Domestic action returns to the fore with the FA Cup, Copa del Rey and Coupe de France dominating the midweek action, but the Champions League is set to return with the Round of 16 second legs on March 7/8-14/15.
We've got some dynamite return legs brewing with five of the eight matches separated by one goal or less, and who knows, maybe Liverpool can finally deliver some excitement now that nothing's expected from them.
The 2023 MLS season is finally underway and we've already learned a great deal from the league's opening fixtures. From the on-field play to the coverage and other adjacent news surrounding kick-off, MLS fans will certainly have lots to talk about before the match week has even finished.
The expectations for the United States women’s national team are about as high as they get for any team. The best evidence of the astronomically high bar for the USWNT is the coverage of their 2023 SheBelieves Cup triumph.
Despite getting three-straight wins against No. 6 Canada, No. 11 Japan and No. 9 Brazil while only conceding once, the consensus is that there’s still lots of work to do and roster spots to figure out.
The noise is unrelenting. From the moment we wake until our day's complete, we're exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads that enter our consciousness and demand consideration. The market around the game of soccer is no different, where footwear brands promise innovations that can make you stronger, faster and more powerful than you'd ever imagined — only to declare them obsolete just months later as the newest product is rolled out. We get swept away by technological "advances" and spend hundreds of dollars wrapping our feet in unforgiving synthetic plastic.
Polarizing soccer pundit Alexi Lalas ruffled feathers in the USMNT sphere after sharing his opinion about the midfield duo of Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie. Lalas doesn’t seem to be a fan of their physical approach in the Premier League.
Adams and McKennie have only played four EPL games together at Leeds United and have already earned a name for themselves. We at The18 refer to them as the ‘Premier League Bad Boys’ due to their hard tackles and how they never back down from a fight.
Hirving Lozano and Napoli secured a massive 2-0 victory in the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday on the road against Eintracht Frankfurt. A sublime Chucky Lozano assist vs Frankfurt in the first half opened the scoring.
In the 40th minute Napoli struck on a counterattack to snatch their first goal. A burst of pace from Lozano, who was a menace to the Frankfurt defense for large portions of the game, got Napoli in scoring position.
An excellent finish from Mallory Swanson was the difference in the USWNT's 1-0 SheBelieves Cup win over Japan on Sunday at GEODIS Park in Nashville. Japan caused all sorts of issues in disrupting the U.S. buildup while launching 15 shots compared to only five for the Americans.
The U.S. played with fire at the back and the midfield didn't establish any sort of dominance, but the team showed exactly what makes them so difficult to beat even when they're not at their best: an unmatched fighting spirit mixed with individuals who can provide the difference at any moment.
Now that almost every team has released its new jerseys, it's clear that this year is going to be special. From California to Chicago and DC to Dallas, every single team has produced some magic making a list like this almost impossible. Honorable mentions must go out to Columbus, New England and Real Salt Lake who all just missed out but undoubtedly deserve recognition for creating spectacular kits for their cities. These ten were just a step above.
Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie don’t play around. The American duo is quickly becoming the most ruthless and brutal midfield pair in the Premier League. The latest Leeds Everton fight during Saturday’s EPL meeting was another example of this.
Moments before halftime Adams and Luke Ayling did well to dispossess Dwight McNeil near the corner flag. While Adams was dribbling away McNeil put in a hard foul on the American.
The 2023 Major League Soccer season kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 25, and there's plenty of excitement heading into the new campaign. Apple’s mega 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS means fans can watch every game on MLS Season Pass without blackouts.
Topping last season’s drama will be a tall order for the 2023 edition. In 2022 Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union played arguably the greatest MLS game ever which saw LAFC win their first MLS Cup.