Please pick a side. You probably shouldn’t follow the rules for both sides, though who are we to tell you what to do? If you haven’t determined which side you’re rooting for by now, flip a coin and if you’re unhappy with the result, change.
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General Knowledge
World Cup Balls: A Visual History
A visual history of the balls used for every world cup over at the NY Times. Check it out.
My favorite is Mr. Crack.
Live Blog
Spain v Paraguay: Open Thread
Here comes the last game of the quarterfinals, and having seen the results be somewhat unpredictable so far, I’m going to go with what my wife tells me. She’s picked Holland and Germany already, so let’s see what she says…”I don’t know.” Well I guess we’re S.O.L. for this one.
Spain are, well, Spain. Amazing talent. Free flowing football. Danger on the field and off the bench. Paraguay are more of a mystery, mostly because they haven’t been so drooled over by the press. They have a solid center back pairing in Antonio Alcaraz and Paulo da Silva, and of course there’s Santa Cruz up front who’ll be looking to finally put a ball in the net. Not convinced? Check out this little statistical nugget :
Spain has been widely backed to win the World Cup since it won the European Championships in 2008. But that is exactly why it will fail to do so. Winning that continental competition is the kiss of death for World Cup aspirations. Only one European champion has gone on to lift the biggest prize of all – big tournament specialists Germany in 1974, and only then with home advantage.
For those of you hanging around we’ve set up the customary open thread. See you after the bump!
Commentary
Germany Run Rampant
What to say about today’s game but WOW. Germany appear to have that perfect blend of discipline (which we knew they’d have) and swagger, making them a fantastic side to watch. Who would’ve thought going into this matchup that it’d be DFB Elf who’d provide all the flair in the final third? They consistently picked out the right passes while shutting down an Argentine offense who’ve caused havoc in opposing defenses throughout the tournament.
I’ve been consistently bored with German teams of the past, but this one has me actually looking forward to watching them play. Fantastic Cup. It’s a shame it’ll be over so soon.
Live Blog
Argentina v Germany: Open Thread
A matchup of true heavyweights in this morning’s quarterfinal. There’s history between the sides—the 1986 final in Mexico where Maradona’s side put down the West Germans in a 3-2 display of beautiful attacking football comes immediately to mind. Never one to avoid the spotlight, the tournament’s most valuable quotable is stirring the pot before the match:
Maradona stared into a Fox Sports camera on Thursday and with a mock German accent asked, “What’s the matter Schweinsteiger? Are you nerrrvoushhh?”
This in reply to the Bayern Munich playmaker’s suggestion that the Argentine’s have been harassing officials.
We all know about Argentina’s attack, but what’s of question is their defense. That suggests the key matchup will be Demichelis versus Klose, the German finding his form again, and while neither one are speedsters, it’s Klose’s ability in the air that might see Demichelis holding his head in shame.
Open thread today only, after the bump!
Live Blog
Ghana v Uruguay: Liveblog/Open Thread
We’re all over the place today what with the holiday weekend upon us, so let’s just get straight to the point:
Uruguay: Muslera, Maxi Pereira, Lugano, Victorino, Fucile, Alvaro Fernandez, Perez, Arevalo Rios, Cavani, Suarez, Forlan
Ghana: Kingson, Pantsil, Vorsah, John Mensah, Sarpei, Annan, Inkoom, Asamoah, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Muntari, Gyan
Danger up front for Uruguay, who can turn to a brutal, hacking style of defense if Ghana start to turn the screw. The Black Stars have power and speed in abundance, but will they hold their shape?
The comment thread is open after the bump!
General Knowledge
I Miss the Vuvuzelas
A whole day without any oversized kazoos overwhelming my aural sense. What to do? Well, first I downloaded the vuvuzela app for my phone, but it wasn’t quite enough, so I went hunting for online options. Best I could find is actually an anti-vuvuzela game, which because of it’s fit-inducing drone is simply NSFW. Here it is anyway. Have fun!
Commentary
Super Eagles Suspended from Play for 2 Years
Nigeria were plainly disappointing in World Cup play. Now their president has stepped in to stop all play for the next two years. Ballsy move!
Goodluck Jonathan, the apparently ill-named president of Nigeria, has suspended his country’s national soccer team from international competition for two years after its poor performance in the World Cup in June.
They haven’t won a World Cup match since 1998, and President Jonathan has had enough. Investigations will be held!