Former Iran striker Ali Daei has said he would be honored to see Cristiano Ronaldo break his record for the most goals in international soccer as the Portugal forward moves closer to his tally of 109.
Ronaldo, the only other centurion in the men's international arena, has scored 102 goals in 168 appearances since his debut in 2003.
The USMNT defeated Panama 6-2 in Austria on Monday with braces from Nicholas Gioacchini (age 20) and Sebastian Soto (20) complimented by strikes from Giovanni Reyna (18) and Sebastian Lletget.
Beating Panama isn’t the be-all and end-all in international football — unless you’re England, then you’re winning the 2018 World Cup — but it's the perfect barometer for how this USMNT (fielding its second-youngest starting lineup of all time) will handle itself come next summer’s CONCACAF Octagonal.
Riyad Mahrez scored an absolute stunner in Algeria’s 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe to ensure his country’s qualification for the African Cup of Nations on Monday. The Mahrez goal vs Zimbabwe even has some people daring to utter the word “Puskás.”
This goal might not be the best of 2020, but you won’t see a better goal scored this week.
With Algeria leading 1-0 midway through the first half, the Desert Foxes only needed one long ball to their star player to spring the counterattack. The rest, and one Zimbabwe defender’s ankles, is history.
Early goals by Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens earned Belgium a comfortable 2-0 victory over England as they strengthened their grip on top spot in Nations League Group A2 in Leuven on Sunday.
England needed a win to put themselves back in the frame for a place in the Nations League finals, but Gareth Southgate's side found themselves chasing the game after Tielemans put the hosts in front after 10 minutes.
Así entraba el primero para Bélgica
To Group C4 of the UEFA Nations League we go for a meeting between promotion hopeful Albania and relegation candidate Kazakhstan.
Sokol Cikalleshi opened the scoring in the 16th minute for Albania before Ardian Ismajli doubled the advantage in the 23rd, but Kazakhstan’s response was literally immediate. Straight from the ensuing kickoff, Aybol Abiken pulled one back with a spectacular effort that left Etrit Berisha — a 31-year-old veteran with 59 caps who’s played for Lazio, Atalanta and now SPAL — flailing between the posts.
Netherlands captain Georginio Wijnaldum scored two early goals to set them on their way to a 3-1 victory over Bosnia in their Nations League clash on Sunday, a first win for the Dutch under new coach Frank de Boer.
Wijnaldum, who has taken over as Dutch skipper from injured Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk, opened the scoring after six minutes and put the home side 2-0 up in the 13th at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Senegal became the first country to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals after a late goal from Sadio Mané secured a 1-0 victory away at Guinea Bissau on Sunday.
Mané, who also scored last Wednesday when Senegal beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 at home, netted with eight minutes remaining to ensure they maintained their 100 percent record in Group I where they are guaranteed a top-two finish and therefore a place at the finals in Cameroon in January 2022.
Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Senegal
It took 85 minutes of play that left very little to the imagination, but Sunday’s FA WSL clash between Arsenal and Chelsea roared into life at the death as Beth Mead’s potential winner was cancelled out by Lotte Wubben-Moy’s 90th-minute own goal.
Sam Kerr still had the opportunity to win it for Chelsea in stoppage time, but her lob drifted wide to spare Arsenal keeper Manuela Zinsberger any further embarrassment.
North Macedonia qualified for Euro 2020, the first-ever major tournament in the team's 27-year history, when a second-half goal from 37-year-old forward Goran Pandev gave them a 1-0 win away to Georgia in their playoff on Thursday.