I’ll have you know that my FIFA 20 Career Mode is going pretty well. I don’t concede often (I could probably play at a higher difficulty considering my 18 years of experience), but I'm also a dumpster fire going the other direction. Still, there’s a lot to like up in Newcastle as the city continues to come to gripes with its first American manager — I’m a trailblazer like Bob Bradley, screaming about “PKs” and “road games.”
The life of a kicker in the NFL is rough. Apparently, it’s even worse for XFL kickers.
And we here at The18 are all for it.
Admittedly, we’re not paying much attention to the latest iteration of the XFL. More American football? Really? We’ll tune in for Gerard Pique’s girlfriend during the Super Bowl halftime show, but when it’s the D.C. Defenders and Seattle Dragons? Hard pass.
Vissel Kobe and Yokohama F Marinos combined for one of the worst PK shootout performances you’ll ever see on Saturday. With the Japanese Super Cup on the line, the two clubs combined to miss nine straight penalties before Andres Iniesta’s Kobe eventually prevailed 3-2.
After regulation ended 3-3, the Super Cup match went straight to a shootout, which began innocuously enough. Both sides converted their first two attempts, including a smoothly taken shot from Iniesta, the former Barcelona star.
For the second time this season, PSG manager Thomas Tuchel had to deal with drama after a Kylian Mbappé substitution — this time during his team’s 5-0 victory against Montpellier on Saturday.
Sometimes you just really don’t want to be substituted out of a match. The level of soccer doesn’t matter — whether it’s youth, college or professional — but the best thing to do is wish your oncoming teammate success and then get cozy on the bench. But Mbappé seems to have his own style.
The VAR era has produced some stunning moments, but here are two of the strangest minutes we’ve seen yet. The scene is Estadio Fernando Torres in Madrid — yes, the stadium’s named after the former Liverpool striker — where Fuenlabrada is hosting Girona in Spanish Segunda División play.
With the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup beginning in September, qualifying for the tournament has begun in earnest in both Europe and Africa. While European qualification is a two and a half month process to determine which six countries will join the host nation Lithuania, the Africa Futsal Cup of Nations — played between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7 — determines which three African countries qualify.
After all the acclaim and praise that Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde received for his tactical red card in the Spanish Super Cup final, it’s only right that we highlight this draw-preserving bit of the dark arts from Garforth Town’s Alex Low.
On Monday, it was revealed that Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley would undergo surgery following a severe ankle injury suffered during the 2019 MLS Cup loss to the Seattle Sounders. Given the fact that it’d been 71 days since the final and with the club now reporting for preseason, news of Bradley being sidelined for approximately four months was met with confused anger throughout Toronto.
Donald Trump absconded to Davos, Switzerland, this week for a brief appearance at the World Economic Forum. While there, the U.S. President met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
What followed was one person saying some really stupid stuff (no, it wasn’t Trump) and some really awkward coverage of the whole exchange.
With the transfer ban on Chelsea lifted and the team’s recent struggles, the Blues have their eyes on acquiring new assets in the transfer window. But a vegan-only kiosk might be the greatest acquisition thus far.
On Tuesday, Chelsea hosted London-rival Arsenal and looked to bounce back after losing to Newcastle during the weekend. The Blues secured one measly point after playing the majority of the match with a man advantage courtesy of a David Luiz red card.