The weather in Boulder, Colorado, where The18 is headquartered, has been nothing short of miserable this week. Since a snowstorm blew in on Sunday, the temperature hasn’t gone above freezing, with windchills dipping below zero. Boulder has received 16 inches of snow since Sunday in an unusually cold end to October. (Thanks climate change!)
But soccer stops for no Old Man Winter.
The discussion from social media and various news sources over the past couple weeks has been high praise for a group of female soccer players from Jordan’s Shabab Al-Ordon Club.
In the middle of a recent match, the Jordan club sportingly defended its opponent from the Amman Club and kicked the ball away when that player suddenly had stopped playing because her hijab was falling off.
Yeah, telling your kids that you’ll give them $20 if they score a goal is cool, but have you ever made a bet with your child that puts more on the line than just $20?
Well, one father made a bet with his son that if he hit the crossbar three times in a row, he would buy him a brand new PS4 gaming system. In something the father doubted his son in — since he was about 20 yards away from goal — the son effortlessly nailed the first crossbar, then the second and then the third as he celebrated his way to a new PS4.
Another start, another full 90, another match without a significant contribution from Newcastle United’s Miguel Almirón. After arriving from Atlanta United for a club-record fee of $27 million last January, it’s now 20 Premier League appearances for the 25-year-old Paraguayan without a single goal or assist.
RB Leipzig went top of UEFA Champions League Group G following a 2-1 victory over Zenit Saint Petersburg on Wednesday, and the match-winner — scored by Marcel Sabitzer in the 59th minute — could ultimately end up as the competition’s best goal.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy had given Zenit the lead in the 25th minute, but Leipzig came storming back in the second half. First, Konrad Laimer (great name) provided the equalizer in the 49th, and then Sabitzer happened.
Ahead of Juventus’ Champions League clash against Lokomotiv Moscow at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the media about the club’s direction under new manager Maurizio Sarri and his form at the age of 34, while also issuing a stern rebuke to critics that claim he’s somehow holding back both Juve and Portugal with his predatory play.
The life of a goalkeeper is a difficult one. If any other player on the field makes a mistake, they are usually forgiven pretty quickly. Goalkeepers, on the other hand, are expected to be perfect. Even the smallest mistake could ruin a keeper's entire career. Robert Green is a perfect example of this.
Match Day 8 in Serie A confirmed the early trends we’ve seen in Italy: It’s going to be an incredible title race between Juventus and Inter, while it’s going to be another season in hell for AC Milan. However, while those two plot points will dominate the headlines for months to come, a lot of the talk over the next few days will concern the wonder strike that Cagliari’s Radja Nainggolan hit against SPAL on Sunday.
Watch as ESPN’s Katie Nolan pretends to be the soccer mom of USWNT stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O’Hara. Nolan picked up her girls from practice and came with all the post-practice necessities: orange slices, juice boxes and conversation about what happened at practice.
The superstars act like children and it's a must-see!
Josh Sargent, like many of his USMNT teammates, will not have been pleased with how the international break went. Though the 19-year-old striker was on the scoresheet in a rout of Cuba, he struggled just like the rest of the team in the shock defeat to Canada.