Brazil National Football Team

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... most outstanding player on every team on which he's ever competed... a semifinal finish at the National Prep Championships, where they lost... Congo Winicius "Wini" Braga — Washington — Brazil François Wibaut — Penn State — France ... stay informed on Maryland basketball, football, recruiting and every other Terps...

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...Cup format! BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM ·Massive Selection of Teams and...clubs, and 150 national teams! ·Build Your Dream Team: Search for ... your football skills with fully customizable tactics! ·Lead Your Team to...team's legendary manager! FOOTBALL LEAGUES & COMPETITIONS Classic National Cups： International Cup... Portugal, Scotland, Russia, Greece) American (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, USA, Mexico, Ecuador...

... National Team Duty Chris Brady: USMNT Mbekezeli Mbokazi: South African National Team Joel Waterman: Canadian National Team... Robin Lod: Finnish National Team Christopher Cupps: USMNT-U19... football listings: https://www.livesoccertv.com/schedules/ Stars & Stripes: USWNT vs. Brazil...

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... win the WC to complete football on the national level. Brazil had a solid chance... older players, and the French team lacks discipline; this could be ...

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...... Sigh... ALEXA Top-Earning Men's National Team Managers National team coaching salaries are not always... men's international soccer. Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil): ~ \(\$11.0\) million annually. Thomas... National Team Managers Emma Hayes commands the highest salary in women's international football...

...: South African National Team Joel Waterman: Canadian National Team Robin Lod: Finnish National Team Christopher Cupps: USMNT-U19.../ AND ALSO Loonixxx approved global football listings: https://www.livesoccertv.com/... & Stripes: USWNT loses to Brazil in lively back-and-forth battle https://...

...Update," it brings international football fever directly into the FC...53 fully licensed and playable national teams. This includes 41... 2026 World Cup, such as Brazil, England, France, Germany, Argentina... the "summer of international football" and gives fans a ...at home. Whether managing a national team in the new mode or...the perfect digital companion for football enthusiasts worldwide. As players prepare...

... World Cup in history. The national team consistently reached the latter stages ... confidence. This is a team many European pundits quietly rate as one of the most difficult possible opponents outside the absolute favourites. They may not dominate headlines like France or Brazil, but nobody wants to face Colombia in knockout football. The reason is...

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... a run bettered only by Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain --... also perhaps the last active national team player who clearly remembers the... point from three games. The team returned home from Brazil to Incheon International Airport and... approached by the Korea Football Association to take the vacant national team job. After assuring fans... in friendlies -- 5-0 to Brazil in October and 4-0 to ...

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The Argentinian national team, with Messi and company, has the possibility of equaling this feat this year, in 2026. Do you think Argentina has the potential to win the World Cup again? submitted by /u/Traditional-Fun6710 to r/soccerMenace_com [link] [comments]

Official Brazil Federation Announcement Éderson is called up by the National Team for the World Cup. The midfielder was called up to replace Wesley. The Brazilian Football Confederation reports that the athlete Wesley was re-evaluated this Sunday by the Brazilian National Team's medical commission and underwent an imaging exam. The MRI scan revealed a muscle injury in the adductor muscle of the left thigh. The CBF regrets the injury. Wesley is a beloved player within the group and will always be considered part of this team that is seeking its sixth world championship. In light of the diagnosis, the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) announces the call-up of player Éderson, who will join the delegation this Monday in the United States. https://www.cbf.com.br/selecao-brasileira/noticias/selecao-masculina/a/ederson-e-convocado-pela-selecao-para-a-copa-do-mundo submitted by /u/nearly_headless_nic to r/reddevils [link] [comments]

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Every World Cup year there is a post like this and, since nobody has made one yet, I decided to do it. We are living through a rough era for nicknames in Brazilian football, and this year's call-up was no different. Paquetá is the only player with a nickname that is not directly derived from his own name. The 1990 World Cup was the best in this regard, with 9 original nicknames: Dunga, Alemão, Branco, Careca, Mozer, Müller, Renato Gaúcho, Mazinho and Tita. But 2006 was the overall champion of nicknames. There were 14 players in total, including 10 with name-derived nicknames: Lúcio, Ronaldinho, Zé Roberto, Cicinho, Luisão, Cris, Juninho, Ricardinho, Fred and Robinho. And it also had 4 original nicknames: Dida, Cafu, Kaká and Mineiro. In 2018, Brazil somehow managed to have zero original nicknames in the squad (Casemiro is not a nickname, it is just a misspelled surname). Since 2014, the only cases have been Hulk in 2014 and Paquetá in 2022 and 2026. The 1954 and 1958 World Cups were also strong in the nickname tradition: each had 8 players with original nicknames. 1958, for example, had names like Pelé, Garrincha, Didi, Vavá, Zito and Dida. The recent trend is pretty clear: conventional names have dominated the latest squads. In 2026, 20 of the 26 players were known by first name, surname, or first name + surname. PS: I know that technically Zico and Kaká are nicknames derived from their names, but I think most Brazilians would agree that those nicknames are different from diminutives or simple abbreviations. The rule I decided to use was: if you cannot guess the player's name from the nickname, it does not count as derived. submitted by /u/furtado12 to r/soccer [link] [comments]

Yesterday, when Brazil announced their squad for the 2026 World Cup and included Neymar Jr., many fans became so happy that they seem to have ignored all the other shortcomings and criticisms... What felt like the biggest weakness is that, just like his predecessors Tite, Diniz, and Dorival Jr., Carlo has reduced the number of proper midfielders in the squad and increased the number of attackers... In big tournaments like the World Cup, when facing top-class teams, it remains to be seen how this aging and fatigue-prone midfield featuring Casemiro and Fabinho will battle. That will be a crucial factor in Brazil’s progress in the World Cup. In this 25-member squad, there are only 5 proper midfielders in total... And among them, players like Fabinho and Lucas Paquetá are somewhat in career dips.The only real options are Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, and Danilo...It’s unclear how Carlo plans to run this team with such a midfield that has almost zero depth. At a minimum, they could have included players like Chelsea’s André Santos, Wolves’ João Gomes, Newcastle’s Joelinton, Atalanta’s Ederson, or Galatasaray’s Gabriel Sara. That would have given the midfield a bit more depth... Then there are the two wing-backs. Even after so many years, there isn’t a single good player at left-back... They are still relying on the aging Danilo and Alex Sandro ... Wesley seems okay as a right-back though.Douglas Santos and others feel very average...There was also Monaco’s left-back Caio Henrique — I don’t know why he wasn’t considered. Overall, the midfield and wing-back positions look very weak... Looking at the three goalkeepers, they really needed at least one good penalty specialist. Alisson and Ederson have repeatedly shown they are poor at penalties...I don’t know about Hugo Souza’s penalty-saving ability — he might be brought on just for that. In central defence, instead of Leo and Ibanez, it feels like they could have taken Thiago Silva, Beraldo, or Murillo... Eder Militão’s injury is a huge loss; otherwise, he could have been deployed as a right-back too. In attack, they’ve packed in a lot of players, and none of them seem weak — everyone is excellent. But personally, I felt it would have been better to have João Pedro instead of (or along with) Martinelli... Arsenal fans will tell you if you ask them — Martinelli is a "mid player" (mid-table level player). Another big loss for Brazil is Chelsea’s Estevão... Now we’ll have to wait and see what Carlo can do with this squad. Nothing less than the title will satisfy Brazil fans. But with this unbalanced midfield and a defence lacking depth, whether that’s achievable is a big question... Otherwise, in all 8 World Cup matches, these big-name attackers will have to step up every game and win matches through individual brilliance.... How far this team can go is something we’ll have to wait and watch...Viva Brasil 🇧🇷🟡🟢 submitted by /u/ismailtharammal to r/BrazilFootballTeam [link] [comments]

Football/Soccer men's national teams, if a team loses by the same margin more than once, the earliest match and the flag used at that time are used. Example: Brazil lost by 6 goals against Germany in 2014, but Uruguay did the same in 1920, so the Uruguayan flag was used. Note:The former flag of Syria was the flag of Egypt during the United Arab Republic period. Japan lost to the Philippines, not United States. submitted by /u/Moozy664 to r/MapPorn [link] [comments]

Invincible, legendary, epoch-making. These teams are one with history. Probably forever. THE HUNGARIAN GOLDEN TEAM 1949-1954 ▫️The Golden Team was the best national team in the world in the early 1950s. Led by Gusztáv Sebes, they won 55 out of 74 matches and remained undefeated from 1949 until the 1954 World Cup final against Germany. They won the Olympics in 1952 and defeated England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953. The team included players such as Ferenc Puskás, László Kubala, and Sándor Kocsis. team fell apart after the 'Miracle of Bern' with the 1956 revolution. REAL MADRID 1955-1960 ▫️If there was one team that defined European dominance in the early years, it was Real Madrid between 1955 and 1960. Madrid won the first five European Cups in a row, with legendary players such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskás, Paco Gento, Raymond Kopa. This golden age made Real Madrid the face of European football and laid the foundations of its global legacy. MANCHESTER UNITED 1966-68 ▫️After the 1958 Munich air disaster, which dealt a devastating blow to the club, the team made an amazing comeback, becoming the first English club to win the European Cup ten years later. Legendary manager Sir Matt Busby, who survived the crash, rebuilt the team with a mix of youth and experience. Key players included George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Nobby Stiles. BRAZIL 1970 ▫️Brazil won all six of their matches at the World Cup in Mexico, and winning their third World Cup. The team was full of legends: Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto. Pelé became the first player to win three World Cups, and Carlos Alberto's goal in the final is one of the most iconic goals of all time. ARSENAL 2003-04 ▫️The 2003/04 season was a defining moment for Arsenal, as they finished the Premier League unbeaten and earned the nickname 'The Invincibles'. The key players included the season is Thierry Henry, who was the league's top scorer, as well as Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, ​​Robert Pires. BARCELONA 2008-2012 ▫️Under Pep Guardiola, Barcelona developed a style of play that was revolutionary and remains a standard-bearer in football to this day. They won three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, two Copa del Reys and two Club World Cups during this period. The team boasted players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta. submitted by /u/BehindTheTransfer to r/footballscouting [link] [comments]

I'm not saying they're bad or anything, but considering it has the second largest population after Brazil in Latin America and football is incredibly popular there, they haven't lived up to their potential. Mexico has almost 3 times as many people as Argentina, but has produced far fewer world class players. Mexico should be a regular World Cup challenger, alongside Brazil and Argentina. Poverty is a significant issue in Mexico, but it is as well in Brazil and many world class Brazilian players were very poor growing up. submitted by /u/DrunkSchoolbusDriver to r/worldcup [link] [comments]

Welcome back to the Preview Series! today we are seeing the nation that is synonymous with football! the perennial favourites! the ones that took the sport and made it art! today we are seeing Brazil with u/Arantes_! About Nicknames: Seleção (Selection), Canarinho (Canary yellow). Association: Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation). Confederation: CONMEBOL (South America). How they qualified: 1st place in CONMEBOL. Appearances: 22. Titles: 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). Most Caps: Cafu (142). Top Scorers: Pelé (77), Neymar (75). FIFA Ranking: 1st The Country Brazil are the only nation to participate in every World Cup. Their first notable result was a third-place finish in 1938. They hosted in 1950 and entered the final match as favourites, only to lose in front of their home fans to an underestimated Uruguay. Eight years later Brazil overcame its own self-doubt, introduced a 17-year old Pelé and a bow-legged Garrincha to the world and won their first World Cup against their Swedish hosts. They became the first team to win outside their own continent and would go on to win three World Cups in four tournaments, culminating in what is regarded to this day as the defining picture of Brazilian football: Pelé’s familiar celebrations and the iconic final goal of the tournament scored by team captain Carlos Alberto Torres before he lifted the Jules Rimet trophy, a trophy which would then be retired with the first three-time champions. Though Brazil maintained an objectively superb record through the next 20 years, they failed to win the tournament again until 1994. Led by Romário and Bebeto up front, a more pragmatic side made Brazil the first four-time champions. On the bench was a 17-year old Ronaldo who would go on to lead Brazil to the 1998 final and 2002 title. In the four World Cups since, Brazil have reached three quarter-finals and one semi-final, once again an objectively strong record, but not enough to satisfy the soccer-mad nation where World Cups are either won or lost, with no in between. Group and opponents Brazil are in Group G and will face two teams they met in the last World Cup group phase (Serbia, Switzerland) and one they have faced twice before (Cameroon). Most Brazilians consider the group phase a formality, but this is a strong group that will test Brazil more than most have in the past. Fixtures Brazil x Serbia Lusail Iconic Stadium 24-11-2022 22:00 Brazil x Switzerland Stadium 974 28-11-2022 19:00 Brazil x Cameroon Lusail Iconic Stadium 02-12-2022 22:00 The squad In a press conference held on November 7, Tite announced the final 26-man squad. It could be said that this is one of the least contested call-ups the national team has ever seen for a World Cup. A testament to the success of Tite’s six-year tenure. Position Player Club GK Alisson Liverpool GK Ederson Manchester City GK Weverton Palmeiras CD Bremer Juventus CD Éder Militão Real Madrid CD Marquinhos Paris-Saint Germain CD Thiago Silva Chelsea LB Alex Sandro Juventus LB Alex Telles Sevilla RB Danilo Juventus RB Dani Alves Pumas UNAM MF Bruno Guimarães Newcastle MF Casemiro Manchester United MF Éverton Ribeiro Flamengo MF Fabinho Liverpool MF Fred Manchester United MF Lucas Paquetá West Ham United FW Antony Manchester United FW Gabriel Jesus Arsenal FW Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal FW Neymar Paris-Saint Germain FW Pedro Flamengo FW Raphinha Barcelona FW Richarlison Tottenham Hotspurs FW Rodrygo Real Madrid FW Vini Jr Real Madrid Manager: Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, “Tite” With Brazil off to a poor start 6 games into qualifying for 2018 Tite was brought in to right the ship. He did more than that, leading the team to a first place finish with a record of 10 wins and 2 draws in the remaining matches. At the World Cup he led Brazil to the quarter-finals but his team gave up two goals for the first time since he took over and failed to find their way back, losing 2x1 to Belgium despite a relentless second-half performance. In a footballing culture that is far too impatient with its coaches, Tite was unusually kept on despite Brazil’s elimination. And though Brazil has seen coaches return despite losing a World Cup, this will be the first time that a coach has held the reins for six years with no interruption between tournaments. This rare sensible decision means Brazil’s coaching staff could make the difference in claiming a sixth title. In between Tite’s two World Cups, Brazil won the 2019 Copa América without Neymar and ended World Cup qualifying undefeated, reaching a record 45 points despite playing one game less. His overall World Cup qualifying record stands at 24W 5D 0L with 70 goals scored and only 8 conceded. While Brazil did lose the Copa América 2021 final to rivals Argentina, Tite used 21 players from a roster of 23 and experimented with a number of options, giving significant minutes to backups like Éder Militão and Fabinho among others in the group stage and developing stronger chemistry in key positions. Perhaps more than any player’s contribution, the coaching staff’s experience could be the difference maker for this Brazil team. Whatever the outcome, Tite’s work is recognized as a level above anything seen before on the national team and should serve as the model for every appointment to the senior squad from here on out. Starting XI Since World Cup qualifying began in 2020 Brazil has played 28 matches with 27 different starting line-ups. Expect to see different line-ups during the World Cup group stage as well. Tite’s starting point is still a classic Brazilian 4-4-2: a holding midfielder (cabeça-de-área) sits in front of two central defenders, at least one of whom can distribute precise long passes. The holding mid is partnered by a versatile midfielder (segundo volante) who can protect the defence and contribute on offence. Two full-backs complete the defensive line and offensive options on the left and right complete the midfield 4, allowing the star, Neymar, to take up a central position with a centre-forward ahead of him. This will be labelled a 4-3-3 or even 4-2-3-1 by most broadcasters. More importantly though, when in possession this looks more like the modern 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 some of the world’s top clubs use. The primary way of accomplishing the above is with Raphinha on the right and Paquetá on the left. The default starting line-up would be: Alisson Thiago Silva Marquinhos Danilo Alex Sandro Casemiro Fred Raphinha Paquetá Neymar Richarlison In possession Brazil will look like a 2-3-5 with full-backs alongside the central midfielder and Fred moving up into the offence, or like a 3-2-5 with one full-back in the defensive line and the other alongside the midfielder, supplying long balls. Some variations tested during the last year include: * Neymar and Paquetá (instead of a centre-forward) through the middle, with Vini Jr. on the left * Paquetá in Fred’s spot, allowing for Vini Jr. to come in without dropping the centre-forward * Militão instead of Thiago Silva for a higher (and faster) backline Players to Watch Paquetá First called up to the senior side in late 2018, Paquetá was at times included despite poor form for his club because of the high expectations the coaching staff had for him. Those expectations have been met and during Copa América 2021 he became as indispensable to the team as Neymar. His versatility and their chemistry have simultaneously made Neymar better while making Brazil less dependent on one star. Paquetá is a tireless presser who can also provide the final pass or the finishing touch. He can also play just about anywhere on the pitch. Playing him as the left-mid allows Tite to use a centre-forward and give Neymar the centre of the pitch to play in, but he has also lined up as false nine or attacking midfielder when playing with different forwards. He can even line up as the versatile “segundo volante”, replacing Fred and allowing Tite to add one more offensive player to the frontline. ALL the young wingers (Raphinha, Vini Jr., Antony, Rodrygo, Martinelli) For most of the 2022 cycle Tite relied on attackers like Gabriel Jesus or Richarlison as the primary wide options, or offensive midfielders like Coutinho and Éverton Ribeiro. By the end of Copa América 2021, Brazil had improved its offensive approach as a unit, but depth was underwhelming, even if Vini Jr. was being brought in as an occasional sub. Then two things happened: Raphinha and Antony were called-up for the October qualifiers and immediately delivered game-changing performances, while Vini Jr. and Rodrygo became critical components of Real Madrid’s Champions League-winning season. Suddenly Brazil had young wingers who were producing amazing performances for club and country. Martinelli joined the party later and though he has only appeared 3 times for Brazil, always as a sub, his form and spectacular start to this season earned him the final spot. With 5 substitutions per match all of them will play, even if the “default” line-up only includes one of them. Vini Jr. will start in some circumstances and all of them have shown they can make an impact in limited minutes. These players could be difference makers in 2022 and leaders in 2026 and perhaps even 2030. Neymar Need I say more? No preview of Brazil can ignore that Neymar, love him or hate him, is the player to watch on this team. See below for a bit on “Neymardependência” and how things might be different now. Points of discussion The (lack of) European competition In each of the last four World Cups Brazil arguably peaked a year early and then failed to address the red flags that appeared in the lead up to the tournament. Each time Brazil seemed psychologically unable to deal with going down a goal, though 2010 and 2014 were considerably more spectacular breakdowns than the others. Each of those eliminations came against European teams. Due to the COVID shortened seasons and UEFA Nations League, Brazil has not faced a European opponent since a late 2019 friendly. In fact, they had not faced a team outside of CONMEBOL in over two years until the June friendly played against South Korea. A common refrain among the Brazilian press throughout qualifying was that no matter how good Brazil’s campaign was, the team was bound to fall to the first European opponent in the knockout stages – curiously, the group stage doesn’t count, Brazilian pundits consider that a gimme, no matter how tough the opposition. That doom and gloom attitude is largely gone today, tempered by an active coaching staff that made itself available for interviews and opened up about the behind the scenes processes like never before, and countered by the optimism that inevitably infects every Brazilian as the tournament approaches. But the question of whether the lack of competition outside of CONMEBOL will hurt Brazil (and other South American teams) can only really be answered in Qatar. Whatever happened to Brazilian full-backs? Ever since the advent of the 4-2-4 in the 1950s Brazil has been known for marauding full-backs who venture into the opposing half to join the attack. The signature goal of the iconic Brazilian World Cup team was scored by right-back Carlos Alberto Torres doing just that. The last time Brazil won the World Cup the starting full-backs were all-time greats Cafu and Roberto Carlos. The presumed starters at full-back for 2022 are Danilo and Alex Sandro. These are not your father’s Brazilian fullbacks. Or my youth’s. Or even what we saw four years ago. These are serviceable but unspectacular defenders who will not be running to the endline to put in crosses. When Brazil move forward they will line up beside the central defenders and the central midfielder and provide outlets to distribute short passes and switch play from side to side. The backups will be 39-year old Dani Alves and Alex Telles. Few other options were even called up and tested during this cycle because the typical Brazilian full-back does not fit Tite’s current setup. They are considered the weak link in a squad that is otherwise one of the deepest in the tournament. Some worry that the lack of speed and versatility will cost Brazil, especially against teams with fast wingers and multiple options on offence. The end of "Neymardependência" For a long time Brazil were seen as overly dependent on Neymar because no other prospective superstars lived up to their potential in his generation. Besides the general problem of being overly dependent on one player, Neymar was a left-winger for most of his career and it’s easier to counter an individual who is already contained to one side of the pitch. Finally, Neymar is often criticised for holding on to the ball for too long and being too selfish. Today Neymar is a different player. In Tuchel’s PSG he evolved into a creator through the middle of the pitch and Tite embraced this change. While at times still tempted to hold on to the ball too long, he generally releases it earlier and has more space to work with. Finally, the emergence of Paquetá and wingers like Raphinha and Vini Jr., has not only provided him with more options, but also allowed Brazil to maintain a high level without Neymar. One might say it’s easier to predict Brazil’s lineup without Neymar than with him. That does not mean the team is better without him though. Winning the World Cup will almost certainly require a standout performance from Neymar, but he won’t have to do it alone and, unlike 2014 when teammates could scarcely believe it and seemed to lose composure when they were informed he would miss the semi-final due to injury, the 2022 squad is likely to rally if he is suspended or injured. Conclusion: expectations Anything short of winning is seen as a failure. In the recent Ronaldo documentary one journalist noted that Brazilians talk about World Cups in terms of ones the country won and ones the country lost, with no in between. This lack of nuance is damaging to long term efforts, but fortunately CBF did not hit the reset button upon Brazil’s elimination in 2018. The lessons learned by the coaching staff in 2018 will hopefully pay off and help Brazil reach their 6th World Cup title. submitted by /u/LordVelaryon to r/soccer [link] [comments]

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I decided to research who the youngest debutant was for each of the top 50-ranked FIFA teams in the world. My research may not be the best so if you see any errors feel free to point them out, I'lll fix them! If there’s any nation that isn’t on this list who you want to know who the youngest debutant is, just ask. Belgium Fernand Nisot, 1911 - 16y, 19d vs. France (14 caps) Since Nisot made his debut such a long time ago, it’s hard for me to find much information about him. He did win a gold medal with Belgium for football at 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp. In terms of club football, he played for R. Léopold Club, now known as Léopold FC. According to Transfermarkt, he took a ‘career break’ from 1914 to 1919 so it is entirely possible he was involved in World War I. He appeared 14 times for Belgium and scored 10 goals for them. France Julien Verbrugghe, 1906 - 16y, 306d vs. England Amateurs (4 caps) On Verbrugghe’s debut, France lost 15-0 to England. And this isn’t even France’s biggest defeat. That came in 1908 when they lost 17-1 to Denmark. Needless to say, France’s national team was on a much ower level than it was today. Verbrugghe played for AS Française and Red Star (the Paris one, not the Belgrade one). Verbrugghe was joined the 43rd Infantry Regiment of the French Army and was unfortunately killed at the Battle of the Somme on August 21, 1916. He was only 26 years old. Brazil Pelé, 1957 - 16y, 254d vs. Argentina (92 caps) Hopefully we have all heard of Pelé and know of his massive reputation so I don’t think I need to go too in-depth. He made his debut for Brazil in a 2-1 loss vs. Argentina. He is Brazil’s leading goalscorer, and won 3 World Cups. He is the youngest player to play in a World Cup Final vs. Sweden in 1958, which he also scored in. In terms of club career, he only played for 2 clubs: Santos and New York Cosmos. He holds many, many more records that I don’t have the time to list here, but as we all know, he is pretty much considered the best ever. England Theo Walcott, 2006 - 17y, 75d vs. Hungary (47 caps) The first player on this list that’s still playing competitive football. Walcott is still at the fresh young age of 31 and playing for Southampton, on loan from Everton. He spent most of his career at Arsenal, being an important player during his 12 years under Wenger. He started at the Swindon Town Academy where he was picked up by Southampton and then later sold to Arsenal in 2006, the same year as his international debut. However, he has not appeared for England since 2016, during a 2-2 draw here he was subbed on for an injured Lallana (of course). His best performance came when he scored a hat-trick against Croatia in 2008. Portugal José Gralha, 1921 - 16y, 276d vs. Spain (1 cap) Again, it’s difficult for me to find much about this player. I do know that he played for Casa Pia at club level, and was a forward. That's about it. Spain Ángel Zubieta, 1936 - 17y, 283d vs. Czechoslovakia (2 caps) Ángel Zubieta’s record-setting appearance for Spain was one of only 2 appearances he made for the Spanish national team. A year later, he declared for the Basque national team and was capped 34 times for them. His playing career was disrupted by the Spanish Civil War and there was a solid 2 years after he left Bilbao that he had no club to play for - only the Basque national team. The Basque national team went on a tour of Central and South America until FIFA declared that the Basque team could no longer play any more FIFA-affiliated national teams due to Spanish Civil War conflicts. So, all the Basque players formed a Mexican club called C.D. Euzkadi, which played in the Mexican Primera Fuerza league for one season. While the club eventually disbanded, since all the players on the club were professionals, the creation of the club led to the professionalization of football in Mexico (Mexico had previously only had amateur clubs). Zubieta joined Argentine side San Lorenzo in 1939, which he played for for 13 years. He eventually returned to Spain where he spent the last 4 years of his career at Deportivo La Coruña. Zubieta turned to management and managed sides in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico throughout the 60s and 70s. The story of C.D. Euzkadi is a really fascinating one and I kind of sped through it so I recommend you check it out. Uruguay Horacio Peralta, 1999 - 17y, 65d vs. Venezuela (7 caps) Horacio Peralta is a true journeyman. After showing promise with Nacional, he was purchased by Inter Milan, a club he made zero appearances for before being sold to Cagliari. And thus, his journeyman career began, playing for clubs in Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. In total, he has played for 17 senior clubs across an 18-year career. On the international stage, Peralta has had 7 caps. Argentina Diego Maradona, 1977 - 16y, 108d vs. Hungary (90 caps) Another player I think we all know about, especially with the recent tragic news. Diego Maradona made his debut as a sub on for Leopoldo Luque, who had scored 2 goals that match. He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and won Argentina's Footballer of the Year in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1986. He started at Argentinos Jrs. before moving to Boca Jrs. on loan. He was purchased by Barcelona in 1982 where he spent two seasons before moving to Napoli. There he became a club icon, winning the league twice and the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup as well. Unfortunately he was banned for a year in 1991 for cocaine use. After his ban he spent a year at Sevilla and another at Newell's before being banned again in 1994. In 1995 he joined Boca Juniors again where he spent the last 2 years of his career. He also had a managing career, taking charge of the Argeninta national team for 2 years as well as managing Al Wasl, Fujairah, Dorados, and Gimnasia. Croatia Alen Halilović, 2013 - 16y, 353d vs. Portugal (10 caps) Alen Halilović, the wonderkid who struggled to live up to the hype, is Croatia’s youngest debutant. In 2014 he was one of the most exciting talents in the world, becoming Dinamo Zagreb’s youngest player as well as the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Prva HNL, the 2nd youngest player in the history of the Champions League, after Céléstine Babayaro (Since Rayan Cherki’s debut this year, Halilović is now the 3rd youngest.). The hype was real. He signed for Barcelona in 2014. He was eventually loaned out to Sporting Gijón, then sold to Hamburger SV, loaned out to Las Palmas, joined AC Milan on a free transfer, loaned out to Standard Liège and Heerenveen, and then in October 2020 had his Milan contract mutually terminated. He is now at Birmingham City (he signed 2 weeks ago) and still only 24 years old. He has made 10 appearances for the national team but is yet to score for them. Colombia Johnnier Montaño, 1999 - 16y, 167d vs. Uruguay (12 caps) Starting his career at CD América, Johnnier Montaño had a very nomadic career. Quilmes in Argentina. Parma, Verona, and Piacenza in Italy. Santa Fe, Tolima, and Cortuluá in Colombia. Deportivo Quito in Ecuador. Sport Boys, Alizana Lima, USM Porres, Melgar, Cantolao, and Chavelines in Peru. Konyaspor in Turkey. He won the Peruvian League with Melgar and currently turns out for Chavelines. He represented Colombia at the 1999 Copa America. At the Copa America, he scored in a game vs. Argentina that saw Martín Palermo miss THREE penalties for Argentina in a game that Colombia won 3-0. Colombia was also awarded two penalties, and missed one of them as well. Mexico Armando Manzo, 1984 - 17y, 109d vs. Italy (38 caps) Armando Manzo didn’t have the most auspicious of starts for the Mexico national team, as he watched his team concede 5 goals to Italy during a friendly, including a Paolo Rossi hat-trick. Nonetheless, Manzo was called up to play for his country at the 1986 World Cup, where Mexico made it to the quarterfinals before losing on penalties to West Germany. On club level, Manzo made 195 appearances for Mexican side Club América, and has also played for Mexican clubs Tampico Madero, Club Necaxa, Cobras de Ciudad Juárez, and CF Monterrey. Italy Rodolfo Gavinelli, 1911 - 16y, 98d vs. France (1 cap) OR Renzo De Vecchi, 1911 - 16y, 113d vs. Hungary (45 caps) This one is kind of up for debate. Not only is Gavinelli’s date of birth uncertain, but we don’t even know if that’s his actual name. Some sources list him as “Pietro Antonio”. What we do know about him is that he played for Piemonte (not the unlicensed Juventus team on FIFA, there was an actual team called this at one point) and Andrea Doria at club level, and that his life wasn’t particularly long. If Gavinelli’s debut is too ambiguous for you, the next-youngest debutant for Italy is Renzo De Vecchi, who also debuted in 1911 at 16 years and 334 days old vs. Hungary. We know a lot more about De Vecchi - He played for Milan and Genoa, quickly became a legend among club fans, won the league 3 times with Genoa, appeared at 3 Olympic Games for Italy (1912, 1920, 1924), retired and became the manager Genoa, and then went into sports journalism, working for La Gazzetta dello Sport. Denmark Harald Nielsen, 1952 - 17y, 310d vs. Czechoslovakia (14 caps) Scoring 15 goals in 14 appearances for Denmark, Harald Nielsen was clearly a prolific goal scorer on international level. He was part of the Danish team that won the silver medal at the 1960 Olympics. He also won the Danish footballer of the year in 1961, the first year the award was given out. At club level Neilsen started at Frederikshavn before moving to Bologna in 1961. He won the Serie A with them in 1963-64, and was Serie A's top goalscorer in the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons. After 157 games and 104 goals for Bologna, Nielsen had short spells with Inter, Napoli, and Sampdoria before retiring in 1970. After retirement he helped professionalize football in Denmark and is considered an icon for helping Danish football develop to where it is today. Germany Willy Baumgartner, 1908 - 17y, 102d vs. Switzerland (4 caps) In a 5-3 loss to Switzerland, Willy Baumgartner became the youngest player to be capped for Germany. On club level, he played for BFC Germania and Düsseldorfer SV 04. Again, I can’t find much information on him since he played over 100 years ago. Netherlands Jan van Breda Kolff, 1911 - 17y, 65d vs. Belgium (11 caps) Again, another one I can barely find anything about. He has been capped by Netherlands 11 times, scored once, and played for HVV Den Haag at club level. Switzerland Robert Fischer, 1915 - 15y, 30d vs. Italy (1 cap) Not to be confused with the chess player Bobby Fischer. Can find even less out about this one. Don’t even know what club he played for. It is a very classic neutral Swiss thing to be playing football in the middle of World War I, though. Chile Humberto Elgueta, 1920 - 16y, 1d vs. Brazil (9 caps) About 10 years after his international debut Humberto Elgueta was included in Chile’s 1930 World Cup squad (the first World Cup). He started in the teams’ first game, a 3-0 win against Mexico. However he did not appear in any of Chile’s other games at the tournament. He played for Gold Cross FC, Santiago Wanderers, and Naval de Talcahuano on club level. Poland Wlodzimierz Lubanski, 1963 - 16y, 187d vs. Norway (75 caps) On Wlodzimierz Lubanski’s debut for Poland, he actually got on the scoresheet - in fact, a lot of Polish players did. It was a 9-0 thrashing of Norway. The goals didn’t stop there. Lubanski is a legendary goalscorer for Poland; he is the nation’s 2nd highest international goalscorer of all time with 48 goals in 75 games. At club level, he spent 13 years at Górnik Zabrze before switching to Belgian side Lokoren, where he spent a further 8 years. He then spent his last 3 seasons in the French 2nd division with Valenciennes for 1 season and Quimper for 2. His goalscoring records at club level are phenomenal too, scoring 364 times in 626 games. Sweden Gunnar Pleijel, 1911 - 17y, 71d vs. Finland (1 cap) A difficult one to find much about. All I know about him is that he played for IFK Uppsala on club level, and that he has only 1 cap. His game against Finland ended 5-2 with Sweden being the winning side. Wales Harry Wilson, 2013 - 16y, 207d vs. Belgium (17 caps) Wales’ youngest player ever is still only 23. Harry Wilson came through the Liverpool youth system and is still contracted to the Reds. He is currently on loan at Cardiff and has previously had spells at Crewe Alexandra, Hull, Derby, and Bournemouth. He has 17 caps and 3 goals for Wales. Senegal Dion Lopy, 2019 - 17y, 186 vs. Liberia (1 cap) Since this one only happened a year ago, Dion Lopy still has a lot of time to do stuff worth writing about. He started at the club Oslo Football Academy Dakar (In Dakar, not Oslo) and moved to Stade Reims in October 2020. USA Louis Menges, 1904 - 16y, 18d vs. Canada (1 cap) Interestingly enough, 4 of the USA’s 5 youngest players made their debut in this 7-0 defeat to Canada in 1904. The fifth player? None other than Freddy Adu, USA’s 2nd youngest player ever. Anyways, goalkeeper Louis Menges didn’t play football much after his teenage years. He was in the US Army during World War I. Later he served in Illinois’s state senate from 1935 to 1943 and also owned and built movie theaters. Ukraine Serhiy Rebrov, 1992 - 18y, 24d vs. USA (75 caps) Coincidentally enough, the next player on this list made his debut against the previous country. Serhiy Rebrov came through Shakhtar Donetsk’s youth prospect right at the same the Soviet Union fell and Ukraine became independent. Rebrov soon switched to Shakthar’s rivals Dynamo Kyiv where he made a famous attacking partnership with Andriy Shevchenko. Rebrov stayed at Kyiv for 8 years before signing for Tottenham in 2000. His last year on contract to Tottenham he spent on loan to Fenerbache. He moved on a free transfer to West Ham where he played for a year before going back to Dynamo Kyiv on a free transfer. In 2008 he was bought by Rubin Kazan where he spent his last year before retiring. Rebrov is the joint-highest goalscorer of all time in the Ukranian Premier League along with Maksim Shatskikh. Rebrov went on to become a manager, leading sides such as Dynamo Kyiv and Al-Ahli. He is managing Ferencváros, who, this year, made their first Champions League Group stage appearance since 1995. Peru Lorenzo Pacheco, 1935 - 15y, 166d vs. Chile (10 caps) Lorenzo Pacheco was a forward who made his debut vs. Chile which ended in a 1-0 victory for Peru. He played for KDT Nacional, Social San Carlos, Universitario, and Sport Boys at club level. He appeared for Peru at the 1947 and 1949 Copa Americas, and won the league with Sport Boys in 1951. Austria David Alaba, 2009 - 17y, 110d vs. France (75 caps) David Alaba has become an integral part of Bayern Munich's dominant 2010s squad since being signed from Austria Wien's reserves in 2008. Besides his time in Austria Wein's youth and a loan to Hoffenheim in 2011, Alaba has spent pretty much his entire career at Bayern Munich, where he has won 9 Bundesligas and 2 Champions Leagues. He has won the Austrian footballer of the year 5 times in a row from 2012 to 2016 and been named in UEFA's team of the year in 2013, 2014, and 2015. He has made 75 appearances and scored 14 times for Austria. Tunisia Adel Sellimi, 1989 - 16y, 207d vs. Zambia (78 caps) Adel Sellimi had a virtually permanent place in the Tunisian national team throughout the 1990s, and overall he earned 78 caps and scored 20 times. He started and ended his career at Club Africain in Tunisia. However, he also played for Nantes, Real Jaén, and Freiburg in between his 2 spells at the Tunis club. He did find an impressive vein of form at Freiburg as well. He's currently an assistant manager for the Tunisia national team. Japan Takefusa Kubo, 2019 - 18y, 5d vs. El Salvador (11 caps) A recent one, and one of the most promising players currently. Kubo is still only 19 years old and has already made 11 appearances for Japan. He was recruited by FC Barcelona from Kawasaki Frontale Youth in 2011 only for Barcelona to let him go in 2015 when he left for FC Tokyo. After a loan spell at Yokohama F. Marinos, Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid signed him in 2019. Kubo then had a fruitful loan spell at Mallorca and is currently on loan at Villareal. Venezuela William Salas, 1977 - 15y, 131d vs. Ecuador (13 caps) William Salas made 13 total appearances for Venezuela as a defender. On club level, he played for Portuguesa FC in Venezuela. Iran Hossein Kaebi, 2003 - 17y, 297d vs. Belarus (85 caps) OR Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, 2019 - 17y, 338d vs. Syria (3 caps) Known for his pace, work rate, and strength, Hossein Kaebi played for 9 clubs across Iran’s top tier, including Foolad, Piroozi, Persepolis, Saipa, Steel Azin, Rah Ahan, Sanat Naft, Esteghlal, and Sepidrood. He also had spells in other Middle Eastern clubs: Al-Sadd in Qatar, and Emirates in the UAE. The right-back had a very short and unfruitful spell in Europe, signing for Leicester City in 2007. However he could speak no English and was relegated to the reserves after the sacking of Martin Allen. He was released by mutual consent after only making 3 appearances for the Foxes and returned to Iran. He is currently the assistant manager of Sepidrood. On the international stage, Kaebi appeared in Iran’s 2006 World Cup squad and their 2004 and 2007 Asian Cup Squads. Also, he has 13 siblings, which isn’t relevant but I thought it was pretty wild. However, it is likely Kaebi lied about his age and was actually older. If that's the case, Iran's youngest player would be Allahyar Sayyadmanesh. He is currently still only 19 and is at Zorya on loan from Fenerbahce. Fenerbache signed him from Esteghlal and previously loaned him out to Istanbulspor. Serbia Andrija Živković, 2013 - 17y, 91d vs. Japan (17 caps) Andrija Živković started his career off at Partizan with a bang, scoring his first goal for the club just 2 days after signing his first senior contract. He scored 3 more times in the next 3 league games, and became the team’s youngest captain in history in 2014. However, by 2016, Živković refused to extend his contract with the club. He eventually moved on a free transfer to Benfica. He struggled to make an impact there and left on a free transfer in 2020. He is currently playing for PAOK in Greece. Živković was part of the Serbian U20 team that won the U20 World Cup in 2015. He scored twice, with his direct free-kick goal against Mexico U20 being voted the goal of the tournament. He was also part of the Serbia's 2018 World Cup team. Algeria Tarek Lazizi, 1990 - 18y, 255d vs. Ivory Coast (44 caps) At club level, Tarek Lazizi started at JS Kabylie and moved to MC Algiers in 1989. In 1996 he moved to Stade Tunisien in Tunisia, then to Genclerbirligi in Turkey, then back to MC Algeirs, then to Atlantis FC in Finland, beofre finally concluding his career at MB Bouira back in Algeria. He won the league with MC Algeirs in 1998-99 and he was a part of the Algeria squad that won their first Africa Cup of Nations in 1990. Nigeria Tajudeen Oyekanmi, 1990 - 17y, 7d vs. Algeria (1 cap) Another one I can find barely anything about. Tajudeen Oyekanmi played for KV Kortrijk between 1991 and 1993, but I can’t find any records of other clubs he played for. Turkey Mehmet Leblebi, 1924 - 16y, 143d vs. Czechoslovakia (16 caps) A true Galatasaray man through and through, Mehmet Leblebi went to Galatasaray High School and was selected for Galatasaray’s 2nd team at only 12 years old. He began playing for Galatasaray’s senior squad at only 15 years old. He stayed at Galatasaray his entire career, winning the Istanbul Football League 5 times. He also scored 14 goals in one match against Vefa SK, a game that ended 20-0. He made 16 appearances for the Turkish NT, scoring twice. Russia Eduard Streltsov, 1955 - 17y, 330d vs. Sweden (38 caps) Here’s a footballer with a story so complicated that I can’t do it justice here. I highly recommend reading more about Steltsov. Streltsov not only scored on his international debut, he scored a hat-trick against Sweden, a game that the Soviet Union won 6-0. In 1956, he won the gold medal with the Soviet Union at the Olympics, and he was voted the Soviet Footballer of the year in 1967 and 1968. He spent his entire career at Torpedo Moscow and the stadium was renamed Eduard Streltsov Stadium in 1996 in his honor. However, it wasn’t all success for Streltsov. In 1958 he was accused of raping a woman at a party. It is unclear whether he actually did this or if he was accused by Soviet leaders who were upset with his rebellious personality and celebrity status. This is an extremely controversial subject so if you want to know more about what exactly happened, I recommend reading more about Streltsov, it's fascinating. But regardless of what really happened, Streltsov was sentenced to 12 years (he wound up only serving 5 of those 12) in the Gulag and forbidden from playing professional football ever again. He missed the 1958 World Cup and never appeared at a World Cup for his nation. Apparently he was frequently severely beaten by a young inmate and had to spend 4 months in the prison hospital. But soon he began to earn the approval of his fellow inmates. Prison officials would allow Streltsov to play football as a form of entertainment to calm down the inmates in times of trouble. After his release in 1963, Streltsev worked at the ZiL factory and studied automotive engineering. He played with the factory’s amateur football team, which won all 11 of its matches and the league, as well as attracting large crowds who wanted to see Steltsev play. When Leonid Brezhnev replaced Nikita Khrushchev, Brezhnev received a letter signed by tens of thousands of Soviet citizens asking for Streltsov’s professional ban to be reversed. Brezhnev agreed and Streltsov returned to Torpedo Moscow where he continued his rich form for the rest of his career. His international career finished with 38 caps and 25 goals. To this day he’s considered on the Russia’s greatest players ever and along with Lev Yashin and Konstantin Beskov, appeared on a limited edition mint of 2-ruble coins focused on Russian sports heros. Also, if you want to know who is the youngest player for only Russia and not the USSR, it’s Igor Akinfeev. He appeared for Russia at 18 years and 20 days old against Norway in 2004, and has spent his entire career at CSKA Moscow. Paraguay Jorge Núñez, 1993 - 15y, 190d vs. Colombia (22 caps) Jorge Núñez made his debut for the Paraguayan team in a World Cup Qualifying match and overall has made 22 appearances for them, scoring 1 goal. At club level he stayed in South America his whole career. He mostly played for Argentine sides, such as Banfield, Arsenal (The Argentine one), Racing Club, Estudiantes, Rosario Central, and Chacarita Jrs. He had a chance to join Sheffield Utd in the 2006-07 season but decided not to when he was called up to international duty. Republic of Ireland Billy/Willie O’Neill, 1935 - 15y, 339d vs. Netherlands (11 caps) Willie O’Neill was capped 11 times for Ireland, back when it was known as the Irish Free State. The defender also spent his entire career at Dundalk, making 330 appearances. Slovakia Frantisek Vysocky, 1939 - 18y, 110d vs. Germany (6 caps) Striker Frantisek Vysocky racked up 6 appearances and 2 goals for the Slovak national team. He made his first appearance vs. Germany on August 27, 1939. You may know that 4 days later Germany would invade Poland, starting World War II. At club level, Vysocky played for FC Vrútky, OAP Bratislava, and Jednota Košice. He won the league with OAP Bratislava in the 1942-1943 season. South Korea Ko Jong-soo, 1997 - 18y, 98d vs. Norway (38 caps) Midfielder Ko Jong-soo appeared 38 times for South Korea and was part of their 1998 World Cup Squad. He played mostly in the Korean League with Suwon Bluewings. He had a season-long spell in Japan with Kyoto Sanga, as well as appearances for other Korean teams Chunnam Dragons and Daejeon Citizen. He was allegedly very entertaining to watch, with Wikipedia citing a goal he scored from 57 meters against Jeonbuk in 2002. Edit: Goal can be watched here: https://youtu.be/UdbwqsX3JJo?t=37 Morocco Hachim Mastour, 2015 - 16y, 363d vs. Libya (1 cap) Hard to know where to start with Hachim Mastour but if you followed football at all in 2015 you knew about the hype. He went viral at 14 with his eye-catching dribbling skills on YouTube and every major club wanted to sign him. Eventually, the Italian-born Moroccan signed for AC Milan, at only 15 years old. He was even promoted him to the first team and put on the bench for Milan’s final match of the season, but Mastour didn’t get subbed on. If he did, he would have become Milan’s youngest player ever. A year later he was loaned out to Málaga where he only made one appearance in all competitions as a substitute in the last 5 minutes. Then he was loaned to Zwolle where he only made 6 appearances. Eventually his contract at Milan expired in 2018 and he moved to Lamia in the Greek Superleague. In December 2018 he was reported absent and later his father said it was due to injury. In March 2019, his contract at Lamia was terminated by mutual consent. He signed for Reggina in Serie C in October 2019 and made his debut in January 2020. In the 2019-20 season, Reggina were promoted to Serie B. On the international level, his record-breaking appearance for Morocco is his only senior cap so far. While it feels like he’s already lived a whole career, he’s still only 22, so there’s still a lot of time for new developments. Iceland Sigurdur Jónsson, 1983 - 16y, 249d vs. Malta (63 caps) Starting his career at his hometown club of ÍA, Jónsson won the award for Icelandic Player of the Year in 1983 at only 17 years old. Obviously this attracted the attention of many clubs and it wasn’t long before Sheffield Wednesday signed the midfielder. Jónsson would spend the next 7 years. In 1986 he was loaned out to Barnsley and in 1989 Arsenal signed the midfielder. However Jónsson struggled with injury and in 2 years he only made 10 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners. He was part of the Arsenal side that won the First Division in 1991 but he only appeared twice, which wasn’t enough to qualify for a winner’s medal. He was also an unused substitute in Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham for the FA Charity Shield. Back then they didn’t have a penalty shootout - they just let the teams share the trophy. So I guess he sort of has that to show for his time at Arsenal. He announced he was going to retire due to his back problems but a year later he came out of retirement to play for ÍA again. He won the Icelandic player of the year again in 1993 as well as the Úrvalsdeild Player of the Year. He moved to Örebro SK, then to Dundee United where again he was struck by injuries, then he went back to ÍA for a third spell before retiring in 2000. At international level, he made 63 appearances and scored 3 goals for Iceland. He is now a manager, leading Icelandic 3rd division side Kári since 2014. He previously managed FH, Víkingur, and Grindavík in Iceland and Djurgårdens IF and Enköpings SK in Sweden. During his time managing Djurgårdens, he got the “Iron Stove of the Year” (Årets Järnkamin) in 2007, as voted on by the fans for the best player or coach at Djurgårdens. Northern Ireland Norman Whiteside, 1982 - 17y, 40d vs. Yugoslavia (38 caps) A first team regular for Manchester United throughout the 1980s, Norman Whiteside also appeared at 2 world cups for Northern Ireland in 1982 and 1986. In fact, his international debut came at the 1982 World Cup, making him the youngest player to ever play at the competition. He also scored against Algeria in a 1-1 tie at the 1986 World Cup. He also won the last ever British Home Championship with Northern Ireland. As a teenager, he was scouted by Bob Bishop, who previously discovered Northern Ireland icons George Best and Sammy McIlroy. Whiteside found out he had been offered a deal at the club while visiting Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office… a weird anecdote but apparently he was there because of a program about helping disadvantaged children from Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Whiteside made 206 appearances and scored 47 goals for Man Utd from 1982 to 1989. In 1982 he became the club’s youngest goalscorer, netting against Stoke in the final game of the season. He won the FA Cup twice with Man Utd as well as the FA Charity Shield. In 1989 he signed for Everton and played there for 2 years before retiring at only 26 due to recurring injury problems with his knee. Post-retirement, Whiteside became a podiatrist. Australia Duncan Cummings, 1975 - 17y, 137d vs. China (2 caps) Born in Manchester, England, Duncan Cummings only represented Australia 2 times. At club level, he played for Melbourne Hungaria and South Melbourne. He retired from playing football in 1981, at only age 23. Norway Martin Ødegaard, 2014 - 15y, 250d vs. UAE (25 caps) When Martin Ødegaard became the youngest player and youngest goalscorer in the Tippeligaen in 2014, big clubs from all around Europe came for one of the continent’s most promising youth players. Eventually Ødegaard signed for Real Madrid and became the clubs youngest player ever when he was subbed on for Ronaldo in May 2015. In 2016 Ødegaard became a regular for Madrid’s B Team, Real Madrid Castilla. He was loaned out to Heerenveen and later Vitesse and after struggling a bit, he began to find his form. However, his real breakthrough then came when he was loaned out to Real Socieadad for the 2019-20 season. He won September 2019's La Liga Player of the Month, and in February 2020 he scored against his parent club, Real Madrid, in the Copa del Rey, eliminating them from the competition. This impressed the staff at the Bernabéu and he is now listed as part of Madrid’s 1st team. Romania Cristian Manea, 2014 - 16y, 292d vs. Albania (10 caps) A youth product of Viitorul Constanța’s Gheorghe Hagi Academy, Cristian Manea was purchased by Cypriot club Apollon Limassol in 2014 before immediately being loaned back to Viitorul Constanța. This began a series of loans for the player to other Romanian clubs like FCSB and Cluj as well as Belgian club Mouscron. Eventually Cluj brought Manea from Limassol, where he plays today. The right-back has made 10 appearances for Romania and scored 1 goal. Scotland Sandy McLaren, 1929 - 18y, 152d vs. Germany (5 caps) Alexander “Sandy” McLaren played as a goalkeeper for Scotland, making 5 appearances between 1929 and 1932. At club level he played for St. Johnstone from 1927 to 1933, making 198 appearances, before moving to Leicester. He played there from 1993 to 1940, making 239 appearances until retirement. Czech Republic Adam Hložek, 2020 - 18y, 40d vs. Slovakia (1 cap) One of 2 players to make their debut this year on this list. Adam Hložek made his league debut for Sparta Prague in November 2018 at only 16 years old, becoming the club’s youngest ever league player. He is still at Sparta Prague today where he’s become a regular in the Starting XI and has made 1 appearance for the Czech Republic so far. He was named Czech talent of the year in 2019. Hungary Károly Zsák, 1912 - 16y, 312d vs. Russia (30 caps) Goalkeeper Károly Zsák made a total of 30 appearances for the Hungarian national team. He was part of Hungary’s 1912 and 1924 Olympics squads but was an unused sub on both. In 1914, he was named Hungarian Footballer of the Year. Ghana Mohammed Gargo, 1992 - 16y, 207d vs. Zambia (20 caps) Starting his career at Real Tamale Utd in Ghana, Mohammed Gargo was picked up by Italian side Torino in 1992. He didn’t make a single appearance for the Italian side before moving to Dortmund II, Bayern II. Then he moved to Stoke where again, he didn’t make an appearance. His breakthrough came when he signed for Udinese in 1995, a club he made 88 appearances for. In 2003 he was loaned to Venezia. In 2004 he was sold to Genoa along with Vittorio Micolucci in exchange for Rodrigue Boisfer and Valon Behrami (as you may know, Behrami is back at Genoa as of today). Gargo spent the last years of his career at Al-Wakrah in Qatar before moving back to Ghana to join Ashanti Gold. Gargo was part of the Ghana squad that were runners up at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations and the 1992 squad that won the bronze medal at the Olympics. Post-retirement, Gargo managed Ghanian sides New Edubiase Utd and Real Tamale Utd, and has been managing Namibian club Tura Magic since 2018. Jamaica Michael Seaton, 2013 - 16y, 196d vs. Trinidad/Tobago (14 caps) Despite being only 25, Michael Seaton has already become kind of a journeyman. Starting at DC United, he was loaned to Portland Kickers and then Örebro SK in Sweden. Then he joined Portland Timbers where he didn’t make a single league appearance. After that he went to Israel, playing for Hapoel Ramat Gan, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Maccabi Ahi Nazareth. In 2018 Seaton went back to the USA to play for Orange County, where he established himself at one of the league’s best finishers. In 2020 Seaton joined German 3 Liga side Viktoria Köln on a free transfer. Seaton has made 14 appearances and scored 2 goals with Jamaica, and won the Caribbean Cup with them in 2014. Costa Rica Manfred Ugalde, 2020 - 17y, 247d vs. USA (1 cap) The 2nd player on this list to make his debut this year, Manfred Ugalde debuted for Costa Rican side Saprissa in 2019. He had quite an exciting debut for the club, being subbed on in the 79th minute and scoring an equalizer in the 93rd minute. His goal-scoring prowess quickly gained him a good reputation; he won the CONCACAF League in 2019 and was named the season’s best young player. In 2020 He signed for Lommel (Owned by City Football Group) in the Belgian 2nd division where his goalscoring talent has continued. submitted by /u/eurekae to r/soccer [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/amy_sport to r/soccer [link] [comments]

There's a common narrative that certain small countries "punch above their weight" -- examples include Wales reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Iceland reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and qualifying for World Cup 2018, and Croatia reaching the finals of World Cup 2018. This narrative assumes that small countries should field teams that are worse than those from large countries. The usual rationale is that smaller countries have a smaller talent pool to draw from, so on average should have less talented players on their team. But of course other factors also affect a country's talent pool, including how popular football is relative to other sports, and the economic resources of the country. I examined if population size in fact measurably affects the quality of a national team. I looked up the current (as of Oct 25, 2018) points totals that form the FIFA world rankings for all 211 member associations, and then looked up the current population size of each of these "states." I say "states" because not all associations are nations in their own right. For example, the smallest entity that is a part of FIFA is Montserrat, which is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean and has a population of 4,900. Here are the results (where population size is plotted on a log scale): https://preview.redd.it/xiblhhtbvvy11.png?width=1528&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e8f24a5c58c292513384804362ef2eaef604a5f A linear regression does suggest a significant effect, such that each 10x increase in population size gives you 116 more points overall. However, the data are irregularly scattered, and I took the liberty to qualitatively highlight three regions of interest: Regular small states (red region): Small states (those with populations less than 1 million) tend to have bad teams overall, but having a larger population clearly improves your team. A linear regression only on these states suggests that a 10x increase in population size nets you 59 more points. High performing small states (blue region): There exists a cadre of small states that perform considerably better than the normal small states. Iceland is part of this group, and is in fact the best of the bunch. But there are some surprising members, too. For example, I didn't realize that Montenegro (39th) is currently only three ranks below Iceland. Even the Faroe Islands is part of this group -- while not ranked particularly highly overall (95th), they are much better than their tiny population size (49,000) would suggest. Large states (yellow region): If a state has more than 1 million people, it experiences a quantum leap up in quality compared to small states, but increasing population size further has a much smaller effect. The quality of these teams can range anywhere from really bad to really good. Wales does outperform comparably sized states, but not to an obvious degree. In fact, Uruguay and Croatia are about the same size as Wales but have a considerably higher points tally. The currently top 10 ranked teams have populations ranging from 3.5 million (Uruguay) to 210 million (Brazil), a huge range. The two largest countries (China and India) are middling, and not as terrible as some may think. However, there is a group of very large countries that are terrible at football (bottom-right corner). edit: based on /u/Maneilens's suggestion, I've highlighted the current continental champions (Chile, Cameroon, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Portugal) as red stars, and labeled a couple more of the top states. Couldn't label everything I wanted to because of space constraints. tl;dr: Larger countries do have better national teams on average, but the picture is somewhat complicated. For countries with less than 1 million people, population size has a strong effect on team quality, but there is a group of small countries that massively outperform their size class. For countries with more than 1 million people, population has a much smaller effect on team quality. Thanks for reading -- let me know if you have any questions or would like me to send you my data! submitted by /u/radiowires to r/soccer [link] [comments]

Speaking as a life-long football fan who's lived in Japan for several years and is married to a Japanese woman, I may be biased. But I honestly believe that Japan as a football nation is severly underrated. What inspired me to write this topic was the reactions from football fans IRL, online reactions, and even "expert" commentators being dumbfounded by Japan's play this WC. Many people took it for granted that Japan would not advance from their group. Many people took it for granted that Japan wouldn't play good football. Many people took it for granted that Belgium would dominate the game. Not only did none of these predicitions come true, but I'd argue that it's not surprising that they didn't. Let's look at an interesting fact: In the last 5 world cups(this one incuded), Japan has advanced from the group stages 3 times. In the same period, only 6(!) nations have done better(i.e. advanced 4 or 5 times). They are the following: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina, England and Mexico. All in all, only 15 nations have managed to advance 3 times or more in the same period, and almost all of them are big football nations. Japan is often criticised for getting a "free pass" to the world cup since they belong to a weak region. But if they didn't deserve their spot, then they'd hardly advance from the group stages so often, would they? And while we're on the topic of "free pass": I'd argue that this is a disadvantage, rather than an advantage for Japan. There are two main reasons for this: It's practically impossible for Japan to clinch a top seed spot from the FIFA rankings, as they predominantly play against low-ranked nations. There's very little to be gained from a win, and a lot to lose when defeated. Japan basically needs to win a world cup in order to get a top seed in the next world cup, since it will most likely take 4 years until their next chance to play competitively against a top nation. They are essentially racking up points before going through a 4 year hibernation. Especially now that friendlies will no longer affect the ranking. Compare that to European nations that get the luxury of playing against great nations every year, regardless of their own skill level. For pretty much the same reasons as explained above, getting an easy world cup draw is completely out of the question for Japan. Hell, getting a decent draw is also more or less impossible. The groups they end up in, will generally be quite challenging. Now don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that Japan is an excellent football nation or that they are anywhere close to earning that description. And yes, I am aware that Japan went into this WC with an aging squad with most of their star players being a shadow of their former selves. I am also aware that 4 years is a long time, and that the clock pretty much resets once a new WC approaches. As we've seen with teams like Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands and Italy; things can change fast for some nations. But it's also worth noting that the Japan team of this world cup is arguably better than the Japan teams that advanced to the top 16 in 2002 and 2010, both on paper and in actuality. Thus it's hardly shocking to see them succeed once again. My conclusion: Japan advancing from the group stages should never be considered shocking, but it shouldn't be taken for granted either. Free pass or not: Japan arguably has more to lose than to gain by being part of the Asian region. If they somehow had to go through the European qualifiers instead, then I'd still fully expect them to qualify for the WC. Only a handful of teams can expect to beat Japan without bringing their A-game. Japan has grown immensely as a football nation since the late 90's. The FIFA rankings suck(but we all knew that). submitted by /u/ballepung to r/soccer [link] [comments]

Welcome back to the r/soccer World Cup Preview series! Today, we'll be discussing Brazil with /u/DarkNightSeven! Brazil About Nicknames: Seleção (Selection), Canarinho (originating from yellow bird Canário) Association: Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation) Confederation: CONMEBOL (South America) Appearances: 21st — All-time record Qualification method: 1st in CONMEBOL qualifying stage Best Finish: Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) — All-time record Most Caps: Cafu (149) Top Scorer: Pelé (77) FIFA Ranking: 2nd The Country Brazil (officially, Federative Republic of Brazil) is a country located in South America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles) and with over 208 million people, it is one of the largest, and most populous countries in the world. It is also the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas. History Official history tells us that football was brought to Brazil by Charles William Miller. A Brazilian with English parents, he found out about the sport while he was studying in Southampton. And once he was back in Brazil, he brought two footballs with himself. The first Brazilian national team was formed in 1914. Played their first game against Exeter City, at Fluminense's stadium (Laranjeiras), and the result of that match is disputed. Some say Brazil won 2-0, others (particularly the English media) claim that the match ended in a 3-3 draw. Brazil also played against Argentina twice in that same year. The first match was a friendly, and the second one was played officially, for the Copa Roca. Brazil won 1-0 in Buenos Aires, and that ended up being the first trophy conquered by the Brazilians. The first relevant tournament won was in 1919, the South American championship (which is now named Copa America). Brazil was playing at home and won it after beating Uruguay. At that time, the national team was controled by CBD (Confederação Brasileira de Desportos), which was the entity responsible for the organization of sports in Brazil. The creation of the current CBF only came in 1979, when FIFA ruled that there should be an association with all its purpose directed to the developing of football. Brazil have taken part in every World Cup thus far, being the only nation to do so. World Cups participations* World Cup Result Uruguay 1930 First group stage Italy 1934 First round France 1938 Third place Brazil 1950 Final round Switzerland 1954 Quarter-finals Sweden 1958 Champions Chile 1962 Champions England 1966 Group stage Mexico 1970 Champions West Germany 1974 Fourth place Argentina 1978 Second group stage Spain 1982 Second group stage Mexico 1986 Quarter-finals Italy 1990 Round of 16 United States 1994 Champions France 1998 Second place South Korea/Japan 2002 Champions Germany 2006 Quarter-finals South Africa 2010 Quarter-finals Brazil 2014 Fourth place *The format of the World Cup has changed a lot over the years. For instance, "First group stage" is not the same thing as being eliminated at the "Group stage". The "first" part indicates that there was more than one group stage in that World Cup. Group E Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Costa Rica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Manager Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, or Tite, as he is commonly known, is a former football player. His career was ended prematurely at age 27 due to successive knee injuries, which caused him to lose mobility in one of the knees. He wanted to continue working with football, and so he decided to take the path of managing. To this day, he has managed several Brazilian clubs, but he is mostly known for his work at Corinthians, where he won two Brazilian league championships (2011, 2015); one Copa Libertadores (2012); one Club World Cup (2012); one São Paulo state league (2013); and one Recopa Sudamericana (2013). Brazil had to endure multiple bad managers over the last decade. After the 2014 WC, when Felipão was clearly past it - something that was obvious for very long, CBF insisted in having old school managers. Dunga was hired back in, someone who had very little coaching experience aside from managing the National Team. By the first matches of the CONMEBOL qualifiers for this World Cup, many people thought that it would be the first time ever that Brazil would miss out on a WC. Mid-way, there was the 2016 Copa America Centenario, where Brazil were eliminated on group stages. I remember being on r/soccer at the time, and I was skeptical, I thought CBF - being incompetent the way they are - wouldn't fire Dunga over that elimination. However, I was gladly proven wrong when that happened, and also when Tite was hired. Since he took over, Brazil went on a magnificent run on the qualifiers, winning 9 in a row. That included: 3-0 against Argentina at home, and also 4-1 vs Uruguay away. There were two draws next, and then Brazil ended the campaign with a 3-0 victory over Chile - which culminated into the Chileans failing to qualify for the World Cup. Brazil was the first nation to guarantee the qualification for the WC, apart from hosts Russia. Tite's teams are usually recognized for their defensive capacities. That was seen at Corinthians, for example, when built a great defensive staple, which was probably the main factor in leading them to their first Copa Libertadores trophy ever. Squad and predicted starting XI Tite disclosed the final 23-man squad for the World Cup. Player Position Club Caps Alisson Goalkeeper Roma 28 Ederson Goalkeeper Manchester City 14 Cássio Goalkeeper Corinthians 14 Miranda Center back Internazionale 58 Marquinhos Center back Paris-Saint Germain 41 Geromel Center back Grêmio 5 Thiago Silva Center back Paris-Saint Germain 97 Marcelo Left back Real Madrid 78 Filipe Luís Left back Atlético Madrid 53 Danilo Right back Manchester City 29 Fagner Right back Corinthians 15 Casemiro Midfielder Real Madrid 31 Fernandinho Midfielder Manchester City 56 Fred Midfielder Shakhtar Donetsk 12 Paulinho Midfielder Barcelona 56 Philippe Coutinho Midfielder Barcelona 45 Renato Augusto Midfielder Beijing Guoan 28 Willian Midfielder Chelsea 58 Neymar Winger Paris-Saint Germain 88 Douglas Costa Winger Juventus 30 Roberto Firmino Striker Liverpool 28 Gabriel Jesus Striker Manchester City 11 Taison Striker Shakhtar Donetsk 12 There wasn't any real surprise in the squad - apart from maybe the inclusion of Taison. He has been called up by Tite a few times before, but most people weren't expecting him to make the final squad. That last spot was a doubt, since Giuliano could have been the one filling it, as well as Anderson Talisca. Some were disappointed with the non-inclusion of Arthur, but it became known that he is injured - although we can't know if that is what made him not get the call. Once Dani Alves got injured, there was one spot for the right back available, but it was expected that Fagner would be the one to fill in that role. He's worked with Tite at Corinthians, and has been called up to the NT before. Starting XI At the World Cup, Brazil will probably set up differently according to the opponent. The debut against Switzerland may be: (4-3-3/4-1-4-1) Alisson Danilo Marquinhos Miranda Marcelo Casemiro Paulinho Coutinho Douglas Costa Jesus Neymar Similar to Brazil's starting XI in the friendly against Russia, but with Neymar back and without Dani Alves, and Marquinhos instead of Thiago Silva. Coutinho on the midfield means that Brazil will have more offensive power. On the wings, he won't start over Neymar. He could also play in the right- which has happened before, and he even did well - but that would mean to leave Douglas Costa out, and that Coutinho would be on his weak foot. An example of game where Coutinho was a right winger - against Paraguay. He scored a nice goal drifting from the right to finish with his weak foot. However - taking into consideration the season that Douglas Costa had with Juve, it's fair to imagine that he would be the one on the right, and Coutinho as a midfielder. Although Coutinho could potentially be a defensive liability, that will not be Brazil's main concern against the likes of Switzerland (no offense), but rather breaking their defensive line. What could we see against the big dogs? (4-3-3/4-1-4-1) Alisson Danilo Marquinhos Miranda Marcelo Casemiro Paulinho Fernandinho Willian Jesus Neymar This one, on the other hand, would be similar to what Brazil lined up in the friendly against Germany, but again with Neymar back, Dani Alves out, and Marquinhos starting. Willian is on the right instead of Douglas Costa, since he provides more defensive coverage. The left side isn't as offensive as before, since Fernandinho fills up Coutinho's role - it would be hard to have a side of the pitch consisting the likes of Marcelo, Coutinho and Neymar at the same time, that could potentially be a threat for the bigger teams to exploit. Fernandinho provides more stability to that midfield. I know Coutinho missing out is huge, but he could possibly be used as a super sub. Bringing those fresh legs against tired opposition would be great for Brazil. I can't claim with certainty that that's what Tite will do: to bench Coutinho for a more defensive approach, and then possibly bring him on later on the game, but it's something I can imagine happening, based on the friendly against Germany and Tite's historic. Players to Watch Paulinho: Tite was highly contested when he kept calling Paulinho up, since at the time he was playing in China. People kept saying that he was only doing so because they had worked at Corinthians before (which there was some truth to - at Corinthians, Paulinho was a key player under Tite's management). He has been able to shine at the Seleção despite struggling in the start, even managing to score a hat-trick against Uruguay away, which was probably his best game ever in a Brazil shirt, and they won 4-1. His perfomances in China and for Brazil earned him a move to Barcelona in the Summer of 2017. Paulinho is the kind of player to surprise the opposition by sneaking into the attack, when he is capable of turning a chance into a dangerous one, since he offers shooting and passing abilities. Not to mention his defensive workrate, which has been vital for Brazil. This is going to be his second World Cup (first one being in 2014), and Brazilian fans are excited to see how he can perform in Russia. Gabriel Jesus: He played his first match for the senior NT against Ecuador away, which also was Tite's first match in charge of the Seleção. The striker, who was still a Palmeiras player at that time, showed what he was up to when he scored two goals, helping Brazil win the game for 3-0. Since then, Jesus was crucial in the qualifiers, as well as being one of the best players of the team. He has a very good chemistry especially with Neymar; it was not uncommon to see him assisting a Neymar goal, and vice versa. For that reason, Brazil's attack is probably their most fearful weapon. He will play his first World Cup; however, he has plenty of experiences in the U-20 and U-23 teams, Gabriel took part in the U-20 World Cup in 2015 which Brazil ended as runners-up, and also won the Olympics gold medal in 2016. He doesn't seem to mind the pressure that is to wear Brazil's number 9 shirt, which has been worn by so many great players. Once he became the starter, it was clear that it would remain that way for some time. So, you could still say that he's experienced in the National Team, despite being his first World Cup (obviously, since he was way too young in 2014). We look forward to see him in Russia. Coutinho: Despite the fact that he earned his first cap for the NT in 2010, this is going to be Coutinho's first World Cup. His versatility will really come in handy for Brazil - as mentioned before, he will not start over Neymar in the left, so it has to be either on the midfield three, with Casemiro and Paulinho, or in the right. Tite will have to work out which position benefits him the most, whilst also keeping stability on the mid, and bearing in mind the opposition - what their approach for the game is going to be, as I have explained before. That said, it is fair to assume that whatever Tite's decision is, we are still going to see the great player that Coutinho is showing up. His offensive abiities are threat for pretty much any team in the world, so opponents have to be careful when dealing with Coutinho. Discussing points Firmino's role: In spite of the fact that he had a better season, Firmino will most certainly not start over Jesus. The reasoning for that is simple: as mentioned before, Jesus was amazing in the qualifiers. He had 7 goals and 5 assist in 10 games. His partnership with Neymar works really well for the Seleção. However, it remains the question as to what role Firmino will play in this team. Is he going to be subbed on during games? Still, I could see him starting in a scenario like, third game of the group stages, and Brazil has already qualified. Maybe Tite would give him a chance to prove that he can be useful for the team, as he is with Liverpool. The midfield: When Brazil's 23-man squad was named, it seemed a popular opinion that their midfield was "underwhelming". If you compare it to the the attack and defense, then perhaps the midfield is Brazil's weakest area on the field. But that's setting the bar very high: they have arguably the best attack in the world, and a very strong defense that had the record of the least goals conceded (only 11 goals) during the CONMEBOL qualifiers. That said - a midfield three consisting of Casemiro, Paulinho and Coutinho/Fernandinho is balanced, and also a very good one. On paper, it may be on a lower tier compared to the likes of Spain, Germany and France, but it's worked greatly so far. Renato Augusto used to be the starter, but Tite seems to have lost faith in him once his perfomances started to drop in quality. Fernandinho/Coutinho have been the preferred players to pair up with the two guaranteed starters on midfield - Casemiro and Paulinho. Right back: It is undoubtedly Brazil's weakest position. Once Dani Alves got injured, this became even more evident. Tite called Fagner and Danilo for that position. Although I had Danilo on the starting XI, I am still not sure whether it's him who is going to start for Brazil. Even if Danilo is the better player, it seems that Tite puts his trust on Fagner, since they've worked together at Corinthians. Center backs: Miranda and Marquinhos was the pair of starting CBs during most of Tite's tenure. As of the last few friendlies, however, he has tried Thiago Silva instead of Marquinhos, Miranda being the definite starter. I still had Marquinhos starting on the XI, but I cannot claim with certainty that it is going to be that way. Expectations: Ever since Brazil won the Penta in 2002, there's bigger and bigger expectations each World Cup to see how the team will fare in pursuit of the Hexa. In 2006, for example, Brazil had a extremely stacked squad, with the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaká, Cafu, Lúcio, Roberto Carlos, Adriano, Ronaldo and etc in it. The climate was too relaxed, that feeling of "we're going to win it", but as we well know, football doesn't work that way. Fortunately for Brazil, in 2018 they will have a manager who is extremely focused on his work, and certainly won't let in any feeling of euphoria. A MASSIVE thank you to /u/DarkNightSeven who quite literally typed all of this up for me! Tomorrow, we'll be discussing Switzerland! submitted by /u/deception42 to r/soccer [link] [comments]

You might have recently heard some buzz about a guy named Alireza Jahanbakhsh having a great season at AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. You may have seen Sardar Azmoun drop Boateng to the ground with a cross-over and goal in Rostov's 3-2 win against Bayern Munich in the 2017 Champions League Group stage. That is likely most neutral fans' exposure to Iranian players in recent years and I won't fault you for that. Iran has been struggling to develop its football in the face of economic difficulties, and we haven't consistently produced top-name talents in the last decade. Still, it has been a bit frustrating as a fan to read "power rankings" and predictions like the ones below that assume Iran will concede 10+ goals or be the worst team in the whole competition. I don't know where this comes from outside of outright ignorance to international football, but have a look below and see if you agree with this sentiment. If you do, you probably watch very little international football. https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/russia-world-cup-2018-power-rankings-ranking-every-teams-chances-from-1-to-32/ https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/world-cup-power-rankings-brazil-still-the-favorites-spain-climbs-argentina-in-crisis-and-mexico-suffers-a-loss/ Iran has relished this dismissive attitude in recent times, with coach Carlos Queiroz (familiar to Manchester United fans as Sir Alex Fergusson's long-standing assistant) frequently labeling Iran the underdog in most matches they play. This is partially to keep the players' heads in the game, and partially to troll many who view Iran as a minnow. Iran has accepted the role of perpetual underdog. Iran may not be a heavyweight, but don't let the 2014 performance (which was fairly admirable) skew your expectations for 2018. Since Brazil 2014, Iran has only lost 3 matches in 90 minutes, friendly losses to Sweden, Iraq, and Tunisia (this loss came just a few weeks ago in poor pitch conditions and a B/C team playing, but its still a loss). In that time, Iran has defeated some good teams, including some European competition that gives the European powerhouses trouble in qualifiers. Unfortunately, we cannot play true world-class teams often, because of the political situation, but we have a 2-0 win over Chile, and have been very dominant in Asia. For example, we have been snubbing the historically strong South Koreans with 4 wins and a draw in the 5 most recent outings, had a dominant performance against Japan where we let a goal in on goalie error to tie 1-1, and went 10 games in qualification undefeated with only 2 goals conceded on the final matchday. Why should you believe that Iran is a team that can cause some trouble? Iran were one of the oldest teams in 2014, with a great deal of players over 30 years old in the starting lineup. The 2018 Iran squad is filled with young, high-potential players who grew under Queiroz's tactics during his 7-year spell with the team. Although Iran doesn't have the star-name value, the team is highly developed tactically, and will work hard to stifle Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. This will be a hell of a group to advance out of, but Iran is definitely in the running, and could steal points from all 3 teams, and potentially shock any team in the group. Allowing pressure up to mid-field, Iran presses heavily with 11 high-stamina players forcing quick decisions in our end of the field. It may seem like "parking the bus", but any football player knows that needing to connect the ball from the halfway line to the goal with most passing lanes blocked by fast, energetic players running you down makes the game very difficult. Spain has the class to pass around us, and could cause damage, but I think that if we execute tactically, Spain will find it difficult to pass around 11 men for the finish. It's entirely possible that we lose by a large scoreline, but I don't believe it will be the cakewalk for Spain/Portugal that many are expecting. I expect frustration akin to what Argentine fans felt in 2014. Iran implemented this well in 2014, but unfortunately did not have the striking talent to counter and convert (although we came close against Argentina a few times!). This time around, Azmoun has shown himself to be quick on the break, and capable of finishing his few opportunities in a match (23 goals in 31 games for the national team). Jahanbakhsh, Ansarifard, Taremi, and Ghoddos are all attackers who can finish as well. Previously relying on players like the aging Ghoochannejhad and Dejagah for goal production made Iran a longshot to win matches in 2014. Iran's defense has the same gusto as 2014, but this time around brings the ability to score on the counter. Increased squad depth also helps our fortunes as the squad gassed out in 2014 in the 3rd match against Bosnia. Although, on paper, Spain and Portugal are favorites, I can see either team struggling mightily to score on Iran. Unlike pundits who are paid for their "expert" opinions, please note that I will not disregard Morocco, as they are an equally if not more intimidating opponent for me in the group than the others. Against Spain and Portugal, I expect us to defend and frustrate, but Morocco plays a very similar style to Iran, except with more technique. They will force us to play a more open match and it will be like a trading of blows by two similarly gifted fighters. Historically, Iran's national team has relied on technical players, but outside of a handful in the current squad, Queiroz has foregone technically skilled players for physical, high-stamina players to execute his tactics. Morocco vs Iran will be the most intense game in the group, in my opinion, as both teams know that their dreams of advancement are found in this game. If Iran is capable of outmuscling the technically gifted Morocco squad, I believe that a tie against Portugal or Spain is in the cards with possible advancement to the Round of 16. I can see the same for Morocco if they win against Iran. Spain and Portugal are the favorites, but this group will be muddy, as Morocco and Iran will both frustrate the powers with their tight defenses. I expect this to be a low scoring group, even though some "experts" might have you believe Iran or Morocco will concede 10+ to the Iberians. Lesser known players to watch out for: Milad Mohammadi: Iran's LB Mehrdad Pouladi was a shining star in 2014, locking down the defensive end. His successor comes in the form of 24 year old Milad Mohammadi, a rapid fullback who tracks back well, and will likely be a major player in the coming years. He is very tight defensively, and although has had some injury struggles is quickly regaining form. Plays for Akhmat Grozny in Russia. Saeid Ezatolahi: 21 year old defensive midfielder who passed through the ranks of Atletico Madrid's development system before landing in Russia. At his young age, he has established himself as a leader and productive player on a team battling relegation to a more solid position in the league. Standing at 1.9 meters, he is a bully in midfield, and could develop into Iran's most prominent player in the coming year. I hope that what I have written provides you got a bit of insight into Iran's national team, and hope you will let me know what your country brings to the table tactically if you follow relative newcomers like Panama, Egypt, Serbia, Tunisia, or even Morocco. Thanks for reading! submitted by /u/arnieslovechild to r/soccer [link] [comments]

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Welcome to the 10th edition of ‘Teams I Hate in the Spotlight’: a series of posts in which football clubs I properly hate get their well-deserved spot in the limelight. As this is the 25th edition, I'm throwing an international party. Enjoy.   “The level of football in England is the top. English football is the leader in the world.” Pele (Brazil 1957-1971)   The England national team - A football club so richly steeped in national dishonour they would be more aptly associated with Marcus Junius Brutus than seen as the inventors of the greatest sport of all time. A team so unjustly engulfed in optimism, they are, somehow, masters of under-performing - even though they have only ever won one major competition in their pathetic 141 year history. A team so shit that their fans are forced to quote a senile, fair-weathered, narcissistic old man like Pele in a bid to gain credibility.   History   The English Football Association was conceived in 1863 and began operations tremendously when they decided to solely sanction competitive fixtures against Scotland, who they foretold, and quite rightly so, as utterly shit. However, in what would become stereotypical fashion for the national team, England did not live up to the hype and failed to win their first game, drawing against their to-be age old rival. As if gazing in to a crystal ball, the team were able to give the general public a brief glimpse of the terror that was to come in the future. Further fixtures between the two nations occurred and England managed to secure three wins and another draw, confirming that they were undisputedly the greatest national team of all time at that stage in football history –it was almost as if nobody else was trying. However, the ploy of only playing Scotland was soon to backfire as England’s best-friend Catastrophe was waiting around the corner with the lead pipe of disappointment. Within eight years of the first match against Scotland, the Scots had already become much better than England at the game they invented – a recurring theme that would sweep the world faster than Beatlemania. Scotland thrashed England 7-2 in 1878, passing them off the park in a technically superior display as the English side stuck diligently to their kick-and-run, physical approach to the game. Evidently, England needed to find much shitter teams to beat in order to prove their greatness.   Due to the lack of air travel, England were left to play Scotland, Wales and Ireland over the next 40 years in what still ranks as the worst International league of all time. The first opportunity to show the rest of Europe just how great we believed we were soon arrived and England put the inexperienced nations of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia to the sword. Get fucked you footballing peasants. England's first defeat outside of the British Isles came in a 4-3 loss to Spain in Madrid. The Spanish team was, at the time, heavily influenced by their English assistant manager Fred Pentland. An early precursor of just how easy it was for England to be capable of beating themselves.   England did not enter the first three World Cups due to a disagreement and subsequent exodus from FIFA over payments to amateur players. It was to prove costly as they somehow - from the lofty heights of their high horse - defeated the 1934 World Cup champions Italy 3-2 shortly after the competition had finished. Once again, England were the self-anointed, unofficial, greatest team in the world. A title they would hold numerous times throughout their illustrious and padded history.   After the Second World War, England re-joined FIFA much to the not-made-up-as-I-write-this adulation of the world football community. Upon re-joining, the FA hired the nation’s first dedicated team manager, Walter Winterbottom (whose name still reigns undefeated to this day). Before this, and even during Winterbottom's reign, the England first team was selected by a committee of old relics who would, reportedly, place pictures of potential squad members on the floor and then have a psychic chicken select players by pecking the photographs of those deemed worthy of representing the country.   England entered their first World Cup in 1950 and immediately set the standard for future competitions they would compete in. The national team painted themselves with embarrassment as they lost in the group stage to the United States – the equivalent of being beaten on FIFA by your friend who doesn’t really like football- and subsequently crashed out of the competition at the first hurdle. Billy Wright, the England captain, was heavily criticised for the failure and as such the legend of the English scapegoat was born.   Towards the ‘60s English football began to flourish with a core nucleus of truly world class footballers emerging from the foray: Banks, Moore, Charlton, Ball, and Greaves, to name a few. The man appointed to manage this international A-Team was Alf Ramsey and he was given full control of team selection as the coven at the FA agreed to loosen their grip. Success isn’t funny though so after quickly glossing over this brief era of supremacy, we’ll be moving on.   After the greatest World Cup victory ever in 1966, results in subsequent tournaments have resembled sequels in a horror movie franchise with each instalment becoming increasingly disappointing, regardless of efforts from the FA and future managers to try to freshen up the formula. The FA breezed through the ‘70s and ‘80s as if they were playing Jumanji as with every roll of the managerial dice they would unleash new horrors upon the nation. Ramsey was replaced by Don Revie who immediately got to work enhancing England’s reputation of being shit by failing to qualify for the 1976 European Championships. Brian Clough applied for the role after Revie’s departure but was immediately deemed too talented an option and his application was subsequently turned down. The FA opted for Ron Greenwood instead who, like a vampire rising from a crypt, emerged from retirement to take the job. His record still stands tall today: failed to qualify for World Cup 1978, failed to reach beyond the group stages at Euro 1980, and went out at the second round of World Cup 1982. Three more achievements to pin to the shit board. All hail the footballing powerhouse.   A series of appointments including Sir. Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor took the team in to the ‘90s. Whereas Robson tried his utmost to alter the world view of the England national team for the better, Taylor, who has a section in ‘The Official History of the England Team’ titled ‘Best We Forget’, did his best to eradicate any good Robson had achieved. Failing to win a single game at Euro 92 while only scoring one goal was an adequate response to Robson’s achievements and ensured the reputation of being pure overhyped shit was upheld. Believe it or not, Taylor was actually a talented manager who was clearly struggling with the inappropriate amount of pressure that comes with the England national job. However, like a gypsy selling haunted goods, the FA very often cackles and then magically disappears in to thin air when a manager turns to them for help.   By the time Euro 96' rolled around, Terry Venables was in the hot seat and, due to the tournament being hosted domestically, there was a buzz about the country. With the foreign temptations of riding rented quad bikes to stadiums, shagging girls named Gabriella and Maria, and smuggling cigarettes back from Duty Free all unavailable to the players, the team somehow performed. Paul Gascoigne, a man plagued by demons due to a very serious alcohol problem, celebrated a goal against Scotland by having one of his team-mates demonstrate one of the drinking games the squad had invented. As expected, the English fans and media loved it, and once again the nation was celebrating for all the wrong reasons. England were eventually eliminated by their kryptonic enemy: the penalty shoot-out. If England ever show signs of breaking away from their usual conglomerate of failure, you can bank on a penalty shoot-out appearing from the darkness to return balance to the force.   After the FA made a mess of Terry Venables’ contract extension, Glenn Hoddle was appointed. Hoddle, a relatively foreign thinking manager - and player for that matter – was a break away from the stereotypical Premier League ethos and deployed tactics which heavily involved ball retention coupled with methodical and meticulous build-up play - something which allowed the England players to retain their energy and not simply mill around the pitch until exhaustion set in like a Sim trying to escape a swimming pool which has just had its ladder deleted. To super ensure his players wouldn't succumb to physical and mental fatigue or injuries, he employed a high priestess - Eileen Drewery - as part of the national physiotherapy team. I'm not making this up. Stannis and Melisandre Hoddle and Drewery had worked previously at Chelsea and now had their sights on the Iron Throne World Cup. To couple Hoddle's appointment of his high priestess, he then also hired the witch doctor Dr. Rougier to the physiotherapy team, a man who gained a reputation for injecting and feeding players with unknown formulas before big games – the equivalent of Bugs Bunny giving the Tune Squad Michael Jordan’s ‘Secret Stuff’ in Space Jam. Hoddle, a man so willing to sacrifice his own beliefs to that of higher powers, it is assumed he used a Magic 8-Ball to aid him with his team selection, was also famous for dropping Paul Gascoigne from the squad. “Should I select Gascoigne?” .. ‘Outlook not so good’. So, with a back room staff resembling the species selection of a Dungeons and Dragons game and his Magic 8-Ball in hand, Hoddle set off for the 1998 World Cup. Once again, the team crashed out via a penalty shoot-out.   Hoddle, also an avid believer of reincarnation, was eventually released by England due to claiming all disabled people were suffering for sins they had committed in a previous life – that actually happened. The FA once again rolled the Jumanji dice and Kevin Keegan emerged from the board, who then became famous for losing the last game at the old Wembley stadium to bitter rivals Germany. An excellent addition to the shit heap.   After the very predictable disappointment of Kevin Keegan's reign as England manager, the English Football Association decided to mix things up. Sven-Goran Eriksson became the first ever foreign England manager and, regardless of looking like Marge Simpson's painting of a naked Mr. Burns, he immediately started shagging everything in sight (including Germany who he bonked 5-1). This adored him to the nation. According to folklore, Sven’s had programmed his CV to play the ‘The Thong Song’ by Sisqo when the chief staff selector at the FA opened it. Sven’s had limited success as the England national coach but was never able to back it up with actual trophies. He did, however, continue the stellar England tradition of having never won a penalty shoot-out at a World Cup.   Eriksson was followed by Steve McClaren, who is the only person with a bigger claim to the umbrella than Mary Poppins. Men across England recoiled in horror like an overacting actress from the silent-era when they saw McLaren pop open an umbrella on the touchline during a bout of torrential rain. How dare he use a perfectly good invention in the correct manner. He lost his job soon after. Fabio Cappello was next up and he got straight to serving up the type of football that made you wish the Y2K apocalypse scenario had happened. The performances under Capello were dreary to say the least. Watching Capello’s England was like being forced to watch videos of your friend’s children; you don’t really want to but you feel compelled to hang in there until the end and pretend you enjoyed it. The team’s efforts got the results you would have expected – the worst World Cup performance of all time by an England team. You can’t top that level of dire shitness. It’s the ultimate.   Ever since the success in 1966, England have been a team operating in fancy dress; a nation so preoccupied with emulating the style of play and success of other countries that they shed their own identity a long time ago. As each new tournament arrives, England show up grotesquely wearing the skin of another country trying to pass themselves off as something they’re not. However, things are looking up. Well, maybe. Roy Hodgson and Gary Neville are currently attempting to reconstruct the England team like OCP did when they melding parts of Murphy's body to steel in order to create Robocop. The difference is, Hodgson and Neville are creating a really shit footballing version of Robocop, and honestly, Robocop wouldn't even be that useful a footballer. The problem is, we are still fantastically shit when it comes to tournaments, as displayed at the 2014 World Cup. At this point, FIFA would be better treating England and their World Cup campaigns like a beggar entering a restaurant looking for food. Pour some soup in to the hands of the players and then quietly shuffle the team out of the establishment before anybody notices. Qualifying for Euro 2016 is going swimmingly with England dispatching of all those who dare play them in the qualifiers. However, as history suggests, this is simply the precursor for a catastrophic exit when the tournament finally kicks off.   Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'll still inexplicably get my hopes up.   Fuck off, England.   Tl;dr - That's over 9 drafts and 2,000 words worth of work up there. Shove your tl;dr up your arse.     First of all, sorry for the delay. I've recently moved house and also took on a new job.   Secondly, you turds played a big part in helping me acquire that job so thank you from the bottom of my black heart. I'm now the Community Manager for new Fantasy Football app 'Battle Stars Football' and one of the reasons I got the job was due to the recruiter reading my 'Teams I Hate' posts on /r/soccer - the posts that you all upvoted. It's only part-time but it marks the first time in my life I will receive money for writing about football so, genuinely, thank you. Also, the app is pretty fun too. In a nutshell, it's live Fantasy Football that accompanies you on match days. Battle Stars Football is free on the app store - coming to Android very soon - so feel free to go download it and call me a cunt in the review section. It's Premier League centric so you'll have to wait for the international fixtures to pass in order to play but I promise you it's worth downloading. I'm already becoming really good at this corporate shilling malarkey. Queue the "You sold out!" chants.   If you want to follow me on Twitter and read condensed versions of my thoughts on football you can on the following:   www.twitter.com/battlestarsfc   Again, thank you very much.   Previous editions:   https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/39au4r/teams_i_hate_in_the_spotlight_1_liverpool_fc/   https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/3aecv6/teams_i_hate_in_the_spotlight_2_newcastle_united/ submitted by /u/Bill_Murray_Movies to r/soccer [link] [comments]

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