Despite USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter claiming that his team was “dominant” in its 2-0 defeat vs. Canada, FIFA didn’t see it that way. This was evident in the latest FIFA Rankings where Mexico leapfrogged the U.S.
The teams around the U.S. in the world rankings now look like this.
11. Germany
12. Mexico
13. U.S.
14. Switzerland
Every league has that one team that isn't really all that good but just seems to hang around for far longer than they should. They don't spend much, they don't play entertaining football, and they never really win any big games. Yet when the season ends, they are always mid-table.
In the 2010s, that team in England was Wigan Athletic, as Roberto Martínez's brand of "Guerilla Soccer" kept an underfunded Latics side in the Premier League for eight years.
Before the only story that anyone ever really remembers is written at the World Cup finals, there's the meandering, melodramatic tale of qualifying composed over a multi-year period. Players become heroes for firing their nations into the 32-team fold, but the prolificacy of qualifying's highest scorers doesn't always foreshadow greatness at the tournament itself.
Disappointment was pervasive among American soccer fans after their side fell 2-0 to Canada in Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday.
There's a certain sense of privilege among more flighty fans, as they expect the USMNT to travel the continent and come back unscathed with three points in hand every time.
But Concacaf is a difficult region for visiting teams to win in — perhaps the most difficult in the world — and we have the stats to prove it.
Charlyn Corral parece haberse enchufado finalmente al fútbol mexicano. La delantera de las Tuzas poco a poco empieza a lucir su legendario talento frente a las porterías rivales y hoy con un doblete ante el Toluca se puso al frente en la tabla de goleo de la Liga MX Femenil.
Corral llegó al Pachuca a mediados de 2021 y su primer torneo estuvo lejos de ser impresionate, anotando apenas cuatro conquistas. En su defensa, la jugadora venía saliendo de una larga lesión en una de sus rodillas.
El discurso en la selección de Costa Rica, en la previa de su duelo ante México, ha sido que el Estadio Azteca ya no pesa como antes, que la altura no es factor. Obviamente, todo es parte del juego mental típico de estas instancias y también una forma de los ticos de minimizar un hecho elocuente: el historial entre ambos equipos, en la búsqueda de un boleto mundialista, favorece ampliamente al Tri.
Most people would think of ice hockey as the most popular sport in Canada, and in a sense, you wouldn't be wrong. Hockey is among the most common Canadian stereotypes, along with maple syrup, Tim Hortons and those great Candian accents (oh yah?).
At the professional sports level, this assumption holds true as well. Canada has seven teams in the NHL versus a combined five teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS.
It’s the question that’s been on every American soccer fan’s mind since Oct. 10, 2017: Will USMNT qualify for World Cup 2022? More than four years later, the Americans are in the thick of qualifying, and it may again come down to the wire. So what are the odds USMNT makes World Cup 2022, and do we think it will happen?
When Cheltenham Town hosted Manchester City in the FA Cup Fourth Round in January 2021, victory was all but assured for the Premier League club.
The Robins — who would go on to win League Two that year — were no match for a Man City side that sat atop the English football pyramid. Yet early in the second half, the match at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium was still scoreless.
When it comes to Premier League records, the focus is always on the best of the best. Whether it be Manchester City's quest for 100 points or Arsenal's Invincibles season, people love the pursuit of perfection.
But at the other end of the table is a whole other set of records waiting to be broken, ranging from discouraging to downright embarrassing.