2018 AHFA World Cup
- Thread starter riskyrofl
- Start date
Just realised we should change up the match schedule, as it is all the top 2 teams face each other on the first round which isn't very interesting or realistic. I say should do it based on the order of Russia 2018 just because that's easy. Because Im lazy ill just put which team the top team plays each round and you can deduce what teams are playing the other match in that group
Group A
1 v 4
1 v 3
1 v 2
Group B
1 v 2
1 v 4
1 v 3
Group C
1 v 4
1 v 2
1 v 3
Group D
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group E
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group F
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group G
1 v 4
1 v 3
1 v 2
Group H
1 v 3
1 v 2
1 v 4
Sorry Yanrayay
Group A
1 v 4
1 v 3
1 v 2
Group B
1 v 2
1 v 4
1 v 3
Group C
1 v 4
1 v 2
1 v 3
Group D
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group E
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group F
1 v 2
1 v 3
1 v 4
Group G
1 v 4
1 v 3
1 v 2
Group H
1 v 3
1 v 2
1 v 4
Sorry Yanrayay
Flag of the Levantine Republic - Green for Islam, Blue for Judaism, Purple for Christian Trust with the white bands being the peace between them. The triangle section looked a bit empty so I doddered in a wee dove...let me know your thoughts if it should be in or not.
Match schedule
Fixed hopefully all mistakes.
@Pokemon Master (I remember you had one in the thread but its gone now)
@SaveAtlacamani
Are still missing flags.
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Not to be a bugbear, but I think the fixtures for the semi-finals in Russia (and possibly previous world cups as well) is that it plays across the draw. So that would mean that the winner of Quarter-final C would play the winner of Quarter-final A, and the winner of Quarter-final B would play the winner of Quarter-final D. Obviously this is done for a reason, and might make each side of the draw more balanced. I don't particularly mind myself, but it might be something to think about (if you haven't already).
On a different note, I'm happy to do any match reports from Shannon matches, which I promise will be free of bias.
On a different note, I'm happy to do any match reports from Shannon matches, which I promise will be free of bias.
Looks like my newspaper had the wrong graph up then. Should be an easy fix.
SPORTS.NH
2018 WORLD CUP BLOG
by Max Fillon
13 June:- Match Preview:- West Germany V New Holland (14th June, K0 5pm Local time)
The national team faces a tough start to its first World Cup campaign in sixteen years, facing not only a footballing heavyweight, but also the hosts. New Holland have not played West Germany since a 2005 friendly game, which was lost 4-1. The odds are looking very favourable for the West Germans with a top-notch, big name roster and strong home advantage that will be very difficult for the Southern Dutchmen to overcome. The best strategy might be just to hold West Germany to a draw rather than trying anything bold in the opening match, although a win isn't entirely out of the question if things go badly for them. However, I would certainly not advise betting on that outcome.
Just like a chess game, the first turn of a tournament can be vital to whether you win or lose later on, and looking forward the result of this match will be quite important for knockout round hopes. A heavy loss will batter the goal difference, whilst a draw keeps the points tight for the top two group places. The qualification stage has also proven that the psychological factors are also important, and I will be watching the post-match interviews closely for any hints of the team's morale. Finally, low expectations have meant there is little media pressure, but that might change if the team performs better than expected. If the opposite happens though, just remember two goals is the highest watermark since the last World Cup.
Check here again on the 15th June for my match verdict.
2018 WORLD CUP BLOG
by Max Fillon
13 June:- Match Preview:- West Germany V New Holland (14th June, K0 5pm Local time)
The national team faces a tough start to its first World Cup campaign in sixteen years, facing not only a footballing heavyweight, but also the hosts. New Holland have not played West Germany since a 2005 friendly game, which was lost 4-1. The odds are looking very favourable for the West Germans with a top-notch, big name roster and strong home advantage that will be very difficult for the Southern Dutchmen to overcome. The best strategy might be just to hold West Germany to a draw rather than trying anything bold in the opening match, although a win isn't entirely out of the question if things go badly for them. However, I would certainly not advise betting on that outcome.
Just like a chess game, the first turn of a tournament can be vital to whether you win or lose later on, and looking forward the result of this match will be quite important for knockout round hopes. A heavy loss will batter the goal difference, whilst a draw keeps the points tight for the top two group places. The qualification stage has also proven that the psychological factors are also important, and I will be watching the post-match interviews closely for any hints of the team's morale. Finally, low expectations have meant there is little media pressure, but that might change if the team performs better than expected. If the opposite happens though, just remember two goals is the highest watermark since the last World Cup.
Check here again on the 15th June for my match verdict.
Right sorry about forgetting the Flag of the PNC.
The current colours of the Nordic Council on the Nordic Cross.
The current colours of the Nordic Council on the Nordic Cross.
Wonderful! We just need volunteers, quality is not our main focus!
Thank you for the very good match report!
I would be very happy to do some for some Shannon matches (if it's ok despite the bias).
How do I? Obviously I have to wait for the actual match, but where do I get the result from?
If someone could clear that up I would be very grateful.
I would be very happy to do some for some Shannon matches (if it's ok despite the bias).
How do I? Obviously I have to wait for the actual match, but where do I get the result from?
If someone could clear that up I would be very grateful.
Nigeria v Levant
sports.proletariat.as
presents
2018 AHFA World Cup: Nigeria vs. Levantine Union
presents
2018 AHFA World Cup: Nigeria vs. Levantine Union
Nigeria (Bartolomeu Alarcão):
João Lourenço (C)
Malik Adu
Paulo Abreu
Ibrahim Diya (90+3' Orlando Ferreira)
John Wachuku
Muhammad Nwachukwu
Oladipo Ologun
Muhammad Saraki
Fernão Aguiar (57' Gbenga Wabara)
George Ayefele
Dangiwa Momodu (68' Olusegun Kano)
Levantine Union (Avram Grant):
Ibrahim Alma
Mus'ab al-Batat
Tal Ben Haim
(57' Bassel Jradi) Eitan Tibi
Mohammed Ali Khan
(74' Sameh Maraaba) Nir Bitton
Lior Rafaeliov
(80' Ahmed Awad) Eran Zahavi
Yossi Benayoun
Tomer Hemed
Mahmoud Eid
Ibrahim Alma
Mus'ab al-Batat
Tal Ben Haim
(57' Bassel Jradi) Eitan Tibi
Mohammed Ali Khan
(74' Sameh Maraaba) Nir Bitton
Lior Rafaeliov
(80' Ahmed Awad) Eran Zahavi
Yossi Benayoun
Tomer Hemed
Mahmoud Eid
Nigeria excels!
Were the Lions of the Niger totally underestimated?
Nigeria 5 - 0 Levantine Union
12' Aguiar 1-0
46' Momodu 2-0
54' Nwachukwu 3-0
64' Ayefele 4-0
87' Nwachukwu 5-0
Goals: 5 - 0
Yellow Cards 1 - 4
Second yellow cards: 0 - 0
Red cards: 0 - 0
Corners: 6 - 1
Free kicks less than 40 m from goal: 7 - 2
Shots on Goal: 28 - 5
Man of the Match: Muhammad Nwachukwu
Man of the Match: Muhammad Nwachukwu
replaced the injured Obafemi Ologun, and then scored twice by headers after corners, and provided the assist to one more goal.
Referee: Fernandéz Carrión Peñaherrera (Revolutionary Colombia)
Referee: Fernandéz Carrión Peñaherrera (Revolutionary Colombia)
Grade E: only the VAR - controversially used - saved him and his team from a total disaster in disallowing the ostensible 4-0 and 6-0, but allowing the 1-0 and the true 4-0 as it was not offside.
The Levantine Union and Nigeria were not ranked far apart, and it became quite common to call Group A the "group of death".
Bartolomeu Alarcão had to replace Obafemi Ologun who had injured himself in the last test match (0-2 against the Empire of Egypt). And he replaced Olusegun Kano, brought the more physical Dangiwa Momodu to counter the stout defenders of the Pious.
Meanwhile, the Coach of the Levantine Republic, Avram Grant, preferred Mahmoud Eid over Ben Sahar who had played poorly in the 1-2 defeat of "the Pious" against the Syndicates of the Wolof People.
At the beginning of this match, the Levantine Republic had more posession and even a very good chance when Yossi Benayoun passed the ball into a very dangerous area towards Mahmoud Eid. His shot was extremely precise, but a wee bit too high and thus, João Lourenço managed to save by directing the ball over the bar (7').
A further free kick by Yossi Benayoun also required intervention by João Lourenço (11'), but the resulting corner turned out harmless. More than that, Paulo Abreu managed to gain possession of the ball and outran all Levantine players. Thanks to Muhammed Saraki, Fernao Aguiar and Dangiwa Momodu having moved up, too, a 4 vs. 2 situation was created. Abreu easily passed onto Saraki, Saraki onto Aguiar. Aguiar scored, but in order to check if the goal was offside - Penaherrera had at first disallowed the goal - the VAR was called up. However, no offside position was to be seen and it was 1-0 for Nigeria in minute 12.
From this moment onwards, Nigeria became better and better and the Levantines had few chances. Their players were not fast enough for counters, and few opportunities arose otherwise. The best man on the Levantine team in this phase was Tal Ben Haim, who time after time foiled Nigerian attempts to score a goal, together with the Levantine goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma of course.
But this strategy was doomed to fail at some point, everyone predicted. However, as the half-time whistle blew, it was still "only" 1-0 for the Lions of the Niger and the Levantines even seemed to make a comeback in the last minutes, with a shot towards the goal by Mahmoud Eid and a free-kick from the left wing by Yossi Benayoun.
Failure did set in when, seconds after the game restarted, right from the kickoff, Saraki recieved the ball from Ologun. Saraki, with far too much freedom, passed into the centre-left, perfectly onto Ayefele, he onto Momodu, who easily scored and made it 2-0 (46').
The Levantines were shocked, and Nigeria now took control completely. Tal Ben Haim deflected an excellent Aguiar shot for another corner, which Muhammad Nwachukwu, the defensive midfielder of 2,04 m, headed into the goal. Ibrahim Alma was without a chance. 3-0 it was in minute 51.
Everybody thought that the scoreline was 4-0 after a free kick from the far right. Ibrahim Diya brought the free kick into the penalty area onto Fernao Aguiar, who passed it into the dead centre where George Ayefele just needed to put his foot in (54') - but the VAR was called again. And this time, the Cologne Cellar proved a slight offside position by Ayefele, so that the goal was disallowed.
Which did not matter much, after all. Fernao Aguiar was substituted out after this situation, but even this had little effect as Ibrahim Diya was tasked with a free kick in the 64th. He brought it directly into the penalty area, where chaos reigned for a few seconds - but soon after, the ball was in again and George Ayefele was attributed with the goal.
The Levantines tried to save the situation with offensive substitutions, but it didn't help much either, and the fact that the victory didn't get much higher can be attributed to the fact that Nigeria relaxed significantly, and substituted somewhat defensively with bringing in Gbenga Wabara.
In minute 87, another corner was awarded to Nigeria after Mus'ab al-Batat unnecessarily intervened after a harmless cross attempt by Malik Adu. The corner was brought in by Pablo Abreu, and again, Muhammad Nwachukwu jumped higher than anybody else in the whole penalty are and raised the scoreline to 5-0.
And in injury time, most spectators thought that the scoreline had been raised to 6-0, but the VAR alerted the referee to an offside position of Muhammad Saraki who had recieved the pass from Pablo Abreu on the far left wing.
Debate was rife whether Saraki really was offside or not, and several other decisions, notably allowing the 1-0 by Aguiar, also proved quite controversial despite the VAR being used, and most spectators (not only in Nigeria, but worldwide) believed that the goal which would have made it 6-0 should have counted.
Nigeria now has the likely easier task against New Holland, while the defeated Levantines are up against the hosts of West Germany for the next match.
Bartolomeu Alarcão had to replace Obafemi Ologun who had injured himself in the last test match (0-2 against the Empire of Egypt). And he replaced Olusegun Kano, brought the more physical Dangiwa Momodu to counter the stout defenders of the Pious.
Meanwhile, the Coach of the Levantine Republic, Avram Grant, preferred Mahmoud Eid over Ben Sahar who had played poorly in the 1-2 defeat of "the Pious" against the Syndicates of the Wolof People.
At the beginning of this match, the Levantine Republic had more posession and even a very good chance when Yossi Benayoun passed the ball into a very dangerous area towards Mahmoud Eid. His shot was extremely precise, but a wee bit too high and thus, João Lourenço managed to save by directing the ball over the bar (7').
A further free kick by Yossi Benayoun also required intervention by João Lourenço (11'), but the resulting corner turned out harmless. More than that, Paulo Abreu managed to gain possession of the ball and outran all Levantine players. Thanks to Muhammed Saraki, Fernao Aguiar and Dangiwa Momodu having moved up, too, a 4 vs. 2 situation was created. Abreu easily passed onto Saraki, Saraki onto Aguiar. Aguiar scored, but in order to check if the goal was offside - Penaherrera had at first disallowed the goal - the VAR was called up. However, no offside position was to be seen and it was 1-0 for Nigeria in minute 12.
From this moment onwards, Nigeria became better and better and the Levantines had few chances. Their players were not fast enough for counters, and few opportunities arose otherwise. The best man on the Levantine team in this phase was Tal Ben Haim, who time after time foiled Nigerian attempts to score a goal, together with the Levantine goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma of course.
But this strategy was doomed to fail at some point, everyone predicted. However, as the half-time whistle blew, it was still "only" 1-0 for the Lions of the Niger and the Levantines even seemed to make a comeback in the last minutes, with a shot towards the goal by Mahmoud Eid and a free-kick from the left wing by Yossi Benayoun.
Failure did set in when, seconds after the game restarted, right from the kickoff, Saraki recieved the ball from Ologun. Saraki, with far too much freedom, passed into the centre-left, perfectly onto Ayefele, he onto Momodu, who easily scored and made it 2-0 (46').
The Levantines were shocked, and Nigeria now took control completely. Tal Ben Haim deflected an excellent Aguiar shot for another corner, which Muhammad Nwachukwu, the defensive midfielder of 2,04 m, headed into the goal. Ibrahim Alma was without a chance. 3-0 it was in minute 51.
Everybody thought that the scoreline was 4-0 after a free kick from the far right. Ibrahim Diya brought the free kick into the penalty area onto Fernao Aguiar, who passed it into the dead centre where George Ayefele just needed to put his foot in (54') - but the VAR was called again. And this time, the Cologne Cellar proved a slight offside position by Ayefele, so that the goal was disallowed.
Which did not matter much, after all. Fernao Aguiar was substituted out after this situation, but even this had little effect as Ibrahim Diya was tasked with a free kick in the 64th. He brought it directly into the penalty area, where chaos reigned for a few seconds - but soon after, the ball was in again and George Ayefele was attributed with the goal.
The Levantines tried to save the situation with offensive substitutions, but it didn't help much either, and the fact that the victory didn't get much higher can be attributed to the fact that Nigeria relaxed significantly, and substituted somewhat defensively with bringing in Gbenga Wabara.
In minute 87, another corner was awarded to Nigeria after Mus'ab al-Batat unnecessarily intervened after a harmless cross attempt by Malik Adu. The corner was brought in by Pablo Abreu, and again, Muhammad Nwachukwu jumped higher than anybody else in the whole penalty are and raised the scoreline to 5-0.
And in injury time, most spectators thought that the scoreline had been raised to 6-0, but the VAR alerted the referee to an offside position of Muhammad Saraki who had recieved the pass from Pablo Abreu on the far left wing.
Debate was rife whether Saraki really was offside or not, and several other decisions, notably allowing the 1-0 by Aguiar, also proved quite controversial despite the VAR being used, and most spectators (not only in Nigeria, but worldwide) believed that the goal which would have made it 6-0 should have counted.
Nigeria now has the likely easier task against New Holland, while the defeated Levantines are up against the hosts of West Germany for the next match.
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Gian
Banned
((OOC: Here's my little contribution))
The following was translated from the original Spanish:
How does the Philippines fare against its Group E rivals?
by: Emilio Elizondo
14 June, 2018
The World Cup has officially started, and already we're seeing some pleasant surprises, like the unexpected win from Nigeria against their Levantine opponents, and some rather predictable scores (West Germany beating New Holland in the opening match calls to mind). With Group E promising to be one of the most challenging groups los Azcals has been put under, what does the teams prospects stack up. We examine the upcoming matchups from the team's basecamp in Cologne to get a better perspective of what lies ahead.
Of course, our coverage of Group E's matches begins on 17 June on TSF, beginning with the match against Sierra Madre.
Philippines vs. Sierra Madre
Cologne, 17 June at 20:00 (Manila)
The first match could very well set the tone of this World Cup (and determine first place in the group standings). Sierra Madre are no slouches when it comes to dominating their regional rivals, and this World Cup is no different. With a powerful striker like Gerardo Sada at the head of the offense alongside a robust defense at the back, this matchup is surely going to be a challenge to beat, but not an unassailable one. Expect Younghusband-Placer and Patiño to try and outfox and score on the first half, with Palalin stopping as many attempts as he can.
Greater Norway vs. Philippines
Gelsenkirchen, 23 June at 14:00 (Manila)
The Norwegians may be relative newcomers, especially since coming to the World Cup for the very first time, so many of you may be expecting that after such a grueling fight, our team could rest. However, a lot can happen in this World Cup, and their team is pretty sound for a couple of first-timers, so I should expect los Azcals to not keep their guards down for this, especially if our team loses the first match and we'd have to fight to keep our chances of reaching the Ro16 alive. Look for the defense to try and block Alexander Søderlund and Trond Olsen's advances.
Philippines vs. Tamazgha
Cologne, 28 June at 14:00 (Manila)
The North African football kings are primed and ready to strike with soccer star-turned-coach Zinedine Zidane manning the ship, and a corps of youngbloods led by midfielder Azad Kharroubi to boot. It is of course, pretty amazing for a team which five years ago was a total shambles to turn its fortunes around in such a dramatic fashion, so if our team have any chance to scale the Mighty Atlas, they would have to run corners around their robust defense, and tire their offense in the first round.
The following was translated from the original Spanish:
How does the Philippines fare against its Group E rivals?
by: Emilio Elizondo
14 June, 2018
The World Cup has officially started, and already we're seeing some pleasant surprises, like the unexpected win from Nigeria against their Levantine opponents, and some rather predictable scores (West Germany beating New Holland in the opening match calls to mind). With Group E promising to be one of the most challenging groups los Azcals has been put under, what does the teams prospects stack up. We examine the upcoming matchups from the team's basecamp in Cologne to get a better perspective of what lies ahead.
Of course, our coverage of Group E's matches begins on 17 June on TSF, beginning with the match against Sierra Madre.
Philippines vs. Sierra Madre
Cologne, 17 June at 20:00 (Manila)
The first match could very well set the tone of this World Cup (and determine first place in the group standings). Sierra Madre are no slouches when it comes to dominating their regional rivals, and this World Cup is no different. With a powerful striker like Gerardo Sada at the head of the offense alongside a robust defense at the back, this matchup is surely going to be a challenge to beat, but not an unassailable one. Expect Younghusband-Placer and Patiño to try and outfox and score on the first half, with Palalin stopping as many attempts as he can.
Greater Norway vs. Philippines
Gelsenkirchen, 23 June at 14:00 (Manila)
The Norwegians may be relative newcomers, especially since coming to the World Cup for the very first time, so many of you may be expecting that after such a grueling fight, our team could rest. However, a lot can happen in this World Cup, and their team is pretty sound for a couple of first-timers, so I should expect los Azcals to not keep their guards down for this, especially if our team loses the first match and we'd have to fight to keep our chances of reaching the Ro16 alive. Look for the defense to try and block Alexander Søderlund and Trond Olsen's advances.
Philippines vs. Tamazgha
Cologne, 28 June at 14:00 (Manila)
The North African football kings are primed and ready to strike with soccer star-turned-coach Zinedine Zidane manning the ship, and a corps of youngbloods led by midfielder Azad Kharroubi to boot. It is of course, pretty amazing for a team which five years ago was a total shambles to turn its fortunes around in such a dramatic fashion, so if our team have any chance to scale the Mighty Atlas, they would have to run corners around their robust defense, and tire their offense in the first round.
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