The United States team provided fans with excitement throughout their World Cup campaign. The excitement built around this year's USMNT World Cup campaign was something that our nation has never seen. While the the success of getting out of the "Group of Death" is still fresh, it is now time to take the next step and expectations will be extremely high for the 2018 team. Here are some players fans should look out for in the 2018 World Cup cycle.
FIFA released the official logo and posters of the host cities for the 2018 World Cup on their website the other day. Their are 12 venues in 11 host cities with nine new venues being built. Below are the posters along with official previews and info provided by FIFA for each host city. Enjoy the little history lesson for each of these Russian cities.
Moscow- Luzhniki Stadium (upgraded) and Spartak Stadium (New)
The 2014 World Cup exploded with the second most goals per game in the group stage in World Cup history. The knockout stage slowed down (aside from Germany's beat down on Brazil) but the 2014 World Cup still tied the 1998 record of 171 tournament goals. We here at the18 sifted through every one of the 171 goals of the World Cup and compiled a list of what we think are the best 10 from the tournament. What do you think was the best goal of the tournament? Let us know!
Honorable Mentions:
By this time, unless you’re a Germany fan, you have probably gotten over the fact that your nation didn’t win the World Cup. But to put an even better taste in your mouth following the World Cup, let's look at the funniest moments and bloopers from the tournament.
Making his first of two appearances in our World Cup funniest moments is Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella. Following a point blank crossbar shot by Gonzalo Higuain against Belgium in the quarterfinals. His reaction was priceless.
After the World Cup final BBC and ESPN both came out with a montage summarizing the full World Cup. They were both great videos and imitated the "One Shining Moment" video that we are all used to watching after March Madness. This truly was one of the most amazing World Cups ever!
ESPN:
BBC:
World Cups aren't won on a whim, especially not by Germans. They require a plan, a long-term vision. Unlike club football, where your favorite Russian Oligarch can acquire an expensive squad of galacticos at the drop of an oil barrel, successful national teams rely – broadly speaking – on homegrown talent, consistently nurtured in a style of play that serves both clubs and country. While Joachim Low has been Germany’s Head Coach for the last eight years, Sunday’s victory against Argentina was in no small part due to the foundations laid by Jurgen Klinsmann.
Soccer has always been known for its extravagant and choreographed celebrations. However, in a country where professional sport celebrations are slowly becoming extinct because of the numerous fines and penalties (thanks "other football" leagues) it is nice to see that World Cup players have not disappointed. Even though the most popular soccer celebration (the immediate stripping of the jersey by a player) has been cracked down upon through yellow cards, there still seems to be room for creativity.
Loneliness can take shape in many forms: in most cases, people think of it as an absence of people around you, but in certain situations, you can be alone in the middle of a crowd. For Sunday’s World Cup Final, I was about the only fan out of the hundreds present at Public Bar in Washington, D.C. that was rooting for Germany. My white Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany kit stood out like an eyesore in a sea of sky blue and white striped Argentina shirts.
For the next four years (at least), Germany will be the kings of soccer. It was a long time coming for Deutschland who finished 2nd in 2002 and had back-to-back third place finishes in the past two World Cups. They were the best team of the tournament and there really is no debating that.
This tournament - the best I’ve ever seen - has always circled around Lionel Messi for me.