Tag Archives: football

The Finals – 1896: A Disputed Beginning

Posted on Mar 18, 2023 by NFB

To read the previous entry in this series, please click here. It can be easy to forget that there was a time before wall-to-wall TV coverage, a time before radio, a time before all-encompassing reporting in newspapers, a place when … Continue reading →

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The Finals – Prologue: The Moment Of Moments

Posted on Mar 18, 2023 by NFB

Introducing a new series to the site, one that I hope will serve as something of a spiritual sequel to 211 To 1, my effort to provide a running collection of reflections to the qualification for, and Finals of, the … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On Qatar 2022 (XVII) – Triumph, Despair And A Whole Lot In-Between

Posted on Mar 11, 2023 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. We were down to the last four. Representatives from three different confederations ran a gambit: giants of the game, hard-working underdogs, no-hopers up to a few … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On Qatar 2022 (XVI) – Descent

Posted on Feb 11, 2023 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. 16 teams were left. The First Round carries with it a certain air, of optimism before a ball is kicked, of continuing hope after the first … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On Qatar 2022 (XV) – The Promised Land

Posted on Jan 14, 2023 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. If football, and especially international football, is a religion, then the World Cup has to be considered the good land, the land of milk and honey, … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On The Road To Qatar 2022 (XIV) – Groups Of Life, Groups Of Death

Posted on Nov 19, 2022 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. This is it then. Starting tomorrow the 32 nations that have been able to rise above the rest of the 211 will begin the 2022 World … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On The Road To Qatar 2022 (XIII) – Intercontinental

Posted on Jul 2, 2022 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. At the start of June 2022, there were eight teams from five confederations left competing for three places in Qatar. The entire qualification process had come … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On The Road To Qatar 2022 (XII) – Face-Off

Posted on Apr 23, 2022 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. With all six confederations barrelling towards the conclusion of their qualification formats, March of 2022 came with added tension. In Asia the last play-off spot became … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On The Road To Qatar 2022 Index

Posted on Feb 21, 2022 by NFB

An index page for the 211 To 1 series, by its various parts, with a list of chapters. Part One: The Beginning Prologue: Triumph, Despair And A Whole Lot In-Between 1. Cheng Hoe-Ball: Malaysia 2. The Siege: Qatar 3. 10’000 … Continue reading →

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211 To 1: Reflections On The Road To Qatar 2022 (XI) – All Together Now

Posted on Feb 19, 2022 by NFB

To view more entries in this series, please click here to go to the index. 2022 dawned with a third of the World Cup Finalists determined. The remaining places were hotly contested, with continental giants and minnows still duking it … Continue reading →

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