A fifth-tier game in Elblag, Poland, had an unexpected visitor from the sky. In the 65th minute of a Polish soccer game, a man with a parachute gracefully landed on the field to the surprise of everyone.
Sunday night’s Concacaf Nations League final between the United States and Mexico was the craziest game I have ever seen. Period.
The game had everything on and off the field, including a fan parkouring off the Paramount+ set to evade security. The fact that a fan taking a plunge into the stands from the broadcast booth isn’t big news goes to show how nutty this Concacaf classic was.
Having lost the KNVB Cup final in 2014, 2017 and 2018, PSV Women must’ve thought their cursed existence in the competition was rearing its ugly head again in the 2021 final on Saturday.
In the 17th minute, PSV set about defending a Den Haag corner. The ball eventually fell to Den Haag’s Jannette van Belen, whose attempted shot was blocked and ricocheted back off the top of her shoulder.
Imagine you get to ask the first American male to win the UEFA Champions League one singular question. What would you ask? Christian Pulisic is sitting there on the other end of the Zoom call staring into your soul awaiting your question. The pressure is on.
This was the situation I found myself in on Wednesday. Concacaf was kind enough to give me — an aspiring 22-year-old sports media graduate who just finished college last month — media accreditation to attend Nations League press conferences and the semifinal matches.
Still awake? The USMNT and Honduras did battle in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals for a grueling 90 minutes on Thursday with the U.S. claiming a 1-0 victory. The game featured at least five Honduras players being taken out on a stretcher (they magically healed and were quick to get back on the field). The fact that four Concacaf stretcher girls produced the most noise from the crowd is a testament to the overall performance.
As the world heals from the pandemic, pick-up matches are on their way back as well. Pick-up matches exemplify all the best parts of soccer: intense rivalries, healthy competition and the opportunity to sharpen your skills.
RED ALERT! RED ALERT! SAN MARINO HAS SCORED! I REPEAT! SAN MARINO HAS SCORED!
The nation ranked 210 out of 210 in the FIFA Men’s rankings had one of its finest hours on Tuesday as it got the sphere in the net. This is a task that has proven most difficult for San Marino.
It was a foggy Saturday morning soccer match and I was defending the goal spectating the action going on the field. I had stopped a few shots earlier in the match and my confidence was quickly rising. Thoughts raced through my head, realizing that I was about to officially record my first clean sheet of the season. Then as clear as day the ball was passed to me, and as I went to stop it with my foot it slowly but surely skipped right below my outstretched foot and into the awaiting net behind me.