Heading into Saturday’s early UEFA Group A World Cup qualifying match between Sweden and Luxembourg, the Netherlands’ only hope was that the tiny landlocked country wouldn’t get slaughtered by their Scandinavian opponents.
According to a report from Norwegian broadcasting company NRK, Norway’s men’s national team has agreed to a pay cut with the money then going to the women’s side, resulting in equal pay from the Norwegian soccer federation beginning in 2018.
Less than three weeks after a devastating earthquake rocked the country, Mexico hosted Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup qualifier on Friday. The match took a back seat to the healing that took place with the nation rallying around El Tri and an emotional national anthem and moment of silence before the match.
It’s getting harder and harder to deny the hype of Christian Pulisic; it’s getting harder and harder to find new superlatives for the teenager. Pulisic, who recently turned 19, was brilliant for 55 minutes but that was all he needed to inspire the United States to a crucial 4-0 rout of Panama in World Cup qualifying on Friday in Orlando.
Tiny little Iceland, which thrilled neutrals across the world in the 2016 Euros, has nearly qualified for the 2018 World Cup, which would be the first for the island nation. A nation of 334,000, Iceland traveled to Turkey, a nation of nearly 80 million, and pummeled the hosts 3-0 on Friday to climb to the top of the Group I standings with one match left to play in UEFA World Cup qualifying.
Spain secured automatic qualification to the 2018 World Cup on Friday by virtue of finishing top of UEFA’s tricky Group G. La Furia Roja’s 3-0 victory over Albania confirmed their position while dooming Italy to the playoff round. Rodrigo scored the opener, Isco added a sumptuous second and Thiago grabbed Spain’s third on a celebratory night in Alicante.
Sometimes you need a hero. Yesterday, Peru got one. In a vital qualifying match facing no less than Argentina in Buenos Aires, Pedro Gallese was the hero for his national team and has over 30 million Peruvians dreaming of getting to the World Cup after 32 years.
An already qualified Brazil played to a 0-0 draw with already eliminated Bolivia at the legendary Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz on Thursday, something of a complete non story. But not when the gregariously self-entitled Neymar is involved!
“For me, the national team is over. I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion…It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldn’t get it, so I think it’s over.” These are the words Lionel Messi uttered following Argentina’s Copa America final defeat to Chile, and once again, the significance and truth behind the sentiment rings loud and clear.
Scotland’s dreams of qualifying for their first major international tournament since the 1998 World Cup were given a major shot in the arm following a dramatic 1-0 victory over Slovakia before a bonkers crowd at Hampden Park in Glasgow.