Germany becomes soccer World champions

Germany has won this year's edition of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World cup in Brazil. The European country has become the first side to do so on South American soil. The Joachim Loew tutored side overcame a spirited effort that was put up by Argentina in Rio de Janeiro.

It was the third meeting between these two sides in a final. While the Argentines won the 1986 edition, Germany recorded a 1-0 win four years later.

Lionel Messi couldn't re-enact his group stage form against the three time World champions. The Barcelona forward scored in the first four games of the tournament but his goals seems to have dried up after the second round match against Switzerland.

Germany dictated the final match, but they were unable to break down the highly disciplined Alejandro Sabella led team. Gonzalo Higuain had the chance to put the two time champions in front when he got to the end of a through pass, but the Napoli frontman fired the ball wide.

Lionel Messi and Palacio also missed the chance to score against Manuel Neuer who was adjudged the best keeper of the tournament.

Mario Gotze came in as a late substitute for Miroslav Klose and the Bayern Munich player became the hero of the day. He latched on to the ball from the left before beating Sergio Romero on the near post.

Germany has now won the World cup on four occasions. The next mundial will be in Russia in 2018.

Germany vs Brazil preview

The Samba boys of Brazil will take on the German machine in the first semi final of the on going FIFA World cup. The explosive encounter is scheduled to be played in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.

Brazil defeated hard fighting Chile in the quarter final match that was played on Friday night. Thiago Silva and Neymar Junior will miss the clash between these two former champions. While Neymar will be out for the rest of the tournament, Silva will serve a match ban.
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The captain was booked in the last eight fixture against Colombia. On the other hand, Neymar had a fracture in his vertebrae. The Barcelona forward could have been paralysed for life if Zuniga had raised his leg by just 2.3cm.

Coach Luis Felipe Scolari is expected to name Willian as  Neymar's replacement.

The Joachim Low tutored German side will try and avenge the defeat the country suffered in the 2002 World cup final in Yokohama. Germany were beaten 2-0 by the Brazilians.

The Europeans overcame France by a lone goal on Friday afternoon. Matt Hummels was on target in that match and he is expected to be on the starting line up against Brazil. Thomas Muller will be opportuned to add to his four goal tally after the ouster of Colombia's James Hernandez.

Miroslav Klose will also have the chance to become the highest goal scorer in the World cup history. The Polish born striker has scored 15 goals in all appearances since 2002. Ronaldo da Lima of Brazil is the other player with the same tally.

Kick off time : 20.00 UTC

Our prediction: Germany 3-2 Brazil

Belgium bundled out of Brazil 2014

The Belgian national team have crashed out of the on going FIFA World cup in Brazil. The so-called golden generation of Belgium were woeful in their quarter final match against Argentina in Brasilia.

Napoli forward,  Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal of the match after eight minutes.  The ex-Madridsta finished brilliantly after getting to the end of lovely ball from the midfield.

Angel Di Maria was very influential in the opening minutes of the game until he injured his thigh. A ferocious shot hit his thigh and after receiving a short treatment, he couldn't continue with the intensity that was noticed before then.
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Lionel Messi was denied by Courtious on few occasions as the Argentines failed to add ti their goal tally.

Eden Hazard and Fellaini couldn't trouble the South Americans,  while the introduction of Romelu Lukaku was not effective.

Argentina will face the winner of Netherlands in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. This will be the first time in 24 years that the 'Albaceleste' will go beyond the quarter final of the World cup.

Africa's woes continue as Mexico hinders Brazil

The dismal outing of African teams at the ongoing FIFA World cup in Brazil continued on Tuesday night. The Fennec foxes of Algerian lost their opening group match to Belgium by 2-1. The 1990 African champions took the lead midway through the first half when Jan Vertoghen brought down an Algerian player in the penalty box.

Courtious was sent the wrong way by the Algerian player that converted from the penalty spot. The Belgians failed to make any reasonable impact in the first hlaf of the match, while the Africans failed to extend their lone goal lead.

Marc Wilmots men' started the second half on a good note by dictating the pace of the game. After a while, Maroune Fellaini nodded in the equaliser after getting to the end of a beautiful cross from the left wing.

The team scored the winning goal through a spectacular shot the was taken by Martens.

Ghana also lost their group match against the United States of America on Monday. The four time African champions fell behind by a lone goal after Clint Dempsey put the Americans in front within 31 seconds of action. His goal is the fifth fastest goal in World cup history. Michael Bradley ,Johnson and a host of other USA players marshalled the midfield and prevented Asamoah Gyan from troubling their defence.

After the commencement of the second half, the USA soccer team conceded an 82nd minute goal  that was scored by Andre Ayew, but the leveller didn't last. Four minutes later, Brooks scored the winning goal for Jurgen Klinsman's men as Ghana suffered a huge loss in their bid to go beyond the group stage of Brazil 2014.

Portugal and Germany are the other teams in Ghana's group.

Drab draw in Fortaleza
Brazil settled for a goalless draw in their pulsating encounter against the El Tri of Mexico. The five time World champions couldn't put the ball behind the goal of Guillermo Ochoa. Neymar and other Brazilians players were unable to beat the former Ajaccio shot stopper despite firing several shots at him.

The match between Brazil and Mexico finished goalless.

Akinfeev's blemish erased
Russia played out a 1-1 draw against South Korea in group H. The 2018 World cup hosts went behind after Akinfeev failed to make a routine save, but the Russians got an equaliser went the Korean keeper failed to parry a shot that was fired towards the goal later in the match.

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German machine crushes Portugal

The three time World champions confirmed their superiority over Portugal by beating them 4-0.

Germany beat Portugal by 4-1 in the third place match of the 2006 World cup.

Joachim Low guided the Germans to a 4-0 win over Bento's team.  Thomas Muller scored a hat trick while Matt Hummels also got his name on the scorers sheet.

Muller has now scored a total of 8 goals in his three world cup appearances.

The Bayern Munich attacker scored the first goal through a penalty while Hummels doubled the lead.  Muller nade it 3-0 before the end of the first half.
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Pepe was sent off after his crazy attack on a German player.

Cristiano Ronaldo was not given the chance to impose himself on the match. Nani tried to unlock the German defence, but Lahm and his team mates didn't allow Manuel Neuer to do much work.

USA and Ghana are the other teams in the group. 

World cup weekend 1 round up

In group A, Mexico defeated Cameroon by 1-0. The CONCACAF representatives had two other goals wrongly cancelled by the centre referee.

Group B
Defending champions of the ongoing FIFA World cup were demolished by Netherlands. Spain lost the match by 5-1 despite taking the lead through a Xabi Alonso penalty. Robin Van Persie scored the equaliser for Louis Van Gaal's team shortly before the end of the first half. The flying Dutchman lived up to his name by beating Iker Casilas through a looping header.
Arjen Robben also scored a brace in that match. His second goal is one of the best goals of this tournament so far. Robben's second goal was simply fantastic. He lashed on to a pass and raced into the penalty box, he rounded the keeper and beat the challenges from Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique.


Chile defeated Australia by 3-1 in the other group match. Alexis Sanchez out the South Americans in front after 11 minutes before two other goals were scored by the rampaging Chileans.
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Group C
Colombia started their World cup campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Greece. The match was played in Belo Horizonte. Jackson Martinez was among the goal scorers at the Estadio Mineirao. The South Americans are appearing in the world cup for the first time in 16 years. The Greeks were torn apart in the encounter.

Japan surrendered a 1-0 lead in their match against Cote d' Ivoire in Recife. Kesuke Honda put the Asians ahead in the first half. After the introduction of Didier Drogba, Aurie delivered two beautiful crosses that were converted by Bony Wilfred and Gervinho.

Group D
At the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, Costa Rica recorded an upset by defeating Uruguay 3-1. Edinson Cavani scored from the penalty spot in the first half, but the Central Americans scored three goals to condemn Oscar Tabarez's men to an opening group C match defeat. Luis Suarez warmed up on the sidelines, but he was an unused substitute in the match that had Pereira sent off later in the game.

England suffered a 2-1 loss against Italy in Manaus despite creating many chances and adopting an aggressive attacking style of play. The Azurris of Italy took the lead through Marchiso's 35th minute goal . Andrea Pirlo sold a dummy to Daniel Sturridge and other England defenders by allowing the ball to pass through him.

Group E
In Brasilia, Switzerland defeated Ecuador by 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. Valencia scored for the South Americans in the first half after the Swiss failed to defend a set piece. Seferovic scored a last minute goal to guarantee three points for Ottman Hitzfield's men.

In Porto Alegre, France defeated Honduras by 3-0. Karim Benzema scored a brace against the CONCACAF team.

Group F
Argentina overcame Kovac's team in Rio de Janeiro. The Maracana stadium was the venue of this group opener. Bosnia and Herzegovina lost the match by 2-1. An own goal from a Bosnian defender gave the two time World champions the lead in the 3rd minute of play. After the restart, Lionel Messi doubled the lead for 'Albaceleste' on Sunday evening. The Barcelona forward exchanged passes with Gonzalo Higuain before firing a shot into the opposition's net.
Ibisevic scored Bosnia's first ever goal in the 84th minute of play.

Netherlands dismantles Spain in Salvador

The Dutch senior national team have inflicted Spain's biggest defeat since 1963. Netherlands crushed the defending champions by 5-1 at the on going FIFA World cup in Brazil.
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The Spaniards took the lead in the 27th minute of play via a penalty kick that was taken by Xabi Alonso. Stefan de Vrji brought down Diego Costa in the penalty box. The first half seemed to be heading for a slight win for the Spanish team until Robin Van Persie levelled for the Dutch side.

In the second half, Robin Van Persie(2 goals),Arjen Robben and Stefan de Vrji were all on the scorers sheet.  RVP put the Dutch in front earlier in the second half before Stefan made it three goals to prepare at home.

Iker Casillas was a big flop in the second half while RVP and Robben was simply fantastic.

Nigeria lands in Sao Paulo

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The reigning African champions played four friendly matches in the build up to the biggest soccer fiesta. Stephen Keshi's men played goalless draws against Mexico and Greece before losing 2-1 to the United States of America.

Nigeria also played a 2-2 draw against Scotland at the Craven Cottage.

The Super Eagles has been training in Florida for about 5 days before they left Miami on Tuesday morning. Elderson Echiejile of AS Monaco of France didn't travel with the team due to injury. The former Sporting Braga defender was dropped from the World cup squad after he sustained an injury before the match against USA.

Ejike Uzoenyi is expected to join the team in Brazil as a replacement for Echiejile. Uzoenyi was the most valuable player of the African Championship of Nations in South Africa. The former Enugu Rangers player reportedly wept profusely after he was dropped from the initial 23 man list.

Nigeria's first group F match will be on June 16th in Curitiba. The team will meet Iran for the first time in 16 years. The only previous meeting ended in a 1-0 win for the African team.

African champions will leave Sao Paulo for Curitiba where they will aim to record their first World cup win since 1998.

World cup qualifier roundup

Cameroon has joined Nigeria and Ivory Coast at the 2014 World cup in Brazil. The indomitable lions of Cameroon defeated the 'Carthage Eagles' of Tunisia by 4-1 in Yaounde. The 2nd leg third round qualifier turned out to be a bad fixture for the North Africans.

Tunisia were forced to a goalless draw in the first leg. The 2004 African champions needed a score draw or an outright win to qualifier, but Cameroon confirmed their place at Brazil 2014 world cup on Sunday. Webo gave the hosts the lead after 4 minutes of action. A sloppy defending by the visitors gave Samuel Eto'o Fils' team mates the chance to jubilate. On the half hour mark, the Central Africans doubled their lead.

After the restart,Tunisia pulled a goal back,but the Cameroonians added two more goals through John Makoun.

On Saturday,Nigeria and Cote d' Ivoire booked their places at the2014 FIFA world cup.

In the European zone, France were shocked by Ukraine in Kiev. The 1998 World champions were lost 2-0 on Friday night. Their array of stars like Loic Remy,Oliver Giroud,Frank Ribery and Samir Nasri couldn't save them from suffering a loss.

In Lisbon, Portugal defeated Sweden by 1-0. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a beautiful header in the 82nd minute. The Real Madrid star almost scored a brace when his 84th minute effort came off the crossbar.

Greece defeated Romania by 3-1 in Athens,while Iceland and Croatia settled for a 0-0 draw in Reykjavik.

The return leg of the play-offs will be played on Tuesday.

Uruguay and Mexico are expected to confirm their place at Brazil 2014 when they meet Jordan and New Zealand respectively. The South Americans defeated Jordan 5-0 in the first leg while New Zealand were crushed 5-1 by Mexico.

Montevideo and Auckland are the venues for these two games.

Emenike sinks Ethiopia

Emmanuel Emenike's brace was enough for the Super Eagles to record a 2-1 away win over the 'Walya Antelopes' of Ethiopia in a World cup qualifier on Sunday.

The Turkish-based striker scored his first goal from 25 yards in the 67th minute. Emenike forced his way through an array of the opponents' defence line before firing an unstoppable shot that flew into the bottom corner of the Ethiopian goal.

The hosts had taken the lead in a bizarre fashion on the 54th minute. A cross from the left flank of the 'Antelopes' was not well saved by the Nigerian keeper and he appeared to have caught the ball on the line while standing behind the goal.

The Nigerians missed the chance to score a second goal in the 78th minute when Ahmed Musa's ferocious strike came off the post.

Emenike broke into the opponents' penalty area before he was pulled down. He stepped up and scored his fourth goal in his last three matches for Nigeria.

The second leg play-off of this Brazil 2014 tie will be played on November 16th in Calabar.

Nigeria drops in latest FIFA rankings

The Super Eagles of Nigeria has dropped by three spots according to the latest monthly CocaCola sponsored ranking of the member states of the world football governing body.

The African champions gained five points from their 2-2 draw against Mexico to amass 785 points, but countries like USA,Japan and other Asian nations that were involved in World cup qualifiers and high profile friendlies gained more points than Nigeria.

According to FIFA, there are several factors that influence the ranking of teams. A friendly match has '1' as importance coefficient while a World cup qualifier has '2.5'. A World cup or FIFA confederations cup match has '3'.

Another factor is the strength of opposition. For example, England lost two spots in the latest ranking because of their 2-2 draw against Brazil that was ranked 19th last month.

For Nigeria to make a significant leap in the next rankings, the team must beat Namibia in next week's World cup qualifier and also win their match against Tahiti and Uruguay at the confederations cup.