An estimated 200 people in Mexico City had nothing better to do on Tuesday than to march through the streets protesting coach Ricardo La Volpe’s decision not to include forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco on El Tri’s World Cup roster. Blanco, best known for a move that works about 7.3% of the time called the [...]

When I was a pupil about 75 years ago I remember there were always people in my class who turned in their homework assignments days ahead of time. I wasn’t one of them. I usually waited until the last possible moment if I even got the work done at all. I mention [...]

Over the course of the past few months, World Cup Blog has offered its infallible predictions for each of the World Cup groups. We are so confident of the infallibility of our selections that we are willing to match wits with the smartest kids on the block: Google. Google Fight is a [...]

Iran midfielder Ali Karimi sustained an ankle injury on Saturday that should keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. Karimi fell awkwardly while playing for Bayern Munich against Hamburg. Initial reports were that he didn’t break any bones but his ankle will require a cast. Karimi is unquestionably Iran’s [...]

We’ve taken a look at the teams that impressed and distressed during this week’s friendlies, now let’s take a gander at which World Cup groups are alive and kicking, and which ones are on life support.

With Mexico, Iran and Portugal lumped in the same group there are some familiar faces in Group D to go along with World Cup virgin Angola. None of these teams, however, have ever met in previous World Cups. With three capable teams vying for two open spots this group could be one of [...]

No mohawks, mullets or long hair. Oh my.
That’s the ruling Iran’s Football Federation has handed down to its players as it tries to make its players look more “appropriate� on the pitch.
It is not often that World Cup Blog agrees with the limiting of freedom, but our eyes are still trying to recover from [...]

You can call Lee Woon-jae a lot of things but foolish isn’t one of them.
The Korean keeper has published a collection of essays comparing the various national team coaches for whom he has played. In what must come as a surprise to no one, he has positive things to say about his current coach [...]

So, think you’re passionate about your team? Know all the players for the last 20 years, the coaching strategy, the glories and failures on the pitch? Have an opinion and not afraid to share it?
Writing for World Cup Blog about your country is an opportunity to share your passion and cover your team’s progress through [...]