FIFA World Cup (Men's)

Hopefully the wounds have healed and you’ve stopped having nightmares about Chris Wondolowski’s missed opportunity for the United States in their 2-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 at World Cup 2014. Starting back in May, ESPN partnered with U.S. Soccer to make a series of episodes that went behind the scenes for the USMNT's preparations for Brazil. From training in Stanford, to the pitch in Arena Fonte Nova against Belgium, ESPN showed us the ins and outs of USA’s adventure. For the final stage of closure, here is the last episode. Thanks for the memories lads.

FIFA announced yesterday that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been suspended with immediate effect, on account of government interference. The ban means no Nigerian national teams, nor club teams, can participate in international tournaments until FIFA is satisfied that the NFF is in charge of its own affairs. 

The World Cup is a giant shop window for some of the planet’s lesser-known players, and Europe’s wealthier clubs have their faces firmly pressed against the glass.

Take, for example, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, currently a free agent having been released by French second division side Ajaccio: following an outstanding World Cup for Mexico, he’s now in the sights of Liverpool, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

Argentina clinched its first trip to the World Cup Final since 1990, after defeating the Netherlands 4-2 on penalties in the semifinal match in Sao Paolo. The contest, a rematch of the 1978 World Cup Final, was in stark contrast to yesterday’s German smorgasbord of goals, as neither side could score in the 120+ minutes of the match. The victory sent the Argentinian fans into a frenzy, as in the days leading up to the match and especially following Brazil’s shocking defeat to Germany, the Argentines were overtly confident in their chances of securing a place in the final.

Talent, skills, speed, defense – bah-humbug! Who needs those when you have superstition, divine intervention and clairvoyant critters? The18 has taken a look at all the most compelling superstitions that tell us who will win the World Cup this year.

Argentina will be without playmaker Angel Di Maria in Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against the Netherlands, and now the Dutch could be without captain Robin van Persie. 

RVP had a strong opening to the tournament, but ever since his suspension on yellow cards he hasn’t done much. Perhaps it is the stomach virus he has been battling. The captain trained separate from the rest of the team today, and manager Louis van Gaal believes that RVP’s status is in danger for the bout against Argentina. 

So…that was crazy.

The18 would like to apologize for suggesting that the loss of Thiago Silva wouldn’t be as significant for Brazil as the loss of Neymar. We were wrong. Without their captain and defensive sanity check, A Seleção were utterly desolated during 20 minutes of soccer suicide in which they conceded five of the most abject goals ever seen in a World Cup semi-final.

The FIFA disciplinary committee has ruled that Brazil captain Thiago Silva will be suspended for the Seleção semifinal match against Germany. The committee also ruled that no action will be taken against Colombian defender Juan Camilo Zúñiga over his challenge on Neymar, that ended the Brazilian star’s World Cup run. 

For those who didn’t see the play that earned Silva his second yellow card of the tournament, here it is. 

The team behind "Funny or Die" must really be into World Cup football. (Which, for the record, is awesome.)

In their latest video short, the website sends Christopher Mintz-Plasse - a.k.a. McLovin - of "Superbad" fame to Brazil to check out the action. This follows on the heels of another video that went viral that shows "Funny or Die" co-founder Will Ferrell giving a pep talk to the American crowd in Brazil the night before the USA-Portugal match up.