France won the World Cup for the second time when it beat Croatia, 4-2, in Sunday’s final. Les Bleus were a frustrating team to watch as they liked to sit back and absorb pressure,attacking only occasionally. It would have been one thing if France was a team of modest talent, but it is a team […]
World Cup Watch
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SA's Breakout XI: From Pickford to Cheryshev
Here’s our World Cup 2018 all-star team of players whose stock rose significantly by performances in Russia. Soccer America’s Breakout XI: Jordan Pickford (goalkeeper) England The English goalkeeper,age 24, has only played with The Three Lions’ senior team since November 2017, making just three appearances before the World Cup kicked off. His penalty save denying […]
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Despite semifinal defeat, England revels in revival under Southgate
In the aftermath of a World Cup semifinal that it led but ultimately lost, a national team and its manager and fans need ponder what the 2018 World Cup means for England long-term.
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The case for … Croatia
In opposing France on Sunday in the World Cup final, Croatia will attempt to emulate what the French team did in1998: win the final in its first appearance. On its way to the world crown, France beat Croatia, 2-1, in the semifinals and became the seventh nation to win the tournament as host bydefeating Brazil, […]
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The case for … France
France goes for its second World Cup title when it faces Croatia in the final on Sunday. Its coach, Didier Deschamps, knows all about winning, having captained Les Bleus when they won in 1998.Deschamps’ rigorous approach might not appeal to everyone, but it hascertainly been effective. Here are five reasons why France should win … […]
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France marches on to Moscow in Deschamps' image
If France wins the World Cup on Sunday, Didier Deschamps will become only the second male to captain and coach his team to the World Cup championship. No one ever confused the49-year-old Deschamps, a midfielder by trade, with the elegant Franz Beckenbauer, who captained West Germany when it won the 1974 World Cup and coached […]
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Luka Modric is eager to fulfill 'great expectations' placed on Croatia
A penalty kick that star midfielder Luka Modric failed to convert could have shattered Croatia’s World Cup campaign in the round of 16. As the players lined up for apenalty-kick tiebreaker with Denmark, only a few minutes had elapsed since keeper Kasper Schmeichel snuffed Modric’s weak effort to push Croatia in front. Instead, overtime ended,1-1, […]
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France's Olivier Giroud has part to play — even if it isn't scoring goals
Every great team has a player who toils for others and doesn’t get a lot of credit. On the French national team, which faces Belgium in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday, that playerhappens to be its center forward, Olivier Giroud. In five games, Giroud hasn’t scored a goal — heck, he doesn’t even have […]
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Vincent Kompany: Belgium's 'Master of the Castle' comes back just in time
Belgium’s golden generation is underachieving no longer, thanks to its leader, Vincent Kompany, who recovered from injury just in time for his team’s toughest games of the2018 World Cup. Kompany has spent the last decade at Manchester City,which last season stormed to the English Premier League title, while the Belgian played only half the games […]
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Greatest World Cup ever? Not so fast
Following Croatia’s shootout win over Russia, Fox Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas suggested that Russia 2018 was the greatest World Cup ever. Greatest. World. Cup. Ever. #WorldCup — Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas)July 7, 2018 Defining “greatest” is, of course, subjective. In terms of a World Cup, its greatness can be defined many ways, by its teams, […]