Defending

Man-mark Messi? Croatia's three-headed midfield monster ready to immobilize entire team

DOHA - Croatia will not attempt to stop Argentina superstar Lionel Messi by man-marking him but instead will focus on immobilizing the entire team in their World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, they said.

Croatia are bidding to make it to the final for the second World Cup in a row after losing in the 2018 showcase match to France.

They stunned tournament favorites Brazil in the quarterfinals after going a goal down in extra-time but dug deep to bounce back with a late equalizer and force a penalty shootout that they ended up winning.

England v France preview: If there's one man capable of stopping Mbappé, it's Kyle Walker

DOHA - One of the most mouth-watering aspects of Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal between England and France will be a head-to-head battle between Kylian Mbappé and Kyle Walker as the tournament’s most devastating forward faces its fastest defender.

Mbappé has been on fire in Qatar, scoring fabulous goals and playing with a freedom, zest and pure joy rarely seen at international level and particularly within the sometimes stultifying tension of a major tournament.

Three USMNT players who earned January transfers after the World Cup

While the USMNT has been knocked out of the World Cup, they are far from removed from the public’s consciousness. This year’s electrifying roster is taking a short break before club soccer starts up again, but some Americans may not be staying with their current clubs for long. 

Transfer rumors are the reward for great performances at the World Cup and players across the pitch may be reaping the rewards come January. 

Oldest men's player to score in World Cup knockout stage is none other than Pepe

Who's the oldest men's player to score in the knockout stages of the World Cup? It's going to be one hell of a trivia question after the record was broken by an extremely unlikely character Tuesday — Portugal's Pepe is now the answer at 39 years and 283 days.

Portugal's World Cup Round of 16 match against Switzerland represented Pepe's 132nd cap, but heading into the game he'd only managed seven goals with his last actually coming in the last-16 of the 2018 World Cup against Uruguay.

Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal sends Marcos Llorente back to Spain with filthy skill

Spain manager Luis Enrique made the surprise decision to start Marcos Llorente at right back for his team’s Round of 16 clash with Morocco. Llorente hadn’t played a single minute in this World Cup before Tuesday and Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal had a field day with him in the first half.

Boufal was a Moroccan menace in the opening 45 minutes showing off a variety of skills and good dribbles. The 29-year-old winger who plays for Angers in Ligue 1 made Llorente’s life a living hell.

The United States has been eliminated from the World Cup — What happens now?

And just like that, it's over. The United States is sent packing after a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the first game of the knockout stage. The first World Cup since 2014 for the Americans gave fans much reason for hope, but it exposed the team's weaknesses as well. 

Missed chances and missed marks — 3 Takeaways from USA defeat to Netherlands

The USA’s 2022 World Cup run ended in the Round of 16 on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. It’s a game that could have ended differently for the Stars and Stripes who simply weren’t at their best.

This youthful American team will be disappointed in the loss but should be proud of their performances in the tournament. This team went undefeated in the group stage, outplayed mighty England and was the only Concacaf team to advance to the Round of 16.

For one last time let’s look at the three takeaways from the USA’s final game.

Here are the best Netherlands soccer players that the USA will face in the Round of 16

If you’re a casual USA soccer fan, then you’re probably familiar by now with the best US soccer players at the 2022 World Cup. After going undefeated in the group stage, the USA will face the Dutch in the Round of 16. In this article we will share the best Netherlands soccer players at the 2022 World Cup that will face the USA.

The USA advances from Group B — 3 biggest takeaways from narrow 1-0 victory vs. Iran

The United States men’s national team triumphed against Iran with a nervy 1-0 victory on Tuesday to clinch a Round of 16 game against the Netherlands. The USA gave American fans several heart attacks along the way, but this is a massive accomplishment for the team.

The USA grinded out a tough one but ultimately came out on top. The magic moment came from none other than Christian Pulisic who put his body on the line to score the game-winner.

Epic fail from Saudi Arabia defender gifts Robert Lewandowski his first World Cup goal

Despite another impressive performance from Saudi Arabia, Poland defeated the World Cup underdogs 2-0 on Saturday. We also got to see the first ever Robert Lewandowski World Cup goal.

The score doesn’t accurately reflect how dominant Saudi Arabia was through most of the game. It was Poland that was able to finish some of its chances.

Lewandowski provided the assist for Piotr Zielinski in the 39th minute to help Poland score their first goal of the tournament.

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