Argentina-Germany: A Chance To Finally Escape Maradona's Shadow
For Argentina, it always comes back to Diego Maradona. ...
Do We Believe The Netherlands Yet?
Louis van Gaal is as arrogant as they come. In this World Cup—as has been the case throughout most of van Gaal's career—the results have followed suit....
Why Wounded Brazil Are Still Favorites Against Germany
[Update: Nah.]...
Argentina-Switzerland: Lionel Messi Is Doing Whatever He Wants
Argentina have yet to put together a performance worthy of the many stars they've brought with them to Brazil. Despite gaining the full nine points from the group stage, Argentina's play was a disappointment to the vast majority of those who'd tipped them as pre-tournament favorites to win it all. G...
Mexico-Netherlands: Did Australia Lay The Blueprint For An Upset?
I remain unconvinced by Netherlands. It's madness, I know. ...
Portugal-Ghana: The Black Stars Are Imploding, But Can Still Go Through
I'm going out on a limb here and guessing the vast majority of you won't be watching Portugal-Ghana particularly closely. Oh, sure, you'll know if one of the teams scores—you'll review the replays of each goal with joy or dread depending on the time and circumstance. You'll have an eye on this game—...
Italy-Uruguay: Early Fireworks Are Uruguay's Best Hope
With Costa Rica and England a formality—who'd have guessed that before the World Cup?—all eyes should be on Uruguay and Italy in Natal. ...
South Korea-Algeria: Four Years Later, Algeria Is Worthy Of Your Support
Few sides garnered less praise entering the World Cup than the Desert Foxes of Algeria. Most Americans will remember Algeria as the victims of Landon Donovan's 91st minute miracle goal in 2010. That Algeria side spent the vast majority of the game stifling an increasingly frustrated American attack...
Italy-Costa Rica: England Be Damned, The Ticos Are In Search Of A Draw
Most would agree Brazil 2014 has been as exciting as any World Cup group stage in recent memory. The tournament began with an unbelievable twelve consecutive matches without a draw. Of those first twelve matches, five were come-from-behind victories with two of the five genuine upsets (Netherlands-...
Uruguay-England: Is This Anfield?
If Luis Suárez were healthy we would have seen him in Uruguay's shock loss to Costa Rica. Instead Uruguayan manager Oscar Tabárez, trailing by a goal with only fifteen minutes remaining, opted to bring on Palermo striker Abel Hernández. Hernández, a player hyped as "the next big thing" long enough f...
Can Spain Redeem Themselves After The Netherlands Thrashing?
Tiki-taka is dead. The Dutch killed it. Of course, every time Spain or Barcelona lose a major match tiki-taka is proclaimed dead, only to rise again. The truth is tiki-taka remains effective—Bayern won their league and Barcelona came within a Diego Godín header of doing the same—so long as you have ...
Germany Still Have Plenty Of Kinks To Work Out. Does It Even Matter?
Germany came within a Rasmus Elm stoppage time equalizer of qualifying for the World Cup with a perfect record. When an off day looks like a 4-4 draw against Sweden you know you're dealing with a serious World Cup title contender. ...
Chile-Australia Will Probably Be A Bloodbath
For most, match day two of the World Cup will be entirely about Spain and Netherlands–a titanic sequel to one of the most miserably negative cup finals in the history of the event. ...
Brazil-Croatia: An Early Trap Game For The Hosts?
Let's stop ourselves for a second. A Brazilian coronation is the most likely outcome. Those masters of the universe over at Goldman Sachs say so. And they're never wrong. But what if, for just a moment, we think skeptically about this opening match of the World Cup 2014?...