This video from Digg shows what it means to be a diehard soccer fan.
Carlos, the boy above, can't see or hear, but his friends and family created a system so he can still follow the World Cup.
They hand-made a board to resemble a soccer field and move their arms around it in real-time, mimicking the players'. That way, Carlos can feel what's happening in the game.
The process looks fairly complicated. But when Brazil scores a goal and his hands shoot up into the air — you know it works.
The United States scored its final goal in a tight World Cup game against Ghana in the 86th minute. The goal, scored by John Brooks, was headed in, giving the U.S. a 2-1 lead.
Americans went berserk, as evidenced by the abundance of tweets sent right after the goal.
SBNation's Michael Katz has a Vine of Twitter activity in the U.S. before and after Brooks' goal, below.
Here's a shot of Twitter activity, before the goal:
And here's a shot of Twitter activity after (Twitter really needs to get the Great Plains states on its platform):
And here's the Vine:
U.S. men's national team defender John Brooks scored the most dramatic U.S. goal since Landon Donovan's stoppage-time winner against Algeria, heading in a corner in the 86th minute to beat Ghana 2-1 at the World Cup.
Americans, many of who were gathered at bars and viewing parties across the country, lost their minds.
The stream of reaction videos hit the internet after the game. Those videos have been compiled into a 4-minute supercut, and it is glorious.
The video (via SB Nation):
Scoring is way up at this year's World Cup with 51% more goals in the first 12 matches.
While many people are offering overly-complicated explanations based on tactics and talent, Brazilian soccer legend Zico explains why there is a very simple reason for all the goals.
“I think managers have adopted a philosophy of getting a goal first rather than risking conceding a goal,” Zico told the media in Rio de Janeiro. “They’re going out to win games.”
In other words, coaches and their teams are just being more aggressive and are looking to create scoring chances early in games.
In previous World Cups it was more common to see teams make conservative and methodical passes in the midfield area, hoping the other team would make a mistake. It often looked like a basketball team trying to run out the clock at the end of a game.
But more coaches are now realizing the value of three points for a win and are being more aggressive.
Since the World Cup switched to the current format in 1998 with eight groups of four teams, only one country (Chile in 1998) made it to the knockout stage without a win in the group stage.
The increased scoring has created exciting soccer. In addition to the dramatic, game-winning goals by the United States and Switzerland, there have been five matches in which the team who scored first lost the match.
More scoring also means fewer ties as there has been just one draw in the first 14 matches. In 2010, there were six draws in the first 14 matches.
But the more aggressive nature also has its downside. Switzerland scored a game-winning goal with just 20 seconds remaining when Ecuador tried to score their own game-winning goal. This created a 6-on-4 counter-attack for Switzerland which created an easy scoring chance.
This new gunslinger mentality at the World Cup is going to break the hearts of some teams and their supporters. But it also creates a more exciting version of soccer.
John Brooks, a 21-year-old reserve defender for the United States men's national team, added his name to the history books last night when he scored in the 86th minute to give the US a 2-1 victory over Ghana in their opening match of the World Cup.
Brooks is among the least well-known players on the U.S. roster.
He was born in Berlin to an American serviceman from Chicago and a German mother, and he has never lived in the United States. He feels more comfortable speaking German than he does English, according to SI's Grant Wahl.
On the club level, Brooks turned down an opportunity to sign with Bayern Munich in order to get consistent playing time with his current, Hertha Berlin. That decision paid off, and he was ultimately called in the U.S. camp on the eve of the World Cup. Before the Ghana match, Brooks had only made a handful of friendly appearances for the U.S. and technically could still have played with Germany.
He is very much a dual-national:
Your new Center Back John Brooks has Illinois tattooed on one elbow, Berlin on the other pic.twitter.com/HIlDSp7dcH
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) June 16, 2014
Making the final 23-man roster was an achievement in itself for Brooks, and many questioned his selection over veteran defender Clarence Goodson. Still, he wasn't expected to play — reserve defenders nearly never make appearances as substitutes, unless a starting centerback gets injured. But just before halftime last night, starting left centerback Matt Besler tweaked his hamstring, leaving U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsman with no choice but to insert Brooks into the game at the start of the second half. Had Geoff Cameron, the right centerback, been injured and not Besler, Klinsman said he'd have subbed Omar González instead of Brooks.
When Brooks entered as a sub, many doubted him, fearing his youth and inexperience would hurt the already-depleted US. Leading up to the World Cup, the starting defense had been the team's biggest question mark and Brooks hadn't even earned a spot as a starter.
But then Brooks became an American cult hero.
I love whoever updated John Brooks on Wikipedia #USAvGHA#USApic.twitter.com/MJHuCx0fRr
— Kelly Millspaugh (@kellymillspaugh) June 17, 2014
The craziest thing about Brooks's late-game heroics? He dreamt the entire scene. Brooks says that two nights before the U.S. match with Ghana, he had a dream in which he came off the bench, scored the game-winning goal against Ghana on a header off of a corner kick in the 80th minute. Forty-eight hours later — give or take six minutes — it happened in real life.
The U.S. faces Portugal on Sunday.
After beating Ghana with an 86th-minute goal out of nowhere, the U.S. now has a real opportunity to get out of the very difficult Group G.
There's a 67% chance they advance to the knockout stage, according to Five Thirty Eight's Nate Silver, up from 33% before the game.
When Ghana tied the game at 1-1 in the 82nd minute, many wanted to the U.S. to stay compact and play for a draw. A tie would have let the Americans live another day, the logic went, while a loss would have all but sent them home.
But in reality, that game-winning goal changed everything. The U.S. is now the clear favorite to finish second in the group and advance. With the draw against Ghana, there would have effectively been a three-way tie for which team was expected to make it out of the group.
Using ESPN's SPI odds for the remaining Group G games, we calculated the expected points that all four teams are predicted to earn in their final two games. The expected points:
As you can see, Portugal is expected to get more points than the U.S. in the next two games. But the U.S. is still expected to advance:
Things would have been much different if USA-Ghana ended 1-1. The U.S. and Portugal would have had even odds to finish 2nd in the group, and Ghana would be right there as well.
It would have gotten messy for the U.S., and they would have probably needed to overperform in the final two games to advance.
John Brooks's header wasn't just dramatic and thrilling, it was vitally important for the U.S. chances of sticking around in Brazil.
Portugal defender Fabio Coentrão will miss the remainder of the World Cup with a groin injury.
He went down in the 65th minute of Monday's 4-0 loss to Germany, and had to be substituted.
The U.S. will face a depleted Portugal squad in their Group G game on Sunday in Manaus.
In addition to Coentrão, starting center forward Hugo Almeida went down injured midway through the first half and is out of the group stage. Pepe, the team's erratic but talented center back, will miss the U.S. game after picking up a red card for heat-butting Thomas Müller.
In the end, Portugal will be without three first-choice players in a game in which it desperately needs three points.
The U.S. is similarly banged up. Jozy Altidore went down with a nasty hamstring injury in the 23rd minute against Ghana. Unless the injury isn't at all what it looked like, he won't be on the field on Sunday. Matt Besler, the team's starting center back, also got hurt, although coach Jurgen Klinsmann said subbing him out was only precautionary.
U.S. captain Clint Dempsey broke his nose after taking a kick to the face against Ghana. He said after the game that he was having trouble breathing.
Sunday's game could ultimately come down to depth and fitness. Portugal has players at top-level club teams that are perfectly capable of filling the shoes of Pepe, Coentrão, and Almeida. While the U.S. got major contributions from two substitutes — John Brooks and Graham Zusi — against Ghana, replacing Altidore looks like a problem without a solution.
The U.S. needs a draw from the game to remain favorites to advance from Group G. Even with the Portugal injuries, it's a tough task.
It has become a tradition for Brazilian fans to sing the second verse of their national anthem a cappella after FIFA cuts off the music before World Cup games.
It happened before Tuesday's Brazil-Mexico game, and it completely overwhelmed Neymar — the 22-year-old who's the face of this World Cup.
He was in tears as the anthem reached a climax:
The camera cut to the crowd, revealing an incredible scene:
When it cut back, Neymar was trying to pull himself together:
This is all you need to know about how much the 2014 World Cup means to these players.
Mexico drew Brazil 0-0 in a Group A upset at the World Cup.
The scoreline is misleading.
It could have realistically been 3-0 or 4-0 Brazil if it wasn't for Memo Ochoa, the Mexican stopper who had the best individual performance from a goalkeeper at the World Cup so far.
Ochoa was everywhere. He made three reaction saves from point-blank range.
His best save of the day — and the save of the tournament overall — came in the 25th minute. Neymar fired a curling header toward the corner on a cross from Dani Alves. Ochoa, who started at the center of the goal, dove to his right and just touched it past the bar.
It was literally off the line, according to the goal-line technology:
This is a great result for Mexico. They're now firmly in the driver's seat to advance from Group A. Croatia, which lost to Brazil in the opening game, likely need wins over both Cameroon and Mexico to finish above El Tri.
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Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev let a straight-forward South Korea shot deflected off his hands and bounce into the back of the net in the 67th minute of Tuesday's Group H match.
The shot was directly at him. He didn't even have to move his feet. Luckily for him, Russia went on to tie it five minutes later.
Yikes:
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After the Argentina/Bosnia-Herzegovina match, Lionel Messi went to meet some match officials but he drew attention for missing this really cute kid mascot.
That has to be the saddest/cutest thing to happen in the history of things.
As soon as he was alerted to the unintended snub, Messi tried to find the boy but he initially failed in his attempt to right the historic wrong.
Luckily, Messi isn’t one to give up. Per photographic evidence, Messi made sure to meet the boy and all was right in the world.
Lionel Messi & the kid mascot who he missed before Bosnia-Herzegovina game! Via @FCBGoalDiggerpic.twitter.com/ZOyq2KoFdu
— 101 Great Goals (@102greatgoals) June 17, 2014
SEE ALSO: The Shock Goal That Beat Ghana Was Even More Important For The US Than People Realize
While the wait for Jozy Altidore’s MRI results continues, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann addressed the media to discuss the health status of Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Matt Besler.
Altidore’s status for the remainder of the World Cup remains unclear after suffering a left hamstring strain in the 23rd minute of Monday’s Group G win over Ghana. He was stretchered off the pitch and replaced by Aron Johannsson. Klinsmann told reporters that he remains hopeful of having him back at some point during the tournament, which sounds a lot like he’ll sit out Sunday’s match against Portugal. The results should be made public on Wednesday.
Per ESPNFC.com:
“We’ve got to see how he now reacts the next couple of days with his hamstring, and we’re full of hope that he comes back still in the tournament,” Klinsmann said. “That’s what we’re going to work on every day. The medical staff is doing a tremendous job [for] weeks, so we still have the hope that Jozy will be back. How quickly, that is down to his healing process.”
Keep seeing stories quoting Klinsmann saying US will get Altidore back for WC. Not what I heard him say. Said he's hopeful about it.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) June 18, 2014
If Altidore is unable to play against Portugal, look for Klinsmann to insert Johannsson to the starting XI. He’s considered by some, a better option at top for the United States.
As far as Clint Dempsey, it looks as if the Texas hero who scored the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup history may have to go LeBron on us and wear a mask on Sunday. Dempsey suffered a broken nose after getting a high kick to the face from John Boye in the first half. He is not expected to miss any game action, but is still considering a mask moving forward in the tournament.
Per USSoccer.com:
“Now Clint has to work with his nose,” Klinsmann said. “It will hurt him for a couple of days. I broke mine three or four times; it’s alright. We’ll give him a few days.”
Like Altidore, Matt Besler also underwent an MRI on his injured hamstring, but the injury is not considered serious. As a precaution, Besler left the opening game at halftime for John Brooks, who became the hero with his go-ahead header in the 86th minute match Monday.
Per USSoccer.com:
“Then at half time with the soreness Matt Besler had, we decided not to risk it and have a second player maybe going out then,” Klinsmann said. ” So we were precautious and took Matt out and John came in and played his first World Cup game.”
The good news for the U.S. heading into Sunday’s match is that Portugal will be without Pepe, who received a silly red card against Germany for headbutting Thomas Muller. The Real Madrid star is known for his antics, but also considered the heart of Portugal’s defense. Fabio Coentrao – another defender – will miss the remainder of the tournament with a thigh injury. A draw against Portugal in Manaus would likely increase the chances of a Round of 16 appearance for the Yanks.
Portugal defender Fabio Coentrao out of the rest of the World Cup with thigh injury #SSN
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 17, 2014
SEE ALSO: The US Stuns Ghana With A Goal 31 Seconds Into Opening World Cup Match
Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the best player not at the World Cup, got tracked down by TMZ in Los Angeles and did a slightly awkward 30-second interview on the sidewalk.
It tells you how far the U.S. still has to go to earn the respect of the international soccer community.
Zlatan was asked about Landon Donovan ("who?") and the U.S. team's chances ("a big joke").
The full transcript:
TMZ: "What do you think of Landon Donovan not playing for the U.S.?"
Zlatan: "Who?"
TMZ: "Landon Donovan."
Zlatan: "It's his problem."
TMZ: "Who do you think is going to win in your mind?"
Zlatan: "USA."
TMZ: "Are you kidding me? Is that a joke?"
Zlatan: "A big joke."
ZLATAN.
The video:
Despite construction delays and cost overruns, there have been minimal problems in and around stadiums at the World Cup so far.
The first real concern emerged after a video of a temporary walkway wobbling under the weight of hundreds of fans at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro after the Argentina game.
"When people walk on it the wood moves, so with thousands of people walking up there, there could be an accident,"a fan told the Associated Press.
Yahoo's Cody Brunner reports that the stairs were still under construction a few days before the match.
"The boards are cobbled together in a way that boards teeter when even one person uses the staircase," he wrote.
Chile and Spain play at the Maracana on Wednesday night.
The video is scary:
SEE ALSO: What Brazil's Brand-New, $3.6-Billion World Cup Stadiums Look Like
One of soccer's most respected knee surgeons told Cristiano Ronaldo that continuing to play on his injured knee is career-threatening, according to El Confidential.
Dr. Jose Carlos Noronha, the go-to doctor for top players, reportedly told Ronaldo before the Germany game that the patellar tendinitis in his knee needed rest "or your future is in danger."
Ronaldo defied his orders and played the full 90 minutes in his team's 4-0 loss to Germany. Portugal desperately needs a win against the United States on Sunday.
Ronaldo "limped" out of training early on Wednesday, adding to injury fears. This doesn't necessarily mean anything. He also left a training session early before the Germany game, but it didn't affect his status that time. Before the tournament, he sat out a few training sessions in New York before playing well in a friendly against Ireland.
According to Five Thirty Eight's Nate Silver, there's a 36% chance Portugal wins, a 35% the U.S. wins, and a 29% chance of a tie on Sunday. The U.S. is banged up, with Jozy Altidore likely out and Clint Dempsey with a broken nose. But a Ronaldo injury would change things dramatically.
A few dozen Chile fans broke into the media center and destroyed a temporary wall in an attempt to sneak into the Chile-Spain World Cup game at the newly renovated Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, according to widespread reports.
About 45 minutes before the scheduled 3 p.m. kickoff, journalists on the scene began tweeting that a group of Chile fans had broken through the entrance to the media center.
In the chaos, a wall with TV equipment attached was knocked down.
Reporters say it's utter chaos:
Chilean fans storming into media center at @Maracanã (@RodrigoGomezF) pic.twitter.com/3nt3bQj8Od
— Juan Arango (@JuanG_Arango) June 18, 2014Literally punched hole in wall pic.twitter.com/zeMsC1kUWP
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 18, 2014Two walls now collapsed pic.twitter.com/CKTgdgiYjG
— Dion Fanning (@dionfanning) June 18, 2014Sitdown protest in belly of Maracana... This is nuts ... Waiting for tropa do choque pic.twitter.com/DraoJ3QAGP
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) June 18, 2014BREAKING NEWS. Massive invasion of Chile fans into press area at Maracana as walls collapse pic.twitter.com/HcSflSLwpr
— Reda Maher (@Reda_Eurosport) June 18, 2014They're trashing the place. This is chaos, complete chaos.
— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) June 18, 2014Media center wall destroyed pic.twitter.com/gSSekeCh0G
— Sam Laird (@samcmlaird) June 18, 2014Oh man, Chilean fans just running wild https://t.co/C85nc94WdR
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) June 18, 2014Several arrests were made, according to reports:
La policía pudo detener a aficionados de #CHIhttp://t.co/KIOfbXbGGzpic.twitter.com/mHwwUEytyY
— Goal México (@goalmex) June 18, 2014SEE ALSO: What Brazil's Brand-New, $3.6-Billion World Cup Stadiums Looks Like
After winning three-straight major competitions, the Spanish soccer dynasty is over.
Spain lost 2-0 to a younger, faster, more athletic Chile team on Wednesday. The defending champions have been eliminated from the 2014 World Cup, and their game next week against Australia will effectively be an exhibition.
After coming into the tournament as one of the favorites, they've been outscored 7-1 over 180 minutes.
Like the second half against the Netherlands, Spain couldn't get the type of possession we've seen from them in recent years. They were hounded in the midfield and sloppy at the back.
Spain's best defense through the last eight years has been its ability to hold the ball and never, ever give it away. That all went out the window in Brazil, and the goals started flowing in past a sub-standard Iker Casillas.
Chile opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Eduardo Vargas stabbed in a shot on a counterattack. They went 2-0 up in the 43rd minute when Spain failed to clear a free kick and Charles Aránguiz netted a soft shot.
The South Americans got chance after chance on the counter. It could have been worse than 2-0.
Some will see this as the death of Spain's tiki-taka style. But in the end the demise of this Spain squad, one of the best teams in the history of the sport, has a more familiar explanation — age.
Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Xabi Alonso are all over 32 years old. That trio had dominated every midfield in the world for years. In 2014 they were run off the ball and overwhelmed by well-organized opposing midfields, and Xavi was even benched for the Chile game.
The Netherlands and Chile will advance out of Group B. The winner players the runner-up from Group A (probably Mexico), while the runner-up from Group B plays the winner from Group A (probably Brazil).
The 2014 World Cup allows the best footballers on the planet to showcase their skills on the pitch – and their curious pregame rituals.
In the days leading up to this year’s tournament in Brazil, popular headphones brand “Beats by Dre” released a commercial entitled “The Game Before the Game.” The ad shows how the soccer world’s top stars, including Spain’s Cesc Fabregas, Brazil’s Neymar and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, prepare to perform despite the pressure exerted by the game’s biggest stage.
For example, Neymar, a 22-year-old phenom who scored a pair of goals in Brazil’s World Cup opener against Croatia, receives a pregame pep talk from his father. Meanwhile, Suarez kisses a tattoo on his wrist that bears the names of his son and daughter. The commercial is a huge hit among sports fans; at press time, it had amassed over 11 million unique views on YouTube.
Curious about the superstitions of other World Cup stars? Here’s a list of soccer’s most interesting pregame rituals.
Even a player widely regarded as the best soccer player isn’t immune to superstition. Portugal’s captain reportedly will not play a game unless he’s gotten a fresh haircut beforehand, EuroSport.com reports. He also has to be the first member of the Portuguese national team to enter the pitch.
Spain’s starting goalkeeper is known to be one of soccer’s most superstitious characters. For years, Casillas wore his socks inside-out during matches, but he’s reportedly abandoned that ritual. However, he still touches the crossbar every time his team scores.
As revealed during his appearance in the “Beats by Dre” commercial, Fabregas, a star midfielder for the Spanish national team, kisses a ring given to him by his girlfriend four times.
A legendary member of the Ivory Coast national team, Kolo Toure insists on being the last player from his team to walk onto the playing field. Toure’s obsession with this pregame ritual runs so deep that he once missed the start of the second half of a Champions League game while waiting for a teammate to precede him.
The Mexican national team’s star striker drops to his knees in prayer before each World Cup match. He reportedly inherited the ritual from his father, who also represented his country at an international level.
Baines’ pregame ritual was already on full display last Saturday, when England played Italy in its World Cup opener. Before each match, the 29-year-old left back walks onto the field, then unties and reties his shoelaces. “My pregame ritual does my head,” he once told Liverpool Echo. “[…] I don’t know why I do it.”
The 1998 World Cup bore witness to one of the most famous pregame rituals in the sport’s history. Before each match, French defender Laurent Blanc would kiss the bald head of the team’s goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez. The move worked: France went on to defeat Brazil to win its first World Cup trophy.
Down 1-0 late in the first half, Cameroon midfielder Alex Song got a red card for a vicious and inexplicable elbow to a Croatia forward as they ran down the field.
This is a professional wrestling-style move right here:
The ref was right there, and Song was sent off.
