I have a theory as to one reason (of many) the England National Team tends to underperform in major tournaments: the players all play in the same league. Every England international plays in the Premier League. One might argue this breeds familiarity and is therefore good for the national team, but I think it leads to a lack of stylistic variety in the team and makes the payer pool stagnant. It's basically like inbreeding, is what I'm saying.
The 2025 Club World Cup has divided soccer fans worldwide on whether they enjoy the inaugural 32-team edition of the tournament. One innovation hardly anyone is arguing about is the implementation of the referee camera.
DAZN’s coverage of the Club World Cup includes the interesting feature of a camera from the center referee’s perspective. Now fans can get a glimpse at what the officials see when having to make tough decisions.
The ref cams have also supplied never before seen angles of goals.
The United States men’s national team dominated Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in their Concacaf Gold Cup opener on Sunday, but do the people care?
Despite the home World Cup being just a year out, the USMNT’s draw appears to be at a low that hasn’t been seen in recent history. Sunday’s game was played at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, which has a capacity of 18,000.
The venue was far from filled with a reported attendance of 12,610.
The scene at the stadium 10 minutes from kickoff was hard to believe.
USMNT attendance vs Trinidad and Tobago
The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup will serve as a major opportunity for several United States men’s national team players to prove themselves to head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Big stars will miss the tournament including Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah and Gio Reyna due to the Club World Cup. Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah will also skip the tournament due to rest.
This presents the chance for several fringe players to make a name for themselves and show why they should be considered for the 2026 World Cup roster.
Former United States men’s national team forward Eric Wynalda was vocal in his support of Christian Pulisic’s decision to sit out for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
A litany of USMNT fans were furious with Pulisic after he requested to not compete in the USA’s final competition ahead of next summer’s home World Cup. The reasoning behind Pulisic’s absence is because he wants rest.
Former United States men’s national team head coach Bruce Arena criticized U.S. Soccer’s decision to hire Argentine head coach Mauricio Pochettino arguing that an American is the best fit for the job.
Speaking on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, Arena said that foreign coaches fail to understand the culture of American soccer and players.
Bruce Arena Pochettino comments
Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanisic caught some flak during his side’s 2-2 draw vs. Inter Milan on Wednesday when he shoved over one of the opposing ball boys. A Stanisic apology was issued for the incident.
Late in the contest with Inter leading 4-3 on aggregate, the ball went out for a throw in with Stanisic the nearest to it. In a sneaky attempt to waste some of Bayern’s precious seconds, the Inter ball boy rolled the game ball away from Stanisic.
The 25-year-old retaliated to the stunt by pushing the youngster off his seat and onto his back.
The United States men’s team are better than Mexico as of April 2025… according to FIFA. In the latest April FIFA rankings the USMNT remain the 16th best team in the world with Mexico one spot behind.
April FIFA rankings has USMNT above Mexico
One of the most bizarre bookings we’ve ever seen took place during a Sudamericano U-17 game between Brazil and Bolivia on Sunday. A Brazil player booked for standing on ball during the game was shocking.
Brazil player booked for standing on ball
In the 74th minute Brazil’s Ruan Pablo had the ball near Bolivia’s corner with his side leading 2-0. Ruan Pablo displayed a little bit of “Jogo bonito” with a clever display of skill before passing the ball to a teammate.
The referee then blew the whistle and gave Ruan Pablo a yellow card for the move.
A video of Kylian Mbappé picking up car that delivers the game ball went viral after the little delivery mobile broke down near midfield.
Prior to France’s UEFA Nations League quarterfinal clash against Croatia on Sunday, a little Volkswagen remote controlled car arrived at midfield with the ball. Mbappé picked up the ball and then would have to pick up the car because it appeared to be out of gas… or battery.
Kylian Mbappé picking up car after it breaks down