Daily Archives: March 6, 2026

FIFA World Cup Classic Players

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“The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association(FIFA), the sport’s global governing body. … The only exception to this type of format was the 1950 World Cup, which featured a final round-robin group of four teams; the decisive match of that group is often regarded as the de facto final of that tournament, including by FIFA itself. The team that wins the final receives the FIFA World Cup Trophy, and its name is engraved on the bottom side of the trophy. Of 80 nations that have appeared in the tournament, 13 have made it to the final, and 8 have won. Brazil, the only team that has participated in every World Cup, is also the most successful team in the competition, having won five titles and finished second twice. …”
W – List of FIFA World Cup finals
YouTube: FIFA World Cup Classic Players

VAR: What’s wrong and how to fix it

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“Shortly after the International Football Association Board (IFAB) annual general meeting in Cardiff last weekend, its technical director, David Elleray, made an announcement. … It felt like football’s existential question, and it will require significant time to address — two years, according to Elleray. Yet given the divisiveness that VAR has stoked since it was first greenlit at IFAB’s conference in 2016, even that timeframe might be optimistic. Elleray and Pierluigi Collina, who is a colleague of Elleray’s at IFAB and chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, were united in the view that VAR has improved football, but that it still has deep imperfections, hence the need for a review. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Banners at Augsburg decrying VAR