Central & South America

*David Attenborough voice*

"These young males tend to hunt in packs, due to their immaturity. Their small statures and quicckness would make them ideal for sneaking up on prey, if only they weren't so brightly colored. 

Their bright colors serve to attract potential mates, but also attract the scorn of older males. The older males want the young ones to stop bothering them, as the older ones are in the midst of a fierce competition to decide which group is the alfa. These types of competitions can become very heated, but the young ones, it seems, just want to play.

James Rodriguez led his Colombia squad through an epic keepy-uppy bin challenge ahead of their World Cup qualifying clash against Argentina on Tuesday. If you haven't seen one of these challenge videos before, it's a pretty simple concept. 

A group of players move the ball in an orderly fashion, never letting it touch the ground, using only their heads. After everyone in the rotation has headed the ball, the final player must head the ball into an empty waste bin.

It’s not surprising that Neymar was a standout soccer player his entire life. It’s expected. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. That doesn’t just happen overnight. That, however, doesn’t make it any less impressive to see Neymar playing in Brazil age of 14, running around with professionals, including the likes of Robinho and Romario, and fitting in. Sure, the video below is of a charity match, and because of that I can guarantee none of the professional footballers in it are trying hard, but Neymar’s skill is still evident. 

Radamel Falcao is not one of the elite scorers in world soccer anymore. In less than two years, he went from being one of the most feared strikers to, when healthy, just another scrub on the Manchester United and Chelsea benches.

For several months, Falcao has exhibited a low level of football and an impressive goal drought, a far cry from the player who scored 70 goals in 91 games with Atletico Madrid between 2011 and 2013.

Angel Correa was born in on March 9, 1995 in Rosario, Argentina (the same hometown as Lionel Messi). Growing up in a neighborhood riddled with poverty and violence, Correa began his soccer development at age six at local youth clubs Club 6 de Mayo, Alianza Sport, and Tiro. Six years later, Correa was noticed by first-division professional club San Lorenzo in the city of Almagro, where he moved and resided full-time.

HOOOOOOOOOO-K. What the hell have I just witnessed? The YouTube title told me that Cesar Martinez of the Venezuelan side Zamora was going to make the ball levitate, and I guess I don’t know what I was expecting, because I wasn’t expecting to watch him actually make the ball levitate. When did soccer become another edition of David Blain Street Magic? The only magic I’m supposed to see on the pitch is done with feet and is easily discernible in slow motion. This magic celebration, it’s something else entirely. 

We miss Ronaldinho. 

We miss watching him run and pass and dribble and shoot. We miss watching him make defenders look silly, all the while with the silliest of smiles on his face. 

We miss the fun, the joy, the hijinks and the incredible moments of magic he produced when playing the beautiful game. 

Shocking is a good word to describe how the World Cup qualifiers in South America started. From historic victories to close calls, here are the biggest winners and losers in South America during the first round of qualifying games for Russia 2018.

Winners:

Ecuador

Happy for this result. We neep to keep united to get more victories for our country. Thank you all. See you pic.twitter.com/JltCNhxO3o

South American national teams started World Cup this international break with several of the leading South American players ineligible through either suspension or injury.

Obviously the most-missed is Lionel Messi, who injured his left knee in La Liga and will almost certainly will not play in any of the remaining qualifiers for Argentina in 2015. Messi has scored 49 goals in 105 games for his country.

Kaka is two goals away from becoming Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers, but his toughest obstacle will not be Venezuela.

In order to surpass Zico and Romario, both with 11 goals, the Orlando City player will have to persuade Brazil coach Dunga into letting him play.

The Brazilian manager called up Kaka to replace Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, who got injured before he could make his debut in World Cup qualifiers. The other main absence in Brazil’s squad is the team’s star, Neymar.