Inspiring

Team-by-team guide: 2022 Netherlands World Cup preview

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 Netherlands.

Netherlands World Cup 2022 Preview

World Cup appearances: 11th

Best finish: Runner-up (1974, 1978, 2010)

How they got here: The Oranje finished top of a difficult qualifying group that contained Turkey and Erling Haaland's Norway. 

Tonight's El Tráfico feels like the biggest MLS rivalry game ever

Los Angeles Football Club and the LA Galaxy will meet for the fourth time this season in Thursday night's Western Conference semifinal, but the dynamics are considerably different than their last match in early July.

Regular season West champions LAFC have added European stars like attacker Gareth Bale and defender Giorgio Chielini, as well as more under-the-radar additions up front in Cristian Tello and Denis Bouanga.

The story behind Karim Benzema's broken finger

When you think of Karim Benzema on the pitch, it's hard not to imagine him without the bandage he wears over his right arm. The piece of fabric has become a signature accessory for the Real Madrid striker. However, during the ceremony in which he received a well-deserved Ballon d'Or, people got a good reminder of why he always has to use it. 

The18 exclusive: 18% off the game's most coveted cleats

When UNOZERO launched in 2019, founder and director Sam Garzon was largely testing the waters around his own need for a soccer-centric brand that celebrated classic beauty and quality without sacrificing modern design techniques. 

Clint Dempsey hints at comeback in 7-on-7, winner-takes-all tourney for $1 million

Given the success of TBT Enterprises' "The Basketball Tournament" — which has grown over 10 years to a 64-team tournament of global talent competing for $1 million on ESPN — it was only a matter of time before the event organizers turned their focus to accomplishing something similar with the world's game.

Rüdiger puts Real Madrid into last-16 by putting his head where it shouldn't be

It comes as no surprise but Real Madrid, for the 31st time in 31 editions of the competition, has reached the Champions League Round of 16 with two matches still to play.

Group F looked decidedly simple for Real alongside RB Leipzig, Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk, but Shakhtar almost handed los Blancos their first defeat of the campaign Tuesday after Oleksandr Zubkov had given the "home" side a 46th-minute advantage in Warsaw, Poland.

Ronaldo's landmark 700th goal of club career is match-winner for Man United

LIVERPOOL, England - Cristiano Ronaldo stepped off the bench to earn Manchester United a 2-1 victory at Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, taking his career goal tally to 700 in the process.

Just as they did last weekend in their derby mauling at the hands of local rivals Manchester City, United found themselves behind early on at Goodison Park after Alex Iwobi curled a sublime strike into the net from 22 yards. 

MLS Decision Day: Everything you need to know

Here we are. Decision Day. A season potentially summed up in one moment. For the seven teams whose campaigns still hang in the balance, defeat is simply not an option. For spectators, the tension has been turned up to the max as six of the seven sides play each other in their final games of the season. After 90 minutes of intensity, stress will give way to both elation and agony. As we go into Decision Day, let’s break down what every team is playing for.

Sydney Leroux goes undercover to bully a girls’ youth soccer team in funny but powerful ad

Olympic gold medalist, World Cup winner and Angel City forward Sydney Leroux teamed up with DIRECTV for an entertaining social experiment video. 

It’s no secret that Leroux has had to deal with her fair share of haters in her career. Leroux is also no stranger to defending herself online and letting the internet trolls feel the heat. Now she’s sharing that trait with the younger generation of players in a new video with DIRECTV.

Who will win the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup?

The 2022 World Cup Golden Boot odds leave a lot of room for debate as the tournament sees Ballon d'Or finalists like Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane, Vinícius Júnior and Sadio Mané all vying for the prestigious individual award that awaits the competition's top scorer.

Some big names won't be with us in Qatar after qualifying failure (Norway's Erling Haaland, Egypt's Mohamed Salah, Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimović), but we've also got the usual suspects like Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to consider.

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