239 days. That’s how long we’ve got to wait until June 14, the day when Russia will kick off the 2018 World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The buildup to the world’s greatest sporting event is gaining traction as we’ve now confirmed 23 of the 32 finalists, and we’ll know the rest of the field come November.
It’s been 35 years since Peru’s last appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals, a streak of hurt dating back to the 1982 tournament in Spain. By improbably finishing fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying, ahead of back-to-back Copa America champions Chile and 2014 finalists Ecuador, a home-and-away playoff against Oceania representative New Zealand is the only thing standing in the way of Peru punching their ticket to Russia.
Lionel Messi scored a hat trick against Ecuador to secure Argentina's place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia last Tuesday. Folks in Argentina are understandibly excited about that. One Argentine club, Sacachispas, was so excited they went out and did this:
Nuestro único héroe en este LÍO! pic.twitter.com/6o5zqMUzs6
— Sacachispas (@SacachispasOK) October 14, 2017
Tim Weah is the son of a Ballon d’Or winner. Tim Weah is a Paris Saint-Germain player. Tim Weah is American. Tim Weah scored a hat trick on Monday. Tim Weah helped the U.S. into the U-17 World Cup quarterfinals. Tim Weah is, like, Weah good.
A wonderful 4-0 victory over Panama back on October 6 sees the United States Men’s National Team climb to 27 in the latest FIFA World Rankings, leaving Ukraine, Turkey and Iran in their torrential wake. The U.S. could’ve made further strides with a win against Trinidad and Tobago, but the Soca Warriors used the shock 2-1 victory to their own advantage, climbing up 16 places to 83.
And so the grand inquisition begins. Bruce Arena has stepped down as manager of the USMNT, and federation president Sunil Gulati has revealed that a short-term manager will be appointed in the “next 7-10 days” without making clear his own position with the 2018 election looming.
U.S. Soccer Federation announced a conference call for Friday morning with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati addressing the media after the recent World Cup qualifiers. It would surprise no one if Gulati announces Bruce Arena is no longer the coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team — it would probably be a bigger surprise if he didn’t. The question then is, who will be the next USMNT coach?
The USMNT is obviously hurting along with the rest of us right now. As such, the players’ social media accounts have pretty much gone quiet since Tuesday. After the debacle in Trinidad and Tobago, Bruce Arena, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard and Omar Gonzalez all addressed the media and answered questions. You can watch the first three in the video above and Gonzalez in the video below.
The U.S. Men's National Team's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia marked the worst moment in recent history for a country still trying to establish itself in world footballing circles. Watching the World Cup just won't be the same without the USA there.