World Soccer

By Josh Pitt Twitter: @Josh_Rocket The group stages are now over and the 2018 World Cup is already lining up to be one of the most exciting in recent years. From Ronaldo's brilliance against Spain, the struggles of some of the world's top nations, the shocking elimination of Germany and the controversial VAR calls  during this World Cup have given us a little bit of everything. Now the serious stuff starts. The knockout rounds . The left hand side of the bracket looks to be a little stronger than the right. We have seen our fair share of surprises already at this World Cup, and there is now the potential for one of the underdogs to go all the way to the final. First though, these teams will have to make it through the round of 16. Below are our previews and predictions for these massive games. Game 1 - France v Argentina (6/30 10am ET) We kick off the last 16 with a meeting between two of the pre-tournaments favorites. Argentina struggled massively in the gr...

(via itsroundanditswhite.co.uk) Exactly one month ago, Arsenal confirmed that Unai Emery would be the man to succeed club legend Arsène Wenger as manager. With the World Cup raging on, Emery has been able to go about his job with less media attention and scrutiny, but there is no doubt the former PSG boss faces a huge challenge if he is to deliver what the Arsenal fans expect him to. Emery will be focused on leading his club back into the top four and earn a place in the Champions League. Below, I have listed the five things he will have to do to make that happen. 1. Improve The Defense Last season Arsenal conceded 51 league goals, the most they had let in since 1984. This cannot continue if the Gunners hope to have any level of success. Emery is aware of this problem and has already brought in two players to address this issue, the first of whom being the experienced right back Stephan Lichtsteiner, who is currently captaining Switzerland in the World Cup. It isn't cl...

By: Tommy Gahan Twitter: @tgahan9 In what has been a World Cup of disappointments for the Argentinians and their Superstar Lionel Messi, a 1-1 tie vs Iceland was followed by a crushing 3-0 loss to Croatia.  Blame has been easily thrown directly at Messi, but also at head coach Jorge Sampaoli for the shockingly poor performance. This has been amplified considering that the South American powerhouse got all the way to the Final in the last World Cup in Brazil four years ago. However, there still appears to be hope. With Nigeria's 2-0 victory over Iceland, Argentina can still advance to the 16 team elimination stage with a win over the Nigerians in their match next Tuesday and an Icelandic loss to Croatia in what will be the final Group Stage matches for Group D. If both teams win, then it will be decided by goal difference, in which Iceland currently has a slight advantage. This life preserver thrown by Nigeria gives Messi and his crew a fighting chance to swim to shore...

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is a week underway, and already some have teams qualified for the next round, while other squads are heading home. Let's look at some of the remaining favorites, outsiders and countries dreaming of shocking the world. All odds are from oddschecker.com . Favorites: 1. Brazil 🇧🇷 Current odds 9/2 Despite a disappointing start against Switzerland, Brazil remains the favorite. It looked like they were going to be held scoreless by Costa Rica, but the "Little Magician" Philippe Coutinho came up with the game's first goal in the last minute. At this point, all that really matters for the Brazilians is getting out of the group stage. Brazil has world class players all over the pitch, and they are undoubtedly among the favorites. 2. Spain 🇪🇸 Current odds 9/2 Spain took a huge risk by firing its manager two days before the World Cup began, but with its quality in the squad, the new manager shouldn't need long to adjust. The 2010...