FIFA Men's World Cup

Everything You Need To Know Heading Into This Weekend’s Intense Final Round Of World Cup Qualifiers

Perhaps more than any other weekend every four years, this upcoming (extended) weekend from Thursday to Tuesday defines a nation’s success on the world football stage. Playoffs aside, this is the final week of World Cup qualifiers, and it’s going to be absolutely bonkers.

There is so much at stake for so many countries from traditional powers (Argentina, Netherlands) to the incredible underdogs (Syria, Iceland) and everyone in between. Only a handful of teams have already qualified and an incredible amount are still in the running. 

Germany Casually Beats Northern Ireland 3-1 To Clinch World Cup Qualification

With Germany needing just a point from its match against Northern Ireland in Belfast, it was never really a question of if, but when. The answer was less than two minutes into the match. Sebastian Rudy hit a stunning long-range strike less than 80 seconds into the game and a relaxed Germany coasted to a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland to book its spot in next summer’s World Cup on Thursday. 

With Big Names Firing Blanks, Dario Benedetto Could Be Argentina’s World Cup Savior

Tomorrow night, Argentina host Peru at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires knowing that victory will send them above the visitors and into CONMEBOL’s automatic qualifying places before their final match away to Ecuador on Tuesday. All eyes will be on Lionel Messi and the ever-improving Paulo Dybala as La Albiceleste attempt to safely navigate an unfathomable disaster, but Argentina’s entire World Cup qualifying campaign shows that nothing will go according to script.

28 Years Later, The U.S. Is In A Familiar Position Needing A Result At Trinidad And Tobago To Reach The World Cup

The United States has qualified for every World Cup since 1990. Only once in that span did the Americans need a result on the final day of qualifying. That came in 1989 when the U.S. traveled to Trinidad and Tobago needing nothing less than a win to procure a trip to the 1990 World Cup. The USMNT again travels to Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10 needing a result to extend its streak to eight straight World Cup appearances.

Bruce Arena Names 26-Man Squad Charged With Saving Our Summer

October 6 and 10 could very well define our 2018 without having even celebrated the turning of the new year. Matches against Panama in Orlando and Trinidad & Tobago in Couva will decide the USMNT’s fate with regards to the world’s biggest sporting event. For those that like to measure the time between their birth and death with the probabilities of how many more World Cups they’ll be able to enjoy, failure to take anything less than four points could prove catastrophic.

The Just-Released U.S. U-17 World Cup Roster Is Actually Pretty Awesome

The U.S. U-17 World Cup Roster was released Thursday and it is loaded with talent, starting with forwards Tim Weah and Josh Sargent. The roster includes four players who are already playing abroad, not including Sargent, who signed with Werder Bremen on Wednesday. 

Manuel Neuer Ruled Out Until January With Foot Injury

Bayern Munich will be without the best goalkeeper in the world until at least January 2018 after Manuel Neuer underwent surgery for a broken foot earlier this week.

U.S. Will Try To Qualify For The World Cup In A 10,000-Seat Stadium

The final match in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s quest for a World Cup berth will be played in a 10,000-seat stadium. Trinidad & Tobago announced Friday it would host the Americans at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva instead of the nation’s normal ground in Port of Spain. The match will be played Oct. 10. 

FIFA Gives Added Meaning To Meaningless FIFA Rankings

Those mostly meaningless FIFA rankings will become more meaningful than ever at next summer’s World Cup. FIFA announced Thursday the 2018 World Cup draw will seed teams into four pots based on FIFA rankings at the end of October.

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