World Cup 2014: Match Day 15

This is the favorite part of the tournament for mathematicians as we see the group stage conclude with every point being valuable to the life of these teams. No group proves this more than the Group of Death, Group G.

Today the United States play favorites Germany needing at least a draw to advance to the Round of 16. While this game is being played, Portugal and Ghana will duel to see who can rise from the bottom and advance to the next round. Cristian Ronaldo's team will need an impressive victory with a strong boost to their goal differential to see them advance. The African side will need no less than a win, a healthy goal differential, and United States loss to advance.

The above countries will learn who they may match up against in the next round when South Korea plays Belgium and Algeria plays Russia in the evening games. Belgium looks to solidify their spot as the leaders of Group H while Algeria and Russia look to settle a pivotal match up that may decide who advances as the runner up out of this group.

Yesterday, we found out two more matches to look ahead to in the next round. France will be playing Nigeria and Argentina will play Switzerland. Lionel Messi scored a double yesterday to put Argentina through on three wins from the group stage. The rest of his team showed more promise today against the Nigerians but their hopes to hoist the World Cup trophy look to rest solely on number 10's little shoulders.

Today's Games:
USA vs. Germany, 9:00 PST Recife
Portugal vs. Ghana, 9:00 PST Brasilia
South Korea vs. Belgium, 13:00 PST Sao Paulo
Algeria vs. Russia, 13:00 PST Curitiba

My Picks:
Germany
Portugal
Belgium
Tie

My Record:
27 out of 44, 61%

World Cup 2014: Match Day 10

How about that Costa Rica team?! As if their upset over Uruguay wasn't enough, Los Ticos upped the anty by beating Italy 1-0 yesterday. By doing so, England has been officially knocked out of the 2014 World Cup! This is amazing! It's hard to believe that already, just after the first week of play, both Spain and England are out, while both Italy and Brazil are still fighting to get into the next round. Wow. This is football. This is soccer. This is the World Cup.

Today, we may have a few more shockers on hand. Lionel Messi continues his quest for the only major trophy that eludes him when Argentina play Iran at the Estadio Mineirao. This should be a dismantling of Iran, but you can never count any team out in the World Cup. 

Germany look to continue their strong debut when they play a tough Ghana team in the second match of the day. Ghana took it to the United States with their strong, fast play but were finally defeated by the resilient American side. The Black Stars will have to play even harder against the technically sound abilities of the Germans. Questions have arisen whether or not Bastian Schweinsteiger is fit for play, but Germany looked strong without him in their 4-0 thrashing of Portugal. 

The final game of match day 10 pits Bosnia-Herzegovina against Nigeria at the Arena Pantanal. Eden Dzeko and company look to rebound after their opening loss to Argentina and an unlucky own goal. The World Cup debutants look to stay alive against a fast paced Nigerian squad that drew their opening match 0-0 with Iran. 

Today's Games:

Argentina vs. Iran, 9:00 PST Belo Horizonte

Germany vs. Ghana, 12:00 PST Fortaleza

Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 15:00 PST Cuiabá

My Picks:

Argentina

Germany

Bosnia-Herzegovina

My Record:

16 out of 26, 62%

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

Barça are the kings of UEFA!

Goals by Pedro, Messi, and Villa were enough to hand Pep Guardiola's men the giant copa and restore beautiful soccer to the throne of the world's greatest team in Europe. The Red Devils put up a great fight in the first half after Wayne Rooney's excellent strike tied the match, but Manchester United could not overcome the "ticki-tacka" possession of the Catalan Giants.

Winning this trophy qualifies FC Barcelona for next year's FIFA Club World Cup tournament, where they will face the other club championship winners from each continent. Congratulations to Barçelona and little Leo Messi, the greatest footballer in the universe.



Photo Credit: Getty Images/David Ramos


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2010 Ballon d'Or

Zidane, Ronaldo, and now Messi have made history as multiple time winners of the FIFA Ballon d'Or trophy. The second great little Argentine beat out his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Iniesta to take home the honor of the world's best footballer in 2010.

Many thought it would be Iniesta, whose extra time score gave Spain their first World Cup trophy. Others expected Xavi Hernandez, the most capped man in Barcelona's history and no doubt one of the greatest orchestrators of the game to win. But it was the awesome tally of over 60 goals for club and country in one year that gave Messi his second Player of the Year honor in a row.

Despite not scoring a single goal in South Africa, number ten continued to solidify his place as one of the greatest of all time. Leading Barca to repeat league titles and doing so in a classy way is the legend of Lionel. He does not flop, he does not complain. He just puts the ball in the back of the net or right where his teammates need it. That says a lot in a modern era full of actors and dramatics.

The Ballon d'Or is in good (small) hands. It is important for the future generation of footballers to see that a player who embodies a fun, jaw-dropping style is regarded as the best of the best.




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