Jun
30
No changes to World Cup quotas
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Despite the surprising turnarounds during this summer’s World Cup, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valka has confirmed that there will be no change to the number of teams who get to qualify from each continent for the competition in Brazil in 2014.
As a reminder, currently 13 teams from Europe get through, 5 from Asia/Oceania, 5 from [...]
Jun
29
Spain vs Portugal video highlights
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So, the European Champions Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 to move on to the quarter finals and Ronaldo is going back home to his mommy to cry like the little baby that he is. Great!
Below are the video highlights of the game including Villa’s sweet goal which even though the Portuguese want to claim as [...]
Jun
29
There is no end to the negative French stories this summer, is there? After their abysmal world Cup campaign which saw them finish bottom of their group, their top striker Anelka sent home for insulting the coach, and captain Patrice Evra lead a players revolt, they now might be in danger of being thrown out [...]
Jun
28
The old technology debate
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England’s 4-1 loss to Germany has sparked up the old goal-line technology debate, but in truth, it’s hardly a “debate” anymore. Frank Lampard’s shot for England in the first half rebounded off the bar and clearly crossed the line, but the goal wasn’t given, and England were denied an important equalizer, which could have changed [...]
Jun
27
World Cup springs to life
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After a fairly downbeat opening round of fixtures, I think most neutrals would have been very happy with the way the second and third rounds of the group stages developed.
It seems like the commentators and analysts were right when they put the stalemates down to nerves and pressure, as many of these players stepped [...]
Jun
25
Vuvuzela dog fail
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If you are the owner of both a Vuvuzela (please, burn it with fire and don’t bring it with you to any games I happen to attend) and a dog, then don’t do what the guy in the below video did. This is a warning if you want to keep your carpet clean.
Jun
23
Germany vs Ghana video highlights
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Here are the video highlights from the Group D game earlier today between Germany and Ghana. Germany won the game 1-0 with Mesut Oezil’s unstoppable shot. Both teams move on to the round of 16 with Germany finishing at the top of Group D and setting up a date with England. Ghana will play against [...]
Jun
23
Change to Yellow-card rule
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FIFA have changed the rules when it comes to serving suspensions for yellow cards at the World Cup. Previously, players who had one yellow card during the group stages had that infraction cleared for the knockout rounds, but now they will stand for one more round, until the quarterfinals.
It might seem like a small [...]
Jun
22
The return of “the dark arts”
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The second round of world cup football has been much more neutral-friendly, bringing in a lot more goals and excitement compared to the opening games. However, along with it has returned the so-called “dark arts” of football. The first few matches were free of any noticeable cheating or diving, but a number of teams have [...]
Jun
21
Ronaldo’s goal
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Cristiano Ronaldo has finally scored a goal for team Portugal after a 2-year drought. The goal came during Portugal’s 7-0 thrashing of North Korea last night. What is amazing is how Ronaldo scored his goal which one would say it involved about 20% skill and 80% luck but man did it look good! Ronaldo tried [...]