Inspiring

HONG KONG - With crucial goals in each of Japan's three group games, Takefusa Kubo is delivering on his potential, as the Olympic Games hosts step up their chase for a place on the podium for the first time in over half a century.

Just as he had done in group phase wins over South Africa and Mexico, the 20-year-old opened the scoring for Japan in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over France to set up a quarterfinal meeting with New Zealand on Saturday.

Takefusa Kubo Goal Vs. France 

Back in early May, ESPN announced that it had acquired English and Spanish-language rights for LaLiga on an eight-year deal, meaning that Spain’s top division was moving from the notoriously lacking beIN SPORTS to having every match available live on the ESPN+ streaming service.

Raúl Ruidíaz scored one of the goals of his life against Austin FC on Thursday with an absolute missile from near midfield. Ruidíaz saw Austin’s goalkeeper off his line and made him pay for it with a sumptuous strike. This is one of the best MLS goals of the season.

RUIDIAZ FROM WAAAAAAY DOWNTOWN #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/BbZykUpvet

Football Manager (and its yearly iterations) is a soccer video game focused on the minutiae of managing a club more so than a game focused on playing the actual sport. Perhaps a few years late, the popular series finally announced it will be adding women’s players, which could have rippling effects in other soccer video games like FIFA and PES/eFootball.

BUENOS AIRES — Hernán Mastrángelo, a 100-year-old grandfather in Argentina, has gone viral after it emerged that for years he had been taking handwritten notes of almost every goal scored by local hero and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Mastrángelo, a chocolate maker by profession, made it his hobby to keep track of each of Messi's goals, an achievement his grandson Julián has announced on social media, catching people's imagination including the striker himself.

At the age of 22, Racheal Nachula was representing Zambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women’s 400 meters after winning bronze at the African Championships. She did her country proud in Beijing, qualifying for the semifinal round after running a hugely impressive 50.62.

Three Olympics and 13 years later, now age 35, Nachula is back, but in an entirely different discipline — soccer.

Every four years, some of soccer’s greatest athletes entertain fans on the world’s biggest stage. This year the National Peanut Board and The18 are teaming up to raise America’s favorite sandwich, the PB&J, to our favorite things about the Games. 

Here are five things we can’t wait to experience this summer as the tournament kicks off in Japan. 

5. Seeing Young Soccer Players On The World’s Biggest Stage