England manager Roy Hodgson set up tonight with an aggressive formation playing young Raheem Sterling, a natural winger, in the hole right behind Danny Sturridge and pushing Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck out onto the flanks. The two Manchester United strikers typically do not feature as wide midfielders at the club level. Sterling was particularly […]

Italy held off England 2-1 in Manaus in both sides Group D opener on Saturday night. Just a couple of hours before the match begun, Azzurri Manager Cesare Prandelli had to scratch goalkeeper and Captain Gianluigi Buffon, who suffered an injury. Prandelli's set up against England with Mario Balotelli acting as single forward, while the […]

For viewers in the United States, here’s where you can watch the Ivory Coast vs Japan, 9pm ET game: • English language: ESPN and WatchESPN • Spanish language: Univision, Univision Deportes Network and Univision online • Portuguese language: ESPN Deportes Starting line-ups: Japan: Kawashima, Uchida, Honda, Nagatomo, Morishige, Okazaki, Kagawa, Yamaguchi, Hasebe, Osako, Yoshida Ivory Coast: Barry, Boka, Zokora, Kalou, Tiote, Gervinho, Bony, Aurier, […]

It was a case of the "same old England" on Saturday as England simply wasn't good enough against a stronger Italian side. Having said that, England had plenty of chances but were poor in the final third of the pitch, whether it was wayward shots from Wayne Rooney or poor crosses from Raheem Sterling. Meanwhile, […]

Costa Rica stunned an Uruguay side who were without superstar striker Luis Suarez by a 3-1 scoreline on Saturday afternoon in Fortaleza. The highly-fancied Uruguayans were caught surprised early in the match by an attacking oriented Ticos side that was maintaining a possession advantage. Despite being outplayed, Uruguay drew a penalty in Minute 24 when […]

Starting line-ups are in for England. As we mentioned on Twitter a few hours ago, Raheem Sterling starts in place of Adam Lallana. Meanwhile, Gigi Buffon was injured in training, so Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu starts in the net for Team Italia. For viewers in the United States, here's where you can watch the game: […]

Colombia recorded an impressive 3-0 victory against Greece in Belo Horizonte today with goals by Teófilo Gutiérrez, James Rodríguez and Pablo Armero. The three points from the match means that Colombia currently sit atop Group C, but we'll see later tonight whether Ivory Coast or Japan may push them out of first place. Incredibly, 55,000-60,000 […]

In a wide-open group, Japan and Ivory Coast face-off today with very different attack minded football styles and will likely put on an exciting game in the team's opening game in the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Elephants of the Ivory Coast have one of the world's most talented midfielders, Yaya […]

Uruguay star striker Luis Suarez is on the bench and isn't fit to start the match, so the focus will turn to Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani to score the goals today for Uruguay against Costa Rica. Where to watch the Uruguay vs Costa Rica game on US television. Kick-off time is 3pm ET/Noon PT: […]

West Bromwich Albion have named Alan Irvine as manager, to replace Pepe Mel. The former Sheffield Wednesday manager was appointed after Tim Sherwood reportedly turned down the job offer. Irvine has a 12-month rolling contract agreement with The Baggies as the club heads into its ninth season in the English Premier League since 2002. Up […]

ESPN studio analyst and Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that England can take the World Cup by storm, saying "The potential is undoubtedly there and it has also been recognized. Now it just needs to be realized." Does England truly have the opportunity to get through Group D with Italy and Uruguay? Martinez says they […]

Here we go for a Saturday filled with four brilliant World Cup matches. Where to watch the Colombia vs Greece game on US television. Kick-off time is Noon ET/9am PT: • English language: ABC and WatchABC • Spanish language: Univision, Univision Deportes Network and Univision online • Portuguese language: ESPN Deportes Starting lineups: Greece XI: […]

The opening round Group C match between the Ivory Coast and Japan is a very difficult match to predict as both teams are loaded with question marks. Is this going to be the Japanese team that beat Belgium and held the Netherlands to a draw? Or is this the Japanese team that lost to Belarus? […]

Saturday evening at 6pm ET/3pm PT, and the late hour of 11pm UK time, England will face Italy in what should prove to be a fascinating encounter between two giants in International soccer. However, in recent days the upcoming match has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as the state of the […]

The road to Rio begins for Uruguay and Costa Rica at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza. This is an incredibly important match for each side, with the next two games being against top European squads in the form of England and Italy. It’s always important to get the tournament off on the right foot, but especially […]