Many of you may already know the name Barry Glendenning, but if you don't he's one of the most entertaining football writers in the business today. Glendenning writes for The Guardian newspaper and you can see his work in The Fiver newsletter, minute-by-minute match reports, and more. I contacted him this week to see if […]

It should be a classic final on Sunday at 2pm ET. But my concern about France is their lack of goals from open play. Italy, on the other hand, need to rely on Toni or Totti to hit the net. My prediction: Italy 1-0 France. What's yours?

The controversy about ABC/ESPN's coverage of the World Cup won't stop. Here are two more examples: Courtesy of EPL Talk reader Griff from Japan, watch this actual sports news episode from ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" here. The Wall Street Journal newspaper is getting in on the act. And the article includes some very interesting insights […]

Did my civic duty today and went to jury duty. I almost fainted when the woman running the jury duty, who was American as apple pie, opened up with some chit chat to the jury pool and said "That was good news about the Shuttle launch yesterday. And what about that soccer game? What an […]

Shaka Hislop who was the man of the match in Trinidad's improbable draw with Sweden in the first match of the World Cup will leave West Ham United of the EPL where he was the first choice goalkeeper and sign with MLS this week. He will be allocated to FC Dallas. Hislop led West Ham […]

The only team to score against Italy this entire World Cup has been the United States, albeit as an own goal. Any guess what sporting event ESPN2 broadcasted today on their channel? Golf? Tennis? Soccer? No, it was a hot dog eating contest sponsored by Nathans. Seriously.

Del Piero beats Lehmann to secure a 2-0 extra time stunner for Italy/Yahoo SemiFinal Open Thread................Whom will Italy face in the finals and your thoughts about the dramatic finish in Dotmund. Post your comments here.

Two late stunning goals from Italy's Grosso and Del Piero was enough to get Italy into the final in a very even match. While the Italian national team are in hysterics, their domestic league is in shambles with the threat of Juventus, Fiorentina, AC Milan and Lazio being relegated. Could this mean that Italian World […]

As a tournament, there is no equal to the World Cup. It's a 30-day magical mystery ride for teams, players, fans and TV viewers at home. That said, however, I disagree with many that this is the best tournament in years. The first round matches arguably have been the strongest in recent memory with some […]

Throughout the years, Germany against Italy has been a classic match. Most notably during the 1970 World Cup semi-final, when Italy defeated the Germans 4-3 despite Germany's Franz Beckenbauer playing with a dislocated shoulder after being injured in the match. My personal prediction is that Italy will prevail in this match, 2-1. Germany's goal in […]

If you subscribe to Setanta in North America, you've got to be loving life. The Irish broadcaster announced today that, in addition to the German commentary it has been providing, the semi-finals and final of the World Cup will be available with Italian commentary, too. For no extra charge, subscribers can choose commentary in the […]

Very early in the 2005/2006 Premiership season, all of the talk was about the 4-5-1 formation and how Bolton, especially, was being effective yet boring after Allardyce used the formation to grind out results. What we've seen in the 2006 World Cup is the 4-5-1 formation being used to similar results, unfortunately to the detriment […]

If you live in North America, you'll want to read this article — it could have easily been about you, or you. But if you live outside of North America, and I know many of you readers do, read the same article to gain an appreciation of how soccer (and especially watching the Premiership on […]

The interview with Seamus Malin is now available on the EPL Talk Podcast. It's a fascinating interview, and the perfect remedy for any England, US or Brazil fans who want to take their mind off the World Cup exit, and listen to a legendary soccer broadcaster. So you don't miss a single episode of the […]

So, England and Brazil's World Cup dreams are over. In both matches, the favorites were outplayed, conservative and uninspiring. England's demise falls to Wayne Rooney. The idiotic kick by Rooney was the turning point in the match. From that point on, England had to change its tactics and the harsh, cruel defeat by penalties […]