Category: Soccer

It doesn’t matter that few Russian fans ever expected the hosts to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, as some players are already thinking about the final. Russian breakout star Alexander Golovin never doubted the team would perform well — long before it beat Spain on penalties in the round of 16, setting up a matchup with Croatia in Sochi on Saturday.

Soccer fans across the world have been treated to a remarkable World Cup thus far, dominated by unpredictability and upsets. The Round of 16 was no different. From dramatic last-minute goals and goaltending mastery to the all-too-infamous diving antics, here are the highs and lows of the Round of 16.

Prior to last week, the biggest crowd Alphonso Davies had ever spoken in front of was a soccer team. So it was a baptism of fire when the 17-year-old walked out on stage at the Expocentre in Moscow on Wednesday to address the over 200 delegates at the FIFA Congress and a world-wide television audience.

In a FIFA election where money could be key, Morocco tried to heap doubt on North American promises of multi-billion dollar 2026 World Cup profits on Monday. Moroccan jibes at projections from the United States-Canada-Mexico bid came when leaders of the rival campaigns met voters from five of FIFA’s six continental groups.

Mauro Diaz scored and FC Dallas beat the Montreal Impact 2-0 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory. Montreal’s Matteo Mancuso put Dallas up 1-0 with an own goal in the fifth minute. The ball ricocheted off his head when a teammate attempted to clear Diaz’s indirect free kick with his own header.

A former South American soccer official has been acquitted of corruption charges at a U.S. trial stemming from the FIFA bribery scandal, after two others were convicted last week.

​Vitaly Mutko, a top Russian official who has been dogged by allegations of involvement in the Russian doping program, says he will step down as head of the organizing committee of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Liverpool is breaking the world transfer record for a defender by signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in a $100 million move.

Striker Tomasz Radzinski and defender Candace Chapman lead the list of players eligible for Canada Soccer Hall of Fame consideration in 2018. The Canadian Soccer Association also has released its new framework for Hall of Fame eligibility and entry.

John Herdman, who led Canada’s women’s soccer team to back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, is taking over the Canadian men’s program.