Latest news with #WorldCupQualifier
Sinar Daily
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Sinar Daily
Facing stronger opponents key to Harimau Malaya's growth
Harimau Malaya must challenge higher-ranked teams to soar The national team is hoped to face higher-ranked opponents in future friendly matches. Photo: Facebook SHAH ALAM – National football legend Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan believes Harimau Malaya must continue playing friendly matches against higher-ranked teams to elevate their quality of play and build match maturity. He stressed that facing more challenging opponents gives Malaysian players vital exposure and rhythm. The national team is hoped to face higher-ranked opponents in future friendly matches. Photo: Facebook Referring to the May 29 friendly against Cape Verde, Zainal said the match, which ended in a draw, was a turning point that helped the team strengthen their game and address weaknesses. 'For me, it was a good start when we played against Cape Verde. I was there at the stadium and I saw a high-quality level of football and this had some impact when we played against Vietnam,' he said. Although Harimau Malaya lost the second match against Cape Verde behind closed doors, Zainal believes the lessons learned were crucial, as evidenced by their dominant win against Vietnam in the World Cup Qualifier at Bukit Jalil just days later. 'So with more matches like these, because I have lived through those eras where I played against the best teams. Even though we lost three or four times, that is where we learned and improved,' he said. Zainal also encouraged the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to plan more friendlies against top-tier teams to give Harimau Malaya high-quality exposure. 'With the national team now at a certain level that we can be proud of, I think we need to look forward to playing against teams like Korea, Japan or teams from the Middle East. 'That is where we will push forward to reach the level we aspire to. The journey is still long, so this is the beginning and we must keep moving forward," he added.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scotland learn Belarus World Cup qualifying venue but there's a major sticking point
Scotland have discovered they will face Belarus in Hungry behind closed doors in their World Cup qualifier. UEFA have confirmed the venue as Steve Clarke and his troops get ready to face the group minnows alongside Denmark and Greece as they bid to reach the Finals. Advertisement In their quest to reach USA, Canada and Mexico, Scotland come up against the outsiders on matchday two in September after a trip to Copenhagen to face top seeds Denmark. READ MORE: Twenty five extra Premier Sports Cup fixtures to be streamed live in bumper broadcast move READ MORE: Chasing East Kilbride to title cost Albion Rovers, admits boss The venue for that trip has now been confirmed and the clash will take place in the western Hungarian outpost of Zalaegerszeg - 135 miles from the capital, Budapest. Belarus are not allowed to play their 'home' matches in their own country due to UEFA restrictions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement And they will host the Scots - but not the Tartan Army - at the ZTE Arena, home of Zalaegerszegi TE. Belarus have faced Bulgaria, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg at the venue in three previous Nations League outings they've had there and drew them all. Northern Ireland were held to a goalless draw and boss Michael O'Neill wasn't happy about UEFA's decision to make them play there with no fans. He said: "It will have the feel of a fixture played during Covid. "It is not ideal making Belarus play us in a neutral venue, but we will have to deal with it and it will have a different feel. "It's very disappointing for our fans that they are unable to attend the game." Advertisement Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here. Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Andorra vs England: Prediction, kick-off time, team news, TV, live stream, h2h results, odds today
The Thomas Tuchel era continues this afternoon as England face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier. Tuchel, who officially started work as Three Lions boss at the beginning of the year, has a perfect record after two games following comfortable wins over Albania and Latvia in the last international window. Advertisement CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ANDORRA VS ENGLAND LIVE! Those results mean England currently top Group K and will be out to potentially open up a nine-point gap with second-placed Albania in action against Serbia. Andorra, meanwhile, have made a terrible start to qualification. Losing narrowly at home to Latvia before conceding three in Tirana last time out and they sit bottom of the table with no goals scored and a minus four goal difference. It is the penultimate fixture of what has been a long season for many of the England players as they look to sign off with another victory. Date, kick-off time and venue Andorra vs England is scheduled for a 5pm BST kick-off today, Saturday, 7 June, 2025. Advertisement The match will take place at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona. Where to watch Andorra vs England TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on ITV. Coverage starts at 4.15pm BST on ITV1 ahead of a 5pm kick-off. Live stream: ITVX will offer a live stream service. Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport's live blog, with expert analysis from our reporter at the ground. Andorra vs England team news Given the importance of three points, Tuchel could very well go strong against Andorra to further boost England's World Cup qualification hopes before resting some key players in Tuesday's friendly against Senegal in Nottingham. Advertisement Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer are in line to make their first England appearances under Tuchel whilst Trevoh Chalobah could make his senior international debut. However, Ollie Watkins has withdrawn from the squad through injury and Bukayo Saka may not be risked after a knock suffered at Arsenal that has limited his involvement in training. Harry Kane is expected to lead the line, winning cap number 106 in the process to move level with Sir Bobby Charlton and Frank Lampard in the all-time men's appearances list. Andorra's hopes of even scoring a goal have been dealt a massive blow with Albert Rosas – the nation's joint second-highest scorer of all time – is not in the squad. Back in the squad: Bukayo Saka (The FA via Getty Images) Andorra vs England prediction Similar to games against Albania and Latvia, Tuchel will know tougher tests awaits against Serbia later in qualification. That said, he will have a lot to answer for if the Three Lions fail to win, and in convincing fashion. Advertisement The gulf in class between both squads is vast, despite Tuchel leaving out a number of big names. All being well, England should win this comfortably, extending their perfect record under the German tactician. England to win, 3-0. Head to head (h2h) history and results England have won all six of their previous meetings with Andorra, and have conceded a grand total of zero goals in the process. The largest margin of victory was the 6-0 back in June 2009. Albania wins: 0 England wins: 6 Draws: 0 England thumped Andorra in World Cup qualification in June 2009 (Getty Images) Andorra vs England match odds Andorra to win: 70/1 England to win: 1/40 Draw: 17/1 Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Why will Scotland be playing Belarus in Hungary?
Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Belarus on 8 September will take place at a neutral venue, but the Tartan Army will not be there to see has confirmed the match will take place in the ZTE Arena in the Hungarian city of why are Belarus banned from staging home matches in their own country? Uefa sanction As a result of the support shown by Belarus to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were calls for a ban on their teams competing in Uefa competitions, as has been the case for all senior Russian teams since March March of that year, Uefa announced that all Belarusian clubs and national teams participating in their competitions would have to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors with no fans. Why Hungary? After the Uefa sanction was imposed, it was then up to the Belarussian FA to find a suitable stadium to host their matches. They chose Zalaegerszeg, around 227km from the Hungarian capital ZTE Arena will also be used to host the World Cup qualifier between Belarus and Denmark in October, though the venue for Belarus v Greece in November is yet to be confirmed. Belarus' record in Zaelaegerszeg Belarus have played three matches in Zalaegerszeg since the ban was enforced. All three were in the Nations League last year and all three ended in draws – 0-0 against Bulgaria and Northern Ireland followed by a 1-1 draw with Ireland manager Michael O'Neill said playing at the ZTE Arena had "the feel of a fixture played during Covid" and because "there was no crowd it maybe lacked a little bit of intensity that there would normally have been". Tartan Army reaction The shutout of fans in Zalaegerszeg means the Tartan Army will only be able to follow their team in two away matches during the World Cup qualifying campaign – the group opener against Denmark in Copenhagen on 5 September and the penultimate match against Greece on 15 November."It's almost like the Scotland fans have been punished in some way," said John Bleasdale of The Tartan Army Magazine."But you could argue that the Belarusian fans have been punished for something outside their control as well."It's a real difficult situation where the fans have to lose, unfortunately."You want to see football played in front of supporters. No matter how hostile the crowd is, it adds to the atmosphere and it will be almost like a training ground environment."From a Scotland point of view, obviously the Scotland fans are like the 12th man. The Tartan Army, they give them a big lift. So that will be a blow."On the flip side, you could say they're not facing a hostile home crowd. The Belarusians are known for creating a hostile environment. So the fact they won't have that will probably be an advantage to us."When we played Serbia a few years ago, we actually thrived on no fans being there, so I think if anything, it could be a help, although it will be a shame that the Tartan Army can't be there." How can I watch Belarus v Scotland? All of Scotland's games in World Cup qualifying, including Belarus v Scotland, will be televised by the BBC and streamed on matches will also be covered on BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds, with Gaelic commentary of Scotland's home games also available on BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal. What are Scotland's other fixtures?
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland face Belarus behind closed doors in Hungary
Scotland's World Cup qualifier away to Belarus on 8 September will be played behind closed doors in match will take place at the ZTE Arena in competitive Belarus home games, including fixtures in the most recent edition of the Nations League, have been played at ZTE Arena without supporters because of the ongoing conflict in neighbouring v Scotland will take place three days after the Scots open their Group C campaign away to Denmark and Steve Clarke's side will also face Greece during the autumn.
