Referees weren’t supposed to be a big story this World Cup, but like most competitions they played a major role in the first round. Some games were well officiated. Some it might have been better to have no officials at all.

The Round of 16 is complete and what a group of teams that are left! The tournament is really going to heat up now that we are in the knockout stage and so many of the big powers are playing one another. Before we move forward, let’s take one last look back at [...]

This is it. After today all of the group play matches are finished and we start getting really serious with knockout games. Some of the groups brought us exciting matches and tense moments. Other groups delivered some less than spectacular play.

We saw it during the France-South Korea game. A shot by France appeared to be across the goal line only to not be ruled a goal by the referee. This is not the first time this has happened and it certainly won’t be the last. With camera and sensor technology highly developed [...]

Today kicks off four straight days where games are played simultaneously. On some days both the of the games being played have huge significance. On other days, the teams advancing from the groups have already been decided and at least one of the games is essentially meaningless. We have our first example [...]

Following his team’s tie against Italy on Saturday in which two of his players were sent off, United States coach Bruce Arena said that the referees give an easier ride to the more established football powers. “It’s natural, the powers in the game probably get a bit more respect on the officiating, it’s not [...]

It happens to me every World Cup. You watch games involving teams that you don’t really care about, but eventually a team wins you over. Maybe it is their style of play or maybe it is one of their players, but you end up cheering on a team that isn’t your own. [...]

My, how time flies by. We are already nearly halfway through the 48 first round matches. Some games have been entertaining, some have been about as fun as having a root canal. In either case, we have already seen some very good individual efforts by players both well known and obscure.

We’re a little less than a week into the World Cup and all 32 teams have played at least once. Some teams have shined, some have surprised and some have stunk up the joint. Now that you have seen all the teams, what are your answers to the following questions:

The final four teams open up their World Cup campaigns. Spain takes on Ukraine, Tunisia slugs it out with Saudia Arabia and Germany looks to punch its ticket to the next round against Poland. Looking at this schedule and I can’t help but think it is going to be a great day of [...]