World Cup Report 6/18/2014 Part 2

I had to split the report because you can't use too many tags on your reports and there's just way too many futbol players. Holland as everyone remembers smashed Spain 5 to 1 in the first game, but their meeting with Australia was very different. Australia was actually keeping up with Holland as far as strategy. Arjen Robben scored a beautiful goal in the 20TH minute, but Tim Cahill and Australia tied the game up one minute later. Miles Jedinak would hit the penalty shot in the 54TH Minute to put Australia ahead, but that was short lived as van Persie evened everything up in the 58TH minute. Holland would put the match away for good in the 68TH minute when Memphis Depay shoots a rocket from at least 20 plus yards away. Holland is now through to the second round as well as Chile and the two will meet to figure out who takes first place in the group. Holland will have to do it without van Persie for yellow card accumulation. Hopefully all of you have enjoyed the world cup as more fireworks are sure to come in the next four or five days. The biggest story being the US vs Portugal. Can Portugal bounce back or will the US domination continue?

World Cup Recap 6/18/2014 Part 1

Courtesy of Fox Sports 

There are truly some shocking results in the 2012 FIFA world cup as of late and I am here to recap some of them since I haven't covered the games lately. Belgium played a pretty decent game against Algeria yesterday as they were the latest team to comeback from a goal down to win 2 to 1. It almost seemed as if Algeria were going to shock the latest golden generation considering countries that have announced they had a golden generation have failed at the world cup. Marouane Fellaini's entrance into the second half made quite the impact as the midfielder found the back of the net in the 70TH minute after entering the second half five minutes earlier. Dries Mertens who entered in the 46TH minute would score the go ahead goal in the 80TH minute to put Belgium ahead of Algeria. The other teams in the group South Korea and Russia battled to an uneventful 1-1 draw. In fact, South Korea's Lee Keunho should have never had a goal if Russia's Igor Akinfeev had been paying attention. Alexander Kerzhakov would equalize in the 74TH minute and both teams walked out with 1 point. The strongest team in the group in my opinion is Belgium, but you never know going into the second games. There is only one thing that can be said about the Brazil-Mexico game and it's that for a zero all game, it was one of the most exciting. To me, Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico stole the show and he deserved the man of the match without a shadow of a doubt. He stopped everything Neymar, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, etc threw at him.

Today, there were some shocking incidents that nobody saw coming, not even me. I picked Spain to finish at the top of their group and Spain has officially been eliminated after Chile defeated them 2 to 0. Spain has conceded seven goals in the tournament which is unheard of for the defending champs. It begs the question of when was it officially over for Spain. They had one incredible run that culminated in winning Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, and Euro 2012, but now the world has nothing to fear now that they are gone. Chile has been playing with the passion of a champion and it leaves me wondering just how far can this team go in the tournament. Alexis Sanchez is on his way to being on my all World Cup 2014 team if he continues to play the way he is. Cameroon has officially had the breakdown that Portugal had in their first game of the cup. It's a sad sight to see especially a team that was happy to be in the world cup, but Alex Song officially flushed their dreams down the toilet the minute he punched Mario Mandžukić in the back. Mario Mandžukić made quite the impact considering he missed the first game as he scored two of the four goals that Croatia slaughtered Cameroon with.

USA USA USA!!!

There's a lot of excitement behind that title that I provided to you above especially after the embarrassing performance by Portugal. The United States Of America was ready to make a statement in the group of death to prove that they're not afraid of it. Moliere once said, "The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." What were the obstacles for the US coming into the world cup, well for one they started out by playing a team that had eliminated them from the previous two world cups in the black stars of Ghana. Ghana was coming into the world cup as the youngest team at an average of 24.9 years old. The inexperience definitely showed in the first half as the United States hit Ghana with an uppercut right from the start. The US had a throw in and Jermaine Jones ends up with the ball after Beasley threw it in. Jones finds captain Clint Dempsey making a run and Dempsey slices and dices his way through the defense and he beats Ghana keeper Adam Kwarasey to record the sixth fastest goal scored ever in the history of the world cup (34 seconds). The US game plan would change in the first half after Jozy Altidore suffered a hamstring injury.

Courtesy of ESPN Sportsnation

The US struggled throughout most of the game failing to garner any real offense against a Ghana team that was determined to score a goal. Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan were working very hard trying to frustrate the defense of the US, but Geoff Cameron and John Brooks, a player everyone thought had messed his chances of making the team held them off for the most part. Second half substitute Kevin Prince Boateng changed the makeup of the game, he brought a threatening presence to a Ghana side that was struggling and all of sudden things became scary. I thought to myself that I was going to have a heart attack watching the game as Ghana's chances became so much more threatening every time they gained or stole possession. The nightmare would come true as Gyan worked his magic with an amazing flick that saw André Ayew rocket it to the back of the net in the 83RD minute to even the score. The true makeup of the US team began to shine as they are a never give up never surrender team and they proved it. Graham Zusi lined up to take the corner and he delivers a perfect pass that finds the head of John Brooks for the go ahead goal in the 86TH minute. From that point on, all that mattered was that we held onto the ball and we didn't give Ghana a second chance at an equalizer. When the final whistle blew, I was like any American anywhere in the world, i was full of joy and hope.  Next up for the US is a Portuguese side that is going to be missing three key elements including the shameful Pepe.

Courtesy of ESPN Sportsnation 

Messi Finds The Back Of The Net As Argentina Edge Bosnia And Herzegovina 2 to 1

If there was ever a time to find the back of the net once again, then it was today for one of the world's best players. It was the 800 LB gorilla in the room when it came to Lionel Messi and the FIFA World Cup. The expectations of a nation and the shadow of a legend like Maradona have been constantly shoved in the face of the four time golden boot winner. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Argentina exited the competition with Messi taking a total of 32 shots without even one goal. In 2012, Messi broke the record for most goals in a calendar period when it came to club play, but there was no world cup title. The first game for Argentina today in the Estádio Maracanã (one of the most legendary stadiums) was against a newcomer in the world cup game in Bosnia And Herzegovina, a team that is happy to be a European name in one of the world's greatest competitions. Unfortunately for Bosnia, they would have one heck of a hiccup in the opening minutes. It looked as if Messi was going to have a chance to either score or volley a pass into the box for someone to head. Instead, when Messi sent in the ball, it hit the knee of defender Sead Kolašinac and it trickled into the back of the net for the world cup record of fastest own goal.

Still throughout the first half, we kept wondering if this was the time that Messi was finally going to get on the scoreboard because you never want to finish a game with an own goal result. I do have to admit that for most of the game, Bosnia's midfield and defense kept Messi out of it. They were constantly dispossessing him whenever he touched the ball. Bosnia also threatened Argentina's goalkeeper Sergio Romero, but lucky for him Marcos Rojo and Ezequiel Garay were on there a game. 60 plus minutes had already gone by and yet no legitimate goals from any of the teams. Well, that was until Lionel Messi finally showed up to the game. Messi played a beautiful give and go, but it was when he received the ball back that all the magic happened once again. Messi is driving the ball towards the net and you know in the bottom of your heart that he is about to hit it with his left foot. I have to tell you something and it's that I love it when I am right because Messi rocketed the shot that it hit the near post and it bounced right in to give Argentina the 2 to 0 lead. Bosnia would finally add one of their own off a beautiful play that saw Vedad Ibišević make an incredible run towards the net. When he receives the ball, he hits it right past Romero to cut the lead in half, but time would run out for Bosnia. It was a definite incredible first showing from Bosnia and I would expect them to cause some damage in the group. For Lionel Messi and co., you can only hope if you are an Argentine faithful that this is just the beginning.

Benzema's Two Goals Leads France Over Honduras

Everyone keeps asking what kind of team is France going to field at this year's world cup. We can't seem to forget all the incidents that have brought shame to the team and country. From being eliminated by Senegal in 2002, to Zidane's headbutt in the 2006 final, and the fiasco in the French camp that led to their exit in the group stage. This tournament was all about redemption for a team that lost one of it's key players due to injury. For Honduras, it was all about being able to get on the scoreboard as they failed to do in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. France definitely showed the world what kind of team they were right in the first half as Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, and Blaise Matuidi all missed opportunities early that either hit the crossbar or it went over the net. It would take long before France was able to strike first blood as Wilson Palacios takes down Paul Pogba in the box causing himself to receive a second yellow which equals an automatic red card. Benzema steps up to the penalty spot and the striker doesn't miss as he puts France up 1 to 0.

In the second half, Benzema would strike again, but he wouldn't receive the credit for the goal. Benzema would get a cross that he nails, but the ball hits the post. As the ball is travelling across the goal, Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares tried to make the save, but it would cross the line for what FIFA labeled an own goal. Later in the second half, France would be awarded a free kick right near the goal kick line after Mathieu Valbuena was taken down. After the free kick was taken, it would ricochet off of Patrice Evra and it would find the foot of Benzema who blasts it right past Valladares for the third and final goal of the game. We can argue that Benzema should have been awarded the second goal to give him the hat trick on the day, but I was very impressed with the way France played the game. Their passes were almost flawless and they attacked the net when the chances were there. Honduras needs to go back to the drawing board if they want to succeed and they'll have to do it without Palacios. I just wanted to add one more thing and this is a message to FIFA. That second goal should be evidence enough that goal line technology needs to stay in the game of futbol. We saw that it worked in the Australia game and it worked in this game.

Swiss Army Slays Ecuador In A Come From Behind Win

By this matchday, we had already conceded what the 2010 FIFA World Cup had done in total number of goals and in fact this was the best start to a tournament since 1982. So, what was Ecuador and Switzerland going to bring to the mix? Switzerland is looking to erase what had happened to them four years ago when they started off with a win against Spain, but failed to leave the group stage while Ecuador is looking to leave a mark. In the first half, Ecuador was pushing against the Swiss and they had some very close chances while the Swiss had some threats, but none of them were that threatening to Ecuador. In the 22ND minute of the game, Ecuador's Walter Ayoví takes the free kick and he finds Enner Valencia who heads it home for the first goal of the game. After that point, it seemed that Ecuador became relaxed as the Swiss were constantly knocking on their door. Unfortunately for the Swiss, they would go into halftime down a goal.

Right out of the gates, the Swiss continued to attack Ecuador and they would win a corner kick in the 48TH Minute. Ricardo Rodriguez would take the corner and the ball would find the head of Admir Mehmedi who heads it home for the equalizer. Ecuador would eventually come back to life throughout the half, but the Swiss were determined to follow the recent trend in the 2014 FIFA World Cup as they were looking to be the fifth team to have a come from behind win. Even though the game looked as if it were going to finish a 1 to 1 draw, you never give up attacking. The Swiss Army would eventually strike deep into the injury time. There was only 30 seconds left in the three minutes of extra time that was given at the end of the 90 and Ricardo Rodríguez would make them pay as he sends a cross into the box that finds Haris Seferović who kicks it right into the back of the net.

Costa Rica Shocks Uruguay

Group C has been referred to as the group of champions due to the fact that the group holds three world cup champions in Italy, England, and Uruguay who plays the only team today that isn't a world cup champion in Costa Rica. One of the big stories heading into todays game was the fact that Luis Suarez wasn't in the starting lineup due to having knee surgery back in late May. So, how was Uruguay going to perform at the Estadio Castelao without their star in a game against a team that actually performed well in qualifying. Costa Rica was lookijng to get some revenge as they were eliminated from world cup qualifying four years ago. Both teams came out of the gate fiercely attacking each other as both teams created chances, but no one could get onboard. That was until a penalty was awarded in the 24TH minute of the game. Diego Laguna was waiting for the cross in the box when he was pushed down from behind in the box by Júnior Díaz. The team wasted no time taking the penalty as Edinson Cavani scored his first goal for the national team putting them up 1 to 0.

Costa Rica were trying their hardest to get back in the game in the second half especially in the 50TH Minute off a free kick Óscar Duarte almost headed home the equalizer.The team was patient and the goals came for Costa Rica. In the 54TH minute of play, one of the Costa Rican players was able to save the ball from going out of bounds and he crossed it at the same time. The cross found the head of Joel Campbell for the equalizer. Three minutes later, Cristian Bolaños sends in the free kick which will find the head of a diving Óscar Duarte makes good on this header for the go ahead goal. To make matters worse, in the 84TH Minute of the game, Marco Ureña is making a run towards the box, he has the defense beat and he is fed the perfect pass as he kicks right past the goalkeeper for the third goal of the game. This definitely puts people's world cup brackets in jeopardy, I know my brackets are a little shaken at the moment.

Samaras's Flopping Doesn't Help Greece As They Lose To Colombia

For today's game in Belo Horizonte, you had to wonder what version of Greece was going to show up to tackle the high powered offense of Colombia. Even without the help of Falcao, Colombia still posed a serious threat against a team known for falling back defensively if needed so. That's how Greece won the Euros ten years ago when they played with 10 men defensively. Colombia as expected came out with all guns a blazing right from the first whistle and it paid off. James Rodriguez will find Pablo Armero at the top of the box. When Armero shoots the ball takes a lucky deflection and it lands in the back of the net in the fifth minute to give Colombia the early lead. Right from then Greece's game plan changed and after sometime they became a viable threat. Gkergki Kone had one of the scariest threats as he rocketed the ball at the top of the box late in the half that saw David Ospina make an incredible save.

The second half was much of the same as Greece were desperately trying to find the back of the net and they tried to get any call in the box they could. Georgios Samaras's flopping was ridiculous to watch as he attempted to flop a couple of times in the second half. Colombia also continued their attack in the second half. In the 58TH Minute, Rodriguez sends in the corner kick, but it's the play of Abel Aguilar that sets up the goal. Aguilar makes one heck of a run in the box that he flicks the ball across the goal and it finds Teófilo Gutiérrez on the edge who kicks it in for the second goal of the game. Colombia never lifted their foot off the gas as they continued to attack Greece even into the injury time that was given at the end of the initial 90. In the 93RD minute, Colombia takes the quick free kick and they are on the attack. Juan Zúñiga would initially lose control of the ball in the box, but Juan Cuadrado is there to give a fancy flick that finds James Rodriguez who rockets it past the goalkeeper for the third and final goal of the game.

Chile Squeezes Out A Good Result Against Australia

Chile is one of the most exciting teams in one of the most exciting groups in the world cup. Spain had been demolished in the game before losing to Holland 5 to 1 and Chile's game against Australia had to live up to the hype. For Australia, the expectations are not high as the whole world has stated that the team will fail to garner a point in the group stage. In the first half of the game Australia were living up to what people were saying as their touches were too heavy and they seemed way too nervous against a team that just concedes as many goals as it scores. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, they gave up two goals in two minutes to Chile. In the 12Th Minute of the game, after a mele and failures to clear the ball out of the danger zone Alexis Sanchez will find the ball and he will score to give Chile the early 1 to 0 lead. Two minutes later, Sanchez will find Jorge Valdívia at the top of the box and he rifles a shot past the goalkeeper to give Chile the 2 to 0 lead.

In the 35TH Minute, Tim Cahill will cut the lead in half when he heads in the volley to give him the distinction of scoring a goal in three straight world cups. The second half was completely different story as Australia put the pressure on the Chilean defense, but they couldn't muster a goal. We would actually get to see the goal line technology put to use for the first time in this game as the ball manages not to cross the goal line after Matthew Ryan exited the net and Alex Wilkinson is there to make sure it doesn't cross the line. Chile would ultimately seal the win in the 92 Minute when second half substitute Jean Beausejour was able to knock in the rebound after Ryan made a unbelievable save just before. Australia may not be the team favorited to exit the group, but I would look at the positives of the game and try to execute in the rest of the games they have left. For Chile, they want to do to Spain in the next game what Holland did and it should be exciting.

Mexico Able To Squeeze A Win Over Cameroon

For Mexico, they are happy just to be in the competition considering it took a win over Panama from the US to secure their birth into the World Cup. The team headed into today's game in Naval against Cameroon with a two match losing streak which included losses to Bosnia And Herzegovina and Portugal. Some can argue at the fact that those were just friendlies, but how they come into effect in the tournament. Well, I can tell you that it didn't seem to bother the team very much, but in the first half Mexico should have had a least one goal, but both of Mexico's attempts on the net were called off due to offsides. In the 12TH Minute, Giovanni dos Santos had the best chance when he headed the ball in after a free kick. The referee determined that it was offsides and after looking at the replay, the referee did in fact fumble the call.

Mexico clearly was the better team in the game even though Samuel Eto'o had a couple of good chances on net. In the 61ST minute of the game, dos Santos was once again involved in the goal, but he didn't score it. dos Santos takes the shot at the top of the box, but the ball is saved. The goalkeeper doesn't hold on to it and Oribe Peralta is there to kick in the rebound to give Mexico the 1 to 0 lead in the game. The pressure was on for Mexico to hold on to the win as Cameroon were starting to get desperate. I have to give Cameroon's goalkeeper Charles Itandje who seriously had to make some incredible saves throughout the game including one in the 90TH minute that prevented the game from ending 2 to 0. Guillermo Ochoa also deserves some serious cred as he stopped some serious shots during the game considering he didn't know if he was going to get the starting nod before the cup started. It'll be interesting to see what Mexico does with Brazil in their next match.

Holland Completely Dismantles Spain in Group B Opener

There are some intriguing first matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and one of them was today in Salvador as Spain took on the Netherlands in a 2010 FIFA World Cup Final rematch at the new Arena Fonte Nova. The dutch were looking to erase the loss of that World Cup final, but it didn't seem like things were going to go their way in the game in the first half. Spain was controlling the game with possession as they usually do and eventually they would frustrate the Dutch defense. In the 28TH Minute of play, Stefan de Vrij would get called for a tackle that I felt was way too soft on Diego Costa and Spain was awarded the penalty shot. Xabi Alonso would step up to the plate to take the penalty and the crafty veteran didn't miss as he beats Jasper Cillessen the goalkeeper for Holland. Spain looked as if they were in control of the match, but before you knew it, that would all change. In the 44TH Minute of play, Daley Blind will send a long volley into the box that finds the head of Robin van Persie who beats out Iker Casillas for the equalizer.

When the two teams came back from halftime, it was a completely different looking game as Holland never looked back. In the 53RD Minute, Arjen Robben will get the long pass, but it's what he does that is amazing. He manages to stop the ball and then he fakes out Pique with his second touch and he unloads it past Casillas for the go ahead goal. In the 64TH Minute, Wesley Sneijder will send in the free kick and every player in the box misses it except for Stefan de Vrij who is there at the edge to knock it in for the third goal. In the 72ND minute, Casillas will mishandle the ball and he gives it up to van Persie who will easily kick it in for the fourth goal of the game. To make matters worse in the  80TH Minute, Sneijder will feed the ball to Robben who literally makes a fool out of two defenders and Casillas to score his second and the fifth goal of the game to hand Spain it's worse world cup loss since 1950 (the last time Brazil hosted it) which means 64 years. I know it's only the first game, but you have to wonder what this will mean for Spain moving forward.

Neymar's Two Goals Propel Brazil To A Win Over Croatia

Despite all the rumors of a strike being held in Brazil and any protests from the locals, the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicked off with only a couple of hitches today in Sao Paulo as host nation Brazil kicked off their campaign against European side Croatia. Besides the little problems in the stadium, Brazil had a problem of it's own in the first 15 minutes of the first half as Croatia were finding spaces and were creating chances thanks to the play of Ivica Olić and Luka Modrić who were constantly pressing against the Brazilian defense. In the 11TH Minute of play, Brazil's worst nightmare would happen as Marcello was credited with an own goal after a ball sent in by Ivica Olić found Marcello's foot. Here was a team that promised that they were the best team in the competition, were now starting to look average. The tables would eventually turn in the game as Brazil were finally starting to find their feet.

In the 28TH Minute of play, Croatia would mishandle the ball and it would find Neymar who drove the ball towards the box. Neymar kind of takes an awkward shot, but somehow the ball beats Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa for the equalizer. We wouldn't get a goal for a very long time after that one and in fact the second goal comes with a little bit of controversy attached to it. Dejan Lovren would get called for a penalty as Fred fell to the ground. After watching the replay, it was clear that Loveren had nothing to do with Fred who seems to fall on his own omission. Nevertheless, Neymar would step to the penalty spot and the rest is history as he buries it for the go ahead goal. In the 91ST minute, Croatia's defense forgot how to play defense as they allowed Oscar to drive the ball and you had to wonder how Pletikosa didn't stop the toe poke shot by Oscar. Brazil would escape with a 3 to 1 win, but I was definitely not impressed at all with how this team played. If I was the rest of the competition, I would not be afraid of this team moving forward in the competition.

World Cup Preview: Group H

This group to me is a no brainer in my opinion as it features Russia, Belgium, Algeria, and South Korea in the very last group of the world cup. Russia had an unbelievable start to their world cup qualifying with wins over Portugal, Israel, Northern Ireland to start their campaign. They ended the tourney finishing a point ahead of Portugal on their way to a tournament they hadn't qualified for since 2002. The team wasn't supposed to be the standout in the group, but with the help of Italian great Fabio Capello, they were able to succeed with guys like Roman Shirokov, Viktor Fayzulin, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Their biggest weapon amongst the offense is the play of their amazing goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev which helped prove these Russians are going to be hard to beat. Their midfield and attacking lines are pretty deadly as well even though people have complained they don't have the size. I am definitely picking Russia as my favorites to win the group.

For me Belgium is a contender as well in this tournament even though I have picked them to finish second in the group. Belgium finished atop of their group in qualifying having a distance if 9 points between them and second place Croatia. The last time they were here was in 2002, but the team has some strong points of this new golden generation and to me one of them is the goalkeeping. I was very impressed with Atletico Madrid's Thibaut Courtois who is going to definitely be hard to be in this tournament. Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany need to shine as they are finally given a stage to do so. For me Algeria is just too young and inexperienced to make any real impact and they are going to try and rely on imports to help the team succeed. South Korea was blanked the other day by Ghana proving to me that they may not be the dangerous side they used to be. That may be due to the constant line up changes that Korea has had causing the team to not be a cohesive unit.

Russia 7 Points (wins on Goal Differentials)
Belgium 7 Points
South Korea 3 Points
Algeria 0 Points

World Cup Preview: Group G

This is definitely one of the hardest groups in this year's world cup because all four teams in the group advanced to the second round back in 2010. You have Germany, Portugal, USA, and Ghana as the teams competing for two spots. Germany may have suffered a huge loss with the ankle injury to Marco Reus during the world cup warmups. I still think Germany has an amazing shot at advancing as the group winner because they still have Mesut Özil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Mario Götze just to name a few. Germany has always posted a huge threat in the world cup, but it's making it to the end and winning that has been a problem for the European powerhouse. The team boasted a great record during qualifying that saw them get 9 wins and only 1 draw. Some are saying that the frontline is the weakness of Germany, but we usually find out otherwise once the tournament actually starts. I am definitely picking Germany as the winners of the group while the second place spot is a little foggy for me.

Portugal is going to need a healthy Cristiano Ronaldo if they want to go anywhere in the tournament. You have to wonder what kind of an issue is his tendinitis is going to play in the tournament when they face teams like Germany and the US (who Portugal has never beaten in five attempts). They are definitely going to need guys like Nani, João Moutinho, Fábio Coentrão to step up big time if Portugal wants to succeed in the tournament especially the latter stages. For the United States, it's going to be all about repeating history and avoiding it at the same time. For the last two tournaments, Ghana has eliminated the United States while they'll be looking to gain another win against Portugal. The United States is going to have to do it minus their most decorated player in Landon Donovan. They looked good in the warm up matches especially guys like Fabian Johnson, Graham Zusi, and Aron Jóhannsson. Ghana is one of the best African squads in the world cup in my opinion, but their defense and goalkeeping could prove to be a curse for the Black Stars. We know that Kevin-Prince Boateng, Asamoah Gyan, and Michael Essien are probably going to have good tournaments, but you have to hope their defense will be able to hold back the attacking powers of Germany and Portugal.

Germany 7 points
Portugal 5 Points
USA 2 Points
Ghana 1 Points

World Cup Preview: Group F

I've been really slacking lately so I am going to try and bang out the rest of the groups today before the world cup officially kicks off tomorrow. We are looking at a group that in my opinion is a no brainer as to who will emerge from the group as the group winner. Ángel di María, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuaín, and the rest of the impressive looking Argentina squad in my opinion is the frontrunner for group winner and maybe a contender for the world cup crown. You also have to believe there chances in the second round will be a lot better considering they finally have a defense heading into the tournament unlike what happened in the last world cup when Argentine legend Diego Maradona decided not to take a defense to the tournament. Messi needs to start scoring in the world cup if he wants to solidify his legacy considering he only has one goal in two world cup appearances. The defense is a little suspect, but I think they have enough fire power in their arsenal to bail them out.

The last time Bosnia And Herzegovina was in the FIFA world cup, it was 1990 when they were a part of Yugoslavia. Bosnia finished first in their group due to goal differential over Greece as the team scored a European high 30 goals. Their going to need Edin Džeko, Vedad Ibišević, and Miralem Pjanić to all be on target to have a legitimate run and they have to get over the fact that it will be there first world cup appearance. For a team that has never made it past the group stage all the times they have qualified, inexperience on the big stage could hurt Iran. Carlos Queiroz is going to have to rely on Reza Ghoochannejhad to live up to what people are saying about him being a player on the rise. The midfield is definitely their strongest point with all the experience it contains, but I don't think this year will be Iran's year. The super eagles of Nigeria will be looking to have the same luck they had 20 years before when they emerged on the scene surprising everyone in the United States. They'll have to rely on the veterans this team has to gel with the young talent like Victor Moses. John Obi Mikel is also going to be a key in the team's strategy heading into Brazil.

1. Argentina 9 Points
2. Bosnia And Herzegovina 4 points
3. Nigeria 4 points
4. Iran 0 Points

Portugal Steals A Win in Extra Time Over Mexico

One of the biggest stories heading into this game was all of the injuries that had been reported to FIFA prior to Mexico and Portugal going head to head in Foxboro, MA last night. Franck Ribery is out of the world cup, Marco Reus could be out with an ankle injury for Germany, and Cristiano Ronaldo is questionable as to how physically fit he is and how bad his injury is heading into the world cup. So, if you headed to Foxboro last night to see Ronaldo in action, then you were let down. Paulo Bento sat a lot of his starters on the bench last night maybe in fear of the plague of injuries that has been going around. The team headed into this game failing to get a result in their last warm up game against Greece. Mexico started their run on the right foot, but suffered a setback in their previous game against Bosnia And Herzegovina. Mexican coach Miguel Herrera revealed what many believe to be his starting ten last night during the first half with the goalkeeper position still in question.

José de Jesús Corona started in the game in net for Mexico while Eduardo started for Portugal and neither player faced any real opposition in the first half. Portugal had the best chances on net in the first half, but Eder couldn't execute near the net. The first half would end with both teams still tied at zero. The second half was much of the same except Mexico turned up the pace as the Portuguese midfield was absent for most of the half. Eduardo made some beautiful saves in the second half that kept the score even at zero once again despite some strong efforts from guys like Javier Hernández and Héctor Herrera. It was until the injury time added on to the second half that we would see our first goal of the game. Mexico had given up a foul some distance away from the net so João Moutinho stepped up to take the free kick. He launches the ball into the box and with some luck it found the head of defender Bruno Alves who heads the ball right past the second half substituted goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. The sad part for Mexico was the officials gave three minutes of extra time and the goal came at the 92:30 mark. It wasn't the prettiest win for Portugal, but it was a positive result as the team heads back to New York to take on Northern Ireland in their last warm up game.

Gervinho And Drogba Make One Heck Of A Pair As The Down El Salvador

There have been a lot of questions heading towards the World Cup and one of those being the point of are we going to far with all these prep matches? Mexico and Ecuador have both lost key players and in some of the matches and what are we really learning when we play teams like Azerbaijan and El Salvador? El Salvador came into this game without their usual starting eleven because El Salvador wanted to test their players heading into a big competition in September. El Salvador also hadn't played a competitive match in over a year as they traveled to Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas to take on the golden generation of the elephants of Cote d'Ivoire who were themselves preparing for the world cup. For me, I love watching international soccer whether it's for a cup or just a friendly, so I get excited at the chance of watching one of Cote d'Ivoire's greatest exports in Didier Drogba.

Didier Drogba, the legendary captain of the golden generation started the game for Cote d'Ivoire and alongside unproven forward Gervinho would team up in this game for a deadly one-two punch. In the 9TH Minute, Didier Drogba cut the defense with his stealthy precision passing and found Gervinho running toward the box. When Gervinho received the ball, he made sure it counted and he rocketed it past the goalkeeper for the first goal of the game. In the 42ND minute, the roles would be reversed as Gervinho sent in a cross into the box where a sliding Drogba would get his heel to the ball as it sailed by the goalkeeper for the second goal of the game. El Salvador never really had any real chances throughout the game, but they woke up in the second half. In the 74TH minute, Kolo Touré would give up a penalty and in the 75TH minute Arturo Alvarez didn't miss as they cut the lead down to one. Unfortunately for El Salvador, they could find the equalizer and Cote d'Ivoire walked away with a decent win.

England and Ecuador Game Ends In A Two Goal Draw

The Three Lions of England traveled all the way to Miami, Florida to play what seemed to be an away game against Ecuador in a warm up to Brazil 2014 match at Sun Life Stadium. All the yellow shirts in the stands seemed to help out Ecuador who were pressing against an English squad trying to find their niche. The team's deadliest weapon Enner Valencia would make England pay early in the game. Felipe Caicedo had the ball outside of the box when he crosses the ball into the box it finds the head of Valencia for the opening goal of the game. England was creating chances throughout the first half, but a lot of them were wasted opportunities. Finally in the 28TH minute of the game England would get themselves on the scoreboard. James Milner would cross the ball into the box where it found Rickie Lambert, but Lambert was unable to score as Máximo Banguera saved it, but much to the goalies dismay Wayne Rooney backheeled the ball off the post and into the back of the net for the equalizer.

A different England squad started the second half as they were constantly on top of Ecuador creating chances on net. In the 52ND minute, Ross Barkley did an amazing job of keeping the ball and even dumped off a beautiful pass to Lambert who rockets the ball past Banguera for the go ahead goal. Michael Arroyo, the second half substitute would make England's faulty defense pay as he caught them sleeping at the top of the box as he launched his shot right past Ben Foster for the equalizer. The game later on would get a little ugly as second half substitute Nick Sterling would get a red card for a high and dangerous tackle and the man he tackled Antonio Valencia would get a red card for putting his hands on Nick Sterling. The game would eventually end at 2 to 2 which has to be a decent draw for both teams, but the damage may have been done to Ecuador who loses a key player to a torn ACL. Segundo Castillo suffered the injury which ultimately costs him a shot at playing in the world cup and begs the question of why have warm up games right before a big competition.

David Villa Signs With New York City FC

You can say what you want about any player from Europe that has come to America, but you can't deny the huge move made by New York FC, the newest club in the MLS. The team made a bold first move signing a World Cup caliber player who can still hang with the best as David Villa demonstrated this season with Atletico Madrid. The team is slated to begin their first campaign in 2015 and they have sent a clear message to the rest of the league and that is that they want to win ASAP (which means as soon as possible). Claudio Reyna, who is the director of soccer for NYCFC had this to say, "This is exciting. We could visualize how we were going to play, now we can visualize who is going to play for us at Yankee Stadium. It's one step closer. It's very exciting...It's a huge day for us as a club."

David Villa who wasn't on hand for the conference call had this to say on the teams website, "Above all it was the quality and capacity of the project and the desire they have to improve in MLS which is really growing in importance. More than anything, the interest they have shown in me to be the figurehead of this project. I'm happy and really looking forward to helping the City group grow even bigger with the team in New York. So let's hope it all goes well." Villa scored 13 goals in 36 league matches with Atletico Madrid which means this is going to be one exciting player to watch in the MLS. There's also a rumor that another player from Europe as Frank Lampard from Chelsea is rumored to come as well. He had already told Chelsea that he will not be returning next season. Who else could be coming to the MLS from Europe? Just wait and find out is what I say.

World Cup Preview: Group E

Again, I am running a little bit behind in all of these considering the World Cup is only 10 days away which means I am super excited. We are looking at Group E today which features Switzerland, Ecuador, France, and Honduras (who were just shocked by Israel 4 to 2). There is only one sure bet in my mind out of this group and it's the fact that I am predicting that France will win all of it's group stage matches and they will advance to the round of 16. They have the tools upfront with Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema to prove to be a nightmare for opposing defenses while the team gets some strong play from their midfield and defense. Hey, the goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is proving to be a stud in net as he only conceded six goals in qualifying for the Les Blues. France needs to erase the nightmare that was the 2010 FIFA World Cup fiasco in South Africa that damaged the teams image, but be on the lookout for Paul Pogba who could be a breakout star in the tournament.

For the Swiss Army, they'll need to get out of their scoring funk that they've been in if they plan to advance anywhere which means Xherdan Shaqiri needs to step up big time while midfield players like Granit Xhaka and Tranquillo Barnetta need to be consistent. The last time this team made it out of the group stage was in 2006 while they were given their plane tickets home in the group stage in 2010. For Honduras, this is a team that could face the same spell as in 2010 where they exited the tournament in the group stage without ever scoring a goal. Honduras in my opinion has looked shaky in the warm up games so far so an early exit is definitely on the horizon for them. Ecuador is going to need to rely on their speed and their physicality if they plan to do any damage in the world cup. Antonio Valencia needs to use his shooting ability to give Ecuador a chance, but if he's on fire, then watch out world.

1. France 9 Points
2. Ecuador 6 Points
3. Switzerland 3 Points
4. Honduras 0 Points

US Makes Progress As They Defeat Turkey

All everyone has been talking about before today's game was the fact that what kind of a test was Azerbaijan the previous week? The US's win over them was criticized for the fact that Azerbaijan played the opening minutes with 11 guys playing defense against the US. I feel the United States received a real test today when they played Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They were facing a team that's accomplished and was one game away from making the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The United States was hopeful because Clint Dempsey was back in the lineup after he sat out the previous game due to a groin injury. The Turkish team definitely played the game like they were an accomplished team as they attacked the US goal in the beginning stages of the game. In the first 20 minutes of the game, Turkey had three legit chances on net, but Tim Howard and the US defense were up to the task of snuffing out the plays. One of the best goals of the game came in the 21ST minute when Fabian Johnson and Michael Bradley executed a beautiful give and go. Fabian started the play near the midfield point when he found Michael Bradley. Bradley then delivers one heck of a pass over the defense and to Johnson who with his first touch puts the ball in the back of the net.

The United States would start the second half of the game with a 1 to 0 lead and they attacked the Turkish net with real vigor. The US was looking to score more goals and they would get that chance in the 60TH Minute. Geoff Cameron had the ball near the goal kick line when he would cross the ball towards goal. Unfortunately for the this Turkish team, their defender would fail to clear the ball and Clint Dempsey was in the right place at the right time to make them pay as he scored his 37TH International goal to give the US a 2 to 0 lead. I really started to see fatigue set in for the US team as they started to give up chances and the Turkish team was turning the tempo up. In the 89TH minute of the game on a bad play from Timmy Chandler who gave away the ball causing the Turks to be awarded a penalty after the ball hit the hand of Geoff Cameron preventing the ball from going in. Selcuk Inan would easily hit the ball past substitute goalkeeper Brad Guzan to cut the lead down to one. Fortunately, the Turks couldn't capitalize on the possession and the US walked away with a great win.

FIFA May Vote Again For 2022 World Cup After Leaked Documents

The saddest part about the sport that I love so much is the fact that after FIFA has run witch trials to ruin clubs in Italy and wherever else after they hear stories of corruption in the support of clubs gaining an advantages in matches, may themselves face a scandal of their own. Supposedly, there is documents or emails that have been leaked that prove that Mohamed bin Hammam, a former top Qatari football official paid 5 million dollars to FIFA to steal the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup away from America and whoever else was in the running. If all of this is true, then what kind of message is FIFA sending to world. The message would be clear that corruption in the sport is only allowed if we (FIFA) are getting paid. No one is allowed to make deals or sway the game unless we (FIFA) get's in on the deal. That is the message that I take from all of this if the allegations are true. There are people like Labour that are urging members of FIFA and Qatar to resign right away if the allegations are true which includes Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA.

Lord Macdonald, who was a former director of public prosecutions had this to say about the whole entire matter which he called FIFA a cesspool, "The idea of another voting session with all this money sloshing around is almost too much to bear. But on the other hand, if I can pretend to be a prosecutor again for a minute, this is evidence of a very serious crime. And the fact that the allegation is that they used dollars, US dollars, means that the justice department in Washington has jurisdiction over this … the United States of course are in the World Cup finals. If the justice department started to take an interest in this, I think Fifa would feel the heat very, very quickly." The Sunday Times said they had obtained millions of emails between Mohamed bin Hammam and FIFA that proves that money was being thrown around. John Whittingdale, who is the chairman of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee is the one that has called for the bidding competition to take place once again.

Whittingdale told, the Sunday Times, "It is a further demonstration of the need for a complete change in the way that Fifa operates but also that there is now an overwhelming case that the decision as to where the World Cup should be held in 2022 should be run again." Sports Minister Helen Grant had this to say about the allegations, "These appear to be very serious allegations. It is essential that major sporting events are awarded in an open, fair and transparent manner." With all of that being said FIFA needs to do the right thing to clean up there image which means that all involved should resign and a rebidding should take place. It would only be fair to all those who lost out on getting a World Cup bid and it's kind of ironic that the allegations came out weeks before the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Stay Tuned here for more info as it becomes available.