USMNT

How The World Cup Works: A Guide For Everyone (Qatar 2022)

The FIFA men’s World Cup is the most popular tournament for the world’s most popular game. The 22nd edition kicks off in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 20, 2022. You know it’s a big deal, but do you know how the World Cup works?

USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso secures big transfer to LaLiga side Real Betis

LaLiga club Real Betis officially announced the transfer of United States men’s national team midfielder Johnny Cardoso on Wednesday. 

The 22-year-old defensive midfielder became a regular starter for Brazilian club Internacional where he made 144 appearances. Cardoso mostly played as a defensive midfielder but still managed to tally seven goals and five assists with Internacional.

Real Betis paid $6.3 million for the American according to ESPN as Cardoso signed a five-year contract.

Johnny Cardoso Real Betis transfer

USMNT takeover — These are the top 10 most valuable players in all of Concacaf

Concacaf players had a fantastic end to their years in Europe and their remarkable performances on the pitch, both for their clubs and national team, have started to reflect in their most recent market value updates. Especially the Americans.

The year is coming to an end and while the club seasons around the world are far from over, many Concacaf players’ stand-out ‘end-of-year grades’ have been determined by what they did at the end of the last 2022/23 campaign and the start of the current one.

Here are the top 10 USMNT goals of 2023, ranked

The United States men’s national team scored a total of 47 goals in the 2023 calendar year, and I’ve gone through all of them to find the top 10. It wasn’t easy picking the best USMNT goals of 2023, but the list has been made.

Several different factors can go into what makes a goal great including the circumstances/importance of the game. For this list the context and opponents don’t matter, we’re simply judging how nice of a goal it was.

The quality of the assist is also factored in.

Let’s watch some goals.

Watch: Folarin Balogun bags both assists in Monaco’s 2-1 victory vs. Rennes

United States men’s national team and AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun turned provider on Saturday as he assisted both of his side’s goals in a 2-1 Ligue 1 victory vs. Rennes.

Balogun entered the match with just one goal contribution in his last six games for Monaco and needed a solid performance. Monaco signed Balogun for roughly $43 million this summer.

The 22-year-old USMNT star delivered on Saturday this time with his passing rather than goal scoring.

Balogun assists vs Rennes

The18’s Copa América power rankings — End of 2023 edition

The anticipation for Copa América 2024 continues to grow especially with the recent reveal of the group stage. In the months leading up to the tournament The18 will be doing power rankings and list our picks for the best 2024 Copa América teams.

USMNT get favorable opponents in Copa América group stage draw and should be confident

The United States men’s national team will face Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia in Group C of the 2024 Copa América. The USMNT Copa América group is looking great.

The draw for the tournament took place on Thursday. It took 50 minutes until a ball was drawn, but the groups for the 2024 Copa América are now official.

2024 Copa América groups

Ricardo Pepi dropped to PSV reserves: What does this mean?

The USMNT’s very own Ricardo Pepi just went from scoring in the Champions League last week, to being relegated to his club's reserve team this week and if you're wondering why, we're here to explain.

USMNT still ranked top 15 in the world despite loss to Trinidad and Tobago

If you’ve kept up with The18 over the past couple years, then you know we love to poke fun at FIFA’s ridiculous world rankings. The latest FIFA rankings put the United States men’s national team at No. 12 in the world.

Latest FIFA rankings

Christian Pulisic took one for the team and put his balls on the line for a World Cup win one year ago

Nov. 29, 2022 was a historic day for the United States men’s national team. It was the day that Christian Pulisic took a brutal blow below the belt for the sake of his country and a place in the 2022 World Cup Round of 16.

At the time of writing, Pulisic’s heroics vs. Iran to secure a 1-0 victory were exactly 365 days ago. In recognition of his goal, let’s take a look back at that glorious day.

The game was do-or-die for the U.S. with the group extra tight going into the final day of group stage action.

USMNT’s group heading into final game

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