Europe

There’s definitely a little bit of jealousy when it comes to thinking about the quality of player that Canada possesses here, but on the whole, it’s incredible seeing 18-year-old Alphonso Davies training alongside Arjen Robben and Thomas Müller at Bayern’s legendary Säbener Strasse training facility.

We try to keep up with all things Christian Pulisic and Chucky Lozano here at The18, and the CONCACAF reporting bond will only grow stronger with Davies in Bavaria. 

Barcelona stayed atop the LaLiga table following a 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid yesterday, but the Blaugrana stars were less than enthused by the approach of Diego Simeone’s men at the Wanda. 

Atlético scored with its only shot on target (a Diego Costa header off a Antoine Griezmann corner), but the home side limited Barcelona to just two shots on frame themselves (a Lionel Messi free kick straight at Jan Oblak and Ousmane Dembélé’s late equalizer). 

Former Arsenal and Juventus forward Nicklas Bendtner started this fall with a bang, but not in the way a goalscorer might hope. In the wee hours of September 9, Bendtner kicked and punched a cab driver, and he was subsequently found guilty of the assault earlier this month.

Ethan Horvath hadn’t played for the U.S. in about a year. On Tuesday, he made a statement that he deserves more playing time with the USMNT.

Lost in the goalkeeping shuffle with guys like Brad Guzan, Zack Steffen, Bill Hamid, William Yarbrough, Horvath put himself right back into contention to be a starter for the U.S. with seven saves against Italy on Tuesday. 

The 23-year-old was the biggest reason the U.S. was in the match throughout before succumbing to a well-worked goal in the 94th minute to lose 1-0 to the four-time world champions.

Tuesday's blockbuster friendly between France and Uruguay (a World Cup quarterfinal rematch) at the Stade de France was supposed to be a chummy occasion, as evidenced by Antoine Griezmann’s half-and-half boots. However, the match was marred by a gruesome-looking, albeit totally accidental, shoulder injury to Kylian Mbappe.

The 19-year-old phenomenon came off following the injury and then attempted to resume playing, but he ultimately succumbed to a substitution in the 36th minute. 

When it comes to transfer rumors and Paris Saint-Germain, you never get further than the superstar front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani. 

At the age of 37, Zlatan Ibrahimović's days as a professional footballer are numbered. But after scoring 22 goals in his first 27 appearances in Major League Soccer, the big Swede has reminded the world — and most importantly, himself — of his devastating return to power following his serious knee injury in April of 2017. 

Germany’s inexplicably poor calendar year came to a close today with another bad result — Die Mannschaft drew with the Netherlands 2-2 in Gelsenkirchen after holding a two-goal lead through the 84th minute. 

What’s more, although Germany already knew it’d be playing in UEFA Nations League B after suffering relegation this time around, the final match of the campaign represented an opportunity to deprive the Dutch of a spot in the Nations League Finals, however, Virgil van Dijk’s 91st-minute equalizer sends the Oranje to Portugal next summer.