preview Page 249 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
If Beautiful Soccer Makes You Happy, Root For France
It’s simple, really. If you’re American, and watching the 2015 World Cup out of national pride, you should root for the United States of America. If you want to see the best team just flat-out overpowering their overmatched victims, don’t miss a Germany game. But if you’re tuning in to have fun, to ...
Can Mexico's American Players Deliver <i>Las Tri</i> Their First World Cup Win?
Three weeks ago, Mexico played the United States in a friendly before the World Cup. At half, the score was 1-1. At full time, the score was 5-1. Both scorelines felt about right....
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...
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...
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...
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...
Women's World Cup Group C Preview: The Champs And A Bunch Of Newbies
Here’s all our Group C stuff for your reading pleasure....
Ecuador Have No Business Being Here, So They Might As Well Enjoy It
To keep things in perspective, we should start by giving Ecuador’s trip to Canada the response it deserves: HOLY SHIT, ECUADOR MADE IT TO THE WORLD CUP! WOOOHOOOO! GO LADIES! GO LADIES! JUST LOOK HOW MUCH QUALIFYING MEANT TO THEM!...
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?...
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 ...