National Teams

When Germany won the 2014 World Cup, there was little doubt Manuel Neuer was the best goalkeeper in the world. His impressive shot-stopping ability and unparalleled foot skills made him a unique weapon for Die Mannschaft. 

These days, however, Neuer looks to be a shadow of his former self.

Following a long injury layoff, Neuer couldn’t do anything to help Germany during the country’s worst-ever World Cup showing over the summer in Russia. 

Olimpicos — scoring directly from a corner kick — are a rare occurrence at the top level of football. Goalkeepers are usually too astute, too tall and too athletic to allow someone to score from a corner. But this Mo Salah Olimpico on Friday showed it’s not impossible. 

Michael Bradley returned to the U.S. national team one year and one day from the worst day in U.S. men’s soccer history. He returned just in time to guide his team to a 4-2 loss to Colombia on Thursday in Tampa, Florida, with the pro-Colombian crowd chanting “Olé!” with glee in the closing minutes after Colombia scored three goals in 23 minutes in the second half.

It’s hard not to like Kylian Mbappé.

Time magazine announced he would become the fourth footballer to grace its cover on Thursday and the feature story on the 19-year-old included this statement on giving his $500,000 World Cup bonus to charity.

“(It) does not change my life, but it changes theirs,” Mbappé said.

What’s not to love?

For Mexico, how things have played out in the past week of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship has been nothing short of a disaster.

Storms clouds seemed to loom for the team right from the start in its opening Group A match against the U.S. No one really expected the Mexicans to beat the Americans, but they were certainly supposed to give them a game. They couldn’t do that.

The USWNT completed its demolition of Group A with a convincing 7-0 win over the women Soca Warriors at Sahlen Stadium in Cary, North Carolina last night. Head coach Jill Ellis decided to return to her preferred line up — the starting XI she went with for the opening 6-0 win against Mexico — for the team’s final group game.