Thanks for joining us, Cape Verde. Appreciate your fight, Paraguay. Way to show up for most of your matches, USMNT. You got your turn onstage at a magnificent World Cup … and now it's time for the big dogs to take the spotlight.
Six of the top eight squads in FIFA's worldwide rankings are still alive in this year's tournament, meaning we're in for something special when the semifinals begin on Friday. There's a time for Cinderella stories, and then there's a time for the kaiju of the field to just start whomping on each other. That time is now.
Kylian Mbappe and France. Leo Messi and Argentina. Erling Haaland and Norway. Harry Kane and England. These are the **** ans of the sport, the nations that rule the world and the men who are their heart, soul and spine. They dominate both the pitch and the stat sheets, giving us highlight after cinematic highlight that other, already-eliminated teams can only watch and envy.
Consider, for instance, defending champion Messi setting the record for most goals in a World Cup career:
Or World Cup rookie Haaland casually firing a nuke from long range:
Six of the top eight squads in FIFA's worldwide rankings are still alive in this year's tournament, meaning we're in for something special when the semifinals begin on Friday. There's a time for Cinderella stories, and then there's a time for the kaiju of the field to just start whomping on each other. That time is now.
Kylian Mbappe and France. Leo Messi and Argentina. Erling Haaland and Norway. Harry Kane and England. These are the **** ans of the sport, the nations that rule the world and the men who are their heart, soul and spine. They dominate both the pitch and the stat sheets, giving us highlight after cinematic highlight that other, already-eliminated teams can only watch and envy.
Consider, for instance, defending champion Messi setting the record for most goals in a World Cup career:
Or World Cup rookie Haaland casually firing a nuke from long range:
3 months ago
