They’ve been in the finals the last three tournaments. They are the number one ranked team in the world. They have the world’s best player. They have no shortage of offensive weapons. Brazil enters the World Cup as the favorite, but as the saying goes, no team is unbeatable. Today [...]

Watching the very public breakdown of Ronaldo is both sad and entertaining. It is sad because I’ve always enjoyed the guy as a player and would like to see him in top form this summer. It is entertaining because he continues to come up with some great quotes and beacause soap opera-type drama [...]

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.

This week we take a look at the group that many have called be called Brazil and the Other Guys. We would like nothing better than to be contrarians and to predict that Brazil does not advance from Group F, but since credibility is in short supply these days we simply can’t do it. [...]

One of the busiest teams leading up to the World Cup is Japan. The Blues have scheduled nine friendlies before the tournament kicks off in Germany. With Brazilian coach Zico at the helm, Japan continues to improve and is hopeful it can build upon its strong showing at World Cup 2002. Tomorrow [...]

Australian football officials are steaming mad at Croatia’s attempts to lure some of their best young players away from the national team. The latest target is 17-year-old Matthew Spiranovic who was born in Australia but is of Croatian decent. Says Australian Institute of Sport head coach Steve O’Connor, “Croatia have sweet-talked some of [...]

Croatia is trying to woo another young Australian to join its national team. According to Croatian papers, the Croatian Football Federation is interested in bringing 17-year-old Mathew Spiranovic onto the national team. Spiranovic was born in Australia but his of Croatian decent.
Croatia and Australia will play one another in the first [...]

One thing we’ve learned today is to never get on Franz Beckenbaeur’s bad side. The legendary soccer player’s words are almost as wicked as his shot.
Today, Franz lashed out at a German safety group that says the World Cup stadiums pose a safety hazard for spectators. Quoted in Reuters:
“I’m really sick and tired [...]

Winning the World Cup might be the pinnacle for any football player or coach, but it is not what Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira considers his finest achievement.
“Qualifying for the World Cup with Kuwait was much better than winning it with Brazil,” he said. “I worked there for eight years, we built everything from zero. [...]

You’ll be hearing a lot of analysis from commentators in the coming month. Some might even try to break down what Croatia needs to do to stop Brazil in its first round match-up. While we at World Cup Blog will also provide this kind of analysis, we offer you, our wonderful reader, a [...]