I wasn’t at today’s Eredivisie match between Feyenoord and Utrecht at De Kuip (my boss won’t send me to Rotterdam), but I have a pretty good idea of how this scene between the home side’s Steven Berghuis and Utrecht captain Willem Janssen played out. It’s the ultimate enactment of the Sunday Scaries.
Neymar’s return to the Seleção for a pair of September friendlies against the USMNT and El Salvador brought forth the requisite questions concerning his World Cup antics, and the Paris Saint-Germain star was measured in his response to being labelled a diver before meeting the U.S. in New Jersey on Friday.
It’s been a rough start for new boss Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham in the Premier League, where the club has opened the new campaign with three consecutive defeats, but the Hammers took a positive step forward by beating League One side AFC Wimbledon in the second round of the EFL Cup Tuesday.
A weekend of petulance, playacting and red cards in Liga MX sent Tigres manager Tuca Ferretti over the edge, a reaction that was largely triggered after Guido Pizarro was given a straight red card in the 23rd minute for a fairly innocuous piece of contact with Toluca’s Luis Mendoza.
I don’t know about you, but we like our United Soccer League action rowdy. We like the Las Vegas Lights, bangers from Efrain Alvarez and the plethora of ridiculous goals that were overlooked because the World Cup was going on.
For better and for worse, Vinícius Júnior is already looking an awful lot like Cristiano Ronaldo, the man he’s ostensibly at Real Madrid to replace. From impressive Vinícius Júnior skill to enraging flops against Manchester United on Tuesday night, the 18-year-old Brazilian appears to have everything it takes to fill the giant void on Los Blancos’ left wing.
Why soccer players flop. It’s a question that arises every World Cup, every club campaign, every Champions League season. It’s a debate that will rage on until VAR is universal. As we’ll explain, the reason why soccer players flop comes down to one simple factor — but we have three ways to stop the flop.
Flopping, or simulation in official FIFA terminology, is the process of embellishing a foul or pretending to be fouled when none was committed in an attempt to deceive the referee. A referee who spots simulation can punish the offender with a yellow card.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Final opened with Croatia’s high press and positive play causing all sorts of problems for France. The opening 15 minutes was dominated by the perceived underdogs, and that pressure was only relieved when Antoine Griezmann won a foul in a dangerous area just outside Croatia’s box.
In realtime, the Atletico Madrid striker appeared to get bowled over. Referee Nestor Pitana whistled for a free kick but replays revealed that it had been an expert piece of simulation from Griezmann — it was a dive, plain and simple.
During France’s 1-0 win over Belgium yesterday, there was a heinous moment in the 92nd minute when Kylian Mbappe attempted to retain possession near Belgium’s corner flag, only to dribble out of bounds. Instead of allowing Toby Alderweireld to take the throw, the 19-year-old attempted a comically horrendous behind the back pass that landed on the pitch.