The final FIFA rankings before the 2022 World Cup were released Thursday, revealing a top five that's largely in line with what the odds makers have for the tournament in Qatar.
Brazil rightfully holds the top spot and is seen as the favorite after turning its qualifying campaign into a program on Joga TV, while the Seleção's eternal rivals, Argentina, sit third riding a 35-match unbeaten streak.
On Jan. 7, 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo made history after scoring his first hat trick for Juventus. Following the exploit, Ronaldo became the only player in history to record hat tricks in Serie A, LaLiga, the Premier League and at the World Cup. Since returning to Manchester United, he's gone on to reach 60 career hat tricks, but who has the most career hat tricks in the history of soccer?
If you've ever found yourself watching a Stoke City match, you probably noticed the towering Harry Souttar. At 6-6, Souttar is a large lad even for an EFL Championship center back. Harry's brother, John, is also a notable defender who features for Rangers and the Scottish national team.
But while John is a Scottish national, Harry — also an Aberdeen native — represents Australia (his mother's native land) when the international breaks come around.
Cada año, el periódico inglés The Guardian revela una lista de jóvenes promesas del fútbol. Este 2022 no es la excepción y sus expertos crearon un catálogo de 60 futuros cracks nacidos el año 2005 y en el cual incluyeron a dos futbolistas mexicanos.
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.
It's the 88th minute of a World Cup knockout stage game. Your country is clinging to a 1-0 lead and the pressure is mounting. After an extended period of play in your defensive third, the ball goes out for a corner kick.
You can finally take a breath, but who is this sauntering forward into the penalty area? It's the 6-6 center back who has barely left his half all game. His sizeable forehead and broad shoulders stand above the scrum forming in the 18. A pit grows in your stomach as you can almost see the scoreboard saying "1-1."
The worst case scenario heading into September's international window, given the argument over Jordan Pefok's omission despite his incredible start to life in the Bundesliga, was that all three of Gregg Berhalter's selected strikers would fail against the modest defensive challenges posed by Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Oh boy. After getting played off the pitch against Japan last Friday, our USMNT vs Saudi Arabia player ratings from Tuesday's friendly in Spain aren't much better.
Saudi Arabia entered the match having recently gone goalless against Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and that lack of a cutting edge was evident against the U.S. — although the Americans did take it in turns to gift opportunities to the Green Falcons.
"Beyoncé" is trending on Twitter. Care to know why?
Over the weekend, a tweet claiming that no football player alive is more popular than Beyoncé riled up the whole of Twitter.
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.