Vladimir Putin and the insufferable Robbie Williams officially opened the summer's biggest soccer tournament in Russia. Fortunately, it’s not too late for you to kick off your own daily tournament with DraftKings’ Fantasy Soccer Cup, which will go through July 15, offering up thousands of dollars in prizes every day.
Brazil's five World Cup titles are most all time, and it's no coincidence that it has produced some of the best soccer players to ever play 'jogo bonito,' the beautiful game. Pele is a consensus No. 1 on the list of the greatest Brazlian players, but where do Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and 26-year-old Neymar rank?
Every four years the World Cup offers a variety of attractions, including mind-blowing passes, dribbles, blocks and spectacular goals followed by unique signature player celebrations, zealous impassioned fans, celebrity-watching and … HAIR!
Heading into the tournament in Russia, we always knew we’d get a nice mixture of both godawful dives and crunching, I-put-the-country-on-my-back tackles. The super slow mo doesn’t do the sport any favors (everything looks like an overreaction when you slow things down to a million frames per second), but we’ve definitely seen some gloriously physical play mixed with some heinous play acting.
Here’s a selection of our favorite dives and crunches from the opening matches at the 2018 World Cup.
This Father's Day, we celebrate the World Cup's most celebrated dads. Here are the fathers of the World Cup!
After Messi, Thiago & Mateo are best. The have Messi's DNA. No debate. pic.twitter.com/AQwGAmLkSj
— Leo (@LeoKawsar10) June 9, 2018
The pride experienced by the team and the masses of a country for making it to the greatest sporting event in the world is never more on display than during the World Cup national anthems before a match.
The playing of the national anthem is incredibly potent. Hearing the hymn has been a surefire trigger for waterworks on the pitch. It turns strangers into friends as fans croon in unison.
Every four years World Cup viewers wonder why the hell England is called the Three Lions or why French fans dress up as Smurfs. The answer: World Cup nicknames.
If you like your dramas with a bit of continuity — and you haven’t watched a soccer match since the 2014 World Cup — you needn’t worry, the 2018 World Cup has got a better story arc than Anna Karenina. Here are 10 narratives that dominated the 2014 tournament that still apply in 2018.
#1. 2018 Costa Rica is 2014 Costa Rica.
Who is the greatest soccer player of all time? A question as difficult to answer as who is the greatest president, scientist, inventor, composer, actor, writer, poet, painter, musician or comedian, a near impossibility to narrow it down to just one human being amongst that elite few that we recognize as not just “great,” but “the greatest.”