The World Cup and Wimbledon ignite a summer of sport

For a sports fan, there can never be too much of sports events. However, the summer of 2018 is likely to prove the previous statement wrong. This July will see not only the unfolding of World Cup – from the last 16 all the way to the final on 15^th July, but also the world’s best tennis players will try to win the Wimbledon trophy. If only World Cup and Wimbledon final dates did not clash.

Horror of all horrors, World Cup final fixture and Wimbledon flagship tennis match take place on the same date: Sunday 15^th July 2018. The final fixture of World Cup is to kick off at 4pm BST. By that time, the Wimbledon match should be at its peak, scheduled to start at 2pm BST.

Leading broadcasting networks like BBC have the rights to broadcast both sports events. However, as they are to start roughly at the same time, the networks have made inquiries about a possible change of the kick-off time. According to the networks, a schedule of 4pm for the final football fixture of World Cup 2018 is an unusual European time to begin an event of such grandeur.

What makes things worse is that there are football matches earlier in the tournament which begin at 6pm BST, like the semifinals, for example. Additionally, some others begin at 7pm.

Wimbledon used to begin in late June, but a decision made four years ago pushed the starting date back by one week. According to experts, this would provide tennis players with more time to prepare for the big event. This year’s Wimbledon tournament started on 2^nd July and, as we mentioned, it is scheduled to end on 15^th July.

Mind-blowing plot twists on Russia’s football pitches

Undoubtedly, 15^th July will be an interesting date to all sports fans. Currently, it is impossible to predict which team will end up competing for the World Cup trophy. In fact, most of the favourites already dropped out from the competition.

First was Germany; the current World Cup champion, which dropped out in the group stage after a devastating loss against South Korea. According to experts, Joachim Löw made a terrible mistake by relying on players who struggled for form, instead of relying on young talents who won the Confederations Cup last summer.

Uruguay then won against Portugal, and thus another favourite was eliminated from the competition. Third was Spain, which dropped out from World Cup after missing decisive penalties in a match against Russia. Well, Spaniards can still enjoy sports in the face of tennis – Rafael Nadal is still in the Wimbledon competition.

Spain counts on Nadal

With their promising football team out of the World Cup competition, Spaniards can now count on Rafael Nadal to score some points. The best tennis player from the Iberian Peninsula is to compete on 3rd July against Dudi Sela roughly at 4pm BST. The tennis champion has stated that he expects to go far in the Wimbledon tournament, possibly even winning the prestigious trophy. In conclusion, the player added that his expectations are always high and that he expects to have good results. Nadal has won the Wimbledon tournament twice (in 2008 and in 2010), but he has suffered heavy defeats in recent years.

England without Murray at Wimbledon

Just one day before the beginning of Wimbledon, UK’s best tennis player – Andy Murray, a former world number one – announced he will not participate in this year’s tournament. This is not the first last-time withdrawal of Murray – he has done it twice before since he lost the quarterfinals a year ago. The reason for Andy’s withdrawal is his hip injury, which made him leave the tennis courts for quite some time.

England can still rely on Kyle Edmund and their national football team, which competes on 3^rd July against Colombia at 7pm BST. If they win, England will play against Sweden or Switzerland in the quarterfinals finals of World Cup 2018.

Switzerland marks stunning success at both sports

So far, Switzerland’s performance in the World Cup competition is truly astonishing. The Swiss national football team did great in their match against the group’s favourite, Brazil, which ended in a prestigious draw. What is more, the Swiss marked a deserved win against another tough opponent, Serbia. Switzerland plays on 3^rd July against Sweden at 3pm BST.

Incidentally, Switzerland’s number one tennis player, Roger Federer, played against a Serbian player, too. In the centre court inaugural match, Federer managed to dominate over Dušan Lajović, winning 6-1 6-3 6-4.

The editorial unit