Argentina’s susceptibility at the back is almost as well documented as their attacking threat. No one in Argentina has much faith in makeshift full-back Marcos Rojo, who is generally considered to be the weak link. The solid but unspectacular central defensive pair of Federico Fernandez and Ezequiel Garay will have to be willing to provide […]

Here are the 5 biggest changes to the World Cup odds based on Saturday's Day 3 games between Italy-England, Colombia-Greece, Uruguay versus Costa Rica and Ivory Coast-Japan, thanks to Chris McFarland at ShareDraft.com. 1. Big win for Colombia. Already the favorite in the group at 73% chance of advancing, the 3-0 win against Greece boosts them […]

France plays Honduras in a World Cup Group E game today at 3pm ET/Noon PT, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Les Bleus will be highly expected to dismantle their Central American opponents, but anything could happen. France will be without their star player, Bayern Munich left winger Franck Ribery. Expect Real Sociedad’s young Antoine Griezmann to […]

Last night's defeat against Italy leaves England with a must-win next game against Uruguay but there were many positive things to take from this for the next match and for the future. The "Pirlo question" — a player who causes England so many problems — was still not fully dealt with. This time, his influence was […]

FIFA is investigating a possible unmanned flying machine that was allegedly spying on French training earlier this week. The drone was spotted flying above the French training base in Ribeirao Preto. Drones are becoming commonplace in military and intelligence work but to this point have not been known to be used in sporting competition. France […]

Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson has been assigned by FIFA as the center referee for the United States against Ghana in Natal on Monday. The official was the center of controversy earlier this year when he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie between Manchester City and Barcelona. In that […]

England vs. Italy – Observations: Despite the concerns about the state of the pitch and the weather conditions the match between Italy and England was extremely entertaining and tactically intriguing. Italy leaves Manaus happy after collecting all three points whilst England has a few questions to ponder before their next game. 1 – Italy dictated […]

Japan and Côte d’Ivoire met in a rainy Recife for the fourth and final match of the day on June 14th in both team’s Group C opener. Despite the 97% humidity both teams showed energy in the attack to begin the game and Japan took an early lead in the 16th minute with a powerful shot […]

Univision's broadcast of Mexico against Cameroon on Friday was viewed by 5 million people in the United States. The game was aired on the Univision Network, and was simulcast on Univision Deportes Network (UDN), from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. on June 13, 2014. In the TV ratings battle between Univision and ESPN, Univision Deportes has […]

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: […]