A 2-1 win over Ghana was not enough to extend Portugal’s World Cup campaign and get them through to the Round of 16. They tied the US in points but the tiebreaker, goal difference was heavily in the US’s favor mostly due to Germany routing them 4-0 in the opener. Portugal scored first when Miguel Veloso crossed it into the zone and Ghana defender John Boye’s block took a bad bounce and found it’s way into the back of the net to give Portugal a one-nil lead. But just after half Ghana equalized when Kwadwo Asamoah made a nice pass to Asamoah Gyan which Gyan finished with a perfect header to make the score 1-1. The goal was his 6th in the Finals making him the highest-scoring African player in World Cup history. Portugal took the lead 10 minutes from full time with Christiano Ronaldo’s first goal of the tournament. Portugal wins 2-1, but doesn’t advance.
Category: WORLD CUP
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SWITZERLAND CRUSHES HONDURAS, ADVANCE
A hat trick from Xherdan Shaqiri fueled Switzerland to a 3-0 rout of Group E rival Honduras to advance to the knockout stage. The rout started when Shaqiri entered through the right side of the box and cutting inside, using his left foot to rocket home a strike into the top of the net. Josip Drmić then made a nice pass to Shaqiri and the Bayner Munich star rocketed home a shot for his second goal of the contest and he grabbed a third in the seventy-first minute when Drmic got past Victor Bernardez and found Shaqiri who slid the ball past the keeper for the win. In the knockout stage Switzerland will face Argentina. The White and Sky Blue will be favorited in the round of 16 clash but don’t expect that to stop Ottmar Hitzfeld’s squad.
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FRANCE WINS GROUP E, ELIMINATES ECUADOR
France officially became the champions of Group E with a 0-0 draw against 10 man Ecuador, Antonio Valencia was given a red card for a two footed lunge. The Man Untd. forward also was given a red card in a friendly vs England. The game may have ended in a different way if the referee, Noumandiez Doue had seen Frenchman Mamadou Sakho elbow Oswaldo Minda of Ecuador. France will face Nigeria in the round of 16.
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NIGERIA THROUGH DESPITE LOSS TO GROUP F CHAMPS ARGENTINA
The best soccer player in the world scored twice to carry Argentina to a 3-2 victory over Nigeria to become champions of Group F. Nigeria advances despite the loss due to Iran falling 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Messi’s two first half goals were countered quickly when two goals from Nigerian Ahmed Musa tied things up in the 47th minute but Sporting CP defender Marcos Rojo made the difference after knocking in a corner in the 50th minute for The”White and Sky Blue” Argentina will face Switzerland in the round of 16. Messi moves into a tie for first with Neymar for most WC 2014 goals with 4. His first goal came off of a missed shot where the keeper has to dive to keep the ball out so Messi had a clear shot at the goal. But just 20 seconds later Ahmed Musa equalized it with a fierce strike into the lower right-hand corner. Messi scored his second in stoppage time of the first half on a free kick thatthe keeper had absolutely no chance to save. But just 2 minutes after the restart Musa slid in a 2nd goal to tie the game at 2. Then came Rojo’s moment to shine.
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BOSNIA-HEREGOVINA ELIMINATES IRAN WITH 3-1 WIN
Iran’s dreams of a round of 16 appearance ended with a 3-1 loss to already eliminated Bosnia-Herzegovina after the Bosnians had goals from Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic and Avdija Vrsajevic. Dzeko opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a 25-yard shot that slid past Iran keeper Alireza Haghighi. Tino Susic than found Pjanic who I think was offsides and Pjanic tapped it in for the second Bosnian goal of the game. Reza Ghoochannejhad struck a goal in the 82nd minute to start a Iranian comeback but all hope was lost for The “Princes of Persia” when just 1 minute later Vrsajevic netted a game-sealer. BELOW IS THE FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS.
#CountryGPWDLGFGAGDPTS1Argentina330063392Nigeria311133043Bosnia and Herzegovina310244034Iran301214-31 -
COLOMBIA CRUISES TO GROUP C CHAMPIONSHIP
Jackson Martinez scored two goals as Colombia cruised to a 4-1 victory over Japan, eliminating “The Blue Samurai” and rocketing Colombia into the Round of 16 as champions of Group C setting up a exciting matchup against Uruguay. Juan Cuadrado started the scoring for “The Coffee Growers” after a poor challenge from Japanese defender Yasuyuki Konno gave him a free kick, which he nailed. Then came Martinez’s two goals, the first of which came off of a beautiful pass from James Rodriguez to put Japan “out of their misery”. Below is the final Group C standings.
#CountryGPWDLGFGAGDPTS1Colombia330092792Greece311124-243Côte d’Ivoire310245-134Japan301226-41KNOCKOUT ROUND PREDICTIONS PART 2
Colombia vs Uruguay
Pick: Colombia 2-0
Costa Rica vs Greece
Pick: Costa Rica 1-0
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GEORGIOS SAMARAS HITS GAME-WINNING PK, GREECE ADVANCES
Georgios Samaras hit a penalty kick in stoppage time to propel Greece into the knockout stage with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. Andreas Samaris got it started for the Greeks with a chip shot over the head of the keeper off of an assist from Cheick Tiote but Ivory Coast, who only needed a draw to advance looked like it would be the runners-up of Group C after Wilfried Bony struck an equaliser in the 74th minute. However Greece struck right back and when Samaras was awarded a PK in the 3rd minute of stoppage time he drilled it into the upper right hand corner, crushing the hopes and dreams of “The Elephants” and securing Greece a spot in the round of 16. Greece will face central-american power Costa Rica in the first round of the knockout stage, comment down below who you think will win.
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SUAREZ BITES,URUGUAY STRIKES–BREAKING NEWS: SUAREZ BANNED
Diego Goodin hit a late goal to boost Uruguay to a 1-0 win over 10-man Italy and secure The Sky Blue a spot in the final 16–But controversy overshadowed the win when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez appeared to bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellni just a few moments before the game-winning goal. Suarez has a history of biting, he served suspensions for doing so while playing for Liverpool and Ajax. Replays show Suarez moving his mouth towards Chiellni’s arm and then Chiellni showing bite marks to the referee. Suarez could face a FIFA suspension if FIFA upholds he bit Chiellni.
UPDATE 2.0: FIFA has banned Suarez for nine international matches and all football activity for four months and cannot even enter a stadium. Suarez was also fined 100,000 swiss francs.
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COSTA RICA DRAWS VS ENGLAND;SECURES GROUP D TITLE
England ended their dismal World Cup campaign with a scoreless draw against Group D champions Costa Rica. Daniel Sturridge missed three chances for the English and he should have been awarded a PK in the first half but the referee didn’t call it. Costa Rica only had one good chance all day which came when Celso Borges’ free kick hit off the crossbar. With the draw Costa Rica advances and will play Greece in the knockout round. The game ended with fans shouting “eliminado” at England marking a rough ending to the Three Lions’ World Cup campaign.
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MEXICO BEATS CROATIA;ADVANCES TO ROUND OF 16
Mexico rolled into the knockout stage with a 3-1 triumph over “The Firey Ones” of Croatia. Rafael Marquez, Andres Guardado and Javier Hernandez scored within 10 minutes of each other securing that El Tri would advance, eliminating Croatia. “We overcame the first hurdle. We’re happy,” Mexico coach Miguel Herrera said “We’re going to celebrate tonight but tomorrow we have to start thinking of our match with the Netherlands.” The win gives Mexico the #2 spot in the final Group A standings, they would have had to have won by at least 5 goals to jump hosts Brazil. Brazil will play Chile in the first round of the knockout stage and Mexico will face the Netherlands. Rafael Marquez was the first to score when, in the 72nd minute he headed in Hector Herrera’s corner, just 3 minutes later Andres Guardado added a 2nd with a hard, left-footed strike that found the back of the net, and finally in the 82nd minute Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez capped off the scoring for Mexico with a powerful header off of a corner. Croatia added a consolation goal in the 87th minute but it was all over and Mexico marched on.
PREDICTIONS FOR KNOCKOUT STAGE:PART 1 GROUP A vs GROUP B
Brazil vs Chile
Prediction: Brazil wins 4-2 (EXTRA TIME)
Mexico vs Netherlands
Prediction: Mexico wins 2-0