Upsets

Japan defeats Germany 2-1 in a historic upset

Germany kicked off its 2022 campaign with a continuation of its World Cup struggles from four years ago. Japan scored a late equalizer followed by an even later winner to secure a historic 2-1 win over the champions from 2014. 

Saudi defender reveals what he said to Messi in heated exchange

Saudi players were pumped up after Salem Al Dawsari scored the goal that stunned Argentina in their World Cup opener. So high was the rush that seconds after bagging the goal, defender Ali Al-Bulayhi went to Lionel Messi to taunt him.

Tunisia's Aïssa Laïdouni is my new favorite player

You'll hear the sentiment over and over again during tournament coverage: There are no mysteries at the World Cup anymore — modernity and globalization have combined to eliminate the past thrill of the complete unknown showing up on our TV screens and taking over.

Messi and Argentina choke on their own hype in Saudi Arabia's historic upset

Argentina, ranked third in the FIFA Rankings and a trendy pick to win the World Cup, has suffered one of the greatest upsets in tournament history after Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st and expected to finish fourth in Group C, went toe-to-toe with the South American giant and prevailed 2-1. 

The match had presented Argentina with a chance at equaling Italy's international record of 37 games unbeaten, but that streak is over and more importantly, La Albiceleste are in serious trouble with Mexico (Nov. 26) and Poland (Nov. 30) up next.   

Enner "Superman" Valencia adds to his cult status with game-winning double for Ecuador

AL KHOR, Qatar - Captain Enner Valencia extended his cult status in Ecuador to wider international acclaim with a first-half double that propelled the South Americans to a comfortable 2-0 win over hosts Qatar in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday.

The 33-year-old forward, nicknamed Superman, increased his record tally of goals for Ecuador to 37 and became the country’s highest scoring player at World Cup tournaments as his double at the Al Bayt Stadium added to the three he scored in 2014.

3 things we learned from Qatar vs. Ecuador: The host nation is a bad joke

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway with Ecuador handling the supremely limited host nation Qatar 2-0 without surrendering a shot on target. It was a pathetic display from Qatar, but their tournament will thankfully be over quickly Friday after Senegal once again hands them a deserved beating. 

So what did we learn from Sunday's curtain raiser besides the fact that Morgan Freeman has added a couple million to his bank account?

Belgium suffers 2-1 defeat to Egypt in final warm-up game before the World Cup

KUWAIT CITY — Belgium were beaten 2-1 by Egypt in a friendly international on Friday in a sobering defeat that belied their status as one of the fancied teams for the World Cup in Qatar.

An error by Kevin De Bruyne and an inspired pass from Mohamed Salah ensured goals for Egypt, who narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification in March, as they posted victory in a stop-start affair in Kuwait City.

Mostafa Mohamed scored in the 33rd minute with a rasping short ball after De Bruyne had lost possession just outside his own penalty area to give Egypt a halftime lead.

Can an African team win the World Cup?

Many football lovers hope an African team will finally win the men’s 2022 FIFA World Cup. The world has been waiting for this since the great Brazilian player Pelé predicted (in the 1970s) that an African country would win before the year 2000. That didn’t happen, but it didn’t stop Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, from saying (in 2021): "An African team must win the World Cup in the near future."

USWNT loses third straight game for the first time since 1993

Sitting on USWNT Zoom media calls before Thursday night's friendly against Germany in Fort Lauderdale, the answer to every question was some iteration of how the squad would rebound from back-to-back October defeats to England and Spain.

The idea of the U.S. not putting things right wasn't entertained. Lessons had been learned, Alex Morgan was returning and statements would be made.

Barça remains top of LaLiga after Rayo Vallecano fights back to shock Real Madrid 3-2

Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Monday with the champions failing to reclaim top spot in the standings after two consecutive games without a win and suffering their first loss in LaLiga this season.

Barcelona are top on 34 points, two ahead of Real Madrid and ten ahead of third-placed Atlético Madrid. Following their third consecutive win, Rayo climbed to eighth place, two points off the European qualification spots.

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