Bayern Munich will be without the best goalkeeper in the world until at least January 2018 after Manuel Neuer underwent surgery for a broken foot earlier this week.
Update: @Manuel_Neuer has suffered a hairline metatarsal fracture in his left foot & has had successful surgery.
The final match in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s quest for a World Cup berth will be played in a 10,000-seat stadium. Trinidad & Tobago announced Friday it would host the Americans at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva instead of the nation’s normal ground in Port of Spain. The match will be played Oct. 10.
Those mostly meaningless FIFA rankings will become more meaningful than ever at next summer’s World Cup. FIFA announced Thursday the 2018 World Cup draw will seed teams into four pots based on FIFA rankings at the end of October.
Here’s a friendly public service announcement from your friends at The18: World Cup tickets are on sale as of 5 a.m. EST on Thursday, Sept. 14.
FIFA, the organization whose scandalous bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups revealed rampant institutional corruption, has opened disciplinary proceedings against England’s Dele Alli for his obscene gesture on Monday.
Want the definition of a miracle? Take Peru, a country that hasn't qualified for a World Cup since 1982 and is now closer than ever. Want the definition of a catastrophe? Take Argentina, who in recent years has lost a total of three finals and could get left out of next summer's World Cup in Russia entirely.
South Africa beat Senegal 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier last November, except for they didn't.
The match will have to be replayed because the referee from November, Ghanaian Joseph Odartei Lamptey, has been found guilty of match-fixing and banned for life.
Was there a dodgy penalty in this match that the referee might have called for match-fixing purposes? Reader, there was, though FIFA hasn't released the exact details behind Lamptey's ban.
On the face of it, a 1-1 draw with bottom-dwelling, already-eliminated Venezuela in front of 60,000 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires was a godawful result for Argentina, and it really was. But from a broader perspective there’s a lot more to analyze and discuss than simply draw = bad.
The United States came into this international break hoping to get at least four points, maybe all six from two matches against Costa Rica and Honduras in World Cup qualifying. You wouldn’t blame the Americans for their confidence, coming into the break with a 14-match unbeaten streak. That confidence is in tatters now thanks to some USMNT defensive struggles, which proved to be contagious for the rest of the team.
For the first time since 2006, Saudi Arabia will be in the World Cup. The Green Falcons, having missed out on the last two tournaments, will return to the world stage after a 1-0 win over already qualified Japan on Tuesday.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Saudi Arabia become the fourth Asian team to reach the #WorldCup, joining Iran, Japan and Korea Republic! pic.twitter.com/vQQylx8GyU