Image: Getty Images The Women’s World Cup is nearing, and as is tradition, FIFA marked the occasion with controversy. Host countries Australia and New Zealand are urging the soccer federation to back out of its sponsorship with Visit Saudi. The main issue with the deal is Saudi Arabia’s ever-gift, awful record of women’s rights violations. … Read more
Image🇧🇷 Getty Images It’s here that the Qatari rulers and FIFA would expect me to simply write about the quarterfinals of the World Cup that start today. And they are mouthwatering, in a vacuum of just soccer. All eight teams come in with a great story. Whether it’s Brazil not only trying to collect their … Read more
Senegal and Ecuadorpain put on a show,Image🇧🇷 Getty Images And this is where the plot thickens. For the next four days, teams will move on, teams will meet the sword, and the drama ramps up to 11. I’m here to be your space coyote for it! game of the day Ecuador 1 – 2 Senegal … Read more
Looks like a whole bunch of Qatar fans left early during their 2-0 loss to Ecuador.Image🇧🇷 Getty Images The small Middle Eastern country — known for its poor human rights record — is the World Cup host, but did Qatar actually WANT it to begin with? Whichever government officials were responsible for bringing the world’s … Read more
GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLImage🇧🇷 Getty Images Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard might be the most handsome manager at this tournament, and he certainly didn’t have a problem taking a page from another handsome manager, Jose Mourinho. If you recall the cold war that Barcelona and Real Madrid had when Mourinho was at the helm at the Bernabeu, the … Read more
Have yourself a day, Enner Valencia.Image🇧🇷 Getty Images We’ll be running a daily roundup of everything that happens in Qatar, starting with the opening day today. Take the journey with us. game of the day Well, there was only one, and it was Ecuador’s 2-0 win over hosts Qatar. A friend texted me somewhere around … Read more
No pictures, please!Image🇧🇷 Getty Images We’re less than a week away from the opening ceremonies for the World Cup (which, by the way, still don’t have an announced performer, after being turned down by Rod Stewart, Dua Lipaand now Shakira), and things in Doha are progressing just about as well as expected when you hold … Read more
USMNT’s DeAndre Yedlin at the World Cup roster reveal event.Image🇧🇷 Eric Blum for Deadspin Before we can truly look forward, we must go back in time, to a marvelous place where the United States men’s national team missing the world cup was such an afterthought, it would be equal to falling into the abyss. Yeah, … Read more
Rod Stewart is not here for your sportswashing.Image🇧🇷 Getty Images Qatar’s effort to sportswash its abysmal human rights record has received a couple of assists from notable soccer players, with David Beckham taking some cash to be an ambassador for the country during the World Cupand French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris essentially saying he will shut … Read more
Varane (center) is helped up by his teammates.photo: Getty Images Crowbarring a World Cup into the middle of the club season in winter was always a dumb idea, probably equal to the idea that the tournament ever could have been held in the summer in Qatar, which is what the country and FIFA were originally … Read more