No event defines an athlete’s career quite like the World Cup. It’s why people still look at Lionel Messi like he’s got something to prove (he doesn’t) and why the name Chris Wondolowski still brings a tear to the eye of many Americans. The 2014 World Cup made Mario Gotze an international icon, turned James Rodriguez into the hero of Colombians everywhere and earned DeAndre Yedlin a Spurs contract.
You’d think it would be obvious by now, but apparently not. FIFA still has to tell its member federations that accepting bribes in exchange for votes on 2026 World Cup hosting rights is wrong.
There's something tragic about each of Mexico's six-straight World Cup Round of 16 eliminations — being unable to reach the quarterfinals has become a haunting nightmare for El Tri. However, it doesn't detract from the country's long and rich history of playing in the world's greatest competition.
In fact, Mexico is one of the national teams with the most World Cup appearances. El Tri have been present at 15 World Cups, only trailing Argentina (16), Italy and Germany (17), and Brazil (20).
When outgoing U.S.
Mexico’s pre-World Cup exhibitions will include at least three matches in the country El Tri helped keep out of the World Cup, highlighted by the Mexico vs Iceland friendly in Santa Clara, California, in March. Coach Juan Carlos Osorio will test his team against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Croatia this spring, with all three to be played in the United States.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will play Mexico on Jan. 31, three days after playing the United States. The USA match is in Carson, California, while the Mexico match will be in San Antonio.
Aged 31, Mexico international Andres Guardado recently told FIFA.com that he now prides himself more on bringing “balance to the team” rather than being the “box-to-box player” of old, so the Real Betis midfielder is probably less than pleased with the club’s defensive record this season — they’ve allowed 34 goals in 18 matches, third-worst in La Liga.
Lionel Messi is probably the best soccer player of all time, and one of the reasons for that is he never stops trying to improve himself. Even though he's a world-class passer, dribbler and finisher, Messi told a Russian outlet his goal now is to be a better penalty-taker.
It’s the time of year when people decide to make personal promises to be better in the coming 12 months, because nothing says motivation like waiting until the end of one year to do better. But if you really want to make a difference in 2018, instead of resolving to spend more time in the gym or less money on Starbucks, might we suggest these new years resolutions to be a better soccer fan in 2018.
Introspection is not easy, so we did the heavy lifting to give you these six resolutions perfect for any soccer fan.
As we near the end of 2017, few American soccer fans will look back on the year with any sort of fondness after the USMNT failed to qualify for the World Cup. Same for Dutch, Italian and Chilean fans, plus anyone who as ever rooted for Sunderland. So instead of focusing on 2017, let’s turn our attention to how much 2018 will suck. Here are 18 horrible 2018 soccer predictions.
This Pique-Neymar interview will bring tears to the eyes of many Barca nostalgics who still cannot understand the Brazilian star’s decision to leave Barcelona for PSG.
Neymar and Gerard Pique when they were teammates. Photo: @diarioas | Twitter