cup Page 97 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Cameroon Aren't Contenders Yet, But They're On Their Way
For many of the established teams coming into this World Cup, their larger goals outside of the simple quest for points involve things like trying to recapture former greatness or maintaining a period of success. Cameroon, though, are still early in their journey in the international realm. All they...
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?...
Chicago Leaves It Late, But Two Goals In Two Minutes Gets The Job Done
Well that sure changed quickly. After scoring just a few minutes into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning led the Blackhawks 1-0 for almost 50 minutes. But late in the third period Teuvo Teravainen fired a shot past a screened Ben Bishop:...
Alex Killorn's Brilliant Goal Opens The Stanley Cup Final Scoring
Tampa Bay took an early 1-0 lead in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final when Alex Killorn flipped an Anton Stralman pass past Corey Crawford. This is great stuff....
Indicted Official On National TV Broadcast: FIFA Funded 2010 Elections
Former FIFA official Jack Warner bought airtime on some of Trinidad’s biggest TV networks in primetime tonight to air his own “The Gloves Are Off” political message, claiming he had proof FIFA money influenced the 2010 Trinidad & Tobago national election....
Women's World Cup Group B Preview: Germany Are Going To Hang Some Goals
Here are our Group B previews, full schedule, and predictions....
Women's World Cup Group A Preview: Canada Got This (This Is Not A Jinx)
Here’s a roundup of all our Group A previews of the day. You can check those and our group prediction out below, and talk about how you see things shaping up in the comments....
Can Thailand Take Advantage Of Their Lucky Break?
Thailand’s journey to the World Cup was a strange one, and they had to take advantage of a unique set of circumstances to get here. In 2009, FIFA decided to bump up the number of teams in the 2015 World Cup from 16 to 24, which increased the amount of bids for Asian teams from three to five. And in ...
World Cup Debutantes Côte d'Ivoire Will Be Here For Years To Come
When Côte d’Ivoire take the field against Germany on June 7, how they will play will be a mystery. Not because they have ginned up some tactics in secret—though maybe they have!—but because they have only played a single match in the past seven months. While the Côte d’Ivoire men’s team is known for...
Norway's Brute Force Past Meets Soccer's Future
Two decades ago Norway were a soccer power, finishing second at the 1991 World Cup and winning it all in 1995. But recent years have seen a tactically naïve Norway surpassed, or at least equaled, by nations that got a later jump on women’s soccer, like France, England, and Spain. While they should h...
Germany Are A Steamroller, And They Expect To Win It All
Germany have historically been one of the best teams in women’s soccer, and they go into the 2015 World Cup like they go into every tournament: with the expectation of winning. They won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, finished runner-up in 1995, and have won every Women’s Euro since 1995. They went ...
The Once Great, Now Unknown China Women's National Team
There was once a time when China were one of the biggest names in women’s soccer. A time when, come a World Cup, you could pencil the then-giants of Asia into the knockout rounds and rightly expect them to make a run. That time has passed. Now, no one really knows what to expect from this team....
How New Zealand Will Go From Beating Up Bad Teams To Being The Bad Team
If ever there was a poster child for the dangers of weak competition, it’s New Zealand. Here are the results of their three most recent competitive matches, coming in the OFC Women’s Nations Cup:...
Finally, A Netherlands Women's Team That Lives Up To The Name
One of the most enjoyable things about international soccer is the way you can notice various stylistic through-lines. Each nation has its particular soccer heritage—sometimes a broad affinity for a certain type of athlete, other times a specific formation or tactical ideology—and how this in turn m...
Will Canada Earn The Right To Get Knocked Out By The USWNT Again?
The stage is set. Fresh off of their best-ever result in a major tournament (a bronze in the 2012 London Olympics) that climaxed with probably the sport’s greatest-ever game, Canada enter this summer’s World Cup on home soil turf with, as Beatrix Kiddo would say, some unfinished business. Unfortunat...
How Much Is FIFA Like <i>The Godfather</i>? ESPN And ABC Count The Ways
Josh Margolin with ABC News is reporting today that Sepp Blatter is a target of the federal investigation unveiled last week, which included the indictment of 14 international soccer leaders and businessmen. Those charges included some old-school classics familiar to anyone to who loves a good organ...
Hope Solo's Redemption Tour Has Begun
The Women’s World Cup starts June 6, and, right on time, frequently-arrested USWNT keeper Hope Solo’s reclamation project is starting up, too. If you’re wondering why this campaign is happening, we have no answers for you; all we can do is point you to the first stop, a long, gushy, and somewhat con...
Sepp Blatter's Top Lieutenant Named In World Cup Bribe Allegations
Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general and Sepp Blatter’s No. 2 man, has been implicated in a scheme that the feds believe involved a $10 million bribe in exchange for votes for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. ...
Missouri TV Station Airs <i>Branson Country USA</i> Instead Of Game 7
Hockey fans in Joplin, Mo. hoping to see an exciting Game 7 between Chicago and Anaheim tonight aren’t getting live Stanley Cup Playoffs hockey on NBC. No, their affiliate KSNF has the most redneckian of redneck shows on instead: Branson Country USA. The channel helpfully advises viewers looking for...