World Cup 2014: Match Day 7

Yesterday brought the front runner for Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa of Mexico put forth an absolutely stunning shutdown performance against host nation Brazil in an enthralling 0-0 tie between Mexico and O Seleçao. The two teams battled to earn a point each in the second game of their Group A fixtures. Ochoa registered 6 outstanding saves, with some spectacular blocks on Neymar and Thiago Silva to preserve the point for his side. Mexico put forth an impressive effort as well, many times challenging the strong Brazilian defense into their own eighteen yard box. After the game, neither team has locked up passage to the next round, making their next matches extremely pivotal to their hopes of advancing.



Today, we see the defending champions take on a worthy Chilean side as Spain look to bounce back from the thrashing given to them by the Netherlands. Many questions swirl around the Spanish camp for head coach Vicente Del Bosque about whether or not he will leave Diego Costa at the striker position, and what he will do about many of his other underperforming star players. Juan Mata and David Villa have yet to see any minutes, while rumblings of benching goalkeeper Iker Casillas have been making their way around the soccer world.



The Dutch look to continue their impressive form as they take on the Socceroos from Australia. Tim Cahill, in what may be his final international push, will hope to lead an upset for the Aussies and keep their World Cup dreams alive. Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben will be the focal point of that Dutch attack while building upon their combined 4 goals in the tournament already.



Cameroon and Croatia square off in the final game of the day to round out the second games for the countries in Groups A and B. By the end of today, we should have a much more clear picture of who will advance to the Round of 16 and who will be going home with their spirits crushed.



Today's Games:

Netherlands vs. Australia, 9:00 PST Porto Alegre

Spain vs. Chile, 12:00 PST Rio de Janeiro

Cameroon vs. Croatia, 15:00 PST Manaus



My Picks:

Netherlands

Chile

Croatia



My Record:

10 out of 17, 59%

World Cup 2014: Match Day 6

What a day yesterday! Thomas Mueller becomes the golden boot leader grabbing three goals against a sorry Portugal side that saw Pepe red carded int he first half for a very unsportsmanlike headbutt. The Germans lived up to their much anticipated quality form by dismissing Cristiano Ronaldo's side 4-0. In the midday game, Nigeria and Iran battled to the first draw of this tournament with a 0-0 score. Then it was the American dramatics that stole the show. John Brooks lifted American hopes and scored the game winner in the 86th minute to help the US defeat a historically strong Ghana side. 

Today marks the last day of the first round of games in the group stage and the beginning of everyone's second game. Belgium, as the media has dubbed a "dark horse" of this tournament, takes on Algeria in the day's opening game. Then the hosts, Brazil, have a challenging game against a scrappy Mexico team for their second game of the tournament. Finally, Russia and Korea Republic end the day with a game that pits two relatively unknown sides against each other in Group H. 

The marquee match up today is obviously Brazil vs. Mexico and we'll all look to see if Brazil can improve and build upon their opening win against Croatia. The eyes of the world will look to Neymar again to lead the Seleçao past the Mexicans. Many people have these two teams advancing from Group A but it will be a delight to see them pitted against each other. Hulk looks to be out of the starting line up in a precautionary move due to some muscle issues. Ramieres will get the start up top, adding more speed to their attack. 

Today's Games:

Belgium vs. Algeria, 9:00 PST Belo Horizonte

Brazil vs. Mexico, 12:00 PST Fortaleza

Russia vs. Korea Republic, 15:00 PST Cuiabá

My Picks:

Belgium

Brazil

Russia

My Record:

9 out of 14, 64%

World Cup 2014: Brazil OPENING DAY

This is the moment we have been waiting for. The ball will roll again, like it did four years ago, and the world will be watching. The FIFA World Cup makes it return to the country where soccer is king, Brazil. Much has been made of the political and social unrest surrounding this tournament, but all of the chatter will stop when the first kick is taken.

Host nation Brazil opens play against Croatia in Sao Paulo today, led by Neymar Jr. There is a ton of pressure on the "Seleçao" to erase the pain of the 1950 loss to Uruguay at the Maracana but they will be tasked with defeating some of the game's greatest teams ever assembled.

The reigning champion Spanish side will undoubtedly make a run through the tournament for a chance to repeat as kings of the pitch. The South American teams are heavily favored on their home continent to upset the royal powers of Europe and the United States could use their never-say-die attitude to escape the Group of Death. The question haunts Lionel Messi, "will he capture that last piece of hardware that has escaped him?" And what of the 2014 World's Greatest Player, Cristiano Ronaldo? Can he put an entire nation on his back and bring Portugal its first World Cup glory?

The opening match today will be the first of 64 matches, spanning 30 days and 12 cities. The world will hold their breath, only to let out cries of hope and tears of pain. This is the world's game.

Today's Game
Brazil vs. Croatia, Sao Paulo 13:00 PST.

My Pick: Brazil