The Fußball Chatter

Spain 🇪🇸   After impressing in Euro 2020, and making the semifinals, La Roja disappointed in the 2022 World Cup. Only made the Round of 16, losing to Morocco on penalties. Having dominated European and World football during the late 2000s and early 2010s, Spain has struggled to replicate their past success, with the past European Championships their best showing in the last five tournament outings. Now under new management in Luis de la Fuente, who has been in the Spanish setup since 2011, de la Fuente hopes to succeed in his first tournament as Spain's coach. Having won the U-19 and U-21 European Championships with the underage teams. Spain eased through qualification. Finishing first in their group with seven wins from eight games, scoring 25 goals. The most in the group. The squad going to Germany is relatively youthful, with only six players aged 30 and over. This is no surprise with de la Fuente's experience with Spanish's youth sides. Their midfield is their bigges...

GERMANY           Nickname: Die Mannschaft           Captain: Manuel Neuer          Key Player: Josuah Kimmich          Coach: Hansi Flick          Last World Cup Appearance: 2018 (Group Stage) Germany is the most successful football nation in Europe in terms of international titles, with four World Cup titles, three European Championships, the Confederations Cup and Olympic Gold. They are usually in the conversation as potential winners, whether they are favourites or not, thanks to their consistency in going deep in the finals. They have been to 19 World Cups, played in 109 matches, the joint-most and have the second most wins with sixty-seven. Since 2000, Germany has been in the semifinals four times in the past five finals, winning the trophy in 2014. It's first as a united nation. With the European Championships and Confederations Cup, they have reached the s...

The FIFA World Cup. The most prestigious honour any footballer will gain in their playing career. Names like Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Matthaus, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Xavi and Pirlo have lifted the golden trophy aloft. Other players in the same class as those mentioned earlier would look with great envy as they never won football's coveted prize. Here are the ten great players to have never won the World Cup. (No Active Players on this list). OLIVER KAHN Germany has produced great goalkeepers like Sepp Maier and Manuel Neuer in their history. Oliver Kahn is also in the same bracket as the two mentioned before, possibly being Germany's best between the sticks. Unlike Maier and Neuer, Kahn never won the World Cup. Capped 86 times by  Die Mannschaft , Kahn was in the German setup for eleven years between 1995 to 2006, winning the European Championship in 1996. Surprisingly, Kahn was Germany's first-choice keeper in three tournaments. One of those tournaments was the 2002...

Gerard Pique has announced his international retirement following a recent conservation with Spain coach Luis Enrique. The 31-year-old decided not to return to the Spanish setup with the former Barcelona manager after nine in the Spanish set-up. Speaking in a recent press conference for the Spanish Super Cup between Barcelona and Sevilla, Pique stated “I have had a really good time, with a European Championship and a World Cup, but that story is at an end.” He later added, “It would make sense to leave it after the World Cup. It has been a wonderful time and I have experienced amazing things, but sometimes you have to end cycles and you have to do that in the right fashion.”  Pique joins former teammate Andres Iniesta, who also announced his international retirement after Spain’s penalty shootout defeat to hosts Russia in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. Pique has won 102 caps for La Roja making his debut in February 2009 against England. Pique was part of Spain’s successful do...