The Spain vs Portugal World Cup matchup on Friday, June 15, is going to be the battle of who will come first in the group. Both sides have quality in areas where the other does not, in addition to each manager having their own playing styles and drilling that into their players.
De Gea; Odriozola, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Busquets, Thiago, Isco; Silva, Costa, Iniesta
The pride experienced by the team and the masses of a country for making it to the greatest sporting event in the world is never more on display than during the World Cup national anthems before a match.
The playing of the national anthem is incredibly potent. Hearing the hymn has been a surefire trigger for waterworks on the pitch. It turns strangers into friends as fans croon in unison.
“Let there be light: and there was light.” That’s what God said when he sat down to start crunching out the Bible after a long period of crippling writer’s block, but it easily could’ve been what you said after finally getting your hands on The18’s World Cup predictions. Here you have all your favorite soccer niños trying their damnedest to captivate, stimulate and prognosticate for your reading pleasure.
Who are you cheering for?
In the end, we did it. The joint bid of the United States, Mexico and Canada has been voted co-hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, edging out a Morocco bid that caused everyone to nervously throw up in their mouths for a little while there. Apologies for the unpleasantness, but good grief. After losing out to Qatar in 2022, the worst was certainly feared here.
With less than 24 hours until the start of the World Cup and just two days before Spain takes on Portugal in one of the marquee group stage matches of the tournament, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has announced its decision to fire manager Julen Lopetegui.
It was a wild ride for American midfielder Dax McCarty in 2017. In January, McCarty was recalled by the national team for the first time since 2011, but he was subsequently shocked to learn that after five and a half seasons with the New York Red Bulls, he’d been dealt to the Chicago Fire before the start of the new campaign.
McCarty then helped the USMNT triumph at the Gold Cup, starting in two group stage games and appearing in five games overall, including a late substitute appearance in the final against Jamaica.
Every four years World Cup viewers wonder why the hell England is called the Three Lions or why French fans dress up as Smurfs. The answer: World Cup nicknames.