Last month the United States and the Mexico under-23 squads faced off, another clash in the long-lived rivalry between the two nations as they continue to fight for the title of the best team in CONCACAF. The result was a second loss for Mexico against their rivals from north of the Rio Grande and a second goal against them in as many games for Jordan Morris--he scored in both this clash and the US senior team victory against Mexico earlier in the spring.

Asisat Oshoala, a 20-year-old forward for Liverpool and the Nigerian Women's National Team, has been named the first-ever Women's World Player of the Year by the BBC. 

The award, decided by a fan vote, is the first of this type to be hosted by a global broadcaster.

Oshoala beat out Brazil's Marta, Germany's Nadine Kessler and Scotland's Kim Little in the voting.

It’s hard to believe that things could possibly get worse for workers in Qatar. They are already dying at a rate of one casualty per day. They face racial discrimintation that results in physical and sexual abuse. Their passports are taken from them as soon as they enter the country, so they cannot get paid or go back home. And now, the nation of Qatar has forced an unfortunate group of them to race in a marathon, without training, in Qatar’s blistering heat, all in the name of breaking a Guinness World Record.

You see, K-Stars? This is why we can’t have friends. Everything was going just great. You scored an amazing goal, off an immaculate strike from out wide, deeper than anyone thought you had any right to score from. You celebrated as a team, even the goal keeper was getting into it. But then you just had to run to the complete other side of the field in order to celebrate with your fans. Yes, we know they were from the primary school that you sponsor. You should ask yourselves, who got taught a lesson today? 

The news came down recently (and, by recently, we mean a few weeks ago) that Carlos Vela will be out for at least two months for Real Sociedad with a torn meniscus. Now, this is undeniably bad for Real Sociedad, but how will it affect Vela’s other squad, the Mexico National Team?

Vela had just began appearing in games for El Tri before the injury, after a long holdout. And he played really well, scoring two goals against The Netherlands back in November.

Victories, I think we can all agree, should be won on the pitch, earned through physical exertion, mental application and the expenditure of blood, sweat and tears. In no circumstances should they come via the random selection of balls by two bureaucrats in a hotel room on the 4^th floor of the Hilton Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.

Luis Figo was an amazing soccer player. Now, we will find out if he can be an amazing politician. 

I'm delighted to announce my candidacy for the FIFA Presidency. Football has given me so much during my life & I want to give something back

— Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) January 28, 2015

There’s no two ways about it. The 2022 Qatar World Cup is a disaster. The topic is one that we’ve payed close attention to here at The18, especially the human working conditions, which are pretty much akin to modern day slavery. According to the International Trade Union, an estimated 4,000 people will die building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup given the current rate of on-the-job deaths, and it seems like no one is doing anything about it.

As first reported by The18 yesterday, in the least surprising news since The Pope admitted to a fondness for Jesus, FIFA’s investigation into alleged corruption and improper conduct during the 2018/2022 World Cup Bidding Process has cleared the successful Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018 bid teams of any wrong-doing.