After denying itself the league title last week following a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg, PSG traveled to second place Lille today with another shot at securing the crown with a victory or draw. They would achieve neither result, ultimately playing for 49 minutes down a man following Juan Bernat’s red card and losing 5-1.
Remember the name: Matheus Cunha.
The 19-year-old Brazilian arrived at RB Leipzig from FC Sion last June for $17.1 million, but he’s been brought along slowly in the Bundesliga with 15 of his 21 appearances coming from off the bench.
However, on Saturday, Cunha scored his second league goal of the season, and my word. The Brazil U-20 forward pulled off a ridiculous Zidane turn to eliminate two Bayer Leverkusen defenders before seamlessly transitioning into a delicate chip over Lukáš Hrádecký.
Hop into The18 time machine and travel back to Jan. 23, 2017, to see “Borussia Dortmund Beat Real Madrid To The Signing Of 17-Year-Old Swedish Phenom” Alexander Isak. After breaking through with AIK and scoring 10 goals during his debut Allsvenskan season, “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic” made further waves by becoming Sweden’s youngest-ever international goalscorer.
The 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship, which doubles as qualification for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, is fast approaching. Over the course of 16 days in Bradenton, Florida, 20 teams will battle for the four World Cup spots, and Mexico will look to win its fourth straight title at this level.
El Tri defeated the U.S. in the last final back in 2017. That match featured the likes of Jairo Torres and Roberto de la Rosa for Mexico while the U.S. called on Josh Sargent and Tim Weah.
We all still know, as evidenced by his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, that when it comes to big matches, there’s no player more decisive on the planet than Cristiano Ronaldo. However, given his current injury and focus on the Champions League, it’s safe to say that Ronaldo will not capture the European Golden Shoe this year.
Last night during the USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Chile, winger Christian Pulisic scored his 10th international goal, moving him to joint-22nd on the all time U.S. scoring list alongside the velvety left foot of Eddie Lewis.
The goal was also special because not only did it feature a great first touch from Gyasi Zardes, it also made Pulisic the youngest-ever American to reach 10 international goals.
It was a great weekend for teenage homegrown players in Major League Soccer as two academy products — Toronto FC’s Ayo Akinola and the Philadelphia Union’s Brenden Aaronson — marked their first starts with goals.
Akinola is a 19-year-old who’s recently been called-up for the U.S. pre-U-20 World Cup training camp in Spain. The Detroit-born forward appeared in four matches as a substitute for Toronto last year, totaling only 45 minutes.
However, on Sunday he was given his first start, went 85 minutes in the 3-2 win over New England and scored his first goal.
Chelsea’s youngest star, Callum Hudson-Odoi, has officially received the call to join England’s national team. The 18-year-old will be the youngest player on England’s squad for a pair of Euro 2020 qualifiers, joining the stacked attack of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling.
Hudson-Odoi has quickly become a fan favorite in London, and supporters are hoping he’ll be a big part of a potential Chelsea transformation next year.
Chances are, you’re somewhat familiar with the Marcus Rashford story. It’s well known that he’s a local lad, having joined the Manchester United academy system at the age of seven.
His astronomical rise at the club is also well documented. He made his first team debut for United at the age of 18 while the side was stalling under the leadership of Louis van Gaal. However, in the space of a few days, a star was born.
18-year-old Canadian phenom Alphonso Davies scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich on Sunday, coming on as a substitute in the club’s 6-0 hammering of Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena and completing the scoring.
A James Rodriguez hat-trick alongside goals from Robert Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman had given Bayern a 5-0 lead when Davies came on for David Alaba in the 59th minute.