Qatar 2022 is a World Cup tournament in name only. The build-up, the time of year, the lack of warm-up games, the host nation’s attitude towards human rights abuses and more just doesn’t sit right with many supporters of the beautiful game.
This year was supposed to be different.The Chiefs were losing Tyreek Hill and coming off a season where they didn’t even make the Super Bowl.
Upcoming travel plans? Lots of food to inhale? Family to ignore cherish? We’ve got your NBA recap fix for the flight, ride, what have you. Let’s waste no time and dig into the scores, maybe even before the flight attendant wheels by with your stale pretzels.
The United States men’s national team was 10 minutes away from an ideal start at the 2022 World Cup until a crucial defensive mistake cost them dearly. Instead of going into Friday’s much-hyped match with England on three points and sitting pretty for a spot in the Round of 16, they were forced to settle for one point with a path to the knockouts that looks quite a bit trickier.
Déjà vu is a French phrase loaned to the English vocabulary that literally translated means “already seen”. It’s taken on a life of its own in English, to the point where a closer approximation is the experience of going through something again, even if you’ve never experienced it before.
If you’ve watched the playoffs or a knockout tournament before, you understand the idea of a team’s draw impacting how likely they are to win the whole thing. But in the playoffs, at least, that’s usually determined by a team’s regular-season performance.
Much was made of the United States missing the 2018 World Cup, and the anticipation for their first game back was almost celebratory for a nation whose love of the beautiful game has only intensified in the eight years since their last campaign in Brazil.
The US Men’s national soccer team played their first World Cup game since 2014, a 1-1 draw with Wales. After going up 1-0 in the first half on the foot of Tim Weah, the US was back on their heels following a late Gareth Bale goal on a penalty.
England and football are nearly synonymous. The Premier League and its clubs are the dominant force in the globalization of football consumption, and particularly for the growth of soccer fandom in the United States. The significance of the sport in society and culture is undeniable, and the national team in particular has seen its fair share of support from pop bands such as New Order, Oasis, and of course the famous collaboration between Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds for “Three Lions.”
The road to this 2022 World Cup in Qatar began in 2010, when officials from the country’s bid successfully bribed members of FIFA’s executive committee for votes that would award the right to host the tournament in a country the size of the state of Connecticut without any notable sporting history or infrastructure.
The Chiefs and their offense feel inevitable at this point.You might be able to hold them down for a drive, or maybe a quarter if you’re lucky. However, they still have Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and you don’t.
Zach Wilson has been a terrible quarterback since the Jets took him with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but horrific performance is far from the biggest problem now. Teams have an immense amount of patience when it comes to bad quarterback play, assuming the player is still growing, they’re well-liked, and most importantly that they take accountability for their actions.
The Golden State Warriors had not won a road game all season when they traveled to Houston to take on the rebuilding Rockets on Sunday night. The Warriors’ 0-8 mark away from the Chase Center was one of the biggest reasons the defending champs had stumbled out of the gates to begin the new season, and it looked like the trend might continue after the Rockets blasted Golden State in the second quarter to take a halftime lead.
1,862 days.When the United States takes the field against Wales to kick off their 2022 World Cup opener on Monday, that’s how many days will have passed since the most disappointing day in our country’s soccer history. Failing to qualify for a World Cup was unfathomable for a country that had established itself as a regional powerhouse, having been to seven straight at that point. That fateful day over five years ago in Couva that sent shockwaves through the soccer world set in motion a change that will reach its climax when it takes the field against Wales Qatar.
The Eagles didn’t beat the Colts, Jalen Hurts did. That distinction is both absolutely critical, and horrifyingly accurate — and the Philadelphia coaches need to get their heads out of their asses and realize it.
For the first time since 2014, the United States Men’s soccer team will be participating in the FIFA World Cup.
Does it feel like injuries are piling up around the league to anyone else? In just about every game from Sunday, a key player – or sometimes multiple – is missing from a lineup or two from established stars like Chris Paul, Ja Morant, and Jimmy Butler to young cornerstones like LaMelo Ball or Cade Cunningham, the league looks like an infirmary at times.
Ever since Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup 12 years ago — giving them a longer head start than any previous host — controversy has followed the bid. First it was accusations of bribery, then it was having to move the event from summer to winter and revelations that workers had to endure inhumane conditions to complete everything. There have been concerns about how LBGTQ guests would be treated and, most recently a last-minute decision not to allow alcohol to be consumed near the stadiums.