Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson led his island nation to an improbable 1-1 draw against heavyweight Argentina, sparking Fox play-by-play man John Strong to say "Iceland beats Argentina, 1-1."
Halldorsson came up with six saves against an Argentina side that controlled 78 percent of the possession. His stop on Lionel Messi's penalty will play on World Cup highlight reels for years to come.
France defeated Australia without entirely convincing, and the same sort of analysis could be applied to its myriad of attacking talent. Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe are both absolute spectacles in full flight and Antoine Griezmann is the spice that is the variety of life, but the three just couldn’t combine with the sort of intricacy and understanding that fellow frontrunners Spain and Brazil enjoy.
France meandered around the pitch for about 55 minutes without creating much in way of scoring opportunities. Then, with the help of the very first use of World Cup VAR, Les Bleus took the first lead of the match against Australia on an Antoine Griezmann penalty kick on Saturday.
No event escalates individuals to the status of national hero or global villain as dramatically as the World Cup. The idolatry that follows success and the stigma that follows failure are woven into the fabric of history, and the repercussions will typically follow footballers for the rest of their lives. Daily, we’ll take a look at who played the role of hero and who played the role of villain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Cristiano Ronaldo has finally arrived at a World Cup. Sure, he’s scored at the last three tournaments, but the goals came against inferior competition. The Ronaldo hat trick vs Spain was one of the Portugal striker’s greatest moments for his country, as the Iberian derby finished in a 3-3 draw on Friday in Russia.
Anyone else hungry for nachos? I mean, I’m always hungry for nachos, but something about that Nacho goal vs Portugal has me even hungrier that usual.
The first half of the Portugal-Spain matchup was absolutely bonkers. But the second half didn’t peter out like the first season of Westworld (I haven’t watched Season 2, so no spoilers).
Months after the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, a new wave of headlines confirming "US Not In World Cup 2018" has dampened the mood of America's casual soccer fans who tune into three or four games every four years.
News of the U.S. joint bid with Mexico and Canada winning the rights to host the 2026 World Cup has given those fans something to be excited about, but the USMNT's absence from this year's World Cup is nonetheless disappointing.
Iran versus Morocco was awful. The return of the vuvuzela. The vintage Carlos Queiroz approach. The feeling that I really misguided folks by praising Moroccan attackers Amine Harit and Hakim Ziyech before the match.
John Green, author of “The Fault in Our Stars,” delightful YouTube talent and shameless Liverpool supporter, may want to be careful about what he wishes for — vuvuzelas are back.
During the Uruguay-Egypt match to start Friday’s World Cup action, during which there were a lot of empty seats in the middle of the park, likely where wealthy Russians should be sitting, Green lamented about the atmosphere.
No player appeared more devastated by Jose Gimenez’s 89th minute winner for Uruguay than Mohamed Salah on the Egypt bench; no player could’ve been more elated than Luis Suarez. The Barcelona striker had a nightmare match for La Celeste, spurning three glorious chances while also getting globally ridiculed for an atrocious dive/feigned injury combo.