Germany flamed out of the 2018 World Cup with two losses and one last-minute victory. Die Mannschaft brought to Russia many of the same players and ideas the Germany squad had used to win the 2014 World Cup, but with a far worse result.
How fast is Christian Pulisic? The 19-year-old American is usually deployed on the right flank by club side Borussia Dortmund — although he enjoys a more central role when playing with the USMNT — so he’s certainly no slouch when it comes to pace. However, what makes him such a precocious talent is that he’s no one-trick pony — he doesn’t only rely on his blistering speed to create chances and take defenders on.
Football's governing body updated its August FIFA rankings of national teams this week and, surprise surprise, there were some big moves. We are just over a month removed from the World Cup, and you would like to think FIFA has spent a long time deliberating over who should be ranked where.
World Cup winner France takes the top spot, jumping up six spots to now be the top dog in international soccer. Belgium, the bronze medallist at the World Cup, is in second place, but only three points behind France. Brazil dropped one spot to round out the top three.
How fast is Leroy Sané? The 22-year-old Manchester City winger experienced a somewhat subdued first season in England, but he exploded into life last year after scoring 10 goals and adding 15 assists in 32 Premier League appearances. The native of Essen, Germany, was named the PFA Young Player of the Year for his contributions to City’s march to the title, but he was curiously omitted from manager Joachim Low’s World Cup squad (we all know how that turned out for die Mannschaft).
Bayern Munich ran rampant against Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018 German Super Cup — the curtain raiser for the German season — by posting a 5-0 victory thanks to a 33-minute hat-trick from rumored want-away Robert Lewandowski.
This was a rematch of last season’s improbable DFB-Pokal final, where Eintracht shocked Bayern 3-1 with Niko Kovac in the dugout for die Adler. With Kovac now patrolling Bayern’s touchline as the successor to Jupp Heynckes, this match belonged to FC Hollywood from start to finish.
Let’s be honest here. Last year’s major European league title races were, for the most part, downright boring. The Golden Boot races? Well, those were a little more entertaining. While most of the European league races are likely to once again go to obvious winners, the Golden Boot odds in each league suggest those races will be the ones to watch in the upcoming season.
Around this time last year, ESPN FC used an unnamed source to confirm that Christian Pulisic would reflect on his year at the end of the year.
It’s not quite the #MeToo movement, nor is it a Pokémon. But the #MeTwo movement in part inspired by Mesut Özil is evolving into something quite powerful, something that’s been building for decades.
Mesut Ozil has retired from international football at the age of 29, citing “racism and disrespect” from the German football federation (DFB). Ozil had 92 caps for Germany and helped the nation capture third place at the 2010 World Cup before lifting the trophy in 2014. The Arsenal playmaker issued a detailed statement on Twitter with the main contents concerning the fallout of his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip before the World Cup.
Here are his statements in full, read them (click/tap) before commentating: