world-cup Page 29 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

First it was very much Spain, then it wasn’t, then it was, then it wasn’t, and now we don’t know what to think
I’ve been using the term “Spain’ing” a lot during Euro 2020, harkening back to the era before Spain was drenched in medals, where they would always squander any tournament despite fielding one of the most talented squads. They could find any way to lose back then, whether through simple malaise, or ...

This is why you don’t put too much stock in the group stage
It wasn’t so long ago that the European Championships were kind of perfect, in that it all made sense. Only 16 teams made it, which is just about the same amount of European teams that make the World Cup, so rarely were there true no-hopers in the draw. Four groups of four meant teams couldn’t duck ...

What to know for the upcoming Olympic Men’s Basketball Qualifying
As the NBA playoffs continue, 24 national teams across the world are vying for the final four open men’s basketball Olympic berths. The tournaments will run from June 29 through July 4 in Canada, Croatia, Serbia, and Lithuania. ...

It’s never enough for England
You would think after winning the group, having the second-tightest defense in Euro 2020 so far (1.4 x GA), and being safely into the Round of 16 would be enough for England fans. But of course, this is England, and if they’re not complaining or being miserable, much like sharks not swimming, they d...

SEE IT: It’s Thunderbastard season!
Denmark’s last group game in Copenhagen was always going to be an emotional wringer. After all, they’ve been through, and all the fans have witnessed, with their advancement hopes riding on not just their result but the one from the Belgium-Finland game, it set up to be a night full of torture, glor...

Brooklyn will be back again
You know the old saying: “That’s why they play the games.”...
![UEFA investigates Neuer’s rainbow armband while fascist goons march on Hungary-France match [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/6fe731a4904311ea3e6db7608ffec366.jpg)
UEFA investigates Neuer’s rainbow armband while fascist goons march on Hungary-France match [Updated]
If the whole Super League debacle put people in the very awkward and uncomfortable position of having to side with UEFA, they can feel assured that UEFA was always going to do everything it could to squander that capital. It didn’t take them long....

For Giannis, ‘greatness’ is an enigma
Giannis Antetokounmpo is becoming another NBA enigma....

SEE IT: Haitian goalkeeper lives out every netminder’s worst nightmare
Have you ever messed up an easy task — like decorating your dining table for guests but then realizing the pieces on the table aren’t symmetrical? Then, in a desperate attempt to fix your mistake, you accidentally knock over all the plates, breaking your fine china and leaving you a slobbering mess?...

Kevin Durant: Solo artist
We’ve never seen Kevin Durant do it on his own. It’s often felt like he needed a complementary piece to excel — or at least that’s the prevailing stigma. In Oklahoma City, he had Russell Westbrook and James Harden. In Golden State, he was second to Steph Curry. Sure, he has his ring (for which most ...

Giannis is going to wear this one, no matter how the rest of this series goes
The Bucks might still win this series. Getting harder to see how, as Kyrie Irving could be back for Games 6 and/or 7 and James Harden might actually gain the use of a second leg. And even if neither of those things happen, they still found a way in Game 5. And it’s not that Giannis Antetokounmpo was...

Rüdiger HUNGRY!
I bet, my fellow footyphiles, that we thought we were done with international tournaments including players nibbling on each other, what with Luis Suarez not involved in the European Championships and probably too old for the next World Cup. And Copa America has bigger problems, though I suppose we ...
![Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch, given CPR, and 'stabilized;' later speaks with mates & match resumes [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/5b2da3f4711ede4575ff02f4bcb0f0af.jpg)
Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch, given CPR, and 'stabilized;' later speaks with mates & match resumes [Updated]
The Denmark-Finland match at the European Championship was suspended on Saturday after Danish star Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field just before halftime....

Cool take: Four hours is too much baseball
Ryan Butcher started the 10th inning for the Diamondbacks in their game against the Angels on Friday night, with Jared Walsh serving as the courtesy runner at second base. But it was another of baseball’s unnecessary and irritating new rules that really wound up causing trouble for Arizona....

Euro 2021: Joachim Löw might wish he left before last call
We all know it’s hard to leave when you can’t find the door. But sometimes you pay even more when you ignore the door that was right there....

Euro 2021: Can Poland rise to meet Robert Lewandowski?
No. What’re you, new? No one rises to the level of Robert Lewandowski. It’s Robert Goddamn Lewandowski. Dude just scored 40 goals in one league season, which is utterly insane. That’s after he scored 34 last year. Seventy-four motherfucking goals in two seasons in just the Bundesliga. That’s four se...

Euro 2021: So how is England going to screw this up?
The English are the Chicago Bears of international soccer. Even though they basically created the sport, and have one of the biggest fan bases as well, they have sat by and watched others pass them as the game changed and evolved, still clinging to what they believed, all the while bleating about th...

Euro 2021: Memphis Depay gets to try again
To make it to the very top levels of any sport as an athlete, it must take an unfathomable reservoir of self-belief. With all the obstacles, the sheer amount of work, and all the days where the dream must seem as close as one of Saturn’s moons, one would have to be able to call on a never-ending sup...

Euro 2021: For the last time, is this Belgium’s time?
For European teams, the lack of opportunities to actually win a trophy can muddy the results they do get. There’s only a trophy on offer every two years (when there isn’t a pandemic), and perhaps Spain at the beginning of the last decade altered our perception of what’s success and what isn’t....

How do you solve a problem like Weston McKennie?
There are about 400 lessons that fans could have learned about the U.S. Men’s National team last night. And they spread over the entire spectrum of endless hope of things we’ve never imagined to complete and total disaster we’re sadly all too familiar with. Projecting this team into the future, beca...