Go ahead and draw conclusions about what this means with regards to England, but Russia will be the worst nation to ever host a World Cup. South Africa, the only host nation to ever fail to advance from the World Cup group stage, at least gave us the entertainment value of Siphiwe Tshabalala, Steven Pienaar and the vuvuzela.
Bolivia were done and dusted before the match even started. Chile, the defending Copa champions, were determined to make the world’s 82nd ranked side suffer. It was all Chile could do to make up for their disappointing defeat to Argentina.
Chile spent the first hour of the match accumulating almost 80% of possession while limiting Bolivia to a single shot. In the 58th minute, Bolivia introduced little-known playmaker Jhasmani Campos. Campos must not have been following or paying attention to the script, because he immediately turned the game on its head.
Who would have thought Mexico would have had a tougher time with Jamaica than Uruguay? Despite the back and forth match, El Tri netted another 2-0 result against a Jamaican side that didn't take advantage of their opportunities. Chicharitos first goal of the tournament was a beauty, and now the Bundesliga star is just 1 goal away from tying all-time leading Mexican scorer Jared Borgetti. El Tri are now in the quarterfinals and will play Venezuela on Monday.
Mexico’s task in front of 80,000 plus supporters at the Rose Bowl had been clearly defined following Uruguay’s shock 1-0 defeat to Venezuela earlier in the day. Win and they advanced to the Copa America quarter-finals. Thanks to a powerful header from Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and a neat finish from Oribe Peralta, Mexico have guaranteed their place in the Copa's knockout rounds.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had already planted himself as one of the all time greats, but moments like these showed the world how truly special he was. It is impossible to forget the goal he scored against France in 2012. He sent an acrobatic blast past Hugo Lloris in the 53rd minute which led to mayhem in Kiev. As Sweeden would go on to win the game 2-0, this goal of the tournament would never be forgotten. We are hoping to see epic golazos from the legend in this years Euro Championships!
Diego Maradona’s verbal influence has only increased since the heights of his playing days — the cult of his personality dictating that many give credence to his ill-thought-out claims. On Thursday, Maradona should’ve put his foot in his mouth once again when discussing the leadership qualities of his Argentine compatriot, Lionel Messi.
Uruguay's Copa America odds took an unexpected hit Wednesday when coach Oscar Tabarez revealed star striker Luis Suarez will not be available tonight against Venezuela and may be out for the entire tournament.
From Yahoo:
"Luis Suarez is still in recovery, it's the 17th day, and he is still not ready. That being the case, he will not play," Tabarez told a press conference on Wednesday.
With Neymar sitting out of Copa America, someone has to fill the space. Phillipe Coutinho did so against Haiti Wednesday night as he put three balls past Haiti's goalkeeper to help Brazil snag 3 points and a 7-1 win. His first goal was a screamer that could have left a hole in the back of the net. Check out this blast from the youngster!
A common debate in American sports concerns what four athletes in a specific sport deserve to be on the "Mt. Rushmore" of that sport.
Take baseball for example. If you were to look across its history which four players, former or current, should be placed above the rest as the four to remember?
What is often never truly explained in this debate is what "Mt. Rushmore" represents or what the bases of being placed on it are.