On Monday, Italy blanked their Hungarian opponents 2-0 thanks in large part to a spectacular display from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Gianluigi Buffon’s heir-apparent for the Azzurri made a host of incredible saves, keeping Hungary off the scoresheet as Italy topped their group and qualified for the Nations League finals next summer.
The USMNT's penultimate friendly before the start of the World Cup was a lesson in what not to do against Wales on Nov. 21 at Al-Rayyan Stadium. Japan destroyed the U.S. defense and midfield with its press, isolated the Americans' attack and generated all the chances in a thorough 2-0 victory in Düsseldorf.
American fans that woke up early Friday morning to watch the United States men’s national team play a friendly vs. Japan were greeted to a pathetic, lackluster 2-0 U.S. defeat. Gregg Berhalter’s men were second-best just about everywhere on the field.
Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is on a "good path" towards full fitness ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, despite not completing a full game since joining Los Angeles FC in June.
Bale signed for the Major League Soccer club after leaving Real Madrid, where he struggled with injury in his last few seasons. He has made only two starts in his 11 appearances for LAFC, scoring twice.
The USMNT begins its two-game September window Friday morning with a friendly against fellow World Cup participant Japan at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.
It'll be a fascinating matchup with the Samurai Blue fielding the likes of Schalke's Maya Yoshida, Monaco's Takumi Minamino, Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo, while the U.S. is looking for some reassurances from its banner carriers (the goalkeeper position, Christian Pulisic).
To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched team-by-team previews for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This is the preview for Group A's Ecuador.
World Cup Appearances: Fourth
Best Finish: Round of 16 (2006)
How They Got Here: Fourth-place in Conmebol
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro (Argentine)
Gerardo Martino habló. En la previa de los amistosos de la selección mexicana ante Perú y Colombia, el entrenador del Tri dio sus impresiones sobre los rivales que tendrá el combinado nacional durante la próxima fecha FIFA, pero mucho de la conversación en realidad se centró en los jugadores que llevará a la Copa del Mundo y en especial los centrodelanteros que piensa tener a disposición en Catar.
De todo lo que dijo hay dos conclusiones claras:
On Tuesday evening at the Portuguese Football Federation's "Gala Quinas de Ouro 2022," Cristiano Ronaldo used an award acceptance speech to outline his international future with the national team.
This week serves as the final international break before clubs must release players to their national teams just one week before the World Cup begins, so the latest squad selections should be huge indicators of the final 26-man rosters for the competing nations.
However, a look at the current teams indicates that this won't be a traditional World Cup of blockbuster snubs, but rather an exploration of player pools in an attritional battle against lingering muscle strains.