Argentina beats Switzerland 1-0 in extra time to reach World Cup quarter finals

Argentina beats Switzerland
1-0 in extra time to reach
World Cup quarterfinals. Di Maria is amazing.
Messi had lots of chances but was playing as an assist by supplying the ball to other players, however, Di Maria confirmed that he could score by putting Argentina 1 place ahead of Switzerland at the very last minute. AWESOME!

Read more

France qualify for the quarter finals, beating Nigeria 1-0. Paul Pogba PHOTOS

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has
thanked his club for enabling him
to make his debut with the France
national team.
The youngster, who turned 20 last
week, earned his first call-up in
France’s World Cup this year 2014.
France and
Nigeria engaged in a spirited
match in the 2014 World Cup
Round of 16 that saw the France almost loosing it, only at the 75th minute as paul pogba secured a goal by scoring for France from a corner reach.
Nigeria led the first half by thrusting on France but guess what, they were denied one penalty and there were many fouls that the referee assumed, in favour of France.
Were it not that, Nigeria could have won amazingly.

Read more

Liverpool want Origi Divock; Adds from £8 million to £9.8m bid

Liverpool shows more interest for origi by adding from £8m to £9.8m, really awesome.
Liverpool has submitted a 9.8
million pound offer for Lille’s
Belgium striker Divock Origi. The 19-
year-old will be loaned back to the
French club next season as part of
the deal.

Read more

Netherlands vs Mexico, match analysis

Runner-up at World Cup 2010, the
Netherlands has quickly
established itself one of the sides
to watch in Brazil, having emerged
spectacularly from a dangerous
group, yet in last-16 opponent
Mexico it faces a treacherous task.
Not only will the Dutch have to
battle tenacious and streetwise
foes, they will also have the
elements against them in
Fortaleza’s Castelao stadium.
Temperatures in the shade have
regularly topped 30 degrees
Celsius in the middle of the day,
so their lunchtime kickoff against
the North Americans promises to
be one of the most draining slots
in the whole tournament.
Louis van Gaal’s side has equipped
itself superbly when tested
previously, however. Spain was
spectacularly hammered 5-1 in
their opening game, while dogged
Australia was seen off 3-2 in their
second match. And the Oranje’s
perfect record was maintained
when they dismissed Chile 2-0,
ensuring they finished the group
stage as the competition’s most
prolific side.
Ahead of this test Nigel de Jong,
Daley Blind, Arjen Robben and
Stefan de Vrij all trained separate
from the group with minor knocks,
though they are expected to be fit,
while Robin van Persie makes his
return from suspension. Leroy Fer
is definitely missing, however, and
there are doubts over Bruno
Martins Indi, who is suffering from
concussion.
In Mexico it faces a dangerous
opponent. Wins over Cameroon and
Croatia proved the qualities of
Miguel Herrera’s side, which also
showed a steely face when it held
the hosts to a scoreless draw.
That match against Brazil also took
place in Fortaleza, so the Mexicans
have some idea of what to expect
from Estadio Castelao, though with
an earlier kickoff, conditions will
likely be tougher for a team that
has so far played an intense
pressing game.
Twice previously the Mexicans have
advanced to the quarterfinal stage
of the World Cup, though both of
these occasions came on home soil,
and in each of the last five
competitions they have fallen
immediately after successfully
negotiating the group phase.
If this history counts against them,
el Tri can draw upon a more
encouraging record with regards
their recent history against
European sides in the competition
- they have lost only two of their
last 11 fixtures.
While there are no injured players
in Mexico’s ranks, a suspension for
Jose Juan Vazquez could prompt a
change of system that may see
Javier Hernandez start for the first
time in Brazil, though this is by no
means certain.

Read more

Divock Origi to Join Tottenham Spurs! Belgium Origi

W ith the departed Jermain
Defoe now too busy
watching ice hockey, Harry
Kane no longer the darling of Tim
Sherwood and Roberto Soldado no
longer the darling of anyone,
Tottenham need a hot young thing
to partner Emmanuel Adebayor up
front and fire them to a Europa
League place. Spurs’ scouting
department have been too busy
swigging beer and watching the
World Cup to care, but in
watching Belgium’s 1-0 victory
over Russia on Sunday, they
managed to spot the goalscorer
Divock Origi, and promptly
phoned up his club, Lille, for a
quote.
The French club are holding out
for £8m for the 19-year-old but
canny negotiator Daniel Levy will
start at £5m and hope to end up
somewhere in the middle. Origi
might only have scored five goals
in 30 league appearances last
season but remember, he’s a
‘starlet’ and most importantly of
all, he’s BELGIAN. Sign him up!
Somebody who didn’t score over
the weekend, but nevertheless
impressed in failing to do so
against a far superior opposition,
is Ashkan Dejagah . The Iranian
shone against Argentina on
Saturday and nearly gave his
nation a shock lead with a diving
header. The 27-year-old is set to
play in the Championship next
season after being relegated with
Fulham but after playing in Brazil
he has decided that might not be
for the best, with Everton
reportedly keen. “I don’t know
what will happen next season. I
still have a contract at Fulham
and have liked it there, but it is a
hard situation. Of course I want
to play in the Premier League, but
I will focus here and then we will
see what happens,” he shop-
windowed.
Another player in Brazil hoping
for a move is Victor Moses. The
Nigerian was hauled off against
Iran in their opening match and
didn’t make it off the bench
during their win over Bosnia. Vic
Mo over the hill? Alan Irvine
doesn’t think so, with West
Bromwich offering the Chelsea
winger a loan move for the
coming season.
Elsewhere, Steve Bruce thinks that
his son could do with some more
competition at centre-back at Hull
and is set to table a £4m offer for
Tottenham captain Michael
Dawson, while Swansea are
poised to offer free-agent
Bafetimbi Gomis a whopping
£80,000-a-week in order to beat
Newcastle and QPR to his
signature.

Read more

Suarez is really amazing, World class player!

SAO PAULO — It was L.Suarez’s
day. We should have known it
would be.
Just when his team needed him,
the star striker delivered. Uruguay
is back in with a great chance of
qualifying for the last 16 of the
World Cup thanks to a 2-1 win over
England inspired by the man Oscar
Tabarez admitted pre-match was
key to their hopes regardless of
how fit he was.
He hadn’t played a game in 39
days thanks to a knee injury, but it
certainly didn’t show. He was
sharper and hungrier than anyone
else on the field. He was the
match winner and deservedly so.
The pre-match talk focused around
Suarez and Wayne Rooney, and
both talismen were roundly booed
by the opposing fans when their
names were read out. The pair’s
afternoons were incomparable from
that point on.
Suarez had the first attempt on
goal, forcing Joe Hart to scramble
across to stop his left-wing corner
finding the net, but moments later
it was Rooney causing trouble with
a free kick which curled narrowly
wide of the right-hand post.
The Manchester United man
missed an even better chance from
a Steven Gerrard free kick, rising at
the back post but seeing his
header come back off the woodwork
when it had seemed easier to
score. Suarez made him pay within
minutes.
Uruguay’s first goal was brilliant in
its simplicity. Edinson Cavani
found space on the left edge of the
area before delaying his cross just
long enough to escape the
attentions of the ponderous Glen
Johnson and Jordan Henderson.
Suarez timed his run brilliantly to
dart in behind Phil Jagielka and
rise at the back post to meet the
center, sending the ball back past
Hart. The whole ground was
immediately struck by a feeling of
inevitability. It simply had to be
him.
The South Americans dominated
the early exchanges of the second
half as they looked for a killer
second, but first Suarez and then
Cavani both screwed the ball wide
from great positions.
England hit back with a gilt-edged
chance of its own, but when
Rooney fought off teammate
Raheem Sterling to get a left-foot
shot on goal, Fernando Muslera
parried well and the feeling that it
was Uruguay’s day grew stronger.
Even when Rooney snatched his
first World Cup goal from a Glen
Johnson cross to level the scores,
there was an underlying feeling
that more was to come.
And it came in the 85th minute,
when Suarez reacted quickest to a
Steven Gerrard flick-on over the
England backline, leaving Jagielka
flat-footed and striking high past
Hart.
It was a beautiful finish to a
wonderful day for Suarez and for
Uruguay.
They still have a lot to do, with the
defeat to Costa Rica meaning they
remain behind the eight-ball, but
Italy needs to beware on Tuesday
in Natal.
Luis Suarez is back, and he’s ready
to play a big role in this World
Cup.

Read more

Argentina v Bosnia- Herzegovina: World Cup 2014 Analysis

Lionel Messi scored a brilliant
goal to help Argentina record a
scratchy victory in their opening
World Cup match
Leo Messi and Edin Dzeko. The
best player in the world and the
best bad player in the world.
Overall, it wasn't
particularly impressive from
Argentina but they got the
job done. Nothing else
matters. They'll need to
improve as the tournament
progresses, though. They've
won with an own-goal and a
moment of magic from Lionel
Messi. Bosnia played well and
will fancy their chances of
going through. I'm off to
record a podcast now, so I'll
leave you with this from
Stevo Toboa siri: "This isn't
really a tactical analysis or
anything, but I've just been
looking at the picture of Dzeko
at the top of the page. Hasn't
he got a pointy filtrum? He'd
make a fabulous Joker." Night!

Read more

France 1 - 0 Honduras: Benzema scores a penalty

Honduras awarded a Red card as benzema scores
France lead 1, Honduras 0

Read more

Italy World Cup 2014 squad

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli's 23-
man squad for the World Cup
finals:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon
(Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa),
Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-
Germain)

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (Milan),
Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo
Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini
(Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino),
Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Gabriel
Paletta (Parma)

Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani
(Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva
(Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma),
Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco
Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo
(Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris
Saint-Germain), Marco Verratti (Paris
Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Milan),
Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio
Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile
(Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)

Read more

Brazil takes advantage of World Cup crowds to test for HIV

Sao Paulo: Brazilian health officials
handed out condoms to World Cup
fans in Sao Paulo on Friday and took
advantage of festivities in the city to
test people for HIV.
"We can't miss an opportunity like
this," said Ivone De Paula, Sao Paulo
state's coordinator for sexually
transmitted disease prevention. "The
fact that it's the Cup lightens the
mood a bit. People say 'Hey I'm
going to watch the game, I'm having
fun, why not get tested too?'"
The program, part of the UNAIDS
"Protect the Goal" HIV/AIDS
prevention program, provides rapid
HIV testing and counseling, as well
as free condoms and emergency
retroviral drugs. It is also being
offered in 11 other cities across Sao
Paulo state where visiting World Cup
teams are based.
De Paula expected the program to
conduct about 300 rapid HIV tests
outside Friday's Fan Fest, where a
giant screen displayed the Cameroon
vs Mexico match. Many were getting
tested for the first time ever, she
said.
"I had no idea this was going to be
here, I just came across it," said a
middle-aged man who asked not to
be identified. "I wouldn't know
where to get tested otherwise, so
this helps quite a lot."
Brazil usually conducts HIV and
AIDS prevention campaigns during
the Carnival holiday, including
widespread advertising and condom
distribution. Aggressive HIV/AIDS
treatment and prevention efforts in
the South American country have
been held up as a model for the
developing world for more than a
decade.

Read more

Gerrard is great but Pirlo is genius

“England have a potential
match winner in captain Steven
Gerrard ahead of tonight’s
World Cup clash in Manaus –
but Italy have an even better
player in Andrea Pirlo.

“Italy has seldom had a more
difficult opening to a World
Cup campaign, coming up
against an England side nicely
mixing youth with the
experience of players like
Steven Gerrard.
“The England and Liverpool
skipper will be battling for
midfield supremacy with my
good friend Andrea Pirlo.
“But while I think Gerrard is
great, Pirlo is a genius –
definitely the best around in
his role.
“So, how can Italy beat the
English in the heat of the
Amazon in a first match that is
crucial for both teams?
“Simply, they’ll have to create
good, intense possession; keep
the match pace and, most
importantly, make their
opponents run. The heat will
be intense, so you have to
make your opponents tired and
with Pirlo pulling the strings
that’s what will happen.
“Players like Gerrard and
Rooney are important assets for
England: they have fought
hundreds of battles, and they
know exactly what it takes to
play in a World Cup. But I also
like some of the younger
players, especially Daniel
Sturridge, he’s a rapid striker
and he has had a great season.
“Hodgson’s England group is
talented and skilled, but in my
opinion Italy are much more
solid. I believe Italy have
something more and that’s why
they will triumph.
“During my career I
experienced many matches
against English clubs and the
national team. For example, in
1997 we won at Wembley
thanks to a Gianfranco Zola’s
goal. I sat on the bench that
evening, but I was impressed
by the energy, the fighting
spirit and the effort of the
English. They always seem to
give their best at home, with
more difficulties playing
abroad.
“We always managed quite well
against them and I think we
will in Manaus.
“Things have changed a little
since that night 17 years ago.
Back then Serie A was the best
league in the world, while the
Premier League was still
emerging.
“Now the English League is
definitely the better of the two,
but it hasn’t had a direct
benefit on the English national
team, and we should say the
same for Serie A.
“Not so long ago there were
more restrictions about how
many foreign players could play
in a team and it was easier to
identify the strength of a
league through the value of its
own national team. Not so any
more.”

Read more