Yet again FIFA has released their National squad rankings and yet again they can raise some questions.

The Top 10 are as followed;

1. Belgium

2. France

3. Brazil

4. England

5. Portugal

6. Uruguay

7. Spain

8. Croatia

9. Colombia

10. Argentina

Now FIFA had recently switched their algorithm for figuring out these rankings to something they thought was more sound and accurate. I know most of you are going to be familiar with the stage of international football, so when you look at these rankings it’ll most likely raise an eyebrow when you read over some of the teams. And in this article I’ll just be keeping my focus on a handful, rather than the Top 10 as a whole.

Yes, most of what you’re going to read here IS going to be MY personal opinion. But, you just might find it to be similar to your point of view. Or not, which is fine too.

Starting with #7, Spain. A lot of you know Spain as a power house in international football, but a lot of you have also only see Spain in their recent ‘decline’ in form on the big stage. Although they may seem to be outdated, Spain have quite the young core. I believe that they have the ability to help Spain climb up the rankings in upcoming tournaments back to a spot that they are familiar with.

Onto #6 on this list, Uruguay. I believe that on paper, looking at Uruguay’s squad, they appear to be young and talented. But if you watch them on the pitch, they fail to impress. They struggled against the likes of the United States, (drawing 1-1), who find themselves in the 21st spot on the new rankings list. And regardless of who ends up in the starting 11 or not, thinking of Uruguay playing Spain, I can’t see Spain losing.

As far as the Top 5 of this list goes, the only issue I see is Belgium sitting atop the list at #1. Regardless of form or any point system/algorithm FIFA has, Belgium has no business up there. Looking at the 4 teams that follow; France, Brazil, England, and Portugal, I cannot see any reason why Belgium would be better? Not on paper, not in form, not anything. Again, this is where MY personal option comes in by saying France deserves the #1 spot on the list.

Belgium’s starting goal keeper is currently in shambles at Real Madrid right now and was recently accompanied by his new teammate and other Belgian star, Eden Hazard, who too isn’t in the best form since his move to Madrid. While you have World Cup winners, France, behind them. Brazil was in shambles at the World Cup they hosted but are on the rise once again with exciting play. England have so many good players on paper but can’t produce when it matters. And Portugal who have one of the scariest attacks in international football right now and are sitting a whole 4 spots behind the Belgians.

Do I think FIFA has a reasonably decent algorithm for putting these rankings together, yes. But if you ask if I think the algorithm is correct, I say no. I believe you need more than just numbers and equations to find the best in terms of international football. And I believe that it definitely shows with these new world rankings.

When the young American was playing in Germany for Borussia Dortmund, he was playing at his full potential having already been integrated well within the team. So much so that he managed to work his was onto some pretty big club’s radars.

With that being said, yes Borussia Dortmund is already a big club itself. They compete within their league and also can be seen as contenders in the UEFA Champions League as well. But being as young as Pulisic is, he knew that in order to continue his growth he would have to move on to compete in bigger leagues other than the Bundesliga.

Now being apart of the Blues, Pulisic has found it hard to adjust to the difference in play.. or at least that’s what the new Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, would suggest. Seeing Pulisic play the few minutes he’s gotten since his move to London, you can notice he seems to be a little timid at times. He’s not attacking the back line with pace, or constantly pressuring their passes to force a mistake, or even providing goals nor assists like he was doing just a season ago in Germany.

So that, in some eyes, may suggest he needs a little more time to adjust to a variety of things such as; a new team/coach, new environment, and a whole new league. Not only does he need to tweak his play style a little bit, but also playing within his own squad could be ‘awkward’ at first. Also not to mention, Chelsea has just recently lost their star player, Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. So with Pulisic coming into the team as Hazard was leaving, the pressure for him to be Eden’s ‘replacement’ had been unfairly pinned on him.

On the other hand, there is a lot going on that we still can’t see behind the scenes and in training. Pulisic just may flat out be under performing. Yes he is young, but with the situation that Chelsea are in right now with their transfer ban, this is where their young players need to step up into bigger roles.

Youngsters like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori are thriving early on in the season under Lampard and that presents the question; where does Pulisic fit into the squad? But you have to remember, Lampard wasn’t the manager when the American was signed. Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the club at the time. And despite speaking highly when asked about Christian, Sarri wasn’t aware that the club was even trying to sign the youngster at all. And that begs the question, was Pulisic needed/wanted at Stamford Bridge at all.

With the season starting to get into full swing, Lampard has been questioned about the rare usage of Pulisic in his team. Assuring everyone that Pulisic (21yrs) still has years to prove himself and plenty of games to show his brilliance, Lampard defends his choice in using the bright eyed Mason Mount over Pulisic. Lampard goes on to explain how many players he has to choose from that would hold a spot in the 11 before the American. So as it stands, it looks like Christian Pulisic has a lot of work to do in order to prove himself worthy of some more playing time to Lampard and the Chelsea fans.

April, 2015

Real Madrid signed Norwegian wonderkid, Martin Ødegaard. Martin came from Strømsgodset over in Norway, where in 23 matches he recorded 5 goals, which were accompanied by his 0 assists total on the season prior to his arrival at the Spanish capital. Even before he flew into Spain, he was already expected to live up to very high standards at just 16 years old.

After Ødegaard was brought in, he made few first team appearances. So Real Madrid’s automatic solution was to send him down to Real Madrid Castilla. Collectively through his 2 seasons spent on Real Madrid’s youth team, Ødegaard had played 24 matches scoring 4 goals. With his numbers so similar to his last season at Strømsgodset, Real Madrid still thought his talents would be utilized best else where.

The youngster has been on loan 3 times since 2015, not having found stable ground since his big move to Madrid. Martin’s first loan was spent at Heerenveen, then his second at Vitesse, and most recently to Real Sociedad. Now over time, throughout each of those seasons spent on loan, Martin’s offensive numbers and contributions had risen immensely. BUT, Real Madrid are having issues that not even Ødegaard’s improved form could fix.

Since the “CR7-Era” ended in Madrid, they just haven’t looked like.. Real Madrid. But Madrid’s offense is not the soul problem of their struggles. If you look at Madrid’s current squad, you’ll find a few injuries. But despite the knocks, Madrid still have the quality to perform at high levels.

Now regardless of how much love I have for the kid, I believe that the speculation around Madrid calling back Martin Ødegaard to “save” them, is just out right nonsense. Maybe Madrid shouldn’t have gotten rid of all of their depth at the center park position over the summer. Maybe they shouldn’t have spent their money on “young potential” but instead on current needed additions. But regardless, I believe a smart center defensive mid signing would be beneficial for Madrid in salvaging their season, and trophy hopes.

Now you might find yourself asking, who should that signing be? They already have Casemiro. Well yes, you’re right, they do already have Casemiro. But they are missing their current Ballon d’Or holder and playmaker, Modrić. Toni Kroos provides great ball movement and some high level defensive efforts at times. But he is slow and sometimes when paired with Casemiro, their combination can seem sluggish. And James does his best, but he is no defender.

I’m going to reach out on a limb here and give my opinion on who Madrid should sign.. Kanté. I believe if Madrid stole N’Golo Kanté from Chelsea, they could really run the games tempo all 90+ minutes.

Adding an engine like Kanté to the midfield could gift some other players like James more freedom up the pitch to help create attacking opportunities. Especially with out as many repercussions coming from getting caught too far up.

And so finally, yes I still believe Martin Ødegaard could potentially make a return to Real Madrid’s first team. But I do not think now is the right time, nor do I think he is the remedy for their distress.

Anyone reading the headlines all over about this match, are probably under the impression that both of these ballers had themselves a game playing against one another. But in fact, it was almost the complete opposite. Each team had flashes where they showed why they were top dogs in this competition. But in my eyes, Atletico reign as the ultimate victors of this match.

Both of these Portuguese stars were in the starting line up on Wednesday, and even showed some love to each other before the start of the match. But each of these star’s teammates came out to show they hold bigger roles than just supporting cast members.

Juventus were the ones who took hold of the game first, showing that a team with a brand new look and a brand new manager, can still compete for the CL trophy. Juan Cuadrado scored the first goal just after halftime (48th), with a stunner of a strike, by using his weaker left foot just inside the corner of the box. A quick release pass was played up to Gonzalo Higuaín, who in turn had started the goal scoring play. Higuaín held up the play beautifully until he found Cuadrado across the box for him to finish.

Juventus kept a strong hold on the game, and eventually tacked on another goal in the 65th minute by the head of Blaise Matuidi. Now, this is where one of those Portuguese stars comes into play, as Ronaldo moved the offense strongly up the pitch to start the attack. With a lay-off down the line, Alex Sandro played the ball in for Matuidi to put away past a helpless Jan Oblak.

Almost immediately, Atletico Madrid come striking back in the 70th minute with a well worked set piece goal. The free kick was played in to the back post, where it was then headed back across the face of the goal for Savić to nod in with Sczęsny nowhere in sight. Now with the game being at Atletico’s home stadium, you can physically see the momentum shift in their favor as the fans start to get behind them.

Now around the 72nd minute of the match, Gonzalo Higuaín had an amazing opportunity to shift the game in their favor. As he was making a great run down the right hand side of the pitch, Ronaldo was centering himself for a pass across the goal, in order for him to tap it in, to then make the score 3-1 with them now being in the lead. Higuaín decided to take the opportunity on himself, and took a shot that Jan Oblak easily had covered and deals with it, as he should. So, this is where Atletico start to gain more hope and grit.

As the game was starting to dwindle into the last seconds of injury time, Atletico did not let up the pressure on Juventus. This pressure resulted in Juventus conceding a 90th minute corner kick. Héctor Herrera, who had just been subbed in, attacks the cross and heads in the goal for Atletico Madrid to save a point during the final seconds of the match. Showing their perseverance and the willingness to always play their hardest until the last whistle, Atletico managed to salvage themselves a point. And just as we all thought Juventus were going to walk away with all 3.

As most of you know, Real Madrid traveled to France to take on PSG on match day one of each of their Champions League campaigns. Going into the game, you would more than likely assume it would be a well played and articulated match, where both teams would be feeling each other out in the first half or so. And then proceed to go on to some actual goal scoring in the second half. Well, that is where you are wrong.

Despite missing the likes of Cavani, Mbappe, and Neymar, PSG took complete advantage of Real’s current form defensively, and exploited all of their known weaknesses to perfection. Real Madrid, expectedly, came out flat, and PSG responded by ramping up the pace of the game early.

With Real’s defense currently “Ramos-less,” you can see the disorganization early, which inevitably lead to PSG’s first goal. Ángel Di María, in the 13th minute of play, sneaks in a lovely toe tap at the near post, to beat Courtois.

Varane and new CB signing, Éder Militão, were just not playing well together as a center back pairing. They were caught stretched out numerous times, with huge gaps for the opposition to play through and around, with ease. You would expect a player like Varane to try and take on the leadership role in the back line, when Sergio Ramos isn’t available. Zidane needs to be able to trust his back line with out the captain, because he won’t be there forever. However, the back line wasn’t the only issue.

PSG picked apart Real in the middle of the park as well, with triangles and movement off the ball all game long. James of Real Madrid, tried to step up to create attacking opportunities, and left the likes of Kroos and Casemiro to suffer defensively. So much so, that it brought them their second goal which was scored again by Di María in the 33rd minute of play just outside the 18yrd box. After a fantastic one-two, around Real’s best defensive midfielder (Casemiro), Di María collected the ball, and struck a well hit shot past the outstretched arms of Courtois, once more.

And finally the 3rd, and last goal of the night, was scored by Thomas Meunier in injury time. The goal itself was well worked on the counter by PSG, so no discredit to them. But again, Real Madrid’s defensive efforts made it seem as if they had given up. And the score line surely ended up reflecting that as well.

Now, I’m not saying that there is no hope for Madrid, as I know they have the talent and firepower on offense to turn their Champions League journey around. They definitely have the ability offensively, as they registered more shots than PSG (10), but not one of them were on target. At the end of the day, they need to find themselves defensively, and fast, before it’s too late.