Spain

Celta Vigo sits third in LaLiga after three games on the back of a commanding 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Balaidos on Saturday. The ability of Celta’s backline to completely nullify the threat posed by Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa (Atletico didn’t land a shot on target throughout the entire match) saw its defenders marked out for individual praise, especially 27-year-old Mexico international Nestor Araujo.

Barcelona moved to the top of the LaLiga table on goal difference Sunday after hammering newly promoted Huesca 8-2 at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi registered two goals and two assists, Luis Suarez added a brace and an assist, Jordi Alba had a goal and an assist and Ivan Rakitic did the same to power the Blaugrana to the top of the table. An Ousmane Dembele strike and a Jorge Pulido own goal rounded off the eight Barcelona tallies. 

18-year-old Brazilian wunderkind Vinícius Júnior appeared in his second match for Real Madrid Castilla (Real’s reserve team) against Atletico Madrid B today. The Madrid Derby in Segunda División B (Spain’s third division) ended in a 2-2 draw with Vinícius Jr at the center of everything for Real, scoring a brace while also getting his head munched on by Atletico captain Alberto Rodriguez.

It’s been something of a rough summer for Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with regards to getting chummy with his shot-stopping peers. Back on June 29, Belgium defeated England 1-0 thanks to a marvelously taken goal by Adnan Januzaj. A weird spat then commenced between Courtois and England No.

We’re only two matches into the LaLiga season and Real Madrid’s only registered wins against the sides that finished in eighth and 10th last year, but the unprovable, platitudinous cliches are already being thrown at Real: “This side plays better as a team without Cristiano Ronaldo!” and “Gareth Bale is emerging from Ronaldo’s shadow!”  

Japan won the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with a 3-1 rout of Spain on Friday in France, avenging an earlier loss in impressive fashion. Japan scored the game’s first three goals, including a scorcher from Hinata Miyazawa in the first half. 

Spain defeated Japan 1-0 in Group C play, the Spanish ladies taking first place in a group of death that also included the United States. The two met again in Vannes, France, with the tournament on the line.

In the final of the U-20 Women's World Cup, Japan showed it was the best in the world in this age group.

Alright, so the J League is not exactly the EPL or LaLiga, but make no mistake, Japan’s top league has some big names and brilliant football that you are going to want to keep your eye on every now and then.

When, or if, Cristian Ganea makes his debut for Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga, he will also make history.

Indeed, the left back born in Bistrita, Romania, could become one of just a handful of non-Basque players to ever pull on the club’s iconic red-and-white striped kit. That’s because, unofficially anyway, the Bilbao-based side has had a policy of only signing players of Basque origin since the early years of the 20th century.