World Cup

The World Cup Gets Physical: The Worst Flops And Best Crunching Tackles So Far

Heading into the tournament in Russia, we always knew we’d get a nice mixture of both godawful dives and crunching, I-put-the-country-on-my-back tackles. The super slow mo doesn’t do the sport any favors (everything looks like an overreaction when you slow things down to a million frames per second), but we’ve definitely seen some gloriously physical play mixed with some heinous play acting.

Here’s a selection of our favorite dives and crunches from the opening matches at the 2018 World Cup. 

Peru’s Dramatic Defeat Only Cements Its Status As The People’s Champion

Peru’s the best team at the World Cup.

Technically, only one team can win the tournament. Only one team will have its name engraved on the Jules Rimet trophy (2.0) come mid-July. But there’s more than one way to win the competition. 

Belgium Finally Breaks Through Panama With World-Class Volley

Belgium is ranked No. 3; Panama is ranked No. 55. Yet for the first 45 minutes the two were equals in Group G action at the World Cup on Monday. Then came the Dries Mertens goal vs Panama that completely changed the narrative of the match.

Panama held Belgium at bay for the first half of the match. Near the end of the first half, the favored Red Devils looked to be running out of ideas as the Concacaf side swatted away every attack. Goalkeeper Jaime Penedo looked like a Gianluigi Buffon doppelganger out there. 

Zlatan Tweets His Support Of Sweden, Ending Fox's Tired Narrative

In the build up to the World Cup, Zlatan had been quoted as saying that there is no such thing as a World Cup without Zlatan. This led many to believe that he would come out of international retirement and play for Sweden in its first World Cup since 2006. Although Sweden manager Janne Andersson ultimately decided to go with the group that got through qualifying, this Zlatan tweet shows that both sides have officially moved on.

France’s Lucas Hernandez Is Officially Australia’s Public Enemy No. 1

Australia put up a valiant fight against France in the opening match of Group C at the 2018 World Cup.

World Cup Day 5 Predictions: Group G And Sweden vs South Korea

The matchups on day 5 of the 2018 World Cup may not get you excited but with the way games have gone at this World, it may be wise to not write off the "cupcakes" on the schedule. Tunisia and Panama will face off against England and Belgium to kick off Group G action. Wiil England do Enlgish things? Will Belgium explode out of the gates? 

Sweden and Republic of Korea will also look to lock up some inmportant points in Group F after Germany's loss to Mexico.

Fox Watch: Lack Of Real Radio Coverage More Proof Fox Doesn’t Care About Soccer

I’ve seen a lot of complaints on social media about the U.S. World Cup broadcasters talking too much during the match. The reason might be simpler than you think — they’re pulling double duty for the Fox World Cup radio broadcast as well.

Heroes And Villains Of The World Cup: Matchday Four

No event escalates individuals to the status of national hero or global villain as dramatically as the World Cup. The idolatry that follows success and the stigma that follows failure are woven into the fabric of history, and the repercussions will typically follow footballers for the rest of their lives. Daily, we’ll take a look at who played the role of hero and who played the role of villain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Brazil’s Plan B: Just Let Philippe Coutinho Hit A 20-Yard Screamer

The original game plan for Brazil had to have been work an opening with Neymar on the ball, twist and turn into some space and then put it in the net. That almost happened in the game’s opening stages, but Paulinho somehow missed from a couple yards out. This is probably the miss out the tournament so far (from open play). 

Pages