The bets are on and the favorites to win the FIFA World Cup this summer have been placed. The top five teams expected to win are as follows: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain and Belgium. Spain is the current defending champions and despite being the team placed with the fourth best chance of winning, there are a number of arguments that could be made in La Furia Roja's favor. Here are those reasons.
History and Heartbreak took place on Wednesday as Mexico dominated Israel 3-0 in front of its fans in an international friendly leading up to the 2014 World Cup.
Italy made a magnificent run to the World Cup final in 1994, having shut down a tough Brazilian side, forcing penalties. But the story would slowly unravel when Roberto Baggio, the main reason why the team had made it that far, lost the game for "El Azzurri." Here is how Baggio's tournament unfolded prior to that fateful moment.
Diego Costra has torn his hamstring and his status remains uncertain for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Is Spain in trouble heading into the World Cup?
The two best teams in the Spanish La Liga are already gearing up for next year’s campaign with reports indicating that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are already making moves to strengthen their roster.
In 1994, the World Cup came to the United States for the first time in history. Even though it was a historic moment for the nation, the turn history was made by another nation: Brazil. El Selecao won its fourth World Cup by defeating Italy on penalties in the final. The South American side was composed of numerous great players, but one of them dominated the competition. That man was Romario and he was the eventual Golden Ball winner. Here is a look at Romario's heroic campaign in 1994.
The latest generation is supposed to be the most beautiful yet. On May 29, the FIFA 14 game will be available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC.
This year's FIFA World Cup promises to be a must watch for soccer fans across the world. Although team USA is not perceived as a dominating force, this team should be fun to watch. The final 23 player roster has been announced for team USA to play in Brazil. There were some questionable decisions, the most controversial of course being the fact that Landon Donovan was not included.
The 2014 World Cup will place a tremendous amount of pressure on a number of major stars, among those is Argentina's Lionel Messi. Considered the best player in the world, Messi is often omitted from the conversation about whether or not he is the greatest soccer player of all time, and faces a similar situation that Diego Armando Maradona faced in the 1986 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico.
One of the greatest soccer players in American history was left off the final cut roster: Landon Donovan. This may prove to be a critical mistake for team America.
In 2006, Italy became an improbable World Cup champion. The team was known for having an impenetrable defense, but was also suspect for giving up a lot of scoring chances to the opposition. Fortunately, the team had arguably the greatest goalie the world at the time manning the nets. Buffon was given the Golden Gloves at the tournament for being the best keeper, an award that he amply deserved.
The FIFA World Cup is under fire because of the scheduled times and intense heat The 2014 World Cup will be played in the most historically successful soccer nation in the world, Brazil.
Zinedine Zidane. A living legend. But also a polarizing one. France's eternal superstar and one of the greatest players to ever put on the boots proved to be the hero for his country in one instance and its antihero in another. Zidane's great World Cup career took place over the course of two tournaments.
Back in 1970 Gerd Muller scored 10 goals in the World Cup. Since then only one player has come anywhere near that standard. That man was the great Ronaldo, who managed eight goals in that tournament and holds the record for highest scoring player in World Cup history with 15. Ronaldo did not earn the Golden Ball for his performance in 2002; that honor was given to the nearly impenetrable Oliver Kahn. But Kahn, who had been dominant throughout the first seven games of the tournament (he only conceded one goal in that span), met his match in the decisive match and allowed not one, but two goals against the superstar forward.
The World Cup is a showcase for some of the best teams in the world, but also one in which the major stars make get a chance to express themselves to billions of people. The 2010 World Cup featured a number of brilliant superstars playing their best soccer. Uruguay's Diego Forlan managed to win the Golden Ball for a sizzling performance as he led his nation to the semifinals. Wesley Sneijder was the star behind the Netherland's finals berth while Thomas Muller was a major breakout star for Germany in their third place finish. But the performance of the tournament would go to Spain's top goaltender Iker Casillas who became the backbone of a team that won with a team-first mentality.
