Australia's record-breaking run in World Cup qualifying ended on Tuesday when Aziz Behich's late own goal handed Japan a lifeline as the Samurai Blue earned a 2-1 victory at Saitama Stadium.
Behich bundled the ball over his own goal line after Takuma Asano's late shot looped up and hit the post, ensuring Australia missed out on a 12th straight win on the road to Qatar 2022.
SKOPJE — Germany became the first European team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup by crushing North Macedonia 4-0 away on Monday to secure top spot in Group J with two games to spare.
A second-half double by Timo Werner and one goal each from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala secured Germany's fifth win in their fifth game under new coach Hansi Flick and lifted them to 21 points, with Romania in second place on 13.
Norway’s dream of securing World Cup qualification for the first time since 1998 took a massive step forward Monday after the Løvene recorded a 2-0 victory over Montenegro despite the absence of injured Ballon d’Or finalist Erling Haaland.
With the win, Norway gave itself a chance of actually overtaking the Netherlands and earning automatic qualification with two games to play, but a second-place finish and a spot in the playoffs can almost be guaranteed next time out against Latvia on Nov. 13.
By defeating the Chicago Red Stars 3-2 at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington, on Sunday afternoon, the OL Reign clinched a spot in the NWSL playoffs with three matches remaining in the regular season.
The Portland Thorns still lead the Shield race with 39 points, but the Reign is just one point back and six points clear of third-place Houston (the top two finishers receive byes to the playoff semifinals).
The Reign reached the postseason in fine style. After Mallory Pugh had given Chicago a 14th-minute lead, the Reign responded through Jess Fishlock in the 31st.
Not all overhead kicks are created equal. The greatest differentiator has to be that moment of posterization — when the foot meets football at its absolute zenith and the body’s parallelism with the ground seems to foreshadow certain death.
On one end of the scale there's the footballer who’s simply throwing their leg at the chance and falling over. The result is still a great goal, but the lasting effect isn’t much more powerful than watching a somersault.
Few left feet in the history of the game have been as magical as Lionel Messi’s. But the Messi goal vs Uruguay on Sunday night was something uniquely supernatural. It was as if the Argentine put some sort of forcefield around the ball as he sent it toward goal.
Messi’s strike in the 38th minute sent Argentina on its way to a 3-0 win over Uruguay in World Cup qualifying, maintaining a comfortable second place in the CONMEBOL table behind Brazil. La Celeste barely remain in the top four guaranteed World Cup positions with seven matches left to play.
Es probable que México no clasifique a Catar 2022 caminando. Sin embargo, la sensación de que los boletos al Mundial están a la vuelta de la esquina ya están en el bolsillo. O al menos esa es la vibra que transmitía esta noche el Estadio Azteca, convertido en carnaval, tras el apabullante 3-0 sobre Honduras.
The “Berhalter Out” group of USMNT fans had a field day Sunday night watching the U.S. fall to Panama 1-0 at the Estadio Rommel Fernández. The performance from Gregg Berhalter’s team was one of the most uninspiring from an American side since four years ago to the day when the Americans lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1.
The USMNT failed to register a single shot on target as Panama got its first ever victory against the U.S. during World Cup qualifying. The five total shots from the U.S. was lowest number in the team's last 28 World Cup qualifiers.
Francia reparó un poco la pobre imagen que dejó en la última Euro, luego de conseguir el título de la Nations League, derrotando a España por 2-1. Uno de los goles de la victoria fue obra de Karim Benzema y merece verse en eterno loop.
El tanto del delantero fue todo lo que queremos ver en una final. Fabuloso, mágico, sublime. Es una lástima que haya sido en la intrascendente Nations League y no en un torneo de mayor prestigio.
MILAN — World champions France won the Nations League final with goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe earning them a 2-1 win over Spain at the San Siro stadium on Sunday.
After a subdued fist half, the game sprung into life in the 64th minute when France full-back Theo Hernandez struck the underside of the bar after a swift break.
Moments later, Spain took the lead when Mikel Oyarzabal latched on to a long pass from Sergio Busquets, held off Dayot Upamecano and fired into the bottom corner.