Amazing Goals

The stars of the 2019 Women’s World Cup are returning to the NWSL and if Friday night was any evidence, they’re ready to keep people talking about women’s soccer beyond just once every four years.

All four goals in a 2-2 draw between the Utah Royals FC and Portland Thorns FC were scored by Women’s World Cup stars on Friday night in Sandy, Utah, yet the best performance of them all came from a USWNT player who didn’t even make it onto the pitch en route to the Americans’ fourth World Cup title.

In another fiery edition of “El Trafico,” Zlatan Ibrahimović played spoiler again by netting a perfect hat trick in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles FC, which has yet to beat its crosstown rival in four meetings now.

Ibrahimović told ESPN on Thursday that he was a superior player to LAFC’s Carlos Vela despite the latter’s impressive start to the season. He backed it up with Friday’s performance.

It was a day of high drama at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Semifinal action began with an extra time encounter between Senegal and Tunisia — decided by a calamitous own goal — and it continued through the evening with an Algeria-Nigeria clash that was settled at the final second of regular time.

It’s been just over eight years since Giovani dos Santos scored one of the greatest goals in Gold Cup history, putting the finishing touches on a 4-2 Mexico victory over the USMNT during the 2011 final. Fast forward to the present day and it’s his younger brother, Jonathan, who’s cemented El Tri’s continental dominance.

The USWNT made history today by becoming repeat champions of the Women's World Cup following a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. For all the talk of a closing divide between the Americans and their European counterparts, this one wasn’t even close. It took an hour for the U.S. to find its opener, but the final score could’ve easily been five or six to zero.

Brazil secured passage to the 2019 Copa América Final in Rio de Janeiro with a 2-0 victory over Argentina on Tuesday, marking another low point in the calamitous international career of Lionel Messi.

To be fair to Messi and his compatriots, Brazil was the massive favorite in this one, and the squad features a defense that’s now gone 450 minutes without conceding a goal. In attack, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus and the ageless Dani Alves put on a show, mastering a La Albiceleste side that played its best game of the tournament.

Vissel Kobe defeated Nagoya 5-3 in J1 League play on Sunday thanks to braces from Spanish legends Andrés Iniesta, age 35, and David Villa, 37. Villa opened the scoring with a fine solo goal, and then Iniesta restored Vissel Kobe’s advantage with this sensational long-range effort.