No event defines an athlete’s career quite like the World Cup. It’s why people still look at Lionel Messi like he’s got something to prove (he doesn’t) and why the name Chris Wondolowski still brings a tear to the eye of many Americans. The 2014 World Cup made Mario Gotze an international icon, turned James Rodriguez into the hero of Colombians everywhere and earned DeAndre Yedlin a Spurs contract.
You could tell it by the way his teammates just kind of stood around and watched — Hugo Nunes was about to score and no one was going to stop him. During a match at the Al Kass U17 International Cup earlier this week in Qatar, there was no way the Benfica youngster was going to be denied against Guangzhou Evergrande.
Hugo Nunes, a striker for the Benfica youth team, pulled off three spectacular moves in succession to score one of the most thrilling goals of the year at any level. That he’s 16 just makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.
The South American Under-20 Women’s Football Championship (which serves as CONMEBOL’s qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup) is underway in Ecuador with Brazil looking to secure their eighth-straight championship in the tournament’s eighth edition.
The junior Seleção are exceedingly dominant in this competition, and the 2018 staging of the contest has been carried out in much the same vein. Brazil topped Group B play with four wins from four matches, scoring 13 goals while conceding zero.
Ballou Tabla is making history as the first academy player from the Montreal Impact to make a move to Europe. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder completed a transfer to Barcelona on Thursday. He’ll join Barcelona B.
24-year-old Englishman Ravel Morrison appears to be finding his feet in Mexico after arriving at Club Atlas on loan from Italian side Lazio last August. The former Manchester United prodigy had a stop-start beginning to life in Liga MX, but he’s now scored three goals in his last three appearances for Atlas.
On Sunday, January 14, Morrison opened his Clausura account with a stunning free kick against Pumas.
Just days after rediscovering his love for soccer and putting his professional career back in motion, Freddy Adu has popped up in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Adu is a trialist with USL expansion club the Las Vegas Lights.
I don’t know about you, but a goal like this always brings me back to Thierry Henry’s 2004 effort for Arsenal against Charlton Athletic. It’s the rudest of finishes, and it’s the mark of a true libertine.
Morning all. On this day in 2004 @ThierryHenry scored this goal against Charlton Athletic… http://t.co/z9i0VD7naohttps://t.co/JRJ5SQRpHu
Amidst an influx of impressive young talent coming to Major League Soccer from South America, the Bundesliga is raiding the U.S. for young players. So while American teenagers may not be having any luck breaking into lineups at home, they’re finding more opportunities in the league of the world champions. To steal a line from Taylor Twellman, what are we doing?
Aged just 16 years, five months and two days (for comparison’s sake, Lionel Messi was 17 years, three months and 22 days), teenage Catalan phenom Claudia Pina made her league debut for FC Barcelona Femeni Sunday in the club’s 2-0 victory over Zaragoza.
Pina has been a revelation for Barcelona throughout her La Masia rise, and her exploits for Spain at the U-17 level have been remarkable, to say the least.