The almighty FIFA overlords who control the rankings that decide which countries are the best at soccer have spoken. The latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday say that the USA is better than Germany, Brazil is still the best in the world and a whole bunch of other nonsense.
The USA is officially the 13th best nation in the world according to FIFA.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is only seven months away from kicking off. For the first time in history the tournament is expanding to 32 teams meaning the format will be identical to the men’s most recent edition.
Exciting, right? Not if you checked the comment sections and a plethora of posts on social media.
There’s a huge amount of despise and hatred toward the women’s game on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Here’s the thing I don’t understand: why?
For nearly 80 minutes it looked like the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final was going to be pretty straightforward. Lionel Messi and Argentina had dominated France and taken a 2-0 advantage, but Kylian Mbappé turned the game on its head over the final 10 minutes to force a thrilling extra-time period before a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.
In the end, it was undeniably the greatest World Cup final in the event's history. Argentina had played some thoroughly enjoyable football with 10 shots on target, but France made them suffer to earn a first title 1986.
There's been some drama surrounding the USMNT since the end of the World Cup with Gregg Berhalter serving as lightning rod, but maybe it's time to step back and count our blessings on the things that truly matter when it comes to playing great soccer: having great players.
With over one billion people tuning in around the globe, Sunday's World Cup final represents the grandest stage in all of sports. For the players, it's a chance to touch immortality by joining the pantheon of winners.
Many on France's team already tasted glory in 2018, but now they're focused on becoming the first nation to successfully defend its crown since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
The stage is set. The 2022 FIFA World Cup Final will be a clash of titans — Lionel Messi and Argentina battling Kylian Mbappé and France with both nations going for a third title. Only Brazil (five), Germany and Italy (both four) have won it more.
France, the defending world champions, have a lethal mixture of know-how and individual brilliance, but Argentina, South American champs, have Messi and a supporting cast ready to run through walls for their beloved captain.
Tuesday's FIFA World Cup Tonight show put Clint Dempsey, Stu Holden, Maurice Edu and Chad Ochocinco Johnson on the spot by asking if Gregg Berhalter should be USMNT manager at the 2026 World Cup.
Berhalter's contract is over at the end of the year, but negotiations on an extension have begun between U.S. Soccer and the 49-year-old after the team reached the Round of 16 in Qatar.
Argentina and the Netherlands delighted the globe with one of the greatest World Cup quarterfinals of all time on Friday. Argentina took a 2-0 lead with Lionel Messi providing an outrageous assist before converting from the penalty spot and that advantage remained until the 83rd minute.
When the Netherlands ceded possession to the United States in the World Cup Round of 16, it was a departure from football history but a masterstroke from the Dutch: they knew the U.S. wouldn't have the quality to find that final pass in the attacking third and that they'd slice the Americans apart going the other direction.
A similar approach could be seen by the Netherlands at the start of its quarterfinal match against Argentina. Playing in a 3-4-1-2, the Dutch packed the middle of the park and said there's no way you're finding joy centrally.
After two days of really not knowing what to do with ourselves, the World Cup finally returns Friday with the start of the quarterfinals. At this point, the bracket doesn't lie — the eight remaining teams all fully deserve their places, and we've got a nice variety with five European nations, two South American and one African.
Action begins Friday at 10 a.m. ET with Croatia vs. Brazil and continues at 2 p.m. ET with Netherlands vs. Argentina. Saturday features Morocco vs. Portugal at 10 a.m. and England vs. France at 2 p.m.
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