Euro 2016 Round of 16 Predictions:pt 2

Today I saw my Poland vs Switzerland prediction get pretty close to being 100% correct! It went into extra time like I thought it might and Poland came out with the win. Unfortunately for me and the 100% accuracy of my prediction, the game went into penalties. Wales didn't dominate Northern Ireland as much as I thought they would; they seemed put off being the team in the favorite role. Still, Bale and co. pulled out the win to advance to the quarter finals. Portugal vs Croatia was a game in which I predicted Croatia to win, and I really wanted them to beat Portugal. Ricardo Quaresma denied me of my dreams when he headed in the rebound off Ronaldo's shot in the 117th minute.  Hopefully Poland can give Portugal trouble in the quarterfinals.

"The Harder Side"

Germany vs Slovakia
As mentioned in my last post, one side of the knockout round bracket is seen as much easier than the other side. Germany takes on Slovakia in one of the matches on the so called harder side. Germany is the defending world champion and the Germans should be able to handle Slovakia. Slovakia is not a terrible team; they held England to a nil-nil draw and beat Russia 2-1. Slovakia and their star man Marek Hamsik will definitely put up a fight but in the end I think Germany just has too much power. Germany will advance to the quarter finals.

Italy vs Spain
Italy and Spain were the two teams in the finals at Euro 2012; one of them will be leaving after the round of 16 in this year's competition. This is an intriguing matchup to happen so early in the tournament. Spain has been on a decline since winning the Euros in 2012. They did not advance out of the group stage in the 2014 World Cup and got humiliated 5-1 by the Netherlands in the process of not advancing. But Spain are still Spain, and they have a lot of talent. Although Italy lost to Ireland 1-0 in their final group stage game, Italy already knew they were going to be first in the group so that game might not be the best reflection the Italian side. They did beat Belgium 2-0 and Sweden 1-0 in their first two games; Italy's defense is about as solid as anyone's in the tournament. The likes of Iniesta and David Silva will really have to work hard to get through Italy's back line. I have to pick Italy to win this one. It should be a pretty good game to watch and hopefully the Azzuri can pull out a victory.

France vs Ireland
As the host nation takes the pitch in Lyon tomorrow they will want to put in a dominate performance over Ireland. The Irish got a late winner from Robbie Brady against Italy to send them into the knockout rounds. I have always loved Ireland for some reason and I love supporting them in every match they play. I even have an Ireland jersey with my last name on the back. Unfortunately for me and the Irish the French team should win this game tomorrow. France let one or two of their starters rest in their last group stage match including their star man Dimitri Payet. These players should be rested and ready to play. Ireland could put up a little resistance but France will win the game.

Iceland vs England
I actually think this will be a good match. Iceland, despite only having a population of around 330,000, have proved they are not a bad side at all. Iceland tied Portugal and Hungary and THEN BEAT AUSTRIA! Iceland works together great as a team, they have a star man in Gylfi Sigurdsson, and their keeper is outstanding. England is having a typical England tournament. Lots of hype and expectations surrounded them when coming into the tournament and then they drew Russia, barely beat Wales, and drew Slovakia. Both teams have quality and this is a great matchup. I love Iceland, I was excited when I heard they qualified for the competition and I cheer wildly when I watch them play. This game is hard for me to call because my love for Iceland might be clouding my judgment. I think it will be close and it might depend on who Hodgson decides to play for England. This might not be my best prediction ever, but I have Iceland winning this one in a tight and thrilling match.

Thanks for reading! More to come!

Euro 2016 Round of 16 Predictions: pt 1

One day and just a year ago was the last time I posted on this blog. Yes that was a long time ago and blah blah blah. But now, I'm back and one of the most exciting competitions in football has been going on this summer in France. Euro 2016 kicked off 13 days ago as the host nation took the pitch at the Stade de France to play Romania. Dimitri Payet gave les bleus all 3 points with a stunning strike in the 89th minute. That set the tone for the tournament and now it is almost time for the knock out rounds.


"The Easier Side"




Switzerland vs Poland
One side of the knockout round bracket appears much easier than the other side; one side of the bracket holds many major championship winners while one side holds underdogs that could make a deep run into the tournament. The first game on the "easier" side is Poland vs Switzerland. This should actually be a pretty good game as both teams have some star power, and a good supporting cast to go along with players like Xhaka (who's having a great tournament) and Shaqiri for Switzerland, and Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski for Poland. Switzerland took Argentina deep into extra time two years ago in the World Cup before Di Maria broke Swiss hearts, and Poland could have beaten Germany in their group stage match this Euro tournament. This will be a close match and it could go deep into extra time; I have Poland pulling out a victory and advancing to the quarter finals.


Croatia vs Portugal
Portugal might be blessed that they finished third in their group and got thrown over to the easier side of the knockout bracket. The fact is, Portugal is not that great of team despite being ranked 8th in the world. Unfortunately for Ronaldo and Portugal, Croatia is no easy task. Croatia just beat Spain and that was without their star midfield man Luka Modric. Modric is not the only quality player Croatia has, Rakitic, the Barcelona midfielder, is no slouch and Perisic bagged the late winner against Spain. Mandzukic, the Juventus man, is another striking great striking option for Croatia. If Croatia has no distractions from their fans, Croatia should beat Portugal and move on to the next round.


Wales vs Northern Ireland
Wales was, and still is, my sleeper team to make deep run in the tournament. With the likes of Bale and Ramsey on their side with the supporting cast of Joe Allen (who played great against Russia), Neil Taylor and Joe Ledley, Wales is a great team. They play hard and finished first in their group, above England. After beating Russia convincingly, and pulling out a 2-1 win over Slovakia, Wales should handle Northern Ireland easily. Wales will advance to the quarter finals where they will either meet Belgium or Hungary.


Hungary vs Belgium
This is hard game to call. Hungary did not have many expectations, if any at all, coming into this tournament. They ended up winning Group F. They beat Austria handedly and played a great 3-3 draw with Portugal. Belgium, although being the 2nd ranked team in the world, did not convince me that they were a great team in the group stage. Belgium has always been a team, to me, that has great star power but doesn't play well together. For some reason I didn't catch as much action from Group E as I did the other groups. I just didn't watch as many minutes of Group E play, so I may not know enough about Belgium yet. Hungary vs Belgium should be an intriguing match, and for some reason I just have to go with my gut feeling: Hungary is going to win this match and advance to the quarter finals.


That wraps up my predictions for the so called "easier" side of bracket in the Euro 2016 knockout rounds. I'll try to have my predictions up for the other side as soon as I can! Thanks for reading and come back for more!

pressure on the host nation: Canada vs Switzerland

The Women's World Cup was very entertaining throughout the group stage and the knockout rounds have not disappointed either. Germany absolutely destroyed Sweden 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals, China slipped past Cameroon 1-0, and yesterday Australia pulled off a major upset by beating Brazil 1-0.

Yesterday, all eyes in Canada were on the day's final match in Vancouver. Canada would take the field in front of a sold out BC Place to take on an exciting Swiss team. Almost everyone on the Fox Sports pregame show predicted Switzerland to pull out a win, but John Herdman and the Canadian national team had different ideas.

Before the tournament many people were excited to see what Canada's coach (from England) had to offer. Most people thought he had brought very good change to the Canadian side and maybe he had, but after just okay group play some people were starting to doubt if he was the right man for the job. I had not lost hope; to me he is the Brendan Rodgers of the women's game. He's a coach that most people are quick to criticize but most of the time I think he knows what he is doing. Before yesterday's game he made a few interesting changes from their previous match. In Canada's last match they drew the Netherlands 1-1 so it wasn't exactly a bad game. If he wins against Switzerland he will be seen as a hero for the changes he made, if he loses the Brendan Rodgerness will get worse.

Win is what he did. 53, 000 people witnessed Canada advance to the quarterfinals when Christine Sinclair, one of the best players to ever play the game, knocked the ball down off a cross to Josee Belanger who slotted it home. This was the only goal in the match and it sent Canada on to the next stage in the tournament. The Swiss had talent as well. The electrifying Ramona Bachmann gave the Canadian defense troubles at times but it just wasn't Switzerland's day.

Canada will either have Norway or England next, both very good opponents, but don't count the Canadians out. They have talent all over the field; they are ranked 8th in the world after all. West Virginia's 2 time Big 12 defensive player of the year Kadeisha Buchanan is about as solid as any other center back in the tournament. Christine Sinclair is of course one of the best players ever, and Belanger and Schmidt make up a great supporting cast.

Today England takes on Norway and the US plays Columbia, both should be great matches. Make sure to check them out.

USWNT vs Australia, Nigeria vs Sweden: the group of death did not disappoint

The Women's World Cup started in Canada on Saturday and yesterday the so called "group of death" of the tournament took to the field. The day in Winnipeg started off with a thrilling game between 5th ranked in the world Sweden and 33rd ranked Nigeria. Although Nigeria is ranked so low they are an exciting team to watch with a plethora of pace, strength and skill. The game was stretched from the very beginning with countless attacks from both teams. The first goal came off a Swedish corner when Nigeria's striker Oparanozie turned it into her own net. After this goal all the momentum seemed to be with Sweden. Eleven minutes after scoring their first goal Sweden tacked on another. After the 5th ranked team in the world got out to a 2-0 lead not many people thought Nigeria could come back, but the Nigerians came out firing in the second half. Two goals in three minutes, one from Okobi in the 50th and one from Oshoala in the 53rd, tied up the match. What a player Oshoala is for Nigeria. Last year she was player of the tournament in the under 20 world cup, yesterday her pace and strength caused Sweden fits. Her calm, composed finish was better than I have seen some Premier League players do in front of goal. If the Nigerian women's team is on FIFA 16 she at least has to be an 85! The game went back and forth once again as both teams tried to earn three points. Unfortunately for me, as I was pulling for the underdogs, Sweden scored another in the 60th to make it 3-2. It had to be over for Nigeria now. They continued to press though and had a few good chances, but they just couldn't tie it up... until the 87th minute when Francisca Ordega slotted it home for Nigeria! This tied the game 3-3 and that's the way it ended. If Nigeria really would've tried at the end they might have been able to get three points because Sweden was under siege, but after being down 2-0 and 3-2 the Nigerians were probably very happy with the draw. It will be interesting to see what Nigeria can do in their other games in the group of death. Finishing third place can possibly send you through to the knockout stage; hopefully they make it through because they are a very entertaining team to watch.

The second game of the day in group d(eath) was the United States vs Australia. This featured #2 (USA) vs #10(Australia) in the world. The US team is on a so called business trip (every member of the team filled out Business as their reason for travel on their customs form) in Canada as they feel they should've won the World Cup in 2011. There were giant expectations before the start of this match and the US really needed to play well to start their World Cup off on the right track. Alex Morgan hadn't played a game in a few months (due to injury) and was doubtful to start before the game, she didn't. As the tournament goes along she needs to get match fit as the USA will need her deeper into the Cup. With Morgan out, Wambach and Leroux made the start up top for the US. Wambach is a great veteran of the team and everyone knows what she will bring to the table. Leroux on the other hand still has some to prove in these big games, she got an assist in the match and her pace was hard for Australia to handle, so by the end of the match she proved to me that she is a quality player, even though I would like to see Morgan get back in the lineup.

Megan Rapinoe started the scoring off in the 12th minute for the United States when she took a shot that took a wicked deflection off an Australian defender; the shot hit the back of the Roo's net. After this goal the US did not take a dominant stance in the game, we let Australia keep attacking. Australia is ranked 10th in the world for a reason: they're good. So a goal from Lisa de Vanna in the 27th minute did not surprise me as our defense had been shaky throughout the first half. Hope Solo had kept is in the game but she had no chance of stopping de Vanna's perfect left-footed strike. The teams went into the half all tied up.

The US went up 2-1 in the second half from a goal by Christen Press. Press is classified as a striker but started the game in midfield. The move for her goal started with a nice ball over the top from Rapinoe to Sydney Leroux who took it down the wing with Walcott like pace. She slid the ball into the box to where Press had made the brilliant decision of stopping her run. Press then illustrated her striking skills by finishing the ball into the bottom right corner. Rapinoe added another to the US' tally when she hit a perfect shot with her left foot into the bottom corner when an Aussie defender just wouldn't put pressure on her in the 78th minute. Rapinoe had a great game scoring two goals and starting the move for the other. She is probably the best server of the ball on the squad, always teeing up the ball for Wambach's head. Speaking of Wambach, she didn't score a goal in the match and she had some opportunities. She's probably crazy mad at herself but she'll rebound in the upcoming games. Hope Solo was on top form making many important saves and Tobin Heath came into the game in the 68th minute: She's always an entertaining player to watch with loads of quality. After the US got a 3-1 lead Morgan got subbed into the game. It was good for her to get some minutes in early in the World Cup.

Right now France is taking on England in a fierce European rivalry, tune into Fox to see what should be a great match.

Juve vs Barca: Champions League final

It was an Italian Spanish final in Berlin; a youthful Barcelona squad took the pitch against an experienced Juventus team. Juventus had accomplished a lot just by making it to the finals while Barcelona came in fully expecting the win. Although most experts picked the Catalan giants to sweep the pitch with Juve, I had faith in the Old Lady from Turin. It was an entertaining game filled with a few bad calls, some very pretty passing and some wonderful skill on a warm night in the German capital. 

The game started quickly in terms of attacking. Juve pressured Barca hard and it forced Mascherano into an early error that gave the Italian giants a corner. But Juve's quick start was short lived: Rakitic put the ball into Gigi Buffon's net after a good run of passing started by Neymar. Announcers tried to pin this goal on Pirlo but it was not him who missed his runner. I think it was Vidal (but do not know) who let Iniesta run into a position where he could slide it over to the waiting Croatian. Vidal received a quick yellow after Barcelona's goal and he got crazier as the first half went along; he was asking for a second yellow.  After this shocking goal in the fourth minute, causing a huge swerve of momentum, Juve needed to get back in the match quick or else it might've turned into a real wopping! Luckily they did not give up and they kept pushing on. After Vidal finally settled down he showed his Chilean appetite for the game that Alexis Sanchez has showed for Arsenal all year. If those two got a chance to play with each other in North London next season that would be amazing for all Arsenal fans. 

The game went back and forth in the first half with both teams earning a chance every so often. The teams went into the locker rooms at half with Barca in the lead 1-0. Juventus came out firing in the second half! Pogba lit up the midfield and played a wonderful game, Tevez seemed to be everywhere up top, and Juve's excellent midfield was moving the ball around nicely. Runs were made by Evra and Lichtsteiner up the wings really giving Barcelona fits. The Juve goal came off a wonderful back heel by Marchisio that sent the ball into the path of the oncoming swiss right back Lichtsteiner who took a few dribbles and sent the ball along the ground to Carlos Tevez. Tevez spun and took a shot that deflected off Barca's keeper that fell to the waiting Morata who slotted it home! Morata has loved scoring of late especially against Spanish super clubs. This tied the game and now the Italian giants looked like they would score another! Barca's big three had different ideas. Lionel Messi, who didn't have a giant game today (he shies away in big games sometimes *cough cough World Cup Final*) dribbled past a few of Juve's players and fired a shot at Buffon's goal. Buffon parried it away but Luis Suarez ran onto the ball and put it into the back of Juventus' net. Buffon had an excellent game and this shot was hard to parry out of danger. I don't blame Buffon for this goal, I blame the defenders who couldn't shut down Messi on the initial shot.  

After this goal Juventus tried everything they could to tie the match up again, but after a couple of missed oppurtunites and a giant penalty shout by Paul Pogba it just wasn't going to happen for Juve. In stoppage time Barcelona tacked on another one by way of Neymar, but really the game was much closer than 3-1. The ref didn't seem to have the best game to me, he called a lot of fouls that shouldn't have been fouls and he let fouls go that should've been called. I'm not blaming Juve's loss on the ref but he certainly didn't do them any favors. Juventus looked very good attacking but had a few questionable moments in the back. They missed Chiellini just as much as Suarez did. If Chiellini would have been there the Serie A champions might have been more solid defensively and Suarez might've gotten a snack. 

In the early parts of the game when Messi tried to put skill moves on Pirlo they didn't work out very well for the Argentine. I just had to point that out because I love Pirlo and Messi isn't exactly my favorite player out there. After the match Pirlo and Xavi shared a "touching" moment by sharing a hug and exchanging a few words. It was definitely Xavi's last match for his club and possibly Pirlo's. It would be nice if Pirlo made his way over to the states to have a go in the MLS. 

Overall it was an entertaining final and it was a good ending match to Europe's club season. As we football fans go into the summer period we still have Euro qualifying and the women's world cup to look forward too It's been a great club football season. 

Premier Leagueish Stuff

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it has been a long time since I have even looked at this blog, let alone even tried to type a post. So like usual, a bunch of exciting events have happened in the football world since I last wrote.

The Premier league title battle is heating up once again, the once overly dominate Chelsea has slipped into some trouble as the overly rich Manchester City has decided they actually want to defend their title. With Yaya Toure back in the side, a revived City thrashed Newcastle 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Meanwhile... Chelsea tied Burnley at home 1-1! BURNLEY WENT TO THE BRIDGE AND GOT A POINT... WHAT? Chelsea did have a fierce midweek battle in the champions league with the French giants PSG, but with a bench as deep as the Mariana trench they should have been able to yield a side good enough to beat Burnley. Now City sits just five points back from Chelsea, they can smell blood.

For an Arsenal fan like me, the battle for fourth is always just as exciting as the battle for the title. HOW ABOUT THE GOONERS ending the weekend in 3rd? United lost to Jonjo Shelvey and the fighting Swans of Swansea 2-1 on Saturday while Southampton got bested by Liverpool 2-0 today. This leaves Arsenal in third and I'm glad, because for a few weeks I was really thinking we might, just might, not make the top four this season. There are more matches to be played though, so the battle for a spot in Europe is still very much a crazy race. Oh, and on the note of Jonjo Shelvey, I would like to say I've supported him since he played at Liverpool and I think he will become a great player. He always has an effect on the game, whether it is bad or good for his team, and he almost always has some great goal or assist.

The opposite end of the table is just as exciting as the top, or maybe more nerve racking than exciting... since the bottom three get sent back to the championship. My boys over in West London, QPR, have pulled themselves out the relegation zone for a split second. I hope they stay in the league for a long time because I've always supported them. QPR is tied with Burnley and Villa on points, but they have the better goal differential. While QPR, Villa and Burnley all have an okay chance to stay in the top flight of English Football, it's looking very bad for Leicester City. They have a shameful 18 points; it's a long way out of the relegation zone for them. City looked very promising at the start of their campaign but have since fallen. If Leicester does not start improving in a hurry, they will most definitely be gone from the EPL.

That's all for now! If I get the time to write more, make sure you come by and check it out.

Yedlin comes to North London

Right as I started writing again I realized that school was only a few days away, which means I could take another long break from posting on this blog. Hopefully I will have time to write every now and then.



I had to throw this in (Theodore P. Walcott)

Deandre Yedlin, before the World Cup not many people knew him. The Seattle Sounder right back was born and bred in the Emerald City (also home of great coffee). Yedlin was elected to the MLS all star team his first season in the league which was last year, so apparently some people already knew he had talent. He also just featured in the All Star game against Bayern Munich a few days ago. The only thing I really remember about Yedlin before the World Cup was his crazy hair style(s) he used to wear. Then that all changed in Brazil. Yedlin went from being MLS All Star quality to top flight European League quality. He electrified US crowds with fiery pace down the right wing and didn't do too bad defending. Once he got back to the USA rumors were already flying around him. Roma seemed to be the front runner for awhile but just the other day he didn't play for Seattle against Houston, where had he been? The great North London (its just great because of Arsenal by the way).



Dat hair doe (Deandre Yedlin)

Unfortunately he wasn't there for Arsenal, he was there for our cross town rivals, Tottenham. The Spuds, oops Spurs, were rumored for the past week or so to be looking at Yedlin. Yedlin has officially signed with Tottenham but will not join them until the 2015/16 season. I think he will join them as soon as the MLS season is over because as that is phrased "2015/16 season" means next August, which cant be right. But that's the way everyone is saying it, or at least the Daily Mail.

When I was in Seattle earlier this summer I actually got to see Yedlin play against Seattle's biggest rivals: the Portland Timbers. Clint Dempsey also started in that game and scored (Seattle won 2-0). Ever since Yedlin got his first minutes in the World Cup I knew he was a good player, he's been one of my favorites ever since. Now whenever he takes the pitch for the Spuds I'll have to root against him, so I better enjoy his play at Seattle while I can.

Come back and read more in the following days as I hope to post Premier League Predictions and Best and Worst Jerseys for the 2014/15 Season!



Ice Bucket Challenge

Well yes, it's been a long, long time since I last wrote a blog post. I think the last time I wrote was before the USA vs. Belgium knockout game in the World Cup. Wow! That was awhile ago and a lot of stuff has happened since then... like the actual final of the World Cup, plenty of transfers (and transfer rumors), new kit releases, and all the usual fun summer soccer stuff. One reason I didn't write was because I was in Seattle drinking coffee and exploring the Pikes Place Market, along with going to Soccer City USA (Portland), and eating maple cookies while in Canada. All that took place during the World Cup, so after watching all the group stage games I missed a lot of the knock out rounds. Luckily I did get to watch the final in my hotel room in Seattle. That was just 2 weeks out of my summer so you might say, "you gooner why didn't you write when you got home?". That's a pretty good question but I guess I was lazy or something like that. If there was one person to light the fuel to get me writing again it would be Pep Guardiola doing something as horrible as he is.

A few days ago the MLS all star game took place in Portland, a city I just enjoyed a few weeks ago. The all star team was very strong this year featuring players like Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Deandre "Soon to be a Spud" Yedlin, Nick Rimando, Landon Donovan, Bradley Wright Phillips, Diego Valeri and many, many more. They went up against the horrible coached, but still my second favorite team, Bayern Munich. The German giants started their new Polish star Robert Lewandoski and the Alpine Messi, Shaqiri. The other big stars were there and would feature a little later in the game. Although this was a friendly the MLS All-Stars clearly wanted to win but fell behind to a wonder goal from Lewandoski. I thought this was the start of a 7-0 defeat but it went into half time 1-0. Henry looked great for an old man, he had some great passes, great moves on the ball, and a few good looking shots.

At the beginning of the second half Caleb Porter subbed in 10 new all stars and left one out on the field, Thierry Henry. A minute or so into the half he subbed out Henry so he would get the standing ovation in what might be his last all star game as the French legend is thinking about retirement. Bradley Wright Phillips is having a great season up in New York for the Red Bulls and he showed how good of form he was in when Diego Valeri, playing on his home pitch, put a perfect ball over the top of the defense which was headed into the path of a surging Wright Phillips. Wright Phillips set him self up and blasted it passed the Bayern keeper. This tied the game up and gave the MLS momentum. And then who else but Landon Donovan to put one past Neuer to give the All Stars a win. Donovan was in a tight space but slid the ball right under the Golden Glove winner. He then took of his shirt and paraded around with his undershirt showing which read "take that Jurgen". Okay, maybe he didn't do that but he wanted to.

Yes the All Stars beat the German champs 2-1, but really it was still considered a friendly. I don't think this means Bayern will do horrible this season and I don't think it means the MLS is now the best league in the world, however it is good that the MLS can put up a fight against a team like Bayern. Sometimes these all star teams don't perform well... AT ALL. So it should make the MLS feel some what better as a league. I do think that its improved greatly just over the last three years, but more on that later.

The thing everyone will remember from this match was at the end when the worst coach in the world, Pep Guardiola didn't shake Caleb Porters hand, the All Star coach. During the second half 2 all stars made some questionable tackles on some of Munich's important players. There have been worse tackles but these might have been uncalled for. Still Guardiola didn't have to wave his finger at Caleb Porter who was trying to be nice and shake his hand, he might have told his players not to dive in and they just didn't listen. I know its a friendly Pep, but you came to play a game of soccer and every now and then something like that is going to happen. If Guardiola is such a gentleman like everyone says he is, he would've shaken Porter's hand and not ignored him. Not the "World Class Guardiola" I always hear about.

So some of you might I've heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge. I need to do a little more research on it but I know its raised money for ALS. Someone will pour a bucket of ice cold water on themselves and then challenge specific people to perform the challenge. If they don't pour icy cold water on themselves they are supposed to donate some money to help ALS. It's all about raising awareness for the disease. Well Caleb Porter decided to do that challenge and challenged a few people including Alex Morgan, Jurgen Klinsmann, and oh yeah, Pep "no handshake" Guaridiola. Will the Bayern coach participate, or leave Caleb Porter hanging again?

The Diving Dutchman and Costa Rica

Yesterday was a great day for football. I thought both games were played outstandingly. It was really entertaining combined with tons of controversy (say that in your best Ian Darke voice). Holland took on Mexico in a game where the on field temperature felt like 104 degrees Fahrenheit and Costa Rica took on Greece in a round of 16 game that not many people saw happening.

I really thought that the Netherlands would handle Mexico easily, that was not that case. Van Gaal made 3 changes from the Spain game, I didn't see that as a good idea because you shouldn't fix something that isn't broke. In the end it worked out but it was very hard for the Orange. After having a good first five minutes the Netherlands couldn't keep possession of the ball and Mexico dominated. The referee decided before the game to make sure there would be a water break at around the 30th minute and 70th minute. Van Gaal said after the game that he used these water breaks as a time to go to his plan b and talk to his players about their different tactics. Taylor Twellman and Alexi lalas said this is an unfair advantage because it was a timeout, but more on that later. Anyways the first goal didn't come until the second half when Giovani dos Santos hit a magical shot that put the Mexicans up 1-0. I knew the Dutch were in trouble now, they really hadn't looked that threatening the whole game. Memphis Depay was brought into the game at the 56th minute. Depay has been a super sub in this tournament, he's full of pace and he has some tricks up his sleeve. Dirk Kuyt, the old man as I call him, played a great game. He ran to every lose ball and really kept the Netherlands alive at the end of the game. The Dutch didn't make their break through until the 88th minute when Wesley
Sneijder hit a cracker of a volley off a corner. That gave the momentum back to Holland. Arjen Robben, who had another great game, gave Mexico trouble on the wings. Robben really wanted the win and when he went down in the box the Netherlands were awarded a penalty. Klaas Jan Huntelaar, the substitute, stepped up and slid the penalty into the side net. After the match Huntelaar actually said that Robben came up and asked him if he wanted to take it. This is pretty surprising considering Robben can sometimes be selfish when it comes to set pieces, him and Ribery have had some fights in the locker room at Munich. Robben isn't that good at penalties though, so he made the smartest decision. The Netherlands advanced to the quarter finals on that 94th minute penalty.

The big controversy after the game was whether the penalty was a dive by Robben. All though Robben is an expert diver, that was definitely a foul. People forget that you can embellish and it will still be a foul. Robben did make the most of it, he did flail his arms up, but there was contact and it was a foul. If you say that Robben's penalty wasn't a foul than Diego Costa's never should have been. He dragged his leg and used it to his advantage. Even though I hate Mexico they played really well and should be proud of their World Cup.

Alexi Lalas said that diving is a part of the game just as much as a professional foul to hold up play. He went on to say they are both skills that are hard to pull off and a player has all the right to use them. I don't think many people agree with that but at least its one side of the argument.

The second game yesterday was Costa Rica vs Greece. Not many people thought that this game would be taking place, but it did, and it was a pretty good game really. Although there were only 2 goals scored I thought it was entertaining. Costa Rica went ahead in the 52nd minute with a goal from Bryan Ruiz. The shot was very soft but its placement was so perfect that it slid into the side net of the goal. Costa Rica looked like they had won, then Oscar Duarte got his second yellow and was sent off. This really changed the game, luckily for Costa Rica they were playing against a team that doesn't attack very well. Costa Rica was so close to winning it, right until Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored in the 91st minute. This stunned the CONCACAF nation who were so close to a quarter final match against the Dutch. The match went into extra time and then to penalties. Costa Rica, despite having crazy tired legs, took some amazing penalties and eliminated Greece. The final was 5-3 on penalties.

France took on Nigeria today and Germany battled Algeria, more on that later. The USA takes on the Belgian Waffles tomorrow, should be a pretty good game. I'm giving the USA a slight chance but I do think this will be the end of the apple pies at this tournament. Belgium should advance but this World Cup has been full of surprises.

Dancing Columbians and Brazil thanks the Crossbar

Today was the beginning of knock out round play in the World Cup. Two very good games all including South American teams took place.

Brazil are many people's favorites to win the whole World Cup. They're on home soil where they hardly ever lose and they have giant amounts of talent. Today their World Cup dream almost ended, but thanks to some good play, a friendly crossbar, and an amazing goalie from the MLS they advance to the quarter finals.

Brazil took on Chile in Belo Horizonte on the fist day of knock out play. Chile had been the surprise team in group B knocking out Spain and coming in second in the group behind the Netherlands. Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal have led Chile with some great play. The first half of the game was super exciting and played at a very high pace. The players ran end to end without much midfield play. David Luiz scored the first goal of the game off a corner. It might have been an own goal but for now we'll give the credit to the PSG man. After that the atmosphere in the stadium went crazy, Chile didn't give up though. After a small error by Hulk in his own half the Chileans acted quickly and Sanchez hit the back of the net. That tied the game 1-1 and that's how it would stay until penalty kicks. In the 119th minute Chile fired a shot from just outside the box. The shot had tremendous speed but it was denied by the crossbar. If that ball had hit the back of the net Brazil's World Cup probably would have been over. Julio Cesar has always been one of my favorite goalies, I've loved him since the World Cup in 2010. Sometimes he is criticized for not being as good as he should be. Today he had a great game and saved the first two penalty kicks from Chile. Brazil ended up winning in penalties 3-2.

Neymar didn't score, except in the shootout, but he made some great plays and I think he will cause more trouble in the following matches for Brazil. Fred and Jo, Brazil's strikers, have been pretty horrible so far this tournament. One of them, most likely going to be Fred, really needs to step up if Brazil wants to win the tournament. Chile played very well but just couldn't beat Brazil on Brazil's turf. Sanchez had a great game and Chile ran as hard as they could the whole game. They had a great tournament but meeting Brazil in the round of 16 is a tall order.

In the other Round of 16 game another all South American match took place, Uruguay vs Columbia. With Uruguay coming off the vampire drama I didn't think they would win, and they didn't. Columbia played great and their new star James (pronounced Hamez) Rodriguez played great again. He scored both goals for Columbia as they advanced to play Brazil with a 2-0 win. His first goal should be nominated for goal of the tournament with Tim Cahill's and Robin Van Persie's. He chested a header and with the ball coming down he took it on the full volley, it hit the crossbar and went down into the goal. He's been on great form this tournament and I hope Arsenal is interested in him.

I only had Columbia coming in second in their group then losing to the Italians in the Round of 16. We see how that worked out. I think the Brazil vs Columbia game will be interesting, Brazil should win but Columbia might make it a tough game. By they way, Columbia's celebrations are pretty good, all the dancing and stuff they do.

Come back for more World Cup coverage and fun stuff like that.

"Iron" Robben, the Golden Boy, and Messi the Messiah

This tournament has plenty of star players in it. So far some of the big names have really proved why they are so famous. Neymar, the golden boy, has played well in front of his home country, very well. I've always liked Neymar because he was one of those typical young players that had all the hype about them. Instead of following the trend and not being that good of a player, just being all hype, he actually proved that he could play very well. Plus he's entertaining to watch. I've been a fan of Arjen Robben for awhile ever since I started watching Bayern Munich play a few years ago. He looks like an old man but he's very pacey and has a magical left foot. A left foot that rivals that of Leo Messi. Messi, who as I've stated before is not my favorite player, really needed to have a great World Cup. So far, he has done that pretty well.

All three of those players has helped their country tremendously so far. They will be needed even more in the knockout stages of this tournament.

The Netherlands take on Mexico in the round of 16. I think the Dutch will handle them pretty well,
but Mexico did hold the Brazilians to a 0-0 draw. Arjen Robben has 3 goals and 1 assist so far in the World Cup. Two of his goals came in the dismantling of the former World Champion Spain. One of them was very important because it gave Holland the lead and the second one was a World Class goal as he stormed down the pitch with 99 pace (FIFA 14 reference), made Casillias fall to the ground, and hit a nice shot into the goal. He scored the first goal vs Australia and had the assist to Memphis Depay in the Chile game. Robben has looked very quick and he also got his mind set right for this tournament. He always knows where to be on the field, he's a pretty hard worker and he is a great compliment to Robin Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder. Robben could be up there for player of the tournament so far.

Neymar had all the pressure in the world on him at the beginning of this tournament. After getting down 1-0 to Croatia it had to be him to tie the game up 1-1. He went on to score a penalty in that game after Fred flopped like fish. Neymar also scored 2 very good goals against Cameroon. Brazil needs his pace and trickiness to succeed in this tournament. Although he hasn't bagged
an assist yet, he can pick out a great pass every now and then. After having all of Brazil's hopes placed on him through commercials, advertisements, etc, he has really proved how good he is.

When I have seen Messi play for Barcelona, which is not many times, I was never that impressed with him. I heard he could do some great things and that's why he's been FIFA player of the year so many times. Maybe I just always caught him on TV when he was having a bad game. So far this tournament he scored a great goal against Bosnia from outside of the box after running past a few players, he scored a cracker of a goal to give Argentina 3 points against Iran in stoppage time, and yesterday he scored 2 goals against Nigeria. Many people have Argentina going all the way and lifting the World Cup Trophy in Rio. They won't be able to do it without their star man.

It will be interesting to see how Robben, Neymar, and Messi play in the knock out rounds. All three of their countries have plenty of talent but just wouldn't be complete without them.

Suarez Bites another Chunk

Tuesday was the conclusion of the "Group of Champions". It's called the group of champions because it includes 3 teams that are former champions of the World Cup: Uruguay, Italy, and England. Not one of them topped the group, the small CONCACAF nation of Costa Rica emerged out of what should've been a group of death for them to win the group. Yesterday all they had to do was tie against England to win the group and that's what they did. It didn't look like they played for a tie, it just happened to go their way. I was actually watching the Costa Rica vs England game instead of the Italy game because I wanted to see how Wilshere and Lallana played, along with the fact I just like watching England. Then Ian Darke mentioned that the Uruguayan vampire was at it again. I quickly switched channels to see what was unfolding. Just a few minutes after I switched channels the Atletico Madrid man, Diego Godin, scored what would be the winning goal for Uruguay. Godin scored the goal that gave Atletico the La Liga title, he scored in the champions league final, and has now scored in the World Cup. Italy had taken Balotelli out and they just couldn't hit the back of the net. Some people have accused the Italians of playing for a draw, which would have sent them through. They probably should've tried to be a little more attacking. I like a few players on Italy so it was sad to see them go, but unfortunately after a great game of football the headlines were all on Suarez.

Suarez has bit 2 players in his career, or I guess now that would be 3. Chiellini was the victim this time. Suarez had to save a bite for the world's biggest stage didn't he? But its pretty sad that he did it because Suarez is a World Class player and is one of the best strikers on the planet; this biting incident might get him suspended for the rest of the World Cup. Coming off a great year at Liverpool he would have a major impact in the knock out stages for Uruguay. Not only can he finish chances off, but he can also set up his teammates. On the bright sight, twitter and the rest of the internet have really made the most of their opportunities to create funny pictures dealing with his vampirish act.

It would have been interesting to see how England performed with Theo Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain. Neither of them might have played, but if they did they might have made a difference. Also, it looked to me like Roy Hodgson went the "Liverpool way" instead of playing his best players in the match against Italy, but they could've been his best players.

In group C Greece and the Ivory Coast battled it out to for the opportunity to play in the knock out stages. Greece ended up winning (


to my surprise) and advanced. Columbia won the group pretty convincingly and might be a surprise in this tournament. I didn't get to watch either of the group C games but I heard that Columbia was very dominant over Japan.

Well so far my ESPN World Cup bracket has been pretty bad. I'm ranked 488,720 in the world. Costa Rica and Mexico really messed it up. I think Costa Rica messed everyone's up haha. But come back for more World Cup Coverage.

Orange Greatness and Mexico Advances

Today, unless it rains, I will actually get to go play some soccer. Which is always fun during the World Cup because it really gets you in the soccer mood. Today (yesterday) was the first day of final group matches. We found out who would be advancing from Group A and from Group B. I wrote this intro yesterday and I have only decided to keep it in here to point out that right when I was about to leave to play soccer, it started storming. The weather always does that to me.

In Group B we already knew that Spain and Australia were out, and we knew that Holland and Chile were through, we just didn't know who would finish first in the group. The Netherlands would take on Chile in São Paulo wearing their famous orange kits. It took the Dutch awhile but they finally made the breakthrough in the second half through the sub Leroy Fer. Off a free kick Fer leaped very high and buried it into the net with his head. All the Dutch had to do to win the group was tie, so now it definitely looked like they would at least do that going into the last 13 minutes with a 1-0 lead. It got even better for the men in orange when Arjen Robben sped down the left wing on a counter attack, crossed it into the young super-sub Memphis Depay who tapped it in. Arjen Robben maybe player of the tournament so far. He's had a lot to do with each of the Netherland's goals. He's looked quick and creative with every touch. I've always liked Robben and I'm glad he's having a great World Cup so far, I hope he can carry that form into the knock out stages. I found out about Depay before the tournament started and watched a few of his high light reals on Youtube. I was very impressed with him and I'm glad he has shown up well in the cup so far too. Anyways the Netherlands won the group with a 2-0 win over Chile. They will avoid Brazil unless Brazil makes it to the finals along with the Dutch. Chile will advance and play Brazil in the round of 16.

We knew Spain and Australia were both out of the tournament before their game yesterday so Spain played some of their World Class backups. This would probably be the last game for this generation of Spanish players, or at least the last real competitive game. David Villa, one of Spain's most important players from the last few years of success had an emotional last game in which he scored a cheeky goal. Fernando No-Scores (pronounced no-scorez) also hit the back of the net along with Juan Mata.  Spain won 3-0 but didn't really celebrate after any of their goals after a very disappointing World Cup. They shouldn't be too sad though because 2 Euro championships and 1 World Cup in the last 5 or 6 years is about as amazing as it gets.

The Magical Mexican Ochoa

Well Mexico really proved me wrong, big time. I thought no doubt Croatia would advance in Group A behind Brazil. Brazil did advance in first but instead of Croatia the CONCACAF nation of Mexico advanced. After such a horrible qualifying campaign I did not see them playing so well. They tied Brazil and beat Croatia 3-1 along with a 1-0 win over Cameroon. Chicharito said it himself in an interview after the game, "people think that CONCACAF is easy, but its not". He went on to describe how well Costa Rica and the United States have played this tournament. Mexico will take on the red hot, or orange hot Holland in the round of 16. That's going to be a hard game for the Mexicans.

Come back and read more World Cup coverage.

CONCACAF Looking Strong, MLS not to shabby.

At the beginning of this tournament we probably thought that the North American and Central American teams wouldn't fair to well in Brazil. There would be a chance that Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States, and Honduras wouldn't make it out of their group. All four teams not advancing. The story has been much different. The USA has a chance of advancing out of their "Group of Death", Costa Rica has advanced to the knock out stages, Mexico has it all on the line against Croatia today, and even though Honduras wont advance they haven't just looked horrible.

Ruiz scoring against Italy to propel CR into the knockout stages

Costa Rica was drawn into a group with Uruguay, England, and Italy. The group of champions they called it because everyone besides Costa Rica has lifted the World Cup trophy. What was little Costa Rica going to do in this group, nothing right? Well it turns out they qualified with one game to spare. I always said Costa Rica was a good team when the US played them in qualifying, we just happened to catch them in the snow. I didn't think they were good enough to take down Uruguay and Italy, but they did, and it wasn't a fluke, they just played that good. With help from Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, and a top class goalie from La Liga, Costa Rica looked very promising in the group stages.

Mexico, although I hate them, has been able to hold on in their group. Today they play Croatia in pretty much a winner takes all match. Brazil should handle Cameroon, so the winner of the Croatia Mexico game will go on to the knock out stages with Brazil. Mexico had a horrible 2013, they barely made it to Brazil, and they went through many coaches. If they make it out of the group stage today I would say that's already a trophy for them, because for awhile it looked like they wouldn't even be here.

During the draw back in December I thought there was no way we could do anything good in our group. For awhile I didn't believe we could get 1 tiny point. Now we have 4, and we should have 6. When Dempsey and Bradley moved back to the MLS I was scared that this might lower their ability to play against world class teams in Brazil. Instead (excluding Ghana for Bradley) both of them have played pretty great so far in the World Cup and both played great in the World Cup warm up matches. In the starting lineup against Portugal we had 5 MLS players taking the pitch. More than I would've ever liked, but they played the best match the National team has ever played. I'm still not a big fan of us trying to "grow" our players in the MLS, but we have clearly made some progress. I hope that David Villa is the start of more world class players coming to America.

The good people at Arseblog have said that the US team has been one of the best teams to watch this year at the World Cup. Our collective team effort is what makes us good, not relying on one individual star.

Overall CONCACAF has proved that we are more than we used to be. We've improved and we should improve over the following years. We still have a long way to go to really win a lot, but for right now I'm pretty happy with how our qualifying nations have performed.

The best match ever for the USA

Well today was a crazy day for the United States men's national team. I believed that we could win after Dempsey's goal. In the end, after being up 2-1 until the 95th minute, we really deserved the 3 points, we came away with 1, but it was truly a great performance.

Well before the match if someone would've asked me would I take a 2-2 draw against Portugal I would've said yes, definitely. I didn't expect us to win or even come close, after all Portugal is ranked 4th by FIFA, 4th in the world that is. After Nani's early goal I thought we were done. There was no way we could come back. An error by one of my favorite US backs, Geoff Cameron, gave Portugal the early lead. Then we played outstanding. Michael Bradley showed up for this game. He made some great passes, looked like he could run around a bit, and made an impact. Zusi looked like he was ready to play. His corners weren't world class like usual tonight but he made some great passes from open play. Kyle Beckerman played some great defense. He never stopped running, in the Amazon jungle that's something that a player could do very easy, stop running. Jermaine Jones, one of my favorite players on the whole US squad played great as usual too. He deserves the title of man of the match 2 games in a row. Clint Dempsey, not used to playing up front by himself, made a nuisance of himself causing the back line of Portugal a few problems. The United States as a whole kept great possession, we made the best chances, and looked like we weren't scared. You know a player who didn't really show up? Ronaldo. Well he didn't show up till the 95th minute, but he didn't make much of an impression the rest of the game. He wasn't totally in the shadows like in the Germany game, but he was still quiet.

The 95th minute goal that crushed the USA

Anyways lets get down to the action. After Nani scored in the 5th minute the US took control. Our break through didn't come until the second half, and it came from none other than Jermaine Jones. What a wonderful strike it was. Off an American corner Portugal could only clear it as far as the top of the box, where Jermaine Jones was standing. Then Jones released a magnificent strike. A hit that rivaled Messi's against Iran. This was an extra injection of momentum that the US needed. Jurgen Klinsmann then brought on a player I like a lot and I think he will do great in the coming years, DeAndre Yedlin. Yedlin usually plays right back but came in at right mid today. He has plenty of speed and is very strong. He plays for Seattle in the MLS and helped set up his Seattle teammate Clint Dempsey for his goal. Yedlin dribbled down the wing with blistering pace, sent it across the box, and after in bounced around for a bit Zusi picked up the ball and sent a pass to the US captain who "stomached" it into the net. This was great! Spectacular! The nation known for hating soccer, the nation who didn't have a hope in this group was ahead of Ronaldo and Portugal. Going into stoppage time it looked like the US would secure their place in the knock out rounds before Germany, but then 5 minutes of stoppage time and the best player in the world (well ask Messi about that) crushed the United States' dreams. Off a Michael Bradley give away Portugal went on the counter in the very last minute of the game and gave the ball to Ronaldo. Ronaldo who hadn't looked like he could deliver a ball all game, put in a world class ball right to the head of his teammate. The European nation had tied it. It was the last play of the game.

All though the US came so close to a win, so very close, they shouldn't be tremendously sad, just really sad. We can take many things from the game. We tied the 4th best team in the world 2-2, we had the better of the game, and we looked great with out Altidore. Tim Howard made a mistake or two, but was still outstanding. Our wing backs looked great and DaMarcus Beasley, playing in his fourth World Cup looked like he was still 20. Geoff Cameron might have been able to do more on the last play but that's being harsh. Yes he didn't really pick up his man but he had just played in Manaus for 95 minutes. It was really just a great ball from Ronaldo. I said before the game that Portugal was one of the best counter attacking teams in the world.

In the end the USA could taste the win, we were oh so close, but we couldn't seal the deal. I thought it was the best game the United States has ever played, or at least the best I've ever seen us play. It was a great performance but we'll have to go into the Germany match playing for something. It should be a spectacular final group stage day. Keep watching the World Cup and keep reading this blog! #ibelieve


More Nil- Nil and Poor England

Well unfortunately I have missed one or two World Cup matches now, but I still have watched almost all of them. The action continued yesterday with some interesting games. England desperately needed a win against Luis Suarez and Uruguay, Greece and Japan both needed a win to catch up with the Ivory Coast and Columbia, and Columbia battled the Ivory coast to top group C.

I like England, I've seen them play in person at their home, Wembley. I know a lot of their players because most of them come from the Premier League, which is really the only league we get to watch over here. Although they have a lot of talent, they can never seem to get the most out of their talent. It happened again, yesterday, in Sao Paulo. Luis Suarez came back and started for his country, he proved why he maybe the best striker in the world at the moment. England didn't have a bad game. They created a lot of chances, but so did Uruguay. In the end it came down to who could finish off their chances and when you have a striker like Suarez, you will almost always win those type of matches. Wayne Rooney did secure his first ever World Cup goal, but it wasn't enough to overcome Uruguay who scored the winning goal in the 85th minute. It came from no other than Luis Suarez who scored both goals for Uruguay. Uruguay got their first win of the tournament after losing to Costa Rica in their first game.

The English press had been placing much of the weight on Wayne Rooney's shoulders. Why? I don't really know, but he didn't perform badly yesterday and he scored a goal. England's defense needs to improve a bit if they want to do some good things. I think their World Cup run is over this year, unless something amazing happens in the following group matches. Look for them in the Euro's in 2 years.

It looks like my prediction of the Ivory Coast winning their group will probably not be right. I didn't realize how good Columbia could be, even without their star striker Falcao. The Ivorians played Columbia well but Columbia came out on top with the 2-1 win. I would like to point out how well the former Arsenal man, current AC Roma member, Gervinho, has played. Defenses have had trouble stopping him and he has two goals so far this World Cup.

Japan and Greece also played yesterday in the other match from Group C. Both teams lost their opening match a greatly needed a win in this match. After Greece got a red card in the 38th minute their goal switched from trying to get 3 points to trying to get 1. That's what they came out with. Japan probably should've won as they had the better of the chances but neither team has an "outstanding" striker so the game ended 0-0. That's the third game that's ended 0-0.

Today Italy plays Costa Rica. Both teams got a win in their first group matches and the Italians will be the favorites but as we/Uruguay knows, the Costa Ricans can pack a punch. Honduras plays Ecuador and the Swiss take on France.

ORANJE! ORANJE! ORANJE!

The World Cup has been full of great moments so far. It has been a wonderful tournament in Brazil. I have basically done nothing over the past few days except watch soccer, in fact I've watched every game so far, that streak might end today, but I almost got through one full round of group matches.Only yesterday did we receive our first draw of the tournament, unfortunately it was the worst kind of draw, an nil-nil (0-0) draw. Thanks Iran and Nigeria! Haha, but even with that tie, the rest of the World Cup has been filled with upsets, great play, and fun celebrations. What upset is bigger than a 5-1 bashing of the former World Champs?

Hey remember when that blogger said that Holland would win their group and the days of ticky-tacka where over? Well yeah, I think the Dutch proved my theory with their dismantling of Spain. I predicted before the game that the Netherlands would win the game, now I didn't think they would win by four goals, but I knew they would win. After Costa went down in the box and Xavi Alonso slid it past the Dutch keeper I didn't give up hope. Then the former Arsenal man, the current Manchester United star, Robin Van Persie, scored an amazing header that gave the Netherlands plenty of momentum to carry into the second half. The pass from Blind was exquisite and the finish was even better. Going into the second half the Netherlands had all the momentum in the world. Arjen Robben, my favorite non Arsenal player, scored a great goal to put the Dutch ahead 2-1. It showed that he was world class. Robben has always been flashy and clinical in club play, but when he puts on the Orange jersey he hasn't always been the best. He said that after his miss in 2010, that could've won the World Cup, he would never forget Iker Casillas' save. He went on to put another one past the Spanish keeper, along with another from Van Persie, and for good measure one from Stefan de Vrij.

I was super excited because I hate Spain. The way they play has been very effective in the past, but I just cant stand watching it sometimes. They still have a chance in this tournament having so many world class players. If any of them get injured, they can stick another great player in there. If they finish second in their group I don't even think they'll get passed the round of 16 because Spain should meet up with the hosts, Brazil.

It was a great game to watch and wonderful for anyone who wanted to see the Spanish get demolished, but if you tuned into the game you might say, "who are these teams? There's no orange or no red, it cant be Spain vs Holland." Well you see, FIFA made the Netherlands wear blue and Spain wear white. Why, I don't know, but that's what the announcer said.

"Flying Dutchman"

Google pointed out that in the Netherlands, searches for their National team was 22x higher than the search for herring. Why is this important? Well its herring season of course, a popular time for the fish in Holland! Also, "Van Persieing" has become a thing now. Remember how he looked after his header on the ground with his legs held up in the air and his head held high, go somewhere, lay down, and take a picture like that, then post it on all the social media possible.

Come back for more World Cup coverage.

USA! USA! USA!

Okay, I would have to say that this World Cup has been pretty awesome so far. There have been plenty of goals, just the right amount of drama, and great world spirit. I will post  a lot in the coming days to cover the past few days of action (and future games), but this post will be for we, The United States of America (also know as 'murica).

We all know that I have had my doubts about the US national team. Sometimes I am even on the border of not supporting them, luckily for the US, they did a good job leading up to Brazil to get me interested in their cause. Putting on programs like Inside the March to Brazil and always giving us a behind the scenes look at the team made me like them a lot more.

Going into Ghana tonight I knew we had to get 3 points if we wanted to get out of the group. I couldn't even make a prediction as to who would win because I just really didn't have an idea. I knew the US had improved from 4 years ago but I didn't know if we could stand up to a team like Ghana who had also improved. When Dempsey scored his goal in 32 seconds (34 if you are a FIFA worker) I was bamboozled. I was very happy and very surprised. I thought, "Hey we might have a good chance now". That's when Ghana really came to life. The African nation looked faster, stronger, and had most of the possession. Then one of the worst possible things happened, Altidore when down grabbing his hamstring. Even though he is not my favorite player, he's Premier League built and is so strong that he can create chances for himself. We held a 1-0 lead through half time but we had to pull Besler off who picked up an injury. That might have the best thing possible in the sense of a result for the USA. Ghana tied the game in the 82nd minute. I was pretty sure it was all over in terms of a win, which would mean that our chances of getting out of the group would be pretty slim. Then John Brooks saved the day for the USA. Brooks came into the match as a sub for the injured Matt Besler. Brooks was quoted on twitter as "the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln". He headed the ball just like you're supposed to, down low and hard. It bounced past Ghana's keeper (this was off a corner) and hit the back of the net. He is now a true American hero.

Jurgen Klinsmann was asked at his press conference after the match why he subbed in Brooks instead of Omar Gonzalez. The answer was that Brooks is the sub for a left center back and Omar is the sub for a right center back.

Now to individual player reviews. Michael Bradley who looked so good in qualifiers just played terrible tonight. I expected great things from him tonight and maybe they'll show up against Portugal and Germany but he was majorly disappointing. He couldn't make a right passing decision, he didn't seem to put in many tackles, and for some of the game he disappeared. At the end of the game he did play a little better. Jermaine Jones on the other hand, was absolutely the man of the match. He worked really hard, made some excellent passes, and always seemed to be in the right place. Playing in the Champions league for so much of his career and just playing in the Bundesliga really paid off tonight. I've always liked him and have
 always thought he's a hard worker. Although Tim Howard didn't have to make a bunch of saves tonight, I though he played very well and he maybe the best player on the team. It's hard to compare outfield players to goalies sometimes. I asked us to bring Zusi in, and we did. He put in a great ball on the corner to help John Brooks give the US 3 points. I have seen him take some great set pieces at Sporting KC and he proved he could do it on the biggest stage.

The support over here in the States was giant for our National team. The hype was big and we got the win. Twitter was blowing up with USA chants, along with Instagram and the like. Hopefully soccer will continue to grow over here. Overall I wouldn't say it was a great performance from the United States, we weren't pretty but we got the job done and at the end of the day that's all that matters. Going into Portugal with 3 points, with Portugal being Pepeless, we should have some tremendous momentum.

For more World Cup coverage come back and read more in the following days. Also check out Google's World Cup Hub, they have some interesting stuff comparing trends on Google, like searches between the USA National team and Chuck Norris, along with other stuff.

Sao Paulo could've had a much worse day...

Well a day where you run 4 miles, go to Starbucks, and watch the World Cup is pretty awesome day. You Best and Worst Jersey people, don't worry, it will be out later tonight or later tomorrow. For now, lets focus on the first game of the World Cup.

The biggest stage in the world, this is it, especially as the host nation with so much weight on your shoulders. The worst possible thing that could happen for Brazil would be for Marcelo to score an own goal and put the Croatians up 1-0. But surely that was impossible, Brazil is a much better team. Well that is exactly what happened. Croatia started the game much better than Brazil and looked like they had a goal in them. I was only semi surprised when the first goal went in, I was more surprised that it was an own goal. The OG didn't deflate the hopes of Brazil, the poster boy as they're calling him, Neymar, didn't really get ahold of his left footed shot, but it snuck past the keeper, hit the post, and went into the goal. Some people are questioning the goalie and asking why he didn't get to it quicker as the shot rolled pretty slow across the pitch, but he saw it late and it was expertly placed. If one person was going to start a comeback for an entire nation, it would have to be Neymar, and that's exactly what he did.

Now to the most controversial part of the game, the penalty call in the second half. Fred dived. I love Fred and I think he's a good player, but it was clearly a dive. The past Premier League season I have seen many defenders pull on the shoulders of the attacker and as the striker went down the ref just waved his arms no. Even if it was a clear foul the ref would never point to the spot, but in the world cup, as the Croatian defender tugged slightly on Fred's shoulder, his legs flew up and his arms flailed in every direction. He clearly sold it to the ref and that's probably what gave Brazil the 3 points. I am not saying that announcers or experts are always right, I usually do not agree with them, but not one of them said the penalty call was a good call. Anyways, Neymar put it in, just barely though as the Croatian keeper got his hands to it.

After that Croatia still put up a very good effort. They didn't give up and created more chances. Julio Cesar made a few saves but Croatia couldn't find the back of the net. After a Croatia chance Brazil went on the counter and Oscar slid one past the keeper. Again, the keeper was questioned. I think on this one he might have been able to save it, but it wasn't as easy a save as some people are making it sound.

Overall Brazil might be looking at the match as a bit of a disappointment but they got the three points and that's what matters. The outcome could have been much different and I think Croatia will be at least a little happy with their performance. Of course, they wont be thrilled, no one should be after losing, but they should carry the good performance into their matches against Cameroon and Mexico.

World Cup Predictions: Part 2

Yesterday I told you what would happen in the group stage, today I tell you what will go down in the knockout stage and who will be crowned world champions. By the way, I haven't been able to play soccer in forever because of this rain, IT NEEDS TO STOP. Hopefully it wont rain this much in Brazil, even if it did, they probably have world class pitches. Anyways...

The knockout stage of any tournament is scary, if you lose you go home and your hopes of winning are over. First off, lets say I predicted everything right in the group stage. The knockout matches would start off like this:

Brazil vs. Spain! What a spectacle to have in the second round, not even the quarterfinals! This is a final worthy matchup happening in the round of 16. Spain is a great team, but Brazil is quick and flashy, two things Spain needs to catch up on. This will be a re-run of the confederations cup final of last summer, Brazil will dominate, and Brazil will win. The Ivory Coast and Uruguay will be a great game to watch if it actually happens. Even though the Ivory Coast should have a dominating group stage performance, Uruguay edges this one out. France and Bosnia will also be a very interesting game. As long as the French do not lose their minds I think Bosnia's Cinderella run will end there. An upset could be lurking though. Germany and Russia should be a pretty easy game for the Germans. Russia is a European team but their footballing talent is not what it once was. The Netherlands and Croatia might be a pretty physical game. The Dutch will pull out the win with their "total football". Italy and Columbia should be a fun game to watch. Without Falcao, the Columbians wont have enough power to get past Italy. Argentina and Switzerland, unfortunately for the Swiss they will not have a chance. Look for Argentina to slice through them like chocolate. Belgium and Portugal, doesn't get much better than that for a Round of 16 match (except Brazil vs Spain of course). The young Belgian squad will face their toughest opponent yet and it will not be easy at all. It might go into extra time, but Hazard and the rest of the Belgium squad can pull out a win.

Now into the quarterfinals. By now most of the mediocre teams are out and it all gets pretty exciting. Brazil vs Uruguay, a South American matchup. Uruguay has some great attacking quality and their defense isn't as bad as one might think. Although they stack up nicely against Brazil, Brazil's overall talent and momentum they will carry from beating Spain will push them through into the semifinals. Next up, a European match up, France vs Germany. France has plenty of talent but unfortunately for them they will meet up against a team that has even better talent. Germany advances to the semis. Another thrilling quarterfinal matchup is possible. I hope it happens because it will be very entertaining. The Netherlands vs Italy. This game could really go in either teams favor but I have the Italians advancing. Argentina will end Belgium's run. The Belgians will be even more dangerous in 4 years.

Ahh, the semi finals. Now you are so close to final you can taste it. No matter if the semi final games turn out to feature the same teams I have in them or not, they should be great games. My first semi final game involves two teams that are top favorites to win the whole tournament. Brazil vs Germany. This should be a cracker of a match. It could go deep into extra time or even into penalties but the home team, Brazil, will pull out the win under immense pressure. The other semi final has two big teams in it, not exactly favored teams to get that far, but still very good teams. Argentina vs Italy. Argentina has great attacking players and Italy just wont be able to handle it on South American soil. Argentina advances to set up an all South American final. Doesn't get much better than that.

Brazil vs Argentina. The atmosphere in Rio would be absolutely crazy. Whether this final happens or not, one of those teams will definitely be in it, Brazil. That's because Brazil will hoist the World Cup trophy on home soil. Playing at home will give them a huge boost of confidence. They have plenty of talent in all positions. Goalie, defense, and of course the midfield/forwards. Argentina is great up front but that can only carry you so far, that's why Brazil will win the 2014 World Cup.

Tomorrow I will post the third edition of the best feature on this blog: Best and Worst Jerseys. Of course it will be World Cup Edition so come back and read!