Central & South America

Watch: Richarlison goal is one of the best you will ever see

Richarlison, take a bow. There are few words that could possibly do this goal justice. After a difficult first half, Richarlison firmly stamped his name on the match with one of the all-time great World Cup goals. 

“Samba Soccer at its absolute best,” according to Stu Holden. “That is Joga Bonito. That is the Beautiful game,” added Jon Strong.

Richarlison, in his first World Cup appearance for Brazil, scored his second goal of the match with a beautiful overhead kick that will live forever, and deservedly so. 

Giving a grade to each Concacaf team based on their first World Cup games

All four Concacaf teams competing at the World Cup have played their first games with all four failing to win. In this article we will grade the Concacaf teams at the World Cup based on their game results, how they looked and their likelihood of advancing to the knockout stages.

First let’s recap the results.

Concacaf Game 1 Results

  • USA: Tied Wales 1-1
  • Mexico: Tied Poland 0-0
  • Costa Rica: Lost to Spain 7-0
  • Canada: Lost to Belgium 1-0

Time for the grades.

Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Sosa has the best tattoo at the World Cup

Soccer players love tattoos and Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Sosa probably has the best ink work at the 2022 World Cup.

Sosa didn't play in the 0-0 draw against South Korea, but his design didn't go unnoticed among photographers covering the game.

Uruguay’s Federico Valverde was 6 inches away from scoring the goal of the tournament

Uruguay and Real Madrid star Federico Valverde almost had the highlight of his career on Thursday during his nation’s 0-0 draw vs. South Korea. With the score tied at in the 89th minute, Valverde ripped a shot from over 25 yards out that nearly brought the house down.

Valverde Shot vs. South Korea

Spain scores 7, takes 82% possession and completes 1,043 passes to end Costa Rica

Tiki-taka (the lethal variety) is back. Spain was greatly helped by Costa Rica's decision to grant mobile brain-in-a-jar Sergio Busquets freedom of the park Wednesday, but to downplay La Furia Roja's 7-0 World Cup victory over Los Ticos is like throwing mashed potatoes at a Van Gogh.

This was always the danger for Old Man Costa Rica: 35-year-old Keylor Navas, 34-year-old Celso Borges and 33-year-old Óscar Duarte getting torn apart by 22-year-old Ferran Torres and Barcelona teenage prodigies Pedri and Gavi. 

The ghosts of Argentina's recent past return after shocking Saudi Arabia defeat

Argentina's path to a third World Cup title got off to a disastrous start Tuesday after Saudi Arabia shocked the South American champions with a 2-1 upset that sent Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste hurtling back into traumatic memories of Iceland, Croatia, France and Chile. 

No es broma: Arabia Saudita derrota a la Argentina de Messi en la primera gran sorpresa del Mundial

Pasó lo que nadie imaginaba que pasaría. Arabia Saudita dio la primera gran sorpresa del Mundial luego de derrotar 2-1 a una Argentina que llegó a Catar como candidata al título y con una impresionante racha de 36 partidos internacionales invicta.

Repetimos, no es una broma.

El resultado – no está demás decir– le agrega una dosis extra de pimienta al Grupo C, que es también el de Polonia y México.

Messi and Argentina choke on their own hype in Saudi Arabia's historic upset

Argentina, ranked third in the FIFA Rankings and a trendy pick to win the World Cup, has suffered one of the greatest upsets in tournament history after Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st and expected to finish fourth in Group C, went toe-to-toe with the South American giant and prevailed 2-1. 

The match had presented Argentina with a chance at equaling Italy's international record of 37 games unbeaten, but that streak is over and more importantly, La Albiceleste are in serious trouble with Mexico (Nov. 26) and Poland (Nov. 30) up next.   

Controversial Lautaro Martínez offside call has fans asking if new technology has gone too far

Semi-automated offside technology is in use for the first time in FIFA World Cup history in Qatar this year. The system is more accurate than the lines that VAR used to draw, but it hasn’t come without controversy. A Lautaro Martínez offside call during Argentina’s shocking 2-1 defeat vs. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest talking points.

Enner "Superman" Valencia adds to his cult status with game-winning double for Ecuador

AL KHOR, Qatar - Captain Enner Valencia extended his cult status in Ecuador to wider international acclaim with a first-half double that propelled the South Americans to a comfortable 2-0 win over hosts Qatar in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday.

The 33-year-old forward, nicknamed Superman, increased his record tally of goals for Ecuador to 37 and became the country’s highest scoring player at World Cup tournaments as his double at the Al Bayt Stadium added to the three he scored in 2014.

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