As the weeks and months count down to a World Cup, anxiety of fans andfollowers of the national teams head to the tournament grow and grow. They worry mostly about injuries, of course, but they also wonder if their players will be among those too tired, toobanged up, or just too burned out once the […]
World Cup Watch
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
Uruguay's Diego Godin makes strong case as world's best defender
Diego Godin briefly quit soccer at age 17. Now 32, he’s set to play in the World Cup quarterfinals and ranks among the world’s best defenders.
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
French talisman Benjamin Pavard is overnight sensation
Every four years, players come out of nowhere to make a name for themselves at the World Cup. In March, after the final friendly matches before preliminary rosters needed to be submittedto FIFA, Benjamin Pavard was not on anyone’s list of 23 players France would take to the World Cup. Outside of the north of […]
Posted inStory
From Gre-No-Li to Granqvist: 10 things to know about Sweden
After missing the last two World Cups, Sweden heads into the round of 16 with hopes of recalling its glory years. The Swedes, which won Group F and face Switzerland in the round of 16 on Tuesday, havereached the World Cup semifinals four times (1938, 1950, 1958, 1994) and boast an Olympic gold medal from […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
World Cup is changing because of VAR — which Collina gives an excellent review
If Pierluigi Collina approves, it must be good. The former FIFA referee of the bald pate and fierce stare – think “Nosferatu” if you’re a silent-film buff– is chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee and quite adamant that use of video technology at the World Cup is doing its job admirably. caught on camera making […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
How confederations fared: European teams dominate, but not against South America
One of the greatest appeals of World Cup play is so rarely do teams from the same confederation play each other. In the first round that concluded Thursday, 42 of the 48 games matchednations from different confederations, which provides a fairly large data base from which to compile head-to-head records. As one might expect, the […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
From Simonsen to the Schmeichels: 10 things to know about Denmark
Denmark eked its way into the second round in its latest attempt to match some of its pretty impressive glory days. A 1-0 win over Peru, 1-1 tie with Australia, and a scoreless stalemate with France sent theDanes into Sunday’s round of 16 clash with Croatia. 1. Denmark’s late arrival to the global gameThe Danish […]
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Germany humbled — a reminder that no one has the perfect formula
“Like a drunk boxer swinging wildly in the dark” is how one German journalist described the defending champion at the 2018 World Cup. That was written by Deutsche Welle’s Jonathan Harding afterGermany beat Sweden, 2-1, before South Korea KO’d “Die Mannschaft” with a 2-0 win. Germany had opened with a 1-0 loss to Mexico, and […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
Japan rediscovers its personality and its 'football'
By virtue of their enthralling 2-2 tie in the second round of Group G matches played Sunday, Japan and Senegal can assure themselves of a spot in the round of 16 by getting at least a point in theirfinal games. Both teams have four points. Colombia is in third place with three and pointless Poland […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
Argentine coach Jose Pekerman on verge of becoming a Colombian legend
A win by Los Cafeteros on Thursday over Senegal would make Jose Pekerman Colombia’s most successful coach in history. Not that the Argentine Pekerman isn’t already revered in Colombia, whose President, Juan Manuel Santos, granted him citizenship forqualifying the team to the 2014 World Cup, ending a 16-year drought. But if Colombia reaches the second […]