Association football positions

We’ve gotten to the business end of the Group Stage, with Group A finishing up their schedule and sending a host home before the knockouts for the first time. But that was overshadowed by possibly the biggest upset of the tournament so far…

We wondered out the USWNT would heading into the World Cup without Becky Sauerbrunn. The starting lineup should be ok, but how would Vlakto Andonovski answer the question of the eroded depth without the captain around? It would appear he’s…

Leo MessiPhoto: Getty ImagesHow do you chuck the trophy away twice and still walk away with it?Some would suggest there was a higher force involved, that there was some ordained plan for Lionel Messi to get his World Cup, to dot the last i…

France’s Kylian Mbappé (left) and Poland’s Robert LewandowskiPhoto: Getty ImagesToday was about England and France eyeballing each other over their respective opponents, with the only drama being whether or not they would get caught looking…

Spain celebrates a goal.Photo: Getty ImagesThere may have been more exciting games or more dramatic endings in this tournament, but there hasn’t been one with more intrigue combined with a higher quality of play than this one. Argentina was…

Japan’s Ritsu Doan celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the World Cup group E soccer match between Germany and Japan, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar,Image: APGame of the day: Japan 2 - Germany 1 While…

The USMNT celebrates Tim Weah’s goal in their group stage opener at the World Cup in Qatar.Image: Getty ImagesIt’s taken some cognitive dissonance for USMNT fans leading up to this World Cup, to sort of ignore the fact that they were…

Image: Getty ImagesDon’t worry, we’ll have plenty of USMNT stuff, starting tonight with the roster announcement. It’s all we’ll do. Well, all I will do. I’m collecting Hacksaw Jim Duggan gifs, let me tell you. This is a space for all the…

Rafael Leão standing out.Image: Getty ImagesIn a lot of ways, AC Milan mirrors Serie A overall. They’re incredibly fun, and were able to take advantage of Juventus’s slide into the abyss and a blip from Inter to win the Scudetto last year.…