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Pelé, Brazil's sublimely skilled star who charmed the world, dead at 82

Pelé, the magical Brazilian soccer star who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history, died at the age of 82, his daughter said on Instagram on Thursday.

He had been in and out of hospital in recent months after a tumor was found on his colon.

I genuinely don’t understand the visceral hatred toward the 2023 Women’s World Cup on social media

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is only seven months away from kicking off. For the first time in history the tournament is expanding to 32 teams meaning the format will be identical to the men’s most recent edition.

Exciting, right? Not if you checked the comment sections and a plethora of posts on social media.

There’s a huge amount of despise and hatred toward the women’s game on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Here’s the thing I don’t understand: why?

The top 6 things to do with your life now that the World Cup is over

The World Cup has this supernatural power over soccer fans. It fills a void we didn’t even know we had, but now that the tournament is over, this missing piece in our lives is impossible to ignore.

For the past month, we have been treated to endless soccer of the highest caliber. Like babies being fed, we haven’t needed to think about what our next game was going to be. It was always there, waiting for us, and it never disappointed. 

Free kick maestro and Serie A legend Sinisa Mihajlovic dies at age 53: "You fought like a lion"

Sinisa Mihajlovic, who played for and coached numerous Italian Serie A teams and was famed for his spectacular free kicks, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

Mihajlovic was sacked as manager of Serie A club Bologna in September after they failed to record a win in their first five league matches.

The Serbian had become Bologna manager for the second time in 2019 and had been in charge while battling leukemia.

Widow of U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl confirms cause of death and no foul play involved

An aortic aneurysm caused the death of Grant Wahl, an American sportswriter who collapsed and died last week while covering a World Cup match in Qatar, his widow said on Wednesday.

"Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium," his widow, physician Celine Gounder, wrote in a statement.

An aortic aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.

Top U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl dead in Qatar, brother Eric suspects foul play

Top U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died in Qatar on Friday night while covering the World Cup. Wahl was 48.

The news came on social media when Eric Wahl posted a video claiming his brother had died in Qatar. Eric added that he believes foul play was involved.

Neymar ties Pelé’s record with sublime goal but Brazil eliminated on penalties

Neymar Jr. tied Pelé’s record for the most goals scored for Brazil’s national team on Friday during his side’s 4-2 defeat on penalties vs. Croatia. Neymar’s go-ahead goal in the 106th minute was a classic display of his silky footwork and his 77th for Brazil.

Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic put in a nearly flawless shift denying and frustrating the Brazilians all game. It was going to take something truly special to put the ball in Croatia’s net, and Neymar was just the man to do it.

10 players whose reputation tanked during the World Cup

The lasting memories of World Cups should be the celebrations of football — the glorious goals, the mesmerizing skills, the feel-good stories. But we also know that there's no joy without suffering and no winners without losers, and sometimes, it's those dramatic failures that really resonate because life's a snitch and then you die. 

Some of this is completely unfair to players who've given us so much over the years and to young guys who've got a lot of ball left to play, but these are the 10 individuals who really let me down in Qatar.  

A fan’s perspective in Qatar – USA exit at the hands of the Netherlands

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. 

Pelé is in 'stable condition' according to hospital amid concerns of soccer legend's health

SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer great Pelé remains in stable condition after being hospitalized this week as he battles colon cancer, a hospital medical report said on Saturday.

Pelé, 82, has also responded well to treatment for a respiratory infection diagnosed this week and his condition has not worsened in the last 24 hours, medical staff at Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital said.

Pelé - one of the greatest footballers of all time if not the greatest - was admitted to hospital on Tuesday to re-evaluate his cancer treatment.

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