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: Match Day 8

The mighty have fallen! There will be a new champion crowned at this World Cup! Chile put on a fantastic show to defeat Spain 2-0 at the Estadio Maracaná. There was a raucous crowd on hand cheering for the Chileans and celebrating the end of an era.

In the previous game, the Netherlands booked their passage into the Round of 16 after an exciting back and forth battle with Australia. Tim Cahill smashed a one timer for what could be the goal of the tournament in his last World Cup game before international retirement. However, it wasn't enough as RVP and Arjen Robben both scored again to put the Dutch through to the next round.

Today, we see a huge match up between England and Uruguay taking place in São Paulo. Luis Suarez will indeed be fit to start against the country where he plays his club football. British eyes will all be on Wayne Rooney to see if he can finally get his first World Cup goal and lead the Three Lions to a desperately needed win.

The Ivory Coast squire off against Columbia in Group C action, coming off a comeback victory in their first match. No word yet on if Dider Drogba will start, but Les Elephants will surely need him. The other half of Group C will play their second match when Japan and Greece square off.

Today's Games:
Columbia vs. Ivory Coast, 9:00 PST
England vs. Uruguay, 12:00 PST
Japan vs. Greece, 15:00 PST

My Picks:
Columbia
England
Japan

My Record:
13 out of 20, 65%

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%