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RealClearSports World Cup

Is Era of Soccer Finally Upon America?

Art Spander, RealClearSports

Dutch Search for Ghost of World Cup Past

Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

Introducing More Stats to Soccer

Thomas Kaplan, New York Times

Holland's Coach Is One Serious Man

Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail

Is this the end or the beginning? Does soccer, football to the rest of the world, finally capture the United States? Or was this World Cup fascination only a brief affair, a fling ...(full article)

Amid the Netherlands’ preparations and festivities and nerve-jangling hope ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, an extraordinary manhunt is under way. The Dutch nation, n...(full article)

People in soccer have historically paid little attention to statistics, arguing that the only way to judge players is to see them in action. Often, the only numbers associated with...(full article)

It is difficult to discern, not having dealt with the man on a regular basis, whether it is Lambertus (Bert) van Marwijk’s dour personality that emerges when he is under the spot...(full article)

To celebrate or not to celebrate? That was the question at 10.15pm local time here in the Catalan capital on Wednesday night. True, Spain had just reached its first ever World Cup ...(full article)

More Recent Articles

In Soccer, Elite Means 'No Vacation'

Juan Mata's list of recent travels reads like the highlights of a glamorous, expensively planned, but hastily executed vacation.   Based on a look through the Chelsea and Spain m...

Bad Grass Center Stage for World Cup Qualifier

SEATTLE – The U.S. national team is accustomed to playing on subpar surfaces. It just isn't used to dealing with them in home games.    Like a toupe tossed on a head, the arti...

Soccket Ball Lets People Play for Power

(ISNS) – In June, as national soccer teams from around the world resume playing qualification games for the 2014 World Cup, a group of 20-somethings will kick off a soccer-relat...

How Bob Bradley Saved Soccer in Egypt

Bob Bradley wasn't looking for an adventure as much as he was looking for a job after being fired as coach of the U.S. soccer team two years ago.   But in Egypt he found both. Wh...

U.S. Escapes Azteca With Gutsy Draw

For only the second time in their history, the United States have avoided defeat against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. While El Tri were on the front foot for most of the match, and h...

Spain Celebrates at Stade de France

Spain took control of UEFA World Cup qualifying Group I thanks to a 1-0 win over France at Stade de France.   Pedro scored the only goal of the game just before the hour mark fro...

The Upside of Failing to Qualify

t's going to happen eventually. The U.S. men's national soccer team is going to stub all 10 of its toes in qualifying and miss out on a World Cup.   It's happened to former w...

Spain Will Stick With What Works vs. France

The world champions' chances of defending their crown in Brazil next year have been compromised after Friday's 1-1 draw against Finland in Gijon left them trailing France by two p...

Snow Center Stage as U.S. Slides By Costa Rica

In a raging blizzard, the United States nudged in an early goal, then held off Costa Rica for a much-needed victory. The winner and goal-scorer will be the last thing anyone remem...

U.S.-Russia Friendly Has Plenty of Intrigue

Historically, invading Russia is an awful idea at any point on the calendar.   U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has never been one to steer clear of a challenge, however...

ESPN Losing Sport It Does Best

This weekend, the story broke that NBC had outbid Fox and ESPN to carry English Premier League matches for the next three years. This was a reminder that last year, Fox had outbid ...

World Cup Battles Rage in Europe

There are nine groups battling for Europe's 13 places at the next World Cup; the nations in each group play one another home and away. Here's your guide to how things stand betwee...

Johnson Rescues U.S. Soccer in Nick of Time

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua -- Eddie Johnson is hoping 2012 will never end.    Johnson scored a double - including the game-winning goal in the 91st minute - to give the U.S. national t...

U.S. Soccer's Sigh of Relief

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At 10:04 p.m. local time, the sinking sky hovering above the U.S. men's national team began its ascent back into the atmosphere. The worst-case scenario was avo...

American Soccer Had a Hole-y Wall

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It happens in soccer matches everywhere, from park games in front of soccer moms to packed-stadium internationals before flag-waving fans: a player is fouled n...

Top 10 National Teams Ever Assembled

Olympic years tend to bring out two endearing American traits: nationalism and nostalgia. Television executives, no dummies, realize this. Tapping into this aspect of the America...

A First in Cup Qualifying for Player, Team

Jonny Saelua did not always envision herself as an international soccer player. What she really wanted to do was join a dance company and “travel the world just performing.” ...

Fox Outbids ESPN for 2018, '22 World Cups; Bad for Soccer

Cleatus is going to Russia and Qatar. Sports Business Journal and SI.com are reporting that FOX has outbid ESPN and NBC for the U.S. based English language rights for the 2018 and ...

World Cup TV Rights Vital to U.S. Soccer

Next Wednesday is one of the most important days of the next decade for soccer in the United States. That's when bids are due in Zürich, Switzerland, for the U.S. broadcast righ...

Expectations High for American Women

The United States Women’s National Team may be ranked No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings, but is it the best team in the world? It’s difficult to answer in the affirmative, par...

German Women Favored in World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup, which begins Sunday in Germany, will be almost unrecognizable from the first event held 20 years ago. That tournament, played in China, was essential...

England Says World Cup Voters Asked for Bribes

Ever since the good, godfearing Anglo nations were shut out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, rumors have flown that Russia and Qatar bribed their way to the top. No one would be ...

FIFA: World Cup Slots Unchanged

FIFA has confirmed the number of qualification slots allocated to each continent for the 2014 World Cup will not change.The world football governing body held its first World Cup ...

4-2-3-1 Best Way to Maximize U.S. Soccer Talent

The secret is out on Bob Bradley: The U.S. coach has some tactical wanderlust in him, after all. We all raised a curious brow at that dalliance with the 4-2-3-1 formation late la...

Inside Qatar's 2022 World Cup Bid

The campaign was extraordinary in terms of its cost – it proposed to spend £27 million last year alone on communications – and in the way it wielded influence fro...

Heat Is the Least of Problems With Qatar

In the days since FIFA's baffling decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar there has been a lot of talk about adjusting the timetable because of the oppressive heat. The heat ...

World Cup Bid Process Flawed, Needs Transparency

The Baur au Lac hotel, a five-star palace on the banks of Lake Zurich, was the epicenter of The Game here this week: the final lobbying of the nine bids vying to host the 2018 and...

England Can Be Proud in Defeat

Damn the World Cup, in Russia in 2018 and the one in the sand and cranked-up air-conditioning to follow four years later in Qatar. There, in the desert by a boiling sea, they will ...

World Cup Picks Leave Black Mark on FIFA

Qatar’s victory in the race to be awarded the 2022 World Cup was a triumph for spin over substance and leaves a black mark on FIFA’s already-besmirched name. In the hours after...

FIFA's Progressive Move Is Right One

It is easy to understand why so many among us who comprise the United States feel like they have a birthright to at least direct, if not actually control, the rest of the world. As...

Russia and Qatar Win World Cup Bids

FIFA delegates awarded Russia and Qatar the right to host World Cup tournaments in 2018 and 2022, ending a process that has been marred by accusations of vote rigging. The decision...

Defeat Shows English Football Lacks Leadership

Despite the best efforts of the great, David Beckham, David Cameron and Prince William, and the great unknown, Eddie Afekafe, England failed to convince Fifa they can host the grea...

World Cups a Win Against Al Qaeda

An insufferable little windbag by the name of Sepp Blatter—president of FIFA, the governing body of world soccer—has just disclosed to the world that Russia will host t...

Losing World Cup Would Be Big Blow

Somewhere between Qatar's promise to unify the world, Australia's pledge to throw the best party on earth and Japan's plan to simulcast the tournament to crowds all over the world ...

World Cup Vote to Define Decade in England

In football it always come down to 22 men. In a Zurich conference hall this afternoon, 22 men in suits will make a decision that will either transform or traumatise English ...

Russia and Qatar Have Edge for 2018 and 2022

With 24 hours to go before the vote in Zurich to decide who gets to host World Cups 2018 and 2022, the world's press is in a frenzy of speculation. We'll turn it over to them with ...

FIFA Playing Favorites With World Cup Bids

If you love soccer, you enjoyed the 2010 World Cup and, chances are, you will keenly follow the bidding process this week which could see the United States awarded hosting rights t...

Spain/Portugal and Qatar Remain Slight Favorites

World leaders and the world's sporting press (except for the US, of course) are now descending upon Zurich for Thursday's votes on who gets to host soccer's World Cups in 2018 and ...

FIFA Must Change World Cup Bid Process

Fifa’s controversial process of picking World Cup hosts must never be repeated. No more secret ballots, please, no more collusion and no more double bids. For all his faults,...

World Cup Soccer Bids Clouded in Corruption

Like guests on some television reality show, politicians and royalty, oil barons and corporate billionaires are gathering in Zurich. There they will fawn over 22 — maybe 23 &...

World Cup Bids for England, USA Losing Steam

It's decision week in the race to decide who gets to host World Cup 2018 and World Cup 2022. Last week, we set odds on the victors - Russia and Spain as co-favorites for 2018,...

2022 Cup: Can U.S. Beat Out Australia, Qatar?

The intrigue continues in the world of soccer's equivalent to the proverbial smoke-filled room. Yesterday, we previewed the controversy-ridden, conspiracy-laden run-up to the sele...

Who Will Host the 2018 World Cup?

It involves global intrigue, a bitter clash among some of the world's leading powers, even a whiff of financial scandal. A spy incident or the latest trade war? No, it's just one o...

Awarding 2 Cup Bids Encourages Collusion

Ostensibly, this paso doble began because the Barcelona coach enjoyed his two years playing for Al Ahli and genuinely believes the emirate can “host a spectacular, passion...

Qatar a Threat to World Cup Bid

For most of the past two years, Qatar's bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been a punch line in global soccer. The small desert kingdom has just one fully functional soccer st...

CONCACAF Is Killing Best Rivalry in North America

They're killing the most important rivalry in American soccer.   That's my unavoidable conclusion after speaking to Chuck Blazer, the general secretary of CONCACAF, who confirme...

Source: FIFA Ponders Drastic Cup Changes

Soccer’s governing body FIFA is considering a series of drastic new proposals that could dramatically change the face of future World Cups, Yahoo! Sports has learned. Followi...

England Finally Gets Back to Winning Ways

Having failed to play like England at the World Cup, at least Fabio Capello’s team looked like England again at Wembley last night: and in more ways than one. The win wa...

England Makes Strong Case for World Cup

LONDON—Winning football's World Cup is arguably the toughest feat in all of sports. Earning the right to stage the sport's showpiece event may be a close second: a delicate g...

American Soccer Hitting Right Notes

Thierry Henry will not say American soccer fans sing better than English fans. But they do sing well. And maybe that is the missing link, the natural order of soccer progression. ...

Breaking Down England's Humiliation

  Stephan Nopp headed a team of 55 students from the German Sports University in Cologne who spent almost 1,000 hours analysing Fabio Capello’s team during the b...

World Cup News and Scores