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Argentina have made it through to the quarterfinals of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in a 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16, to a greater extent thanks to a top notch performance from their captain and talisman Lionel Messi. Argentina struggled in the first thirty-five minutes of the Argentina vs Australia eight finals, with Messi quickly surrounded by the Socceroos every time he had the ball on his feet. However, Messi managed to keep Argentina's World Cup trophy alive in his 100th game as Argentina captain and 1,000th appearance in professional football with a much needed goal. A goal that happened to be Messi's first in the knockout stage of a World Cup. Messi is now only one goal shy of Gabriel Batistuta's record of 10 World Cup goals. Messi's performance was truly outstanding, as he completed 90% of his passes, created four chances and had nine touches in the opposition area. This has been rated Messi's best game so far in this World Cup. Messi is now t...

Former Barcelona star and Argentina's most capped player Javier Mascherano, gave Lionel Messi some advice after announcing his retirement. Mascherano announced his retirement a few minutes after the final whistle of the match that saw "Les bleus" take down "La Albiceleste" 4-3 was blown. The thrilling game between Argentina and France in which France emerged victorious could potentially have been Messi's last World Cup appearance.  Lucas Biglia followed in Mascherano's footsteps and announced his retirement after the game. He said, " It's up to a lot of us to  take a step aside and allow fresh blood to come in. " He further added, " I don't know what the others will do. Another generation is coming through and I hope they can work in peace.   I gave it everything. You have to be honest with yourself. " Sergio Aguero won't be retiring from international football. " We'll keep working at our clubs and if som...

photo credit: BBC  La Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi, gave Argentina a lifeline with his 14th minute strike. It took him a while to get warmed up but he's back. Tuesday's must win clash saw a revived Argentina after their previous match struggles against Iceland and Croatia, with Messi rediscovering his best form. The Argentinian forward received a decisive pass from Ever Banega - Sevilla midfielder, with the ball falling right at Messi's feet. Messi handled the ball with three synchronized touches with three different parts of his body to score, delivering a thumping shot with his 'less active' right foot and finished past the Nigerian goalkeeper. photo credit: Getty and Reuters Nigeria was given an opportunity to equalize thanks to Maraschino's terrible mistake. He held Nigeria's Balogun at Nigeria's first corner in the 2nd half of the game, earning Nigeria a penalty. Victor Moses calmly beat Argentina's debutante goalke...

It's finally World Cup 2018! 32 teams categorized into 8 groups are in for 65 matches, to be played in 12 venues.  ·         Group A teams are: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. ·         Group B teams are: Portugal, Spain, Iran and Morocco. ·         Group C teams are: France, Peru, Denmark and Australia. ·         Group D teams are: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria. ·         Group E teams are: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia. ·         Group F teams are: Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea. ·         Group G teams are: Belgium, England, Tunisia and Panama. ·         Group H teams are: Poland, Colombia, Senegal and Japan. This is the full schedule for t...

The opening day of Russia 2018 was certainly not a disappointment  after four years of anticipation. English pop star Robbie Williams, Russia soprano Aida Garifullina and former Brazil striker Ronaldo were the principal attentions at the musical opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The ceremony took place at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium 30 minutes before the group A opener between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. The 80,000 fans in attendance were treated to Robbie Williams' lively music and dance performance.  A performance of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's notable works marked the beginning of the ceremony. Robbie Williams then kicked in with a rendition of "Let Me Entertain You", before performing a miscellany of hits, which included a duet on Williams' worldwide hit "Angels" with Russian opera star Aida Garifullina. Russian harpist and composer Alexander Boldachev, and Russian pianist Danil Trifonov played during the "Angels...

British singer Robbie Williams may just be the first offender to host nation Russia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He may have broken Russian law after flicking his middle finger at watching fans during the World Cup opening ceremony. Russia cracked down on the use of explicit language in the arts in July 2014 by banning the use of swear words in the arts. Those who go against the law face "fines of between $70 and $1,400 depending on whether they're an individual, an official or an organization. Williams performed a few songs to kick off the tournament then gave the middle finger during the pause of his performance of "Rock DJ" at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.  Angry and perplexed football fans took to Twitter to express their disbelief. One angry user tweeted, "Robbie Williams swearing at the camera at the opening ceremony of the World Cup just shows you what a tactless and classless person he is. Absolutely disrespectful and coupled with a nonchalant ...