Kylian Mbappe tops inaugural Golazo 100 list; USMNT look to bounce back against Brazil ahead of Copa America

It had to be Kylian Mbappe, seriously, right? When our panel of more than 30 voters from across CBS Sports decided to establish the best men’s soccer player — a similar women’s soccer ranking is coming in time for the Olympics — there was no absolute, infallible lock, an undisputed colossus riding the sport like Lionel Messi has done for so long. There was, however, a clear favorite and it was no great surprise that the future Real Madrid striker held off challenges from his future team-mates, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, to be named best of the best.

In total, eight players were voted as the best on the planet – Mbappe, Vinicius, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Bellingham – but in the end Mbappe won by a clear margin. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. He ticks all the boxes you might expect from a world best: he tends to perform in the biggest games, he carries his team with remarkable production, and his charisma comes close to matching his limitless talent. The sport seems to revolve around his presence, nowhere more than in his homeland, as Jonathan Johnson notes:

• Johnson: “It’s not just in Paris that Mbappe’s defeat will be deeply felt by French football – the former AS Monaco player was genuinely approaching the kind of territory that suggested he was a bigger name than the league itself, as the recent television rights fiasco. It’s easy to forget that his winning streak began even before he arrived at PSG with their seventh and first Ligue 1 title and first Champions League semi-final… Ligue 1 was blessed to have retained such talent for so long , given its reputation as a sales league.”

In Madrid, he has the opportunity to further consolidate his status as the best on the planet. His new team will certainly be one of the favorites to win the Champions League and, after a season without Messi and Neymar, Mbappe will certainly thrive in front of goal given the supply line of Vinicius, Bellingham and Rodrygo, among others. However, don’t take it for granted that the 25-year-old is the man who will reign over football for years to come. Uniting the Golazo 100’s three highest-ranked players into one team has a bit of the feel of the Kevin Durant-era Golden State Warriors, a winning juggernaut whose sheer confluence of talent robs each individual of the chance to win the biggest prizes.

Then there are the rivals for the crown. In a down year, Erling Haaland still scored 38 goals in 45 games. Rodri remains a winning machine, Kane is a scoring machine and on the cusp of this year’s top 10 were brilliant youngsters like Bukayo Saka and Florian Wirtz who could have greater heights to reach. It won’t be long before we rank these players again; At that point, the arguments may have stopped at the 2024 list. Read in full here!

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There is nothing easier for the USMNT

After a bruising 5-1 defeat to Colombia, with a high-stakes home Copa América looming, what the US needs now is a boost. It would be really nice if goals started coming from Folarin Balogun’s boots, if Tyler Adams got some easy minutes on his legs, if Matt Turner made some regulation saves on his way to keeping a clean sheet. Well, that would be very, very, really It would be nice if that happened tonight, as Gregg Berhalter’s team are about to host Brazil in Orlando.

The USMNT have never beaten Brazil, and although the Seleção are not in their best form – beating Mexico 3-2 only thanks to a 97th-minute winner from Endrick – they have levels of quality and depth that Berhalter can only dream of. . With many first-team players rested in the latest friendly, Dorival Junior could well bring players like Vinicius Junior, Bruno Guimarães and Rodrygo into his XI, putting minutes into the legs of his most important players.

With the pressure on to bounce back from Saturday’s disastrous showing, don’t expect too many changes to the USMNT XI. The U.S. needs to prove it can excel quickly against top-tier adversaries. They will face an impressive Uruguay, second in South America’s World Cup qualifiers, in the group stage, and one of Colombia or Brazil will likely be ahead of them in the quarter-finals. For his part, Berhalter is convinced that his team can achieve results against the best of the best.

• Berhalter: “I think we can beat top teams, but we have to show it. We talk a lot about doing that and for us it’s really about performance, going out there and having a solid performance that you position yourself for. actually go ahead and win.”

If he doesn’t do that even once in the next few weeks, coach Matt Crocker and indeed the entire USMNT setup can expect (more) questions about whether Berhalter is the man to lead the country into the most significant World Cup of all time. which has already participated. That may seem like the situation less than a year after the coach’s reappointment, but this is the US we’re talking about, where national sports teams are not supposed to be in the upper second tier of their sport.

Even friendly games against opponents at this level need to offer some hope that there is a setup that can make a big leap forward in the next two years. There are fears, however, that this is yet another game that shows the USMNT just how big a gap they must overcome.

Top stories

More Golazo 100 coverage: It was as busy a Wednesday as I remember in the CBS Sports editorial towers, and boy, did we have a boatload of Golazo 100 coverage for you. Jonathan Johnson explains why Mbappe was the man who won the award, Francisco Porzio divides everything by position and team, I look ahead which can make the Golazo 100 v2.0 in 2025.

Ten Hag stands: In a scenario that seemed quite hard to believe, as Manchester United plummeted to depths unknown in a generation, Erik ten Hag will be manager next season. In fact, he is in negotiations with the club over a contract extension.

Dream Venues for NWSL: Wrigley Field proved to be a huge success as it hosted the Chicago Red Stars against Bay FC this weekend, but which iconic locations should they follow?

Playing football in war: It has been 10 years since Shakhtar Donetsk were forced out at the start of Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. Club CEO Serhii Palkin spoke to us about what it’s like running a football club in the most brutal circumstances.

What the USMNT needs to improve: Chuck Booth is available for analyze some of the quick solutions Berhalter could make to the Colombia disaster.

The back row

Best bet

• Friendly: USA x Brazil, Wednesday, 7pm
  THE CHOICE: Vinicius Junior scores two or more (+900) – This depends somewhat on whether the Ballon d’Or favorite (and Golazo 100 runner-up) gets significant minutes against the USA, but it may not be necessary what significant for Vinicius to shine. After all, the Brazilian has spent most of the last few months preparing far better full-backs than anyone who could be selected to face him tonight.

What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network

Morning Football (Weekdays 8am-10am): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans start their day on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest stories in football. Morning Footy is also available in podcast formatso you’ll never have to miss an episode.

Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-based program quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world, with panelists predicting the day’s top matchups. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.

3⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The main women football podcast It is social brand now it’s a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our women’s soccer coverage is stronger than ever. Our analysts will analyze the USWNT, NWSL, and European domestic seasons throughout the year.

Kicking (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network’s New Unfiltered Talk Show Returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names in the Beautiful Game and share their stories on and off the field.

Call it whatever you want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.

Punctuation (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to keep up with all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from major football competitions and all the unmissable goals from the day’s action, which starts Thursday and goes live air for seven days. one week.

How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the world’s major football competitions. You can stream for free on CBS Sports app, Pluto TV It is Paramount+.