Race to Health – Road to Russia FIFA World Cup 2018 11Th June to 15Th July 2018 1
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Race to Health – Road to Russia FIFA World Cup 2018 11th June to 15th July 2018 1. Wembley Stadium, London, England Known as the Three Lions (Men’s) and Lionesses (Women’s), In 1872 England played the first ever international football match against Scotland which ended 0-0. Yawn! Accumulated distance: 0 miles 2. King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium The first stop on our journey around the world, Belgium, whose men’s national football team are nicknamed the Red Devils. Belgium topped the FIFA ranking for the first time in 2015 Accumulated distance: 248 miles 3. Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka is the Swiss teams’ best known player. Switzerland have two official names for the two official languages spoken in Switzerland, French and German Accumulated distance: 649 miles 4. Stade de France, Paris, France ‘Les Bleus’ – (The Blue) Won the World Cup on home soil in ’98. Thierry Henry is their all-time top goal scorer Accumulated distance: 1,010 miles 5. Madrid, Spain Spain are the only European team to win 3 major tournaments in a row, Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 Accumulated distance: 1,808 miles 6. Stade de Marrakech, Rabat, Morocco Nicknamed ‘Lions of the Atlas’ Morocco have qualified for their first World Cup in 20 years Accumulated distance: 2,608 miles 7. Stad Olympique de Rades, Tunis, Tunisia Nicknamed ‘Eagles of Carthage’, Tunisia were the first African side to win a world cup match. A 3-1 win against Mexico in Argentina ‘78 Accumulated distance: 4,050 miles 8. Abuja National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria Nicknamed the Super Eagles the men’s U23’s won the gold medal at Atlanta ’96 Olympics. The women’s national team, the super falcons won the first 7 African championships! Accumulated distance: 6,745 miles 9. El Monumental, River Plates Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina have played in 5 WC finals winning 2 and losing 3. Only Germany have lost more finals (4). Accumulated distance: 11,380 miles 10. Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil are the most successful national team in the FIFA World Cup, being crowned winner five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. They’re also the only national team to play in every World Cup Accumulated distance: 13,011 miles 11. Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Baranquilla, Colombia Nicknamed Los Cafeteros, the coffee growers. Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita is known for his eccentric scorpion kick clearance against England at Wembley Stadium in 1995. Check it out on YouTube Accumulated distance: 17,718 miles 12. Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City, Panama Most famous for the Panama Canal a 48 miles artificial waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Panama will be competing in their first WC in Russia Accumulated distance: 18,068 miles 13. Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico West Ham’s Javier Hernandez is the Mexico’s top goal scorer Accumulated distance: 20,163 miles 14. Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Australia’s men’s national team the ‘Socceroos’ have qualified for the last 4 World Cups Accumulated distance: 28,219 miles 15. King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Known as ‘The Falcons’ and ‘The Green’ Saudi Arabia have won the Asian cup 3 times and qualified for 5 World Cups since their debut in ‘94 Accumulated distance: 36,467 miles 16. Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran Also known as ‘Team Melli’ Iran have only ever won one game at a World Cup, a 2-1 against USA in ‘98 Accumulated distance: 38,109miles 17. Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia Formally named Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro they became Serbia in 2010. Red Star Belgrade vs. Partizan Belgrade is one of the fiercest rivalries in club football Accumulated distance: 40,209 miles 18. National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland Poland’s men’s team won Olympic gold in Munich ’72. Poland is the home of the Poznan fan celebration where fans turn their back to the pitch, link arms and jump up and down together Accumulated distance: 40,944 miles 19. Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden Sweden’s best World Cup finish was second in 1958 when they lost the final to Brazil where at age 17, Pelé simultaneously became the youngest player to participate in, score, and win a World Cup Final Accumulated distance: 41,650 miles 20. Luzhkini Stadium, Moscow, Russia Russia are the 2018 World Cup Hosts. The Final will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow which originally opened in 1956 and hosted the 1980 summer Olympics Accumulated Distance: 42,629 miles .