Soccer Page 273 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Only Shot England Have Of Winning The World Cup Is Losing
You want to believe that this is England’s time. They destroyed their competition in a near-perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, only conceding once, winning all 10 matches, and only needing nine matches to punch their ticket to Canada. They’ve matched their highest ranking ever. They’re deep, and...

USWNT Defeat Australia 3-1, But Still Have Room To Improve
The United States Women’s National Team eventually beat Australia by a comfortable two-goal margin, but for 45 minutes Australia looked to be their better, or at least their equal. Saved by a brilliant performance from Megan Rapinoe, the USWNT will have to play much better to win the World Cup. ...

Women's World Cup Group E Preview: Oodles Of Attacking Midfielders
Here’s everything you need to know about Group E....

It's Their First World Cup, But Don't Count Spain Out Just Yet
Among World Cup teams, Spain are an anomaly; a debutant with the potential to advance deep in the tournament, or at least to knock off a heavyweight. If you are surprised that a country with as rich of a soccer heritage as Spain has never before qualified for the World Cup, well, let me introduce yo...

How The FIFA Busts Reach The Heart Of NASL
When authorities barged into Zurich and snatched up nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives, and Sepp Blatter followed up with his resignation, the world rejoiced. But just because justice is seemingly—finally—being visited upon those who deserved it, there are still victims, and the North...

South Korea's Attack Might Soon Be The Most Fearsome In The World
In the year 2017 or 2019, we might be talking about South Korea as a darkhorse candidate to win the World Cup. But since it is 2015, this tournament will serve as a kind of measuring stick to size up the Taegeuk Ladies’s progress. South Korea have always existed in the awkward middle ground of Asian...

Will An Innovative Approach To World Cup Training Pay Off For Brazil?
You probably remember this moment triumphantly, but Brazilians certainly don’t. The quarterfinal matchup at the 2011 World Cup between Brazil and the United States went into extra time, and Marta scored just two minutes in. The Americans, down a woman since a 65th minute red card, assaulted the goal...

For A Minnow, Costa Rica's Young Team Is Fun To Watch
There has always been a very clear pecking order in CONCACAF women’s soccer. The United States are the dominant team, and lose infrequently to Canada and even more infrequently to Mexico. They are the only three teams to ever qualify for the World Cup from the continent, but in 2014 Costa Rica becam...

Following Dress Rehearsal, Here's What We Know About the USWNT
The U.S. Women’s National Team kicks off their World Cup campaign tonight. They’re ready, or at least, that’s what they’re saying. For the rest of us, any predictions or expectations we might have for the Yanks’ seventh World Cup appearance are clouded in uncertainty. ...

FIFA ExCo Member Says Morocco Actually Won 2010 World Cup Vote
Officially, South Africa won the vote to host the 2010 World Cup 14-10. But according to allegations from a FIFA executive committee member, after conferring with his fellow voters, the tally was actually 13-11 in favor of Morocco, and some major bribes and shady vote-counting led FIFA to announce t...

Luis Suárez Puts Away Rebound For 2-1 Barcelona Lead
Just thirteen minutes after Álvaro Morata drew things level, Luis Suárez put away a Lionel Messi rebound to restore Barcelona’s 2-1 advantage. Juventus now has 10 minutes plus stoppage time to get a goal, or the Champions League trophy will go to the Nou Camp....

Álvaro Morata Goal Draws Juventus Level
Barcelona controlled the opening minutes of the second half and had a few gilt-edged chances, but weren’t able to bury them. Juventus took advantage of Barcelona’s profligacy to draw the game even, when Álvaro Morata put home a rebound off of Carlos Tevez’s shot. It should be a cracking final 30 min...

IT'S REALLY TRUE, AMERICA WON FIFA, WE ARE THE BEST!
Right now I couldn’t care less if this was some pointless post-season friendly (and it really wasn’t, both on the USMNT’s end, who want to prove themselves against the world’s best, and for the Netherlands, who wanted to use this as a warmup for next week’s crucial Euro 2016 qualifier), and sure, th...

Women's World Cup Group D Preview: The Group Of Death Needs More Chill
Here is your Group D hub, where you can find everything you need to know about the Group of Death....

What Happens If The Nigerians Just Start Wrecking Shit? What Then?
Listen: No one is saying Nigeria are definitely going to descend into the Group of Death, do battle with three of the top 10 teams in the world, emerge on the other side unscathedish, demolish whatever knockout-stage horrors await them, and take a real shot at this thing. No one is saying that. But,...

This Is Sweden's Last Best Chance At World Cup Glory
Sweden are good—very good—and have been for some time. They have qualified for each and every World Cup; they rumbled all the way to the final in 2007; in 2011, they made history by being the first and only team to ever beat the United States in a World Cup group stage match en route to a third-plac...

After Years Of Climbing, Have Australia Finally Reached The Mountaintop?
There’s a narrative that national teams understandably try to claim for themselves during World Cup years. That narrative goes something like this: Since our inception, we have slowly climbed the mountain, making slow, sure strides toward the summit. There are hiccups and rockslides and detours and ...

If Anything, The USWNT Might Be <i>Too</i> Stacked
When the United States Women’s National Team takes the pitch, they’ll be tasked with navigating the largest and deepest World Cup field ever. Though the Olympic gold medal more or less belongs to the USWNT—remember this?—they have tended to come up short on the sport’s biggest stage. They’ve advance...

Can Defending World Cup Champions Japan Shock The World Again?
It’s been a heady time to be a fan of reigning world champions Japan these past few years. After starting the World Cup era as an international fixture, usually present but never too threatening at the major tournaments, Japan are now recognized as one of the sport’s dominant greats, thanks to a his...

Switzerland: World Cup Prodigies, Or Untested Posers?
Usually, you’d think you’d know about a team after a long World Cup qualifying campaign, especially one that traversed the oft-difficult UEFA gauntlet. But one question still engulfs Switzerland as they head to Canada: are they any good?...