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ScheduleUnited States
WC Round of 16: Weekend in Review
Events
Watch #NED v #SVK at @iplaybeautiful!
We're back with another freebie--two reservations to watch this morning's Netherlands-Slovakia match at the PlayBeautiful NYC pop-up virtual stadium on Mulberry Street in Nolita NYC (@iplaybeautiful on twitter) As we mentioned in our previous giveaway, we experienced PlayBeautiful for Portugal-Brazil on Friday, and it's an awesome place to watch a game--stadium seating for 100 in front of a huge projection TV image; concession stands serving coffee, tea, beer, snacks; and even a little patch of astroturf with 2 small goals (back room). There was a good turnout of Brazilians on Friday--we imagine this morning it will be the Oranje faithful who turn out! Let us know if you're in NYC and can use these reservations (or spread the word to your friends who can)--we will email you the pdfs! We were hoping to liveblog from PlayBeautiful this morning, but looks like we'll be staying in Brooklyn for this match. We also have
MVHUnited States
Tribute MVH: Benny Feilhaber (Long Live TEAM USA)
Benny Feilhaber (January 19, 1985): born in Rio de Janeiro but grew up in Scarsdale, NY before moving to CA and attending Northwood High School in Irvine, where he was a "standout midfielder on the school’s soccer team." After graduating in 2003 he played for UCLA, where he became a mainstay in the Bruins' midfield. This video really speaks for itself. BONUS MVH points for being (kinda) from my hometown - Irvine, CA. MAN I wish there were more USA games to watch. Damn it.
Video
Video Highlights: Uruguay v South Korea (Round of 16)
Uruguay defeated South Korea 2-1 in the first Round of 16 match. Uruguay led 1-0 for much of the match, after Luis Suarez took advantage of poor defending for an easy finish off a Diego Forlan cross. South Korea leveled in the 2nd half, but Uruguay went back ahead to stay off another goal by Suarez, this one a tremendous curling shot.
Commentary
Argentina v Mexico: Open Thread
Let's hope today's second match proves to be a little more balanced than that last display. Argentina are among the favorites to lift the Cup, though they looked a shambles in qualifying with Maradona continuing to sully his iconic reputation (because up 'til now he's been the poster boy for responsible sanity). Mexico have been impressive as well, and though they are sure to be outclassed in the midfield, they possess a dangerous attacking duo in Dos Santos and Vela, and Salcido in back has been great getting forward and creating chances from the wings. Argentina are dripping with quality, with Messi the obvious standout. But they can score from anywhere on the pitch, and with strikers like Inter's Milito on the bench (Tevez and get the starts up front, with Messi in an attacking midfield position just behind them), Maradona has an abundance of options should one not be
Commentary
England v Germany: Open Thread
England have the pieces to make a deep run in this Cup, but do they have the confidence?
CommentaryUnited States
US Crash Out
A rough day for the USA where nothing ever materialized in their offense third, while Ghana exploited a less-than-convincing centerback pairing that's been shaky throughout the Cup. The boys simply looked tired on two-days rest, and with the customary goal given up within the first ten minutes of play, the struggle proved to be too much. Who knows what the game might've been like if they hadn't given up that early goal? Ghana was instantly content to sit back and block off routes into their half, and we've seen even the best attacking teams struggle to unlock stubborn, compact defenses during this tournament. The confidence and sharp movement we saw against Algeria was nonexistent, with poor touches and lofted balls bypassing the midfield the order of the day. Surely it didn't help that the entire support of Africa was behind Ghana. In fact, if it were any other team playing Ghana, we