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italy: mission World cup 2022!

7/28/2021

ITALY IS BACK!

As Italy climbed back to European supremacy with the recent UEFA Euro 2020 title, it now has a great opportunity to win it all at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar which, in soccer terms, is just around the corner. A one-two punch conquest of the Euro and World Cup would put the Italians in rare air as Spain most recently did as much with the 2008 Euro, 2010 World Cup, and then an unheard of third championship with the 2012 Euro (three titles in a row is ridiculously good, but let's not get ahead of ourselves quite yet; Italy has to go one step at a time before the Triple is a possibility).

With all payers healthy and everything rolling together chemistry-wise, it should be an interesting run as Italy is prime and ready for such a feat.

japan vs. mongolia: you guessed it !!!

7/27/2021

Japan is on a roll. Not too long ago, on 3-30-21, Japan had a match with mighty Mongolia. There may have been some anxiety before this one. You never know.

Though, the result ended up:: Japan 14 Mongolia 0.

Note to Mongolia...never mind.

Qatar vs. El salvador: who knew?!

7/27/2021

Never thought I’d say this: I can’t wait till the next game between Qatar and El Salvador. It turns out, before their 2021 Gold Cup Quarter-Final, they had a heated match in which un-nice things were exchanged thereby setting the stage for an exciting Gold Cup ecounter just recently. Tempers flared and a good game ensued as Qatar walked away with a narrow 3-2 victory. Dare I say it? A rivalry has been established: Qatar and El Salvador. It reminds me of the ‘international games’ at SIUC I witnessed when I was a kid. These matches—which were primarily bouts to express anger—were often between two teams representing geographical locations somewhere in the middle of the world that resulted in squabbles over certain affairs regarding hegemony back in the homeland; the bird was given in multiple ways, foul words were exchanged, promises of curses or something therein were made, invisible lines were drawn thus tempting the other side to cross to see what’s next, arms flailed around—it was beautiful. Sometimes I’ve thought about those games and wondered ‘what was the point?’ You know, no one cared, no one was there, outside of a few friends, say. The point was: They were in the moment, competing. Likewise, Qatar and El Salvador—two teams you’d ordinarily forget about—were in the moment, competing like there was no tomorrow. It was great to see and hopefully there’s more down the road.

By the way, Qatar, so it was finally announced, is a “guest team” in the 2021 Gold Cup. It’s about time. For second there it was like: Okay, Gold Cup, we’ve got US, Mexico, Honduras, Qatar, Jamaica…wait a second! Huh?! Somebody call 911! What the?! Qatar?! Somebody call the doctor! What the?! So basically, as a promotion for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar is showcasing its talents as a guest team in the 2021 Gold Cup just as the Gold Cup has welcomed previous guests to the tournament such as Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa. Go figure.

EURO CHAMPIONS LIST

7/12/2021

ITALY IS BACK!

Euro Winners Prior to 2020:

1960: Soviet Union
1964: Spain
1968: Italy
1972: West Germany
1976: Czechoslovakia
1980: West Germany
1984: France
1988: Netherlands
1992: Denmark
1996: Germany
2000: France
2004: Greece
2008: Spain
2012: Spain
2016: Portugal
2020: Italy

italy: mission World cup 2022!

japan vs. mongolia: you guessed it !!!

Qatar vs. El salvador: who knew?!

EURO CHAMPIONS LIST

Shane stay +
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italy: mission World cup 2022!

japan vs. mongolia: you guessed it !!!

Qatar vs. El salvador: who knew?!

EURO CHAMPIONS LIST

Shane stay + ​(archives)

Author

Categories

Shane stay +
(archives)