potential European boycott of the World Cup if FIFA’s plans went ahead.

    “We can decide not to play in it,” Ceferin, head of European soccer’s governing body, told The Times newspaper.

    “As far as I know, the South Americans are on the same page. So good luck with a World Cup like that.

    “I think it will never happen as it is so much against the basic principles of football

  • FIFA cancels U17 and U20 World Cups in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

    FIFA cancels U17 and U20 World Cups in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

    FIFA has canceled the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups scheduled for next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The news comes after the postponement of the Olympic Games and other global sporting tournaments.

    In a statement released, FIFA said the 2021 edition of both tournaments will be cancelled, and the next edition will be held in 2023, with Indonesia still hosting the U20s and Peru the U17s.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel. FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021,” the football governing body said in a statement.

    “In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways,” it added.

  • Katoto moves past World Cup snub as she closes in on 100 PSG goals

    Katoto moves past World Cup snub as she closes in on 100 PSG goals

    Paris Saint-Germain Feminine striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto has insisted she’s moved beyond her surprise snub for France’s 2019 World Cup squad to focus on the present as she approaches 100 club goals after only just turning 22.

    Last summer, France head coach Corinne Diacre surprisingly left Katoto off her 23-player squad, despite the fact that the then-20-year-old was the French league’s top scorer with 22 goals.

    Diacre’s decision was not vindicated, as the hosts crashed out of the World Cup to eventual winners United States at the quarter-final stage. 

    Katoto, who finished 23rd in the Goal 50 2020, did not let the snub hinder her, however, and she continued excelling for PSG to the point where she has now reached 99 goals for her club. 

    As she approaches the 100-goal milestone, Katoto has said her mentality has been key to overcoming a difficult setback.

    “My situation with Les Bleus was not a big problem,” Katoto told Goal. “I always remained focused on my work. I listen a lot to my coaches. They are the first to help me for my development.”

    On her World Cup snub, she added: “It’s the past. Today I am looking ahead.”

    Katoto is now a regular in Diacre’s squad and has admitted that the current team will have failed should they not win a major trophy in the coming years.

    “Yes. It would be a failure,” Katoto said. “The French team is one of the greatest nations, among girls, mens or in our youth teams. We always have been part of the favourites, in every competition. We have to win something with the coming generation.”

    Katoto began her career as a defender but her transformation into one of the world’s top forwards was helped by studying videos of two of the best goalscorers of all time on the men’s side. 

    “I started as a defender but immediately I was attracted by the goal. That’s why I played higher up the pitch,” Katoto said. “I worked to know when to make my runs, when to shoot, and how.

    “I watched the best strikers on TV or on internet videos. I like R9 [Ronaldo] a lot for example, as I like Cristiano Ronaldo.”

    As she nears a milestone many strikers will never reach, let alone at the age of 22, Katoto expressed her happiness to be able to do so with her childhood club. 

    “It’s an incredible thing. Scoring 100 goals for your club is wonderful,” Katoto said. “I can’t dream of anything better than reaching this legendary step with Paris Saint-Germain.”

  • Para-Powerlifting: Oyema optimistic of good performance at World Cup

    Para-Powerlifting: Oyema optimistic of good performance at World Cup

    The world record holder in para-powerlifting’s women lightweight category, Esther Oyema, says she is optimistic of a good performance at the upcoming World Cup scheduled for February in Abuja.

    The tournament is billed for Feb. 5 to Feb. 7.

    Oyema told NAN on Tuesday that she has intensified her training ahead of the competition.

    “I have been preparing very hard for this tournament, especially as it is taking place on my home soil. We (Nigerian athletes) have to make a statement here at home.

    “By the grace of God, I will do my best and I am hopeful that my efforts will yield great success for myself and my country,” she said.

    Oyema commended the efforts of Queen Uboh, President of the Nigeria Para-Powerlifting Federation, for ensuring that more competitions were available to prepare the athletes.(NAN)