Erling Haaland’s Magnificent Flying Side Volley Is The Stuff FIFA Covers Are Made Of
There is something special about what Erling Haaland is doing right now.
There is something special about what Erling Haaland is doing right now.
Finland is heading back to the Women’s Euros for the fourth time thanks to one of the best tournament-qualifying goals you’ll ever see. This Finland goal vs Portugal gave the home side a wild 1-0 victory in the final seconds.
Finland and Portugal entered Friday’s penultimate Euro qualifier at Helsinki Football Stadium knowing a win for either side would secure a place in England 2022. A loss would likely mean going through the playoff to earn a berth at next year’s European Championship. For 90 minutes, it appeared neither side would find the breakthrough.
Sometimes as a goalkeeper you have a day where you're unbeatable. But this is a rare nadir that requires the perfect combination of variables.
You have to be feeling great, every shot is just within the outer reaches of your diving range and you have to make a big save early.
Due to the amount of luck involved, these matches are scarce — not unlike a no-hitter or perfect game in baseball — but not unachievable.
The most likely ending is a deflected shot finding the back of the net in the 85th minute, a result of luck finally running out.
10. Looking for Eric (2009)
9. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
8. Diego Maradona (2019)
7. Green Street Hooligans (2005)
6. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
5. Africa United (2010)
4. The Damned United (2009)
3. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)
2. The Two Escobars (2010)
1. Next Goal Wins (2014)
Whether it’s Kicking & Screaming, Ted Lasso or my personal favorite Pups United, Hollywood is genuinely obsessed with “running plays” when attempting to dramatize the game of soccer.
Without a quarterback, point guard, catcher, timeouts or commercial breaks to dream up some sort of grand vision that topples the antagonist, screenwriters freak the hell out when confronted by the flowing, off the cuff ingenuity that defines the beautiful game.
Sevilla could breathe a sigh of relief over the state of their player Lucas Ocampos on Monday after medical tests revealed the attacking midfielder had not suffered any bone or ligament damage to his ankle in Saturday's 3-0 LaLiga win over Getafe.
Sevilla's medical report said Ocampos, who left the pitch on a stretcher screaming in pain after Getafe's Djené Dakonam trod on his ankle, had sustained a grade two sprain to his left ankle as a result of the tackle.
Is Pelé the greatest of all time? Did Diego Maradona’s accomplishments surpass the Brazilian’s? Are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the same conversation? All of these questions are hard to answer because most soccer fans alive today never watched Pelé play in his prime. That could change with this upcoming Netflix documentary, and the official Pelé trailer was released on Thursday.
Soccer has had plenty of TV and movie adaptations in recent years. Filmmakers have produced everything from historic fiction (The English Game), thrilling documentaries (Diego Maradona, Sunderland ’Til I Die and Amazon’s All Or Nothing series) and even heartfelt comedies (Ted Lasso).