Australia's slog of a World Cup qualifying campaign came to a halt on March 24 after a 2-0 defeat to Japan in the driving Sydney rain meant that after the grind of 18 games over two years, the Socceroos would still need to beat the United Arab Emirates and then Peru in the June playoffs to qualify for Qatar.
African footballers have been migrating overseas since the 1920s, when French leagues attracted some West African players. The migration of African talent to Europe intensified from the 1980s to the 2000s as football became more globalized and economically viable.
Thousands of African footballers have since found their way to Europe. Many have succeeded in carving a niche for themselves, like Abedi Pele, Didier Drogba, George Weah and Samuel Eto'o. The performances of these stars have reinforced the perception that the African continent has some of the best football talent.
I don't know what Ronaldinho's appearance fee is, but it was met by the World Soccer Hall of Fame in Pachuca, Mexico, on Tuesday night as the legendary Brazilian showed up and provided a short induction speech. No, I had no idea there was a World Soccer Hall of Fame in Pachuca either.
The fellow inductees of Ronaldinho's class were Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro, Spanish striker Raúl, Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos and Swedish coach Pia Sundhage. They weren't at the ceremony, but Ronaldinho was genuinely touched by the honor and fought back tears during his speech.
Soccer fans have a different circadian rhythm than others. They're up early to see what's going on in Europe, they're in bed late to follow along with Liga MX, they reach an emotional peak on Wednesday afternoons and frequently block off entire month-long periods in the summer for international festivals of footie. It's a delicate balance, but the 2022 soccer tournaments calendar is a disruptive year with the Qatar World Cup falling between Nov. 21 and Dec. 18.
Here's all the major action between January and December of 2022.
The UK was hit by a wintry blast from the Arctic this weekend as Storm Arwen brought high winds, freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall across the nation, while England and the Premier League experienced the brunt of it on Sunday.
The weather disrupted football matches across the land, most notably at Turf Moor as Burnley and Tottenham’s match was called off less than an hour before kickoff.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche, despite appearing pitch-side to monitor the situation in only a dress shirt, agreed with the decision.
The USWNT is in Australia for a pair of friendlies against the Matildas on Friday and Tuesday. Away from their families for Thanksgiving, the U.S. squad and staff found comfort in meeting some adorable Aussie animals on Wednesday.
Before the first match on Friday, the Americans hung out with kangaroos and koalas, getting up close and personal with two of Australia’s most prominent creatures.
After the USMNT escaped El Salvador with a 0-0 draw to begin World Cup qualifying, various Twitter accounts with profile pictures of teenaged USMNT stars chalked it off as unacceptable.
Landon Donovan labelled that thinking as "crazy."
MANCHESTER, England - FIFA is investigating the abandonment of the Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier with its president Gianni Infantino labelling the events "crazy,” while Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to take disciplinary action against their Argentine players.
Brazilian health authorities intervened on Sunday after accusing four Argentine Premier League players of violating the country's COVID-19 quarantine rules.
The idea of sex in the Olympic village was taboo for a while but is now a well-known occurrence. When news spread that this year's Olympic beds were partly made of cardboard, rumors spread that this was imposed to discourage athletes from doing the dirty. Several athletes and players from Mexico’s Olympic soccer squad have debunked the Olympic anti-sex bed rumors. The Mexico national team Olympic bed video has since gone viral.