Costa Rica promise fireworks, Group C fizzles
Fate, bad luck and the will of various gods are about to be cursed for results that send one team to the knockouts and another to the airport lounge.
More chaos hits Maracana stadium
The third game at the Maracana was even more eye-opening than the first two.
Rooney – Messi: two men enter, one man leaves
Two men in particular came into the World Cup with a weight of expectation upon them, the risk that they would not once again deliver for their country on the international stage and a point to prove. After two games, their fortunes could not be more different.
Last chance for glory
Monday kicks off the first of four days of nail-biting 90 minutes running side by side as the group stage wraps up and everyone finds out who could possibly stand between them and immortality.
Sporting nations united
The atmosphere in Rio since the World Cup kicked off just over a week ago has been nothing short of electric. Fans from around the world have flocked to the city to create a buzz to match the excitement on the pitch. It’s been a sea of color on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean as the yellow and green of the host nation has been joined by a veritable Pantone chart of club and national jerseys from the participating countries.
FIFA scores own goal with neglect of lucrative Chinese soccer market
It's never hard to find a reason to criticize soccer's world governing body FIFA.
La Roja’s failure means it’s time to bid goodbye to Spanish soccer’s tiki-taka strategy
Tiki-taka was pronounced dead at 5:49 pm on Wednesday.
Chaos at World Cup shows Brazil’s unpreparedness
Lessons were clearly learned from the first game that Rio hosted on Sunday, which bodes well for FIFA as an organization but asks questions again as to how prepared anyone actually was for this World Cup.
Ambitious Asian teams fail to live up to full potential
A sweltering night in Cuiaba saw South Korea fail to grab three points, which put Asian soccer into an awkward situation: All four teams under the Asian Football Confederation failed to win in the first round of the group stage.
Duel to the death in Group D
After losing their first fixtures in Group D, both England and Uruguay are desperate for victory when they meet on Thursday afternoon in São Paulo.
Righting previous wrongs gives players, fans a sense of schadenfreude
Soccer players should need little motivation for the World Cup. There is no bigger competition in world soccer.
Spain need a new strategy if they hope to win against Chile
Wednesday afternoon is make or break time for Spain’s Brazilian adventure as they face Chile at the Maracana in a Group B clash that could see the holders crash out.
Touts cash in as high ticket prices lead to fan frustration
Empty seats were clearly on show at England vs Italy, Switzerland vs Ecuador was a little over half full and Holland vs Spain was not the 100 percent attendance you might expect.
Argentina invades Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro
If soccer is a religion, then the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro is St. Peter’s. However, while the service on Sunday must have been conducted by a visiting priest, it still seemed fitting that many of Argentina’s fans were decked out as the Pope to watch their team take on World Cup debutants Bosnia.
Attacking soccer in Brazil brings more enjoyment than four years ago
Despite being only a couple of match days into the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, there's one very marked difference from the tournament in South Africa four years ago: attacking soccer.
Making bucks from betting
Sports lotteries of the guessing type in China did brisk business on the first day of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, registering sales of over 150 million yuan ($24 million), said the National Sports Lottery Management Center on Friday.
Bungling officials mar tournament with elementary refereeing blunders
If this World Cup is to be remembered for anything, so far it will be for the standard of its officiating, if things carry on at the rate of the first four matches.
It’s a catalog of mistakes that risk being added to at a remarkable rate.
Brazil split as finals begin
After years of preparation plagued by construction delays, budget overruns and violent protests, Brazil Thursday kicked off the month-long World Cup, igniting the enthusiasm of soccer fans around the world.