National Teams

Neymar had a pretty good game in World Cup qualifying on Friday night, leading Brazil to a 2-0 win over Ecuador with a goal and an assist. But watching that Neymar penalty vs Ecuador, I found myself feeling like a crotchety old man, yelling at the TV for a youngster doing something stupid.

Brazil has a perfect 15 points from five matches to top CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying table. Neymar is a big reason why, with four goals to go with three assists. He added to both tallies on Friday and now only trails Pelé by eight as the top scorer in Seleção history.

The excitement around the USMNT is warranted. The quality of our young core is evident in the roll call of clubs they play for: Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund among them.

But the expectations have to be tempered. These players are still developing, which is also evident in the roles they play for those teams. Gio Reyna started the highest percentage of league games with BVB at 67.6%, followed by Dest with Barça (60.5%) and then Pulisic with the Blues (47.4%) and McKennie with the Old Lady (47.4%). 

England coach Gareth Southgate said some fans do not understand the message behind players taking a knee before matches after the gesture was booed ahead of Wednesday's 1-0 friendly win over Austria.

Around 7,000 fans were at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium for the Euro 2020 warm-up and jeers could be heard from sections of the crowd before they were drowned out by applause from other supporters.

Up until France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final of the 2018 World Cup, Les Bleus were criticized for playing with the sort of pragmatic control that wins you titles but few admirers. 

Half of the front four (Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi) were employed in yeoman’s work, while the left flank of Lucas Hernandez, N'Golo Kanté and Matuidi was there to destroy any fleeting moments of opposition joy.

BRUSSELS — The possibility of Kevin De Bruyne competing for Belgium in the European Championship remains unclear as he recovers from facial fractures, coach Roberto Martínez said on Wednesday.

The midfield talisman broke his nose and eye socket in a clash in the Champions League final last weekend but it would be days before Belgium were clear about his chances of competing, Martínez told reporters.