๐จ WORLD CUP ISSUE! ๐จ
๐ฃ๏ธ Exclusive Doku and Merino interviews
โช Joe and Ashley Cole's WC memories
๐ต๐น Roberto Martinez on Ronaldo
๐บ๐ธ USA '94 revisited
๐ฆ๐ท Zanetti on Messi
๐ณ๐ฑ Hiddink South Korea look back
๐ซ๐ท Youri Djorkaeff Q&A
๐ Giant wall chart + 4x WC prints
โ Much more
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The World Cup is now so big that only a handful of nations could host it alone, leading to ever-more weird and wonderful co-hosting bids https://t.co/G3WMndyu7e
๐ซ When FIFA tried to introduce four quarters in football 32 years ago, but were ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐
๐ Hydration breaks have gone down badly, but splitting matches into four has been in the works for longer than you might think
โช Ahead of USA '94, American television networks were terrified of a sport with 45 minutes of uninterrupted play and absolutely zero commercial breaks
๐ฐ FIFA were also panicking after Italia '90 averaged a measly 2.21 goals per game and produced a dreadful, foul-heavy final
ยผ To โfixโ the game for American audiences and increase goals, FIFA seriously considered several radical changes. 4x 25-Minute Quarters were oneโฆ
๐คฏ FIFA President Joรฃo Havelange dropped a bombshell, suggesting football abandon its traditional two 45-minute halves in favour of quarters. The Goal? To blatantly accommodate American television networks like ABC and ESPN, who held the 1994 rights
โ UEFA, backed heavily by the traditionalist British Home Associations on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), fiercely guarded the sanctity of the game's clock and flatly refused to butcher footballโs structure for advertising dollars
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Deciding Lionel Messi's place on the podium of all-time greats can wait for another day - for now, we are just desperate to drink him in while we can https://t.co/VRYQAliXY6
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and Manchester City's Erling Haaland led the demonstration after Norway secured qualification for the Round of 32 at the World Cup https://t.co/75eqwLabzW