Midfield

Heading into Wednesday’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City, the narrative centered around the contrasting styles of managers Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola. In essence, how would the laissez-faire approach of Zidane, which yielded back-to-back-to-back titles in this competition between 2016 and 2018, fare against the meticulous neuroticism of Guardiola, which hasn’t earned the Spaniard Old Big Ears since 2011. 

Fresh off helping the USWNT book its ticket for Tokyo 2020 by scoring six goals at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, Lindsey Horan was back in her home state of Colorado on Wednesday night to watch the Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center.

You don’t need a reminder of Horan’s remarkable skill on the ball, but here’s a reminder — the goal she scored against Canada in the final was poetry in motion.  

Colorado native Lindsey Horan recently shared her story about how she started her journey to achieve her dreams with The Players’ Tribune. Horan had her goals set from a young age, when she dreamed of being the best football player in the world. Her mindset remains the same today, except now she’s living out her dream. 


It wasn’t a vintage Netherlands performance by any means, but the Dutch’s quest for a first major international tournament appearance since the 2014 World Cup remains on course following a 2-1 victory over Belarus on Sunday.

With two matches remaining in Euro 2020 qualifying, a draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Nov. 16 would ensure a return to the big stage for the Oranje. 

Before yesterday’s Ligue 1 match between defending champion PSG and Rennes at Roazhon Park, all of the talk was centered around Neymar’s complete absence from the squad. After the match, the only name being mentioned was that of 16-year-old Rennes defensive midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

Camavinga only made his senior debut last April — going on to total seven Ligue 1 appearances last campaign — but he was instrumental in his side’s shock 2-1 upset of PSG last night.

Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) has been making headlines over the past few months by waging a steady assault on FIFA’s rights to everything in club soccer; most notable was an exclusive deal with Juventus, meaning that the club’s name, badge, kits and Allianz Stadium will only be available in PES 2020 — FIFA 20 players will have to make do with ‘Piemonte Calcio.’

Vissel Kobe defeated Nagoya 5-3 in J1 League play on Sunday thanks to braces from Spanish legends Andrés Iniesta, age 35, and David Villa, 37. Villa opened the scoring with a fine solo goal, and then Iniesta restored Vissel Kobe’s advantage with this sensational long-range effort.