England’s Best Soccer Players of 2018

England is one of the most passionate countries when it comes to soccer. The fans are sometimes more passionate about soccer than parts of their own lives. There are plenty of fans who support their favorite teams and players, even. If you wondered who are England’s top soccer players, however, then read on and find out. Here are the players considered to be the best, at least as of this moment.

Kieran Trippier

Kieran Trippier was regarded as one of the best players who played on the World Cup 2018. He scored his first goal for England in the match against Croatia, in the semi finals. It was from a free kick and in the extra time. He was injured so England had to play the rest of the match with 10 players.

He was regarded as one of the best playmakers on that World Cup. He was compared to David Beckham due to his crosses and dead-ball delivery. He is also regarded as the most creative player who played on that World Cup. He’s currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Jordan Pickford

He’s a keeper who also played on the 2018 World Cup. He had his first clean sheet in England’s victory over Sweden in the quarterfinals, making that the first year England reached a World Cup semi finals since 1990. He helped England win a match against Columbia where they won 4-2 in penalties. He saved a penalty shot from Carlos Bacca, earning England a victory and sending the team into their quarterfinals. He was regarded as one of the best players to have played on that World Cup. He’s currently a player for Everton.

Harry Maguire

This young player also took part in the 2018 World Cup, representing England, of course. He helped Harry Kane score the winning goal against Tunisia. He scored his first England goal on 7 July 2018 after Ashley Young sent the ball his way for a 2-0 win against Sweden in the quarterfinals. His position is a center back and he plays for the Leicester City club.

Harry Kane

Not only does he play the striker position for the Tottenham Hotspurs, he is also the captain of the England national team. Naturally, he was also a part of England’s World Cup team. Prior to his World Cup appearance, he also had many international appearances, including the UEFA Euro 2016. He scored both goals against Tunisia in their 2-1 victory. Against Panama, he scored a hat trick, bringing the total score to 6-1.

These are England’s current best soccer players. These things might change over time, yet at the moment, they are the best ones. In the next season, the picture might be a little bit different.

Naby Keita Proves His Worth Against West Ham

Naby Keita could not have picked a better time to make debut in Liverpool than in their 4-0 win against West Ham. The performance he showed proved that he brought something fresh and different to the team.

How Crucial is Naby Keita to Liverpool

Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, expressed doubts that Liverpool might not have enough skill in the middle of the field. At the time, he also added that he hoped Naby Keita could bring the necessary craft back to his old team.

His estimates proved to be right during Keita’s debut against West Ham. Only 46 seconds into the game, Keita produced a skilful flick, but the action that led to the first goal in the 19th minute really proved how good of an investment the £52.75 million were. It appears now that Liverpool has much more creativity in the middle of the field.

Keita Played a Key Role in the Opening Goal

The opening goal could not have happened if it had not been for Naby Keita, and who knows how the rest of the game would have developed from there if West Ham’s net was not shaken at this point.

Keita took the ball in the small opening in the space between West Ham’s center and defence and sent a perfect pass to Andrew Robertson who took it from there. This made it easy for the left-back to pass the ball to Mo Salah, who had a clean opportunity to score and took it.

It was clear that the goal would not be possible if it weren’t for Keita’s perfect second-assist pass.

Keita Has a Unique Style of Play

One of the high points of Naby Keita’s play is that you never know what his next move is going to be. Players who guard him are never sure whether he is going to pass the ball quickly to a teammate or take it forward and tackle the opponent directly.

Even though this style of play might make problems for Liverpool as well, who might lose some certainty by gaining creativity, they are bound to get more than they lose. Keita is not an inexperienced player, he has already played this style of football at RB Leipzig, which has proven to be a big success. There is lots of evidence that shows the same will happen during his time in Liverpool as well.

Keita’s Best Moments

1’ – Produces a nonchalant pass to Robertson

6’ – Shakes West Ham with a fast one-two action with Firmino

19’ – His action with Robertson and Salah leads to a goal

25’ – Creates a chance for Wijnaldum

37’ – Creates another opportunity for Salah

52’ – Dribbles Antonio and gets cheered by the crowd

Premier League 2017/18: Week 25 Predictions

Lots of excitement is in store for us with a packed midweek Premier League schedule. Three matches are played on Tuesday and another seven on Wednesday. Here we give you the preview of the major matches along with the expert predictions to help you bet on these games. 888sport Welcome Bonus can help too, giving you £30 of free betting money if you make an initial deposit of £10.

One of the biggest clashes this week is expected to happen in United’s match versus Tottenham. United is currently second on the table, 12 points behind Manchester City and they need this victory to try to close the gap and stay in the race for the title. However, a win would bring Tottenham, currently fifth on the table, just five points away from Manchester United. United need to be careful, because Spurs are in excellent form and they are known for suddenly gearing up and moving up the table as the finals are coming closer. United will have to look out for Harry Kane, who continues to set new standards with his goal scoring. On the other hand, the Red Devils have just completed the most high-profile deal of the January transfer window, bringing in Alexis Sanchez as their new attacking talisman.

It’s hard to say who will win this game, but it is going to be a major clash. With such amazing scorers in front lines, there is no way that the match will end goalless.

Turning to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, Liverpool probably still need to recover from the shock of being defeated by Swansea 1-0 last week. They play against Huddersfield on Tuesday and it’s essential they don’t make similar mistakes. Given how shaky Huddersfield are after losing three games in a row, Liverpool will probably use them as a punching bag to boost morale and keep their top four ambitions alive.

Although on the bottom of the table, after defeating Liverpool, Swansea will be hoping for more as they prepare for the match against Arsenal on Tuesday. They have a reason too: they are unbeaten in five games. However, the odds are still on the Gunners’ side who might be planning to test their new midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was signed as a part of the deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United.

However, Swansea shouldn’t get their hopes too high, as Arsenal are more than ready to crush them.

Finally, João Mário will join West Ham squad in a game against Crystal Palace scheduled for Tuesday. Both teams stuttered at the beginning of the season and chose to change managers. With David Moyes and Roy Hodgson bringing positive change, both sides will be hoping for the victory that would push their team in the top half of the table. It is possible that the game ends in a draw.

Upcoming games:

Tuesday, January 30

7:45 p.m. Swansea City vs. Arsenal

7:45 p.m. West Ham United vs. Crystal Palace

8 p.m. Huddersfield Town vs. Liverpool        

Wednesday, January 31

7:45 p.m. Chelsea vs. Bournemouth

7:45 p.m. Everton vs. Leicester City

7:45 p.m. Newcastle United vs. Burnley

7:45 p.m. Southampton vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

8 p.m. Manchester City vs. West Bromwich Albion

8 p.m. Stoke City vs. Watford

8 p.m. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United

England faces Brazil – no goals scored

On November 14th, 2017, England played against Brazil at Wembley. It was just a friendly game, but it doesn’t mean the teams did not play tooth and nail to score a victory. Unfortunately, not only that nobody won but no player managed to score a single goal.

After the 0-0 draw with Germany, England’s manager Gareth Southgate made several changes to the team, allowing defender Joe Gomez a full debut and introduced Dominic Solanke. This decision gave Gomez the chance to prove his worth in the team’s central defence. Moreover, goalkeeper Joe Hart had an awesome performance in the second half when he saved shots from Coutinho and Paulinho.

Gomez and Rashford were definitely the ones that shone during this match. Rashford showed his willingness and ability to keep running at Brazil’s defence with courage and determination. There were moments when he even demonstrated footwork skills you’d normally see in Brazilian players. As for the visitors, they definitely put on a show at Wembley, taking the breath away from both Brazilians and British fans on multiple occasions.

If you take a look at match stats, Brazil had dominated the game in terms of possession: 66% over 34%, and Southgate admits it saying they “couldn’t get hold of the ball and keep it.” However, the manager is proud of his players who showed resilience, courage and had a great defence.

Stats show that Brazil had 13 shots out of which only 3 were on target whereas England had just 4 shots but 2 of them were on target. If you take a look at percentages, one could say England managed to direct half its shots toward the target while Brazil only about a quarter of them. The game had just 2 corner shots, both belonging to Brazil. In terms of fouls, England made 5 more than Brazil: 20-15.  Anyway, all these didn’t count toward the end result: England 0-0 Brazil.

Watch a game in Walkabout, Bournemouth

Bournemouth, the large resort town on the south coast of England is a popular holiday destination. There are lots of pubs and clubs here, but one of them stands out: Walkabout on 156-164 Old Christchurch Road. It was designed with sports fans in mind.

Believe it or not, this great pub actually has an Australian theme, but after all, they do share the same queen, don’t they? So, what can you drink here? The most unusual thing about this pub is that it lacks beer altogether, which can be quite sad for ale enthusiasts.  The only beer you’ll find here is made of ginger. Anyhow, there is a wide selection of Aussie cocktails, shooters and bombs, for those who don’t plan on staying sober for much longer.

As for food, there are some delicious snacks such as crispy battered chicken strips, onion petals and sweetcorn fritters with maple bacon. Vegans will love mushroom bruschetta and Tempura Veg with Thousand Island dip.

If you want something more, you could try duck wings with hot sauce topped fries. Still, the main attractions are the Roo burger with salsa sauce and the Mega Wafflewich consisting in a beef burger between two giant waffles with a few more ingredients.

The pub is very student friendly offering a lot of discounts and epic parties. They organize live events quite often, but a big part of their success is due to broadcasting football games, especially those in the Premier League. They also focus on boxing matches, rugby and even Formula 1 races. Whenever there’s a big sports event, you can watch it at Walkabout in Bournemouth.

Moreover, every Tuesday is Stupid Tuesday, meaning huge discounts at shots and ridiculous competitions you learn about once you go there. Also, every Friday is Fest Friday when you should expect live CO2 shows, free glowsticks and festival inflatables only to prepare you for Selfie Saturday.

As you can see this pub caters to all sorts of clients, including those who want to dance and those who’d rather stay around a table watching a sports game. The lack of beer is indeed sad but the overall atmosphere easily makes up for it.

Why go to a pub and not a club?

They say there are two kinds of people: those who go clubbing and those who go pubbing. We’re from the latter category, so we’ll try to give you reasons why pubs rock. It may be a biased view since we love both football and beer and you won’t find neither in a club.

Sports betters will love this combination since they can place their bets online while watching the game in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Speaking of online betting, claim your bonus here and sign up to a reliable betting website. Anyway, we hope this article will make at least a clubber consider going to a pub for a change.

Did we mention the good ales?

Many pubs are tied houses, meaning they are owned and operated by local breweries. While this restricts the brands of beers you will find a tied house, you will have the chance to taste traditional British ales. They usually sell a guest beer as well, meaning you will have a second option if you don’t like the main ale. If you don’t like what they have, you can simply try another and then another pub until you find the right brewery.

Now, if you are the type who wants a wide range of choices, you can go to a free house, meaning it is free to sell any brand of beer available on the market. They offer lots of draught ales but also bottled options.

Watch football

There are hundreds of British pubs dedicated to football fans. So, you basically get a few friends, sit around a table with pints of beer in front of you watching live football games on huge TVs. There’s a special bond created between men when they simultaneously cheer for a common favourite team.

Good music

While you might not be able to dance, pubs are the perfect place for good music. Some of them are dedicated to rock culture while others prefer a retro theme featuring total legends like Queen, The Beatles and Eurythmics. Anyway, you will definitely find plenty of pubs with modern commercial music if that’s what you prefer.

Board games

Believe it or not, there are pubs dedicated to board games, meaning that each table has a certain board game or you can ask the personnel to bring one of your choice, ranging from the popular Monopoly to games like Catan and even Activity.

There are of course pubs for those who prefer classic games like chess and backgammon, but it might be counterproductive to play chess in a place where you can barely hear each other speak because of the loud music, not to mention, how are you going to watch football?

All kidding aside, board games pubs are quite popular in London. Also, some pubs have real vintage games and arcade machines if you want a throwback to the 90s.

To recap, why go to a pub? High quality football on 4K flat screen TVs, traditional delicious ales, good music and fun games should be enough to make you try it out.