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12 Best Players 16 Iran at 2018 World Cup 18 The history of football kits

10 World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine www.Mahan.aero 2018 FIFA World Cup Mascot Wolf Zabivaka

The official FIFA World Cup mascot for the 2018 tournament, a wolf named Zabivaka ("the one who scores" in Russian), was unveiled on 21 October 2016. Representing an anthropomorphic wolf with brown and white wool T-shirt with the words " 2018" and orange sport glasses. The combination of white, blue and red T-shirt and shorts are the national colors of the Russian team. The student designer is Ekaterina Bocharova, and the mascot was selected by Internet voting. The election results were announced on 22 October 2016, in the Evening Urgant on Channel One Russia. Wolf, named Zabivaka, scored 53% of the vote, ahead of Tiger (27%). Cat, with 20% of the vote, was third. More than 1 million people participated in the voting, which took place during September 2016 on the FIFA platforms, as well as during the live broadcast on Channel One, where the results of the creative competition were announced.

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The Best Players Who20 Didn’t Qualify For the 2018 World Cup There will be some incredible talent absent from the 2018 World Cup, here is the list some of the biggest names below.

Gianluigi Buffon () No doubt Italy were the biggest shock not to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Missing their first finals since 1958, the four-time winners will probably say goodbye to the legendary Buffon before the next World Cup. Additionally, at 36, and 33 respectively, it may well have been Andrea Barzagli, and Giorgio Chiellini’s last chance at the World Cup, too. Bonucci at 30 may have one more attempt within him. Four immensely passionate players, their absence will be surely missed in Russia, due to their playoff loss to .

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Jan Oblak (Slovenia) Slovenian shot-stopper Oblak has slowly turned himself into one of the best goalkeepers in Europe with Atletico Madrid, and yet his Slovenia side could only manage four wins from ten games during qualification.

Virgil Van Dijk (Holland) Liverpool’s big center back, Van Dijk, will also be absent due to Holland’s poor qualifying performances. They tied Sweden on points during the Group stage but their poor goal difference cost them a playoff opportunity.

David Alaba (Austria) Austria’s best player, Alaba is often left with too much to do for his national team. As a result, they didn’t get near qualification, coming fourth in their qualifying group.

Naby Keita (Guinea) Guinea came bottom of their qualifying group, meaning we won’t be seeing the dynamic box-to-box on the biggest stage. He will be taking his talents to England soon though after securing a move from RB Leipzig to Liverpool.

Marco Verratti (Italy) Another extremely passionate Italian, Verratti, at only 25, will get another shot at the World Cup in his career. His playmaking ability is often beautiful to watch so Italy’s failed campaign is disappointing.

World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine 13 Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Armenia) When on his game, Mkhitaryan is sublime to watch but his career has stalled in England. They got absolutely destroyed against Poland in the group stages too, losing 6-1 at their home ground.

Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast) Arguably the best player in the outside the six big teams, Zaha is a tricky winger whose pace would have surely caused a lot of problems in Russia.

Christian Pulisic (USA) Pulisic is slowly becoming a star for and could well be the first American superstar to succeed in European club football. With only three wins from ten games during qualification, he couldn’t will his United States team to get to Russia.

Marek Hamsik (Slovakia) Captain for club (Napoli) and country, Hamsik is a dynamic midfielder who recently overtook Diego Maradona to become Napoli’s all-time top scorer with 116 goals. Slovakia came second to England during the group stage and failed to secure a playoff spot.

Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) When on his game, Mahrez can be potent in front of goal and creating chances for others. But during the third round of qualifying in Africa, Algeria failed to win one game from six attempts.

14 World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine Alexis Sanchez (Chile) Chile were another team to shock everyone by not qualifying. Winner of the previous two Copa Americas, Chile narrowly missed out on qualification due to Peru‘s superior goal difference. As a result we won’t be seeing the extremely talented pair of Alexis Sanchez or Arturo Vidal in Russia.

Miralem Pjanic Edin Dzeko (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Pjanic is at the heart of a brilliant Juventus side and has often been compared to . Dzeko has re- invented his career at AS Roma in the . Both are quality players who play for a Bosnia side that struggled throughout qualification and ultimately came up short.

Gareth Bale (Wales) Plagued by injury, Gareth Bale has not been at his electric best for a while now for both club and country. Both are paying the price too, with Real Madrid flagging in and Wales failing to qualify for the World Cup.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) Yet to find his form for Arsenal, Aubameyang can be incredibly deadly in front of goal when on form.His gabon side failed to qualify after a 3-0 defeat to Morocco, which he subsequently blamed on dodgy orange juice.

World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine 15 Documentary Works www.Mahan.aero Iran at 2018 World Cup - 32 FIFA Ranking position Time: 10:30 PM (In Iran Time) - Undefeated during qualification

The Coach age 64 (01.03.53) In place for six years, he has used his considerable experience to get the team where it is today. He has qualified three different national teams for four World Cups: South Africa, Portugal and now Iran.

Date: 3/25 Morocco vs Iran

Win Probability Morocco Draw Iran 41% 32% 27%

Time: 7:30 PM (In Iran Time) Time: 10:30 PM (In Iran Time)

Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium

16 World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine Documentary Works www.Mahan.aero Date: 3/30 Iran vs Spain Iran World Cup Squad Win Probability Goalkeepers Iran Draw Spain Hossein Hosseini 5% 14% 81% Mohammad Mazaheri

Time: 10:30 PM (In Iran Time) Defenders Vouria Ghafouri

Midfielders Stadium: Kazan Arena Date: 4/4 Iran vs Portugal Forwards Win Probability Iran Draw Portugal 10% 20% 70% Medi Taremi

Time: 10:30 PM (In Iran Time)

Stadium:

World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine 17 Documentary Works www.Mahan.aero The history of football kits and why we care about them

18 World Cup 2018 Mahan Inflight Magazine Documentary Works www.Mahan.aero World Cups not only showcase the world'‌ s finest players, but some of the best and worst football kits in history. Kits are made to represent not just the identity of the team, but fully encapsulate everything the nation is -- both past and present. Manufacturers spend months researching and designing how a team'‌ s shirt, shorts and socks should look, and what the kit should represent. Dreaming up a design is more than just using the country'‌ s national colors. While some countries use the colors from their flags, others use colors that have historical, political or geographical meaning.

Symbolic of moments in history Some people look at something and say it‌' s beautiful while other people will say it‌' s shocking. And while it‌' s a subjective thing, over time the shirts -- whether good or bad -- become symbolic of moments in history. They often remind fans of unforgettable World Cup moments, not just on the pitch, but also in their personal lives. The World Cup‌' s a good reference point because it‌' s once every four years, and four years is quite a life-changing amount of time. By seeing the shirt, you can remember that match ... it‌' s a visualization of that match.

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The Netherlands, 1988 One of those unforgettable shirts was worn by the Netherlands. Always dressed in a shade of unapologetic orange -- a nod to their royal family -- many football fans will remember the team'‌ s loud and geometric kit from the UEFA European Championships in 1988.

Germany, 1988-1991 Historically, Germany has often worn a simplistic black and white home kit -- colors derived from the flag of Prussia, a former state in Northern Europe which was a great power in the 18th century. However, during the 1980s, the colors of Germany‌' s flag started creeping into designs and its kit was «elevated to a new level of beauty». It was then that one of the most famous kits of all time was created: Adidas‌' patriotic West Germany kit from when the country hosted Euro 88. While the shirt didn‌' t get the Germans to the final, it made up for it two years later when they won the 1990 World Cup against Argentina -- their third World Cup win. That alone made it an unforgettable kit, but it was also the one worn during the first unified Germany match. Germany won the 1990 World Cup against Argentina in the iconic kit.

Adidas has redesigned Germany‌' s kit for this year'‌ s World Cup in Russia -- this time in monochrome. The Germany shirt‌' s basic design will make a comeback at this year'‌ s World Cup, except this time in monochrome. Perhaps it‌' s an attempt to create a good omen in Russia.

Brazil Over time, Brazil‌' s canary yellow kit has become an instant symbol of not only the country, but football. When it comes to colors that encapsulate excellence and glamor in football, the palette of yellow, green, blue and white -- the colors of Brazil -- is often the first to spring to mind.» Those weren‌' t always the colors of Brazil, but in 1953 a competition was published in the now defunct Correio da Manha newspaper to create a new team kit that reflected Brazil ‌' s nationality -- using the colors of its national flag. Green, representing the country‌' s abundant fields and forests, gold for the country'‌ s raw wealth and the blue celestial globe representing the night sky over Brazil. The shirt reminds fans of some of football‌' s greatest ever players -- from Pele, Garrincha and Zico to Ronaldo, and Neymar.

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England, 1966 What makes England‌' s kit unique is that the team looks just as comfortable in their traditional red away shirt as they do in their first choice of white, Devlin says. «With England it‌' s almost like a dual personality. They can still retain their identity -- they'‌ re very fortunate that they'‌ ve got that two kit approach,» he adds. In 1966 the red kit entered folklore after England wore it to win the World Cup against West Germany. It has influenced many England designs since. England wore its red away kit to win the 1966 World Cup against West Germany. «For an England fan to see the team winning it in red, it can‌' t help but be anchored firmly in the team '‌ s palette,» says Devlin. «That success becomes that missing ingredient, so if you have success in the shirt that helps it becomes iconic and that‌' s what happened.» This year in Russia, England will wear a similar design to that of 1966, again with the hope that success rubs off.

Croatia, 1998 Cameroon'‌ s Then there'‌ s Croatia‌' s famous red infamous body suit and white checkered kit -- instantly Over the years, some kits have been banned recognizable and unlike any other in because of designs stepping over the boundaries the footballing world. of FIFA‌' s strict rules set out in its 104-page Croatia wore a striking red and white Equipment Regulation guide checkered kit at the 1998 World Cup. That includes Puma'‌ s full body suit worn by While every kit has incorporated the design Cameroon in the 2004 African Cup of Nations. -- based off the Croatian coat of arms, the Puma‌' s Cameroon full body suit for the 2004 sahovnica -- the 1998 kit that was designed by African Cup of Nations was banned by FIFA for Lotto is particularly remembered among fans. not following its regulation guide. Not just for being the kit the young country FIFA said it was illegal not to separate the shirts wore to third place in its first World Cup, but and shorts and banned the suit. Cameroon also for encapsulating the unforgettable play ignored the order and played in it again during of Davor Suker who went on to win the Golden the quarterfinal against Nigeria -- leading to Boot after scoring six goals in seven matches. a six-point deduction for its 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and a $154,000 fine. While Puma took FIFA to court and the points Inspiring millions - both were restored, FIFA‌' s ban was upheld, and the one-piece was never seen on the field again. players and fans It wasn‌' t the first time Puma and Cameroon Not only do good designs boost player confidence bent the rules -- and inspire fans, shirts can also unite nations, in 2002 the team according to Devlin. also tried wearing '‌ s something that Kits bring international pride. It sleeveless vests, the whole country can get involved with and when which then had ‌' s a buzz around the team is doing well and there to have sleeves football, you see football shirts everywhere. sewed on. It s '‌an incredibly powerful tool to unite the country.

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