Seeing a coach standing on the sidelines yelling at his/her players is part of the soccer weave. However, this traditional rite seems to have its days numbered after witnessing the new technology innovation in the Spanish national team camp: mini walkie-talkies.
This week serves as the final international break before clubs must release players to their national teams just one week before the World Cup begins, so the latest squad selections should be huge indicators of the final 26-man rosters for the competing nations.
However, a look at the current teams indicates that this won't be a traditional World Cup of blockbuster snubs, but rather an exploration of player pools in an attritional battle against lingering muscle strains.
To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched 2022 World Cup team previews for each of the 32 nations competing in Qatar.
Below you will find each team listed along with a link to those previews that have been published. Check back throughout the buildup to the 2022 World Cup as we publish a complete list of World Cup team previews, updated with the latest on each team participating in the greatest men's soccer tournament in the world.
Amid reported interest from Man City, Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool, Barcelona has secured the services of football's most highly regarded midfield talent through 2026 after 18-year-old Gavi put pen to paper on a new three-year deal that sees his release clause rise to $1 billion.
Youngsters and World Cups are two things that have historically got along.
From Pele in 1958 to Mbappe in 2018, young players have taken the world by storm in this tournament.
Over the last couple of years, we've been introduced to insane talents that dazzled on the biggest stage.
Hence, we feel it is important to list and rank the best young players playing at this year's World Cup.
Real Madrid’s talisman.
What started off as a semi-normal transfer war between Chelsea and Barcelona has gone viral. Fabrizio Romano tweeted out confirmation that Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella agreed to join Chelsea, but Brighton tweeted that the claim is completely false. So which one is it? Is Romano wrong for the first time ever, or is he so good at his job that he knows a transfer is happening before the club even does?
Scorching temperatures are one of the many reasons Qatar is the most controversial World Cup host of all time. During June and July, the months in which the World Cup is traditionally held, temperatures in the Arab nation peak around 120 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature at which, unsurprisingly, it is simply unsafe to play a 90+ minute soccer match.
Midfielders are the heartbeat of any soccer side. They control the pace of play, create chances, contribute to attack and defense and oversee the transition between the two. With technique, creativity and intelligence, a world class midfielder is a joy to watch.
From iconic legends to up-and-coming stars, the 2022 Qatar World Cup is filled to the brim with exceptional midfield players. Who rises to the top? Without further ado, here are the ten best 2022 World Cup midfielders, ranked.
Ahead of the World Cup, there is always an influx of transfers featuring players who are on the fringes of their national teams and want to secure a roster spot for the tournament. Many players who sit on the bench for bigger clubs and get limited minutes desperately need quality playing time to be noticed by their national team managers. With so many rumors and confirmed deals happening every day, let's take a look at 10 players who need a transfer ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
It's a little unsettling and depressing to think that, were things running as usual on the international calendar, we'd be at the start of the month-long carnival that is the World Cup.
June 13 has marked some unforgettable World Cup moments in the past, but none more so than what transpired eight years ago on this day at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.