FIFA has narrowed down the best goal of 2021 — or the Puskás award as it’s commonly known as — to three finalists. The 2021 Puskás award will be won by one of the following three players.
American fans are dying to see the USMNT January roster that will take on El Salvador, Canada and Honduras in the crucial upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The fixation on the roster is so intense that fans brushed aside defender Aaron Long’s marriage.
Roster out?
— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) January 6, 2022
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations begins Sunday, Jan. 9, with 24 nations vying for the continental championship. Before a ball is even kicked, we can tell you one area in which AFCON is going to better than last summer's Gold Cup, Copa América and European Championship tournaments: the jerseys.
With 17 different brands on show, there are some real classics from heavy hitters like PUMA and Nike but also some gems from Ireland's Masita, France's Airness and Italy's Macron.
In 2021 and soon-to-be 2022, it’s officially cool to believe in the USMNT again.
The two years after the disaster in Couva against Trinidad and Tobago was a gray, murky time period with nothing to show for it. In 2019 the Americans lost both games against foe Mexico, including the Gold Cup final. Several months later Canada defeated the U.S. in Concacaf Nations League play and it felt like everything was falling apart for this team.
On Jan. 26, 2022, Amazon Prime Video Sport releases Simeone: Living Match by Match, a six-episode look at the "life, work and miracles" of Atlético Madrid manager Diego "El Cholo" Simeone.
The title derives from a famous bit of "Cholismo" (the idea behind Atlético success since Simeone's arrival) that the manager uttered over and over again during his side's run to the 2020-21 LaLiga title: "Partido a partido" (one match at a time or "game by game").
The annual All Japan High School Soccer Tournament is a big deal. It's like, well, you don't really need a metaphor, do you? It's not that hard to imagine another country also enjoying youth sports. It attracts large viewership at the stadiums and on television, and I have a sneaking suspicion that among those watching are all the set-piece coaches at Europe's major clubs.
A controversial Harry Kane VAR decision in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Southampton on Tuesday has social media bickering. Kane thought he had scored Spurs’ go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute but was denied after a razor-thin offside call from the video official.
You’re the video referee and you’ve been notified to review the play. The center referee awaits your decision on if the goal should stand or not.
What do you say?
The emergence of 17-year-old Pablo Páez Gavi for both Barcelona and Spain during the 2021-22 season has been criminally under-appreciated in the English-speaking world. It's a serious offense because just putting the La Masia product through the 90-minute eye test is enough to reveal a footballer of supreme talent, which is exceptionally rare when considering all the nuance and subtlety that comes with the midfield position.
It's been four days since Mario Balotelli last graced our pages after kicking a teammate in the head during a goal celebration. That's always one side to the 31-year-old striker's game, but the other is scoring outrageous goals.
The FIFA rankings are nonsensical 75% of the time and only truly matter for seeding of group stages at the World Cup. Three out of every four years these rankings mean squat, but in 2022 they matter a whole lot. The top seven teams and host get the most favorable seeds during the World Cup draw. FIFA has released the December rankings and the USMNT sits at its highest ranking to end a calendar year since 2005.
The U.S. is ranked No. 11. One spot above Germany.