The 2018 FIFA World Cup is now 77 days away, and we can’t help but keep up with the preparation matches that the qualifying teams have been engaging in this week. The players and their coaches are making double, triple the effort to emerge at the top in the friendlies and finally in the big games. Here is a full list of the 32 qualifier teams that we are anxiously looking forward to cheering on less than three months from now, precisely beginning on 14th June:
UEFA (Europe): Russia (World Cup host), Belgium, England, Germany, Poland, Spain, Serbia, Iceland, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark.
AFC (Asia): Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, Iran.
CAF (Africa): Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal.
CONCACAF (North America): Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica.
CONMEBOL (South America): Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia.
This week, some of the regular World Cup participants were given a slight nudge following the friendlies. Argentina was thrashed 6-1 by World Cup champion Spain, a defeat that undoubtedly left quite the pinch. Although this was the climax of the week, this lose was not the only one that was noticed. On Friday, France was beaten by Colombia in a 3-2 defeat, and Portugal was crushed 3-0 by the Netherlands. There are also teams that lost to countries that did not qualify for the World Cup tournaments. For instance, Sweden lost to both Romania and Chile, Australia was crushed by Norway, and Japan was slammed by Ukraine and drew with Mali.
It’s worth noting that in the history of the FIFA World Cup, there have been a total of 77 countries that have graced the event with the exception of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018. Thirteen of these countries were present in the first ever world finals in 1930. They are Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, USA Uruguay and Yugoslavia. Four years after the inaugural finals, ten more countries joined in the games. Since then, every inaugural world finals has seen the joining of at least one nation on the global stage.
The Forest Green Rovers, England’s Own All-Vegan Football Team
This team is part of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football. They are the world’s first vegan football team, a transition that began in 2011. This healthy change was promoted by the team’s current chairman Dale Vince who owns Ecotricity, a British green energy company. He advocated that the team avoids red meat for health reasons. It wouldn’t be sold at the concession stands at the stadium either. Although it began as a restriction, the players began to embrace the vegan diet even in their homes while off the clock. Midfielder Sam Wedgbury says he feels better eating a vegan diet, and so his teammates. The Forest Green Rovers went fully vegan in 2015, dining on carb-heavy meals like jacket potatoes, pasta, and Quorn and leek pie made with soy milk béchamel. This vegan football team is fuelled by plant-based foods, a change that has majorly contributed to its players’ wellbeing, recovery, and performance on the football field.