National Teams

The USWNT hadn’t suffered a defeat since last July’s Tournament of Nations match against Australia, so with the clock striking 90 in tonight's rematch and the Matildas holding a 1-0 lead thanks to Chloe Logarzo’s 22nd minute strike, it looked like time was indeed a flat circle. But Lindsey Horan’s header at the death pushed the USWNT’s unbeaten streak to 18 games and kept the host nation in the running for the 2018 Tournament of Nations trophy. 

With a squad comprised largely of players that led Portugal to glory at the 2016 European U-17 Championship, Portugal has now ridden what’s quickly becoming a golden generation to more international glory, this time at the 2018 European U-19 Championship in Finland. Portugal defeated Italy 4-3 in a madcap final that saw three goals scored in quick succession during the first period of extra time. 

Joao Filipe opened the scoring just before halftime for Portugal. The Benfica youngster fired in a low drive after a brilliant piece of control at the top of the box.

The USWNT defeated Japan 4-2 to begin Tournament of Nations play (essentially the warmup for October’s World Cup qualifying event) with Alex Morgan registering a hat-trick inside 56 minutes and The Best FIFA Women’s Player finalist Megan Rapinoe adding the fourth in the 66th.   

For too many years already, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have absolutely dominated the discussion surrounding who is the best soccer player in the world. The Argentinean and the Portuguese have formed a hegemonic dynasty that's lasted since at least 2008. To find a Ballon d'Or winner other than Messi and Ronaldo, one has to travel all the way to 2007 when Brazilian star Kaká won the prize, and he's now retired. 

If you want to watch something truly pathetic today, here’s Jose Mourinho, the manager of 20-time English champion Manchester United (squad value of just over $1 billion), acting scared shitless at the prospect of playing Brighton & Hove Albion (squad value of $183 million) in the second week of Premier League action because of the World Cup impact on club season preparations. 

Last World Cup gifted fans 169 goals in 64 matches. Over three million users voted on FIFA.com and the fans named Benjamin Pavard’s volley the World Cup Best Goal. Relive it here. 

FIFA World Cup Best Goal | First Place

The Benjamin Pavard goal vs. Argentina was voted the World Cup best goal.

The splendid strike took place during the France-Argentina match in the Round of 16.

The FIFA Best Player Award nominees list is out and hopefully Neymar snubbed off the list will mark a new era in football. An era where flopping is only done in a breakdance battle, not on the pitch.

The 10 nominees were selected for their achievements throughout July 3, 2017, to July 15, 2018. You can also cast your vote on your favorite nominee here.

The FIFA Best Player Award nominees are:

After lifting the 2018 World Cup with one of the youngest squads at the tournament (average age of just 26), there’s been a growing fear that France could turn a bit tyrannical at the international level. That fear was further confirmed today when England’s U-19s were on the receiving end of a 5-0 beatdown from their French peers. 

Mesut Ozil has retired from international football at the age of 29, citing “racism and disrespect” from the German football federation (DFB). Ozil had 92 caps for Germany and helped the nation capture third place at the 2010 World Cup before lifting the trophy in 2014. The Arsenal playmaker issued a detailed statement on Twitter with the main contents concerning the fallout of his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip before the World Cup.

Here are his statements in full, read them (click/tap) before commentating: