As a little kid, I would feverishly collect Panini World Cup sticker albums every four years. The World Cup rush was even further intensified as everyone at school was collecting the stickers. Of course, all kids specially valued their national team stamps above anything else.
There was nothing a Mexican boy or girl would hold dearest to his or her heart than a Cuauhtemoc Blanco sticker.
In Antoine Griezmann, Alex Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Olivier Giroud, Dimitri Payet, Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin Gameiro and the ostracized Karim Benzema, France possess 10 forwards that, if hypothetically American, would waltz into the discussion of the greatest U.S. attacker of all-time.
It’s an embarrassment of attacking riches, especially when coupled with the dreamy midfield play of players like Paul Pogba, Thomas Lemar, Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso.
With 102 appearances, 18 goals and as a veteran of two World Cups, history is on Giovani dos Santos’ side. However, his play on the field over the last year and a half makes his inclusion in Mexico’s 2018 World Cup squad, by Juan Carlos Osorio’s own stated standards, a real doubt.
When Dos Santos arrived in MLS in 2016, his initial return of 14 goals, 12 assists and a place in the MLS Best XI seemed to fully justify a Designated Player salary of $5.5 million per year.
The greatest footballing nation to have never won the World Cup? It’s the Netherlands. The Oranje have thrice reached the final, losing to hosts West Germany in ’74, hosts Argentina in ’78 and Spain in 2010. The most famous of those defeats came against the Germans, because this was a tournament that had been turned into a pageant for the Dutch vision of Total Football.
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.
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.
The latest images of Mexico’s Adidas away jersey for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia have surfaced, and it looks as though El Tri will be fittingly representing their nickname when wearing their away strips.
The design features a bold horizontal chest stripe showcasing the flag of Mexico tricolors of green, white and red, as well as green Adidas stripes on the shoulders. The back of the shirt collar, like the home design, features a “soy méxico” message.
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.
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.
Last week, there was a horrific moment in the Champions League when Real Madrid left back Marcelo shattered his arm while unleashing a blood-curdling scream that was captured by live television cameras. Millions of viewers at home thought they were going to be sick.