Australia is heading to their fifth consecutive World Cup, having bested Peru on penalties earlier in the year. Unfortunately for the Aussies, they also have struggled at the tournament: five total appearances and they’ve made it out of the group stages once. That was in 2006 when they promptly lost in the Round of 16. […]
The US national team has upgraded substantially over the past few years. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson, and more have all demonstrated the increase in development that the US’s federation has emphasized. However, there’s one position where the team is unclear: striker. In the US’s last ten games, four different strikers have
For the second consecutive time, Italy will not be heading to the World Cup. This is no recent development: they’ve known since March’s loss to North Macedonia in qualifiers. However, a lot has changed since this occurred, particularly an important—and brutally honest—complaint from Italy coach Roberto Mancini directed at the lack of young players and
Author’s Note: Since this article was published, Bordeaux have been reinstated in the second tier, rather than the third. Not long ago, Bordeaux were one of France’s elite teams. The likes of Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Bixente Lizarazu, and more played for the six-time French champions. In 1996, they reached the final of the UEFA
Brazilian side Palmeiras are one of South America’s top sides. They’ve won the Libertadores three times, the Sudamericana once, and the domestic league ten times. One of the ways they’ve sustained their success is player sales: developing top talent, then selling them for profit in order to bring in new players. Gabriel Veron is the
Barcelona’s academy has always been special: the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta graduated from the legendary La Masia. Just look at some of their academy prospects in 2016: Ansu Fati, Eric García, and Nico, among others. However, even with academies as good as Barcelona’s, sometimes talents slip through the cracks. One that
Saturday, July 16th. Wisła Krakow, a club based in Poland’s third-biggest city, opened their season. However, something was unusual this year. The 13-time Polish champions were not facing off against one of Poland’s elite clubs, nor were they against an up-and-coming Ekstraklasa team. They weren’t facing an Ekstraklasa team at all: for the first time
In recent years, Colombia has become a hub for footballing talent. In 2014, teenager James Rodríguez picked apart some of the world’s top teams in the World Cup, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. He moved to Real Madrid shortly thereafter. Since then, the list of Colombians playing at big clubs has grown: Davinson Sánchez,
While it seems like, in many leagues, the season has just ended, it’s already beginning to start elsewhere. That’s the case in Switzerland, where the league kicks off this weekend with several high-profile matchups. With the success of the Swiss national team at the Euros and qualification for the World Cup over Italy, it appears
It’s no secret that DC United are having a miserable season. This struggle has looked inevitable since preseason when a string of notable players left. First, it was Yamil Asad and Joseph Mora, then Yordy Reyna, then Ramón Ábila. Academy graduate Kevin Paredes (who is eligible for the Dominican Republic) was the next to leave, joining