Showing posts with label 🇪🇸. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 🇪🇸. Show all posts
Friday, 24 July 2026
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
NICO WILLIAMS AND HIS BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND AINHI GARCIA | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
Monday, 20 July 2026
SIX TEAMS HAVE ALREADY QUALIFIED FOR THE 2030 WORLD CUP DUE TO UNIQUE FIFA RULE
The winners of the World Cup will not qualify automatically for the next tournament
Spain absolutely battering Argentina in the World Cup final isn’t the reason why they will automatically qualify for the next tournament in 2030.
Six host nation countries have already secured their places in the next World Cup.
The tournament's three main co-hosts, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, as well as Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will automatically qualify for the next edition in four years time.
FIFA’s 2030 competition will be held from Saturday, 8 June to Sunday, 21 July, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
These South American countries have been chosen to play first to commemorate 100 years of the World Cup, which was hosted and won by Uruguay in 1930.
Where will the opening 2030 World Cup game be played?
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| Spain were the best team in the tournament by a mile (Carl Recine/Getty Images) |
The opening game will be held at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which boasts a capacity of 100,000.
Estadio Osvaldo Dominguez Dibb, a brand new venue in Paraguay, and the Montevideo in Uruguay will also host opening matches.
After those three games, the World Cup will shift to the Northern Hemisphere in 18 stadiums across Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
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| Ugly scenes at full-time (Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images) |
It comes after FIFA boss Gianni Infantino wants to controversially expand the World Cup to a 64-team tournament in 2030 following the success of the expanded 48-team competition this year.
"These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," Infantino told Blue Sport.
"When organising a World Cup, it's important to organise it for the whole world - not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.
"You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it's getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don't give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they'll lack the incentive to keep improving."
No Messi or Ronaldo
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| The end of an era (Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images) |
Sadly, the squads of host nations Argentina and Portugal are unlikely to include the two greatest players of all time in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Spain’s convincing 1-0 final, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni was full of praise for Messi: “He is 39 years old, it is unbelievable. It was always crystal clear to me that he would play until he chose to stop and that everyone would support him.
“I hope everyone is proud of him, because he is the best football player ever to set foot on a pitch.”
Both Messi and Ronaldo are yet to comment officially on their international futures.
On the result, Scaloni added: “I feel sadness but knowing that we left everything out there.
“I have a lot of things to say about how we got here, but it’s not worth it.
“I want to thank these guys eternally for giving us another World Cup final and for competing until the end. They were better, that’s the truth.
“But I’ll hold on to an enormous memory of what they have done, of what it’s worth to get this far. We have to give it huge validity because it takes a lot to get here.”
Featured Image Credit: Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images
- Anish Vij
KEVIN HART AND SHAKIRA WITH SPAIN FORWARD FERRAN TORRES | FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
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| 📸: Bleacher Report Football |
Saturday, 18 July 2026
LIONEL MESSI ALMOST PLAYED FOR SPAIN: THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF A VHS TAPE
FIFA World Cup 2026 final carries added significance for Lionel Messi, who came close to committing his international future to Spain during the early years of his career.
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| Lionel Messi in action © AFP |
After more than a month of intense competition, Argentina and Spain have emerged as the two finalists of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The tournament, which began with a record 48 teams, has now come down to a highly anticipated title clash between the two football giants, set to take place on Monday in New Jersey. For Argentina captain Lionel Messi, the occasion marks a full-circle moment. The 39-year-old is set to play in his third World Cup final during his sixth appearance at the tournament. However, this final carries added significance for Messi, who came close to committing his international future to Spain during the early years of his career.
In September 2001, Messi arrived in Barcelona at the age of 13 to join the club's famed La Masia academy. He would go on to spend 21 years with the Catalan giants, developing into one of the greatest footballers of all time before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
Yet despite spending most of his formative and professional years in Spain, Messi's dream was always to represent Argentina on the international stage-a decision that ultimately shaped one of the most iconic careers in football history.
Former Argentina coach Jose Pekerman, who handed Lionel Messi his senior international debut, once revealed that he first learned about the youngster from members of Argentina's coaching staff during the 2003 U-17 World Cup.
Back in 2002, then-national team coach Marcelo Bielsa and his assistant Claudio Vivas came across information about the Barcelona prodigy while visiting Spain to monitor several Argentine internationals playing there.
However, the story took a different turn when one of Messi's early representatives, Horacio Gaggiolo, shared an incident about the VHS tapes.
"That was [Messi's dad] Jorge's idea. He told me: "Horacio, the Argentine national team is coming to Barcelona, can you get them some footage of Leo?" Leo wasn't well known in Argentina. We had a video that I was given by Barca with some plays, and I went to the Hotel Princesa Sofia in Barcelona where they were staying. I asked for Vivas, who was Bielsa's assistant," Gaggiolo told ESPN, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
"When Marcelo renewed his contract with Argentina, we toured Europe to explain to the players why we had renewed after the South Korea-Japan World Cup [in 2002]. During that stop in Barcelona, an Argentine man approached me," he added.
"I told Marcelo about him and he asked: "Does he play well?" I said: "He doesn't just play well, he's incredible!" "Let me see, play a little bit of it," Marcelo said, adding as I played the tape: "But play it at normal speed, you can't see anything like this." I said: "Marcelo, it is at normal speed, I just pressed play." He said: "But this kid is unbelievable!"
However, by the time the video footage reached Hugo Tocalli, Argentina's youth team coach, preparations for the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup were already at an advanced stage. As a result, Tocalli chose not to include Messi in the squad. Argentina eventually suffered a 3-2 defeat to Spain in the semi-finals. Following the tournament, a member of Spain's team staff told Tocalli that Argentina would likely have beaten Spain had Messi featured in their lineup.
How Messi played for Argentina?
Upon returning to Argentina, Tocalli set out to bring Messi into the national team setup. A friendly match was quickly organized to assess the young forward, but the circumstances surrounding it were rather unusual. With little time available to make arrangements, the match even had an Argentine referee officiating it, as FIFA regulations required a recognized match official for the game.
Horacio Gaggioli, revealed that there was significant interest from Spain regarding the youngster's international future.
"I received many calls asking whether he could play for the Spanish national team," Gaggioli recalled. "I would tell them that the decision ultimately rested with Leo and his family. There was no question about his ability, but he had to choose."
Despite the speculation, Messi's stance remained unwavering. According to Gaggioli, the football icon was always determined to represent Argentina while continuing his club career with Barcelona.
- Tushar Mamgaain
Sunday, 12 July 2026
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Monday, 25 May 2026
Saturday, 16 May 2026
Thursday, 14 May 2026
Thursday, 7 May 2026
BARCELONA FORWARD SAYS EL CLASICO ''THE LEAST OF PRESSURE' FOR PLAYERS
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| Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images |
With the La Liga title race reaching its decisive stage, all eyes are now on the upcoming El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
The pressure surrounding the fixture could hardly be bigger, as Barcelona know that avoiding defeat would place them in complete control of the title race, while Real Madrid simply cannot afford to drop points if they want to keep their hopes alive.
Ahead of the massive encounter, Barcelona forward Ferran Torres spoke to AS about the emotions, pressure, and excitement that come with playing in one of football’s biggest matches.
Despite the importance of the occasion, the Spaniard admitted that players often feel less pressure during games like El Clasico because these are the matches they dream of playing throughout their careers.
“This kind of match is the one every player dreams of playing. It’s actually the opposite. That’s when there’s the least pressure.
“It’s fun. That’s when you most want to play, when you’re most motivated,” he said.
A decent record vs Real Madrid
Ferran already has significant experience against Madrid since joining Barcelona.
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| Ferran Torres is not too worried about El Clasico. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) |
The Spanish forward has faced Los Blancos 14 times for the Catalan side and has regularly managed to hurt their defence, registering three goals and four assists in those matches.
One of his most memorable moments came during last season’s Copa del Rey final when he scored after getting past both Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois in a decisive attacking move.
Looking back at that goal, Ferran explained that footballers barely have time to process what is happening in moments like that because instinct takes over completely.
“When the game ended, I barely even remembered the play because you don’t have time to process it.
“During the play, it was all about seeing the opening, and you don’t think about who’s in front of you or behind you – you just focus on scoring.
“When you see the ball go in… honestly, it’s an incredible feeling,” he concluded.
- Swapnil
Monday, 27 April 2026
ZARAGOZA GOALKEEPER PUNCHES PLAYER, SPARKS BRAWL IN LA LIGA 2 DERBY MATCH
Real Zaragoza’s Esteban Andrada faces a ban for punching Huesca’s Jorge Pulido after being shown a red card.
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| Players of Spanish league's second tier clubs Real Zaragoza and Huesca were involved in an on-field brawl [Screen grab/ Social Media] |
Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada faces a long ban for punching a Huesca player in the face, having already been sent off in a match in the second tier of Spanish league football.
The Argentina international, 35, pushed over Jorge Pulido and was dismissed for the incident on Sunday.
Andrada then became enraged, running to hit Pulido and sparking a brawl on the pitch in stoppage time of the derby clash.
Huesca goalkeeper Dani Jimenez and Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende were also sent off in the aftermath, with hosts Huesca holding on for a 1-0 win.
Andrada, on loan from Mexican side Monterrey, could be banned for up to 12 matches for the punch as well as the obligatory one-match sanction for his red card.
“We witnessed scenes unbecoming of this sport and which should never have occurred,” said Zaragoza in a statement.
“The club strongly condemns what happened in that moment, which has unacceptably tarnished a football match of special importance for our region, something that is unacceptable.
“Regarding our player Esteban Andrada, the club will analyse the events that occurred and take the appropriate disciplinary measures.”
Both Zaragoza and Huesca are in the relegation zone and fighting demotion to Spain’s third tier.
- AFP
Sunday, 26 April 2026
Monday, 20 April 2026
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