Sports Then and Now

Both the United States and England fell short in bids to host the World Cup.

So there we have it. After 18 months of political lobbying, journalist digging, scandal, corruption and a last minute Royal-infused dash to the line, England’s 2018 World Cup bid ended in dismal failure.

For many people normally following the live match score centre who have seen the bid process develop over the past few weeks the choice of Russia is perhaps no surprise. As pointed out in their bid presentation Eastern Europe has never hosted a World Cup and their country harbours a growing passion and, crucially, the financial support for a football tournament of this magnitude.

As an England fan I can perhaps grudgingly accept that. But I don’t think it is the losing that is the galling thing. It’s the fact we had the best technical and commercial bid yet came last out of all four countries. Then the decision to award Qatar the 2022 WC despite also having the weakest bid says it all – it was seen as ‘high risk’ by the FIFA report! It all leaves a bitter taste in the mouth

It is easy to accuse the English of sour grapes. But to put our failure purely down to perceived ‘arrogance’ and FIFA’s whiter than white vision of spreading the game to new boundaries is naïve. Read the rest of this entry →

Maradona and his squad will be looking for goals in their quarterfinal match with Germany.

Both Argentina and Germany will be going into their quarter final clash full of confidence. Germany completely demolished England, in their second round match. Argentina came through last 16 match against Mexico, in a match they dominated, they won 3-1.

After previously not scoring in the tournament, Carlos Tevez scored two goals, his first was clearly offside but given none the less. His second was a touch of genius, from the Manchester City striker, a stunning effort from the edge of the area. Read the rest of this entry →

Lionel Messi has solidified his position as the best player in the world.

Before this World Cup, the three players fighting for the title of the ‘world’s best player’ were Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi.

As we enter the quarter-final stage in South Africa, it looks as though Argentina’s Messi is winning the race. Although he is yet to score at these finals, he has been instrumental in Argentina’s success so far and if you are to bet world cup 2010  money on Argentina to win the trophy, you just know he will be at the centre of things.

Rooney and England flopped massively at the second hurdle. Ronaldo never really got going as his Portugal team went out also at the last 16 stage. Argentina and Messi march on. Read the rest of this entry →

French faithful cannot be happy with the performance of their team so far in the 2010 World Cup.

France is staring World Cup elimination in the face and it feels like they are “a small football nation”, according to captain Patrice Evra.

Two years ago Les Blues crashed out of Euro 2008 with just one point from their three group games and that feat will be repeated unless they are able to get a result against South Africa next week.

However, even a victory may not be enough to secure a second round spot for France. The other remaining Group A game sees Mexico play Paraguay and a draw will see both sides through to the knockout stages. The World Cup odds suggest Les Blues are going home.

It’s a far cry from the lofty expectations held by France fans before the tournament kicked off. Most expected the side to top the group comfortably, but a turgid 0-0 with Paraguay and a desperate 2-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico means they are highly likely to fall at the first hurdle. Read the rest of this entry →

Didier Dogba is hopeful that his fractured elbow will be not keep him out of the World cup.

When Ivory Coast qualified for their first World Cup in 2006, they were given the shortest of straws by being put in a group with Argentina, Holland and Serbia. They finished with two losses and a win over Serbia, but gained much needed top-class experience.

They are going to need that experience they gained playing in that group this year. In what has been given the token ’group of death’ tag, Group G contains Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. With North Korea looking as though they will be the group whipping boys, World Cup Group G Betting suggests that  Brazil and Portugal will be battling Ivory Coast for the top two places in the group.

Many view the Ivory Coast as a team who has underachieved in the past decade. A squad rich with talent have failed to win the African Cup of Nation since 1992, making the final only once since, in which they lost on penalties to Egypt in the 2006. On paper, few teams at this summers World Cup have better squads. Read the rest of this entry →

Clint Dempsey scored the lone goal for the U.S.A. in the 1-1 tie with England.

Saturday afternoon the United States men’s national team drew in their game against England with a score of 1-1. This draw was not just any draw, however. In most games, a draw is about the same as a loss, but Saturday’s game was just the second matchup between England and the United States in the World Cup over the last 60 years.

A heavily favored England team scored right off the bat in the fourth minute, taking the wind right out the United States’ sails with a goal by English Captain Steven Gerrard. We didn’t give up, however, sticking with them, and later capitalizing on a mistake by English goalie Robert Green in the 40th minute. Clint Dempsey’s goal tied the game at 1-1 and the score would remain a tie until the final whistle blew.

A tie against this seemingly overpowering English team is as good as win. Group C is made up the United States, England, Algeria and Slovenia this year, with the United States and England being the two favorites to advance. There is a good chance these two will meet again and hopefully it goes the same way it went 60 years ago, the last time the United States and England met in the World Cup.

In 1950, the United States beat England 1-0 in Brazil after a score by Joe Gaetjens in the 37th minute. This was such a huge upset that the English newspapers thought they were misinformed of the outcome, actually printing some newspapers with a score of 10-1 in favor of England. That wasn’t the case and the game would go down as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Read the rest of this entry →