The final FIFA rankings before the 2022 World Cup were released Thursday, revealing a top five that's largely in line with what the odds makers have for the tournament in Qatar.
Brazil rightfully holds the top spot and is seen as the favorite after turning its qualifying campaign into a program on Joga TV, while the Seleção's eternal rivals, Argentina, sit third riding a 35-match unbeaten streak.
A few days ago, ESPN stats man Alexis Tamayo — known online as Mr. Chip — said the Liga MX format "is garbage." His opinion sent shockwaves across the Mexican soccer universe and the discussion was on.
As a guest on the Werevertumorro's YouTube channel, Mr. Chip pointed out that he doesn't understand how "a tournament in which consistency should be rewarded" also has something like playoffs. He also blamed the format as one of the culprits behind the lack of success among Mexican players on the international stage.
The worst case scenario heading into September's international window, given the argument over Jordan Pefok's omission despite his incredible start to life in the Bundesliga, was that all three of Gregg Berhalter's selected strikers would fail against the modest defensive challenges posed by Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Oh boy. After getting played off the pitch against Japan last Friday, our USMNT vs Saudi Arabia player ratings from Tuesday's friendly in Spain aren't much better.
Saudi Arabia entered the match having recently gone goalless against Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and that lack of a cutting edge was evident against the U.S. — although the Americans did take it in turns to gift opportunities to the Green Falcons.
"Beyoncé" is trending on Twitter. Care to know why?
Over the weekend, a tweet claiming that no football player alive is more popular than Beyoncé riled up the whole of Twitter.
So many people think football players are crazy popular. It’s so weird. Like how can you say a football player is more popular than Beyonce? Then name two football players than even I wouldn’t recognize.
Lol— Imoteda (@imoteda) September 25, 2022
The USMNT's penultimate friendly before the start of the World Cup was a lesson in what not to do against Wales on Nov. 21 at Al-Rayyan Stadium. Japan destroyed the U.S. defense and midfield with its press, isolated the Americans' attack and generated all the chances in a thorough 2-0 victory in Düsseldorf.
EA Sports has released the FIFA 23 Soundtrack and it features a mix of household names and many relative unknowns. With Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Jack Harlow headlining the track list, many others steal the headlines like Ark Woods, Bianca Costa and Trueno.
FIFA music hits everyone differently and songs that fly under the radar at the beginning of the game can become fan favorites months down the line. As you play, make playlists of your favorite songs and listen to those as you drive around town or walk to class. Use this as a jumping-off point though.
This USMNT team is very young; they'll be the youngest at Qatar. Sometimes they look like serious 2026 World Cup contenders, sometimes they look lucky to have qualified for the 2022 tournament. Friday's 2-0 loss to Japan was a look at, as we outlined in our match preview, many of the worst-case scenarios for this team.
Gregg Berhalter’s United States men’s national team plays its first of two friendlies on Friday vs. Japan. The game is being played on neutral ground in Düsseldorf, Germany. Here are some USMNT vs Japan predictions and scenarios.
Up first will be the overall scenarios, and then it'll be broken down by the three sections (attack, midfield and defense).