Page 4 - Monthly Archives: September 2015

15th September 2015.
After a two-year absence, Valencia CF will return to the big stage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2015 2016 season. The Bats have never won this particular tournament, and haven't contended in a championship match in a decade and a half now. However, after a strong fourth-place La Liga performance in 2014 2015, Valencia will be looking to turn over a new page in the UEFA's biggest club football competition. But is the Valencia CF Champions League history an indicator of future success or a series of big disappointments.

The Glory Days

To date, Valencia's most successful run at the Champions League occurred in the early 2000s. Though
Valencia got their start all the way back in 1919, they only qualified for the UCL (formerly known as the European Cup) once in their first 90 years of existence. When they did, for the 1971 1972, they reached the second round (or the round of 16), only

Of all the UEFA groups lined up for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, the last of them-Group I-might be the most wide open. World Cup 2018 UEFA qualifying group I, which consists of five teams instead of the usual six-including Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, and Finland-lacks the heavyweight teams and former champions that populate the other groups. Big and recently successful teams like Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Belgium are scattered throughout the other seven groups. Even the groups that don't have such big-name football nations, meanwhile, feature teams like Wales (Group D) and Romania (E) that are currently ranked in FIFA's global top 10.

Group I is the exception to that rule, featuring neither a recent World Cup champion, nor a top-ranked FIFA team. The group's likely frontrunner-the Croatia national football team-is slated in 13^th on FIFA's rankings. Three others make the top 50 (Iceland at 24, Ukraine at 30, and Turkey at 45), while

What a difference a few games can make. Prior to the first weekend of September, Euro 2016 qualifying Group H was a clear battle between Croatia and Italy. The former had won four of their qualifying games and drawn the other two, for a leading point total of 14. The Italian national football team, meanwhile, had split their success between three wins and three draws, for a tally of 12 points. Norway, finally, were a distant third, with three wins, one draw, and two losses combining for seven points in the standings.

A Competitive Group

After games were played on both September 3^rd and September 6^th, though, the landscape looks quite different in Group H. Two wins apiece for both Italy and Norway pushed the soccer teams to the one and two slots on the group standings table. Croatia, meanwhile, picked up a draw and a loss to tumble to third place.

At this point, it probably wouldn't be a stretch

Before we take a look at 2018 World Cup UEFA qualifying group H lets fast-forward to last year's tournament. The Belgium national football team brought one of the most interesting narratives to last summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, returning to the tournament after two consecutive failed qualifications, and going all the way to the quarterfinals. After Belgium missed out on the event in both 2006 and 2010, no one was quite sure what to expect from the team going into the group stage. But the Belgians won all three of their group fixtures (scoring triumphs over Algeria, Russia, and South Korea), and went on to beat arguably the best team the United State had ever sent to the World Cup in the round of 16. Belgium ultimately lost in the quarterfinals-to eventual tournament runners-up, Argentina-but still left the tournament as a soccer team to watch in Euro 2016 and beyond.

Fast-forward to now, and Belgium are currently ranked by FIFA as the second best team in the world-behind Argentina,

What happened to the Netherlands Euro 2016 qualifying campaign? After making a huge impression at each of the last two World Cups, the Dutch national football team appear to have imploded over the course of the qualifying rounds for the 2016 European Championship. Indeed, the Oranje have only won three of their first eight qualifying games, and are now in very real danger of not securing a spot in the Euro 2016 tournament. If the Netherlands do miss out on qualification, it would be the first time since 1984 without a Dutch presence at the European Championship.

At the moment, the wearers of the Netherlands away shirt 2015 2016 are in fourth place in qualifying Group A-behind Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Turkey, but ahead of Latvia and Kazakhstan. Both Latvia and Kazakhstan have been mathematically eliminated from contention, as neither soccer squad could finish as one of the top three teams in the group. Iceland and Czech Republic, meanwhile, are locked in for the top

The Spanish national football team essentially crashed and burned at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and they aren't exactly setting the world on fire in the qualifying rounds for the 2016 European Championship, either. However, in spite of Spain's recent struggles on the global soccer stage, the Red Fury still have enough built-up respect and notability to remain the frontrunners in their World Cup 2018 UEFA qualifying group G.

Group G also consists of Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, and Liechtenstein-Spain should have little trouble qualifying for a spot in Russia in 2018. The Red Fury haven't missed out on World Cup qualification since 1974, and have typically been a consistent fixture in the knockout stages of the prestigious FIFA tournament. 2014, which saw Spain eliminated after two group stage losses, was the country's worst-ever performance in WC competition.

Out of Gas?

Still, while Spain certainly have

The England national football team may have had their worst-ever World Cup performance in 2014, but that fact likely won't matter at all when it comes time for the squad to start a qualifying campaign for the 2018 tournament. The Three Lions are the clear frontrunner in World Cup 2018 UEFA Qualifying Group F, and should have no problem outpacing the likes of Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Malta for the top spot and the WC qualification.

A Rise from the Ashes

Granted, England have made something of a 180 since last summer's World Cup in Brazil. After losing two of their three group stage matches-and drawing the third-the English side bowed out of the cup in 26^th place (out of 32 teams). It was easily the worst FIFA finish in history for the Three Lions-who had previously bottomed out at 13^th place, in the 2010 World Cup-and it left British soccer fans wondering whether or not their country

Manchester United is the world's most valuable football brand, and one of the highest-earning clubs in the world year after year. However, in spite of the team's considerable riches and brand recognition, Manchester United continue to not run a ladies football team. It's an odd attribute for the Red Devils to lack, seeing as competing Premier League clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool all run highly successful, top-flight ladies soccer squads. Even crosstown rivals Manchester City have a ladies soccer team. Is it time for Manchester United to add a women's team to their bottom line? Or perhaps a better question, why haven't they done so already?

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The Growing Popularity of Women's Football

Women's football is definitely gaining popularity, both in England and

As we get ever closer to the 2016 European Championship-which is set to begin on June 10th of next year-it's becoming easier to speak about the teams that are likely to be there. In fact, after watching most of the UEFA's national football teams across eight qualifying games apiece, we're getting to a point where we could feasibly start predicting the frontrunners for next year's big continental contest. How about England, who have been just about perfect in the qualifying rounds? Or Germany, who are perhaps the de facto frontrunners based on their recent World Cup victory? But will France be ready for Euro 2016? As hosts they have not participated in qualifying giving us less opportunity to scrutinize their performance.

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Where Does France Stand?

If there's one team we're

Ever since last year's World Cup, the narrative with the Spanish national football team has been that they are experiencing a decline. The squad's dismal performance in Brazil-where they were partially expected to win a second straight World Cup title, but were instead eliminated from tournament contention after just two group stage fixtures-plus the retirement of numerous key players, left Spain looking weak. Indeed, going into the 2014 World Cup, Spain were at number one on FIFA's world rankings list; today, they've dropped down to 11th, surpassed by Germany, Argentina, and even England. But recent fixtures have seen an improvement in performance as Spain lead Euro 2016 qualifying Group C, is this an indication of a rise back to prominence?

Ironic Underdogs

As the qualifying competitions began for the 2016 European Championship, it seemed as if the Spain