With his career winding down, Lionel Messi may be on the cusp of winning his first and what may be his only World Cup as he and Argentina demolished Croatia with the final tally of 3-0.
The Qatar World Cup has so far been filled with triumphs, heartbreaks, controversies, and upsets. Now, as we head to next weekend's semifinal match-ups, we are taking a look at the Final Four teams: Argentina, Croatia, France, and Morocco.
From 2008-2012, Spain was the best team in the world. Then 2014 happened and the team was not only knocked off its throne, but utterly humiliated.
La Furia Roja will look to regain its dignity and perhaps its crown in the Euro 2016 as it tries to make history and win the tournament for a third straight time.
But Group D poses a very real struggle for Spain as it is one of the toughest groups of the tournament.
Spain will see threats from the Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia.
The European Qualifiers get back underway on Thursday and include some major matchups that will have huge implications for their respective groups. The top two sides in each group make it through to the tournament, while the third place sides duke it out in a playoff.
Here are the matches with biggest implications on Thursday.
Having lost two of their first three qualifier matches, the Netherlands finally came through with a huge 6-0 win over Latvia but ended up losing Daley Blind to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Italy and Croatia ended up unbeaten after playing to 1-1 tie while Israel stays undefeated at the top of Group B with a win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Yuichi Nishimura of Japan and Carlos Velasco of Spain, two referees involved in controversial calls during the 2014 World Cup are in the pool of officials that could officiate the Sunday's title game.
Group A is up for grabs between Brazil, Mexico and Croatia. Mexico and Croatia will play each other for a chance to take over first place on Monday. Let's preview this match-up and see which teams has the advantage.
What did we learn about the opening game between Brazil and Croatia? Here are five important observations as well as a look at the best and worst players on the pitch during the first game of FIFA's 2014 World Cup.
Group A of the World Cup will be one of the most interesting ones for a number of reasons. It features the host nation and World Cup favorites, but it also features an intriguing battle for second place. Here is a breakdown of how the group could play out.
As Brazilian organizers scramble to make last-minute preparations for the World Cup, set to begin June 12th, the protests against the event – despite the countries passion for the sport – continue to intensify in parts of the country.
