In terms of glamour, no group stage game comes close to matching Portugal vs Spain on June 15 at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. This is, after all, a meeting between the last three European Champions (Spain in ’08 and ’12, Portugal in ’16), and a clash between arguably the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, and a who’s who of talent concentrated at the mega clubs of the world’s two best domestic leagues.
When it was confirmed that Russia would be opening the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a match against Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the general response was one of deep cynicism: here was a bit of home cooking on FIFA’s end; certainly this was the worst opening match in the history of the tournament.
Growing up as a reader of Sports Illustrated and a fan of soccer were two mutually exclusive things. Every week, I’d immediately flip through the magazine looking for an article from Grant Wahl or a blurb concerning the world’s game, but it was an extremely rare occurrence.
This World Cup, just like the 2010 and 2014 events preceding it, will be dominated by the narrative surrounding Lionel Messi and Argentina. You know the one: Maradona lifted La Albiceleste to the ’86 title (he was well-marshalled by Lothar Matthaus in the final, but we don’t speak about that) and Messi needs to do the same to earn our love and respect. It’s tired, untrue but extremely captivating.
Liverpool and Real Madrid are gearing up to do battle in what promises to be an epic Champions League final. Liverpool have played some incredibly entertaining football in their victories in the knockout stages, while Real Madrid have had to tough it out against Juventus and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
The focus has inevitably been on the players who will take the pitch in Kiev, but about the two gaffers?
The Champions League final kicks off on Saturday, May 26 at 2:45 p.m. ET on FOX, and you’re a right foul git if you don’t enjoy the experience with some friends. To enliven the experience, here are some Champions League final bets that you can place amongst amigos.
It figures to be one of the most attack-minded finals of the last decade with both Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp promising to approach the match with the same principles that got them there (score a bunch, concede slightly less), so there’s a lot to be excited about in Kiev.
Folks, we are so close to the World Cup we can taste it. Over the next 32 days, we will be releasing our team by team preview for the 2018 World Cup.
There’s a lot to like about this Moroccan side at the World Cup, and I’m not just talking about hunky French manager Herve Renard.
It’s go time. The 2018 Clausura championship begins Thursday, May 17, with Santos Laguna hosting Toluca at Estadio Corona in Torreon. That match is slated to begin at 9 p.m. ET on Univision. The return leg in Toluca kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 20. In the end, we’ll see if Toluca can capture its 11th title — and first since 2010 — or if Santos can draw level with Pachuca and Tigres on six.
Oh how things change, oh how things stay the same. The Spanish national team enters this year’s World Cup in Russia in a rather strange state. World champions in 2010 and European champions in 2008 and 2012, Spain are sort of favorites for this year’s tournament, as they’re always expected to do well.