By: Casey Rhine
Ohhhh El Clásico, where to begin. One of soccer's most heated, yet most deeply cherished rivalries.Few of you readers get to experience El Clasico, in Barcelona, while it's happening. This was my mission on December 23rd and should be your mission on May 6th if you are not lucky enough to go to the game in the Camp Nou.
Kylian Mbappé is tearing apart the 2022 World Cup. The French star has been phenomenal during the tournament, leading the Golden Boot race with five goals and making a solid case to grab the Golden Ball, too.
Another proof of his extraordinary performance is that he's won three man of the match awards in the four games he's played, the last against Poland in the Round of 16. As usual in this tournament, FIFA recognized the job with a trophy provided by Budweiser, one of their sponsors, and a photo immortalizing the moment.
The United States qualified for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. It had been over eight years since the men’s team had last reached this stage, only to fall in overtime to a strong Belgium side in 2014. This time, the Netherlands stood between the United States and a place in the quarters.
The Dutch side was no stranger to making it all the way to the final match. Their world-class team was headlined by one of the top defenders in the world, Virgil Van Dijk, along with Frenkie de Jong, a speedy midfielder in his prime. Netherlands were clear favorites to win.
DOHA - Ashraf Ali arrived at Stadium 974 six hours ahead of the Argentina-Poland World Cup match and, in desperation, raised a hand-written sign: "We need tickets."
Someone offered one for $2,000, nine times face value.
That was too steep for Ali, 30, who traveled to Qatar from Egypt to fulfill a dream to see Argentina star Lionel Messi play. Thirty minutes before kickoff, he managed to nab a ticket for $500 and witnessed Argentina's 2-0 win.
The USA’s 2022 World Cup run ended in the Round of 16 on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. It’s a game that could have ended differently for the Stars and Stripes who simply weren’t at their best.
This youthful American team will be disappointed in the loss but should be proud of their performances in the tournament. This team went undefeated in the group stage, outplayed mighty England and was the only Concacaf team to advance to the Round of 16.
For one last time let’s look at the three takeaways from the USA’s final game.
Heading into Wednesday's final matchday in World Cup Group D, Australia figured it'd probably only need a remarkable draw against Denmark, the world's 10th-ranked side, to advance to the round of 16 for only the second time in their history and first since 2006.
Kickoff was scheduled for 2 a.m. in Australia, and supporters took up their traditional post in Federation Square (downtown Melbourne) to watch as Australia went about its task admirably to keep things at 0-0 after 45 minutes.
Everyone wondered if it would happen and at the halfway point of the World Cup, Qatar finally got its streaker. Monday’s final matchup between Uruguay and Portugal was interrupted momentarily when a pitch invader brandished what appeared to be a rainbow pride flag and found their way past security and onto the playing surface.
This is fucking immense #PORURU pic.twitter.com/6oCBiLfWUe
A 23-year-old worker from Kenya has become one of the biggest stars off the field in Qatar. Abubakar Abbas has risen to stardom by saying one simple word: "Metro." Ladies and gentlemen, meet the star of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Metro guy.
The internet and social media — especially TikTok — is incredibly random in terms of what goes viral. Abbas’ popularity spawned on TikTok where videos of him have garnered millions and millions of views.
Since the draw for the 2022 World Cup occurred in April, the Black Friday USA matchup against England had been circled on the calendar for both sides. With so much history both off the field and on, we arrived at the next chapter thirsty for a fantastic show.
The last time USA and England met in a World Cup, the match ended as a 1-1 draw in 2010 after Clint Dempsey fired home a shot that bounced off Robert Green's hands and rolled behind him into the net.
This morning began the same way as any other World Cup morning would: Wake up at 3:50 a.m., turn on the broadcast from my phone before putting the game on the TV, get my computer to begin writing. But in this exhausted haze, one thing immediately caught my color-deficient eyes: Cameroon and Switzerland were extremely difficult to tell apart.