cup Page 131 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

How Spain Can Ride <em>Tiki-Taka</em> To International Immortality
Off top, we need to acknowledge Spain's unprecedented dominance of international and club soccer over the past decade. Historically, however, Spain has been sort of a laughingstock. To understand the impact of Spain's international failure, you must first understand Spain's great domestic rivalry: R...
![Colombian Striker Radamel Falcao Will Miss The World Cup [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/nn9kuzludgvcdasr3rh0.jpg)
Colombian Striker Radamel Falcao Will Miss The World Cup [Update]
It's official: Radamel Falcao won't play in this summer's World Cup. Colombia's superstar captain tore his ACL while playing for his club, AS Monaco. He wasn't able to recover in time, and today, we found he was left off of his nation's final, 23-man roster going to Brazil. ...

World Cup Group A Preview: There's Brazil, And There's Everybody Else
Here's your World Cup Group A hub and open thread, where you'll find our previews and predictions....

Eto'o's Last Ride: How Cameroon Can Shock Everyone At The World Cup
Cameroon are Africa's darlings and have qualified for the World Cup seven times, more than any other nation on their continent. This year, they'll be sending a familiar squad of hardened veterans with some young upstarts sprinkled in to Brazil. But this summer is also different, because it'll likely...

For World Cup Glory, Mexico Will Need To Get Their Shit Together
El Tri: the pride of Mexico, the class of CONCACAF (at least historically). In Brazil, they will look to continue their impressive streak of making it out of the group stage in five straight tournaments, despite recent turbulence in the team....

"Soccer," From <em>Soccer In Sun And Shadow</em>
From Eduardo Galeano's classic, now available as an ebook. We'll have excerpts throughout the week....

Croatia's World Cup Strategy: Rise And Grind
Croatia are a team stuck in the middle—physically, tactically and in overall proficiency. They aren't fast. They grind and plod their way to victories. They're often caught with holes deep in midfield against elite competition. The side lacks any real width. ...

How Brazil Will Wreak Absolute Havoc On Their World Cup Foes
Brazil is widely thought of as the greatest soccer nation in the world, not just because it's dominated the sport, but because it's perfected it. ...


The Land Of The Free, And The Home Of Fried Chicken
Send stories, photos, and anything else you might have to [email protected]....

British Comedian Almost Sneaks On Team England's World Cup Plane
Simon Brodkin is a British actor/comedian/prankster who plays, among other characters, a soccer player named Jason Bent. Brodkin, dressed in character as Bent, got amongst team England on a private tarmac at Luton Airport and tried to board the plane the squad was taking to Miami as they begin train...

FIFA Vice President Would Support A Re-Vote On 2022 Host
On the heels of The Sunday Times report detailing Mohamed bin Hammam's successful campaign to purchase the 2022 World Cup for Qatar, FIFA vice president Jim Boyce told BBC Radio 5 he would support a re-vote for a new host. Boyce says the claims in the Times report would have to be proven, but if the...

Report: Qatar Bought World Cup With Over $5 Million In Secret Payments
Well, at least we know for sure, now. The Sunday Times has analyzed "hundreds of millions of emails, accounts and other documents," uncovering the secret payments former Qatari FIFA vice president Mohamed bin Hammam made to international soccer officials to back Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World C...

FIFA's Match-Fixing Investigation Staff Is Just Six People
FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has long struggled to police match-fixing, either because there's not much it can do, or because there's not much it wants to do. In the first part of a two-part series, The New York Times investigated allegations of match-fixing during the 2010 World Cup in Sout...

Luis Montes Scores Spectacular Goal, Immediately Suffers Horrific Injury
Mexico will be missing one of its midfielders in Brazil after Luis Montes suffered what looks like a compound leg fracture during today's friendly against Ecuador—just moments after scoring a spectacular golazo....

Player Taking Penalty Kick Falls On His Face, Gets Up, Scores Anyway
You probably can't do that, right? Pretty sure you can't do that....

This England Wearable Flag Outfit Looks Like A Ku Klux Klan Outfit
The World Cup is right around the corner, and people are buying shit for it, and so English grocery chain Asda made the smart decision to get in on the action. Their offering: an English wearable flag that doubles as a poncho. Smart! But...that hood....

The Longform Guide To The World Cup
Dig this nice collection of soccer stories over at the ever-essential Longform. ...


Where Jürgen Klinsmann Comes From
Before Jürgen Klinsmann snubbed Landon Donovan, before he coached Bayern Munich or the U.S. and German national teams, before he won the UEFA Cup as a player with Internazionale and again with Bayern, before winning the World Cup and captaining the German team to the European Championship, he lived ...