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Results for Groups G and H
There are no games in Brazil today, so we have a chance to catch our breath before we kick off the knockout rounds tomorrow. The group stage was fun, but now we’re down to the nitty gritty, where a small mistake could send your team packing. Yesterday, four more teams punched their tickets into the Round of 16:…
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Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming (for a moment, anyway)
Oh… you though that I’d turned this into a full-time soccer blog? Well, I suppose I can’t blame you for that. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on anything other than the World Cup, and now that we’re getting to the knockout rounds (with the U.S.A still alive, no less), I don’t imagine…
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Results for Groups E and F
We have indeed seen the last of Luis Suarez in this World Cup. FIFA handed him a suspension that covers the next nine international matches, as well as a four-month ban from “all football-related activities.” According to the announcement, he won’t even be allowed to enter a stadium during that time. Inconvenient not just for…
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Results for Groups C and D
What can I say about Luis Suarez that hasn’t already been said? I mean, this was the third time in the last four years that he’s bitten an opponent during a match. Not sure how much he can complain about the world labeling him as a sociopath. He’ll serve a suspension, and then he’ll play again,…
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Results for Groups A and B
If you’ve made time to watch the World Cup this year, you’ve been rewarded for it. Everyone seems to agree that it’s been a great tournament so far – plenty of goals, exciting and competitive games, and some shocking results in the group stage. The pace has picked up this week, as the first round…
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Thirty Seconds
Half a minute. That’s all that stood between the U.S. team and progression into the Round of 16. They just needed to keep Portugal out for another thirty seconds… I probably watched the replay of that closing sequence in Manaus twenty times last night. When the ball comes to Bradley near the half-way line, all…
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World Cup Preview – Group H (and thoughts on Brazil/Croatia)
Well, after all that talk, we’ve finally seen some real, live soccer. And it was… interesting. Brazil wound up meeting pre-match expectations with a 3-1 win, but that score isn’t indicative of how close the match really was. Brazil was sweating, for sure, and they’ll know that they’ll need to improve if they want to…
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World Cup Preview – Group G
The time has finally come! If you’ve developed a strategy to shorten your work days over the next few weeks, today is the day to begin implementing it. Brazil vs. Croatia kicks off at 4:00 (New York time) this afternoon. I’m sure your boss (and, hopefully, my boss) will understand. Since today’s preview seems likely to get a bit wordy,…
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World Cup Preview – Groups E and F
Only one day left! On to Groups E and F! GROUP E Pretend, for a moment, that you don’t know anything about the 2010 World Cup. Then, say I were to tell you a story that went something like this: In one of the group-stage games, a coach addresses his team at half-time, with the score 0-0. …
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World Cup Preview – Groups C and D
Only two days left until kickoff! No time to waste – we’re on to Groups C and D today. GROUP C I like Arsene Wenger, and I respect everything that he’s accomplished with Arsenal over the years, but I’m going to pick on him a bit here. Every time that Arsenal fails to beat the…