Innehållsförteckning för Euro 2016 Special från World Soccer

2018 World cup qualifiers SOUTH AMERICA section • 4.5 finals places available Mar 24 - La Paz Bolivia 2 (Arce pen 50, Chumacero 62) Colombia 3 (Rodriguez 10, Bacca 41, Cardona 90+2) Ht: 0-2. Ref: Sampaio (Bra) Bolivia: Quinonez - Saavedra, Eguino, Zenteno, L Morales (M Bejarano 37), Arce, Chumacero, Danny Bejarano, Cardozo (Arrascaita 88), Lizio (Duk 46), Ramallo. Colombia: Ospina - Medina, O Murillo, J Murillo, Diaz, Cuadrado (M Moreno 85), Perez (Cardona 62), D Torres, Celis, Rodriguez, Bacca (Muriel 69). Mar 24 - Santiago Chile 1 (Gutierrez 11) Argentina 2 (Di Maria 19, Mercado 25) Ht: 1-2. Ref: Lopes (Bra) Chile: Bravo - Isla, G Medel, Jara, Mena, M Diaz (Rabello 21; Pinilla 69), Gutierrez, Fernandez (Silva 7), Orellana, Sanchez, Beausejour. Argentina: Romero - Mercado, Otamendi, Funes Mori,…

HOW IT WORKS Every month, journalists from each member of the European Sports Media group select their first Xl based on the best individual performances from Europe’s top competitions. For details of how each ESM member voted, visit worldsoccer.com/esm11 MARCH ESM – EUROPEAN SPORTS MEDIA The members of ESM are: A Bola (Portugal), Elf (Holland), Fanatik (Turkey), Frankfurter Allegmeine Zeitung (Germany), Goal News (Greece), Kicker (Germany), Marca (Spain), Nemzeti Sport (Hungary), So Foot (France), Sport (Belgium), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Holland), TIPSbladet (Denmark), World Soccer (England). More details of votes at worldsoccer.com/esm11…

All the usual disclaimers apply to the 2016 Brazilian championship as a tournament played out of sync with the rest of the football world carries with it factors of unpredictability. The early stages, for example, coincide with the knockout phase of the Libertadores Cup, so those Brazilian teams involved are likely to field understrength sides for the first domestic games. Then there is the transfer window, which opens in the middle of the action, bringing with it considerable changes to the team line-ups – with more losses than gains. And this year there is the added complication of the Copa America in June and the Olympic tournament in August. Add in vital World Cup qualifiers in September, October and November, and it is clear that some big names are likely…

Johan Cruyff was one of the greatest footballers and then most innovative coaches in the history of the game. He died of lung cancer in Barcelona, in March, aged 68, having been diagnosed last October. Cruyff inspired Ajax to victory in three successive European Champions Cups in the early 1970s, led Holland to the 1974 World Cup Final and epitomised the revolutionary “Total Football” concept. In the pantheon of the game, he stands right up among such as Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Diego Maradona. Yet initially he owed his first steps to the persistence of his mother. A cleaner in the Ajax offices, she persuaded the Amsterdam club’s coaching staff to take her son into their youth section when he was 12. The rest is history, with…

EUROPE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1st knockout round 1st legs Feb 16 Benfica (Por) 1 (Jonas 90+1) Zenit St Petersburg (Rus) 0 HT: 0-0. Att: 48,615. Ref: Rocchi (Ita) Sent off: Criscito (Zenit) 90 Feb 16 Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) 2 (Ibrahimovic 39, Cavani 78) Chelsea (Eng) 1 (Mikel 45+1) HT: 1-1. Att: 46,505. Ref: Velasco Carballo (Spa) Feb 17 Gent (Blg) 2 (Kums 80, Coulibaly 89) Wolfsburg (Ger) 3 (Draxler 44, 54, Kruse 60) HT: 0-1. Att: 19,978. Ref: Moen (Nor) Feb 17 Roma (Ita) 0 Real Madrid (Spa) 2 (Cristiano Ronaldo 57, Jese 86) HT: 0-0. Att: 55,612. Ref: Kralovec (CzR) Feb 23 Arsenal (Eng) 0 Barcelona (Spa) 2 (Messi 71, pen 83) HT: 0-0. Att: 59,889. Ref: Cakir (Tur) Feb 23 Juventus (Ita) 2 (Dybala 63, Sturaro 76) Bayern…

Friday March 18 FIFA: It is announced that a fourth substitute during extra-time will be tested at this year’s Olympic Games and Club World Cup. GREECE: FIFA warns the Greek Football Federation to reinstate the Greek Cup, which was cancelled by the government following crowd trouble at the PAOK v Olympiakos semi-final, or risk sanctions that could include a European ban. Saturday March 19 MOROCCO: Two fans die and 49 are injured as violence flares during Raja’s 2-1 win at home to Chabab Rif Al Hoceima in Casablanca. USA: LA Galaxy beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 in the California Classico, while Vancouver Whitecaps win 2-1 at Seattle Sounders. Sunday March 20 BELGIUM: Standard Liege win the Belgian Cup for a seventh time, beating Club Brugge 2-1 in the Final. CHILE:…

Three hours before China’s crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier with Qatar and thousands of fans were milling around outside Shaanxi Stadium in Xian, the country’s ancient capital. Everyone knew the score, from those buying counterfeit red shirts to the masses of army and SWAT guys: nothing less than a win would send the team to the final round – and even that may not be enough. Asia’s system is like this: 40 teams, split into eight groups of five, start the second round. Twelve (the eight group winners and four best runners-up) then progress to the last stage where they compete for the continent’s four automatic spots. Ahead of the final round of games, the eight group winners were as good as sorted, so the focus was on the best…

Unforgivable incomprehension born of arrogance. That seems the only way to sum up the response from UEFA, its commercial agent TEAM Marketing and Gianni Infantino to the revelation from the “Panama Papers” about the Ecuadorian television-rights deal. Football’s commercial dealings may not be comparable to the manner in which some of the world’s political leaders and their cronies shifted their wealth to offshore accounts set up in Panama. And as emphasised by all the articles which have flooded the media since the start of April, controlling an offshore company and/or account is not illegal. However, the potential for tax avoidance or evasion and secrecy is guaranteed to raise suspicions. Not only that, but successive leadership and governance scandals in world sport mean the public in general have no trust whatsoever…

The international future of N’Golo Kante was the subject of much media deliberation, but the diminutive Leicester City midfielder had little hesitation when he finally got the call. Mali had made overtures to the 25-year-old, but he bided his time until France coach Didier Deschamps came knocking, explaining “it’s a chance to play in the Euros”. Having to choose between two countries is a growing phenomenon in Europe, where many developing talents come from immigrant backgrounds and face a tug of the heart strings as well as a practical choice. France may have won the tussle over Kante but recently one of its best young talents, Yassine Benzia, opted for Algeria after representing Les Bleus at every junior level. The north Africans wasted no time in tying down the 21-year-old…

Noel Sanvicente was fired as Venezuela coach after his side lost 4-1 at home to Chile. The result left Venezuela rooted to the bottom of the qualifying table and former international goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel takes his place. After the latest round of matches, the pressure mounted on Brazil coach Dunga, whose side are down in sixth position after 2-2 draws at home to Uruguay and away to Paraguay. While Dunga can find no place in his squad for former captain Thiago Silva, he has stuck by David Luiz – a decision that looked indefensible in the light of the performance against Uruguay, where Luiz was a defensive liability. Adding to the coach’s problems, there are also rumours of a strained relationship with his captain, Neymar.…