International Soccer

It shouldn't have to be like this, USMNT. Christian Pulisic is only 18 years old, but suddenly everyone is looking to him to be the catalyst of the offense. It's true that Pulisic is the best player on the team, but it's also true that he's an 18-year-old on a team with other very good players on it, players who need to carry their shares of the load.

Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard has had his summer cut short via an ankle injury. The 26-year-old reported Real Madrid target twisted his ankle during Belgium training on Sunday, and scans revealed his ankle is broken.

No timetable has been given by Chelsea or Belgium for his return, but the speculation seems to be centered around whether Hazard will be fit for the start of the season in August.

In the last 12 months, Xherdan Shaqiri has scored six times. They have all been phenomenal goals. His recent strike against Belarus lives up to the insanely high standard he has set for himself.

A decent hit from Xherdan Shaqiri last night for. There's power in the #SCFC man's calves! pic.twitter.com/yHFfVubsRM

As far as friendlies go, this was about as productive as they come for both Mexico and the Republic of Ireland. El Tri will now return to Mexico City for two key World Cup qualifiers (against Honduras and the United States) at the Azteca brimming with confidence after thrashing Ireland 3-1.

For Ireland, manager Martin O’Neill got a good hard look at his fringe players before a crucial World Cup qualifier against Austria in Dublin — not many of them would’ve passed this difficult litmus test. 

The United States matched their biggest-ever triumph on the U-20 World Cup stage, and Mexico scored a game-winner in the 89th minute as North America sent two representatives into the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals — just as many as South America and one less than Europe.

Over 62,000 Mexico supporters bore witness to a bit of El Tri history on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Coliseum as Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez moved clear of Jared Borgetti as the national team’s all-time leading goal scorer with 47.

Remarkably, Chicharito and Borgetti share the same strike rate for Mexico. The Santos Laguna legend scored 46 in 89 matches, and the Bayer Leverkusen striker has scored 47 in 91 — both make for an average of 0.52 goals per game.