Bhutan may be regarded as one of the lowest ranked teams in world football, but that is not preventing the national team’s captain, Karma Shedrup, to be confident about his team’s chances of reaching the World Cup. The qualification for the 2018 World Cup has just begun in the Asian parts of the world.

As the lowest ranked teams fight it for a place in the final qualification spots, Bhutan will be hoping that their low paid footballers will be able to fight against the top names from Asia. Football in Bhutan struggles for popularity against its number one sport, archery.

However, the increasing popularity of television in the country means that more and more people are exposed to the likes of Premier League and la Liga football.

It has resulted in a growth for football and it will conversely result in better talent being available for the national team. Bhutan joined FIFA rankings only in 2000. They have played in only 18 international matches in the last six years. They will be up against Sri Lanka in the first round of the qualifying for the Asian regions. The first leg will be at Colombo whereas the return leg will be in front of their own supporters.

“The world ranking does not matter. It is just a number. It is not a reflection of our performance, but the [very low] frequency of matches that we have played.If I am in Thimphu I will definitely go to the game because I am kind of respected here.Even though I’m not, I act like a god. So if I go I might have to wear wigs and disguise myself,” saidShedrup. “I cannot guarantee 100% a win. But we’ll fight until the last minute,” said winger Kuenga Gyeltshen about Bhutan’s chances of beating Sri Lanka.

Russia is getting ready to host the 2018 World Cup and one of their initial tasks is to rebuild some stadiums which just aren’t fit or prepared to receive all the amount of fans which are going to be travelling there in order to watch their favorite players and nations duke it out in the pitch.

Arena Pobeda is a new stadium which is currently being built on the former site of the Central Stadium between Mamaev Kurgan and the right bank of the Volga. In this pitch there was an old stadium but it’s going to be demolished and rebuilt as a number of changes will be made.

In the demolishing process of this stadium, 11 unexploded World War II bombs were discovered and are now being removed. The Arena Pobeda stadium is expected to be completed in November of 2017 and will accommodate 45,000 fans but it could take longer if more unexpected things are discovered in the pitch where the stadium is going to be built.

Despite these potentially dangerous discoveries, Michael Platini is confident that everything concerning the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be organized and executed perfectly.

“We are confident in a perfect organization of the World Cup 2018 and we are sure that a lot of tourists will visit Russia. Russian football has very strong positions… some journalists say that your level of football is not high enough, but we do not think so,” Platini said.

Putin has had to convince the FIFA President SeppBlatter and a number of other football authorities on allowing the upcoming worldwide football tournament to be set on Russia which was not being viewed as a potential or appropriate place to be hosted, taking into consideration all of the disputes which have been going on involving Ukraine and Russia but despite all of this problems, Russia was officially announced as the place where the 2018 World Cup is going to be held.

Long distances between certain matches, extreme climatic conditions, the very limited time for construction of stadiums, all of these are just a few of the factors which caused controversy in the 2014 World Cup.

The latest edition of the World Cup forced a few nations and squads on having to play their respective matches in completely different weather conditions as well as obliging the squad on having to travel long distances within a limited lapse of just a few days before playing in their next match.

Despite all of these factors and inconveniences and many other ones, the 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil and Germany was crowned as the champions. Even with a few of the incidents that occurred during the event, it was still played with millions of fans tuning in and watching their nations compete against the best in the world.

The next World Cup has already been made official to the public that it will be hosted in Russia in 2018 and even with all of the latest incidents which is occurring in a conflict with Ukraine, the Russian president Vladimir Putin has revealed their support towards the event taking place in Russia.

Not too long ago it was revealed that half of the federal budget funds of Russia will be utilized in order for preparation and the main programs that are going to be used in order for all the arrangements for the upcoming footballing event to take place. The budget is believed to be around $15.6 billion.

“As a positive result, we would consider perfect preparation for the World Cup to make a grant holiday for football lovers across the globe. We need to be hospitable and assiduous at the same time. Money has to be used sparingly and thriftily. We have to ensure close cooperation and coordination of all agencies and services involved…There should be no problems or discomfort created for athletes or football fans,” Putin said.

A fan of Manchester United won €1250 after accidentally betting on MK Dons to win their 2nd round of the League Cup match against the team of Louis van Gaal.

It has not been the dream debut of a season that the Dutchman Louis van Gaal was wishing for as he took charge of Manchester United replacing David Moyes but things aren’t going as he hoped for. During the opening match of the season United lost against Swansea City and later had to settle with a 1-1 draw against Sunderland.

Things turned even worse for Louis van Gaal after losing 4-0 against the League One club Milton Keynes Dons. However, this defeat was great news for a fan of Manchester United that mistakenly had betted on MK Dons to win the match.

“I don’t really bet only the odd quid here and there but my mate told me she had put on United to win 4-0, so I thought I might as well do that. I also put a pound on us to win 3-0. Well I thought I did but I obviously wasn’t concentrating and clicked the wrong button so I bet on MK Dons.”

When the scoreboard was displaying 3-0, Griffiths stated that she simply stopped watching the match after believing that she had lost the money but after going back to her betting app it was a different story.

The fan of Manchester United, Griffiths continued revealing information about the bet as she said: “It was a weird feeling. I wanted United to win, but I wanted MK Dons to score again so I could win the money, I couldn’t watch the last 10 minutes and had to tell my friends to let me know what happened.”

It was a great day for the Manchester United supporter that betted $4 for their opponents to win as she went on winning $2,000.

In a very exciting pre quarter final fixture of the ongoing FIFA World Cup, Holland and Mexico will be up against each other at Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza this Sunday.

The qualification of these two teams for the knockouts is not a surprise for anybody. While, Holland is one of the best teams in the world at the moment, Mexico also doesn’t lack skills.

But, the real picture starts from here. This is the time for the players from both sides to show what they are made of and they would surely be up for it.

Neither of these two teams has suffered a defeat in the tournament so far. The Dutch won all their matches in the group round, while, El Tri won two and drew one.

The good news for the Holland fans is that the star player and skipper of their team, Robin Van Persie, is back after remaining on the sidelines during the last group game. He had not featured against Chile because of suspension. His return would strengthen the Dutch attack big time.

Van Persie has already made big impact in the two games that he has played in this competition. He has three goals under his belt.

As far as Mexico is concerned, the key man for them will be their veteran Rafael Marquez. His performance in the group round was brilliant and the El Tri management would hope that he keeps that up in this big game as well.

There have been a lot of upsets being created in the FIFA World Cup in the past, but, it’s pretty hard to imagine that the Oranje would let the Mexicans get better of them. They look just too strong to be beaten by El Tri.

Mexico needs to take care of one thing that they don’t leave any hole in their defence because Holland will have a very dangerous attacking line up.

The Football Association (FA) has established new rules regarding soccer betting that will ban all professional players in English football from betting in any matches anywhere in the world starting from the next season.

This decision was made during an annual meeting from the members of the Football Association and will affect any player in the top 8 tiers of the English league system.

There already have been scandals involving certain players in the Premier League with Andros Townsend and Dan Gosling from Tottenham and Newcastle respectively being just some of the players which have been found to breach betting regulations.

The new rules will also prohibit players from transmitting details to a third party who utilizes that information for betting and it was confirmed by the FA that these new regulations will also cover betting on new managers or player transfers.

It said in a statement: “A worldwide ban on betting on football will come into force from 1 August 2014 for certain participants in English football. Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world’’.

“The changes to FA rules from the start of the 2014-15 season will also effect a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matter. For example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited.”
The former rules and regulations allowed players to gamble and bet as long as it did not involve their own team but these new guidelines are expected to change things around and help try to shut down the scandals which seem to have been escalating recently.

The Football Association (FA) has established new rules regarding soccer betting that will ban all professional players in English football from betting in any matches anywhere in the world starting from the next season.

This decision was made during an annual meeting from the members of the Football Association and will affect any player in the top 8 tiers of the English league system.

There already have been scandals involving certain players in the Premier League with Andros Townsend and Dan Gosling from Tottenham and Newcastle respectively being just some of the players which have been found to breach betting regulations.

The new rules will also prohibit players from transmitting details to a third party who utilizes that information for betting and it was confirmed by the FA that these new regulations will also cover betting on new managers or player transfers.

It said in a statement: “A worldwide ban on betting on football will come into force from 1 August 2014 for certain participants in English football. Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world’’.

“The changes to FA rules from the start of the 2014-15 season will also effect a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matter. For example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited.”

The former rules and regulations allowed players to gamble and bet as long as it did not involve their own team but these new guidelines are expected to change things around and help try to shut down the scandals which seem to have been escalating recently.

Crystal Palace was surfing in the bottom of the Premier League as they were in danger of being relegated until Tony Pulis was appointed as the new coach of the team in on November 23 of 2013.

Since Tony Pulis arrived at the Selhurst Park, the club has managed of securing important consecutive victories against Chelsea, Cardiff City, Aston Villa and Everton which has helped Crystal Palace on escaping the bottom relegation zone and get into the middle section of the tables.

The head coach of West Ham, Sam Allardyce talked to the france honduras cote site about the recent success of Tony Pulis in Crystal Palace as well as saying that it is a good thing for the British managers.

“We found that Palace were extremely tough when we played them away in December. We lost the game 1-0 because we couldn’t break down a well-drilled defensive outfit. They’ve improved both aspects since then so it will take thought as to how to break them down without leaving the back door open.

“Pulis’ success says a lot for the experienced British manager. There’s enough quality and experience to use in this country and he’s proven that quality and experience at Crystal Palace. He’s getting the best out of his team.” Allardyce stated.

Allardyce even supports Tony Pulis as he considers that the Crystal Palace should not only be nominated for the coach of the year award but should win it although he will be facing tough competition from Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers who is getting closer and closer on securing a league title with Liverpool which is something that no coach has been able to do in over 23 years.

Even if Pulis does not manage on actually winning the award, his work will still remembered by the fans and players of the club for the years to come.

In the world of betting in soccer, the US is known to have the most number of bettors. According to the statistical figures, the amount of betting in soccer, be it club or world cup matches, US bettors bet the most.
But there are some flaws in the betting strategies of the US bettors. In most of the cases it has been seen that bettors lose profit as they go by their heart and they also do not follow methods and often change their bets.

Sherman Jeff, assistance manager of a famous US club said, “There are more than 100 players in our club, people bet for these player and put different values for each of the player. US fans also offer good bet for players from Germany. Sometimes the famous players also don’t lack their fan following even after putting a cold performance in a match with some weak team.”

According to the betting experts in the US, the trends of betting are similar with the NBA matches and its players. However, there is an interesting fact in the betting of soccer. According to US sports analyst Ted Jefferson in the 2014 world cup, people should bet for the draws to get extra profits.

“These days you don’t bet for win or lose, you don’t even want some big team like Brazil or Italy to win the crucial matches in an important even like world cup, rather if you bet for draw, you get lucky,” said Jefferson.

The veteran betting experts of the US said that the world cup 2014 will going to be a big event for the bigwig bettors. “Like super bowl, big wagering is expected during the 2014 world cup. Football is a public sport and most of the public money is put on the sport during its international events. Like basketball, baseball, US bettors love to put their money on football,” said a bettor in the Las Vegas market, which is known to be one of the soccer betting hot spots in the world.

Another betting destination for football is Nevada and US bettors also bet for golden boot awards. “We want to put money not only on the number of players but also on their quality and skill,” said another bettor is the US.

Chelsea has to travel to the Kingston Communications Stadium to face off against Hull City to play for the 21st match of the Premier League in what will be a rematch of the season opener as the side of Jose Mourinho has already played against Hull City and came out on top with a 2-0 triumph.

They will be entering the battle fray with a 8 match undefeated streak as they kicked of the year of 2014 by claiming wins over Southampton and Derby in the FA Cup, the confidence that the squad has is high, especially for Petr Cech who will get the chance on breaking the record of clean sheets that was held by Peter Bonetti.

Hull City on the other hand has had a mixed start of the year as they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool but some days later managed to overcome Middlesbrough as they booked their place in the 4th round of the FA Cup.

Possible Starting Lineup

Chelsea

Petr Cech
Cole-Cahill-Terry- Azpilicueta
Obi Mikel- Ramires- Hazard
Oscar
Demba Ba-Torres

Hull City
McGregor
Figueroa-Bruce-Chester-Davies
Meyler-Huddlestone-Koren-Livermore
El Mohamady- Sagbo

Neither Chelsea or Hull City are having any significant absences in their squad. Jose Mourinho will probably choose Fernando Torres upfront as the Spanish forward was one of the best players on the pitch during Chelsea’s match against Southampton and Mourinho hopes that Torres can continue his form.

Match Prediction
Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic will be out of this match with injuries. Even without having the services of Lampard or Ivanovic, Chelsea are the favorites on winning the match and nothing other than a victory will be a disappointing result for Jose Mourinho as he has to continue pressuring Arsenal and Manchester City for the top spot of the Premier League.

Hull City’s boss Steve Bruce will implement a defensive playing style going against Chelsea as a draw will be a good result for them but Mourinho will only settle with a victory and all 3 points.
Hull City 0 Chelsea 3