The FIFA rankings are a strange sort of beast, like Dr. Seuss’s Foo-Foo the Snoo. They don’t have any bearing on reality, and usually distort it, but they’re frequently referenced and even used as the framework to seed international competitions.
The latest FIFA World Rankings came out today and saw no changes in the top five.
1. Argentina
2. Brazil
3. Germany
4. Chile
5. Belgium
Qatar, the small country on the Arabian Peninsula with a population less than that of Nevada, is spending almost half a billion dollars per week in preparation for the 2022 World Cup according to the country’s finance minister.
As reported by World Soccer’s Jamie Rainbow, this will amount to more than $200 billion by the time the tournament rolls around.
Following a blatant attack of racial abuse on Mario Balotelli during Nice’s match against Bastia last Friday, the Italian striker took to Instagram and said, “Is it normal that Bastia supporters make monkey noise [and] ‘uh uh’ for the whole game…?” Balotelli then criticized the French League’s disciplinary committee for failing to address the situation, summarizing the entire incident as “a real shame.”
China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once.
There are few things more satisfying in the FIFA series than taking your team of veritable nobodies and turning them into world-beaters in the FIFA 17 Career Mode. Similarly, there are few joys greater than finding the best young players and turning those undiscovered gems into champions. FIFA 17 is no exception to that rule, and so The18 is here to help with a list of the best young players to buy in your FIFA 17 career mode.
Just a few points before we begin:
Everyone, in lazy idleness, allows their mind to drift. You might start thinking about what a cat’s face might look like on the body of an elephant or if we had arms where our legs should be and legs for arms. The mind just wanders into strange territory.
If you have been on the Internet in the last few days you have almost certainly heard about the unverified dossier Buzzfeed published in President-elect Donald Trump's alleged relations with Russia.
What you might not know is the operative in charge of putting the dossier together, British former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, recently helped bring down a corrupt, delusional politician: Sepp Blatter.
From the New York Times:
Carli Lloyd had quite the year before adding another international award to her name. Early in 2016, Lloyd released her autobiography When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey To The Top Of The Soccer World. It was a book that reflected on her family falling-out as well as the struggles and sacrifices she encountered as she rose to the top.
One of the most beautiful things about soccer, particularly from an American perspective, is the absence of being bombarded by advertisements for a duration as long as the game itself. But when commercials are done right, they can become synonymous with the event and sometimes even more memorable.
Here are five commercials that made us laugh, marvel and feel inspired over the course of the last year.