Nigeria did not make the cut as FIFA makes an inaugural Futsal Men’s and Women’s World Rankings. This could be due to the inactivity of the country in that aspect of football – the indoor soccer.

The FIFA Futsal Men’s World Cup enters its 10^th edition this year in Uzbekistan, but Nigeria had taken part only once in 1992 in Hong Kong.

The Nigerian team came last in Group A comprising of Argentina, Poland and Hong Kong after losing all three matches.

In contrast, Morocco are ranked Africa’s number one and sixth in the world. Thanks to their  recent victory was winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Futsal tournament, when they beat Angola 5-1 in the finals.

Among the top-ranked countries alongside Morocco are Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Iran, and Argentina. 

Brazil led the FIFA Futsal Ranking, followed by Portugal in second place, Spain in third place, Iran in fourth place, and Argentina in fifth place. 

 Morocco, in sixth place, is followed by Russia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and France. 

FIFA Futsal Men’s World Ranking

FIFA Futsal Women’s World Ranking

Paris St Germain missed a golden opportunity to reach their second Champions League final, but it was not all doom and gloom at the French club after a season of transition with a new coach.

The Ligue 1 champions were knocked out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 1-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund for a 2-0 aggregate loss, having hit the woodwork six times over the two legs and managed 31 attempts at the Parc des Princes.

“We were not inferior over the two legs, but football rewards those who score not those who hit the woodwork,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.

“My goal was to be fighting for all the titles. Tonight I’m proud of my team, of all the players.”

PSG won the Ligue 1 title and have the French Cup final to come later this month.

“We weren’t efficient, they were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches. There’s a lot to take back from this competition,” captain Marquinhos told reporters.

“At the start of the season, nobody believed we’d get this far. We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles, but we can’t throw everything away now just because we’ve been eliminated. We have to remember that this is a new project, with a new coach.

“There are positive things to take into the next season.”

PSG have now lost all six legs of their three two-legged Champions League semi-finals, after double defeats against AC Milan in 1995 and Manchester City in 2021.

The year they reached the final, in 2020, they beat RB Leipzig in a one-off semi-final after COVID-19 disrupted the season. They lost in the final against Bayern Munich.

This season started with a new coach in Luis Enrique and without Lionel Messi and Neymar as club president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an emphasis on building a team over individual talents.

While not always brilliant, PSG have looked like an organised outfit and the coach said he was already working on building a team without Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave at the end of the season.

“The players and coach gave their all. Congratulations to Dortmund, we deserved better. It’s a tough game. I’m proud of my team, the youngest in Europe,” Al-Khelaifi said.

“We’ve reached the semi-finals three times in five years. That’s not our objective, it’s still the final. That’s soccer, you have to accept it and sometimes it’s not fair. We’ll accept it.”

-Reuters

Brazil’s bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup scored higher than its rival, a joint bid from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany, in a FIFA’s evaluation report released on Tuesday.

The world soccer governing body bid report came ahead of the vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, which will decide where the next Women’s World Cup will be held.

Last week, Mexico and the United States withdrew from the 2027 race to focus their efforts on hosting the 2031 tournament.

Based on the results of the technical evaluation, the Brazil bid received the highest overall average score of 4.0 out of 5, followed by the BNG bid with 3.7.

“The Bid Evaluation Task Force has determined that both bids qualify for consideration by the FIFA Council and the FIFA Congress, as both bids have exceeded the minimum requirements for hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in the technical evaluation,” FIFA said in a press release.

“Both bids can therefore be considered by the FIFA Council for submission to the FIFA Congress ahead of the final vote to select the host(s) of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027,” it added.

According to the report, Brazil’s bid offers good stadiums, having already hosted the 2021 World Cup. The country’s football association (CBF) and the Brazilian government have also shown their support for the bid and their commitment to hosting the event.

If successful, the bid would mark the first time South America has hosted the tournament.

-Reuters