Jonathan Klinsmann is young and still has a lot of growing up to do. Goalkeepers generally improve with experience more so than other positions and tend to peak in their late 20s and early 30s. So we're not that worried about him yet.
That said, he should stop watching tapes of Joe Hart.
Xabi Alonso has retired from professional soccer, but his spirit lives on. And by "spirit" we mean "scoring goals from outrageously far away".
Well, sort of.
Eligible for Nigeria
Fikayo Tomori scored a freak own goal. England drew 1-1 v Guinea at #U20WC.Chin up Fikayopic.twitter.com/NIYXJv0Jxp
There is no doubt that the India U17 World Cup team earned an impressive road victory this week against a strong Italian side, knocking off the hosts 2-0.
There's just one problem with the narrative that arose after the match. The India U17s didn't actually beat the Italy U17 National Team. Instead, they played and won against a team comprised of youth players from clubs in Lega Pro and Lega Pro 2 (the third and fourth tiers of Italian football, respectively).
To play soccer is to partake in a global community of shared experiences. We all watch the same matches, absorb each other's methods and styles and speak one universal language, the language of the game we love. Like anything in life, soccer has its phases — its ups and downs — but we wouldn't have it any other way, because in the end, soccer always gives us so much more in return.
Here are 18 things that show we have far more in common with each other than divides us.
Aged only 15, top English clubs have already been scouting Rangers teenage sensation and Scotland youth international Billy Gilmour. Gilmour can't legally sign a contract with any team until he's 16, but Chelsea are rumored to have agreed to terms with both player and club.
Gilmour had also grabbed the attention of Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Disregarding all of the great opportunities that have been presented by the English clubs, it's difficult to understand why he'd choose Chelsea given their track record of loaning their young players.