Manager – Vladimir Weiss Sr. FIFA Ranking – 34 Schedule – New Zealand (6/15), Paraguay (6/20), Italy (6/24) Qualification – First place, UEFA Group 3 Big name player– Marek Hamsik (Napoli) Last time they qualified for WC – Never A quick geography lesson for those who are unfamiliar with the European landscape – Slovakia is […]

Manager – Ricki Herbert FIFA Ranking – 78 Schedule – Slovakia (6/15), Italy (6/20), Paraguay (6/24) Qualification – First place, Oceania Big name player– Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers) Last time they qualified for WC – 1982 The colorfully named "All Whites" could conceivably be the worst team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Consider the following: Two members of […]

Italy have just concluded their final friendly before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it seems like the Azzurri have been asleep for these friendlies. While a 1-1 draw is certainly better than the 2-1 loss they suffered to Mexico, the current World Cup champions seem pretty ordinary before the tournament kicks off. […]

Update – ESPN.com via Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Pirlo plans to be fit by the final group stage match against Slovakia. Add Andrea Pirlo to the growing list of World Cup injuries. The Italian midfielder and AC Milan star could miss an undefined number of matches after suffering a second degree calf injury […]

On a day where two of the Premier League's brightest and most popular stars succumbed to various knacks and knocks and subsequently exit the World Cup, another of the league's most popular athletes ascends into the captaincy of the England National team feeling strangely like some hand me down jacket worn by your older brother. Realistically, Gerrard will be Capello's […]

The World Cup is one week away, and if you are a soccer fan, it is hard not to be anxious for the tournament to begin. In anticipation of the first Group F match on June 14 (Italy v. Paraguay) I will post of preview of the other three teams in Group F, to help […]

In one of the all time moments of counting chickens before they've hatched, Nike, in all their brilliant ad campaign glory have erected a giant rock billboard emulating Mount Rushmore in London featuring the faces of some of the key England players heading to South Africa. Only problem is that one of those key faces happens to […]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to make your predictions for the 2010 World Cup. Who will advance from each group, and who will go on to win the tournament? The top two teams from each group will advance past the Group Stage and into the round of 16. Then it's into the quarter-finals, then semi-finals […]

The folks at ESPN are holding good on their promises to bring unrivaled coverage stateside this summer as the World Cup descends upon an eager nation. With HD television broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks set to cover every one of the 64 matches throughout the tournament, unsatisfied fans can now turn their eyes […]

Every country has its historic matches that will never be forgotten and England's rich World Cup history provides many celebrated games. Say phrases like “1966 World Cup”, “hand of God”, "David Beckham free kick", “Gazza”, or “losing to penalties” to an England fan and watch his eyes light up with pleasure or grief thinking about […]

Well the 30 players named in Fabio Capello's England squad have had multiple trainng sessions and two games to earn their place on the plane to South Africa. Now is the time that this squad must be trimmed to 23 players, meaning that 7 players will soon receive the dreaded phone call ending their World […]

England will meet the US squad on June 12th at Rustenburg in South Africa and fans in the US are already anticipating what will probably be one of the most watched games in the States. Unfortunately, history is not on the US squad’s side. England have appeared in thirteen tournaments and made it to at least the […]

Meh. Not exactly an inspiring performance. Honestly this game was simply a chance for players on the fringe to prove their worth to Bob Bradley, and some may have, while some certainly didn't. Two of those players — Edson Buddle and Eddie Johnson — partnered each other upfront to start the match and had two […]

ESPN's saturation of World Cup coverage into the United States has added another source. Sirius/XM radio announced today that the sattelite radio provider will broadcast ESPN Radio's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. ESPN Radio's coverage will be spearheaded by American announcer JP Dellacamera, the primary play-by play announcer for the USA's World Cup qualifying campaign. […]

You have to feel for a player of the calibre of Michael Ballack and for fans of Germany. Things haven't always gone swimmingly for Ballack at Stamford Bridge since he joined in 2006, but there is no doubt he is Germany's most accomplished player of his generation. Be it at Munich, Leverkusen or the […]