Monthly Archives: June 2018

Just when you thought that it couldn’t get any worse for beleaguered Argentina, they lost 3-0 against Croatia to put themselves on the brink of elimination from the World Cup. Of all the surprises of the World Cup so far, this is likely the one that takes the cake. Coming into the tournament, it was […]

Through the first round of group stage matches, it has become blatantly apparent that many of the favored teams in the tournament simply can’t be favored any longer. This is due to two factors: smaller teams coming through big time and bigger teams, who on paper should be more capable, grossly underperforming. Because of this […]

Today marked a momentous occasion in the history of a passionate, soccer-obsessed country as Panama played its first ever match in the World Cup. It didn’t matter that they lost 3-0 to Belgium, a result that had been widely expected. To the Panamanian fans, all that mattered was seeing their national team finally compete on […]

A historic moment 33 years in the making arrived at the World Cup today as the Mexico beat Germany 1-0 in a thrilling match that rarely wavered in its up-tempo pace. Throughout the match, Mexico managed to contain the Germans, a feat that has rarely been accomplished regardless of their opposition, by employing tight defending […]

Today’s match pitting Argentina and Iceland against each other was already going to be more difficult for the Albiceleste than some stat sheet would tell you. However, very few people would have been able to predict exactly how poorly Argentina’s best player would have performed. Following yesterday’s hat-trick by arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo against a much […]

The Portugal-Spain match was insanely great. Plain and simple. Everything that fans could have wanted to see was on full display. Lots of goals: Check. Great ball-handling: Check. Costly errors that add drama: Check. My earlier prediction was 90% right. In fact, it was 100% right until a man named Cristiano Ronaldo reintroduced himself to […]

Today’s momentous group-stage match between Portugal and Spain has been called the greatest group-stage match in World Cup history, and with good reason. This match pits two of Europe’s best and most storied teams against each other from the outset of the tournament. With that in mind, there are a ton of storylines that are […]

Perhaps the biggest soccer-related storyline that had nothing to do with the 2018 World Cup was Antoine Griezmann deciding whether he would stay at Atlético de Madrid or join FC Barcelona. Fortunately for Atlético fans and fans of a league that isn’t simply a two-team race every season, Griezmann decided to remain to play his […]

Today begins the most anticipated competition in the world, one that everyone waits for with baited breath for four long years and then celebrates for a month: The World Cup. This edition of the World Cup is in Russia, but the location doesn’t necessarily change the favorites, though there are a few national teams that […]

What a difference 12 years at the helm of the NFL makes. When Roger Goodell took over for the retiring Paul Taglibue in 2006, he was a proverbial bulldog who wouldn’t hesitate to bark at you if you so much as looked at him the wrong way. But 12 years later, Goodell is just an […]