Opinion

History is written by the victors. When you reminisce about the biggest finals of recent times, you’re likely thinking of players like Megan Rapinoe at the 2019 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé in 2018, Carli Lloyd in 2015 or Mario Götze in 2014.   

But there are those rare instances when an individual’s performance on the losing team — for better (Zinedine Zidane in 2006) or worse (Loris Karius in 2018) — lives just as vividly in the memory. 

PORTO, Portugal — It was billed as the night when Pep Guardiola would lead Manchester City to their first Champions League title but it ended with questions again being asked about the Spaniard's decision-making in the biggest games in Europe.

City were expected to beat Chelsea in this year's final but instead they lost 1-0 on Saturday courtesy of a first-half goal by Kai Havertz after Spaniard Guardiola was outfoxed by his German counterpart Thomas Tuchel.

It was a foggy Saturday morning soccer match and I was defending the goal spectating the action going on the field. I had stopped a few shots earlier in the match and my confidence was quickly rising. Thoughts raced through my head, realizing that I was about to officially record my first clean sheet of the season. Then as clear as day the ball was passed to me, and as I went to stop it with my foot it slowly but surely skipped right below my outstretched foot and into the awaiting net behind me.

The Netherlands will face off against Ukraine in the first table match of the 2020 UEFA Football Championship at 3:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 13th at the Johann Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Below we go through how to watch the Netherlands vs. Ukraine match and how to prepare.

How To Watch Netherlands Vs. Ukraine

Date: Sunday, June 13th

Time: 3:00 p.m. EST

Channel/Livestream: 

-English-Broadcast: ESPN

-Spanish-Broadcast: FuboTV

PARIS - Kylian Mbappé said he is delighted at the prospect of teaming up with Karim Benzema in the French side at next month’s European Championship.

Real Madrid striker Benzema was included in the squad on Tuesday after he and coach Didier Deschamps resolved their differences. His return ended a six-year absence from the French team, including missing out of their World Cup triumph in Russia in 2018.

Every Premier League fan has those few players they believe should be banished from the league, whether it be a starter on their team that regularly makes costly errors, or the bench player who has as many first team appearances as loan spells.

When it comes to evaluating the worst players of the Premier League, one soon realizes there is a problematic paradox that arises. I refer to it as the mediocrity paradox:

LONDON - Last November, players of Venezuelan first division football team Trujillanos took to the pitch with a banner demanding their long unpaid salaries and then stood still for a minute in protest once the game kicked off.

Since then, the head coach has left to manage the U-20 national team and their three best players moved to clubs in Brazil, Colombia and Canada for next to nothing.

MANCHESTER, England - Even the best players in the world have not been spared Pep Guardiola's attacking tactical innovations.

"I was called up to Guardiola's office and he said he had thought about me playing as a false nine," Barcelona's Lionel Messi said last year. "He was going to put Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry on the outside, and I was going to play as the false center forward."