*By Max Godnick*
Any professional athlete faces the pressure to win, but the stakes are higher in the World Cup, where soccer players carry the added burden of an entire nation's expectations. Some crack. The winners rise.
"If you're for yourself, you're not going to play as hard or as well," said Jon Gordon, the author of "The Power of Positive and Leadership" and a team-building adviser to athletes and executives. "If you're playing for your team or your country, you're going to play a lot better."
Gordon has worked with teams (the Los Angeles Dodgers) and companies (Google) on the foundations of successful team building. He advised the 32 national soccer teams hoping to hoist the 2018 World Cup trophy in Russia next month to use the stress of playing for national pride to help them perform better.
"They have to have a shared vision and a greater purpose," he said, encouraging athletes to ask themselves, "Are we playing for ourselves or for our country?"
The same principles apply to all sports, regardless of what type of ball is being kicked, thrown, or shot. But certain disciplines do require more tailored advice. Because of the number of players and its fast-moving style, Gordon said that soccer, like basketball, requires greater trust between players.
"You have to trust that that player is going to get you the ball," he said. "You have to trust that they're going to be where they need to be on defense."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/world-cup-winning-secrets-from-a-team-building-expert).
No unprecedented comeback, no last-tick miracle, no cavalcade of higher seeds is going to prevent these Miami Heat from playing for the NBA title.
Josef Newgarden celebrated his first Indianapolis 500 win Sunday night. He cashed in Monday at the race's annual victory dinner.
Tenzing Norgay, who shares the honor of first ascent with a New Zealander he guided, was honored with Kami Rita, who submitted the mountain for the 28th time this summer, and Sanu Sherpa, who has twice climbed all of the world's 14 highest peaks.
Opponents say it will harm seaweed, desecrate ancient Hawaiian remains, and waste water.
The deaths of two horses over the weekend join 10 others within the last month at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
NFL player R.K. Russell made history in 2019 when he was the first ever active player in the league to come out as bisexual. He's also an accomplished poet and writer and his new book The Yards Between Us: a Memoir of Life, Love and Football is out. Russell sat down with Cheddar News anchor Hena Doba to talk about his experiences.
Be Well: How Stretching Can Improve Your Posture
Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday.
Fans angry at being blocked from entering a Salvadoran soccer league match despite having tickets knocked down a small access gate to the stadium, creating a crush that killed 12 people and injured dozens, officials and witnesses said Sunday.
Brooks Koepka is a major champion again. Koepka won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill by closing with a 67 and winning by two shots over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.
