Analysis

Lionel Messi will celebrate his 31st birthday on June 24, just two days before Argentina takes on Nigeria in its third and final group stage match. Accordingly, should Messi choose to prolong his international career after Russia, he’ll be 35 by the time Qatar 2022 kicks off (that World Cup will be played from late November until mid-December). 

After losing back-to-back Copa America finals on penalties to Chile, there’s also the 2019 tournament in Brazil to consider (that would certainly constitute sweet revenge for Messi and company). 

*WARNING: READ THIS OR YOU WILL BE BUTT HURT*

I too know the obvious favorites based off the readily accessible odds that are available to everyone. But upsets do happen at the World Cup. In fact, they happen every single tournament. Every. Single. Time.

So if you want to see traditional power rankings with all the countries lined up entirely how you’d expect them to be, go to ESPNFC or something. Have fun reading that.

When it was confirmed that Russia would be opening the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a match against Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the general response was one of deep cynicism: here was a bit of home cooking on FIFA’s end; certainly this was the worst opening match in the history of the tournament.

Zinedine Zidane stepped down from the lofty perch he created with Real Madrid on Thursday. After two-and-a-half seasons as coach in which he won three Champions League titles, the 45-year-old Frenchman will not return to go for an unprecedented fourth straight crown. But exactly why Zidane quit Real Madrid could have more to do with Cristiano Ronaldo than anything else. And why we should care goes far beyond the local impact in Madrid. 

Juventus is officially the champion of Italy.

That’s seven in a row, for those who are counting.

For Massimiliano Allegri, this is a period of astonishing success. Coupled with the Coppa Italia they won last week, that makes it four domestic doubles on the bounce for the Old Lady. Following on from the foundations laid by Antonio Conte, Juventus has become a winning machine.

For all of Toronto FC’s financial ambition, signing players like Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Gregory van der Wiel, Ager Aketxe and Victor Vázquez in recent years, the club hasn’t focused on one vital position: center back. And thus, with recent injuries to regular defenders, an intriguing new Michael Bradley center back experiment has unfolded at BMO Field in recent weeks. And it’s something the next USMNT coach might want to consider. 

In today's fixture between Southampton and Swansea City, more than $100 million will be on the line. Largely based on TV revenue, that's a conservative estimate of the cost of relegation to the Championship. 

No more talk of the title. Technically, the scudetto is not quite in the bag for Juventus, though it will almost assuredly head back to Turin for the seventh season in a row.

But after a few weeks of a Ross-and-Rachel style, will-they-won’t-they spluttering finale from Napoli, results have brought the title race to a close with two games left to play.

In these last few weeks of the season, however, there is still plenty to play for. The most interesting (and lucrative) prize on offer is the race for the Serie A Champions League spots.