How fast is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? The FIFA video game ratings aren’t infallible, but when the fine folks at EA Sports say that Aubameyang is the fastest footballer on the planet with a pace rating of 96, well, they’re trying to tell us something — namely that he’s an excellent option to send a through ball towards and pray.
How fast is Mohamed Salah? The breakthrough player of the 2017-18 European club season combined his speed and dribbling skills with a newfound confidence in front of goal to devastating effect last year, scoring 44 goals and adding 14 assists in 52 matches. Deployed on the right-hand side of Liverpool’s feared front three, Salah and teammate Sadio Mane are two of the quickest footballers on the planet.
Immigrant players and sons of immigrants largely make up World Cup rosters. Welcoming immigration has proven to be the secret to having success at the World Cup. Out of the four teams still remaining in the tournament, France, Belgium and England feature squads composed of players from very diverse origins.
The last day of group stage play led to Senegal's elimination on the FIFA Fair Play points rule, and the afternoon featured one of the most boring games of the tournament, although it happened to have a great goal and an even better celebration.
With one thrilling upset and a few hearty dances, Senegal quickly became a fan favorite at the 2018 World Cup. Sadly, after a 1-0 win for Colombia vs Senegal, the Lions of Teranga are going home in the most excruciating way possible — FIFA fair play points.
Senegal and Japan finished tied in every way imaginable except for one. The two finished with the same number of points, goal differential, goals scored and head-to-head tiebreakers.
The game’s an original drama unlike any other, but for 40 minutes of Argentina versus Nigeria at Saint Petersburg Stadium, this felt like a rerun. There was Javier Mascherano, bloodied, stretching every sinew as the side’s aging lynchpin and guilty of doing too much.
For the entirety of 38 games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, you could do whatever the hell you pleased at corner kicks. Use Pepe as a battering ram to create some space for Ronaldo? Sure. Tackle Harry Kane to the ground with two players? Why not. Shove Miranda in the back to snatch a Swiss equalizer? That sounds wild, but we’ll definitely allow it.
Mohamed Salah's goal was leading Egypt to its first-ever World Cup point, but a late Saudi Arabia goal denied the Pharaohs.
With both Egypt and Saudi Arabia eliminated prior to the match, it was clear the game would be more about honor and statistics than actual glory.
Nevertheless, both teams were eager to get the victory that would send them back home with some degree of consolation.
Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player to ever appear in the World Cup. Then he made the best save of the 2018 World Cup.
Essam El-Hadary, Egypt’s 45-year-old goalkeeper, made his World Cup debut in the Pharaohs’ dead rubber against Saudi Arabia on Monday. Neither team could advance as both had lost their matches against Russia and Uruguay.