This recent international break has proven, once again, why South America is the toughest qualifying process of any continent on the planet. On Thursday, Brazil trounced Argentina 3-0, Venezuela put up five on Bolivia and Peru handedly laid waste to Paraguay, 4-1. Then on the following Tuesday, Ecuador beat that same Venezuela team 3-0, that same Bolivia team beat Paraguay 1-0 and Argentina rebounded to shut Colombia out in a 3-0 win.
When Jurgen Klinsmann was first appointed USMNT boss five years ago, people expected him to come over and shake things up. It was widely understood that he was not some kind of miracle worker, however, there was a clear expectation that his pedigree would motivate players and that he’d introduce a stylish flair into the team by nurturing the next generation — undoubtedly the most talented crop of footballers this country had ever seen.
With 167 caps, Gianluigi Buffon has matched Spain’s Iker Casillas as Europe’s most capped international player of all time. This marks a major milestone for the Italian legend, but it isn’t necessarily unexpected.
Buffon, affectionately nicknamed Gigi, began his professional career with Parma in 1995 at the tender age of 17 and almost immediately became a household name. He was called up to the national team in 1997 and went to his first of many World Cups just a year later, in 1998 at the age of 20.
In a little over a year, the United States has witnessed some truly awful results under the leadership of Jurgen Klinsmann, but the back-to-back defeats to Jamaica and Panama to end a poor 2015 Gold Cup, defeat to Mexico at the 2015 CONCACAF Cup and historic 2-0 loss to Guatemala in the fourth round of World Cup qualifying all pale in comparison to Tuesday night’s capitulation in San Jose, Costa Rica.
When we last checked in with Steven Gerrard, he was a mediocre-but-not-great MLS player, which is to say there was no way in hell the LA Galaxy were going to pay him gobs of money to stick around for another season. Whether the decision was mutual or on Stevie's side or the Galaxy's, Gerrard will be elsewhere after his contract ends in December.
The USA suffered their first home World Cup qualifying defeat since 2001 on Friday night, losing 2-1 to Mexico in Columbus for the opening game of the Hex.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann made unexpected changes coming into the game. He sent out a 3-5-2 formation instead of the usual 4-4-2, causing some players to play out of their positions. The new formation had three center backs in defense with Matt Besler, John Brooks and Omar Gonzalez.
The FIFA World Rankings have long since been a point of contention among football fans, mainly because they just don't seem to add up. As opposed to sports like rugby or tennis where they seem logical, it honestly feels as if the FIFA pick names out of a hat and decide teams' positions o that basis.
Goals from Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana and Chelsea’s Gary Cahill lifted England to a 3-0 victory over Scotland in World Cup qualifying at Wembley Stadium.
England’s impeccable qualifying record continues, the Three Lions firmly in control of UEFA’s Group F following three wins and a draw from four matches. With Liverpool in tremendous Premier League form, it was no surprise to see Sturridge and Lallana get on the scoresheet while Jordan Henderson pulled the strings from midfield.
If Hillary Clinton was elected president, we all know she would have helped America move closer to women’s rights and equality. But Donald Trump won the election instead. So, what does this mean for women’s soccer? Will Trump continue to insult and treat women poorly? Will his presidency create a bigger gap between the two genders? Will we move further away from equal pay? It hasn’t even been 48 hours and we already have so many questions…
Eleven matches into the season and we are still waiting for Jose Mourinho and his squad to show any real signs of challenging for the Premier League title. It's still early, but United already trail Liverpool by eight points in the EPL table.