You’ve sat down for a Champions League match and seen/heard the unmistakable introduction before: the anthem plays (“These are the chaaampions!”) and the video pans over a fictitious stadium with a roof made of stars and a capacity of something like two million.
This past Saturday, Spain hosted Italy in a World Cup qualifier at the Bernabeu in Madrid. Both sides have won the competition in the post-millennial age and can justifiably feel bitter about being drawn in the same group. Italy, who have a well-established tradition of being utterly awful in the qualifying rounds of international tournaments yet miraculously not losing, are now at risk of finishing second in the group.
Ben Woodburn became Liverpool's youngest-ever goalscorer last season during the EFL Cup. The now 17-year-old attacker made his Wales debut in a World Cup qualifier against Austria Saturday, and, guess what, he scored.
And it was a banger.
Ben Woodburn comes on and scores on his Wales debut against Austria. Scored on his Liverpool and Wales debut. 17 years old. pic.twitter.com/bNJkZGRenK
Belgium's latest qualifier was against Gibraltar (whose record now reads played seven, lost seven, conceded 33), so many are claiming that right back Thomas Meunier is the beneficiary of coming up against the worst international left back of all time. Still, any match in which a defender records a hat trick of both goals and assists should be roundly applauded.
In an absolutely stunning revelation, UEFA announced Friday it has launched a financial fair play investigation into Paris Saint-Germain.
France steamrolled the Netherlands 4-0 in Paris on Thursday night, climbing to the top of UEFA Qualifying Group A in the process. A brace from Thomas Lemar and additional goals from Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe marked a famous victory for the French, but this Dutch side is a shell of the one that finished third at the 2014 World Cup.
According to the latest FIFA World Rankings, Switzerland will approach the 2018 FIFA World Cup bracketed amongst the traditional favorites of Brazil, Germany and Argentina. Those are the only three nations above them in the latest August rankings. It’s easy to laugh at the Swiss opening up a sizable gap over the traditional European powers of France, Spain, Italy and England, but there’s no reason to not have them pegged as dark horses in Russia.
A wonderfully invented goal from Isco and a successful foray forward from Casemiro were enough to overcome Romelu Lukaku’s first competitive Manchester United goal on Tuesday, and Real Madrid captured an early piece of silverware in their 2017-18 campaign by defeating Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup.
Last June, Real became the first club to successfully defend their European title in the Champions League era, and based off the evidence here, they have to be firm UCL favorites this season as well.