Men's club football is slowly returning with the World Cup ending Sunday, and the first signs of life are in the EFL Championship.
One man who's clearly benefited from the break is 22-year-old American Daryl Dike. The start of his 2022-23 campaign with West Brom was a 12-minute substitute appearance on opening day, and then he missed the next 19 matches with a thigh injury.
Football won’t be coming home in 2022 for England as France defeated the Three Lions 2-1 on Saturday in the World Cup quarterfinals.
England will be regretting not taking advantage of a so-so French performance. The biggest moment came in the 84th minute when Harry Kane failed epically on a penalty kick by blasting the ball over the bar to the 10th row.
Needing just three wins to lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup and beginning the journey against unfavored Morocco on Saturday, Portugal slipped to a historic 1-0 defeat against the Atlas Lions, meaning Morocco's the first African side to ever reach the semifinals while Cristiano Ronaldo's record-setting international career is at a crossroads.
La imagen de Cristiano Ronaldo en los túneles del estadio Al Thumama llorando de manera desconsolada resume como ninguna la sorprendente victoria de Marruecos sobre Portugal.
Pese a la fenomenal campaña del equipo africano en el Mundial, la sensación generalizada era que los lusos iban a acabar con el cuento de hadas. Sin embargo, un gol de cabeza de Youssef En-Nesyri puso al mundo patas arriba, sellando la primera clasificación de un equipo africano a las semifinales de una Copa del Mundo y de paso cortando de raíz el sueño de CR7 de obtener el trofeo en el ocaso de su carrera.
Youssef En-Nesyri will never have to pay for anything in Morocco again after scoring a goal that Cristiano Ronaldo would be proud of. His finish was the difference as Morocco won 1-0, sending Portugal home from Qatar early.
MOROCCO TAKES THE LEAD VS PORTUGAL pic.twitter.com/X9qbiJeCBP
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Giovanni Reyna is back with the people who love him most. After getting all of 52 minutes at the World Cup despite being fully fit, the 20-year-old American eclipsed that total Saturday during a 60-minute performance in a Borussia Dortmund friendly against Rapid Bucharest.
If you were wondering what all the fuss was about concerning Gregg Berhalter's decision to keep Reyna on the bench, this thunderbolt in Dortmund's 2-1 win should answer your questions.
Argentina and the Netherlands delighted the globe with one of the greatest World Cup quarterfinals of all time on Friday. Argentina took a 2-0 lead with Lionel Messi providing an outrageous assist before converting from the penalty spot and that advantage remained until the 83rd minute.
El sueño de Lionel Messi de ganar la Copa del Mundo se mantiene intacto.
Argentina avanzó a las semifinales de Catar 2022 luego de despachar a los Países Bajos, en uno de los partidos más emocionantes del torneo. Para que se hagan una idea, el menú incluyo una asistencia sublime de Messi, varios empujones entre jugadores que casi nos regalan una batalla de antología, un empate de último minuto con una genialidad de táctica fija, la angustia típica del tiempo extra y una definición a penales que dejó a varios con el corazón literalmente en la mano.
Virgil van Dijk might have to get a tear drop tattoo after he obliterated Argentina’s Leandro Paredes on Friday during the Netherlands 4-3 penalty defeat against the South American giants.
Friday’s quarterfinal was an intense and feisty affair as there were several skirmishes and shoving matches throughout the night.
Brazil’s loss is a reminder that life is not fair.
Making the right decisions does not guarantee success. Like some sort of natural disaster, Croatia has taken that which is entirely good and reduced it to rubble. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Despite their best effort and the world’s wishes, Brazil has been sent home prematurely from Qatar after losing on penalties.