England's disappointing 1-2 loss to Italy in Manaus should be tempered by the excitement generated by a genuinely fine performance, despite the defeat. Although nothing was gained against Italy, England should be heartened by the fact that nothing was definitively lost. The smiles, harmony, and bonhomie (yes, even bonhomie) of an England camp whose preparation […]

After Ronald Koeman was confirmed as the new manager of Southampton FC earlier this week, what can Saints supporters and soccer fans expect from the new gaffer? The 51-year-old Dutchman, who recently guided Feyenoord to a second place finish in the Eredivisie, has signed a three-year deal. He will be joined by his brother, Erwin, […]

Colombia winger Juan Cuadrado is on Barcelona’s radar as a transfer target, according to press reports in Italy. The Colombian star, whose contract is actually co-owned by Udinese and Fiorentina, has been among the best Serie A players last season and is, by far, the best player at Fiorentina. Cuadrado played a key role in […]

It’s extremely difficult to steer clear of the hyperbole that accompanies Wayne Rooney. After all, the current plight of the Manchester United man is a fascinating one and it certainly wouldn’t feel quite right if the English media didn’t impinge their hopes onto one man in the build-up to a big game. Unfortunately for Rooney, […]

This month West Ham United launched their new away kit for the 2014/15 season. The Hammers will play in light blue away from home for the first time since 2011/12, and for the first time in the top flight since 2008/09. The East London club have gone for an intriguing design this year. There are […]

The above illustration shows which clubs have contributed players to the 23-man England World Cup squad. Aside from backup keeper Fraser Forster of Scottish champions Celtic, the balance of the squad comes from just eight Premier League sides. This is not necessarily a negative; Italy and Spain won the last two Cups with largely domestic-based […]

West Ham United has confirmed the deal to bring twenty four year old defender, Cheikhou Kouyaté to the club for seven million pounds on a four year deal. The former Anderlecht player has expressed his desire to play in England and will get his opportunity to do so in Upton Park. The 6'4" defender can […]

The Ivory Coast's 2-1 victory against Japan has the team edging closer to the second round for the first time in their World Cup history but Les Elephants should look towards Colombia with caution. Attacking with too much emphasis could cause goals from Columbia's James Rodriguez, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Victor Ibarbo. Teofilo Gutierrez will […]

Australia stunned the Dutch with their energetic start putting in the clichéd “heroic” performance. With expectation so low any semblance of direction would be seen as a positive. However, in the end the Netherlands prevailed by a 3-2 scoreline. The high press and gung-ho approach by Ange Postecoglou left a lot of admirers of his […]

Before the World Cup began, Spain had an 89% probability of advancing from Group B, while Chile had a 40% chance. Against Spain, Chile beat the odds with a fantastic first half performance in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans at the Maracana Stadium. But what specific tactics did Chile employ to prevent […]

[Scene: September 2018. Living room of Jurgen Klinsman, with the coach and a New York Times reporter present] The United States men’s national team coach sits back in his chair and looks longingly out the window. The reporter begins this interview in the wake of the end of another interesting World Cup, this time in […]

The United States defeated Ghana 2-1 on Monday night in Natal but the American midfield performance was anything but convincing. The midfield diamond that showed so much promise in three friendlies before the World Cup was largely dysfunctional. The formation was vetted by Jürgen Klinsmann largely with the hope of maximizing Michael Bradley’s touches and […]

Tuesday's telecast of Mexico against Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup was viewed by 6.8 million people on Univision Deportes, which beat ESPN's coverage of the same game by 61%, and 4.2 million people on ESPN. Through yesterday, Univision's viewing numbers for the 2014 World Cup are 54% greater than in World Cup 2010 […]

Croatia ripped Cameroon to pieces on Wednesday evening by a 4-0 scoreline. Mario Mandzukic who was suspended for the opening match of the competition which Croatia lost 3-1 to the host nation Brazil, struck twice, while Ivica Olic and Ivan Perisic also found themselves on the score sheet. Cameroon was reduced to 10 men late […]

The next time a World Cup hater complains about 0-0 soccer scorelines, show them highlights of yesterday’s Brazil-Mexico scorcher. It was non-stop action defined by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa acrobatically stonewalling the relentless Yellow-and-Green attack. Sometimes a draw is as historic as a victory. The Mexican media on both sides of the border treated […]