International Soccer

Mexico ended the group stage of World Cup qualifying undeafeated but disappointed after a listless 0-0 outing against Hondiras in Estadio Azteca.

Honduras did the thing pretty much everybody expected them to do and parked the bus basically from the beginning. Even firing on all cylinders, Mexico might have had trouble beating this defense.

As it turned out, though, Mexico weren't firing on all cylinders, and the crowd let manager Juan Carlos Osorio know they didn't like what they were seeing.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dropped the biggest hint yet as to where he believes the 2026 World Cup should take place. Following the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 edition to Qatar, the venue for the 2026 version of the competition is to be decided in 2020.

Originally, the process was due to be completed in May of 2017, but FIFA experienced some minor setbacks that you might’ve heard about.

Having lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kim Kallstrom and their manager Erik Hamren after Euro 2016, Sweden still managed to draw with the Netherlands in Stockholm. 

For the Netherlands, their only possible excuse is that they’re now terrible. With nine more qualifying matches still to play, the Dutch have time to improve, it’s just difficult to foresee where that improvement will come from. 

Various pundits wondered earlier this week if the Mexico National Team was stagnating under Juan Carlos Osorio, and during the first half it looked like those pundits were right.

A Jorge Torres Nilo handball in the box gave Alexander Larin a penalty try in the 24th minute, and Mexico found themselves down 1-0 and looking mostly listless.

Then, after halftime, Mexico woke up.

Hector Moreno in the 52nd minute.

Venezuelan goalkeeper Dani Hernandez stopped two penalties against Colombian stars Carlos Bacca and James Rodriguez in less than 15 minutes in a World Cup qualifier Thursday. Colombia beat Venezuela 2-0 in Barranquilla.

Hernandez, who plays for Tenerife in the Spanish second division, is the first goalkeeper to stop two penalties in a World Cup qualifier in CONMEBOL history, according to @OptaJavier.

September is upon us. For many, that means looking forward to cooler weather and an opportunity to view the fall coloring. For soccer fans, however, that means a few weeks of zero club action. There will be no games until the weekend of September 10 because of the break for international matches

Why the interruption? Well, this particular break is to stop play so players could take part in qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Yet, for fans, that means no top level club soccer matches, which simply isn’t fair. 

The list of great Italian goalkeepers surpasses that of any other nation on the planet. The likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff and Walter Zenga, to name just a few, have all represented the Azzurri with great ability and longevity. On Thursday, we got our first look at the next great Italian goalkeeper, AC Milan’s exceptional 17-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma. 

The Netherlands used to be really good. I solemnly swear it. At the 2014 World Cup, Robin van Persie made us believe in the possibility of the human body achieving flight. At the 2010 World Cup, Wesley Sneijder demonstrated everything that is possible in an impeccable Dutch playmaker.

It just had to be, didn’t it? Lionel Messi announced his return to the Argentina fold by scoring the game-winning goal for La Albiceleste against Uruguay, catapulting his country to the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table in the process.

While Messi’s international retirement resulted in him missing zero action for Argentina, it was still an emotional return for the Barcelona man at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina.