Analysis

Iceland’s win over Holland last Thursday at Amsterdam Arena was the most surprising result of the day in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Their draw with Kazakhstan Sunday was less surprising, but more important in terms of what it directly led to.

Iceland’s national team has qualified for a European Championship for the first time ever.

The island nation nearly qualified for the 2014 World Cup road but lost in the playoffs against Croatia and failed to get its ticket to Brazil.

Collegiate soccer programs began to truly emerge sometime in the 1980s. For women, the passage of Title IX opened up opportunities for female athletes that were only available to men playing football (the oblong type) and basketball. Men’s soccer programs have been around significantly longer (the first NCAA championship was played in 1959), but consistently take a backseat to padded football and madness of basketball.

However much Jose Mourinho may claim that last Sunday’s shellacking from Manchester City was "a fake," the bare facts are that Chelsea have played six games (two EPL, one Community Shield and three pre-season friendlies) thus far this season and haven’t won a single one of them.

So what, or who, is to blame for The Blues’ sloth-like start?

Arsenal fans were left shocked this past Saturday as West Ham defeated the title hopefuls 2-0 in the season opener. This was supposed to be Arsenal’s season; with a strong finish last season the Gunners were expected to continue where they left off. But instead, they looked flat and lacked any real sense of urgency.

Previously, we looked at how fast Lionel Messi is, but now we are turning our attention to his arch rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, and I find myself questioning how a race between the two could ever be close. Ronaldo has the physique of a Greek god, and I’m no Olympic sprinter, but I’m pretty sure his good looks make him make him a half second faster.

The summer transfer window in England is usually syncopated by splashy arrivals at Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and/or either of the Manchester powerhouses. But with lucrative TV deals in place, clubs a little further down the Premier League table now have the resources to woo the most talented footballers to England.  

For the past seven seasons, Stoke City have showed why they deserved to be part of the Premier League.

The question of whether or not Russia should host the 2018 World Cup still remains in the air after recent stories of corruption from Sepp Blatter and FIFA have risen. Should plans for the next World Cup stay the same, more issues besides corruption will come to light during the summer tournament. 

Hand-wringing was an appropriate response to how the U.S. Women’s National Team began their World Cup run.

The eyes of the nation have been on soccer for the past week, and deservedly so.

Last Sunday’s final between the United States Women’s National Team and Japan smashed all previous ratings records for soccer in the United States, never mind the fact that it was a broadcast of women’s soccer.