FIFA World Cup 2026

Musings said:
I see Algeria lost last night. Another African nation bows out
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So far, Morocco has made it to the Sweet 16 (is that a term for soccer?). Will see what the next couple days brings with Cape Verde, Ghana, and Egypt.

Of those three, I give Ghana the best chance.
 
Now that we're close to the end of the Round of 32 and will see the start of the Sweet 16 this weekend, let's have a look shall we at AZ's progression to becoming a World Cup fan.

How it started:
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Now:
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It's 2330 here and I'm looking at various stats, where the next day's matches will be held, etc.
 
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PakAl said:
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Most analysts are saying there was a touch from Matanovic, no. 20. This means the offside call stands. You can see his hair flick slightly as he makes contact. The ball also now has "snickometer" technology as seen in cricket. It was offside. Ronaldo wins.

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Argentina v Cape Verde: Breaking down biggest World Cup knockout mismatch​


A split picture of Argentina's Lionel Messi and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha


Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha will have to keep out Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of all time

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Lionel Messi versus Vozinha. It is the World Cup battle no-one knew they wanted, but which fans now cannot wait to see.

Argentina and Cape Verde walk out at the Miami Stadium on Friday (23:00 BST).

Arguably the greatest player the world has seen faces a 40-year-old goalkeeper who was a complete unknown three weeks ago.

It encapsulates one of the best stories of this World Cup - Cape Verde, on their World Cup debut, defying the odds to reach the knockout rounds.

No-one gave Cape Verde a prayer against European champions Spain. Yet they drew 0-0.

It was heralded as one of the greatest-ever World Cup shocks, and the African nation did not even win.

Then came draws against two-time World Cup winners Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, to qualify for the last 32 in second place in the group.

Next come Argentina. It could be the biggest mismatch the World Cup has ever seen.
 

Five Argentina players are each worth more than Cape Verde's entire first XI​


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Kevin Pina, born in the Cape Verdean capital city of Praia, scored his country's first-ever goal at the World Cup

Cape Verde's transformation began in 2010 when then-coach Joao de Deus looked to their massive diaspora and called up eight uncapped players.

Many international teams in the modern game rely on their diaspora: citizens who were born and live elsewhere across the globe but are eligible to play international football for the country.

Twelve of Cape Verde's squad were born in the country, with their first-ever World Cup finals goal - in their 2-2 draw against Uruguay - scored by Kevin Pina, from the capital city of Praia.

But they do lean heavily on their diaspora, including five players born in the Netherlands, and three each in France and Portugal.

No player is based in the country's semi-professional domestic league.

Twenty-three are in Europe, but only Villarreal defender Logan Costa plies his trade in any of the continent's top five leagues.

Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who has been a surprise star of the tournament, is officially a free agent after his contract with Portuguese second division side Chaves expired on Tuesday.

Vozinha is one of seven who have been playing in Portugal, though full-back Sidny Lopes Cabral - who was at Benfica but is joining Tranzonspor - is the only one at a major club.

According to the website Transfermarkt, the whole squad has a value of just 54.5m euros (£46.8m).

Only nine of the 48 teams at the tournament are valued lower, with Qatar ranked last on 19.9m euros (£17.1m).

Argentina, meanwhile, have a squad stacked with household names, with their squad value of 807.5m euros (£693.7m) ranked seventh at the World Cup. France top the table on 1.52bn euros (£1.31bn).
 
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