A surprise send-off for the U.S. national team
The U.S. finished its sendoff series with a 2-1 win over Nigeria in Jacksonville over a week ago. After the game, the team was surprised with a sendoff video compiled by Allstate and piped through the...
View ArticleUSA 2-1 Ghana: The most seismic of wins
In a still moment in the 33rd minute of Monday’s manically hyped USA-Ghana meeting, Clint Dempsey lay sprawled on the turf on his side, one hand clutching his face and the other splayed out for...
View ArticleFans react to John Brooks’ late U.S. winner over Ghana
Admit it. A part of you didn’t think you’d see another one of these compilation videos this year. Not after 2010, a year that produced a spine-tingling Landon Donovan goal against Algeria and a...
View ArticleThe U.S. identity at the World Cup is defined by razor-thin margins
John Brooks’ mad 86th minute winner to push the U.S. to a 2-1 victory over Ghana on Monday was one of the most thrilling moments of the tournament. It also represented a pattern. The U.S. experience at...
View ArticleMexico’s Memo Ochoa shut out Brazil with a masterful display
Mexico somehow drew Brazil 0-0 in our first foray into the second round of group games. By all accounts, Brazil should’ve punched one home. Namely, that chance up there, a header from Neymar in the...
View ArticleTim Cahill probably ended his international career with a golazo
Tim Cahill is 34 years old, so it’s unlikely his career in a gold Australia shirt extends beyond Brazil. During the course of Australia’s eventual 3-2 loss to the Netherlands on Wednesday, Cahill...
View ArticleChile 2-0 Spain: Tiki taka isn’t dead, but the Golden Generation has lost its...
The Spanish Golden Generation is perhaps the best ‘Golden Generation’ ever produced. The moniker is used by every country to varying degrees of severity. For all its talent, Portugal’s didn’t win...
View ArticleColombia 2-1 Ivory Coast: Los Cafeteros ascendent, Ivory Coast on the ropes
It’s been a rough World Cup for African teams. After Cameroon’s abysmal 4-0 loss to Croatia on Wednesday in which Benoit Assou-Ekotto tried to headbutt a teammate, African teams were a combined 1-4-1....
View ArticleUruguay 2-1 England: Suarez brace leads to English handwringing
Luis Suarez didn’t play in Uruguay’s listless 3-1 loss to Costa Rica to open the tournament. You could see it in the attack, which lacked bite – and that’s not just an oblique reference to Suarez’s...
View ArticleFrance 5-2 Switzerland: Is France for real?
If you were wondering whether all this muscular flexing the French are doing in Brazil is for real, they certainly provided more ammo on Friday. If you’re wondering whether it’s all smoke and mirrors,...
View ArticlePortugal 2-2 USA: A bloody day
There is a kind of masochism about rooting for the U.S. soccer team. The page is always blank. Half the time you’re only hoping the ink doesn’t bleed. Sunday was a bloody day. For 94 minutes and 30...
View ArticleAdvancement scenarios out of Group G
Had the U.S. held on to its late lead against Portugal, all this wouldn’t matter. It’d have clinched its spot in the Round of 16 and we’d be moving on with our lives. But now, advancement scenarios...
View ArticleThe Young Professionals podcast: World Cup madness, Dev. Academy playoffs
The Young Professionals pod is back for another World Cup round of chatter. With fearless podcast member J.R. Eskilson galavanting in Brazil, it’s just Travis and Will this time around. The guys talk...
View ArticleThe Mystery of Manaus: Why the jungle is swallowing every team in its path
Werner Herzog was months into filming Fitzcarraldo when, in the heart of the Amazonian jungle, lead actor Jason Robards contracted amoebic dysentery. The year was 1980. The film, conducted at such...
View ArticleU.S. 0-1 Germany: The most glorious loss
Less than a week ago, Cristiano Ronaldo clustered American heartstrings together and snapped them with a cross that practically fell from the saturated night sky in Manaus. Quiet for 94 minutes,...
View ArticleFrance 2-0 Nigeria: Tidy French overrun profligate Nigerians
France’s group stage was impressive, but its relative ease left some questions as to whether this team was for real or not. The team’s 2-0 win over wasteful Nigeria may not have provided any definitive...
View ArticleAlgeria 1-2 Germany: What this game can teach us about the U.S.
Say this about the Germans. When the switch isn’t flipped and the bulb flickers, they very frequently come up with a trump card anyway. Monday’s 2-1 result against Algeria was one of those days. A poor...
View ArticleBelgium 2-1 USA: Player ratings from the precipice of heartbreak
Heartbreak. This was a tough one. The U.S. went out of the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Belgium AET in the Round of 16, the second straight World Cup the Americans crashed out in the first knockout...
View ArticleThe Lego recreation of Brazil-Colombia is everything you want
It’s the Lego recreation of Brazil-Colombia. What’s not to like? Highlights include a recreation of the white foam spray, the keepers wearing hats (!) and the awesomely over-the-top reenactment of the...
View ArticleAll of Tim Howard’s saves against Belgium at once
This whole Tim Howard-is-the-greatest-human-ever-of-all-time thing got a bit out of hand in the aftermath of his otherworldly performance against Belgium. That gif there gives you a pretty good idea as...
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