Youth Soccer

We’re going to be real here: Unless you live in Minnesota and are tuned in to the youth soccer scene, you probably don’t pay any attention to Minnesota high school soccer.

Fortunately, we here at The18 have eyes on every soccer game everywhere (seriously, when you’re playing your little brother in the back yard, we’re watching; it’s creepy). 

So today we get to bring you a stunning highlight from the Minnesota high school soccer Class A championship game — and with good reason.

This past week has been a scary one in the United States. Multiple terrorist attacks were foiled as a number of bombs were sent in the mail targeting former presidents, politicians, actors and philanthropists. Now that the suspect is in custody, the world is learning more about Cesar Sayoc Jr., the man who authorities think carried out these attempted domestic terrorist attacks. 

And he’s got some interesting quirks regarding soccer.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time around high school athletics knows the worst part is often the parents. Whether it’s putting too much pressure on the kids or yelling at the refs, they can make a fun game turn into a nightmare for all involved.

Horrible soccer parents were on full display this week during a junior varsity high school match in New Jersey. Hispanic players for Trenton Central High School were the targets of racist comments.

We got our first real glimpse of 18-year-old Real Madrid phenom Vinícius Júnior during Real Madrid’s shock 1-0 defeat to Alaves on Oct. 6, but that appearance (his second for the senior side) was still just a 10-minute cameo. 

FIFA launched its first-ever global strategy for women's soccer on Tuesday. It outlined three objectives for the game and five strategies to reach those goals. Hidden in each is the real reason FIFA is putting an emphasis on women's soccer.

We applaud any effort on the part of FIFA to grow the women’s game. It’s much needed from an organization that for years was run by a man whose only idea for increasing interest in women's soccer was to have the participants wear shorter, tighter pants. 

As was detailed in a recent piece by Kevin Baxter in the Los Angeles Times, Mexico’s senior side is in the midst of a massive transition after the 2018 World Cup squad featured nine players who were at least 30 years of age.