Non-Stop Summer of Soccer

The American women’s record-setting triumph against the Netherlands in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final in France stole the headlines this past summer, lighting the path toward women’s equality in sports in terms of both pay and respect.

However, the Women’s World Cup was far from the sole major showpiece this past summer, with the past two months jam-packed with international football tournaments across the continents, from the inaugural UEFA Nations League in Portugal and controversial Copa America in Brazil to the CONCACAF Gold Cup in North America and the African Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Copa America

South America and CONMEBOL’s prestigious continental championship commenced in Sao Paulo this past June, and it was shrouded with claims of controversy and corruption that concluded with a Peruvian fairytale run, a Lionel Messi red card, and a resurgent Brazilian side claiming their ninth Copa America title.
Despite their preparations being hampered by a Neymar ankle injury just days before the tournament began, the youthful Brazilians seem to have put their 2018 World Cup disappointment behind them, giving the Selecao their first international honor since 2007.

Though the Brazilians lacked conviction for large swathes of the tournament, they—putting in unconvincing performances in their opening matches against Bolivia and Venezuela, and needing to go to penalties to defeat Paraguay in the quarterfinals after a goalless draw—were statistically the deserved triumphants.

Brazil recorded the most clean-sheets (five) in the tournament and only conceded in the final against Peru (a side that famously defeated Uruguay in a penalty-shootout in the quarters before routing the defending champions, Chile, in the semis). Furthermore, they scored 13 goals in the tournament, almost double the amount that the Chileans, Argentines, and Uruguayans had amassed. However, it was the Argentines that stole the majority of headlines, despite Brazil’s success.

Though talisman Lionel Messi had a lousy tournament by his standards, recording only one goal (from a penalty) and one assist in the entire tournament, Argentina managed to recover from a defeat to Colombia on opening-night to defeat Qatar and Venezuela en route to a semi-final clash against Brazil.

Despite the Brazilians claiming a 2-0 victory over their bordering rivals, the overly physical match was shrouded with controversy. After the match, Messi and Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni blasted the referees for their inability to use VAR properly and award Argentina two blatant penalties in the second-half.

Controversy continued in Argentina’s third place match against Chile, where Messi received only the second red card of his career after doing little-to-no harm in a hot-headed altercation with the furious Gary Medel. Again, after the match, Messi claimed that the corrupt tournament was designed for a Brazilian victory and that CONMEBOL had wanted him to receive a red card after his earlier comments.

Despite Messi’s claims of corruption against the tournament organizers, he was awarded a negligible three month ban from international football, which means he will not miss any of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers or the 2020 Copa America. This is an incredibly miniscule punishment when compared to Didier Drogba’s six-game European ban in 2009 after using much more colorful terms to describe the refereeing in the Champions League semi-final match against Messi’s Barcelona, of all times.

In an attempt to make the tournament coincide with the European Championships, tournament organizers have pushed for a Copa America in 2020 (hosted by Argentina and Colombia), giving Brazil their first chance to retain their crown and Messi the possibility to finally lift his first international trophy with Argentina.

UEFA Nations League

The inaugural UEFA Nations League kicked off in Portugal this past June, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. being crowned champions in Porto and claiming only the nation’s second-ever major international trophy in the process.

A European competition designed to replace friendlies with competitive fixtures, the Nations League finals’ qualifications began last September when the top-twelve ranked European nations tousled in a round-robin style competition for four tickets to the summer’s event.

Despite a talented pool that included the French world champions, Belgium’s golden generation, and Spain’s youthful prodigies, it were the talented Dutch, Portuegese, Swiss, and English sides that managed to book their tickets to the semifinals in Portugal. Randomly drawn semi-final pairings saw the hosts face Switzerland and the Dutch take on England.

Despite taking a hiatus from the national team after the World Cup, missing all of Portugal’s qualifying matches, Ronaldo didn’t need much time to make an impression during his Nations League debut versus Switzerland. The Juventus marksman registered a hat-trick, including two goals in the final two minutes that salvaged a convincing 3-1 victory for Portugal and booked a place in the Nations League final.

The Netherlands followed suit in the other semi-final, exploiting England’s defensive errors to snatch a 3-1 victory in extra time. Fielding the $75 million Barcelona signing, Frenkie de Jong, along with the center back pair of Golden Boy, Matthijs De Ligt, and PFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk, the future of Dutch football seemed to be in safe hands.

Yet, despite fielding the more complete side on paper, it was the Dutch who collapsed in the final, losing 1-0 from a Goncalo Guedes half-volley midway through the second-half. With Ronaldo picking up his second international trophy in the past three years, he will look to lead his country to a third at next summer’s European Championship.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

North America’s revamped continental championship returned to the States this summer, with a Mexican side thwarting their young, exhilarating American rivals to claim their eighth CONCACAF title.

Entering the tournament, the United States and Mexico were at an all-time low. Injuries to Javier Hernandez, Hirving Lozano, and Hector Herrera and the refusal of current MLS top-scorer Carlos Vela to play in the tournament left the Mexican roster weakened. On the other hand, new and inexperienced American coach Gregg Berhalter left American fans concerned after losing the two June warm-up matches before the tournament began.

However, despite their struggles, the arch-rivals prospered throughout the competition, both scoring in the group stage en route to topping their groups. In a particularly memorable match for American fans, the United States smashed Trinidad and Tobago, the team that had infamously eliminated the U.S. from World Cup qualifying in 2017, for six goals.

Yet, the American and Mexican dominance does not imply that the underdogs were poor in the tournament; in fact, the minnow nations gave the heavyweights problems throughout the cup. Curacao and Haiti provided fans hope for the future by escaping their groups, with the latter managing to defeat mighty Costa Rica to top their group.

In the quarterfinals, Curacao were unlucky to narrowly lose by one goal to the United States, after dominating large swathes of the match, while Haiti held their own against Mexico in the semi-final, only to be sunk by an extra time penalty.

However, in the end, it was two familiar foes, the United States and Mexico, that clashed in the final, with the Mexicans claiming their first trophy since 2015 after Jonathan dos Santos’s late winner for El Tri.

Despite the disappointing result against Mexico, this year’s edition of the competition has seen a resurgent United States side. Their 20-year-old Chelsea starlet, Christian Pulisic, dazzled along with Schalke prodigy Weston McKennie in midfield, both contributing five goals in the competition. Still recovering from their heartbreak against Trinidad more than two years ago, the United States gave supporters hope that their youth can mature, bringing global success to the country.

African Cup of Nations

In a tournament that has been no foreigner to upsets in the past, Africa’s most-coveted competition commenced this past summer in Egypt, with Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez leading Algeria to an unexpected triumph in North Africa.

Players of the host nation, Egypt, were clear favorites to win the competition. Mohammad Salah and Co. were the most successful team in the competition’s history, and under a new coach named Javier Aguirre, they managed 20 goals in their last eight matches.

However, despite not conceding a single goal in the group stage en route to achieving maximum points, the North Africans were stunned by lowly South Africa in their first knockout stage game, conceding a fatal goal with five minutes left to play.

Despite Salah’s failure for his country, other Premier League stars prospered for their home nations. Former Watford striker Odion Ighalo led Nigeria to a bronze-medal finish with his record-setting five goals, while Liverpool and Senegal winger Sadio Mane scraped Senegal to a silver-medal finish with his inspiring displays.

However, it was Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez who stole the headlines this past summer, with his three goals, including a last gasp free-kick against Nigeria in the semifinals, blasting Algeria to the promised land. Algeria’s stunning victory over Senegal concluded our summer of international soccer, with competitions around the continents introducing new super teams, talented youngsters, and a beautiful game to keep tabs on in the future.