World Cup

While the focus has rightly been on corruption allegations in the bidding process, bribery, money laundering, forced labor, human rights abuses, the host country’s stance towards members of the LGBT community and climactic conditions resulting in a contentious decision to move the tournament to November and December, Qatari officials have come to another controversial decision by forbidding the consumption of alcohol “on the streets, squares and [in] public places” at the 2022 World Cup.

There is so much hype going into the Brazil versus Argentina match that it is tough to even decide where to begin. Arguably the most heated international derby on the planet, every time Brazil and Argentina meet it’s a special occasion. This Thursday’s match, however, has some extra plot elements that make this particular encounter a unique and spicy affair. 

The United States kicks off the hexagonal round of FIFA World Cup qualifying with two of the most difficult matches they’ll face on the road to Russia. On Friday, the USA host Mexico at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Four days later, they face Costa Rica at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. 

A recent video on Yahoo! Sports asked the question: should international soccer be scrapped? The problems they laid out included the fact that international soccer requires teams to take two breaks during the fall so they can compete in international play to qualify for events like the Olympics or the World Cup.

The Hex kicks off on November 11 in Columbus, Ohio with the big one: the United States versus Mexico. El Tri manager Juan Carlos Osorio has announced his squad for that match and their trip to Central America to play Panama four days later.

While Osorio had the luxury of naming largely experimental squads for September’s final fourth round World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Honduras, as well as their October friendlies against New Zealand and Panama, the Colombian has named his strongest possible side in an attempt to end the Dos a Cero spell.

For Argentina, a nightmarish World Cup qualifying campaign somehow managed to grow worse outside of an international break. In early September, Bolivia had managed to gain an unlikely 0-0 draw with Chile and a 3-0 victory over Peru in CONMEBOL qualifying. However, FIFA have ruled that Bolivia fielded an ineligible player in both matches, defender Nelson Cabrera, resulting in automatic 3-0 wins for both Chile and Peru.

Mexico has previously stated its desire to host the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that will almost certainly be given to the CONCACAF region, but now it's getting serious.

Following CAF in 2010 (South Africa), CONMEBOL in 2014 (Brazil), UEFA in 2018 (Russia) and AFC in 2022 (Qatar), FIFA has all but promised the tournament to North America.

It's official: the mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia will be a wolf that wears sunglasses, takes selfies and may or may not be based on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The wolf is named "Zabivaka" or "the one who scores."

In a completely unsubstantiated but hilarious occurrence, we’ve caught wind of a recent development regarding South African international striker Tokelo Rantie. 

In recent times, the rule changes FIFA have implemented have been with regards to self-examination; changing their own internal processes in the face of ongoing investigations and claims of corruption. On the footballing end of the spectrum, president Gianni Infantino has been trotting out his plan to kill the World Cup with a 48-team edition. Beyond the influence of Infantino, it appears as though Australian rock band AC/DC are the biggest catalyst for change in the international governing body.