Soccer Page 313 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Brazilian Newspaper Thanks Ref Who Rewarded Dive
Via the Globe and Mail's Stephanie Nolen, the front page of Brazilian paper O Globo's World Cup supplement today. Yeah, even the Brazilians know what's up....

Romário: The Hustler From Brazil's <i>Favelas</i>
From Eduardo Galeano's classic, now available as an ebook. We'll have excerpts throughout the week....

Here's Fred's Dive In The Box To Give Brazil The Lead
Yea, that's not a penalty. ...

What's Up With That Spray The Referee Used On Brazil's Free Kick?
On Brazil's free kick toward the end of the first half, World Cup viewers got their first look at one of this tournament's new wrinkles: A can of vanishing spray used by referees to mark off the distance defenders must stand from the ball....

Brazil Equalize Opening World Cup Match With Neymar Squeaker
Who else but Neymar? Amidst midfield congestion, the World Cup's most heavily-hyped player delivered with a perfectly-placed, if not exactly solidly-struck, shot. Here's how it sounded on Brazil's Rede Globo:...

Brazil Score First Goal Of World Cup—In Their Own Goal
This certainly isn't how Brazil planned to start things off. Croatia took a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the match when Marcelo knocked the ball into his own goal....

The Crappy Manaus Pitch Is Being Spray-Painted Green
The turf at Manaus's Arena Amazonia is still going to be shit for Saturday's England-Italy match. It's going to be sandy and uneven and third-rate. But worry not: It's going to look great on TV. Today, workers laid down green spray paint to cover the brown parts....

Paraplegic In Robotic Exoskeleton Performs World Cup First Kick
OK, so after all the hype about the mind-controlled exoskeleton performing the first kick in the World Cup, it turned out to be kind of disappointing. (The opening ceremony broadcast only showed a few seconds of it, seen above.) But still, a paralyzed man controlling a robot suit with his mind kicke...

Milwaukee Bar Celebrates World Cup In Most Tone Deaf Way Possible
There's a bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, called The Nomad, and like most bars in America, it is putting on all kinds of airs in an effort to lure people inside of it to watch World Cup games this month. But The Nomad is offering potential patrons one thing that other bars are not: tone deaf cultural t...

The Non-Soccer Fan's Guide To The 2014 World Cup
We get it. Soccer is confusing, and it's hard to know where to start. You know what a big deal the World Cup is, and this is the year you're finally going to get into it, and then you check in over at Deadspin and, well, fuck no, you're not reading 3000 words about Algeria. Don't worry about it! Thi...

Everything You Need To Know About Every World Cup Team
Here's your full World Cup preview hub, where you can find our breakdowns for all 32 teams throughout the tournament. ...

Your Ultimate Guide To Streaming Every World Cup Match Live
Want to watch the World Cup? We're here to provide you with the ultimate, comprehensive guide to watching every match of group play—either on a television, computer, or mobile device....

World Cup Group H Preview: A Dark Horse, A Couple Mules, And A Goat
Here's your Group G hub and open thread where you'll find our previews and predictions....

How Russia Evolved Into One Of The World Cup's Most Dangerous Teams
Russia's march to Brazil began at the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland/Ukraine. The Russians, led by Dutch manager Dick Advocaat captured the attention of Europe with a comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of the Czech Republic in their opening game. The free-flowing, explosive Russian attack, a product of Ad...

The Brilliance And Madness Of Dutch Wizard Johan Cruyff
From Eduardo Galeano's classic, now available as an ebook. We'll have excerpts throughout the week....

Hey, At Least Getting Bashed In Group Play Won't Break Algeria's Heart
Algerians, like many former French colonies, are used to watching some of their most promising potential internationals playing for the old rulers. Algerian fans will probably cheer Karim Benzema due to the French-born striker's Algerian heritage. They might also rue, or maybe sardonically snicker a...

What FIFA Gets Right About Nationality
In April, Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj finally picked his country. The oddsmakers were right, and he selected Belgium over a palette of other national shirts: Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo (through his parents), Turkey (through his grandparents), and, if you asked the English, maybe even...

This Technicolor Footage Of The 1966 World Cup Is Incredible
This essay appears in the new issue of Howler...

Which Teams Will Be Having Sex At The World Cup?
It's a long-held myth that athletes should refrain from sex before a competition, for fear of exhaustion or a lack of testosterone. Nearly all scientific studies agree that there's no danger, but the belief persists. To that end, managers for a number of countries have banned their players from havi...

Can South Korea Make Another Surprise Run In Brazil?
South Korea are one of Asia's traditional soccer powers. They and Japan have bossed the continent for decades now, coasting to World Cup to World Cup, where they've tried to prove that Asia's got real talent. In Brazil, South Korea have a chance to once again show that though Asia's a historically w...