FIFA Men's World Cup

Norway’s dream of securing World Cup qualification for the first time since 1998 took a massive step forward Monday after the Løvene recorded a 2-0 victory over Montenegro despite the absence of injured Ballon d’Or finalist Erling Haaland.

With the win, Norway gave itself a chance of actually overtaking the Netherlands and earning automatic qualification with two games to play, but a second-place finish and a spot in the playoffs can almost be guaranteed next time out against Latvia on Nov. 13.   

Few left feet in the history of the game have been as magical as Lionel Messi’s. But the Messi goal vs Uruguay on Sunday night was something uniquely supernatural. It was as if the Argentine put some sort of forcefield around the ball as he sent it toward goal.

Messi’s strike in the 38th minute sent Argentina on its way to a 3-0 win over Uruguay in World Cup qualifying, maintaining a comfortable second place in the CONMEBOL table behind Brazil. La Celeste barely remain in the top four guaranteed World Cup positions with seven matches left to play. 

The “Berhalter Out” group of USMNT fans had a field day Sunday night watching the U.S. fall to Panama 1-0 at the Estadio Rommel Fernández. The performance from Gregg Berhalter’s team was one of the most uninspiring from an American side since four years ago to the day when the Americans lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1. 

The USMNT failed to register a single shot on target as Panama got its first ever victory against the U.S. during World Cup qualifying. The five total shots from the U.S. was lowest number in the team's last 28 World Cup qualifiers.

In an interview with DAZN fans learned that the date of a Neymar international retirement could come much sooner than anticipated. Neymar said that he expects the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be his curtain call with Brazil’s national team. It's not for certain if he will continue to play anymore international soccer after 2022. What is for certain in his mind is that he won't be playing in the 2026 North America World Cup.

“I don’t know if I have the strength of mind to deal with football anymore,” Neymar said.

UEFA Group B in FIFA World Cup qualifying continues to deliver after both Sweden and Greece secured victories on Saturday to put pressure on leader Spain with only three matchdays remaining.

Alphonso Davies is still a few weeks shy of his 21st birthday, but the he’s already a full-grown footballer on the pitch. A star in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich, he’s quickly become the most important player on Canada’s men’s national team. On Thursday, during his first trip to the famed Azteca Stadium, he set a Canadian record, becoming the team’s all-time assists leader in just his 26th cap.

On the 20th anniversary of beating Jamaica to clinch a spot at the 2002 World Cup, the USMNT comfortably beat Jamaica 2-0 in a 2022 World Cup qualifier on Wednesday. It was the first time the USMNT had ever played a World Cup qualifier in Texas, and it was one to remember for striker Ricardo Pepi, who netted both goals in his home state. It was Pepi who topped our USMNT player ratings vs. Jamaica. 

HONG KONG - Son Heung-min struck with less than two minutes remaining to earn South Korea a dramatic 2-1 win over Syria in Ansan on Thursday as Paulo Bento's side maintained their unbeaten start in Group A in the final phase of Asia's World Cup preliminaries.

Son swept the ball home from close range in the 89th minute, five minutes after Omar Khribin looked to have secured a share of the points for the Syrians in a game dominated by the hosts.

For the first time ever, Portugal has captured the Futsal World Cup. Pany Varela scored both of Portugal’s goals in a 2-1 victory over previous world champion Argentina, and the South American side was left crushed after the frame of the goal denied a last-second shot that would’ve sent the match to extra time.

I heard once, I can’t remember from where, that the greatest measure of your time remaining on this planet was in how many more World Cups you could reasonably expect to witness before death. Instead of saying “I am 30,” you could say “I hope to see 12 more World Cups.”

That struck me as a reasonable philosophy. 

Birthdays start to come and go with an increasing desire to make less of what starts to seem like a doomsday countdown, but the World Cup — with its quadrennial rarity — stands out as a month-long celebration of the best of our outward reality.