In the end, Netherlands and FC Barcelona attacker Lieke Martens was the deserved recipient of 2017’s The Best FIFA Women’s Player award (an accolade presumably named by a toddler or Sepp Blatter). But the three-woman shortlist for the prize continues to flip the bird at anyone who wishes to try and make sense of it all.
Julie Ertz did it again Sunday. The USWNT defender scored in a 6-0 rout of South Korea, her fifth goal of 2017. She’s now tied with Alex Morgan for most goals scored for Team USA this year. Julie Ertz’s goal-scoring ability makes her the Sergio Ramos of women’s football.
Ertz headed in the United States’ fourth goal of the first half for her 13th goal in international play, most among active American defenders. It was her second goal in four days and fourth in her last four national-team appearances.
Iceland became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the Men’s World Cup earlier this month. The Iceland women’s national team is trying to follow suit. Iceland stunned Germany, the top-ranked team in Europe, 3-2 in UEFA qualifying for the 2019 World Cup on Friday in Wiesbaden, the first World Cup qualifying loss for the two-time world champions since 1998.
At least the U.S. still has one national team that can kick ass. The USWNT stars came out to shine in a 3-1 victory over South Korea on Thursday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Julie Ertz, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe all found the back of the net in a comfortable win over the 15th-ranked team in the world.
While the USMNT won’t make the Men’s World Cup next summer, the reigning Women’s World Cup champions are still going strong, winning their fifth straight and moving to 10-3 in 2017.
The18.com knows you don't have time for waste when it comes to your soccer news. That's why we've created the fastest rundown in soccer. Greg Ellis takes you through 18 different soccer topics, and spends 18 seconds on each. This time he goes over the USMNT World Cup qualifying debacle, VAR, Carlos Tevez making millions for not doing anything and does his best Donald Trump impersonation regard Atlanta United's new stadium.
After finishing three points behind Atletico Madrid in Spain’s Primera Division while also becoming the first Spanish side to reach the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, it was evident that FC Barcelona Femení, Barca’s women’s football team, was on the cusp of greatness entering its 17th season.
TMZ Sports reported Tuesday that USWNT and Orlando Pride striker Alex Morgan was part of a group asked to leave Disney World after an incident at a bar in the Epcot Center. According to TMZ, witnesses said there was a confrontation between members of Morgan's party and another party at a pub in the U.K. section of Epcot. Police were called, and several members of Morgan's group were reportedly asked to leave.
Major League Soccer released a statement Tuesday on players’ right to free speech in light of the recent trend for NFL players to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem before games. MLS made it clear they would prefer players to stand during the Star-Spangled Banner, but would respect and support a player’s right to express his personal beliefs.
The statement in full:
Folks are extremely mad online about the nominations for FIFA's Best Women's Player Award. The reason for this is the three nominations are Lieke Martens, Carli Lloyd and Deyna Castellanos.
I have always wanted to shoot sports, and yet in my 12 or 13 years of being behind the camera I’ve never had the opportunity. So, when I heard that the US women’s team was going to play a friendly against New Zealand in Denver, I jumped at the chance to cover it for The18. And the experience was everything I thought it would be, and then some.