While there were no headlining matchups, the latest cycle of international qualifying across the globe provided us with some unexpected upsets — if you know where to look.
North Macedonia over Germany and Luxembourg beating the Republic of Ireland were tabbed as the biggest surprises of the international break, but there plenty more stunning results from across Europe and beyond.
These were the best of the bunch:
The United States are "absolutely devastated" at missing out on qualification for the Olympic men's soccer tournament following Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Honduras, said coach Jason Kreis.
Defeat in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament means the United States will miss a third successive Games, with their last appearance coming in Beijing.
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's superb 1-0 victory over more heralded neighbors Croatia in World Cup qualifying showed they are more than just a nation of Alpine skiers, defender Petar Stojanović said on Thursday.
The Slovenians outplayed the 2018 World Cup runners-up on Wednesday at the start of Group H qualifying for next year's tournament in Qatar and Stojanović, who plays his club football for Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, was delighted.
Benevento dented Juventus' Serie A title hopes on Sunday when Adolfo Gaich’s second-half strike sealed a shock 1-0 victory in Turin and ended the relegation battlers’ 11-match winless run.
The Argentine pounced on a careless pass from Juve midfielder Arthur Melo to fire in the decisive goal after 69 minutes, and the toothless hosts failed to find a way past goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò.
BENEVENTO TAKE THE LEAD AGAINST JUVENTUS pic.twitter.com/qbaoLYMyEI
The excitement is building towards a pair of USMNT friendlies scheduled for the end of the month with the locations of the fixtures (Austria and Northern Ireland) dictating appearances from the European-based players who’ve helped supporters move beyond the last World Cup qualifying debacle.
With Sunday’s Madrid Derby now on the horizon, Real Madrid missed a massive opportunity to ratchet up the pressure on Atlético by slipping to a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on Monday night.
Real clearly felt the absence of Karim Benzema up top — along with the continued unavailability of Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard, Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão — and today’s starting front three of Marco Asensio, Mariano and Isco was hooked en masse in the 61st minute after Portu had put Sociedad up 1-0 in the 55th.
The University of Oregon started Pac-12 play on Friday against Stanford University. Stanford currently holds the NCAA College Cup and has faced Oregon annually since 1997, but until this past meeting, Oregon had never defeated Stanford, making Friday's 2-1 win over the Cardinal the first in program history.
BARCELONA - Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said he was even more disappointed by his side being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Cádiz in LaLiga on Sunday than after last week's 4-1 home drubbing by Paris St Germain.
Barça led thanks to Lionel Messi's 32nd-minute penalty but they failed to kill their opponents off and Álex Fernández leveled in the 89th minute, ending a run of seven straight league wins for the Catalans.
LONDON - West Ham United claimed fourth spot in the Premier League as goals early in each half by Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard earned them a nervy 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Their seventh win in their last nine league games moved West Ham two points above Chelsea in their mounting challenge for a Champions League spot while Tottenham have slumped to ninth.
Something incredible happened last week: Alcoyano, a team from Spain's Segunda B (third division), eliminated Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey in extra time against all odds.
The hero of the night was José Juan, a 41-year-old goalkeeper who had a great night defending his net, stopping absolutely everything.