For many, especially in South America, the World Cup is everything. Every four years football fans tune in with hopes of seeing their country lift the trophy. For some (Germany, Brazil), this is a legitimate expectation. For others (England, the U.S.), it’s a mere pipe dream. The Colombia World Cup hopes are somewhere in between, but I really hope Los Cafeteros aren’t the last ones standing in Russia come July.
In February, the 11th edition of the UEFA Euro Futsal Championship went down in Slovenia, and with nearly five goals per game across 20 matches, some almighty cracks were scored in host city Ljubljana.
Portugal, led by five-time World Futsal Player of the Year Ricardinho, captured its first-ever title by defeating Spain (the seven-time and reigning champion) 3-2 in the final.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn’t played for Manchester United since getting the halftime hook in a 2-2 draw with Burnley back on December 26, and he wasn’t named in the club’s 18-man squad for Monday's win over Crystal Palace, but that doesn’t mean we should stop talking about the Swedish lion.
United boss Jose Mourinho recently revealed that this’ll almost certainly be Zlatan’s final season in Manchester.
Russia concluded group play in the 2018 Algarve Cup without a point, losing all three matches while being outscored 7-1. A 3-0 loss to Sweden on Monday ensured the Russians finished among the bottom two of 12 national teams. But there was one positive: an exquisite rainbow by forward Marina Fedorova.
The USWNT, the world's top-ranked side, defeated Germany, second-ranked, 1-0 to begin SheBelieves Cup play Thursday night, Megan Rapinoe scoring the game's lone goal off an assist from Alex Morgan.
The weather outside was weather — cold, wet (a nice wintery mix of rain/snow) and windy. Why the SheBelieves Cup decided to stage two matches in the midwest during the winter is an awfully good question, but the USWNT and Germany played out a high-energy, although somewhat limited, match — the opener for both nations at this round-robin tournament.
The 2018 World Cup was always going to be a little unhinged. This, after all, is a country in which groups of ultras get together before league games and partake in semi-organized brawls. After the Russians took the spotlight at Euro 2016 in France with some, well let's be polite and call them "antics," folks were right to be worried about fan safety during the World Cup.
The Algarve Cup began Wednesday with six matches. The highlight was supposed to be Japan, a finalist in the last two World Cups, against the Netherlands, the reigning European champion. However, the match was hardly competitive, with the Leeuwinnen thoroughly dominating the match. The only notable aspect of the 6-2 rout was four miserable seconds from Japan goalkeeper Sakiko Ikeda.
Winning the World Cup is the emotional paramount for every football player in the planet.
Over the years, World Cup finals have offered fans unforgettable moments, from fantastic goals to thrilling matches.
However, nothing beats the emotion of lifting the trophy for all the world to see.
It is such an ecstatic moment. A whole nation celebrates while the whole world acknowledges the most remarkable of accomplishments.
USWNT coach Jill Ellis revealed the final 23-player squad for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup on Friday. The tournament will see the world’s No. 1-ranked side (the U.S.) host Germany (No. 2), England (No. 3) and France (No. 6) in a round-robin tournament across three cities — Columbus, Ohio, Harrison, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.
Apparently, soccer comebacks are all the rage right now. Landon Donovan is back playing with León, Freddy Adu rediscovered his love for soccer with the Las Vegas Lights, Marco Reus is back scoring for Dortmund and now a Gianluigi Buffon Italy return appears imminent.