Trending, NYCFC.com’s weekly compendium of soccer’s greatest viral hits, returns just in time to round up a dramatic first five days of the 21st FIFA World Cup.
It’s already been a memorable first round of group stage games, with Iceland and Mexico delivering the two standout results in the first 16 games of play.
Here’s some of the choicest cuts from the first 1440 minutes of action in Russia…
PanaMania
This is what the World Cup is all about… Panama may have gone down 3-0 to Belgium in Group G on Monday but this moment will inspire generations to come…
A Different Kind of Shoot
Perhaps only Cristiano Ronaldo can claim a better first 90’ at this World Cup than Iceland’s Hannes Halldorsson.
The goalkeeper saved a penalty from Lionel Messi to secure a point for the minnows but when he’s not stopping shots, he’s setting them up in his day job as a film director.
Halldorsson created this stunning advertisement for the World Cup, showing that he is a man of many, many talents…
Fire and Ice
Staying with Iceland, how about this for a phenomenal statistic? Just 0.04% of the 335k population of the Icelandic nation was not watching them draw 1-1 with Argentina (the majority of which were on the field, playing in the game).
Thanks Grandma!
El Tri have produced arguably the best performance so far, defeating defending champions Germany in Group F on Sunday.
Mexico clearly has one woman to thank…
Missing Amigo
We take off and doff our sombreros to this group of Mexico fans who ensured that their friend wouldn’t miss the many photo opportunities thrown up by soccer’s greatest show.
Hips Don’t Lie
The opening game wouldn’t be a happy one for Colombia but they did have the best celebration of the tournament so far when they equalized vs. Japan today…
"I’ve Got Some Things to Say..."
You’ve probably read this already but, if you haven’t, get on it. Now.
A terrifically inspiring read from Romelu Lukaku who got his World Cup off to a perfect start, scoring twice vs. Panama on Monday.
#FuerzaMata
Forgive us an NYCFC-flavored ICYMI. We followed Ronald Matarrita to his native Costa Rica to shoot a documentary on the realization of his FIFA World Cup dream.
Tragically, this dream was shattered when Mata picked up an injury three days before Los Ticos’ first game but, with Ronald’s blessing, we still wanted to show you how the NYCFC defender got his start and for you to meet the colorful cast of characters who helped to shape Ronald’s career.
Although it’s a tough watch now in the context of the injury, the groundwork for a super uplifting documentary in 2022 is right here…
That’s it for this week, we’ll return next Tuesday with more clips and pics from Week Two in Russia and beyond…
