Germany

For the first time ever, the gala for the Ballon d’Or will also include a presentation for the inaugural awarding of the Kopa Trophy — a prize given to the world's best under 21 player, so really just another Golden Boy because we really need more individual prizes in this sport, don’t we? 

Regardless, the 10 finalists for the prize include:

Paco Alcacer has had a pretty decent career for himself by the age of 25. He’s won a LaLiga title with Barcelona and scored more than 60 goals in Spain while earning a handful of call-ups to the Spanish national team.

But since joining Borussia Dortmund on loan this fall, Alcacer has caught fire. 

Paco Alcacer stats after Saturday’s crazy 4-3 win over Augsburg are absolutely insane — and the quality of some of his goals are equally ridiculous. 

Weston McKennie went more than 30 appearances without scoring a goal for Schalke. Now the 20-year-old American midfielder has two goals in as many games.

McKennie scored a dramatic late match winner against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday in Russia. It wasn’t quite the impact he was hoping to make in Russia in 2018, but it was a great moment for the Texan to score his first goal for the club he joined in 2016. 

Writing is a craft that must be honed over years of practice.

But sometimes a GIF just perfectly sums up everything you want to put on a page.

YESSS!!

THE GUY FROM TEXAS HAS DONE IT!! #LMFCS04 #SchalkeUS pic.twitter.com/MOuBLMarnq

Well, that was embarrassing. 

Stuttgart edged 10-man Werder Bremen 2-1 for its first win of the season on Saturday, but Die Roten nearly threw the three points away — quite literally.

With Stuttgart nursing a 1-0 lead with a man advantage after Milos Veljkovic was sent off in the first half, Borna Sosa threw the ball into the back of his own net. From a throw in. From about 30 yards out. 

What?

Bayern Munich suffered a surprise setback in a 1-1 draw with Augsburg on Tuesday. Then the German giants were handed their first loss of the season with a 2-0 defeat to Hertha Berlin on Friday. But all the Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich highlights were upstaged by one wild moment involving three players and center referee Marco Fritz.

A contest between Germany and Turkey for the right to host Euro 2024 was decided today, and it’s Deutschland that will welcome 24 teams in June and July for the 17th edition of the European Championship. 

Borussia Dortmund climbed to second in the Bundesliga table — just two points behind leader Bayern Munich following its surprising draw with Augsburg on Tuesday — after thumping Nurnberg 7-0 at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.

Since returning from a muscular injury, Christian Pulisic has been at his best for BVB, scoring in back-to-back matches before assisting on Dortmund’s first goal on Wednesday.

The American winger went on an impressive run before carving open Nurnberg’s backline with a sensational pass for Jacob Bruun Larsen’s opener.