The USMNT has a mean streak now. They're still the team that lost to Costa Rica and drew Honduras last month, and that still needs at least a draw against Trinidad & Tobago to be completely sure of not being knocked out of World Cup qualifying, but when they want to be dickish, this team can be gloriously dickish.
Is this the dumbest thing you’ve read today? IS IT?! Go ahead, say it. I don’t care.
The18 got an advanced copy of FIFA 18. We know, pretty awesome right? (We had already reviewed the demo, but we all know the demo isn't really the same as the real thing.) This year's game is highly anticipated and we can report that FIFA 18 gameplay could be a breakthrough.
For as long as I can remember, people with absolutely zero expertise in the world of player development and zero knowledge about the overwhelming complexities of our incredibly fragmented youth system have been banging on about simply unearthing the next Lionel Messi in the face of what Top Drawer Soccer's Will Parchman elegantly described as issues of money, space and time.
Edin Dzeko is . . . pretty good, I guess? The Roma forward is a pretty good striker in a league filled with pretty good strikers. Dzeko shares Serie A with Gonzalo Higuain, Ciro Immobile, Mauro Icardi, Dries Mertens and Andrea Belotti. That would make it hard for anybody to stand out.
But let's look a little closer at the Bosnian international. Here's a fun stat:
With the full release of FIFA 18 only nine days away (Sept. 29), we got our hands dirty with the demo, and we somehow managed to learn five things while completely disregarding a plethora of other things in our actual lives (I will call you tomorrow, Grandma). And awaaay we go.
The unthinkable happened on Thursday night in London during the Europa League match between Arsenal and Cologne: Fans from the opposing teams were allowed to sit next to each other. I’ll let you gather your collective breath for a moment as the gasps sweeping across America just created another hurricane in the Atlantic.
Typically, supporters from one club are cordoned off from supporters of the other club in stadiums across Europe. In America, opposing fans sit next to each other and nobody gets hurt. Why is it so hard for European fans to not murder each other?
Raheem Sterling is good at everything except for shooting. He is extremely good at everything except for shooting. He dribbles like a wizard, passes like a maestro, defends like a honey badger, moves off the ball like someone who actually knows how to do that and shoots like a man with a cinderblock tied to his foot. He shoots almost reluctantly, like it's something he knows he has to do but doesn't actually want to do.
Christian Pulisic is the most talented player in USMNT history, and he is just 18 years old (19 later this month). Given how good Borussia Dortmund's player development is, he is only going to get better. Cross your fingers and hope we get to watch Pulisic for a long time.
But.
What now seems meant to be almost wasn't. A few years ago Croatia, which Pulisic was eligible for because of his Croatian grandparents, made overtures Pulisic's way. He politely turned them down and turned into a soaring eagle for the USA.
But.