Onward!!
-SSN
SSN is a digest of the day's soccer/football/futbol articles with a focus on the top European leagues and the United States National Team. Below, you’ll find links to articles and video, as well as additional features and commentary. We locate the top news of the day so you can stay updated with ease.
Monday, July 28, 2014
If Something Happens...
we'll get back on the horse. For now, SSN Headquarters is closed. Enjoy the quiet.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Dunga's Back, Sid On James, Alternative Juventus Guide, No Russia 2018?, Man City Racial Abuse, Euro Clubs Stateside
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| Soon to be seen hugging Robert Huth, Glen Whelan, Charlie Adam, Ryan Shawcross, and Jonathan Walters... |
Manchester City Under-21s? Yep. Playing a friendly in Croatia. Racially abused? Yep.
Here's something a bit more light: Man City's kit man has retired after 22 years and he's got some interesting anecdotes.
The World Cup. Remember Brazil? How awesome was it to see Big Phil and Co. get their asses handed to them by Germany? It was fabulous. We loved it. Schadenfreude, indeed. Anyway, the powers that be in the Brazilian FA have decided to right the ship by bringing back the man in the shirt, Dunga. Best of luck, Old Boy. Fernando Duarte is not impressed. He thinks Brazil is taking a step backward with this appointment. Tim Vickery isn't so sure he can handle it, either.
Speaking of the World Cup, the next one is in Russia. Good, Lord. They've got some challenges to face, to say the least. The sane among us (thank you, Germany) don't think they should be able to host the thing. Let's hope that argument gains momentum.
We should probably take a look at Major League Soccer. Here are some Power Rankings.
A slew of major European clubs are currently Stateside attempting to get ready for the season and enhance their brands. Want to watch them in action? Here are all the TV listings. Things get going tonight with Toronto vs. Spurs, Sporting KC vs. Man City, Liverpool vs. Roma, and LA assGalaxy vs. Manchester United.
The Gentleman Ultra is back. For this installment of his series of Alternative Serie A Guides, he provides us with Juventus. Grazie mille!
And finally...Bojan Krkic. Remember that guy? The Bojan was supposed to be "the next Messi" and lead Barcelona into the future. He now belongs to Stoke.
Onward!!
-SSN
Monday, July 21, 2014
Gerrard Retires From International Football, Transfers, Dunga To Return?
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| Chelsea reportedly offered £20m to Atletico Madrid for 29-year-old Brazilian defender... |
Go: Stevie G has retired from the England set-up. James Rodríguez looks to be on his way to Real Madrid. The fighting in Ukraine is now close to Donetsk and a bunch of Shakhtar Donetsk players would rather not show up at their club. Manchester United's Michael Carrick has damaged ligaments his ankle and will be out for ten weeks. Manchester City's Alvaro Negredo fractured a metatarsal in their recent friendly against Hearts and will be out for at least three months. Didier Drogba appears ready to return to Chelsea on a one-year deal. Fernando Torres might end up back at Atlético Madrid. Louis van Gaal might sign a bunch of Dutch players for Manchester United. And a Belgian, too. That would be Thomas Vermaelen. Inter Milan want to take Gary Medel away from Cardiff. Dunga looks like he'll be the next manager of the Brazilian National Team. Loic Remy looks ready to sign for Liverpool. Nobody knows who the mother of Cristiano Ronaldo's four-year-old son is and the boy has been told his mother is dead.
And finally...Chelsea have offered £20m to Atletico Madrid for 29-year-old Brazilian defender Miranda.
Onward!!
-SSN
Friday, July 18, 2014
Shhhhhhh...
And there goes another week. It's awfully quiet out there, folks. A few minor transfers conitnue to pop up, but it's pretty much a waiting game at this point. We are a day closer to the return of club football, thank God. Have you taken the time to examine the fixtures for the Premier League? Now might be a good moment to do just that. August 16 is that day it all kicks off. Serie A fixtures will be announced July 28. The top league in Italy doesn't get going until August 31. The dates in Spain have yet to be announced, but La Liga usually starts in late August as well. The 26th has been bounced around as a possibility.
Right! So...transfers? Well, Rio has moved from Manchester to London to be with QPR, Ba has moved to Besiktas, Michu has been loaned from Swansea to Napoli, Janmaat has transferred to Newcastle from Feyenoord, and Debuchy has moved from Newcastle to Arsenal. Let's get to it.
The World Cup is obviously a factor in terms of the transfer market. Here are Nine Players Who Made Themselves A Ton Of Money At The World Cup.
It's almost time for those pre-season U.S. tours to get going. Manchester United announced the group they'll bring over to Los Angeles today. These are the dudes: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Johnstone, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Blackett, M Keane, James, Herrera, Cleverley, Fletcher, Young, Zaha, Kagawa, Mata, Valencia, Nani, Lingard, Welbeck, Rooney, W Keane.
At least there is some real soccer to watch. MLS is happening. Here's a preview for the weekend if you're into that sort of thing. And...here's another preview.
That's it. No, really. That's all there is.
Onward!
-SSN
Right! So...transfers? Well, Rio has moved from Manchester to London to be with QPR, Ba has moved to Besiktas, Michu has been loaned from Swansea to Napoli, Janmaat has transferred to Newcastle from Feyenoord, and Debuchy has moved from Newcastle to Arsenal. Let's get to it.
The World Cup is obviously a factor in terms of the transfer market. Here are Nine Players Who Made Themselves A Ton Of Money At The World Cup.
It's almost time for those pre-season U.S. tours to get going. Manchester United announced the group they'll bring over to Los Angeles today. These are the dudes: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Johnstone, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Blackett, M Keane, James, Herrera, Cleverley, Fletcher, Young, Zaha, Kagawa, Mata, Valencia, Nani, Lingard, Welbeck, Rooney, W Keane.
At least there is some real soccer to watch. MLS is happening. Here's a preview for the weekend if you're into that sort of thing. And...here's another preview.
That's it. No, really. That's all there is.
Onward!
-SSN
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Blackpool, Kroos, Valencia, Luís, Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal, Judging Jurgen Klinsmann, Mike Magee's Day Off
Hello, Thursday! We took a little break yesterday because nothing is happening. Which is rather nice for a change. But we're back today to catch up on some transfer action and see what else is up. Enner Valencia has decided to terminate any chance of continuing his good World Cup form by going to play for Big Sam at West Ham. Oh, dear. Toni Kroos has decided that the chance to get close to Ronaldo is too exciting and has left Bayern Munich for Real Madrid. Chelski bought Filipe Luís from Atlético Madrid. The Louis van Gaal reign has begun at Old Trafford...like a rock. Here are all the rumors, speculation, lies, winks, and nods:
Speaking of Louis van Gaal, Jan Molby claims the biggest issue the big Dutchman must solve at United is one of...identity. Just who are you, Manchester United? And wait, their new manager's name is actually Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal?! Interesting...
Major League Soccer made a funny little video, people. Their marketing team is working overtime trying to tap into that World Cup fever. It's Mike Magee's Day Off! Enjoy!
Blackpool are a club in big trouble. They only have eight players on the books at the moment. Seriously. Go ahead and meet them. They have a match in 23 days. Good luck, lads. It looks like League One beckons.
The time has come to judge Jurgen Klinsmann. The consensus around SSN Headquarters is that The Diving German did a fine job in Brazil. Not great, but fine. Kind of like a lukewarm bratwurst. It could be better, but it's still a brat. ESPN FC's experts have gotten together and offer their judgements here.
Juventus. The Old Lady. They've been back to their dominate best in Serie A of late. So why did manager Antonio Conte bail? James Horncastle checks in on the odd situation in Turin.
And finally... Mesut Ozil has announced that he will sponsor the surgeries of 23 Brazilian children (about £350,000). Nice gesture, bruh.
Onward!!
-SSN
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| The window is wide open. |
Major League Soccer made a funny little video, people. Their marketing team is working overtime trying to tap into that World Cup fever. It's Mike Magee's Day Off! Enjoy!
Blackpool are a club in big trouble. They only have eight players on the books at the moment. Seriously. Go ahead and meet them. They have a match in 23 days. Good luck, lads. It looks like League One beckons.
The time has come to judge Jurgen Klinsmann. The consensus around SSN Headquarters is that The Diving German did a fine job in Brazil. Not great, but fine. Kind of like a lukewarm bratwurst. It could be better, but it's still a brat. ESPN FC's experts have gotten together and offer their judgements here.
Juventus. The Old Lady. They've been back to their dominate best in Serie A of late. So why did manager Antonio Conte bail? James Horncastle checks in on the odd situation in Turin.
And finally... Mesut Ozil has announced that he will sponsor the surgeries of 23 Brazilian children (about £350,000). Nice gesture, bruh.
Onward!!
-SSN
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Transfers & Rabotnički vs. Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi
One transfer that's already gone down is Ashley Cole to Roma. Will it work out? Do we care? OK, OK, we loath the man but he's an amazing talent and has been for years. Serie A will probably suit him well at this point. And good on him for not going to the Middle East, Australia, or MLS. Here.
It is Tuesday and under normal circumstances we'd feature the top scribes looking back at the weekend. Raphael Honigstein is one such scribe and he's chose to write about Bastian Schweinsteiger. Excellent. Jonathan Wilson is another scribe of note. He's got a rather interesting piece on World Cup expectation ratings. Number One? Costa Rica. Number 32? Spain. Enjoy.
The Worst of the World Cup? Iain MacIntosh hands those awards out here.
That's really about it. We'll leave you with the Best Photos From The World Cup.
Onward!!
-SSN
Monday, July 14, 2014
Germany
It's all over, folks! The Germans take the trophy back to the Fatherland and deservedly so. Messi tried pretty damn hard, but the loss of di Maria was too much for Argentina to overcome. And, Germany are awesome. In the end, it was a pretty good tournament. The later stages didn't offer the same insanity as the Group Stage, but that's no surprise. The tension was there, and that's what matters. Let's get to the action, shall we? We'll begin with the match itself and then hit the tournament in general later.
Germany 1 - 0 Argentina
Barney Ronay: Germany’s triumph a victory for intelligent design
Gabriele Marcotti: Teamwork pays off
Tim Vickery: Argentina squander golden opportunity
Paul Fletcher: Brazil fans relieved after Argentina lose
Amy Lawrence: Five Talking Points
Grant Wahl: Three Thoughts
This is pretty great. Barcelona spent £75m on one Luis Suarez but they can't formally unveil him because he's banned for four months. Because he bit that guy.
World Cup 2014
Ryan Rosenblatt: This World Cup was the most fun ever
Jonathan Wilson: Germany's title a result of revamped development, identity
Raphael Honigstein: What next for Germany?
Louise Taylor: Victory confirms Germany supremacy on almost every measure
And finally, from Wright Thompson, The Rio the World Cup didn't show. There's shit in the water, you know...
Onward!!
-SSN
Friday, July 11, 2014
Suárez From Liverpool To Barcelona, Sánchez From Barcelona To Arsenal, Final Previews, Screetch Cuts His Hair
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| What? It's not OK to call you "negrito?" |
Luis Suárez
Sachin Nakrani: The 12 defining moments of his Liverpool career
Alexis Sánchez
So the World Cup has been pretty great, right? Right? Wait. Has the World Cup been that good? Nick Hornby thinks that it has. And has not.
On to the previews! It all comes to an end on Sunday (we're ignoring the match tomorrow, even though Jeff Carlisle has a few solid reasons why we should not) when Germany and Argentina go at it in Rio. Tune to ABC at 3pm EDT to see how it all plays out.
Germany vs. Argentina
Philip Oltermann: The View From Germany
Marcela Mora y Araujo: The View From Argentina
Raphael Honigstein: Camaraderie key to Germany success
Gabriele Marcotti: Germany's eyes are on the prize
Jeff Carlisle: History beckons Argentina's golden generation
John Brewin: Five Storylines
And finally... he cut his hair, folks.
Onward!!
-SSN
Thursday, July 10, 2014
It'll Be Argentina vs. Germany, More On Brazil's Horror, Winners & Losers
What up? Not the best of matches yesterday, sadly. Penalties were pretty much in the cards from early on. Regardless, the South American team defeated the European team and they'll battle it out on Sunday. Here's what happened in Brazil on Wednesday and here is the breakdown from Argentina's victory:
Holland 0 - 0 Argentina (aet 2-4 pens)
Louis van Gaal: No-one wanted first penalty
Jonathan Wilson: Argentina adds to Brazil's misery
Michael Cox: Mascherano’s all-round display proves decisive
Phil McNulty: Argentina victory would complete Brazil's humiliation
Miguel Delaney: Argentina showing the mettle that will win them the World Cup
Barney Ronay: Messi stifled but he can still light up the final
Gabriele Marcotti: Romero's redemption saves Argentina
Grant Wahl: Three Thoughts
As we know, Brazil has quite the footballing history. Loads of stars. One of them is Zico. Zico is a legend. Zico is livid. And what next for the Dutch? Raphael Honigstein checks in on the future of the Oranje.
More trouble for Nigeria. They've been suspended from international football by
So. It's almost all over. Who were the big winners? DeAndre Yedlin? Indeed. Who were the big losers? Samir Nasri? Indeed. And you know what we missed in the otherwise wonderful World Cup? Yes! The Zlatan!
And finally...An analysis by the Fare Network of racist and homophobic activity during the tournament in Brazil found it to have reached double figures ahead of this week’s semi-finals.
None of those incidents were sanctioned by Fifa, despite it having been made aware of the majority of them by Fare or through the media. According to the Fare report, which has been seen by Telegraph Sport, they include “homophobic” chanting by Brazil and Mexico supporters, far-right banners displayed by followers of Germany, Russia and Croatia, racist attacks instigated by England fans and discriminatory costumes and make-up worn by visitors from a number of countries. Fifa’s disciplinary committee did consider taking action in several of those cases but controversially decided none of them constituted breaches of its rules.
Onward!!
-SSN
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Holy %#*&()@$$^*$, Argentina vs. Netherlands
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| Oh, the humanity! |
Brazil 1 - 7 Germany
Jonathan Wilson: Germany reaches maximum potential
Fernando Duarte: A haunting defeat
Dominic Fifield: Germany inflict second Maracanazo on Brazil
Tim Vickery: Brazil must learn lessons from humiliation
Gabriele Marcotti: A shocking exit for Scolari and Brazil
Grant Wahl: Three Thoughts
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| Idiots. |
There is another one today, folks. Argentina and the Netherlands go at it in Sao Paolo at 4pm EDT on ESPN. Here's what you need for that one:
Argentina vs. Netherlands
Raphael Honigstein: In praise of indefatigable Dirk Kuyt
Marcela Mora y Araujo: The View From Argentina
Bart Vlietstra: The View From Holland
Grant Wahl: Video Preview
Gabriele Marcotti: The Final Push
Man. We still need to tackle the Silly Season. Here we go: The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.
We're going to end with Jim White of The Telegraph. Here's his headline: Brazil's embarrassment was the ultimate reckoning for a World Cup tournament built on a lie. Yup.
Onward!!
-SSN
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Brazil vs. Germany, Alfredo di Stéfano Is Dead
Back to business today as Germany and Brazil clash at the Estadio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte (ESPN at 4pm EDT). Before we explode into that with previews aplenty, let's shed a tear and spare a moment for Alfredo di Stéfano, who died yesterday at the age of 88. Tim Vickery claims he's the most influential footballer ever. And the always reliable Louise Taylor has a nice article on a man who was ahead of his time. Meanwhile, Ben Lyttleton maintains that he was the foundation for Real Madrid's success. RIP di Stéfano.
Right. On to this afternoon's battle. Most of the staff at SSN Headquarters are in the German camp for this one. Brazil have been rough, petty, arrogant, and annoying. Bellicose. Here's your lot:
Ahhh, Russia. How we love you so. Is the World Cup a homosexual abomination? It is according to this guy. Cue the "thank you" letter from Putin.
Amy Lawrence has picked out four dudes (one from each of the remaining teams) she thinks are key and can make all the difference today and tomorrow. She's got Germany’s Sami Khedira, Brazil’s Oscar, Argentina’s Javier Mascherano and Holland’s Wesley Sneijder as those dudes. Solid choices.
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| "Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance." |
Brazil vs. Germany
Gabriele Marcotti: The mind games have begun
Paul Doyle: Five things to look out for
Grant Wahl: Video Preview
Graham MacAree: Brazil's hopes rest on Oscar
Tim Vickery: How Brazil can shine without Neymar
Raphael Honigstein: Löw must fulfill the promise of Germany’s golden generation
Brian Straus: Brazil and Germany sacrifice style for success
Ahhh, Russia. How we love you so. Is the World Cup a homosexual abomination? It is according to this guy. Cue the "thank you" letter from Putin.
Amy Lawrence has picked out four dudes (one from each of the remaining teams) she thinks are key and can make all the difference today and tomorrow. She's got Germany’s Sami Khedira, Brazil’s Oscar, Argentina’s Javier Mascherano and Holland’s Wesley Sneijder as those dudes. Solid choices.
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| So that's that. OK. |
We'll leave you with this. It's Gazza and Redknapp. Together. Oh, dear...
Onward!!
-SSN
Monday, July 07, 2014
Weekend Review, Transfer Madness, Prepare For Tuesday And Wednesday
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| Neymar signs off... |
Germany 1 - 0 France
Jonathan Wilson: Three Thoughts
Raphael Honigstein: Hummels finds harmony at last
Brazil 2 - 1 Colombia
Phil McNulty: Can Brazil cope without Neymar?
Fernando Duarte: Neymar's injury hurts Brazil, World Cup
Rory Smith: Jogo bonito the exception, not the rule
Grant Wahl: Three Thoughts
Argentina 1 - 0 Belgium
John Brewin: Three Thoughts
Netherlands 0 - 0 Costa Rica (4-3 pens)
Ben Lyttleton: Three Thoughts
Uli Hesse is looking forward to the Germany/Brazil clash, as you might expect. He's reminded of the epic battle back in 2002 when Oliver Kahn screwed up and allowed Ronny to tap home the winning goal. Speaking of 2002, Where Are They Now?
Meanwhile, Gabriele Marcotti says (rather ominously): And then there were four
Paul Doyle is playing the role of spoil sport by claiming 2014 has got nothing on 1982. He's worried that this one is in danger of petering out. Whatevs. We're more in tune with Paul Hayward of The Telegraph who thinks things are just getting ready to explode with this killer semi-final lineup.
Ashely Cole to Roma? All of Southampton's players somewhere other than Southampton? Suarez to Barcelona? Lazar to Liverpool? The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.
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| Like a rock...? |
You want the view from Germany ahead of tomorrow's match? Well, that can be provided by Philip Oltermann. He's in Berlin and says ..."Four World Cup semi-finals in a row, two of them down to Joachim Löw, but the knives are still out for Germany’s manager." Ouch.
You want the view from Brazil ahead of tomorrow's match? Well, that can be provided by Jonathan Watts. He's in Berlin and says..."Neymar’s tournament-ending injury dominates the national mood, which is also starting to show a darker side." Scary.
We haven't heard from Guillem Balague in a while. Let's check in, shall we? What? Messi, Neymar, Krul and semi-finals? Great! We're all ears!
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| Damn! That's harsh. |
Onward!!
-SSN
Thursday, July 03, 2014
A Much Needed Break
Man. OK. Well, that was something. The staff here at SSN Headquarters needed over a day to recover. But, recover we have and now it's time to look back and reflect and also to look forward. Tomorrow the schedule is this:
Really lovely stuff for the Fourth of July. Barney Ronay is looking ahead to the second match of the day and the hype surrounding James and Neymar. France might get lucky in their clash with Germany because a lot of Germans are sick.
Martin Rogers is looking forward and wondering about the international future of some of the U.S. players. Will Deuce and Timmy stick around or has Father Time called time on their careers? Liviu Bird has a prediction on the 23 who will be in Russia for the next go round for the Yanks. Jeff Carlisle is looking back: Klinsmann's promise not yet delivered. We agree.
Speaking of careers, the silly season is getting pretty nutty. It looks like The Cannibal is moving from Liverpool to Catalonia. Here's all of that fun stuff: The Mill. Plus One.
What else? Phil McNulty is curious about the Europe vs. Americas dynamic. Who will reign supreme?
OK, we're going to ease into the holiday weekend with an abbreviated post today. Enjoy the matches and have a good one.
Onward!!
-SSN
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
The United States of America vs. Belgium
Today's Schedule
Today is the day, peeps! The Yanks take on The Waffles down in Salvador. Before we dive into all those previews, however, we must address yesterday's action. Here:
France 2 - 0 Nigeria
Andy Brassell: Forget the narrative, Giroud was key in France victory
Amy Lawrence: Griezmann stakes claim for place
John Brewin: Pogba lives up to the hype
Germany 2 - 1 Algeria
David Ornstein: Germany & Algeria deliver 'beautiful story'
John Ashdown: Algeria fail to find revenge
Ready? OK. Go.
Switzerland vs. Argentina
Marcus Christenson: Shaqiri takes on Argentina for Switzerland (and Kosovo)
Gabriele Marcotti: Messi, Maradona and the Maracana
USA vs. Belgium
Roger Bennet: U.S. face their biggest game ever
Jeff Carlisle: How the U.S. will deploy Jozy Altidore
Chris Jones: Do you believe?
Brian Straus: Belgium has high expectations, golden generation
Ben Smith: The quirks of football that baffle Americans
Doug McIntire: Beasley resurrected under Klinsmann (includes interview)
We've not heard from Marcela Mora y Araujo in a while so it's nice to see she's got an article out today. She's reporting on an Argentinian paper that's reporting on the World Cup from the favelas. Have a read.
The Mill. Plus One. And Liverpool have purchased Lallana from Southampton for for £25m.
African football is still just can't get over the hump. The talent is there, but, as filmmaker and columnist Farai Sevenzo writes, African football remains bedevilled by the perennial problems of poor organisation, tactical indiscipline and rows over money.
And finally...we know this World Cup has been good. It's easily the best anyone at SSN Headquarters has ever seen. The Telegraph's Henry Winter has been to seven World Cups, and agrees that this has been the most magnificent.
Onward!!
-SSN
Monday, June 30, 2014
Brazil Edge Chile, Costa Rica Edge Greece, Colombia Defeat Whiners, Robben & Holland Fly On, Water Breaks = Bullshit
Today's Schedule
Happy Monday, Campers! Loads to get through today, but let's begin with this: Water Breaks. They are, quite simply, bullshit. They are an opportunity for additional advertising. If
OK, that's done. The Round of 16 gave us much Drama over the weekend. Here's your lot:
Brazil 1 - 1 Chile (Pens 3-2): Daniel Taylor at Estádio Mineirão
David Ornstein: All hail Cesar
James Young: Brazil survives
Colombia 2 - 0 Uruguay: Owen Gibson at the Maracanã
Phil McNulty: James Rodriguez joins the perfect 10s
Gabriele Marcotti: Colombia exorcise ghosts
Uruguay President Jose Mujica: Fifa "a bunch of old sons of bitches"
Holland 2 - 1 Mexico: Sid Lowe at Estádio Castelão
Andrea Canales: Mexico's dream dies
Jeff Carlisle: Robben playing to his strengths
Grant Wahl: Five Thoughts
Costa Rica 1 - 1 Greece (Pens 5-3): Paul Wilson at Arena Pernambuco
Costa Rica 1 - 1 Greece (Pens 5-3): Mark Ogden at Arena Pernambuco
Rumors! Gossip! Rumours! Speculation! The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.
France vs. Nigeria
Germany vs. Nigeria
Gabriele Marcotti: Midfield dilemma for Low
Raphael Honigstein: Germany’s Schweinsteiger and Khedira conundrum
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| Really, KLM??!! |
We'll conclude with Five Crazy Things You (might have) Missed.
Onward!!
-SSN
Thursday, June 26, 2014
USA vs. Germany, Ghana In Chaos, Suárez Gets Four-Month Ban
Today's Schedule
We're freaking out! It all goes down today for the USA as they face Germany and attempt to advance beyond the Group Stage. And deal with a lot of rain. Can't watch the match? Come on, The Diving German took the time to write you an excuse!
Meanwhile, Ghana are in chaos after Sulley and Prince were sent home for getting really angry, apparently. The question begs, did they get any of the cash before they left Brazil?
Before we delve further into today's menu, let's review yesterday's events. France won Group E and Switzerland finished second. Argentina won Group F and Nigeria finished second. Here's your lot:
Argentina 3 - 2 Nigeria
Miguel Delaney: Magical Messi continues to rise
Bosnia 3 - 1 Iran
France 0 - 0 Ecuador
Switzerland 3 - 0 Honduras
Amy Lawrence is wondering if Nigeria will be the only African team to advance. Let's hope not!
Luis Suárez: the brainwashing, the buck-passing, the deception. Daniel Taylor is in Rio an on the case as things continue to confound.
And...he's banned for four months. Good.
Michael Cox loves to write about tactics. Which is good for us, because we enjoy reading about tactics. Here's what he's got today: From Costa Rica to Holland, five World Cup teams with element of surprise.
USA vs. Germany
Raphael Honigstein: Germany still in Klinsmann's shadow
Marcus Christenson: Klinsmann and Löw face off
Roger Bennett: Judgement Day
Portugal vs. Ghana
Andy Brassell: Portugal cling to their slim hopes
South Korea vs. Belgium
Algeria vs. Russia
Oh, dear. We've gotta run. Here: The Mill. Plus One.
Onward!!
-SSN
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Bite Heard 'Round The World, Late Greece Penalty = Côte d'Ivoire Tragedy, Nigeria vs. Argentina
Today's Schedule
Some things are really weird. Like adults who bite people on a regular basis. Uruguay and Italy played an insufferably boring match filled fouls, dives, and whining. And then The Cannibal reared his ugly head and all hell broke loose (unless you're from Uruguay). We took a poll here at SSN Headquarters (we love doing that) and we all agree that the Ajax bite is still the best:
That said, this one was during a World Cup match, so... Anyway, Paolo Bandini was at the Estádio das Dunas and filed this report. As you might expect, the Interwebs are all aflutter. Ben Smith of the BBC was there, too, and his report is excellent. Surreal is a word that was floating around SSN Headquarters yesterday. Apparently, we're on the same wavelength as Jeff Carlisle.
That's enough of that for now. Let's hope
So, Italy go home and Pirlo's international career is over. That's rather sad. Zico thinks Italy paid the price for over-reliance on Pirlo and must rebuild. No argument here. Elsewhere, Greece pulled a shocker over Ivory Coast thanks to a late Samaras penalty. At first it looked like he'd dived, but upon further inspection, as he was preparing to shoot his foot hit the defender. Tough on Ivory Coast, but Greece were probably the better side on the day. Here's a report. And here's the Samaras incident:
In other action, Colombia won their group by brushing aside Japan, and England (snore) and Costa Rica failed to score. Here's a review of all of yesterday's action. Talking Points? Why, yes. There are a few. And, quite simply, what the hell happened yesterday?
There are four more matches today, as noted in The Schedule above. Nigeria/Argentina looks the most tasty on paper, while France and Ecuador could entertain. There's plenty to play for today. Here are some previews:
Nigeria vs. Argentina: Preview + Paul Merson's Prediction
Nigeria vs. Argentina: 50-50 Challenge
Michael Cox: Messi, Sabella now in tactical tandem
Bosnia vs. Iran: Preview + Paul Merson's Prediction
Honduras vs. Switzerland: Preview + Paul Merson's Prediction
Ecuador vs. France: Preview + Paul Merson's Prediction
Ben Lyttleton: France has restored its winning belief
Tim Vickery: Enner Valencia key for Ecuador
U.S. fans have represented well down in Brazil. Why? How? Take a look. Also representing down in Brazil are players who play in Major League Soccer. Grant Wahl says they're representing quite well, in fact.
Let's end today with some fun stuff, shall we? How about Five Crazy Things You Missed? Good.
Onward!!
-SSN
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