Once again, thanks to the fine folks at Footy Headlines, we’ve got our hands on the latest and greatest 2018 FIFA World Cup gear leaks. Today’s news is big: It’s the Adidas Nemeziz Messi 18 World Cup cleats — yes, the cleats Lionel Messi will be wearing in Russia come June.
The one thing missing from Lionel Messi's resume is a major international trophy. He has spurred Argentina to multiple major finals but hasn't been able to get over the hump. Could the 2018 World Cup in Russia turn out different? Can Messi win the 2018 World Cup? Let's break it down.
The World Cup is quickly approaching, and anyone who doesn't take time to familiarize themselves with the World Cup 2018 groups is going to look foolish, and, even worse, lose arguments in bars. Don't let that happen to you. You're better than that.
For a full month (and a day) the Russia 2018 World Cup will dominate the sports landscape. But the first thing any fan who wants to watch the world’s most popular event needs to know is the World Cup 2018 schedule, from fixtures and dates to start times and TV/streaming info.
The USSF has launched its bio-banding initiative. The search for the American Messi is buoyed by widespread support for an increased scouting budget. And despite the U.S. team's absence this summer, World Cup fever will clear sporting goods stores of adidas Predators as surely as Brood X cicadas will reemerge in 2021.
If you ever find yourself, as a defender, in a situation in which Jessica Silva has the ball somewhere in the vicinity of the corner flag and you are standing between her and the goal, just give up. Accept that she is going to humiliate you and get on with your life. Move into a cabin in the woods and meditate. Live off the land. Develop a hobby like woodworking. No one can nutmeg you when you're woodworking.
Silva, though, will nutmeg you. She will nutmeg you to death. Here is proof, via Portugal's 2019 World Cup qualifier against Belgium:
On the men’s soccer side of things, China hasn’t had much to cheer about in some time. They didn’t come close to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, and recent China Cup defeats to Wales and the Czech Republic by a combined scoreline of 10-1 tell you everything you need to know about the world’s 65th-ranked side.
You can take the USMNT out of the World Cup, but you can’t take the World Cup out of the USMNT ... or something. We might not be creating any new memories in Russia, but at least we’ve got some historical moments that're always worth revisiting. I’m talking about the 2002 World Cup team.
The team’s run to the quarterfinals of that competition was no fluke — they didn’t Portugal Euro 2016 themselves into the history books.