CNN – Sports

By Ben Church, CNN Reem Al-Haddad still remembers how excited she felt when Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. As a starry-eyed, soccer-mad 11-year-old, Al-Haddad screamed with joy as she watched former FIFA President Sepp Blatter open an envelope, revealing Qatar’s name, live on television, in 2010. That one of the

By Rob Frehse and Jennifer Hansler, CNN The body of prominent American journalist Grant Wahl has been returned to the US and an autopsy is being performed after he died while covering the World Cup in Qatar, his manager said. Wahl, 49, died Friday after he collapsed while covering a match between Argentina and the

By Ben Morse, CNN Panama, Mauritania, Georgia and Eritrea are four countries with roughly the equivalent population sizes of Croatia. Those four nations share one World Cup appearance between them and that was when Panama played at Russia 2018, finishing the group stage with three defeats and conceding 11 goals. Croatia’s World Cup pedigree is

By Ben Church, CNN It’s been dubbed the ‘Arabian Riviera,’ where the streets are immaculate and are interspersed with luxury hotels offering shimmering views across the marina. Welcome to ‘The Pearl.’ Work on this artificial island — now one of Doha’s most exclusive areas — started in 2004 and was named after the traditional practice

By Homero De la Fuente, CNN Former NBA All-Star and longtime head coach Paul Silas has died at the of age 79, the league announced Sunday. “We mourn the passing of former NBA All-Star and head coach Paul Silas. Paul’s lasting contributions to the game are seen through the many players and coaches he inspired,

By Jacob Lev, CNN Going from Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft to spoiling Tom Brady’s homecoming, San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has almost seen it all following Sunday’s 35-7 blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 22-year-old Purdy outdueled Brady, throwing for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Purdy also added

By Don Riddell, CNN It was 5 a.m and I couldn’t sleep; my mind was replaying the extraordinary drama of Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands, over and over again. And then I checked my phone. I thought I was going to throw up. The American soccer journalist Grant Wahl, who’d also been covering

By Issy Ronald, CNN As the first African and first Arab country to reach the World Cup semifinals, Morocco’s soccer team now represents so much more than its own nation as its achievements have united a region and continent in celebration. The Moroccan flag was displayed in cities all around the world on Saturday, as

By Roger Bennett and Nate Kitch, for CNN Host of the popular soccer podcast “Men in Blazers,” Roger Bennett and illustrator and artist Nate Kitch are the duo behind the recently published “Gods of Soccer” book, which looks at 50 women and 50 men who are or have been some of the sport’s greatest players.

By Ben Morse, CNN It’s the time of year when the temperature drops, the big coats get brought out of the closet and the NFL action begins to have some real implications riding on it. Whether it be draft position or playoff seedings, each game means something to each team as Week 14 of the

By Jacob Lev, CNN University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams was named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Saturday night. The 20-year-old sophomore led the Trojans to an 11-2 record in his first season in Los Angeles after transferring from the University of Oklahoma. He threw for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

By Ben Morse, CNN World Cup holder France remains on course in its title defense after beating England 2-1 to reach the semifinals at Qatar 2022. Aurélien Tchouaméni gave France a first-half lead, his powerful shot setting the game ablaze at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday. England grew into the game and team captain

By Issy Ronald, CNN Morocco made history Saturday as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal, defeating Portugal 1-0 to continue its sparkling run in Qatar. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the game’s only goal, rising highest to head the ball into the net just minutes before halftime, while Morocco’s defense once again kept