waroffutbol

  Top goalkeepers who have won Olympic gold medals are extremely rare throughout the tournament's history. Football appears to be destined as the Olympics' secondary global tournament. Despite its distinguished status, it is not on the FIFA international calendar. As a result, those involved in the competition, from players to managers, are either past their prime or have yet to become well-known. Due to the Olympics' schedule, top players, particularly those between the sticks, are unlikely to compete. The goalkeepers named to the squad are mostly understudies or veterans from the senior teams. It's no surprise that only a few of them eventually received gold medals. The last renowned shot stoppers to win medals at the Olympics were Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa and Spain’s Unai Simon. The former earned a bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympics after beating the host, Japan, in third place , while the latter only received a silver medal as he was unable to help Sp...

Very few top managers leading the U23 team to the Olympics eventually won medals in the tournament. Football at the Olympics might have been the most prestigious tournament in its early editions in the 1920s and 1930s before the FIFA World Cup emerged as the main international competition. However, since then, the value of football at the Olympics has steadily declined, as FIFA would prefer to emphasise the competition for professional players, not only for amateurs or youngsters. Despite the rule change in 1984, enabling professional players to take part, winning medals at the Olympics has never been a priority. Such can be seen from the small number of top managers who have been eager to help the U23 side gain success in the tournament. In the past few editions, including Paris 2024, top managers have been nowhere to be seen. Most of them are the head coaches of U20 sides or assistant managers who have been assigned to take charge of the U23 team. Should they manage to impress th...

 The regulations regarding the roster in football at the Olympics have undergone changes from time to time. Football at the Olympics is set to kick off next week. The men’s football team at the summer Olympics has gone through plenty of changes in its roster or squad selection. Such is not without a reason. Football at the Summer Olympics was once considered the most prestigious tournament in the world prior to the FIFA World Cup. It was under the IOC and first officially included in the 1900 edition, which was far earlier than the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. Initially, it was only an exhibition match between Denmark and Greece in the first edition of the modern Olympics in 1896. FIFA was founded in 1904, and football had already appeared in two summer Olympics . They became concerned about football's popularity in the IOC's organised sport event in the 1920s. In 1930, the world football governing body proposed the creation of a new global tournament for professional play...

  Only a few games in the Copa America finals can be considered the most thrilling matches in history. Copa America 2024 has come to an end, with the final set to be staged this weekend. The reigning champions, Argentina and Colombia, are squaring off in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is bound to be an entertaining clash, although it would not be a classic match like Argentina vs. Brazil or Argentina vs. Uruguay. Throughout the tournament’s history, only a few games in the summit could be regarded as thrilling encounters, in which both sides scored but not in an equal match, not a one-sided clash. Copa America itself only has its format with the final game since the 1993 edition. The round-robin format was more preferable from the first edition in 1916 to 1991. Here are those notable and memorable finals. Argentina vs. Mexico (Copa America 1993 Final) The 1993 edition was the first Copa America, which invited non-CONMEBOL members to compete. Mexico and the USA were the first t...

  Only a very few notable star players were awarded Copa America’s MVP twice. Copa America 2024 is heading to the final. The reigning champions, Argentina, are set to take on Colombia at the summit. It is bound to be a tough match for both sides, and they might have to go through a shootout to decide the winner again, just like the last edition held in the USA, the Copa America Centenario. This clash would also be their first meeting in the final. In the tournament’s history, there have been a few names who have won the best player award twice. The last one is surely Lionel Messi. He was first awarded such an accolade officially in 2015. However, he refused it due to the heartbreaking defeat to the host Chile in the final. The second one was undoubtedly three years ago, when he was instrumental in breaking the spell of a series of cursed failures at the international level. This year, Messi could break another record should he win another MVP. However, such is rather unlikely,...

  Only a few finals can be considered the most thrilling finals in EURO history. EURO 2024 is coming to an end as the tournament sees two finalists square off in Berlin for the trophy. Spain is the clear favourite, as they managed to eliminate the host Germany and one of the pre-tournament favourites, France, with a 2-1 win each. Rodri and Co. have been the most convincing team so far, as they have won all games in the competition without a single draw or even going through penalties to ease past their opponents. Meanwhile, England is the unlikely finalist due to their unconvincing form on the way to the summit. Yet, Gareth Southgate’s men managed to defy the odds and advance to the EURO final consecutively. The fans would expect their encounter to be exciting or even thrilling with more than just one goal, and both sides did score instead of a one-sided victory or, worse, dull and goalless. These finals might be setting the perfect example of what the best final should be. H...

  A number of games in the UEFA EURO semifinals ended in goals galore. EURO 2024 is already in the last four. Unfortunately, plenty of games in the tournament have not produced a lot of goals in one game. Some even ended in stalemates. What’s worse, some elite teams have not displayed promising goalscoring prowess. France and England have been considered the worst. The Blues have been relying on penalties and their own goal to find the back of the net, while the Three Lions are slightly better. Yet, their offence has not demonstrated the quality of their stars on the front line, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Although they have scored twice each so far, England fans are expecting more from them. Considering their unconvincing performance, it is rather unlikely to see a goal galore in the semifinals. What matters more is to progress and not concede. The shootout seems to have become a preferable option to break the tie. However, there is still hope for a change of tide, just li...