At the age of 32, David Silva has announced his retirement from international football after collecting 125 caps and scoring 35 goals for the Spanish national team. Silva was a member of the squads that won Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2012. At Euro 2012, Silva started all six of Spain’s matches and scored the opening goal of the final against Italy.
Croatia shocked most of the soccer world with its run to the World Cup final, although we here at The18 saw it coming. In order to prove that was no fluke, I'm doubling down on my bold World Cup predictions, this time four years in advance of the tournament instead of one. If you're wondering who the Croatia of the 2022 World Cup will be, you don't need to look any further than their neighbor (and historical rival) to the east.
Sepp Blatter’s former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke received a ban appeal rejection on Friday, July 27. The 57-year-old was ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to complete his 10-year suspension from all football activities. Additionally, the Frenchman is to pay an approximate fine of $100,500.
Qatar’s 2022 World Cup just can’t seem to stay away from controversy. First it was the allegations of bribery, then it was the deaths of workers building the stadiums (still an ongoing issue), and more recently it was the decision to host the 2022 World Cup during November and December.
What's clear in Ken Bensinger's "Red Card" book is that corruption was ubiquitous in soccer long before news of the FIFA scandal made headlines. That won't surprise many fans, but the details of how U.S. law enforcement broke open its case against FIFA and the extent of the organization's corruption are incredibly revealing.
For too many years already, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have absolutely dominated the discussion surrounding who is the best soccer player in the world. The Argentinean and the Portuguese have formed a hegemonic dynasty that's lasted since at least 2008. To find a Ballon d'Or winner other than Messi and Ronaldo, one has to travel all the way to 2007 when Brazilian star Kaká won the prize, and he's now retired.
Last World Cup gifted fans 169 goals in 64 matches. Over three million users voted on FIFA.com and the fans named Benjamin Pavard’s volley the World Cup Best Goal. Relive it here.
The Benjamin Pavard goal vs. Argentina was voted the World Cup best goal.
The splendid strike took place during the France-Argentina match in the Round of 16.
Maybe you’ve heard, but France won the 2018 World Cup. Les Bleus were pretty impressive in Russia, succeeding where Napoleon had failed 200 years earlier. But John Cleese and his big furry hat don’t want France to keep the World Cup trophy.
France and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Greizmann has made his love for America’s sports culture no secret. Let us remind you of last week, when he interrupted Paul Pogba’s post-World Cup interview to exclaim his love for Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Derrick Rose. Antoine Griezmann interrupted Pogba’s interview to say: “I love Derrick Rose.”
— Footy Jokes (@Footy_JokesOG) July 17, 2018