Author: Galapogas

The World Cup 2022 in Qatar is about five months away. All 32 teams who will fight it out for the biggest prize in football have also been finalised, with Costa Rica clinching the last spot after defeating 10-man New Zealand 1-0 in their intercontinental play-off. The focus of the teams and their supporters is now on the main tournament, with the venues the centre of attention in what will be the first World Cup in the Middle East. Each venue in the country has a unique tale behind it. Like the 974 Stadium. The Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, as it is officially known, has a capacity of 40,000 and is basically a ‘pop-up’ stadium built out of shipping containers on Doha’s waterfront.

The Al Thumama Stadium continues the trend of innovation. The 40,000-capacity stadium has been designed keeping tradition in mind. The stadium resembles a gahfiya, which is the cap worn underneath a ghutra. With heat always a concern in the region, every seat has air conditioning vents below it throughout the stadium, which is a salient feature at all venues at the World Cup. (more…)

12 stadiums were used during the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil. These stadiums were from 12 various cities in the South American nation. Seven of the World Cup stadiums were newly built, while the other five were renovated. The 12 World Cup stadiums covered all the regions of Brazil thus creating a more evenly distributed hosting in comparison to the last edition hosted in the country 64 years earlier, in 1950.

Brazil played hosts to rest of the world on the FIFA World Cup stage for the first time in 1950 and they ended the tournament in second place after they were beaten to first position by fellow South Korea team Uruguay. The Brazilians hosted the FIFA World Cup tournament for the second time during the 2014 edition and they finished in fourth spot after they were eliminated by Germany in the semifinals. The Brazilians were thrashed 7-1 by eventual champions Germany in the last fourwith five first half goals scored in less than twenty minutes before the half hour mark was reached. Brazil then lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third/fourth spot playoffs. (more…)

Russia played hosts to the rest of the footballing world for the first time when they hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament. 12 World Cup Stadiums and 11 host cities were employed during the World Cup tournament in Russia four years ago after the announcement for the final choice of the host cities was made on September 29, 2012.

The eleven (11) host cities for the Russian 2018 FIFA World Cup were Kazan, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Saransk, Yekaterinburg, Sochi and Volgograd. (more…)

The matches in Group D will be fraught with drama and excitement on and off the pitch. France enters the competition as the World Champions and is looking to become the first country to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962. We could witness a Danish fairytale with Christian Eriksen back on the field in a major competition after suffering a cardiac arrest last summer. Plus, it’s Tunisia and its passionate fans who are well known for showing their love for the team both home and away.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec-3zEPWkAIBy9F?format=jpg&name=4096×4096

Education City Stadium will host two games in Group DKARIM SAHIB/AFP or licensors

Group D Dates, (Local) Times and Locations

Tuesday, November 22nd

16:00 Denmark v Tunisia – Education City Stadium

22:00 France v Australia/Peru/UAE – Al Janoub Stadium

Saturday, November 26th

13:00 Tunisia v Australia/Peru/UAE – Al Janoub Stadium

19:00 France v Denmark – Stadium 974

Wednesday, November 30th

18:00 Tunisia v France – Education City Stadium

18:00 Australia/Peru/UAE v Denmark – Al Janoub Stadium
(more…)

Bayern Munich were heavy favourites when they were drawn with Spanish club Villarreal during the quarterfinal draw in the Champions League, but this counted for little when the two teams met in the first leg at the El Madrigal on Wednesday night.

Villarreal took the game to German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at home and they were rewarded when Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma found the back of the net with eight minutes gone. Villarreal won the Europa League last season and they showed that they were no pushovers when they played hosts to the Bavarian giants. Frenchman Francis Coquelin thought he had doubled the lead when his cross found its way past Manuel Neuer in the Bayern Munich goal, but he made the cross from an offside position. (more…)

Premier League champions Manchester City are the favourites to win the Champions League this season, while German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are the second favourites and both teams have already sealed their place in the quarterfinals in emphatic style.

Manchester City thrashed hosts and Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie before they played out a goalless draw in England as the Citizens progressed to the last eight via a 5-0 aggregate win. (more…)

2006 World Cup hosts Germany had a lot of stadiums who met the criteria to host games as stipulated by world’s football governing body, FIFA. In the end, 12 stadiums were selected to host matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cuptournament on German soil.

From all the 12 World Cup Stadiums, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin had the most capacity at 72,000 followed by the Allianz Arena with a capacity of 66,000. The Signa Iduna Park in Dortmund is the third biggest amongst the World Cup stadiums for the 2006 edition in Germany with a capacity of 65,000. The Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion in Stuttgart and the Gelsenkirchen Arena in Schalke 04 are joint fourth amongst the 2006 World Cup stadiums at the capacity of 52,000. The AOL Arena in Hamburg is next with the capacity of 50,000. (more…)

After years of waiting and preparations, the World Cup year has finally come and even though preparations are still ongoing, they are expected to be done soon. Football fans across the world are all excited and pumped about watching the World Cup later this year. Football players are also looking forward to the tournament, and so are coaches and pundits as well. There are a couple of stadiums that have been selected for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 games and we want to take a look at them.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Di2sckMXgAAe2l0.jpg

Al Thumama Stadium

Located 12km south of Doha, Al Thumama stadium’s design weaves Arab culture through its facade, drawing inspiration from the woven patterns of a Gahfiya, the traditional head piece worn by Muslim men in the Arabian region.
(more…)

There were twelve (12) World Cup stadiums for the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournamentin Brazil. Seven of the 12 World Cup Stadiums were built ahead of the tournament, while the other five World Cup Stadiums were renovated in time for the tournament.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/El_-SoUW0AQWjKx.jpg

The Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro had the most capacity out of all the 12 World Cup Stadiums for the tournament in Brazil. The match venue has a capacity of 74, 738. EstadioNacional ManeGarrincha had the second most capacity outside the Maracana with a capacity of 69, 432 and it was a new stadium unlike the Maracana that was renovated before the tournament started in the summer of 2014.
(more…)

The Lusail Iconic Stadium, also known as the Lusail National Stadium, is one of the eight World Cup Stadiums for the Qatar 2022 tournament and it has a capacity of 80,000. Of all the eight World Cup Stadiums for the tournament on Qatari soil at the end of next year, Lusail Iconic Stadium has the biggest capacity. It has at least 20,000 more in capacity than any of the other World Cup Stadiums as far as the Qatar 2022 tournament is concerned.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FG4qDvIXIAEcqyj.jpg

It has already been decided that Qatar 2022 matches in Group C, D, G and H would be allocated to Lusail Iconic Stadium and the trio of Education City Stadium, 974 Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.
(more…)