Author page: Karun Sagar

Grouped OR GLORY: GROUP D

France | Elo: 6 | FIFA: 4 | History: For some, there is a line. A line that separates brilliance from catastrophe. It is on this line that Les Blues resides. From the semi-finals in 1982 and 1986, to…

Grouped or GLORY: GROUP C

Argentina | Elo: 2 | FIFA: 3 | History: With a tie against Ecuador in the last round of 2022 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers, the Argentines were confirmed as invincibles . 2-time champions,…

GROUPED OR GLORY: GROUP B

England | Elo: 14 | FIFA: 5 |  History: And now we pay homage to the home of soccer. While a similar sport found popularity in Ancient China, the “Association football” we know and love originated as one of…

GROUPED OR GLORY: Group A

  Qatar | Elo: 49 | FIFA: 50 |  History: On December 2nd,  2010, The International Federation of Football(FIFA) declared that Qatar would host the Middle-East’s first Coupe du Monde . The decision sparked…

Grouped or Glory:  Intro

The wait is nearly over. On November 20th, 2022, 4 years – and change – from a French triumph at Moscow, sport’s grandest stage returns. 32 performers – chosen from 205 entrants via arduous, multi-year, qualification tournaments – will…

BA vs Liverpool: the Lebron James of Soccer?

With Leeds losing to Arsenal last weekend amidst a great deal of controversy, I feel people haven't fully appreciated what American midfielder/winger Brendan Aaronson did against, potentially, the best team in England. While watching I logged Aaronson’s major…

Steffen is Not in Bad Form

Long-time USMNT No. 1 goalkeeper Zack Steffen has had a bad game again , this time for Middlesbrough in the English Championship. An idea often expressed in American soccer circles is that Steffen is in…

The Perils of Ball-Watching: Musah vs Aaronson

During the June 2022 international window, we got to see the US play against Morocco(3-0 win), Uruguay(0-0 draw), Grenada(5-0 win), and El Salvador(1-1 tie). This window gave us a chance to see both Brendan Aaronson(Leeds) and Yunus Musah(Valencia) operate…