World Cup

Football's governing body updated its August FIFA rankings of national teams this week and, surprise surprise, there were some big moves. We are just over a month removed from the World Cup, and you would like to think FIFA has spent a long time deliberating over who should be ranked where. 

World Cup winner France takes the top spot, jumping up six spots to now be the top dog in international soccer. Belgium, the bronze medallist at the World Cup, is in second place, but only three points behind France. Brazil dropped one spot to round out the top three.

A U.S. national soccer team being knocked out at the group stage of a major tournament is a headline that we don't often associate with the women’s side, but today produced an outcome not many in the soccer world could've predicted. The U.S. U-20 women’s national team saw its journey at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup come to a shocking end before it really even got started. 

STANDINGS // CLASSEMENT

At the age of 32, David Silva has announced his retirement from international football after collecting 125 caps and scoring 35 goals for the Spanish national team. Silva was a member of the squads that won Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2012. At Euro 2012, Silva started all six of Spain’s matches and scored the opening goal of the final against Italy.

Mosaad Aldossary, the Saud Arabian better known as “Msdossary,” is the world’s best FIFA 18 player. Better yet, after a 4-0 aggregate victory in the grand final, Msdossary is taking home a quarter of a million dollars in FIFA eWorld Cup prize money.

Msdossary defeated Stefano Pinna (who goes by the unoriginal avatar of “StefanoPinna”) 2-0 in each leg of the final. Msdossary was the Xbox One champion while StefanoPinna won the PlayStation 4 division. 

To our British readers or anyone who happens to be on vacation over yonder, you might want to check your wallets for some Harry Kane money.

Alas, "it" did not come home, but football fans in the UK have something to be excited about claiming as their own. Micro-engraver Graham Short has snuck the face of England’s captain/World Cup hero on to six £5 notes, each worth a whopping £50,000 ($65,676), in honor of him winning of the World Cup Golden Boot.

FIFPro, the global footballers' union, released an official statement urging the need for a longer football offseason on Monday. The union’s worries concern 15 players who played in the 2018 Russia World Cup only to start their UEFA competitions two to four weeks later — urging the need for longer breaks.

Sepp Blatter’s former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke received a ban appeal rejection on Friday, July 27. The 57-year-old was ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to complete his 10-year suspension from all football activities. Additionally, the Frenchman is to pay an approximate fine of $100,500.

Qatar’s 2022 World Cup just can’t seem to stay away from controversy. First it was the allegations of bribery, then it was the deaths of workers building the stadiums (still an ongoing issue), and more recently it was the decision to host the 2022 World Cup during November and December.