Argentina began its World Cup tune-ups in earnest on Tuesday with the first of two friendlies before opening group play against Iceland on June 16. La Albiceleste welcomed Haiti to La Bombonera in Buenos Aires — a meeting between the nations currently holding spots five and 108 in the FIFA World Rankings.
What a weekend of goals we had! Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding Gareth Bale’s remarkable bicycle kick and Loris Karius’ equally brilliant goofs, Major League Soccer threw up an insane solo effort from the Portland Timbers’ Samuel Armenteros.
In what all USMNT fans had hoped would be a World Cup tune-up game, the friendly between the USMNT and Bolivia had a decidely different narrative. Interim manager Dave Sarachan selected a number of USMNT young players against Bolivia, and their performances showed promise.
Mario Balotelli made his triumphant return to the Italian national team against Saudi Arabia on Monday and managed to score an outstanding goal early on.
In true Balotelli form, it only took him just a measly twenty minutes to find the back of the net. They really could have done with him against Sweden.
The match was the first of former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini’s tenure as the coach of the Italian team, and the Azzurri went on to win 2-1.
As the latest financial accounts at Newcastle United show, the Magpies navigated the Championship and their return to the Premier League with one of the largest wage bills in the second division. However, with the cost of relegation still being clearly felt by owner Mike Ashley, Newcastle prepared for its return to the Prem with very little squad reinforcement.
Yesterday, Italian legend Andrea Pirlo played one final match before retirement — his testimonial at the San Siro. After a career spent with Brescia, Inter, Reggina, Milan, Juventus, New York City FC and the Italian national team, a world-class selection of former teammates came together to celebrate the career of the midfield maestro.
It’s been entirely too long since a footballer pretended to be seal out on the pitch, but thanks to Corinthians’ Angel Romero, a 25-year-old winger from Paraguay, we now have another seal-inspired tekkers video to watch for the next 12 years.
That’s how long it’s been since the original gangster seal footballer Kerlon established himself as one of YouTube’s first viral sensations. Then playing for Cruzeiro and the Brazilian U-17 side, Kerlon was impossibly talented at flicking the ball onto his own head before running at the defense.
After recording a somewhat fortunate 2-1 victory in the first leg of the 2018 Liga MX Clausura Final, there was a sense that Santos Laguna could be walking into a bear trap at La Bombonera on Sunday night.
Over 31,000 were on hand to support los Diablos Rojos, but the home crowd couldn't have been happy with the start they witnessed.