Xavi’s managerial reign at Barcelona began with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday, and it’s clear he’s already injected some much-needed life into the club.
On the pitch, there was a debut for 17-year-old winger Ilias Akhomach while 17-year-old Gavi and 19-year-old Nico González also made the starting XI — even Riqui Puig made an appearance!
From the first day it was officially announced Los Angeles would be getting an NWSL expansion team, Angel City FC has done things differently. From the star-studded cast of owners and investors to the commitment to community, Angel City has already made more headlines before playing a single match than some NWSL clubs that have been around for years.
Has Canada qualified for a World Cup before? The Canucks look well on their way to Qatar 2022 after an iconic victory against Mexico in World Cup qualifying. If Canada qualifies for next year’s tournament, it won’t be the first time the Northerners have made the big stage.
BARCELONA - After a nerve-wracking last World Cup qualifier for Spain as they booked their place at next year's finals by beating Sweden 1-0, LaLiga returns this weekend with all eyes on Barcelona.
New manager Xavi Hernández will take charge of the team in the Catalonia derby against Espanyol on Saturday and three days later Barca host Benfica in a game that could secure their place in the Champions League last 16.
Over halfway through Concacaf World Cup qualifying and only one nation remains unbeaten: table-topping Canada, which began this entire cycle ranked 73rd in the world and needing to navigate beyond Suriname in the first round and Haiti in the second to even be present in the Octagonal.
There was every reason for Dutch stress on Tuesday evening: The ghost of the failed 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign; Saturday’s calamitous draw with 73rd-ranked Montenegro despite leading 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to play; Louis van Gaal’s bike accident on Sunday and fractured hip, forcing him to watch this key clash against Norway from a wheelchair in a box seat; an empty De Kuip in Rotterdam after the country entered a three-week lockdown period with Covid-19 cases soaring.
For many Millennials, the 2006 World Cup represents the zenith of football nostalgia. As teenagers with little meaningful responsibility, we spent that summer month locked into ESPN, agonizing over the United States’ failure, delighting in the majesty of Zinedine Zidane and watching the legendary adidas “José +10” commercial hundreds of times.
I still don’t understand how they got Der Kaiser out there.
For as long as soccer players have had toned, athletic bodies hiding under their shirts, they’ve loved to take off their jerseys to celebrate scoring a goal. But when you really want to make a statement, you need something more than rock-hard abs under your shirt — you need one of these iconic goal celebration shirt messages.