National Teams

Spain and Switzerland advanced from two of the most exciting matches we’ve seen in years on Monday. Now both have to refocus on the quarterfinal with just three days of rest. The18’s Spain vs Switzerland prediction, preview and how-to-watch guide will have you ready to find out if the Swiss can pull off another memorable upset, or if Spain continues to grow into this tournament. 

For all of our Euro 2020 quarterfinal predictions, click here.

The Euro 2020 quarterfinal between Belgium and Italy on Friday is full of intrigue. Romelu Lukaku goes up against friends and foes from Serie A. The Italian defense is once again looking like an Italian defense, with Gianluigi Donnarumma taking the torch from Gianluigi Buffon. Thorgan Hazard has stepped out of the shadow of his older brother Eden. Italians are pushing for Jorginho to win the Ballon d’Or. And, of course, we have a coaching rematch from the 2013 FA Cup Final. All of these facets will weigh heavily on our Belgium vs Italy prediction and preview.

RIO DE JANEIRO — A Rio de Janeiro judge has given the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) 48 hours to explain why none of their players at the Copa America are wearing the No. 24 shirt, with the number often associated with homosexuals in the country.

Reigning champions Brazil have registered a full squad of players for the Copa America but unlike the other nine teams none were given the No. 24 shirt, according to the plaintiffs in the case, the LGBT rights group Rainbow Citizens.

The18’s renowned data scientist introduced the team to an API (application programming interface) that gave predictions for games in the European Championship. We naturally took that as a challenge to see if we could predict the outcomes of games better than the algorithm. We’ll show the results from the Round of 16 before sharing our Euro 2020 quarterfinal predictions.

Five of our staff, including Grant the data scientist, took the challenge to outsmart the algorithm. After eight games in the Round of 16, this is what the leaderboard looks like.

Nineteen MLS players made the 23-man roster for the U.S. men's national team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter's squad is seeking its seventh confederation championship and first since 2017.

Team USA confirmed its roster on Thursday.

A good mix of veterans and youth will represent the at this summer’s @GoldCup.

U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan leaves for the Tokyo Olympics in a week's time but says she is still unsure whether eased coronavirus restrictions for nursing mothers will allow her to bring her 1-year-old daughter with her.

Some athletes have complained that they are being forced to choose between the Games and their young children but organisers told Reuters on Wednesday "when necessary, nursing children will be able to accompany athletes to Japan".

The Round of 16 duel between Sweden and Ukraine finished with the underdogs Ukraine claiming a 2-1 victory. A disturbing Artem Besyedin injury in extra time put a major damper on the mood.

Swedish defender Marcus Danielson was rightfully shown a red card after VAR review for an extremely high and dangerous tackle on Besyedin.