RECIFE, Brazil — Brazil striker Neymar complained on Thursday that he is not given the respect he deserves, after Brazil beat Peru 2-0 for their eighth consecutive 2022 World Cup qualifying win.
Neymar had a goal and an assist but was criticised by fans and commentators for getting involved in scuffles and not reproducing the scintillating form that has made him one of the top players of his generation.
By scoring Argentina’s opener against Bolivia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday night and then adding a second and third, Lionel Messi moved ahead of Pelé in terms of most international goals amongst South American footballers with 79.
Whew. That was a close one. Facing the prospect of two points from its opening three World Cup qualifiers, the USMNT rallied for a big 4-1 win on Wednesday night in Honduras, salvaging a decent showing over the September international window. It wasn’t great, but the Americans avoided disaster, which makes our USMNT player ratings (and coach rating) all the spicier.
The Panama World Cup qualifying campaign is smooth sailing after the first three games. This is the exact opposite of what we predicted here at The18.
In our Concacaf World Cup qualifying predictions, six out of seven people predicted the Panamanians to finish dead last in the group of eight teams. Only one person had Panama finishing higher than eighth. That individual had the Central American country finishing seventh.
The USMNT played one of its worst opening 45 minutes in the modern era on Wednesday night in Honduras, and then followed that up with one of the greatest second halfs we've ever seen. Both were largely down to the choices of Gregg Berhalter, and while we should ultimately value and treasure the second 45, we shouldn't immediately forget about the first half.
Panic meters were reaching Cuova levels on Wednesday night in San Pedro Sula. The U.S. trailed Honduras at halftime and it looked like the Americans were headed toward a dismal two points from their first three World Cup qualifiers. Gregg Berhalter made three halftime changes, somewhat surprisingly leaving on qualifying novices Ricardo Pepi and James Sands.
Ricardo Pepi repaid the faith.
Whisper it — anything more than a whisper and it might vanish — but Canada is on course for the 2022 World Cup (after three games).
The 1-1 draw with the United States in Nashville must’ve stirred something in the Canucks’ plums, because they came out like a side possessed on Wednesday night at BMO Field. Frankly, some of Canada’s play against El Salvador in the opening 30 minutes was disturbingly good, and 38-year-old captain Atiba Hutchinson was at the heart of it all.
How much must this all mean to the man who collected his 88th cap tonight?
Premier League clubs could face sanctions from FIFA if they play South American players who were not released for international duty in this weekend's games.
Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are among clubs who did not release Brazilian players for the current international break due to them having to travel to "red list" countries and face a choice of not selecting those players this weekend or running the risk of sanctions.
Los partidos de clasificación para el Mundial de Qatar 2022 en Sudamérica se han visto sacudidos en las últimas horas por varios episodios que han catapultado los encuentros a los titulares del mundo.
Heading into Saturday’s football 5-a-side gold medal match at the Summer Paralympics, Brazil took the status of favorite as the gold medal winner at each of the last four tournaments.
South American rival Argentina, however, had claimed silver once and bronze twice over that period, and boasted Tokyo 2020’s leading scorer in Maximiliano Espinillo, who’d already recorded seven goals in four games.