World Cup 2014 was a great one. But what does the future hold? Copa Mundial 2014 was a wonderful tournament, despite the bad officiating, diving and cannibalism. We saw the emergence of new stars (what do you mean it’s pronounced “Hahm-es”?), brilliant swan songs by old stars (here’s to you Miroslav Klose), dramatic overachieving (hail Ticos!), epic flame-outs (remember back in
Read moreThe round of 16 features at least nine surprises. Who has outperformed expectations? Who swallowed their tongues? The group stage of World Cup 2014 is done and we have our entrants in the round of 16, which commences tomorrow. As always there have been surprises, so let’s have a look at the teams who have performed contrary to our expectations.
Read moreIt wasn’t pretty, but the Yanks advance. What next? Also, the ghost of Landon Donovan. The US Men’s team lost to Germany today, but thanks to Portugal’s win over Ghana the Americans advance anyway. 10 stray thoughts, in no particular order. 1: The pervasive emotion is relief, not elation. Thanks to its last-minute collapse against the Portuguese this was tense until the final whistle for
Read moreEdin Dzeko’s disallowed goal was clearly onsides, but a close review of the replay suggests that it was a simple missed call. Yesterday’s pivotal Nigeria/Bosnia-Herzegovina match featured a blown offsides call that deprived BIH of the only goal it scored. Moments later Nigeria scored courtesy of a controversial no-call on the play that produced the goal by (of all people) Peter Odemwingie. The
Read moreSo far so good, but it’s not going to be easy the rest of the way. 1: CLINT DEMPSEY! CLINT DEMPSEY!
Read moreIt’s Hold Your Breath Season. At least three World Cup dreams ended today and the USMNT plays tomorrow. For the 32 national football sides heading to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, pre-tournament friendlies are a necessary evil. Necessary because competitive tune-ups are essential if they hope to be in top form for their opening matches. Evil because players
Read moreBlack Stars vs. Die Mannschaft was my prediction for Brazil after Copa 2010 in South Africa, but a lot has changed. Four years ago, in the aftermath of Spain’s World Cup win, I ventured a bold prediction for the 2014 Copa final: Germany vs. Ghana. Making these kinds of picks that far out is always a shot in the dark –
Read moreLandon Donovan was left off the World Cup team and American soccer fans are up in arms. Everyone needs to calm the heck down and think about the big picture for a minute. Yesterday US Men’s National Team manager Jurgen Klinsmann announced the 23-man roster that will represent America in this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. That roster didn’t include
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UEFA (the governing body of European football) has given its tentative approval to moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter. The prospect of a winter World Cup in 2022 took a step forward after European football chiefs agreed a summer event could not be played in Qatar. Summer temperatures in the Gulf state can reach 50C, sparking health fears
Read morePart five in a series. As Americans continue to succeed in the global game, expect fans to jump on the bandwagon. Back to my original thesis, noted in part one: Americans love a winner, and the more success we achieve on the global stage, the more fans here are going to latch on. …soccer might well have a bright future
Read moreFédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of world soccer, today awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The move is regarded by most as an upset – the odds-on favorite to land the event was the United States, which hosted the most successful Copa in history in 1994. Also in the running were Australia and a combined
Read moreThe US takes on Ghana in the Round of 16 today, and we realize that soccer is a game whose nuances are alien to many American sports fans. SVR offers this brief primer on the basics of the game so as to enhance our readers’ enjoyment of today’s match.
Read moreKen Gude has some thoughts on all the calls going against the US at the World Cup. It wasn’t the first time in this game that there were odd calls – all going against the US – in and around the Slovenan box. One play Dempsey was wrestled to the ground in the box, no call. On another, he was
Read moreMaradona has some words for Pele. Diego Maradona made stinging comments about fellow soccer greats Pele and Michel Platini on Wednesday after the pair criticized Maradona’s performance as Argentina coach. Maradona said he was not surprised by their comments and that “Pele has to go back to the museum.” … Earlier, Maradona had criticized Pele, who led Brazil to three
Read moreCopa Mundial 2k10 kicked off today in grand fashion, with host South Africa taking a point off of heavily favored Mexico. Tomorrow’s featured match (featured here, anyway) sees the US taking on an even more heavily favored England side that, despite having some of the best talent on the planet, has been lackluster in its pre-Cup tuneups. Of course, the
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lullaby pit 