7.09.10 4:21 pm by Brian
Even though Uruguay and Germany failed to advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Match, neither nation’s team is leaving South Africa quite yet. Unlike professional sports here in the United States—and similar to Bronze Medal matches at the Summer and Winter Olympics—the World Cup features a Third Place Match between the losing sides of the Semifinal matches. While it may seem pointless to fans in a country where players will sit out the Pro Bowl—an all-star game voted on by the fans—in frustration after a playoff loss, there’s no doubt that the players for Uruguay and Germany will be looking to salvage anything from the Third Place Match now that their world championship dreams have been put on hold for at least four more years.
That said, the Netherlands and Spain will also be looking to go all-out; only in their game, the 11-pound World Cup trophy will be on the line on soccer’s grandest stage. Such a chance can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and neither side will hold anything back in their quest to be crowned world champions at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Before I get to my predictions for the Third Place Match—yes, I actually am going to make a prediction for it—and the World Cup Final Match, here’s a quick recap of the predictions I made for the Semifinal Round and what the actual results were.
- Prediction: Netherlands 2, Uruguay 0 – Actual Result: Netherlands 3, Uruguay 2
- Prediction: Spain 3, Germany 2 – Actual Result: Spain 1, Germany 0
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7.04.10 3:46 pm by Brian
The Quarterfinal Round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa has come and gone, and only four nations remain in this worldwide tournament to crown the top team in soccer. The two days of the round were not without drama, including high-profile losses by Brazil and Argentina; two teams who many would’ve selected as potential World Cup champions going into the tournament. And, despite poor early showings from European nations like France, Italy, and England, three of the final four remaining teams represent that continent: the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.
Before I get to my predictions for the upcoming Semifinals matches, here’s a quick recap of the predictions I made for the Quarterfinal Round and what the actual results were. It was definitely not a good set of predictions for me this time around, just barely saving an even .500 % picking rate.
- Predicted: Brazil 3, Netherlands 1 – Actual Result: Netherlands 2, Brazil 1
- Predicted: Uruguay 2, Ghana 1 – Actual Result: Uruguay 1, Ghana 1 (Uruguay 4, Ghana 2 on Penalty Kicks)
- Predicted: Argentina 3, Germany 2 – Actual Result: Germany 4, Argentina 0
- Predicted: Spain 3, Paraguay 0 – Actual Result: Spain 1, Paraguay 0
World Cup Knockout Round of 16 Prediction Results: 6-2
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6.30.10 2:25 pm by Brian
Even though American interest in the World Cup has surely dropped nearly to nothing now that the United States has gone out of the tournament, anything worth doing is worth following through completely. While the U.S. team might not have made it as far as we all wished they could have, they certainly did the country proud with their effort and there is reason to be excited about the state of American soccer as they begin preparations for the 2014 World Cup.
In four days of play at the 2010 FIFA World Cup the Knockout Round of 16 has sent eight countries home and left eight countries still vying for the ultimate prize in international soccer competition. Now, for the first time since the tournament began on June 11th, South Africa will take a break from hosting soccer matches until the first Quarterfinal game on July 2nd. Before we move on to the stories and predictions for the Quarterfinal Round, here’s a quick recap of action in the Knockout Round, along with the predictions I made (for better and for worse):
- Predicted: Uruguay 2, South Korea 0 – Actual Result: Uruguay 2, South Korea 1
- Predicted: United States 2, Ghana 1 — Actual Result: Ghana 2, United States 1 (Extra Time)
- Predicted: Germany 2, England 1 — Actual Result: Germany 4, England 1
- Predicted: Argentina 3, Mexico 1 — Actual Result: Argentina 3, Mexico 1 (Exact score pick!)
- Predicted: Netherlands 2, Slovakia 0 — Actual Result: Netherlands 2, Slovakia 1
- Predicted: Brazil 3, Chile 0 — Actual Result: Brazil 3, Chile 0 (Exact score pick!)
- Predicted: Japan 3, Paraguay 2 — Actual Result: Paraguay 0, Japan 0 (Paraguay 5, Japan 3 on Penalty Kicks)
- Predicted: Spain 2, Portugal 1 — Actual Result: Spain 1, Portugal 0
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6.25.10 4:54 pm by Brian
As an American sportswriter contributing stories for an American-based sports website, it is not very often that I have the opportunity to write anything about soccer, a sport known as football in practically every country not called the United States of America. Even though soccer is one of the most popular sports played by American youths, those of us who bleed red, white, and blue don’t typically follow through on the sport very long. While Major League Soccer has given Americans the opportunity to have a professional soccer league of our own, the MLS falls behind even the mismanaged National Hockey League in terms of popularity. As a result, the average American has a soccer experience comparable to their experience with the Summer or Winter Olympics; every four years, they notice that there’s a good deal of TV coverage of this otherwise overlooked sport.
I will not try to claim any deep level of soccer knowledge, because even though I do my research when the World Cup comes along, I am information-deficient about the workings of the various leagues around the world or even the specific ins-and-outs of the qualifying stages leading up to the World Cup itself. My picks for the teams coming out of the Group Stage at this year’s 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa were certainly reflective of my limited engagement with the sport as well; in other words, they didn’t go all that well. That said, it’s hard to deny the appeal of the action provided by this year’s World Cup so far, and one of the best ways to build up a true American audience for the sport is to continue to exhibit the sport played at the highest level.
Even though my Group Stage picks lacked that “highest level” form that I’ve just spoken of, the Group Stage can be difficult to figure out due to the tie-breakers and various situations that arise in the three games. With the Knockout Round of 16 at the World Cup, all of these tie-breakers go away; you win the game, or you go home, and even American sports fans who don’t watch soccer can identify with the all-or-nothing stakes involved in the games now.
With all of that said, here are my picks and analysis of the Knockout Round of 16 matches for this year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa:
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6.13.09 8:26 pm by Will
Editors Note: I’m happy to introduce a new writer to theSportsGeeks.com. This is Will’s first, but hopefully not last article here, and its very impressive if I do say so myself. -Alex
As a Boston Red Sox fan, I was very excited about this week’s series between my beloved Sawx and the hated Yankees. NESN, the network that carries Sox games in New England, knew that the clash between the titans of the AL East was something that fans like me would get really amped up about, so they started showing commercials for the games about a week in advance. The one that really struck me was one that featured Jason Bay. It showed him sitting in the locker room, talking about how exciting the prospect of a Sox-Yanks series was. He mentioned how “[Red Sox-Yankees] is the biggest rivalry in sports.” Jason was very, very incorrect.
Before I point out 10 rivalries that are bigger/more ferocious/more important than the Sox and Yankees, it would be unfair to completely discount the intensity of their feud. The Boston and New York clubs have a humongous, all-consuming rivalry that is probably the biggest in American professional sports. Sure, someone could make an argument for Cowboys-Redskins, Mets-Phillies, Celtics-Lakers, or Maple Leafs-Canadiens, (I know that last one isn’t exactly “American” sports, but they play in the NHL, so whatever.) However, oftentimes these rivalries go stale for extended periods, because, unlike baseball, other American sports have salary caps, which makes it difficult for teams to amass the same kind of talent that the Sox and Yankees attract every off-season by virtue of their greater resources, keeping each team competitive and relevant every single season, something that teams in the NFL, NBA, and NHL just can’t do. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacremento Kings had the biggest rivalry in the NBA for a short period in the early 2000′s. Shaq called them the Queens, Phil Jackson called Sacremento a “Cow Town,” and the two played in one of the most entertaining and controversial NBA playoff series of all time, the 2002 Western Conference Finals, which included a Robert Horry buzzer beater in Game 4, and a Game 6 that disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has insisted was fixed by the referees in the Lakers’ favor. This series was followed by a 2003 preseason dust-up between Rick Fox and Doug Christie. Then, Shaq got traded and the Kings faded away, and the rivalry was dead. The Sox and Yanks will never fade away, until a salary cap comes in, or they are purchased by a more frugal ownership group, neither of which looks like happening anytime soon. Also, very few, if any rivalries in American sports have the history, mythology, and twists and turns that are intrinsic in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. However, The Sox and Yanks fans don’t share the same devotion, investment, and antipathy towards the opposition that some rivalries on this list suggest, nor does the rivalry have the same extreme outlandishness of others. Sox-Yankees is a great rivalry, but not as great as the ten that I will present to you (in no particular order).
New Zealand vs. South Africa – Rugby
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