Remember Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand? During last summer’s World Cup, he garnered global attention when denying Cristiano Ronaldo his fifth goal of the tournament with a save from the penalty spot.
Australia, the defending champion of the AFC Asian Cup, almost came undone at the group stage of the 2019 edition due to one of the most ludicrous penalty decisions you’ll ever see at a major international tournament (as you’ll soon see, VAR is obviously not in use out in the United Arab Emirates).
After suffering a shock defeat to Jordan to open group play, a 3-0 victory over Palestine on Match Day 2 had eased the pressure on the Socceroos, but a result still needed to be secured Tuesday against Syria.
There’s just under 150 days until the USWNT kicks off its World Cup defense against Thailand at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, France, and time is of the essence for Jill Ellis’ side. Currently, 27 players have been called out to the team’s January Camp taking place in Algarve, Portugal.
The USWNT will train there before marquee international friendlies against France (No. 3 in the world) on Jan. 19 and Spain (No. 12) on Jan. 22. Here are the first scenes from that camp, with Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe mic’d up for your viewing pleasure.
Wednesday marked the third day of training at the USMNT’s annual January camp, and judging by all the social media responses, your perception of how Gregg Berhalter is doing on the job is greatly influenced by one of two things: Either (1) you don’t understand that this isn’t a FIFA international window — the requirement for European clubs to release players — and you’re outraged by the amount of MLS inclusions or (2) you understand that no European players can be called, and that includes midfielders Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, but you’re mad as hell that Michael Bradley is there.