World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL Results

Yet another dramatic day in the World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL.

While Argentina presented a woeful display without their talisman Leo Messi, Brazil cemented their position at top of the group and also are the first to qualify for the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
Colombia leapfrogged Uruguay to become 2nd in the group.

Detailed result follows:-

1- Bolivia 2-0 Argentina

Just when Argentina were suffering from the news of Leo Messi's suspension for 4 games, their World Cup hopes took another major hit as they suffered a shock loss at the hands of Bolivia.

The visitor team never showed any spark as the Bolivian team cruised to a comfortable 2 goal win with goals from Juan Carlos Arce and Marcelo Moreno on either side of the half.

With this loss Argentina are 5th in the group with 22 points from 14 games.

2- Ecuador 0-2 Colombia

Colombia won in Quito with goals from James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado and boosted their World Cup hopes as they leapfrogged​Argentina and Uruguay to reach 2nd in the group.

Jose Pekerman's side were playing on a difficult away ground and they produced a remarkable performance.
Ecuador were reduced to 10 man later in the second half as they lost a place of playoffs to Chile.

3- Chile 3-1 Venezuela

Chile eased past bottom placed Venezuela as Alexis Sanchez became country's joint top goalscorer.

Sanchez opened the scoring in 4th minute with a brilliantly​ taken free kick as he took his tally to 37 goals and move alongside Marcelo Salas as country's joint top goalscorer.

Minutes later Esteban Paredes got onto the score sheet as he scored a brace on the night.
Venezuela managed to pull one goal back with the help of Salomon Rondon just past the hour mark but any kind of turnaround looked almost impossible.

Colombia were given a boost with the return of Arturo Vidal who missed last game 1-0 loss against Argentina.

4- Brazil 3-0 Paraguay

Brazil continued their excellent form and winning streak as they become the first team to qualify for the World Cup thanks to Peru's 2-1 win against Uruguay.

Neymar bagged his 52nd goal for his country as goals from Phillipe Coutinho and Marcelo too, helped Brazil secure a 3-0 win on the night.

Tite's men are in sublime form as they won their 9th game in a row since last year's Copa America Centenario. 

With this win Brazil are assured of at least a top 4 finish and have officially qualified for the next year's World Cup in Russia.

Brazil are currently 9 points clear of second placed Colombia who won against Venezuela while 11 points adrift Argentina who currently occupy play-offs 5th place.

5- Peru 2-1 Uruguay

Uruguay suffered a third consecutive defeat in qualifying round as Peru came from behind to down struggling visitors in Lima.

Goals from Paolo Guerrero and Edison Flores staged a much needed win as the return of Luis Suarez could not help Uruguay.

Uruguay drew first blood as they scored in the 30th minute through Carlos Sanchez but it lasted for just 4 minutes as Paolo Guerrero stored parity and Edison Flores completed the comeback just passed the hour mark.

With this win Peru kept their World Cup hopes alive.

Only 2 points separate 2nd placed Colombia and 5th placed Argentina as the fight for a place in next year's World Cup intensifies.
World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL will return in action later this year in September.

Pic Credits - FIFA World Cup 2018 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Football Updates

Arsenal must loose their pockets to keep Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez inisists former Gunner

Former Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman, who won three titles with Arsenal, has implored that club must forego there usual financial frugality to keep the dup at Emirates.

Following recent speculations around new contract talks of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Seaman has made it clear that if Arsenal have to won their first Premier League title since 2004, they must keep Ozil and Sanchez at any cost.

"To win the title Arsenal have got to keep their best players," he said, in quotes reported by the Mirror. "We used to do that. When big clubs came calling for Thierry Henry or Patrick Vieira, we always managed to send them packing.

"But then the club went through a phase of selling them, although maybe that was partly because finances forced our hand.

"Now they are in a situation where they have a great chance of winning the Premier League for the first time in 13 years and they don't need to sell.

"The Emirates Stadium is paid for, the bank manager is happy, so if it means paying Sanchez and Ozil what they are worth - or perhaps even a little bit more - just do it.

"If Arsenal lost Sanchez now, they would have to spend a colossal amount of money, maybe £50-60million, to bring in a replacement of his quality.

"Why not just go the extra mile to keep him and Ozil at Arsenal? They are special players, and it's special players who make the difference between winning the major trophies and coming close.

"People talk about breaking the wage structure and upsetting the applecart, but in the dressing room nobody will complain if the club accommodates a couple of higher earners who are in that 'special' bracket and they deliver the title.

"Arsene must make sure that if either of them leaves - and all the supporters hope it doesn't come down to this - it must not be for financial reasons.

"I'm all for good housekeeping, but sometimes in football you've got to push the boat out a bit further. You have to stay ambitious."

Arsenal are currently 2nd in the Premier League, 3 points behind leaders Chelsea and are through to the next round of Champions League as group toppers.

No agreement for transfer of players with Real Madrid, BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke

BVB CEO has put down all the rumours regarding the possible agreement discussions for thetransfer of his players to Real Madrid.

Spanish daily, Marca, claimed on Thursday that Real Madrid had reached an agreement with the German outfits that they will be informed beforehand if Aubameyang, Julian Weigl or Ousama Dembele will be sold to any other clubs.

It was also rumoured that Dortmund would themselves are interested in James Rodriguez and Casemiro to take them to Signal Iduna Park if it's agreeable to Florentino Perez.

However Watzke admitted that he dined with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez and spend time with him during Wednesday's 2-2 draw in Champions League, but did not discuss anything about possible transfer of any player.

"It's right that I had lunch with Fiorentino Perez and we sat next to each other the stadium," he told Bild. "But we did not spend one second taking about players of Borussia Dortmund. There's no agreement."

Well, it was interesting to hear Aubameyang after the match when he reiterated his desire to join his dream club, Real Madrid.

Cavani: I'd like to play with Griezmann one day

PSG striker has expressed his desire to play alongside the Frenchman after offering him a native Uruguayan drink.

Griezmann has been a hot property in the transfer market following his excellent run of form last season with both club and country.

Although he has signed a new five year deal in June, speculations has always been around.

Recently Cavani sparked rumours of a possible union, when he posted on Twitter an invite to join him in enjoying some mate, a traditional Uruguayan drink.

Cavani thought blamed media to get carried away with the situation, but he did not deny his desire to play alongside Griezmann.

"It's the press that said I wanted to invite Antoine Griezmann to Paris," he said.

"I sent him a message to take a Uruguay mate. I'd like to play with him one day, he is a great striker and a beautiful person too."

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

5 star Arsenal rout West Ham as Alexis stole the show, and other Premier league results

Saturday saw a lot of goals in the premier league, it all started with Chelsea as they came from behind to beat Manchester City and extend their run to 8 straight premier league wins.

Manchester City took the lead right at the end of first half through a Gary Cahill own goal. In the 2nd half City could have been 2-3 goals up, had they have taken their chances as Kevin De Bruyne came closest to double the lead but his effort came off the crossbar from 2-3 yards out.

Chelsea didn't look back after this as Diego Costa(60'),  substitute Willian(70') and genius Eden Hazard(90') scored goals to punish City at the Etihad.

City finished the game with 9 men as Sergio Aguero was shown red for a horrendous challenge on David Luiz and in the aftermath of the incident, Fernandinho was also sent off for grabbing Cesc Fabregas' neck. It was completely lack of discipline from City players who had a frustrating evening due to some questionable refereeing and the punishment by league leaders Chelsea.

Chelsea stay top of the Premier league while Manchester City lost their first game at home since March. 

Alexis Sanchez stole the show as Arsenal put 5 past the Hammers.

West Ham's miserable season continues as the North London club ran riot.

Arsenal completely dismantled the West Ham defense at Alexis Sanchez was at the heart of it. He grabbed a 14 minute hat-trick un the second half to take the match ball home.

The gunners dominated the game and left no loopholes. With this win Arsenal move above Manchester City to 2nd place, but Liverpool is only a point behind with a match in hand.

Sanchez and Ozil combined to give Arsenal the lead following an error from West Ham defense. Ozil scored his 8th goal of the season.

In the 2nd half Arsenal punished West Ham defense by scoring 4 goals, 3 of them by Sanchez and one brilliant strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Andy Carroll scored the goal for West Ham which was nothing but a mere consolation.

Alexis Sanchez, with his treble is now joint top scorer in Premier league this season, with 11 goals. Chelsea's Diego Costa also has 11 goals.

In other results,

Crystal Palace scored 3 against Southampton at Selhurst Park. Christian Benteke scored a brace. It was a much needed win for Palace as they are fighting a relegation battle.

Sunderland defeated defending champions Leicester City at the Stadium of Light. Black Cats won the game 2-1.

Tottenham rout Swanse City 5-0. With braces from Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane. Tottenham, who suffered their first defeat of the season last week at Stamford Bridge at the hands of Chelsea hit back in style.

With this win they keep in touch of top 4.

Stoke City beat Burnley 2-0 at home.

West Bromwich Albion beat Watford 3-1 at home. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Arsene Wenger claims that Arsenal has returned to fluency but in 'Patches'

Arsenal saw out AFC Bournemouth 3-1 at Emirates, in what was one of the gruelling games of this season for Arsenal. Alexis Sanchez gave a standout performance, scoring 2 goals. He was simply brilliant on the afternoon. 

Arsenal ended a run of four consecutive draws, with a win over Bournemouth and kept in touching distance to the top of premier league. Theo Walcott also found the net and capped the moment with a celebration dedicated to his new born baby.

This was 19th consecutive unbeaten game in all competitions for Arsenal this season since losing to Liverpool on the inaugural day of the league. But last few games saw them drop points and thus losing the momentum thus drawing in some criticism.

So despite the win,  in the post match interview Arsene Wenger admitted his team is still suffering from a slight dip in form.

When asked whether his side has regained the fluency, he told Sky Sports : "In patches, it's always a different game after Champions League, mentally it's so demanding. The players questioned themselves after a few draws.

"We got better during the game but Bournemouth played well. They started with high intensity physically and when I saw that I thought they would drop a little bit in the second half.

"After that we were a bit unlucky because I think there was a second penalty on Sanchez and the penalty for them is another questionable one. After that, we had to improve our level in the second half and we did."

Arsene Wenger was then inevitably asked about the loaned Jack Wilshere, who was ineligible to play against his parent club. He also praised Eddie Howe's Bournemouth side.

Wenger said, "(Wilshere is)In very safe hands, because they are a team who have can have as much possession as the top team and play well as well and that's what they did today. They are a top side.

"I never forget when they came from the Championship they scored over 100 goals and that's never a coincidence, that means the quality is in the side.

"I saw him before the game and he told me he'd come in after the game." 



©sportskafun.blogspot.com

7 players to miss Manchester United's clash against Arsenal

The task getting tougher for José Mourinho and Manchester United 

It's been said that seven players are about to miss one of the most important clash of the season.

Manchester United made a perfect start to the season winning their first 3 matches but after that they didn't manage to click , lost their rhythm and now find themselves lagging behind at 6th position. 

As they face Asene Wenger's fourth placed Arsenal this Saturday, it will be a daunting task for them given the fact that several first team players will miss the match. 

Two of Manchester United's four summer signings will miss the clash, Eric Bailly who sustained a ligament injury a couple of games ago will miss and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who got his fifth yellow card of the season in previous match against Swansea will be serving his first suspension of the season. It will be a huge boost for Arsenal as Eric Bailly is considered as one of the best defenders this season and Zlatan Ibrahimovic regained his goal scoring form after scoring a brace. 

Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw are also suffering injury crisis, but even they are fit they will hardly be picked as they were openly criticized by the gaffer recently for not committing  enough to the winning cause. 

Marouane Fellaini also picked up a knock on international break and will be facing a race against time to be fit for the weekend clash. 

Wayne Rooney in the match against Scotland also picked up a minor knee injury and returned to Manchester. He also missed the friendly against Spain last Tuesday and is most likely to miss Arsenal game. 

Last one is right back Antonio Valencia, who is recovering from a fractured arm at a much quicker rate will be kept on the bench as José Mourinho wouldn't want to risk him. 

Arsenal also have their own injury problems 

Santi Cazorla will not be there as his return date is not confirmed. 

Hector Bellerin picked up an injury while on duty with Spain U-23 squad and may miss the game. 

Alexis Sanchez's selection in Chile squad was questioned by Arsene Wenger as he was suffering from muscle injury but he seemed to have overcome his injury after featuring in the game against Uruguay and also scoring a brace.

Though, Arsenal will make sure he is completely fit before crunch clash once he returns to Emirates. 

It will be a huge boost for Arsenal if he is in the squad. 

Manchester United hosts Arsenal this Saturday in a crucial Premier League clash. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Results - World Cup Qualifiers

CONMEBOL - 1st Round

Argentina vs Colombia (3-0)

After failing to win their last 4 qualification games, it was a must win game for Argentina. 

Lionel Messi was hands down Man of the Match as with the help of his 1 goal and 2 assists, Argentina registered a comfortable win.

Messi was in different color. He opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick in the 10th minute which got into the back of the net off the underside of the bar. No chance for the keeper to stop that. 

He was a constant threat to Colombia. In the 23rd minute he set up another for Lucas Pratto, the later was given a nod ahead of Gonzalo Higuain and he justified his selection by heading a gorgeous cross from Messi into the goal. 

Messi made several other chances and he was the architect again, he caught Murillo in possession and made a run into the area and squared it for former Real Madrid man, Angel Di Maria, who put it into the empty net. 

It was given the fact that Argentina have never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home against Colombia and Colombia have never scored in a qualifying match in Argentina, conceding five.

With this win Argentina climbs above Colombia to 5th position with 19 points in 12 matches.

Peru vs Brazil (0-2)

In-form Brazil were up against Peru, who won their last match against Paraguay. Brazil also came into this match on the back of a 5 match winning streak and had they not win this game they would still be at the top of the table. 

First half was goalless with Peru coming the closest to score, hitting the post through Andre Carrillo. 

In the 58th minute Brazil got the breakthrough when young Gabriel Jesus hammered the ball home after poor defensive display from Peru. 

Brazil with their commanding display were more likely to score another goal as Peru were struggling. Neymar hit the crossbar in the 77th minute after collecting the pass from Coutinho on the left, he pushed the ball onto his right and launched a ferocious effort that rattled the post.

Brazil got their 2nd goal of the game just minutes later. Again Peru failed to clear the ball and Gabriel Jesus wasted no time in setting Renato Augusto who finished the scoring. 

Gabriel Jesus recorded one assist to go with his goal. 

Brazil are top of the pile with 27 points in 12 matches, 4 ahead of 2nd placed Uruguay. 

Chile vs Uruguay (3-1)

News was there that Arsene Wenger did not like when Alexis Sanchez was named in the squad as he had an injury and is a key man for Arsenal. 

Despite Wenger fears, he was named in the squad and also proved to be the difference among the two teams.

Uruguay opened the scoring with Edinson Cavani finding the back of the net in 17th minute. But Eduardo Vargas levelled the match on the stroke of half-time. It was Alexis' show in the second half as he put the hosts ahead on the hour-mark with a well struck volley and 16 minutes later scored his 2nd of the match to complete Chile win. 

Claudio Bravo gave away a penalty two minutes before time but he saved the effort by his former Barca teammate Luis Suarez and with this win Chile climbs to 4th position and within 3 points of 2nd placed Uruguay. 

Some other results :-

• Bolivia 1-0 Paraguay - Bolivia secured the win with an own goal from Gustavo Gomez.
• Ecuador 3-0 Venezuela - With all 3 goals scored in 2nd half, Ecuador is on 3rd position tied on points with Chile and ahead on goal difference.

AFC - 3rd Round

Group A

• South Korea vs Uzbekistan (2-1) - South Korea came from behind to defeat Uzbekistan at their home ground and move to 2nd place.

• China vs Qatar (0-0) - Bottom end teams play out a nil-nil draw.

• Syria vs Iran (0-0) - With this draw Iran remains at the top of the table one point ahead of South Korea with 11 points.

Group B

• Japan vs Saudi Arabia (2-1) - With the win over Saudi Arabia, Japan climbs above Australia and onto the 2nd position and tied on points with the table toppers Saudi Arabia. 

• Thailand vs Australia (2-2) -  The Socceroos were held for a draw and missed the chance to go top. They are currently 3rd with 9 points in 5 matches. 

• U.A.E. vs Iraq (2-0) - With this win U.A.E draw level on points with Australia. They also have 9 points in 5 matches.

So this is how the teams fared on the matchdays enroute 'Road to Russia'. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com