International Football

So conehead has acted to prevent the so called gamesmanship from goalkeepers perhaps due to what was seen as the unfair actions of Emiliano Martinez in the WC penalty shoot out. So goalkeepers will have even less to work with when the advantage already lies hugely in favour of the kicker.

Goalkeepers who like to indulge in the art of gamesmanship on penalty kicks will soon find their job is about to get a lot harder.

That's because the International Football Association Board (IFAB) is set to bring in a series of rules changes ahead of the new season that includes what a goalkeeper can and can't do from a spot-kick. And distracting the penalty-taker is seemingly off the table.

As laid out in the IFAB's law changes 2023/24 report, Law 14 'The penalty kick' states: "Clarification that the goalkeeper must not behave in a manner that fails to show respect for the game and the opponent, i.e. by unfairly distracting the kicker."

Further clarification on the amended rule says: "The defending goalkeeper must remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts, without touching the goalposts, crossbar or goal net, until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper must not behave in a way that unfairly distracts the kicker, e.g. delay the taking of the kick or touch the goalposts, crossbar or goal net."

The updating ruling means that common goalkeeper tactics such as banging their boots against either post or 'bouncing' the crossbar will be outlawed. Distracting the kicker could be interpreted in a number of different ways but the goal line antics of Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez at the Qatar World Cup would likely not stand up to the scrutiny of the law change.

The updated penalty kick rule was one of nine tweaks to the laws of the game, which also included an updated explanation of the offside rule. The additional wording clarifies the guidelines for distinguishing between ‘deliberate play’ and ‘deflection’ based on the expectation that a player who is clearly in an offside position should not become onside on all occasions when an opponent moves and touches the ball.

The changes to the penalty kick rule appear to strongly favour the penalty-takers, with goalkeepers now having to come up with different ways of getting into the minds of the opponents from 12 yards. The news IFAB rules are set to take effect from July 1, 2023.

 

Hjolund with a couple more but Danmark lost away to Kazakhstan 3-2 after the Kazakhs fought back. Meanwhile Italy scraped to a 2-0 win over Malta. Mancini is saying kids don't play street football in Italy anymore and that's why they are suffering. Desperate as he is to win the World Cup in 2026 the Italian FA have sent a mission to Argentina to recruit young players.

Something FIFA needs to clamp down immediately. Just because your own development programme is so poor doesn't mean you should be allowed to go to another country and try to pinch their players. Especially when they are under eighteen and are using economics to try and lure them by promising them and their families club spots and national selection. And more so when some of the players mentioned are exceptional talents. Gianluca Prestianni 17 who scored his debut goal for Velez last week but will miss the CONMEBOL u17 Championship which starts this week. Or Ignacio Maestro Puch and Gino Infantino the sole part of the highly talented Rosario Central midfield remaining from the original trio with Buonnanotte now at Brighton and Tanlongo at Sporting Lisbon.

Bog orf Mancini.​

 

The u20 World Cup will be moved to Argentina. Hosts Indonesia have had the tournament taken away due to protests against Israel being allowed to play. The host nation always qualifies. Argentina under the mismanagement of Mascherano failed to qualify but will now take the spot vacated by Indonesia. The tournament starts on May 20th. Ukraine are the champions from 2019 with the 2021 edition being cancelled.

 

u20 World Cup has been officially confirmed for Argentina. Starts on the 20th May. Because of the nature of qualification the likes of Holland, Spain and Germany will not be present whereas Guatemala and Honduras, indeed Fiji will be. Argentina now make it as host and will have the likes of Garnacho, Paz, Soule, Valentin Carboni available and CONMEBOL will be well represented with a very strong Brazilian squad, Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia. I expect Asprilla not to be in the Cafeteros line up. Hector Cardenas has called up Devan Pedraza of Fulham but no sign of Yaser. But you never know. With it being a FIFA sanctioned tournament clubs will have to release players to their respective national sides.

Just a reminder that some of the finest players in recent years have all played at this tournament and it's a great experience for all concerned. The England squad unsurprisingly has the fingerprints of the ESL mob all over it seeing as they hoover up every talent post 16.

At the u17 CONMEBOL tournament Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil have won their first two game in the final group of six thereby almost guaranteeing qualification to the u17 World Cup.The scoring lists are headed by Kaua Elias of Fluminense so Pozzo may be on the lookout but he'll be going somewhere far bigger than Watford. And star of the tournament River Plate's Claudio Echeverri. River are already trying to renegotiate his ridiculously low release clause of £25M.

​

 

Logo for World Cup 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico.

​

​