World Cup 2030 will be held in 6 countries, 3 continents

World Cup 2030 will be held in 6 countries, 3 continents

World Cup 2030 will be held in 6 countries, 3 continents
By: Ardit Lipa | October 4, 2023 2:48 pm
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The insanity when it comes to organizing the World Cups lately has no end.

After holding the first ever World Cup during the winter in Qatar 2022, there will be a World Cup that will be played in 3 different continents, and 6 different countries.

We already know that the 2026 World Cup will be held in America, Canada and Mexico – but the 2030 World Cup will be expanded in an even wider geographical aspect.

Due to the World Cup 2030 being the 100 year anniversary of the competition, three opening games will be played in South America, respectively in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Then, the rest of the World Cup will continue in Europe (Spain, Portugal) and Africa (Morocco).

Spain will host the World Cup final, and most probably it will be at Real Madrid’s very own Santiago Bernabeu.

All six countries – Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay directly qualify to 2030 World Cup.

A truly unbelievable decision, that makes everyone wonder what is going on with football.

Kylian Mbappé’s impact beyond just the goals:

Kylian Mbappé’s impact beyond just the goals:
By: PGS | July 26, 2024 6:16 am
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Everyone knows what Kylian Mbappé’s signing for Real Madrid will bring: goals, goals and more goals. An absolute machine who scored 255 goals in 305 games for PSG, Mbappé is widely expected to be the club’s top scorer next season. His attacking prowess is known to all, and what he will bring directly is more than obvious. Yet, his signing has spillover effects that aren’t being touted as much as they should be. Arguably the best player in the world, what Mbappé will bring to the club is not only his goals, but his presence, his gravity, and while these might seem like vague terms that have no footballing value, his impact beyond his goals and assists will cause waves throughout the team, and as a result, throughout the sport.

Over the past few seasons, Real Madrid’s primary source of danger has been Vinícius Jr. While he has had other elite attacking talent around him, such as Karim Benzema, Rodrygo Goes and Jude Bellingham, he has been the most dynamic player in attack, and has been world class for 3 seasons now. The best dribbler in the world, and an elite creator who has fantastic output both goals and assists wise, Viní would’ve had 3 seasons of 20 goals 20 assists had he not gotten injured last season. Regardless, Vinícius’ overall play and impact over the last 3 seasons has been truly unbelievable.

However, despite all his successes, Vinícius has also had certain issues, issues that are largely systemic issues that affect him, rather than his own shortcomings. One common criticism levied at him has been his propensity to lose the ball. Over the last 3 seasons, Vinícius has completed around 3.5-4 take-ons per game, at a success rate of around 45%, which for a player of his quality is actually quite underwhelming. For comparison, other elite dribblers such as Hazard and Neymar often had success rates around 60%. A gap this big is not normal, and by simply watching Vinícius dribble, one can come to the conclusion that this low success rate is not down to any weaknesses on his part. Yes, he does sometimes take poor touches, but these are few and far between. The real culprit for this low success rate is how the team is set-up, and how much attention is given to Viní by opposition players.

A sight that is far too common in any Real Madrid game is the one of Vinícius Jr. isolated on the left flank, having to take on 2/3 players at once. The way Real Madrid are set-up, and have been for the last 3 or 4 years, has lead to this occurrence being extremely frequent. Playing without a natural 9 last season, and even when Benzema was here, he played as a false-9 and did not occupy the center-backs like a natural one would. Furthermore, Ferland Mendy, as good as he is at defending, is not a prominent offensive presence. He does overlap consistnently, but his crossing and overall play in the final third leave a lot to be desired. As a result, opposition center-backs and even defensive midfielders have had the freedom to leave their area to double up on Viní, as they don’t have a box presence to mark, and can afford to leave Ferland Mendy fairly free. With the talent and speed that Viní has, he has often beaten 2 or 3 markers at once, but to expect him to do it consistently is just unrealistic. With him being placed in such situations consistently, he is bound to lose the ball, and as a result his success rate becomes unreflective of his real abilities.

Here is where Mbappé’s underrated impact will come into play. A truly devastating force in attack, teams cannot leave Mbappé unmarked anywhere on the pitch, let alone in the final third. Mbappé is an even bigger scoring threat than Vinícius, and is a more natural scorer who constantly occupies the box, makes frequent runs into the box from deep or by linking-up with players around him, and with his pace, he is also a threat from even around the halfway mark. Through his scoring threat, Mbappé will bring a sort of gravity that has been missed since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure. Mbappé is also a player who naturally gravitates towards the left wing, and often takes up spaces in and around the left half-space. This drags defenders away from Viní, and presents a consistent, elite option for Viní to link-up with as well. Think back to the 3peat team, with Marcelo, Ronaldo, Benzema and Isco often operating in the same zones on the left, linking up with each other to create crossing space for Marcelo, while creating space in the box for Ronaldo and Benzema to attack. A similar sight can be expected this upcoming season as well, with Viní, Mbappé, Jude/Rodrygo and Mendy being the players playing in close proximity.

These additional benefits that Mbappé brings go both ways. Vinícius is also a player who defenses cannot leave unmarked anywhere on the pitch. We have seen how much damage these two can cause on their own, and playing together now, the amount of space they will create for each other will take them to never before seen heights. Two lightning fast attackers who can score, create and dribble at elite levels, playing alongside other unbelievable attacking talent such as Jude and Rodrygo, Real Madrid’s attack will be unstoppable next season.

Three ways Real Madrid can line-up with Kylian Mbappé:

Three ways Real Madrid can line-up with Kylian Mbappé:
By: PGS | July 25, 2024 7:00 am
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Kylian Mbappé may have finally joined Real Madrid only this year, but anticipation over his arrival had been brewing for years before. And naturally, as anticipation increases, so do questions around his fit into the team. One common question that has dominated discourse around Mbappé joining the club has been how he will line line-up alongside Vinícius Jr., another elite attacker who plays on the left. This question does not have an easy answer, as both Mbappé and Vinícius are attackers of such a high degree that forcing one to play out of position to accommodate the other is not a viable option. However, while on paper this may seem to be a problem, players of such high-quality gelling together well has never been an issue, and here we take a look at three possible ways that Real Madrid could line-up with Kylian Mbappé in the side.

  1. Classic 4-3-3:

The most common solution that has been touted to this problem is lining up in a classic 4-3-3 with Mbappé as the 9, Vinícius on the left and Rodrygo on the right. This line-up makes sense as Mbappé has played at 9 a lot throughout his career, and allows Vinícius to retain his natural spot on the left. While Vinícius has played on inside often, his natural tendencies are to play more like a classic winger, taking up positions near the touchline and constantly looking to get his fullback in a 1v1 situation. In this system, Mbappé would play more centrally, being the primary occupier of the opposition center-backs, and looking to make runs into the pockets of space created by Vinícius and Rodrygo occupying defenders. This attack would have a lot of success, but it also brings some drawbacks. Mbappé has always preferred to play on the left rather than down the middle, as he often curves his runs from outside on the left towards more central zones, and makes himself harder to mark for opponents. Knowing Carlo Ancelotti, Mbappé will be given almost absolute freedom to move where he wants, and this could be a problem only in theory, but before the season starts, it is yet to be known. Another downside to this line-up is that it loses the midfield security the diamond brought last season. In a 4-3-3, it is natural to assume that the midfield three would be Bellingham and Fede as the 8s, and Tchouaméni as the DM. This midfield does have a great deal of defensive prowess and running, the solidity brought by the diamond last season was a huge part of why Real Madrid were so successful. Furthermore, it also pushes Bellingham back into an 8 role, and while he is world class there, the 10 has brought him and the team unbelievable success. Mbappé is also not a good or very hard-working defender, and making up for his deficiencies in that area is also a concern.

  1. Keeping the diamond: The second option is to continue with the XI that brought the team such huge success last season, the 4-4-2 diamond, with Vinícius and Mbappé as the front 2, and Bellingham behind them in the no.10 spot. In the opinion of the author, this is the best option, for a number of reasons. Despite both Viní and Mbappé starting off as 9s, with the freedom provided by Carlo Ancelotti, they will be free to go out wide, interchange with each other and even overload on the left akin to what Ronaldo and Benzema or Benzema and Viní used to do. With the two overloading the left, it would allow Viní to play his natural role on the touchline, and let Mbappé operate in the left half-space and more central zones. Viní has shown in the UCL that he can interchange seamlessly with his frontline partner, and Mbappé out wide while Viní moves centrally and vice-versa would be a massive challenge for any team to defend against. It also solves the aforementioned issue of the midfield losing security, as the usual 4 would be in place. Another added benefit that the 4-3-3 cannot provide is that even if both Viní and Mbappé move to wider areas, the box can still be occupied by Bellingham and his marauding runs. A much bigger and better aerial target than Viní, Mbappé or Rodrygo, having Bellingham in his usual 10 role, presents another, different challenge for opposition defenders to try and deal with. Maximizing the offensive effectiveness of Viní, Mbappé and Bellingham should be the goal of any system, and the diamond may be the best option to do this.

  1. The 4-2-2-2: The third and final option for next season is the 4-2-2-2, a variation on the classic 4-4-2 that Carlo Ancelotti has used in both of his tenures at the club. Like a 4-4-2, the difference is that instead of two wingers, Carlo Ancelotti uses two tens as pseudo-10/wingers, who play very centrally and are given license to roam. In his first tenure, Ancelotti used Isco and James Rodriguez as his two 10s, and last season he used Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz in that role. If Real Madrid opt to line-up like this, then the front four or so to say would be Bellingham and Rodrygo/Brahim/Arda as the roaming 10s, and Viní/Rodrygo and Mbappé as the front 2. This XI is much more likely to be deployed against weaker opponents, or during times of injury crises, and thus there are likely to be multiple players in contention for these different roles. The front two and the 10s can be expected to operate in the same way that they did in the diamond, but the midfield would be slightly weaker as the pivot would be the only players who can be expected to generally stick to their position and provide cover for the backline.

With Mbappé in the side, the attack is going to into a completely new stratosphere. Despite all the concerns around how two left-sided attackers will thrive together, the fact remains that superstar level players will always find a way to work together. Even at Madrid, Ronaldo, Benzema and Marcelo, all primarily left-sided players, found a way to gel together and win an unprecedented Champions League threepeat. The on-paper issues around Mbappé’s fit with Vinícius will remain just that; on paper. Rather, the benefits of Mbappé joining Madrid and his impact on Vinícius will be truly incredible, and will be discussed in an article here on Madrid Zone soon.

Why Jude Bellingham deserves the Ballon d’Or.

Why Jude Bellingham deserves the Ballon d’Or.
By: PGS | July 21, 2024 11:43 am
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The 23/24 season has come to a close, and so has one of the most incredible debut campaigns of any player in football history. Jude Bellingham’s debut season for Real Madrid has been nothing short of historic. Playing in a new team, a new role and with more expectations than ever before, and being a €105m move from Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham had a mountain to climb in order to have a great campaign at the biggest club in the world. Jude Bellingham climbed that mountain in such outstanding fashion that not only did he have a great campaign for any debutant, but a campaign so great that he is seen as one of the three players, alongside teammate Vinícius Jr., and Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez, as the favourites for the Ballon d’Or.

A debut campaign with him winning LaLiga and the Champions League, the Supercopa de España, being named LaLiga POTY and the Champions League Young Player of the Year, winning the Golden Boy award, and finishing as the third top scorer in the league with 19 goals, Jude Bellingham’s season was straight out of a storybook. Yet, the incredible feats did not stop here. In Euro 2024 for England, Bellingham was undoubtedly their best player, with the only goal in their only win in the group stages, a last minute overhead kick equalizer in the Round of 16, and an assist in the final that they unfortunately lost to Spain.

Achievements such as these, on paper alone, are enough to propel any player to the very top echelon of world football. However, Bellingham’s season cannot only be judged by his on paper achievements. His performances throughout the season have been those of a player rightfully seen as being one of the very best in the world. Scoring over 20 goals from midfield, Jude’s output has been out of this world. Yet, this does not mean that he has solely been an attacking force. Showing the world that he is one of the, if not the outright most complete midfielder in the world, Bellingham has been an all action midfielder who has scored, created, dribbled, and defended at an elite level.

His per 90 statistics are hard to believe, as alongside 2 shots and 2 key passes, Jude is also completing over 2 dribbles, around 60 passes, over 3 tackles + interceptions, and winning over 7 duels. He has shown the ability to be an aerial threat, score from range and get scrappy goals, while also creating with pinpoint through balls and fantastic link-up play. When Real Madrid had to dig deep and defend, then that’s what Jude Bellingham did as well. His all action displays in midfield, from winning the ball up high with his relentless pressing, to starting moves from deep by beating his man, spraying the ball out-wide and presenting himself as an option in the box (a play that every Madridista has become accustomed to), Jude Bellingham has been far more than just the goal-scoring midfielder that rival fans claim.

His best performances have also been in some of the biggest games of the season. A brace in his first ever El Clasico that ended up being a 2-1 win for Madrid, a 90th minute winner in the return leg, an assist in the Supercopa final against Barcelona, an assist against Dortmund in the Champions League final, and an assist in the Euro 2024 final, Jude Bellingham has been the definition of clutch. Add to this the fact that 19 of his 27 goals have come when his team were losing or drawing, then it becomes clear that Jude is made for the moment.

n all-round monster who steps up when the lights are the brightest and the pressure is the highest, there is no denying how other worldly Jude Bellingham has truly been. His complete performances throughout the season, combined with his propensity to turn up when it matters, are what awards like the Ballon d’Or should and will value. Despite a shoulder injury that has hurt him for over half a season now, Bellingham has had a truly special campaign from start to finish. While everyone expected him to shine, no one could’ve predicted just how good he was going to be. From being seen as a precocious talent for the future to being a Ballon d’Or candidate, Jude Bellingham’s season has been one for the history books.

His rivals for the award have also had spectacular seasons, with teammate Viní Jr.’s case already being discussed here on The Madrid Zone: https://themadridzone.com/news/why-vinicius-jr-deserves-the-ballon-dor/

Rodri too has had a great season, but in the opinion of the author, his individual campaign has not been good enough to warrant him winning the award over Jude or Viní. The Real Madrid duo have clearly had better individual campaigns. Jude Bellingham’s case to win the Ballon d’Or is as strong as any that we have seen in recent years, and winning the most prestigious individual award in football would be the perfect way to cap off a truly incredible season from a truly incredible player.

Why Vinícius Jr. deserves the Ballon d’Or.

Why Vinícius Jr. deserves the Ballon d’Or.
By: PGS | 8:15 am
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With the conclusion of the 23/24 season and all ensuing major international tournaments, the big question on everyone’s mind is, who will with the Ballon d’Or? The most prestigious individual award in all of football, the Ballon d’Or is often as hotly contested as team achievements. For the majority of the last 15 years or so, the Ballon d’Or had been dominated by two men: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the only two players that broke this duopoly were Karim Benzema and Luka Modrić, two other legendary players considered to be 2 of the very best ever. Yet, all four of these players are more or less done with their time as being at the very pinnacle of the game, and a new era has begun. This year, none of them are even in contention, and the three favourites for the award are 24-year-old Real Madrid winger Vinícius Jr., 21-year-old Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, and 28-year-old Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez. All three superstars had incredible success on a team level last season, with the Real Madrid duo taking home the league and Champions League double alongside the Supercopa de España, while Rodri won the Premier League with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain. All three also had incredible campaigns from an individual standpoint, and are deservedly seen as being the best candidates to win the Ballon d’Or. Yet, the question still remains: who deserves to win the Ballon d’Or?

To answer this question, you have to first look at what the Ballon d’Or truly rewards; the best individual campaign from a player over the course of a calendar season. It values overall quality of play, consistency, importance to team success, big game credentials and statistics. When looking at the criteria and using them to gauge the seasons the three have had, then it becomes clear that one candidate stands above the others, and that he deserves the Ballon d’Or the most out of any player in the world, and that candidate is Vinícius Jr.

The 23/24 season was a truly special one for Vinícius Jr. Scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists in just 36 appearances for Real Madrid (a career high goals tally), Vinícius Jr. was the teams leader in attack, producing the goods when it mattered the most. On a per game basis, Viní’s numbers were spectacular, with the Brazilian winger completing over 3.5 take-ons, creating around 2 chances and shooting around 3 times per 90 minutes player. While his numbers and performances are already great at a glance, when you dig deeper and see who he truly shone against, then it becomes clear how out of this world he really was this season.

Vinícius has long established himself as one of the best big-game players in the world, and this season was no different. Overall, his performances in big games were some of the best we’ve seen from any superstar in recent memory.

In the two finals he played, he produced hat-trick vs Barcelona to win the Supercopa de España, and he scored a goal in the UCL final that was accompanied by one of the best UCL final performances ever.

In other huge ties, such as the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, he scored a brace in the first leg, and produced one of the greatest performances in UCL history in the second, albeit without a goal contribution. He was also named MOTM for both games. In the quarter-finals against Manchester City, he produced two assists in the first-leg, while in the Round of 16, he scored Real Madrid’s only goal in the 1-1 home draw against RB Leipzig.

These performances, the stages they’ve come on, and the underlying numbers he produces, all show the caliber of player that Vinícius Jr. truly is. Arguably the scariest opponent for any defender to come against, Vinícius’ blend of flair, incredible pace, and pure relentlessness makes him a near unstoppable player. His performances against Bayern, Dortmund, Girona all display the sheer scale of devastation he can cause. A player who never ever shies from the moment, Vinícius’ best quality might be his flat-out refusal to give up. He will take his man on every single time he gets the ball, he will take on as many markers as his opponents throw at him, and his combination of trickery, his ability to create with his crosses, trivelas, through balls and link-up play, and his great finishing, make him a true nightmare for any defense to try and handle. A true game-changer, Viní can take a game by the scruff of the neck and completely flip it on its head on his own. A player who will always leave his impact on the game, whether on a good day or bad one, Vinícius will always be at the center of everything his team does in attack.

Furthermore, his goal and assist catalogs have been truly spectacular as well. He has had incredible assists with both feet, trivela through-balls, goals with his shoulder and chest, goals from outside the box, goals after beating multiple opponents, goals after rounding the keeper, he has done it all this season.

Another indicator of how good Vinícius has been have been the figures in football who have supported his claim to the sports preeminent individual award. It is natural for Real Madrid figures such as Carlo Ancelotti, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo to back him for the award, but a whole host of legendary figures have backed him for the prize. Names such as Jose Mourinho, Neymar, Ronaldo Nazario, Karim Benzema, Rio Ferdinand, Roberto Carlos, Guti, Rivaldo, Cafu, Felipe Scolari, Julio Baptista, Sergio Aguero, Bruno Guimaraes, Gabriel Martinelli and Yan Couto have all supported Vinícius as being the rightful winner of the Ballon d’Or.

All of this isn’t to say that Bellingham and Rodri haven’t had fantastic campaigns. Bellingham has been truly world class, breaking multiple records and proving to be extremely clutch for Real Madrid, with late winners and equalizers against a plethora of sides.

On top of this, his debut campaign showed why he is one of the most, if not the most, complete midfielder in the world. Arguably the best goal threat from midfield in football right now, Bellingham is also a fantastic dribbler, an excellent creator who has shown he can create from out-wide and deeper positions, and a very hard working defender who, when needed, will buckle down and put in a shift that most DMs would be proud of. His impact on Real Madrid’s pressing has also been remarkable, with his athleticism and defensive nous has transformed Real Madrid into a side that can consistently defend from up top.

His England performances are also worthy of praise. A winner in the group-stages, a last minute overhead kick equalizer in the Round of 16, Bellingham continued his clutch form to the national team as well.

Rodri too had a truly exceptional year, with his Manchester City side winning their record-breaking 4th Premier League title in a row. With Spain, he won the Euros as well, and was one of the best players for all of these achievements. However, one argument that many have made, and validly so, is that Rodri was not clearly the outright best player for his teams. While Jude Bellingham did win the LaLiga POTY award, considering the whole body of work across all competitions, it is my opinion, and one that is shared by many Madridistas, that Vinícius Jr. had a slightly better campaign. For Manchester City, the general consensus was that Phil Foden was their best player for the 23/24 season. Upon winning the Euro 2024 Best Player award, most fans thought Rodri was the undeserved winner, with teammates Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal being seen as the more deserved winners.

Taking into account all of the aforementioned, then Vinícius’ case to be named the best player in the world stands out above the rest. An incredible campaign with team success, amazing statistics, massive big game performances, and a stunning catalog of goals and assists. His performances have truly gone to a different level this season, and he deserves to be seen as the best player in the world right now. In conclusion, Vinícius Jr. should be the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or.

Trent Alexander-Arnold wants Real Madrid

Trent Alexander-Arnold wants Real Madrid
By: Ardit Lipa | July 16, 2024 7:23 pm
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Real Madrid are actively searching the market for a full-back, and whenever the opportunity rises – they will not hesitate to complete a big move to strengthen their wings in defense.

It’s now a known fact that Real Madrid are working to sign Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich, but will settle only for their price – as they know the German has to sell, or else there are high chances they will lose the Canadian LB for free in summer 2025. If Davies arrives this summer, Real Madrid want to keep both him & Mendy, and this would most likely mean that Fran Garcia would head towards an exit this summer.

For the RB position, Real Madrid looks to be settled for another season of Dani Carvajal & Lucas Vazquez, but in this position also – if the big opportunity comes, Real Madrid would most likely make the right move.

According to BILD, Trent Alexander-Arnold is interested in a move to Real Madrid.

Christian Falk says that the English player has shown concrete interest in a possible move to Real Madrid for a long time now, and there is also contact between both sides for months now.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has the same contractual situation as Alphonso Davies – his deal with Liverpool expires in 2025 and as of now, there is no signs of a renewal.

It’s still in the first stages, but Trent Alexander-Arnold would be in favor of a move to Real Madrid, joining his best friend Jude Bellingham at the club & being another player adding to already the very talented squad.

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