Syria salvaged an improbable 1-1 draw with Australia in the first leg of their qualifying playoff to keep their World Cup dream alive, but the Socceroos are still in control of this tie having scored a vital away goal ahead of the return leg in Sydney on Tuesday, October 10.
With Germany needing just a point from its match against Northern Ireland in Belfast, it was never really a question of if, but when. The answer was less than two minutes into the match. Sebastian Rudy hit a stunning long-range strike less than 80 seconds into the game and a relaxed Germany coasted to a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland to book its spot in next summer’s World Cup on Thursday.
The 2017-18 season is young, but dribbling is a young man’s game. According to WhoScored.com, these are the 10 players that, on average, are completing the most dribbles per game (minimum of five league matches). While you’ll find many of the usual suspects off to a flying start with regards to ending defenders’ careers, there are also some of the hottest young prospects in the world here.
After finishing three points behind Atletico Madrid in Spain’s Primera Division while also becoming the first Spanish side to reach the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, it was evident that FC Barcelona Femení, Barca’s women’s football team, was on the cusp of greatness entering its 17th season.
Borussia Dortmund had a strong first half on Saturday against Augsburg, taking a 2-1 lead into the break on the back of two gorgeous goals and expecting to stretch out its lead in the second half in the same way that saw them score 19 goals in their first six matches. Instead, Augsburg hung tough and stayed in the match until the match ended 2-1 thanks to some questionable decision making from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
With Karim Benzema recovering from a hamstring injury, Gareth Bale resting due to a hamstring complaint of his own and Cristiano Ronaldo increasing his La Liga tally to 23 shots without a goal, Real Madrid relied on Isco’s best performance of the season to defeat Espanyol 2-0 on Sunday and stay within seven points of early pacesetters Barcelona.
The level of football in China, millions of dollars spent on foreigners not withstanding, is not quite up to par with some of the top soccer leagues in the world. As evidence, may we present to you Oscar, a Brazilian midfielder who had a decent spell at Chelsea but absolutely annihilated the near non-existent defense of Guangzhou Evergrande on Saturday while playing for Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese FA Cup semifinals.
Two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Sergio Busquets saw Barcelona defeat Las Palmas 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their perfect record in league play after seven matches.
This Philippe Coutinho wonder goal from outside the box, the 17th of his Premier League career, was canceled out by a fortunate Joselu goal as Liverpool and Newcastle United played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Saint James’ Park. Liverpool now find themselves trailing the Manchester clubs by seven points after seven matches following their third draw of the season.