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World Cup: Final Recap
Netherlands 0-1 Spain (after extra time) Call this one a win for attacking soccer. Although it doesn’t seem that way after four consecutive 1-0 victories, but throughout this World Cup, Spain were committed to
Read More »World Cup: Third-Place Game Recap and Final Preview
Uruguay 2-3 Germany The third-place game is FIFA’s way of telling two teams, “That’s OK. We can just cuddle,” and the only reason I’m covering this game is because I hate passing up an
Read More »World Cup: Semifinal 1 Recap and Semifinal 2 Preview
Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands Usually in soccer, the phrase “Let the old defender who played for years in Scotland shoot from distance” is a good defensive strategy. But for Uruguay, it backfired. Thankfully for them,
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 20 Recap and Matchday 21 Previews
Netherlands 2-1 Brazil This matchup of two of the most celebrated diving/soccer teams lived up to its billing. It helped that Brazil took advantage of Holland’s defense napping early on. Then came some wonderful
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 19 Recap and Matchday 20 Previews
Paraguay 0-0 Japan (5-3 on penalties) As with Uruguay v. South Korea, this was always going to be the appetizer to the main course later in the day. But the marinara for the mozzarella
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 18 Recap and Matchday 19 Previews
Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia After all of yesterday’s drama, this game was bound to be a return to what we expect in the group stage: a perpetual favorite dispatching an overmatched opponent without too much
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 17 Recaps and Matchday 18 Previews
Germany 4-1 England This is going to be remembered as the game in which the ghosts of 1966 were evoked as payback in this famous rivalry. But even if Frank Lampard’s shot had tied
Read More »World Cup: Recap of Ghana v. Germany and Australia v. Serbia and Matchday 14 Previews
Ghana 0-1 Germany Australia 2-1 Serbia The second set of games of the day were no less thrilling – four teams, all of whom were still capable of advancing. The biggest surprise was Australia
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 9 Recap and Matchday 10 Previews
Netherlands 1-0 Japan Games like this are why I can never take the Dutch seriously as contenders, but also why I can’t count them out. Like their fellow underachievers Spain against Switzerland, they struggled
Read More »World Cup: Matchday 8 Recap and Matchday 9 Previews
Germany 0-1 Serbia I disagree with the conventional wisdom on the sending off of Miroslav Klose. Yes, it was harsh, but he was already on a yellow, and you don’t make a needless tackle
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