Soccer Page 147 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Thiago just plays a different song, man
It would be near impossible to describe what Liverpool did to Manchester United on Tuesday without getting graphic, and perhaps using a squib or two. And believe me, I’ve tried, because I’m well aware the Reds may never beat their biggest rival by a combined 9-0 in two league games again, and I’m so...

The NWSL has some good Twitter beef
If Drive to Survive on Netflix has taught us anything, it’s that people love the story behind the story, and it can rocket the popularity of a sport if they allow people to see it. But you don’t need a Netflix special to get into some personality and character. Twitter can do that for you, as long a...

The USMNT is crafty in the middle but dangerous at both ends… to themselves
Being panicky and reactionary about the USMNT is now part of the deal. Perhaps it’s a sign we’re growing up. Fuck, three weeks ago, the US qualified for next fall’s World Cup (and got something of a favorable draw), Christian Pulisic was starting regularly for Chelsea — looking good doing it, too — ...

USMNT in the knockout round! An Argentina-Brazil semifinal! Oh, Canada! (and more World Cup predictions)
Instead of a World Cup taking place in the summer, we’re waiting until the late fall for the festivities to start to get to a manageable playing temperature in Qatar. The 2022 FIFA World Cup draw took place a few weeks ago, giving a path to the 37 teams still in contention to lift the trophy. Four w...

Ukraine set to resume chase for World Cup spot, could play US in Group B
Russia’s brutal war isn’t stopping the Ukraine national football team from returning to competition. With the 2022 FIFA World Cup starting in November, the Ukrainians are one of seven teams vying for the final three unclaimed spots in the tournament with three hailing from Europe....

Who pissed in Stefan Savić’s pregame Gatorade?
Trying to help his team become the second from the Spanish capital to qualify for the UEFA Champions League semifinals, Stefan Savić went from composed center back to savage at the drop of a hat....

Spanish soccer league coach walks onto field, stops opposing team’s counter attack in 89th minute
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been agonizingly close to capturing that digital championship on a season of Madden or FIFA only to have the computer pull some lucky bullshit and ruin hours worth of investment....

So what will MLS do about its TV ratings?
When setting up for the current MLS season, which started the last weekend of February, one of the major themes was the league locking in its new TV deal sometime in March. MLS’s TV deal has been paltry when compared to the other sports leagues ($90m a year), and there was a feeling that while the n...

And we all thought Barcelona was done big-game hunting
We didn’t really get as big of a window to laugh at Barcelona as we thought or hoped. Proving the life lesson that you need to celebrate anything worth celebrating at that time and that place or you’ll miss the opportunity. Barça is roaring in La Liga right now, all the way up to second after winnin...

To the death, then
The only result between Manchester City and Liverpool this morning that would have made it a “title decider” (which is how it was built by every outlet broadcasting it) was a City win. A four-point gap at this point in the season, requiring City to fuck up two games in the run-in while Liverpool to ...

Lost in Liverpool’s pursuit of a quad is Man City’s potential treble
With Tiger Woods falling out of contention and Sunday at Augusta turning into a sleepy 3-year-old crashing off of sugar, wake yourself up by flipping on probably the biggest game of the English Premier League season. Man City sits atop the table but only barely. Liverpool, still chasing a potential ...

The Rock’s XFL rebrand is a retread of Sue Bird and Alex Morgan’s Togethxr media company
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s XFL revival, scheduled to begin in 2023 after the former wrestler bought the league from a bankrupt Vince McMahon for $15 million following an inaugural season cut short by COVID, introduced a new visual brand identity earlier this week....

Man United reportedly set to hire Erik Ten Hag, which raises more questions than answers
Perhaps the ink isn’t dry, but it sure feels like current Ajax manager Erik Ten Hag is going to be leaving for Old Trafford after this season. Which is funny as all the reports of his hiring started spilling out just hours after SI made it pretty clear that the Man United board wasn’t exactly blown ...

U.S. gets England in World Cup Group Stage
As the United States men’s national team backed into the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday night, Friday’s draw couldn’t have realistically worked out any better for them....

Who are we taking to Qatar?
The USMNT punched their ticket with a true let’s-not-fuck-this-up-royally performance in Costa Rica. So now the attention turns to who are the 23 souls that Gregg Berhalter will be putting on the plane for the tournament. Our intrepid soccer goofuses Sam Fels and Eric Blum have some ideas....

Man gets jail time for racist tweets at Marcus Rashford, humanity rejoices
On the list of things in England that I love, add jailing a racist internet troll for abusing Marcus Rashford next to the Great British Bakeoff, an accent that makes everything sound classy, using holiday as a verb, and Tom Holland. News that Justin Lee Price, 19, of Worcester, will be spending the ...

Roman Abramovich tries to help himself by helping peace negotiations, allegedly gets poisoned
If no good deed goes unpunished, what happens when you perform a good deed from a place of self-interest? Soon-to-be-former owner of Chelsea FC Roman Abramovich found out after he tried to “help” the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine....

Is the USMNT midfield better off without Weston McKennie?
On the surface, it’s a patently ridiculous question. Of course the US can’t go without a player who regularly plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world, where his manager loves him, and comes up with goals for a national team that still struggles to find them. And to ask this question after ju...

I want my win in the Azteca, Gregg Berhalter
Right off the bat, I know all the logic the US might keep something in reserve tonight at the Azteca vs. Mexico. The USMNT has not been able to thread the three-matches-in-seven days windows all that well. The Panama game is the real crunch one of the three this time, as a win there basically guaran...

We all know Liverpool can’t win the Quadruple, but what my book presupposes…
To say winning the Quadruple–the League Cup, the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the Premier League–is a dream isn’t accurate. No fan ever really thinks of it before a season starts, or really before even February. It’s beyond fantasy. It’s not something you’d ever give the time of day. Perhaps En...