World Cup

Kaka is two goals away from becoming Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers, but his toughest obstacle will not be Venezuela.

In order to surpass Zico and Romario, both with 11 goals, the Orlando City player will have to persuade Brazil coach Dunga into letting him play.

The Brazilian manager called up Kaka to replace Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, who got injured before he could make his debut in World Cup qualifiers. The other main absence in Brazil’s squad is the team’s star, Neymar.

As if there was ever a dull moment in the world of FIFA these days; issues revolving around the 2018 and 2022 World Cups continue to get worse. The laborers involved with constructing the Russian World Cup stadiums have come out saying they haven’t been paid for their work in months.

The question of whether or not Russia should host the 2018 World Cup still remains in the air after recent stories of corruption from Sepp Blatter and FIFA have risen. Should plans for the next World Cup stay the same, more issues besides corruption will come to light during the summer tournament. 

The eyes of the nation have been on soccer for the past week, and deservedly so.

Last Sunday’s final between the United States Women’s National Team and Japan smashed all previous ratings records for soccer in the United States, never mind the fact that it was a broadcast of women’s soccer.

If it is hard out here for a pimp, then it must be truly cruel to be a defender. It’s their job to stand between some of the most talented people in the world and their goal: the goal. Needless to say, it doesn’t always end well. Defenders get nutmegged, dragged out of position, yelled at by fans and teammates alike, and lambasted by the media on a weekly basis. When they are good, people hardly notice them. It’s a thankless job.

As Qatar prepares for the 2022 World Cup, the systematic oppression of workers has reached a new low with this running race.

There’s no two ways about it. The 2022 Qatar World Cup is a disaster. The topic is one that we’ve payed close attention to here at The18, especially the human working conditions, which are pretty much akin to modern day slavery. According to the International Trade Union, an estimated 4,000 people will die building the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup given the current rate of on-the-job deaths, and it seems like no one is doing anything about it.