Author: Snehasis Mukherjee

Brazil’s final Group D match in the ongoing 2024 Copa America ended in a 1-1 draw against Colombia. James Rodriguez and his team topped the group with 7 points (2 wins, 1 draw), while Brazil secured the second position with 5 points (1 win, 2 draws). Consequently, in the quarterfinals, Colombia will face the second-placed team from Group C, Panama, while Brazil will confront one of the tournament’s most formidable contenders, Uruguay. Colombia have been in exceptional form, coming into this match with a 25-game unbeaten streak and 10 consecutive wins. Their last defeat was against the current world champions,…

Brazil triumphed over Paraguay with a stylish 4-1 victory in their second group game of the ongoing Copa America tournament. Vinicius Jr. scored twice, while Savio and Lucas Paqueta also found the back of the net. Historically, Paraguay have often posed challenges for the ‘Selecao’ in Copa America, particularly in recent encounters. Between 2011 and 2015, Paraguay eliminated the five-time World Champions twice in consecutive tournaments via penalties. Even in the 2019 Copa America quarterfinal, Brazil narrowly defeated Paraguay in a penalty shootout (4-3). Aware of Paraguay’s reputation as a tough opponent, coach Dorival Jr. and his team faced significant…

Georgia created history and in style. In their last group game, which was a must-win for them, they, defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0, sending the travelling Georgian fans into a frenzy at the Veltins-Arena. With this win, they secured third position in the group in Euro 2024, which was enough to qualify for the knockout stage. Georgia’s performance in all three games in their maiden appearance in this prestigious tournament has been commendable. Against Turkey, they lost 1-3 but the scoreline does not reflect the quality and intensity of their play throughout the 90 minutes. It was, arguably, one of…

Before their Copa America 2024 opener against Costa Rica, Brazil head coach Dorival Junior acknowledged that his team had yet to find the right balance and consistency, but he hoped to discover the right mix against Los Ticos. This concern proved accurate after a disappointing 0-0 draw at SoFi Stadium in California. Despite showcasing skill and creating numerous attacking threats, the Seleção seemed lost in the final third. Notably, Brazil started without a traditional No. 9 striker in their lineup. Vinicius Junior led the attack alongside Rodrygo and Raphinha, while Endrick came on in the second half but failed to…

Team India fans are still in disbelief that a controversial goal from Qatar put an end to their dream of making it to the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in their history. The ball clearly looked to be out of play before it was dragged back and put into the goal by Qatar’s players in the 73rd minute. The Indian players protested but the referee and linesman stood by their decision, and the goal stood. Regarding that controversial call, we reached out to Pritam Kotal, current Kerala Blasters and Team India defender, and…

Day 2 of Team India’s training at the National Centre of Excellence (NCE), Kolkata got done and dusted on Friday as it was another intense session for both players and staff. From Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to Sahal Abdul Samad, all were seen in full cry but the veteran goalkeeper got involved in a media interaction. Ahead of the important FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match against Kuwait on June 6, Gurpreet shared his special memories with Sunil Chhetri as the skipper is set to hang up his boots for the nation after this game. On Chhetri’s decision,…

“Manchester is and always will be Red!” This tweet came from David de Gea, former Manchester United goalkeeper, just minutes after United’s 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Despite starting the match as the underdog against the just-crowned Premier League champions, Eric ten Hag’s men rose to the occasion and secured a place in next year’s Europa League with this epic and well-deserved victory. It was the Red Devils’ 13th FA Cup title and the timing of this trophy could not have been better. A horrible league season had culminated with United…

“When they (Arsenal) faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said ‘Ah, these guys, they don’t want to beat us, they just want a draw.’ And that mentality, I don’t think we would do it the same way. And we caught them (in the title race). At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it’s so tough. So, I think that shows our mentality.” These were the words of Manchester City’s Rodri just after winning the Premier League for the fourth consecutive time. That statement just showed…

Gareth Southgate announced a 33-man provisional squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 on Tuesday, and the biggest news that broke the Internet was the absence of Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling from the squad. Rashford’s Manchester United teammate, Jadon Sancho, was another notable omission, as was the injury-plagued Chelsea full-back, Reece James. Rashford has been in poor form this season, scoring just eight goals and contributing five assists across 42 games in all competitions. The downturn in his performances contributed greatly to Manchester United’s eighth-place finish in the English Premier League (EPL), their worst in decades. Lack of…

On May 18, 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the heart of Bengaluru. Rain could yet play spoilsport for fans and players in the 68th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). However, there is a unique connection between rain and RCB’s matches in Bengaluru on May 18 over the years. In 2013, against CSK, RCB played an eight-overs-a-side game, while in 2016, against Punjab Kings, they played a 15-overs-a-side match. Not only have RCB won all four of their matches on this date, but Virat Kohli, their…