The folks attending El Salvador's press conference before their World Cup qualifier against Canada got quite a surprise when the team played a tape of a man trying to bribe them to play well.
The man, alleged to be Honduran businessman Ricardo Padilla (if El Salvador draws or beats Canada, Honduras is guaranteed advancement to the 'Hex'), is probably the worst match-fixer of all time.
Having lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kim Kallstrom and their manager Erik Hamren after Euro 2016, Sweden still managed to draw with the Netherlands in Stockholm.
For the Netherlands, their only possible excuse is that they’re now terrible. With nine more qualifying matches still to play, the Dutch have time to improve, it’s just difficult to foresee where that improvement will come from.
Let's be honest, El Tri failed to meet extremely high expectations this summer. What was expected of the Mexican national team was to excel in all competitions, but they fell flat at the Copa America Centenario and the Rio Olympic Games.
Competing in the Copa America in the team’s ‘second home’, the United States, fans and spectators alike believed El Tri had a chance to make history in the competition.
They were one of the early favorites. With a win over Uruguay and the top dogs, Brazil, crashing out early, they had a chance but blew it.
OK, let's get the qualifiers out of the way before we jump into any analysis: St. Vincent is terrible at soccer and so are the Grenadines. You can't really learn anything from how anyone played in a game between such mismatched opposition.
We can learn, though, from who played. Because Clint Dempsey is out, USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann started Bobby Wood up top with Jozy Altidore. Both scored.
Various pundits wondered earlier this week if the Mexico National Team was stagnating under Juan Carlos Osorio, and during the first half it looked like those pundits were right.
A Jorge Torres Nilo handball in the box gave Alexander Larin a penalty try in the 24th minute, and Mexico found themselves down 1-0 and looking mostly listless.
Then, after halftime, Mexico woke up.
Hector Moreno in the 52nd minute.
Venezuelan goalkeeper Dani Hernandez stopped two penalties against Colombian stars Carlos Bacca and James Rodriguez in less than 15 minutes in a World Cup qualifier Thursday. Colombia beat Venezuela 2-0 in Barranquilla.
Hernandez, who plays for Tenerife in the Spanish second division, is the first goalkeeper to stop two penalties in a World Cup qualifier in CONMEBOL history, according to @OptaJavier.
September is upon us. For many, that means looking forward to cooler weather and an opportunity to view the fall coloring. For soccer fans, however, that means a few weeks of zero club action. There will be no games until the weekend of September 10 because of the break for international matches
Why the interruption? Well, this particular break is to stop play so players could take part in qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Yet, for fans, that means no top level club soccer matches, which simply isn’t fair.
Mexico enter their final two games of the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying assured of their place in the fifth and final round, the ‘Hex’. However, their matches against El Salvador and Honduras will not be taken lightly by Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio, for whom they present something of a poisoned chalice.
Two victories are expected, but any slip-up against the sides ranked 137th and 84th in the world would only magnify the hurt of Mexico’s last competitive match — that 7-0 defeat to Chile in the Copa America Centenario quarter-finals.
The Netherlands used to be really good. I solemnly swear it. At the 2014 World Cup, Robin van Persie made us believe in the possibility of the human body achieving flight. At the 2010 World Cup, Wesley Sneijder demonstrated everything that is possible in an impeccable Dutch playmaker.
It just had to be, didn’t it? Lionel Messi announced his return to the Argentina fold by scoring the game-winning goal for La Albiceleste against Uruguay, catapulting his country to the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table in the process.
While Messi’s international retirement resulted in him missing zero action for Argentina, it was still an emotional return for the Barcelona man at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina.