Spain
Group E chaos is exactly why we love soccer
Unpredictability is inherent in soccer, and major international tournaments seem to always throw up a heaping of craziness. The gulf between reality and previous perceptions reminds anyone who claims to know soccer that they don’t, and if we were truly as smart as we claim to be, we’d stop trying to predict results. Just embrace the unpredictability and the chaos and enjoy these moments.
Germany blows golden last-minute opportunity to defeat Spain in shocking fashion
Germany still has a chance to advance out of the group stage, however it will be an uphill battle as the 2014 World Cup champions tied Spain 1-1 on Sunday. German fans will be disappointed not to come away the three points as their team botched several big chances.
In the final moments of the game Leroy Sané broke free toward Spain’s goal. In the middle he had Niclas Füllkrug as an option or he could shoot. Instead, he did this.
Leroy Sané Chance vs. Spain
This entire sequence was WILD
Spain scores 7, takes 82% possession and completes 1,043 passes to end Costa Rica
Tiki-taka (the lethal variety) is back. Spain was greatly helped by Costa Rica's decision to grant mobile brain-in-a-jar Sergio Busquets freedom of the park Wednesday, but to downplay La Furia Roja's 7-0 World Cup victory over Los Ticos is like throwing mashed potatoes at a Van Gogh.
This was always the danger for Old Man Costa Rica: 35-year-old Keylor Navas, 34-year-old Celso Borges and 33-year-old Óscar Duarte getting torn apart by 22-year-old Ferran Torres and Barcelona teenage prodigies Pedri and Gavi.
España hipnotiza a Costa Rica con más de 1.000 pases y le aplica un histórico 7-0
¡7-0! Sí, ¡7-0!
Con su celestial e hipnótico tiki-taka, España le dio el réquiem a la generación dorada de Costa Rica.
Sobre el césped del Estadio Al Thumama hubo un solo equipo y las estadísticas de ese dominio fueron brutales. Además de los siete goles:
- España completó 998 de los 1.060 pases que intentó
- Costa Rica no registro disparos sobre la portería rival
Yikes!
Lo de los pases es fenomenal y le permitió a los españoles tener una posesión del balón cercana al 82%, récord absoluto desde el Mundial de 1966 a la fecha.
‘Me and the coach's daughter? Not a problem,’ says Spain's Ferran Torres
DOHA - Spain winger Ferran Torres faces big challenges at the World Cup in Qatar but his relationship with the daughter of national team coach Luis Enrique is not one of them, according to the Barcelona player.
"Not at all," Torres told a news conference on Sunday when asked whether he felt pressure because of the relationship. "I think the coach and I, we know how to differentiate between when it's family and when we are manager and player. I think we have to get on with it in a natural way, just that and we're getting along fine."
Robert Lewandowski receives three-match ban after insinuating LaLiga referee was "on drugs"
Things are not looking good for Robert Lewandowski and FC Barcelona after the World Cup.
Lewandowski was sent-off for Barcelona when they visited Osasuna in the last game before the international break.
A double-booking saw the Polish star leave the game in the 30th minute after he made a reckless tackle on Osasuna’s David García.
Video shows the treatment Vini Jr receives as LaLiga's most fouled player
Vinícius Júnior has become one of the most skillful players on the planet and he’s getting punished for it.
His quick feet, speed and Brazilian genes have turned him into a player that can provide both goals and assists when needed. Heading into the World Cup, Vini Jr is perhaps the most exciting debutant talent to see at the tournament, and he's leading a hungry and promising Brazil attack alongside Neymar.
| Vinicius Junior heading into the World Cup:
Sergio Ramos, David de Gea and Thiago Alcantara all LEFT OFF Spain’s 2022 World Cup roster
MADRID — Spain included Barcelona's Ansu Fati but left out Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and PSG defender Sergio Ramos from their 26-man World Cup squad on Friday.
Fati, now 20, made his international debut in 2020 at 17 and in his second game became the youngest player to score for Spain, breaking a record held since 1925 by Juan Errazquien.
But the forward is fighting his way back from four surgeries to repair an injury to his left knee, suffered in November 2020.
Barça remains top of LaLiga after Rayo Vallecano fights back to shock Real Madrid 3-2
Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Monday with the champions failing to reclaim top spot in the standings after two consecutive games without a win and suffering their first loss in LaLiga this season.
Barcelona are top on 34 points, two ahead of Real Madrid and ten ahead of third-placed Atlético Madrid. Following their third consecutive win, Rayo climbed to eighth place, two points off the European qualification spots.