Participation trophies Boomers always complain about, abound at the highest level of professional soccer yet nobody is talking about it.

Apart from the respective national championships and the continent-wide Champions League, teams are constantly plugged into avenues that make organizers a lot of money while offering the clubs rubber cups.

Even to their detriment.
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Qatar is all set to open its doors to a third World Cup 2022 stadium when the Education City Stadium is unveiled later this year. This new stadium will be opening its doors for the first time when the club World Cup 2019 semi-final is hosted on this ground. This match is set to feature Liverpool, who are the current holders of the UEFA Champions League. The stadium, which has been named as the Diamond in the Desert, will be able to hold 40,000 spectators. The semi-final game is scheduled on December 18, which also happens to be Qatar National Day.

Liverpool could come up against one of the home representatives in the form of Al Sadd. The club has a lot of European connections since former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is in charge of the team. However, Al Sadd need to get past two outfits –Hienghène Sport andCF Monterrey – in order to reach this stage.Hienghène Sport as the representatives from Oceanic Champions League whereas Monterrey are from the CONCACAF region. Only a few days later, Education City Stadium will be given the rights to host the final of the Club World Cup. Since the stadium is located in the centre of Education City, it also happens to be a great hub for the World Cup and it will be hosting games up until the quarter-finals.
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The Bundesliga is just hotting up and with plenty of action left to play for it makes for a great opportunity to catch a live Bundesliga match in the heart of the action.

Not only is the Bundesliga the most well supported league in the world in terms of fan attendance but it’s affordable too. Season tickets go for around the €200-300 mark and single ticket can be snapped up for as little as €15. (more…)

Extremely rich fans who are visiting Qatar for the World Cup 2022 will be delighted with the extravagant luxury available. One of the most interesting features is seen at the Al Bayt Stadium, which is one of the venues for the World Cup 2022. This 60,000 seater stadium houses its own hotel rooms that provide a one of a kind experience for visitors, who are able to shell a huge amount of money. It is remarkable that these fans will be able to step out of bed and go straight into watching the action on the pitch – all in the comfort of their bathrobe.

Qatar has released footage of the stadium that has provided a glimpse of these rooms. Al Bayt is located in the Al Kohr city’s northernmost part. It is one of the eight stadium’s that have been constructed specifically for the World Cup. Design wise, it is inspired by the nomads in the deserts of Qatar. Aside from the hotel room built within the stadium, other features also include a lake, park, and a retractable roof. Crucially, the roof can be opened or closed in just 20 minutes. (more…)

Former Real Madrid and Spain boss Jose Antonio Camacho has said that Lionel Messi cannot be regarded as the greatest player in the world, considering he has not been able to lift the World Cup. The Barcelona star has won everything within reach at the club level but the same has not been the case at the international level, where he has yet to win any trophy.

Messi has come close on three separate occasions including the final of the 2014 World Cup, but on each of those instances, he was left with nothing more than disappointed. This has already led to criticism from a section of the Argentine fans and Camacho has joined in the debate to state that the 32-year-old can only be regarded as a very good player.
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The 2022 World Cup is about three years away. Host nation Qatar have sped up construction work on key projects, as per reports. One of the biggest projects still under construction is the Lusail Stadium which is expected to be one of the key venues for the tournament.

The Stadium is thought to be right on schedule according to reports from the Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy. The body which is in charge of ensuring that the stadiums are constructed on time, released an update about the venue. (more…)

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is less than 3 years away and there have been intensified preparations for the tournament.

England Women’s national team star Lianne Sanderson revealed that she is impressed with the level of preparation by the club.
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Former England manager Fabio Capello has said that Lionel Messi has not been helped with Argentina, considering the nation have lacked the quality when it comes to the midfield and defensive departments. The Barcelona star has been criticised for the failure to guide the nation to silverware during his career but Capello believes the problems are lying behind the attacker.

Speaking to Goal.com, Capello said that the current Argentina squad cannot match up with the World Cup winning side under Maradona, given they do not possess standout players in the backline and centre of the park, he said: “People talk about both, but Maradona’s Argentina were stronger and had more quality than Messi’s. He’s had good players in front of him, but in midfield and behind he has missed a defence, that’s the important problem. Messi is extraordinary. He lives thinking about playing and not about business, like for example Neymar does.”
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The modern-day football is dominated by two players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. Two fierce rivals have gotten their hands on every possible accolade out there, and although their peak years should have long passed, they show no signs of slowing down.

But if we must make our pick, who would it be? The Portuguese magician Ronaldo or one-man-army Messi? (more…)

Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero has spoken about the circumstances which contributed towards his axe during the group stages of the World Cup last year. The 37-year-old was chosen as the country’s first-choice goalkeeper for the World Cup but a sub-standard performance in the 3-0 defeat to Croatia meant that he was dropped for debutant Franco Armani.

Speaking to ESPN, the veteran revealed that he has no questions to manager Jorge Sampaoli in the aftermath of the poor display against Croatia, he said: “Jorge (Sampaoli) called me to give me explanations but I told him that he didn’t have to explain. That I understood and that tomorrow (against Nigeria) we had to win to stay in the World Cup and that’s the only thing that was important. I was rooming with Franco (Armani) and I told him ‘he (Sampaoli) called me to tell me that tomorrow you’re playing, give it your all, rest well and everything will go well tomorrow, we are all with you. And that’s how it was.”
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