Soccer Page 313 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Is Everything You Know About Soccer Wrong? Ask David Sally
We're joined now by David Sally, co-author with Chris Anderson of The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong. It's an argument for the power of analytics in soccer that's full of surprising conclusions about issues like the value of a goal scored relative to that of one saved, w...
USMNT Moves Up To 13th In Latest FIFA World Rankings
FIFA's September world rankings were released this morning, and we found out that U.S. Soccer, after being ranked 19th just last month, jumped six more spots to 13th in the world. The Americans also were able to hold onto the top spot in CONCACAF. Mexico, second in the federation, fell one spot, and...
How USMNT Reduced A Fiery Mexican Side To Ashes
The United States of America are going to the 2014 World Cup. In the end, it was never in doubt. And in the end, how they booked their ticket to Brazil was perfect, poetic. The Americans clinched at home, in a storied, claustrophobic stadium in front of a raucous, unapologetically and overwhelmingly...
The USMNT Dances, Sings, And Chugs Beer After Victory Over Mexico
After clinching a World Cup berth with a 2-0 victory over Mexico, the USMNT came back out onto the field for some good old-fashioned celebrating, America style....
<em>Dos A Cero</em>: How Columbus Became Home To A Great U.S. Soccer Tradition
An hour after the final whistle, as Honduras hung on for a tie and clinched a World Cup berth for the USMNT, the Americans spilled out of the locker room and back onto the pitch to celebrate. The fans chanted "Clint missed on purpose," and Dempsey smiled and danced. Maybe he did. This is Columbus, a...
Stakes Are High In Tonight's USMNT Match Against Mexico
After 12 straight wins, which included improbable triumphs against world powers like Germany and Bosnia and dominant victories against all comers during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the USMNT finally lost on Friday, 3-1, in a World Cup qualifier away to Costa Rica. Costa Rica, for some reason still seethi...
Why Lionel Messi Is Even Better Than You Think
One of the key findings of The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong is that soccer, more than any other team sport, is a weak link game: matches are won and lost, and championships and relegation are secured, by the genius and quality of a club's superstars, but even more so b...
Dog Is Adorable Idiot On The Field, Scores Goal
This comes to us from Argentina, proving just how overrated Messi is. Anyone can score with the right players setting you up....
Chinese Team Works Together On Slapstick Own Goal
Via Dirty Tackle, the saddest and funniest own goal we've seen in a long time....
This Dive Is Why Matt Besler Is Suspended For The Mexico Match
USMNT defender Matt Besler was carrying a yellow into Friday's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. One more, and he'd have to sit out the next match. This is how he "earned" it....
Soccer Player Lights Up One Direction Member, Receives Death Threats
Louis Tomlinson is one-fifth of the boy band One Direction. This weekend, he participated in a charity soccer game to honor former Celtic and Aston Villa player Stiliyan Petrov, who was forced to retire after being diagnosed with leukemia. The game did not go very well for Tomlinson....
Idiot On The Field Helps His Team Advance To The Playoffs
During Saturday night's Brazilian Serie D match between Aparecidence and Tupi, an Idiot On The Field altered the outcome and sent his team into the playoffs....
Jair Benitez Scored An Amazing 50-Yard Goal
Jair Benitez of FC Dallas scored a ridiculous goal from 50 yards out against Vancouver Whitecaps FC Saturday night. It sailed perfectly over helpless keeper David Ousted for a 3-1 FC Dallas lead. Ousted understandably took the score poorly....
Bench Collapses Under Maryland Soccer Fans
Friday night's Maryland-Duke soccer game saw a record-breaking attendance of 8,397 at Ludwig Field. That large, supportive crowd partially explains why this bleacher row collapsed under some enthusiastic fans....
U.S. And Mexico Both Lose World Cup Qualifiers
This kid is everyone's spirit kid. He's pissed. And why not, everything about Friday night was a bummer. Before the U.S. men even dug themselves a 2-0 hole in the first 10 minutes, Michael Bradley went down with an injured ankle in the pre-game workout....
Skinheads, Drunks, And London Soccer In The Early '70s
Forty years after its publication, The Glory Game, Hunter Davies's behind-the-scenes classic about a season with Tottenham Hotspur, reads in a lot of ways like a supreme work of access journalism, one willing to betray the secrets everyone already knows in order to protect the real ones. So players ...
Jürgen Klinsmann Came From The Future To Save American Soccer
The United States are playing Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier tonight, and it's a big deal. The USMNT is first in their group, and a win would all but guarantee their place in Brazil next year. If some other results go the the right way, they could even clinch this evening. They've never won a q...
Why Was Manchester United's Offseason So Bad?
Let's talk about that Manchester United offseason....
Costa Rica Is Trolling The Shit Out Of The USMNT
On Friday, the U.S. national team takes the pitch in Costa Rica for a World Cup qualifying match. The Costa Ricans are making it as difficult as possible, denying them training grounds and even going so far as to refuse them game balls for practice....