If you're visiting this blog from the link at the BBC's web site (so far, that's 36% of you), welcome aboard. While the focus of the EPL Talk blog is on the English Premiership League, we'll also be covering the World Cup this summer. Let me take this opportunity to also introduce you to the […]

Will the USA advance or will we take a step back to our 1998 World Cup form? This question has troubled all of us since the draw was announced in December 2005, and we realized that the USA were to be placed in a group with two of the top squads in the world as […]

Portugal were among the biggest disappointments at Korea/Japan 2002. From John O'Brien's goal that put USA in the lead early in the opening match until the final whistle in a hard fought loss to South Korea, it seemed Portugal's vast talent was being wasted in desperation comeback mode. This time will be different for passionate […]

When the Premiership season concluded on May 7, many people (myself included) were commenting how next season will be a four horse race instead of two. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are worthy contenders for the 2006/2007 title. How quickly things change. With Chelsea's acquisition of Shevchenko and Ballack, the west London outfit has […]

Group C is without question the group of death at Germany 2006. In fact, this group may be one of the all time toughest with four squads that in my estimation could win the group and could win just about any other group in the competition. However, Argentina and Ivory Coast appear to be slightly […]

We're now less than eight days away from the opening match of the World Cup. If you haven't had a chance to buy the World Cup jersey of your team yet, there's still time. Visit the World Cup Shirts site, which features the official 2006 jerseys from most of the countries participating. In addition to […]

The BBC is doing a fantastic job at opening up its lines of communication and giving visitors an inside look at how their Sport web site delivers news. Ian Westbrook from the BBC was kind enough to explain how their Sport department puts together the news. Read the fascinating description from Westbrook here. Speaking of […]

Group B originally looked like one of the toughest in the World Cup Draw. However in the past few weeks, arguably the most important player for each of the three serious contenders from this group has fallen with a serious injury. This makes prognostication of this group particularly risky, but certain variables will remain the […]

To me, one of the most exciting things about the summer is waiting for the new Premiership kits to be unveiled. These days, the kit launches are a big marketing campaign with press conferences and photographers. But the most interesting story is that of Manchester United. The team has already announced that they're changing the […]

According to Fox Sports Net – Fox Soccer Report, Brazilian striker Ranaldo was offered $120 million over ten years to come play for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. Ronaldo has expressed interest in playing in the U.S. later in his career but further stated that he is very happy where he […]

This article can also be found at www.kartiksworld.blogspot.com 22 months ago Former German great Jurgen Klinsmann was called back home from exile in Los Angeles to coach the national team. With Germany hosting the 2006 World Cup and the poor results between 2002 and 2004 incurred by former coach Rudy Voller the choice was obvious […]

Monday 5/29: Group A Wednesday 5/31: Group B Friday 6/2: Group C Saturday 6/3: Group D Sunday 6/4: Group E Monday 6/5: Group F Tuesday 6/6: Group G Wednesday 6/7 : Group H

The performance of the US National Team on Tuesday night in Nashville against Morocco was nothing short of embarrassing. Morocco is without a doubt the best side the US will face in the run up to Germany 2006, but Morocco had brought basically a B team to the match and it was painfully obvious that […]

Starting next season, Premiership referees and assistant referees will be wearing new head-set technology. To me, this is an excellent step in the right direction. The technology won't interfere with the game. Plus, if anything, it's going to speed up the referee's decision making process by allowing assistant referees to speak with referees directly (rather […]