In surreal sporting news, Iranian soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani is apparently facing possible execution for taking part in a protest for basic women’s rights in Isfahan, Iran. The government deemed the Sept. 16 protest an armed riot as three security agents were killed in the fracas. FiFPRO, an international soccer association created to support players, … Read more
Image: Getty Images France 2 – 0 Morocco What if you just Morocco’d Morocco? That’s the question Didier Deschamps and France asked themselves before and during today’s semifinal. The answer came back, “Advance to the final.” History will look back on this era of French football as its most successful. Two straight World Cup finals … Read more
Gio ReynaPhoto: Getty Images Perhaps it’s a sign that the USMNT is moving into the big time that they hold their big controversies until after the tournament than before. We’ve been through Jürgen Klinsmann keeping Landon Donovan at home in 2014 simply to show everyone what a brain genius he was. Or John Harkes way … Read more
Here are some of the best reactions and tweets to Harry Kane’s devastating penalty kick miss that leads to England’s dismissal from the World Cup. Read more…
Longtime soccer reporter Grant Wahl reporting from a USMNT match in 2014.Image: AP America’s most prominent soccer reporter, Grant Wahl, has passed away while covering the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, according to his brother, Eric. Eric Wahl announced his brother’s death on Instagram Friday evening: Wahl provided few details in his video, but said … Read more
Messi-ah!Image: Getty Images As extra time started, neither Brazil or Croatia showed any urgency. The weight of a FIFA World Cup quarterfinal entering the additional 30 minutes-plus after going scoreless in the contest’s original time could’ve been swapped for the rhythm of a Tuesday exhibition. World Cups are how every country judges its soccer/football/futbol for … Read more
Image: Getty Images It’s here that the Qatari rulers and FIFA would expect me to simply write about the quarterfinals of the World Cup that start today. And they are mouthwatering, in a vacuum of just soccer. All eight teams come in with a great story. Whether it’s Brazil not only trying to collect their … Read more
Rafael Leão standing out.Image: Getty Images In a lot of ways, AC Milan mirrors Serie A overall. They’re incredibly fun, and were able to take advantage of Juventus’s slide into the abyss and a blip from Inter to win the Scudetto last year. But how good they actually are, much like the league as a … Read more
Players showing solidarityScreenshot: 1 Direct A truly incredibly scene unfolded on Tuesday when the Iranian national team, before their match against Senegal, took the field in black jackets and covered up any logo or emblem having to do with Iran to show solidarity with the current protests going on in their country over the murder … Read more
Gregg BerhalterPhoto: Getty Images All right, I’m gonna be Sammy Sunshine about the USMNT. It’s not easy, but there’s a lot of dark clouds after the team went 0-for-180 minutes in scoring goals, or looking like they could get a goal, or even looking like they were interested in scoring a goal, in their last … Read more