As China continues its path of reform and opening up, many areas of Chinese sports have reached milestones once dreamed of by the nation’s sporting pioneers. The women’s volleyball team stands as a symbol of perseverance, chess grandmaster Nie Weiping once stunned Japan in historic duels, and sports like table tennis, badminton, and diving have become national pride. Yet in the world’s most popular sport—football—China’s men’s national team remains a long-standing disappointment. China has rarely qualified as a representative of Asia in major tournaments like the World Cup or the Olympics. More painfully, its long-standing struggle against South Korea...

Real Madrid has truly mastered the art of scoring with headers this season, turning set pieces and crosses into one of their most lethal weapons. Among the squad, Sergio Ramos stands out as a top aerial threat. In league play alone, Ramos has scored six goals with his head—only Nice’s Mario Balotelli has managed more, with eight. When counting all competitions, both players are tied at the top with eight header goals each. With a lineup stacked with physically imposing players like Ramos (1.83m), Varane (1.90m), Pepe (1.86m), Bale (1.83m), Cristiano Ronaldo (1.85m), and Benzema (1.83m), Real Madrid poses...