Champions League Update for Today: 2/25/2014.

Some exciting matches today with Zenit St. Petersburg set to host Borussia Dortmund while Olympiacos welcome Manchester United to Greece. While the chances of a sweep of victories for visiting sides as happened in the first round of games of the Round of 16 seems unlikely, the idea is not too outlandish. Let's take a look at the games with Zenit coming off of an extended period of down-time. While many of their players will be fresh, the likes of Danny, Shirokov, and Ansaldi are out through injuries of one kind or another.  Respectively, that puts out of commission a quality forward, midfielder, and defender - not the kind of losses a team like Zenit want going into a match with fierce German opposition. If Hulk and Alexander Kerzhakov are in form though, the Russians may well make it through the round. As for Dortmund, they have been lacking Gundogan, Subotic, Blaszczykowski, and Sven Bender for such a long time that hopefully Klopp has reshuffled the team in a manner that allows them to remain competitive away from home. If Hummels and Reus can come back into the team, their chances look much better. Either way, it is almost always difficult to travel to Eastern Europe and Dortmund's loss over the weekend to Hamburger SV will not have helped matters.
Turning our attention to the match-up between Olympiacos and United now, the Greeks simply have to perform well at home. Roberto has been good enough in goal for them, however without the goalscoring talent of Javier Saviola I would be surprised if Olympiacos could muster the necessary firepower to get them past the English. Nevertheless, it Kostas Mitroglou has a great game - and if Alejandro Dominguez can increase his goal tally - the Greeks might just have enough to knock United out. At least, they should put on a good show at home. Speaking of Manchester United, the Red Devils cannot be said to be in the best of form. Their case is not improved by the absence of defenders such as Rafael, Phil Jones, and Jonny Evans. While De Gea has performed admirably for Manchester, he needs some help. Nani and Danny Welbeck are both out still, meaning the Greeks will largely concern themselves with shutting down the likes of Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia (and if Robin Van Persie plays, don't be surprised if he fails to make an impact). Hope you enjoy the games!

Champions League Latest: 2/19/2014

Brilliant games today with the away sides winning once more! A ten-man Arsenal were put to bed in the 2nd half of their match against Bayern Munich as Toni Kroos slotted home in the 54th minute for the Germans while Thomas Muller made it 0-2 in the 88th minute. The two missed penalties in the first half and the sending off of Wojciech Szczesny made for a very tense half-time with the home side dreading the next 45 minutes while the visitors felt reasonably confident of their chances. Bayern's domination of possession and opportunities is understandable in this light. As for the match-up in Italy, Milan were bested by a spirited Atletico Madrid who held on through Milan's slight majority of possession and goal-scoring opportunities. They were both fantastic matches - Diego Costa was the man who struck Atletico's winner in the 83rd minute - and I am sure you are looking forward to the second legs! I see no reason why Bayern and Madrid can't secure their progression to the next round while playing at home. Thibaut Courtois was the well-deserved man of the match after keeping out all of Milan's chances and I would anticipate a similarly crucial role in the return fixture. Keep your eyes open for more games in the next couple days!

Women's World Cup Qualifying! 2/13/2014

Alright then! The qualifying campaign for the showcase event in Canada 2015 has begun with the usual suspects making the rounds and looking like solid contenders for qualification. In Europe, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, Norway, England, and France have put themselves at the top of their respective groups with some mouth-watering performances (Not one of the top sides has any less than 12 points to their name). The Germans are undefeated in 5 matches with a positive 40 goal difference while Switzerland have struck 17 without reply in 4 games. England are the other side to have notched plenty of goals while maintaining a clean-sheet with 20 to the good in 4 matches played. The second place teams of the respective groups are the Republic of Ireland with 7 points from 3 games; Italy are 2nd in Group 2 with two victories and a loss in 3 games. Israel meanwhile are 4 points off of the mark in Group 3 with the same performance as that of the Italians although Sweden in Group 4 are just 3 points away from Scotland with a game in hand. Arguably one of the tightest groups is that of Group 5 where both Belgium and the Netherlands have 10 points from 5 games - meaning Norway with 12 at the top actually have a game in hand - 4 more than Portugal in 4th position. Over in Group 6, Ukraine and Wales are the sides picking up the scraps left by England with 6 points each. Onwards to our last group for today: Group 7! Finland are the side directly in the shadow of France with a perfect record from 3 games. Hungary also have the opportunity to move up the ladder effectively as they are currently tied for 3rd with Austria though with a game in hand.

Wrapping up the Futsal European Championship: 2/8/2014.

Scenes of jubilation were common throughout a tense Final match of the Futsal European Championship. But let's take a step back to the Semi-Finals where Portugal faced Italy and Russia took on Spain. In the first of the two, the Portuguese put up a good fight against the Italians. While Gabriel Lima put the Italians in the lead before the end of the first minute, Ricardinho and Arnaldo Pereira struck once each for the Iberians to make it 2-1. Romano equalized in the 22nd minute for the Italians before Gabriel Lima struck his second and Fortino made it 2-4 by the 34th minute. Despite the Portuguese getting the last goal in the 34th minute, making it 3-4, Joel Queiros' goal made for an exhilarating final few minutes but it was to no avail as the Italians booked their Final ticket leaving Portugal to contest the third place spot with the loser of the Russia-Spain match. Over to the other Semi-Final now, the Spaniards got off to a fine start with the opening goal in the 16th minute through Pola. However, Russia reacted powerfully with Sergeev and Lyskov making it 2-1 in the 22nd and 26th minutes respectively. Rafael Usin brought the Iberians level in the 26th minute though Fukin kept the eastern Europeans in the lead before the 26th minute had run out. Nevertheless, Miguelin brought the sides level 3-3 in the 37th minute. Keeping the sides level for the last three minutes of regulation time, one five minute period of extra time went by without a breakthrough. Finally, in the second period of extra time, Robinho struck the Russians ahead in the 48th minute meaning they just had to hold the line for two minutes. Despite intense pressure, they were able to do just that, pitting them against Italy in the Final while Spain and Portugal faced off in the 3rd Place match. As for that match for third, Portugal and Spain treated the world to a feast of football: Fernandao, Jose Ruiz, and Lozano struck for Spain three times before the 7th minute, making it 0-3 for the Spaniards. Ricardinho and Pedro Cary gave the Portuguese a chance with two goals before the twelfth minute though two more goals - from Miguelin and Rafael Usin - secured Spain's victory. 2-5, Raul Campos struck in the 19th minute for Spain before Pedro Costa and Joel Queiros made it 4-6. To add insult to injury, the defending futsal world champions struck twice more, through Fernandao and Pola, making the third-place match the highest-scoring in the competition's history! As for the Final, Italy and Russia gave us a tremendous contest with Gabriel Lima putting the southern Europeans in the lead for a little over three minutes until Eder Lima equalized in the ninth minute. The match could well have gone either way, but it was the Italians who pushed on to victory, striking twice between the 13th and 18th minutes through Murilo and Giasson to take a firm lead before the halftime break. Despite 42 efforts, 9 more than the Italians, the Russians were unable to crack Italy's defenses and in fact lost Cirilo to a second yellow card in the 33rd minute making the last seven minutes of the game a rubber stamp as the southern Europeans won their first title since 2003. Hope you enjoyed the matches!

Futsal European Championship: 2/5/2014.

After a thrilling Quarter-Final round, we are off to the Semis with Portugal, Italy, Russia, and Spain making it through. Portugal's one-man show of Cardinal - technically a defender - struck early in each half to put the Iberians through to the next round despite Ukraine's best efforts. The Ukrainian's Yevgen Valenko was able to bring the eastern Europeans level in the 12th minute however Cardinal added to his 2nd minute goal with one in the 22nd minute that went unanswered. An exciting match, Italy's match against Croatia ended with a similar scoreline though the eventual winners appeared slightly more in control. Sergio Romano struck in the 46th second of play to get things rolling while Croatia equalized a little over six minutes later courtesy of Franko Jelovcic. However, in the 9th minute the Italians were able to secure their second - the final for both teams - goal of the match through Fortino in the 9th minute. The 2nd half may as well not have happened. Meanwhile, Romania were slaughtered by Russia 0-6 thanks to a barrage of scoring from the likes of Robinho, Vladislav Shayakhmetov, Eder Lima, and Sergei Sergeev. Spain were similarly successful over a surprising Slovenian side with a 4-0 scoreline. Fernandao scored in the 11th minute with Rafael Usin making it 2-0 in the 17th. The second twenty minutes opened with a flurry of yellow cards, however Aicardo struck not once but twice in the dying minutes of the 2nd half - the 36th and 39th minutes - to make it 4 for the winners and set up a play date with the Russians tomorrow. As for the Semi-Final fixtures, Italy will most likely have more consistency than the Portuguese while Russia's match with Spain could go either way. If Eder Lima continues in the vein that he has been in, the eastern European powerhouse may just win the tournament. If Aicardo can convert more often and Rafa stays sharp in goal for the Spaniards, they may yet defend their title. Enjoy the games!

European Futsal Championship Update: February 3, 2014

And we are on to the Quarter-Finals after Ukraine wrapped-up Group A with Romania also making it through at the expense of Belgium. The Ukrainians finished with 4 points from two matches while Romania got through on one victory. While hosts Belgium don't go on to the next round, they did manage to collect one point. Group B was evenly split between Russia and Portugal with 4 points each as the Netherlands were left to wonder what might have been. Group C on the other hand was evenly split three ways with each team tallying a victory though Italy and Slovenia go through on goal difference. Azerbaijan were unlucky enough to be eliminated after their defenders really let them down. Group D finished with Spain and Croatia going through with 4 and 2 points respectively as the Czech Republic bow out with one. As for the next round, Ukraine and Portugal face-off while Russia take on Romania and Italy battle the Croatians. Spain should manage Slovenia, though you never know for certain in football! Hope you all had a good weekend.

Futsal Euro Tournament

Just an update here on the Futsal European Champsionship taking place in Belgium. In Group A, the hosts aren't looking too good. Ukraine at the moment lead the group with a final game against bottom-placed Belgium. Romania meanwhile are, for all intents and purposes, through to the quarter-finals after destroying Belgium 6-1. They do not have a perfect record though, since the Ukrainians were able to edge the Romanians 1-0. Over in Group B, the Netherlands have already been knocked out leaving Russia and Portugal to fight it out for the top position in a scintillating final group match. Based on the teams' performances against the Dutch, Russia might be favorites after winning 7-1 but Portugal's 5-0 result will ensure that they are both going through no matter what the result is. Groups C and D are a match behind the first two but the ice has been broken. In the former, Slovenia have jumped to the front following a 3-2 victory over the Italians while Azerbaijan have yet to start their campaign. Group D is also up for grabs - perhaps even more so - between Croatia and Spain who split points in their first match which ended 3-3. The Czech Republic waits to begin their group stage campaign. Hope you enjoy the competition!