Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in gaming that Dad has purchased the Formula One 04 PlayStation 2 game on Trade Me for me on the 3rd of May (And I haven't played it since I used to have PCSX2, but I no longer do it since I prefer the real thing, such as the real McCoy, & I had to pay it due to additional postage & handling as well as the game itself (And on May 3rd that I was playing Gran Turismo 7 (For which has always been an cracker that came out in 2022 thinking that it's the new 2005 & 2008 all over again where they released Star Wars Battlefront II (2005 version) & Grand Theft Auto IV respectively as the other decent bangers) throughout, in preparation of playing the Formula One 04 game such as racing the Super Formula SF23 car once (A modern day single seater race car that competes in Japan's premier racing series of Super Formula that's in place of the current F1 car) as well as both the Gran Turismo F3500-B once & F3500-A twice (Both inspired by Formula One open wheelers during the early 90's golden heyday halcyon period) respectively, at one of my fave F1 racing tracks that is Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which is home of the annual Canadian Grand Prix (And Aunty Tan once told me that she's been to that circuit before along with Rejean when they walked throughout the venue themselves).
And secondly in music that the song from the American rock band Tantric, 'Breakdown', has seriously becoming one of my fave songs from the band itself (And it is a one-hit wonder anyway) since I first heard that song taken from the CART Champ Car movie of Driven starring Italian American film star Sylvester Stallone released way back in 2001 which was a disaster, compared to F1: the Movie (I've got it on Blu-ray already in my bedroom) also starring Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt (Who appeared in the Delonghi coffee machine advert on TV lately) that came out last year for which was arguably top notch (And it was nominated for an Oscar this year), it's showtime (As Johnny Cage played by New Zealander Karl Urban (Who portrayed the role of both Eomer & John 'Reaper' Grimm in the Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers & the Return of the King as well as the Doom movies respectively) would say in the upcoming Mortal Kombat II movie due for release in May this year).
And thirdly in football (Soccer) that I will be doing my story about the history of the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup since I was born in 1991 starting from 1994 where Brazil won their unprecedented 4th Football (Soccer) men's World Cup after their penalty shoutout win against Italy (Well, I was too young to remember that at the time) who should've won that certain tournament, when Roberto Baggio missed that certain penalty shot during the shootout where the Brazilians, especially their football (soccer) team paid tribute to the country's most successful racing car driver who took his own life in a fatal crash during a Grand Prix race in Imola, Italy of the late great Ayrton Senna (Who was the last before the late Jules Bianchi back in 2015 (Same year that Justin Wilson had been tragically killed which triggered the introduction of the aero screen in 2020 for extended cockpit head protection) a year after being also involved in a fatal accident during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix (That prompted Formula One to introduce the halo that is designed for head protection in the cockpit as well also back in 2018 in response to Bianchi's tragic passing, just like a wooden plank that help slow cars down being implemented (Just like in NASCAR where these stock cars are being fitted with restrictor plates at superspeedways in Atlanta, Daytona, & Talladega) in the aftermath of Senna's tragic death, then further enhanced safety changes at circuits were brought in such as the Tamburello & Villeneuve corners being replaced with chicanes at the Imola circuit in Italy as a response to the deaths of Senna, & the late Austrian driver of Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying a day before the race way back in 1994) according to the previous stories on my blogs, then in 1998 where the Brazilians (Who had one of their star player suffering epilepsy hours prior to kick-off) missed out on defending the crown against the hosts at the time of France who produced a sheer brilliance from one of the relatively unknowns also at the time of Zinedine Zidane who scored 2 goals in the final which was marred by the sending off from Marcel Desailly (Who was the 3rd after both Argentinians of Pedro Monzon & Gustavo Dezotti in 1990 when West Germany won) by the Moroccan referee in which Didier Deschamps was the first Frenchman to lift the trophy aloft, before in 2002 that Brazil won their 5th & most recent World Cup to date, against Germany with their star player Ronaldo (Not Cristiano himself, the Brazilian one) producing a bit of magic as he scored a brace (And it was Cafu who was the last Brazilian to lift the trophy) in his comeback from a serious injury sustained in a Coppa Italia final in 2000-01 where he thought that his career was going to end when he returned from a previous injury when he suffered a debilitating, complete rupture of his right knee patellar tendon against Lazio, as his final lasted 6 minutes prior to his knee being blown up (And then he returned to full fitness when the Brazilians triumphed), then in 2006 (Which was 20 years ago) that the Italians managed to win on penalties against the French who played with 10 players after the French captain had been shown the red card due to that one particular incident that he claimed that he headbutted an Italian player who exchanged insults with each other was at fault according to the previous stories on my blogs (And William Gallas said that he would've taken the penalty first during the shootout after Zidane (Who was the 4th after Desailly to be given the marching orders, & 2nd Frenchman to do so) got sent off by the Argentinian referee, but he did not in fact according to one of his stories about his French teammate at the time of 'Zizou', & it could've been lucky if France won should Zinedine Zidane had not been sent off when at that moment when current Uzbekistan coach/manager Fabio Cannavaro who was the last Italian to hoist the trophy aloft) where it was indeed redemption 12 years in the making for Italy of winning the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup for the first time since 1982, meanwhile in 2010 that Spain were crowned champions for the first time when they beat the Netherlands (Who had Johnny Heitinga being the last man to be sent from the field in the World Cup final) with Andres Iniesta providing the heroics with a match winning goal at extra time (In which Iker Casillas at that moment, was the first & only Spanish captain to lift the World Cup trophy, 2 years after they would win Euro 2008, & 2 years before they even retained the Euros at Euro 2012, the last time the Spanish would win the European Football Championship (Before that it was Portugal at Euro 2016, then Italy at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament that was held in 2021), until Euro 2024 where they became the most successful in Europe after their win in the final against England in Berlin, Germany which was by far Spain's finest performances to date, in recent memory), despite being cautioned for taking his jersey off whilst celebrating his goal, just like Mario Götze did for Germany when they beat Argentina (Led by Lionel Messi who was in his first final which was an unsuccessful one where they had the wrong picture) back in 2014 that he provided the heroics inspired by Iniesta (In that moment, as Philipp Lahm was the last German to lift the trophy as he was the first since Lothar Matthaeus way back in 1990, & the first time they have won a World Cup since reunification when the Berlin wall had been collapsed then (As well as their first major football (Soccer) tournament victory since Euro 96), as well as 4 years later in 2018 (That is 2 years before COVID came along in March 2020 with the pandemic that lasted for 3 years & 2 months where it finished formally in May 2023) that France (Who were in their first World Cup final since 2006) managed to end 20 years of hurt when they beat first time finalists Croatia led by star talisman Luka Modric who had been awarded player of the tournament by 2 goals in that epic final (It was Hugo Lloris who became the 2nd French skipper, & the first since Deschamps way back in 1998 to hoist the trophy aloft in France's first major football (Soccer) tournament victory in 18 years (The last time they did before that was Euro 2000 where they beat Italy who thought they won when they were in the lead, until the French equalized to force it into extra time before scoring the golden goal by one of their players of David Trezeguet that triumphed them to glory since 1984 at home), & finally in 2022, that France (Who were also in the final again as they became the first defending champions at the time since Brazil way back in 1998, but it wasn't to be) had denied their chance of retaining their crown in which they fell short on spot kicks against the Argentinians led by Messi (The first man to hoist the World Cup trophy from his country since the late great Diego Armando Maradona way back in 1986 who had a blinder in which he scored 2 goals & then, being awarded the player of the final honours for his outstanding performance on the field (And it was rival player Kylian Mbappe who was the first man to score a hat-trick of goals in a World Cup final (And also was the 2nd ever teenage goal scorer in the final back in 2018, since the late Brazilian GOAT of Pele himself) since Geoff Hurst who was the first in 1966 for England against West Germany, but it wasn't to be when they manage to fall short at the end) in what was Messi's 2nd final appearance, for that really was a success where they had the right picture on that occasion, in which the 2022 final as best described as the match that made Lionel Messi) who ended a 36 year hoodoo of winning the tournament altogether, in one of the greatest Football (Soccer) men's World Cup finals of all time (Compared to the 2019 men's ODI Cricket World Cup final which was considered the greatest men's ODI Cricket World Cup finals in history where England led by Irish born player Eoin Morgan, won the tournament for the first time in history where it was virtually decided by a super over in which our Black Caps had fallen short in the end, as well in the rugby where the 1995 men's Rugby World Cup final was considered the greatest men's Rugby World Cup finals of all time (I thought it was 2015, but I'd like to take that back) where the Springboks had to win that thriller at extra time, against the All Blacks with a match winning field goal provided by Joel Stransky that united the host country, as well as their late leader of South African president at the time Nelson Mandela, according to the previous blogs that I did (Other contenders were the 2003 (Where England had to do it at extra time with a winning drop goal scored by Jonny Wilkinson against the hosts, & reigning champions at the time of the Wallabies) & 2023 finals (Where South Africa had a narrow win by a single point against New Zealand who were down to 14 players as the Boks would gone on to successfully defend the title in which they became the 2nd side to do so after the AB's back in 2015) even though we lost in the final where we could've regained the men's RWC that we must've inflicted the scars of '95 (A year before we finally won a rugby test series against South Africa on South African soil 2 - 1 following numerous attempts that have failed us before that way back in 1996, but it'll return this year in a highly anticipated 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' 4 match test series between the 2 main rivals in international rugby of both the Boks, & the All Blacks (Just like Argentina & Brazil in world football (Soccer), then Germany against the Netherlands as well as England Vs Scotland, & Mexico & the United States, meanwhile it is India against Pakistan in cricket (But the oldest cricket rivalry of them all would have to be Australia Vs England where it all started in 1882 when English cricket was dead after shockingly losing to the Aussies by 7 runs in a cricket match at the Oval in London where English cricket had been dead & buried, then the body would be cremated & the Ashes to be taken on Aussie soil), & also in the league such as Australia & New Zealand), as a replacement for the Rugby Championship scheduled to take a 1 year hiatus) just like in 2023, & last but not least, the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix that was widely regarded as the greatest Formula One Grand Prix races of all time where rain had been delayed for 4 hours, but only one man who stood out that is British driver Jenson Button (The world champion from 2009) of McLaren that he raced at the time who would gone on to win the rain sodden Grand Prix after starting 21st on the grid (Other contenders were the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton (The late Sir Bobby Charlton, Jonny Wilkinson, the late Sir Jack Hobbs, & Shaun Edwards of British motor racing) who had to pass German Timo Glock on the final lap of the race just to beat Brazilian Felipe Massa for the World Championship (And it just had to be), & the 1993 European Grand Prix where "The lap of the gods" had struck when the late Brazilian hero of Ayrton Senna who overtook 4 other cars (Including Austrian Karl Wendlinger, then both future world champions of German Michael Schumacher & British driver Damon Hill (Son of the late Graeme the former world champ himself), & then the eventual champion Alain Prost) after starting 5th on the grid during the miserable conditions, & gone on to win that certain Grand Prix race) out of the 24 runners), but here is the preview of the 2026 tournament altogether featuring the 48 different competing countries who are placed in their respective groups (While 26 different football (Soccer) playing nations will return from the previous tournament in 2022 (Like Argentina (The 3 time winners from 1978, 1986, & at the last but most recent one in 2022 where they'll defend their crown), Australia (Their best result was from the round of 16 in both the 2006 & 2022 tournaments respectively), Belgium (Where they finished 3rd in the 2018 tournament as their best result of the World Championship), Brazil (The last time the Brazilians tasted success was in 2002 after previously winning the 1958, 1962, 1970, & 1994 tournaments throughout altogether), Canada (Co-hosts of this year's tournament), Croatia (Their best result was 2nd, in which they were defeated against the eventual champions of the French back in 2018), Ecuador, England (Who haven't won in 60 years where they last lifted the trophy on home soil in 1966), France (The twice world champions from way back in 1998, & back in 2018 who'll be seeking to regain the World Championship after falling short on penalties against the Argentinians themselves in 2022), Germany (Who last lifted the trophy in 2014 after previously becoming the world champions in 1954, 1974, & 1990), Ghana, IR Iran, Japan (Their best result was the Round of 16 4 times in which they have never reached beyond them through to the quarters (That was back in 2002 when they co-hosted it with South Korea in that they were beaten against Turkey, then Paraguay also back in 2010, followed by Belgium back in 2018 in one of the greatest comebacks of all time ever, in the history of the World Championship, & against the Croatians on spot kicks last time out in the 2022 tournament), Korea Republic (Also their best result in which they finished 4th where they lost to the Turkish during the 3rd/4th place playoff when they co-hosted the World Championship along with the Japanese), Mexico (Another one of the co-hosts of this year's tournament whose best result for them was in the quarters when they hosted the tournament twice in both 1970, & way back in 1986), Morocco (The surprise package of the last tournament in 2022 as they reached the semis which was their best result altogether (They finished 4th when they lost against Croatia) who had been were declared the champions of AFCON in the aftermath of the Senegalese getting DQ'd), the Netherlands (Their best result was runners up long ago in 1978 where they were defeated against hosts at the time of Argentina, then in 2010 against Spain), Portugal (Who finished 3rd in 1966 where they beat a Soviet Union team during the 3rd & 4th place playoff), Qatar (Previous hosts of the 2022 tournament who had to take part in the Asia qualifiers to qualify for the World Championship), Saudi Arabia, Senegal (Who thought that they've won the AFCON title, but they were later stripped for intentionally walking off the field following a penalty decision that delayed the game for 20 to 30 minutes), Spain (The 4 time Euro champions who are the title favourites of that competition after going into the campaign 31 games unbeaten where they're seeking to emulate their one & only success back in 2010), Switzerland (Who regularly appear at the tournament since 2006), Tunisia, Uruguay (The two time world champions who triumphed at the inaugural tournament in 1930, then 1950 when it was back on 5 years after the end of World War II, & they haven't won the entire World Championship since), & USA (One of 3 Co-hosts of the tournament with their best result coming in at the historic first ever World Championship in 1930 with 3rd place), compared to 4 are back from 2018 (Colombia, Egypt, Panama, & Sweden), then 3 have returned from the 2014 tournament (Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, & Cote D'Ivoire), meanwhile 3 are back from 2010 (New Zealand, Paraguay, & South Africa), also then only one from 2006 (Czechia (Who once competed under the name of the Czech Republic), & 2002 (Türkiye (In which they competed under the name Turkey), then 3 return from 1998 (Austria, Norway, & Scotland), as well as just one from 1986 (Iraq), & both from 1974 (Democratic Republic of Congo (They were competing under the name Zaire), & Haiti), + 4 will make their tournament debut such as Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan, & Uzbekistan, while for the 3rd World Championship in a row where the 7 champions of 1 current (The Argentinians) & 6 former (The Brazilians, then the English, France, the Germans, the Spanish, & the Uruguayans) will line up in this years tournament), so here it is:
Group A
Mexico (Co-hosts)
South Africa
Korea Republic
Czechia
Group B
Canada (Co-hosts)
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Qatar
Switzerland
Group C
Brazil
Morocco
Haiti
Scotland
Group D
USA (Co-hosts)
Paraguay
Australia
Türkiye
Group E
Germany
Curacao
Cote D'Ivoire
Ecuador
Group F
The Netherlands
Japan
Sweden
Tunisia
Group G
Belgium
Egypt
IR Iran
New Zealand
Group H
Spain
Cabo Verde
Saudi Arabia
Uruguay
Group I
France
Senegal
Iraq
Norway
Group J
Argentina (Defending champions)
Algeria
Austria
Jordan
Group K
Portugal
DR Congo
Uzbekistan
Colombia
& Group L
England
Croatia
Ghana
Panama
And lastly the latest in the rugby, especially the latest Super Rugby Pacific report as the Hurricanes manage to survive against the Crusaders who managed to get an defensive bonus point for losing by 7 points or less at Hnry Stadium in Wellington (The stadium that both Dad & Raewyn had been to as they saw a NRL league game between the New Zealand Warriors (Who had beaten the Paramatta Eels lately in Sydney according to one of Dad's comments that I heard on the 3rd of May, even though we're 2nd on the table, & are trailing behind the table topping Penrith Panthers before the Wahs take the bye in round 10 of the competition), & the Dolphins) for that really was a cracker, then the Western Force pull off a stunning win against the New South Wales Waratahs in a close game in Sydney before a day later that the Highlanders fell short against the Fijian Drua who kept their chances of making the playoffs alive in Ba therefore ending the Landers quest of making the post-season, as well as their aspirations of reaching the playoffs, is going to take a hit since the Drua were too hard at home for the Highlanders who have their chances of sneaking into the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs have been dealt another blow, as well as the Blues thrash Moana Pasifika in their final ever battle of Auckland at North Harbour Stadium in Albany (And I mean what a game that was, but there was a try to Moana with Mills Sanerivi scoring after taking a tap & go, then they must've passed it to a player who was lifted like a lineout maul which has drawn inspiration from the Springboks as well as their coach Rassie Erasmus, & the Paul Roos Gimnasium schoolboy rugby first XV in South Africa at least with their trick play known as a midfield lineout, with assistant coach Tom Coventry who called the shots), & last but not least, the Queensland Reds were able to pull off a textbook victory over the ACT Brumbies who should've lost by less than 7 just like the Crusaders did, even if they had got the bonus point in Brisbane.
And here are the list of matches taking place in round 13 of this year's Super Rugby Pacific competition
Crusaders Vs Blues: Te Kaha Stadium, Christchurch
Queensland Reds Vs Chiefs: Lang Park, Brisbane
Highlanders Vs New South Wales Waratahs: Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin
Moana Pasifika Vs Hurricanes: North Harbour Stadium, Albany
& ACT Brumbies Vs Western Force: Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Bye: Fijian Drua
So that is my 722nd blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 74th of this year, viva Ukraine.
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