Like many Brazilian boys his age, Brazil coach Tite first experienced the thrills of international soccer through the radio during the 1970 World Cup at age 9. Growing up in afamily with humble means, they had no TV, but his family still swarmed around the radio to listen to the World Cup games. “It was […]
World Cup Watch
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Large Panama contingent heads MLS representation
A fleet of MLS players were on the field Sunday and Monday as Costa Rica and Panama, respectively, kicked off their World Cup campaigns. Costa Rica has five current MLS players as well asthree other players with MLS experience. Panama head coach Hernan Dario Gomez named 13 current or former MLS players to his 23-man […]
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Germany needs another reboot after woeful performance from Rio heroes
After winning the 2014 World Cup, Germany started using analytics software and hardware that so impressed the New York Times, it headlined its article: “A Scary Thought: Germany Is Better Prepared Than in2014 “The Mexicans used different tactics than we expected that we partly didn’thave the means to deal with.” The German media agreed that […]
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Group G Preview: England and Belgium are clearly a class above
Like Group B with Portugal and Spain, this group is composed of two heavyweights — Belgium and England — and two outsiders. Unlike the Iberian rivals, they do not meet in thefirst round of games. They play on the final day of group competition and are not only expected to advance but also take care […]
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Group H Preview: Colombia has the edge among balanced quartet
One of the World Cup most balanced groups might also prove to be the most exciting, with each team having a serious shot to top the group while fielding an array of attacking talent. Colombia,the darling of 2014 World Cup, returns to the world stage in perhaps better shape than four years ago. The 2014 […]
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Questions raised about France after disappointing showing
All the things about France that make it attractive — its individual talent and its youth — are also its weaknesses, and tbey were certainly on display on Saturday in Kazan. Les Bleusedged Australia, 2-1, but they needed VAR to award them their first goal scored by Antoine Griezmann from the penalty kick and a […]
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Group F Preview: Germany has chance to find its groove
The draw was kind to Germany, which aims to become the first back-to-back world champion since Brazil in 1962. Die Mannschaft’s first opponent is Mexico, which fell, 4-1, to a German B team at the2017 Confederations Cup and has beaten Germany only once in 11 encounters — a 2-0 friendly win in Azteca Stadium in […]
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Group E Preview: Ticos boast experience but Brazil is clear favorite
Brazil looks like a shoo-in to top Group E, which promises a tight battle for second place between an experienced Costa Rica, a balanced Switzerland, and a Serbian team that topped its qualifyinggroup. After a Cinderella run at the 2014 World Cup, Los Ticos have only five players on their roster with fewer than 30 […]
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Group D Preview: World Cup is the last stand for Argentina with Messi
Every World Cup group is rife with storylines, yet the lineup in Group D ticks all the boxes culturally as well as competitively. Two-time champion Argentina is ledby Lionel Messi, one of the all-time greats whose brilliant legacy is destined to be at least partially eclipsed if he can’t lead his nation to the title. And […]
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Group C Preview: France's Deschamps goes straight to the kids
Before France played the USA last Saturday in the Lyon suburb of Decines, French coach Didier Deschamps said he wouldn’t deviate much from that lineup he put when Les Bleus open the World Cupagainst Australia in Kazan. But he seems to have changed his mind after the 1-1 tie in which the attack struggled to […]