Amazing

After losing in the final stages of the World Cup and then suffering a first Ligue 1 defeat of the season this past Sunday, PSG teammates Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi quickly used their time off to get as far away from the sport as possible.

With the France and Monaco stars unlikely to feature whatsoever in Friday's Coupe de France Round of 64 match against third-tier Châteauroux, Mbappé and Hakimi departed for the United States and made a surprise appearance at Brooklyn's Barclays Center for an NBA game between the Nets and San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

After finishing his professional career on Nov. 8 with a red card and the infamous last words of "I s**t on your prostitute mother!" aimed at the referee, Gerard Piqué has returned to the limelight with his latest business venture, serving as the president of the Kings League in Barcelona.

Soccer has a unique power. It brings people together and unites communities for the love of the game. It can be easy to forget about the humanity of a crowd when watching from afar. The match takes center stage and suddenly, the massive crowd in attendance is nothing more than a backdrop for the commentary crew to reference periodically. 

Not in Sevilla. Not for the fans of Real Betis.

Marseille returned to action after the World Cup break Thursday and hammered Toulouse 6-1 to climb to third in the Ligue 1 table. Marseille's third straight league win was secured with goals from Valentin Rongier, Rasmus Nicolaisen (OG), Sead Kolašinac, Dimitri Payet, Cengiz Ünder and Nuno Tavares.

With the USWNT just months away from defending its World Cup title out in Australia and New Zealand, it's only fitting that some of the team's stars should feature in ESPN's first ‘This is SportsCenter’ ad since 2019.

The beloved campaign returns this week with spots being shown throughout college football bowl games on ESPN. This one — featuring Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Sophia Smith, SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe and Syracuse mascot Otto the Orange — debuts Friday night during the Capital One Orange Bowl between Tennessee and Clemson.

When we cover the San Marino national team here at The18, it's usually to report on players breaking down in tears after securing 0-0 draws with Gibraltar. 

The squad has attracted a global following by virtue of being the worst international team on the planet — San Marino sits dead last (211th) in the FIFA Rankings with an all time record of 194 matches played, one win, eight draws and 185 defeats with a goal difference of negative 770.

Much has been said over the last year whether or not Pelé should still be considered the all-time great of soccer after Lionel Messi was crowned World Cup champion with Argentina in Qatar 2022.

Their achievements and international success serve as strong arguments to consider one of them as the greatest player of all time over the other.