World Cup

Panama Has A Serious Shot At Qualifying For The World Cup And I Owe The National Team An Apology

The Panama World Cup qualifying campaign is smooth sailing after the first three games. This is the exact opposite of what we predicted here at The18.

In our Concacaf World Cup qualifying predictions, six out of seven people predicted the Panamanians to finish dead last in the group of eight teams. Only one person had Panama finishing higher than eighth. That individual had the Central American country finishing seventh.

World Cup Every Two Years? FIFA Moves Forward With Arsène Wenger’s Diabolical Scheme

MANCHESTER, England - FIFA's proposals for the World Cup to be held every two years, rather than the traditional four-year gap, have been met with strong opposition from European soccer body UEFA and major leagues, the following is a Q&A on the issues:

WHAT IS FIFA DOING?

After 45 Minutes Of Agony, Gregg Berhalter And The U.S. Earned Redemption In Honduras

The USMNT played one of its worst opening 45 minutes in the modern era on Wednesday night in Honduras, and then followed that up with one of the greatest second halfs we've ever seen. Both were largely down to the choices of Gregg Berhalter, and while we should ultimately value and treasure the second 45, we shouldn't immediately forget about the first half.

After 17 Years Of Losing With Canada, Atiba Hutchinson Doesn’t Know What’s Happening

Whisper it — anything more than a whisper and it might vanish — but Canada is on course for the 2022 World Cup (after three games). 

The 1-1 draw with the United States in Nashville must’ve stirred something in the Canucks’ plums, because they came out like a side possessed on Wednesday night at BMO Field. Frankly, some of Canada’s play against El Salvador in the opening 30 minutes was disturbingly good, and 38-year-old captain Atiba Hutchinson was at the heart of it all.

How much must this all mean to the man who collected his 88th cap tonight? 

USMNT Fans Are Eyeing Up The Panic Button — Ease The Tension With This USA-Honduras Drinking Game

Will the US qualify for the World Cup? One month ago, even the most pessimistic of USMNT fans would begrudgingly say this squad will qualify for Qatar 2022. 

Fast forward to the afternoon of Sept. 8 and there’s a thick fog of anxiety and nervousness in the air ahead of the American’s clash against Honduras. 

Greece Avoids World Cup Elimination By Ruining Sweden’s Big Moment

No nation plays the spoiler quite like Greece.

The pinnacle was reached at Euro 2004, but it should be remembered that the Ethniki dumped out Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and then ended the Ivory Coast’s golden generation of Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré and company at the 2014 finals.

After failing to qualify for its last three major international tournaments, Greece again assumed the role of gate crasher in UEFA Group B for 2022 World Cup qualifying alongside the favorites Spain and Sweden.   

Premier League Clubs Face Sanctions If They Use Players Withheld From National-Team Duty

Premier League clubs could face sanctions from FIFA if they play South American players who were not released for international duty in this weekend's games.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are among clubs who did not release Brazilian players for the current international break due to them having to travel to "red list" countries and face a choice of not selecting those players this weekend or running the risk of sanctions.

Depay And Klaassen Transformed Into Kluivert And Bergkamp On Tuesday

A massive Group G World Cup qualifier between first-place Turkey and second-place Netherlands resulted in a famous 6-1 victory for Louis van Gaal’s side in Amsterdam.

The Netherlands moved to the top of the group with 13 points from six games, while Turkey dropped to third after Norway took care of business against Gibraltar to climb into the second-place spot. It’s going to be an almighty battle between the three nations over the final four matchdays, but it’d be shocking to see Holland slip-up now.

Five-Second Penalty In World Cup Qualifying Is Almost Certainly A New Record

DAR-ES-SALAAM - Tanzania were awarded one of the fastest penalties in international football after five seconds of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Madagascar.

Ugandan referee Mashood Ssali pointed to the spot when a long ball from kickoff was chased by Tanzania’s Simon Mvusa, who was clumsily clattered into by Malagasy goalkeeper Melvin Adrien, who plays club football in France’s fourth division.

FIFA Opens Investigation Into Brazil-Argentina Fiasco

MANCHESTER, England - FIFA is investigating the abandonment of the Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier with its president Gianni Infantino labelling the events "crazy,” while Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to take disciplinary action against their Argentine players.

Brazilian health authorities intervened on Sunday after accusing four Argentine Premier League players of violating the country's COVID-19 quarantine rules.

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