Search results

Nominees for the 2018 FIFA Best Player Award announced: Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) - Real Madrid Kevin De Bruyne (BEL) - Manchester City Antoine Griezmann (FRA) - Atletico Madrid Eden Hazard (BEL) - Chelsea Harry Kane (ENG) - Tottenham Hotspur Kylian Mbappe (FRA) - Paris Saint-Germain Lionel Messi...

Lothar Matthaeus is a global ambassador for German football. He’s traveled all over the world including third world countries to promote the sport. Lothar is also a straight shooter and that ESPN interview was balanced and spot on. Always focused on performance on the field. Today’s Ozil is...

Özil had been the whipping boy for the anti-immigrant, far right for some time now. It got worse after Germany’s disastrous WC performance where he was blamed for everything. So I can empathize with what he said. His personality however didn’t help him much. He was an introverted, brooding...

With a game of this magnitude, the referee allowed himself to be the story of the game and that's a damn shame! Given that there are fair arguments on both sides and he himself hesitated before awarding the PK to France, this should have been a non-call in order to keep the spotlight on the...

Guys - this was a fun thread indeed. Game for the next global soccer merb thread.

However, the smaller countries that are close by geographically, e.g. Belgium, Holland, Portugal also have a good shot at winning the Euro/WC. After all, Portugal is the defending Euro champ having defeated France a couple years ago.

A little too harsh on the Croatian coach? After all, his team came back from behind in all of the elimination games. That showed character. I think for today's final, it just came down to too much talent and firepower on the French side -- even with Kalinic in the lineup.

Until star players win a WC for their country, there will always be detractors. Now that Pogba has won a WC trophy, critics will now show greater appreciation for his rare talent. He is no Neymar because firstly, Neymar hasn't won anything and secondly, Pogba is not going for a Hollywood Oscar...

My post-tournament power rankings: 1) France 2) Belgium 3) Croatia 4) Brazil 5) Uruguay No England in the top 5. They benefited from the luck of the draw. When it came time to play aqainst the best teams, they were exposed for their inexperience.

Fantastic WC final game: Croatia no longer under the radar as an elite WC team This WC re-defined Pogba as the best two-way player in the world It's also the coming-out party for Mbappe. France will not have to wait another 20 years to win its 3rd WC trophy with him and Pogba in the lineup.

Amen to that. Two devastating attacking midfielders showing their stuff against England on the second goal today.

I think Belgium was very motivated to win this game for their fans. It's a fantastic team with world class talent at as many positions as the French squad. It's their highest finish in WC tournaments so one could say this was a successful campaign although they are certainly capable of...

Nice story, Jalimon. Your 9 yo is on his way to becoming a two-way player! Takes special talent... Paul Pogba is a two-way player.

Typical scores for: American football - 27-17 Basketball: 100-92 NHL hockey: 4-3 Soccer: 1-0 If you're into seeing a lot of balls hitting the net or in the end zone, soccer may not be at the top of your list. The beauty in soccer is in watching the flow of the ball going from one end of the...

The midfield position in soccer is like the field general. No team has ever won the WC with a mediocre midfield. I challenge anyone to name such a team. It's more than likely that the Golden Ball award for the best player in the WC tournament will go to a midfielder, either Modric or Kante.

Yeah, I believe it. I remember watching highlights of him almost every weekend on German TV when he was with Bayern Munich. He was a scoring machine then. Mandzukic was a member of the last Bayern team that won the treble, Champions League, Bundesliga, and German Cup trophies all in the same...

For Saturday's 3rd place match - go to Bier Markt on Rene Levesque in the downtown area. Great selection of Belgian and German beers. There'll be plenty of fans rooting for Belgium. For Sunday's final - go to Bruno Sports Bar in the Plateau (Rue Baubien E.) in the St. Denis St area. French...

I believe we are likely to see a small nation win the WC within the next 12 years. The game has become a lot more global than 10-20 years ago and the major professional leagues, e.g. EPL, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga offer great competition for talented players from tiny nations and the...

Re: post #587 - Nailed it!!! Croatia is a dangerous and resilient team. They are tough as nails. This is their third straight match that went into overtime.

I know of one who's currently one of the top 5 players in Europe: Kevin De Bruyne. He's got dual citizenship: British and Belgian. His mom is British. He could've opted to play for England but he's Belgian first. Speaks native Flemish Dutch.