Beach Soccer World Cup Ravenna Italy 2011.

4 Groups, 16 Teams and all going at it in Italy! The hosts head up Group A with Iran, Senegal, and Switzerland also in the ranks. Group B meanwhile involves the likes of Argentina, El Salvador, Oman, and Portugal which should be a heavily contested group to say the least. Nigeria, Russia, Tahiti, and Venezuela make up Group C. Last but not least we have Group D which has the fierce Brazilians, the fighting Japanese, the formidable Mexicans, and the not to be underestimated Ukrainians. How about a closer look at each of the teams?
Well the hosts Italy qualified automatically but they still took part in the UEFA qualifying tournament just to get a feel for things. They were knocked out by Poland in the Round of 16 but still have to be counted as one of the favorites. Iran meanwhile have made it to the tournament through finishing third in the AFC Asian Beach Soccer Championship. They were only defeated on penalties by the hosts Oman after an undefeated run up until that point. They defeated the U.A.E. to make sure they made it to the World Cup. Of the African delegates, Senegal are definitely the ones to look out for after they outscored an impressive Nigeria 7-4 in the Final of the African qualifying tournament in Morocco. Last but not least we have the Swiss who are incredibly close-knit and talented. It's true that they punch above their weight and frequently lose when it comes down to the Final. During the build up to this tournament though, they were rather upset on penalties by Ukraine during the qualifying tournament in the semi-finals before coming off second-best to the mighty Russia in the match for third place. Moving on to the Teams of Group B I'll start with Argentina. The South Americans managed to defeat their neighbors Uruguay (a notable absentee in this World Cup) before edging a spunky Venezuelan side to face Brazil in the Final. As so often happens in Beach soccer, Brazil won. El Salvador have a young side that is full of energy. While they were only defeated by Mexico in the build up to the World Cup, the Central Americans will just hope to register a couple of points. Anything more will just be icing on the cake. Oman are in a similar boat after surprising in the Asian qualifying campaign. They were only held by the Japanese who took the continental glory. Will they challenge for the world title though? Wrapping up Group B we have Portugal who combine talent and experience to devastating effect. They were European Champions in 2010 and runners-up in qualifying in Europe. We'll have to see if the Portuguese can shine just as much or even more on the World stage! Onwards to Group C! Nigeria were only defeated by the high-flying Senegalese in qualifying and should be kept an eye on. Russia were a juggernaut in European qualifying, falling to Portugal in the Semi-final but claiming their World Cup spot nonetheless. Tahiti managed to grab the OFC World Cup spot after exhibiting a unity and spirit that left the Solomon Islands asking what the heck had just happened. Finally we have Venezuela who have blended both veterans and new faces into a fierce machine. They got to the 3rd-place match which they proceeded to win from Colombia (who were also giant-slayers) 5-2. In closing this post I'll look at the Group D teams! Brazil are obviously the team expected to win the World title as they have scored 215 goals in 29 Beach Soccer World Cup matches. They have never lost in normal or extra-time, only in penalties to Portugal 6 years ago. Their qualifying record says it all really: 14-1 against Paraguay, 13-1 against Peru, 10-4 to Chile, 7-0 v.s. Venezuela, and 6-2 wins against both Colombia and Argentina in the Semi-final and Final respectively. We'll have to see if anyone can compete against the South American super-giants. Japan obviously hope to as they are the lead Asian banner-bearers. Mexico meanwhile are the CONCACAF Champions and so will also have large expectations. Last but not least we have the Ukraine who totally out-played their European competition in qualifying. Group D is definitely the Group to look at if you want a ton of action as the Champions of UEFA, CONCACAF, the AFC, and CONMEBOL are all present and accounted for. Enjoy!

Today's (yesterday's?) domestic league action.

Well possibly the biggest headline on Monday was the opening of Barcelona's title defense in Spain. They started off powerfully against a decent Villarreal, hammering the visitors 5-0! Thiago Alcantara opened the scoring in the 25th before summer acquisition from Arsenal Cesc Fabregas slotted home in the 45th to make it 2-0 for the half. Alexis Sanchez got the 2nd half started off in the right way for Barcelona with a goal 2 minutes in. Lionel Messi then struck in the 52nd and 74th minutes to complete an utter thrashing. Meanwhile over west in Portugal Benfica have made an early grab for the title with a 0-2 away win against Nacional. Oscar Cardozo gave the Lisbon club the lead in the 25th which was essentially all that separated the two teams in the game. Bruno Cesar then struck in the 5th minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to put the result beyond all doubt. Braga have also done well for themselves, edging Vitoria 0-1 to grab an important 3 points. Helder Barbosa was the man of the game for the visitors, scoring in the 82nd. Porto have an opportunity to take the league apex though, having 'only' played 2 games amassing just 1 point less than the joint leaders who have 7 from 3 matches. Keep watching!

Huge domestic recap! 8/29/2011.

I'd like to start in Northern Europe, Sweden specifically as the Allesvenskan is going into their 23rd round of games. Current leaders Helsingborg defeated Orebro 2-0 thanks to goals from Hannu Patronen and May Mahlangu in the 71st and 85th minutes respectively. All Orebro could do in the game was collect 2 yellows and a red. 2nd-place Elfsborg were edged 2-1 by Malmo who scored first and last in a fairly exciting game. Meanwhile, AIK scored the 1 vital goal of a 1-0 match against Syrianska through Robert Persson in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half. 4th-placed GAIS struck 3 past Mjallby without reply. Wanderson opened the scoring in the 2nd minute for the home side while Mervan Celik struck in the 9th and 75th minutes to lock the game down. Over in Scotland Hearts struck 2 past Hibernian thanks to Ryan Stevenson in the 39th and Andy Webster in the 69th. Rangers remain undefeated after a 2-0 victory over Aberdeen with a goal from Steven Davis and Naismith. A goal in each half was a good way of maintaining their dominance of the visitors. Celtic rebuilt their form and defeated St. Mirren 0-2 in a tough away game. Down south in England there were some huge, intense matches as Manchester United crushed an out-of-sorts Arsenal 8-2! Danny Welbeck opened the game for United with a goal in the 22nd while Ashley Young struck a 2nd 6 minutes later. Wayne Rooney struck United's 3rd in the 41st to effectively bury the Gunners despite Theo Walcott's clean goal in the 3rd minute of stoppage time in the 1st half. So, 3-1 at the half. Rooney converted again in the 64th with Nani tacking on a 5th just 3 minutes later. Park Ji-Sung scored in the 70th to give United a 6-1 lead only to have Robin Van Persie score for Arsenal 4 minutes later. Carl Jenkinson's sending-off in the 77th only added to Arsenal's woes as Rooney slotted home a penalty in the 82nd and Young scored a 2nd in the 91st minute to officially end a game that had really been finished for some time. New Castle were able to edge Fulham 2-1 thanks to 2 goals from Leon Best in the 48th and 66th minutes. Clint Dempsey's 88th minute goal was, while nice, too little too late for the visitors. Tottenham were hammered at home by Manchester City after Edin Dzeko scored a hat-trick between the 34th and 55th minutes. Sergio Aguero tacked on a 4th for City on the hour. Tottenham then rallied to make 1 in the 68th through Younes Kaboul. The good feelings from that goal didn't last. Dzeko struck Manchester City's 5th goal (his 4th) in the 3rd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to end the game. 1-5. On the other side of the Channel in the Netherlands, Den Haag defeated De Graafschap 0-3 thanks to goals from Aleksander Radosavljevic (in the 45th), Wesley Verhoek (in the 83rd), and Mike Van Duinen (in the 87th). 3rd-place PSV Eindhoven thrashed Excelsior 6-1 after a good 1st goal from Dries Mertens in the 30th. Mitchell Te Verde equalized for the visitors so they went into half-time level 1-1. In the 2nd half the floodgates burst. Ola Toivonen started things off with a goal in the 47th. Mertens added a 3rd 2 minutes later before scoring yet again in the 51st minute. Jeremain Lens scored for PSV too (in the 72nd) while Toivonen ended the scoring with his 79th minute strike. Feyenoord drew level with Heerenveen 2-2 while AZ defeated Groningen 0-3. Over in Germany Hannover and Mainz drew 1-1 with Mainz breaking the home side's heart after opening through Sami Allagui in the 2nd minute. Mohammed Abdellaoue equalized for the home side at the half-hour mark and that's how the game ended! Currently tied for 1st place Schalke won against Monchengladbach thanks to Raul's sole goal in the 64th to keep their opening run of on a roll. In the more temperate climate of Portugal Sporting were surprised by Maritimo despite taking the lead in the 38th through Marat Izmailov. Maritimo equalized through Rafael Miranda in the 48th while Leocisco Sami tacked on a 2nd in the 52nd. Jeffren brought the home side level in the 75th only for Baba to score in the 91st minute to give Maritimo a well-deserved 3 points. Over in Spain, Real Madrid demolished Zaragoza 0-6 to get their season off to a perfect start. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the account in the 24th while Marcelo added a 2nd just 4 minutes later. Xabi Alonso made it 0-3 for Madrid after scoring in the 64th. Ronaldo struck twice more on either side of Kaka's 82nd minute goal. 6-0 Madrid. We'll have to see how Barcelona handles this challenge to their title. Enjoy!

Champions League group stage draw!

Well the Champions League has been making its way back to the premiere part of the tournament. We now have the line ups for the group stages and here is what it looks like: The defending Champions from Spain Barcelona will be in the same group as AC Milan of Italy, BATE Borisov of Belarus, and Viktoria Plzen who hail from the Czech Republic. But let's get back to the beginning! In Group A Bayern Munchen  of Germany, Manchester City from England, Villarreal of Spain and the slightly underestimated Napoli coming out of Italy make for what should be a fantastic group! Interesting to remember too, that Bayern will actually be hosting the Final; they will obviously hope to be there! Meanwhile, Group B is headed up by Italy's Inter Milan. They are joined by the strong-at-home CSKA Moskva from Russia, Lille Metropole of France, and Turkish side Trabzonspor. This group may actually offer up some surprises as Inter will be challenged away from home. Group C is led by two of the Big Reds in World Football: Manchester United of England, and Benfica of Portugal. While they are the favorites of the Group, FC Basel and FC Oţelul Galaţi will hope to be up-setters on the European stage. (They are from Switzerland and Romania respectively.) Moving on to Group D, Real Madrid are the definite big name from Spain but the likes of Olympique Lyonnais of France and AFC Ajax of the Netherlands can't be forgotten about. Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia may also surprise people with their hard, fierce play. So to Group E where we have Chelsea of England topping the chart. Joining the English side are Valencia of Spain, Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, and Genk from Belgium. See the rest and enjoy!

Movement in the World Rankings!

After a bit more than a year on top of the world, Spain have been replaced! Want to take a guess at who has bumped them? Well, it's not Argentina. Or Brazil. And it isn't France, Germany, or Italy either. Yep, that's right we have a new World leader! The Netherlands is only the 7th team to have sat on top of the World. Spain's recent friendly loss to Italy is the cause of this downgrade while the Dutch picked up 54 points. Germany continue to hold 3rd despite defeating Brazil. Speaking of the Brazilians, they are now down 2 spots into 6th place while England and Uruguay hold 4th and 5th respectively. Italy moved past Portugal to take 7th while the Portuguese are in 8th. Last but not least we have Argentina and Croatia rounding out the Top 10! South America's highest national side is Uruguay (in 5th) while Europe has all of the Top 4 slots. The highest Asian contenders are Japan who occupy 15th while Africa's brightest appear to be the Ivory Coast. Last but not least Mexico are the banner-bearers of Central/North America in 20th place.

U-20 World Cup Colombia Final update.

It was an intense, fantastic tournament with a lot of great players able to showcase their abilities. The Final and 3rd Place games have come and gone though and so we are left with a Champion. In the Final between Brazil and Portugal, things were level right up until the end of it all. Oscar gave the Brazilians the lead in the 5th minute which was quickly undone by Portugal's Alex 4 minutes later. Nelson Oliveira then gave the Portuguese the lead in the 59th. Brazil were a little paralyzed by this it seemed, and the Portuguese held their ground until the 78th when Oscar scored yet again! So, with things equal at the end of regulation, extra time loomed! Amazingly, it was Brazil's ace Oscar who completed his hat-trick and sealed Brazil's name on the U-20 title for a 5th time. Meanwhile, in Mexico v.s. France the Central Americans did well to rally after going down early to the Europeans. Alexandre Lacazette gave the French the lead in the 8th before Ulises Davila equalized for the Mexicans in the 12th. The 1st half then wound down before Jorge Enriquez and Edson Rivera slotted home once each in the 2nd half to really blow France out of the game. Thanks to all of the participants for a great tournament and I look forward to watching these great players continue their careers!

U-20 World Cup update 8/18/2011.

Well, it seemed business as usual in Brazil v.s. Spain as the South Americans swept their Central American counterparts 2-0. While the match was very entertaining, the break-through only came after 80 minutes! Brazil's Henrique first headed home in the 80th. Then, 4 minutes later, he tapped the ball in a second time to the joy of the fans. Meanwhile, France were defeated by Portugal by the same scoreline. Danilo struck one before Nelson Oliveira notched in the 2nd. So, we have. Enjoy!

Domestic action and more! 8/14/2011.

Well in Scotland we had 1 match today but it was full of goals! Kilmarnock struck 1st, in the 3rd minute through Paul Heffernan before Hibernian equalized 10 minutes later thanks to Garry O'Connor, but the fun was just beginning for Kilmarnock. In the 41st minute, an own goal from Hibs' Paul Hanlon was a step in the wrong direction. James Dayton struck Kilmarnock further into the lead in the 65th while Heffernan scored once more, in the 71st, to set the result in stone: 4-1 for the home side! Over in Sweden league leaders Helsingborg marched over Trelleborg 1-3 thanks to 2 goals from Rasmus Jonsson in the 1st half and Jorgen Skjelvik's 81st minute goal. Kristian Haynes' 90th minute goal for the home side was only a consolation prize really. GAIS edged Kalmar 1-0 thanks to Wanderson's 10th minute goal in an otherwise uneventful game. Last but not least we had Djurgarden v.s. Orebro. In this match we had 2 1st half goals from Paulinho and Valdet Rama respectively to thank for Orebro's 0-2 victory. Down south in Germany we had Kasiserslautern's 1-1 draw with Augsburg and Leverkusen's 1-0 win over Werder Bremen. In the 1st match, Augsburg actually got an early lead through Sascha Molders which held through the 1st half and much of the 2nd. Then, in the 80th minute Itay Shechter somewhat saved the day for the Red Devils. In Leverkusen's match, victory was claimed from the jaws of death by the home side through Michal Kadlec 4 minutes before the end. In Holland Ajax destroyed Heerenveen 5-1 with goals from Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (9th minute), Toby Alderweireld (42nd minute), Derk Boerrigter (51st minute), Miralem Sulejmani (75th), and Gregory Van der Wiel (93rd minute). Bas Dost's 39th minute goal for Heerenveen did just about nothing for a harshly welcomed away team. Groningen defeated Den Haag 4-2 thanks in large part to a hat-trick from Tim Matavz. Heracles were able to edge NAC despite going down in the 32nd minute to a Matthew Amoah goal. Willy Overtoom equalized for the home side in the 66th from the penalty spot while Everton got the winner for Heracles in the 77th. Utrecht tied 2-2 with De Graafschap thanks to 2 late goals from Jacob Mulenga saved them an embarrassing 0-2 home loss. Back up to England now, where 2 big names played, to very unimpressive results. Stoke were able to hold the fort against Chelsea, conceding nothing while not bothering to score either. West Brom on the other hand were only bested by themselves in their match against Manchester United as they lost due to a fluke of an own goal from Steven Reid in the 81st. Deep down in Iberia now, Spain witnessed a fantastic clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid with the result at the end 2-2. It really was a thrilling 1st leg to the Spanish Supercopa with no skirmishes or blatantly late tackles. Rather, it was the site of a good deal of football! Real Madrid actually played more fluid, controlled football while Barcelona did have their moments. Mesut Ozil delivered the 1st goal of the match, for Real Madrid, before David Villa equalized. Lionel Messi then made it 1-2 for the visitors before Xabi Alonso grabbed the equalizer to save everyone's pride. To conclude this post I'd like to look at the conclusion of the U-20 World Cup Quarter-Finals. First of all Brazil and Spain played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the end of regulation and extra-time in Pereira. Brazil's Willian opened the scoring in the 35th only to have Spain's Rodrigo equalize in the 57th. The period of regulation play ended as such despite chances for both sides. (total shots in the game were 43 with 26 of them coming from Spain). Brazil's midfielder Dudu gave his side the lead once more, this time in the 100th minute. Spain wouldn't take it lying down though, and they equalized 2 minutes later to save themselves for a bit longer. So, to penalties. Spain's Amat got his shot saved by Brazil's capable goalie Gabriel while Casemiro converted for Brazil. 1-0 Brazil. Sergei Roberto converted for Spain, but Danilo struck for Brazil to make it 2-1 for the South Americans. Bartra converted for Spain though, keeping them in the game until Brazil's Henrique made his shot. You could tell when Alvaro Vasquez's shot was saved by the keeper that Spain were out. Dudu's 4th conversion just set the result in stone: Spain are out, Brazil are a force to be reckoned with. In France v.s. Nigeria, we had another spectacular occasion with plenty of shots, plenty of goals, and tons of drama. France took the lead in the 2nd half through the exciting substitute Alexandre Lacazette which left the Africans of Nigeria in desperate need of an equalizer. They somehow managed to find a goal, scoring with seconds remaining through Maduabuchi Ejike to keep their dreams alive into extra-time. France started extra-time on fire, scoring through captain Gueida Fofana before Lacazette grabbed a 2nd to make it 3-1 in favor of the French. Ejike scored a second for Nigeria to keep all the pulses pounding but the Nigerians simply couldn't equalize again. So, they go home having done themselves and their country proud. France, meanwhile, face Portugal in the next round. Brazil v.s. Mexico is the other Semi-final fixture. Enjoy!

U-20 World Cup update! 8/13/2011.

Alright, well, it has been a remarkable day in the U-20 World Cup! First of all, we had Portugal v.s. Argentina. In a match full of chances but no finishing, neither side was able to score. However, there were chances galore and it gave the game a great feel although the game was on the face quite dull. In extra-time, both of the teams had rightly lost their energy so there weren't that many chances. When it finally came down to penalties though, the Iberians seemed to have lost it. They were 3-1 down. It seems Argentina could have strolled right on into the next round. Except they didn't. Portugal's goalie was incredible as he saved 1 shot but couldn't stop the other. So it was up to the shooters on the Portuguese team; and they delivered. By the end of it all, it was 5-4 and Portugal were celebrating where moments before the Argentines looked clean through. Over in the other Quarter-Final of the day, the hosts Colombia were rudely ousted by a competent Mexico. Erik Torres gave Mexico the lead in the 38th from the penalty spot which was not taken from them in the 1st half. However, into the 2nd half Colombia finally found their way into the back of the net, in the 60th through Duvan Zapata. Edson Rivera had other things in mind. He struck a double for Mexico in the 69th and 88th minutes respectively, firmly showing the door to the hosts. So, thank you for the great tournament and excitement Colombia and Argentina. Look for more games tomorrow!

Tons of domestic action! 8/13/2011.

I'd like to begin in Northern Europe, Sweden to be precise. Here, teams are getting into their 21st round of games and it is looking quite enticing! Today, Halmstad and Hacken played in what was expected an easy match for the away side. Never discount the home field advantage! John Chibuike's 31st minute goal was all that separated the 2 sides. 5 yellows and a red were handed out though, giving the match a darker side. That statistic just illustrates how competitive the game was though. Meanwhile, Mjallby defeated Syrianska thanks to 2 goals from Marcus Eckenberg in the 11th and 40th minutes. David Loken Lofquist tacked on a 3rd in the 62nd to leave the result in no doubt. Moving on to Scotland now, where Celtic destroyed Dundee United 5-1 with goals from Anthony Stokes (4th minute), Gary Hooper (33rd minute), Ki Sung-Yong (58th minute), Joe Ledley (71st), and James Forrest in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half. True, Dundee did equalize through Johnny Russell in the 31st to make it 1-1, but Celtic's response was quick and painful. Hearts were also successful in their match, winning 3-0 over Aberdeen. Arvydas Novikovas' goal in the 24th opened the game up and John Sutton struck 2 to in the 35th and 52nd minutes to close down any lasting opposition from the team from Aberdeen. Up in Inverness, the home team was handled harshly by the visiting Rangers who won 0-2 thanks to a penalty conversion by Nikica Jelavic in the 60th and a smooth strike from Maurice Edu 8 minutes later. Both sides received 2 yellows and a red each which must call into question the discipline of these 2 sides. St. Johnstone v.s. Dunfermline ended 0-1 to the visitors after Andy Kirk's 30th minute strike was all they needed to hold on to a vital 3 points. On the downside for Dunfermline, they collected 2 yellows and a red compared to St. Johnstone's 1 yellow. St. Mirren v.s. Motherwell was by far the closest match in Scotland. I say that because it was only in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half that a breakthrough was found. Tom Hateley's goal was quite nice though, and a deserving end to the game. Now I'd like to go south of the border, to England. Here, in one of the best leagues in the world, Blackburn lost to Wolves 1-2 despite taking the lead in the 20th through Mauro Formica. Steven Fletcher equalized for Wolves in the 22nd before Stephen Ward gave them a well-deserved lead 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Fulham and Aston Villa could find no breakthrough in their match though, but yellow cards did flow aplenty! Liverpool and Sunderland were left even as well, though in this match they each got a goal. New-boy Luis Suarez gave Liverpool an early lead, scoring in the 12th to many cheers. However, the defense lacked in the 57th to give Sebastian Larsson and Sunderland an equalizer. Up in Newcastle, things were also goalless as the home side were stubborn enough to allow no goals from Arsenal, forgetting to score some in the process! QPR on the other hand, were not so lucky. They could not stop 4 from Bolton who had the talents of Gary Cahill, Ivan Klasnic, and Fabrice Muamba (as well as an own goal from Daniel Gabbidon) to thank for the handsome margin of victory. Wigan and Norwich tied 1-1 in their match after Ben Watson scored a penalty in the 21st and Wes Hoolahan equalized in the 1st minute of stoppage time in the 1st half. Moving on to the other side of the Channel, in the Netherlands we have Feyenoord defeating Roda 3-0 thanks to 2 goals from Jerson Cabral on either  side of Leroy Fer's 48th minute goal. PSV Eindhoven were able to edge Waalwijk 1-0 despite not looking at all convincing. Dries Mertens' 24th minute goal was enough to carry them. Twente on the other hand dealt well with a visiting AZ, winning 2-0 with goals from Marc Janko and Bryan Ruiz making the difference. Last but not least we had Vitesse thrash Venlo 4-0 with a goal coming in the 5th minute from Marco van Ginkel starting things off right. Marcel Meeuwis' 14th minute own goal didn't help Venlo's case. Wilfried Bony tacked on a 3rd in the 51st before Giorgi Chanturia finished the 4th in the 89th. Over to Germany now, where Freiburg were edged 1-2 by Mainz after a late comeback. The game did start a little late though, with the 1st goal coming in the 64th minute from Marcel Risse! Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored what would be the vital 2nd in the 79th. Only in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half was Papiss Demba Cisse able to bring Freiburg back 1. It was obviously too little too late. Hamburg and Hertha Berlin drew 2-2 after a half-time score of 1-1 following goals from Mladen Petric off the penalty spot in the 25th and Tunay Torun in the 43rd for the respective sides. Heung-Min Son scored a 2nd for Hamburg in the 61st but Andre Mijatovic was there to draw Hertha level once more late, in the 88th minute! Hoffenheim were able to edge defending champions Dortmund 1-0 thanks simply to Sejad Salihovic's 9th minute goal.Monchengladbach v.s. Stuttgart on the other hand finished level 1-1 after late goals for both sides. Filip Daems all too happily converted his 67th minute penalty while Cacau drew Stuttgart level with a strike in the 71st. Nurnberg were edged at home by Hannover 1-2 after 2 early goals from Mohammed Abdellaoue and Konstantine Rausch were too much to come back from. Tomas Pekhart's goal in the 56th gave Nurnberg some hope, but Hannover kept it together at the back and were rewarded with the 3 points. The Germans know how to beat people though, and Schalke's match against Koln was just such an example. The Gelsenkirchen side did go behind early, allowing Lukas Podolski the opportunity to score in the 12th minute but they quickly tightened up in the back and gave in return a number of goals. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first 2 goals, the 1st from the spot and the 2nd from open play. Lewis Holtby made it 3-1 in the 48th  while Raul did what he is the best at: scored a beauty in the 59th. Huntelaar struck yet again to secure his hat-trick and correct Schalke's disappointing 1st result. Finally, Bayern were left to ponder the serious question of whether they want to be champions of Germany this season after an unconvincing 0-1 victory over Wolfsburg courtesy of Luis Gustavo's 1st minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half goal. Over in Portugal, Rio Ave and Braga finished the way the game started: 0-0. Sporting v.s. Olhanense on the other hand scored, but so did their opposition in a 1-1 game. Wilson Eduardo opened the scoring in the 30th for Olhanense but Sporting were able to level things in the 77th through Marat Ismailov. Nonetheless, this serves as a disappointing season opener at home for the Lisbon Lions. Enjoy the new league action!

Portuguese league and U-20 World Cup preview.

Well, we have had the opening of the Portuguese domestic league today and it was quite spectacular! Gil Vicente took on Benfica and sparks really flew. In the 8th minute, Nolito gave the Lisbon Eagles an early lead before Javier Saviola tacked on a 2nd in the 20th. Gil Vicente bravely fought back though, scoring 1 back in the 37th minute. However, the home team had to wait until the 2nd half to equalize, but it was a smooth strike from Laionel in the 74th minute that brought things level. We'll have to see how this exciting league turns out as battle is joined! Meanwhile, in the U-20 World Cup, the 13th brings new and exciting games! Colombia is in the Quarter-Finals thanks to a last-minute win over Costa Rica. So, they will be on a high going into their match against Mexico. Mexico on the other hand had to go through a grueling match against Cameroon that ended in penalties. For this reason, Colombia might be said to have an advantage going into the game as Mexico might have fitness issues. We'll have to see! In Portugal's match against Argentina, we have 2 teams that have immense amounts of talent and trophy cases to prove it. Saturday's match in Cartagena is the 3rd fight between the sides at the global U-20 showdown, and the South Americans will be hoping for a case of 3rd time is the charm. I say that due to the fact that Portugal are the only team with an undefeated record against the 6-time world champions after winning both previous meetings in this championship.The fact that this year's Portugal team have only scored 3 goals is alarming, but truth be told they haven't needed any more! 1-0 wins will always be enough though! As long as Mika (Portugal's goalkeeper) can keep his clean-sheet record, things should be just fine for the Portuguese. However, on the other side of the coin, Argentina have been very convincing thus far in Colombia. The Argentines' football has been truly skillful; though they will have some players out of their line-up when they face the Iberians. Best of luck to all of the teams and enjoy!

U-20 World Cup Quarter-Finals matches.

Well, in the 1st match, the giants of the tournament will be facing off on the 14th in Pereira with Brazil taking on Spain. The other match of this tier is between 2 South American powerhouses: Mexico and Colombia. The match takes place on the 13th in Bogota. The hosts will obviously have the support of the crowd, but Mexico are often well supported away at home too! Starting off the other tier, we have France v.s. Nigeria, a game which will be taking place on the 14th in Cali. The Africans will hope to continue their run of form despite the French's powerful style of play. Last but not least we have Portugal and Argentina! They go at it on the 13th in Cartagena. Watch them!

International Friendlies and U-20 World Cup!

First thing is first: International friendlies. In Italy's match against Spain, it was a contest of global giants. Funny thing though, that it took place in Bari, Italy! By the end of it, the Italians stunned the team who were champions in the 2010 World Cup. It was a close contest which concluded 2-1. The Spanish were left out to dry. Alberto Aquilani was the man of the hour for the Italians as he scored the winner six minutes from time from the penalty spot. Riccardo Montolivo had given the hosts the lead before Xabi Alonso equalized from the penalty spot. In general, Italy had the better of the 1st half while Spain fought back in the 2nd. The other big-name match today came in the form of Germany's showdown with 5-time World Champions Brazil. Yes, Germany had a host of chances early on, but Júlio César was simply phenomenal when it comes down to it. Brazil had chances too, but a combination of luck and Manuel Neuer's skill was enough to deny them for a time. The break in the deadlock finally came, though it was from the penalty spot. It was Bastian Schweinsteiger who scored in the 61st minute after Lucio had taken Toni Kroos down. 6 minutes later it was 2-0 from a beautiful piece of field play as Mario Götze rounded Brazil's FC Internazionale Milano goalkeeper to score from a tight angle after superb interplay between Miroslav Klose and Toni Kroos. Brazil eventually drew themselves 1 back from the penalty spot as Robinho slotted home in the 72nd. Germany were quick to re-establish their supremacy with a third goal after Bastian Schweinsteiger dispossessed Brazil's André Santos and squared a ball for Andre Schürrle to strike into the net powerfully. Last of all, Brazil's Neymar drew Brazil 1 more back in the last minute but that was still 3-2 to the Germans! Meanwhile, in Colombia, the U-20 World Cup is 1 step closer to its completion. Brazil thrashed Saudi Arabia 3-0 in their match in Barranquilla. While the match was relatively uneventful in the 1st half, the 1st minute of the 2nd half came with a goal for the Brazilians: through Henrique in the 46th minute. Then, in the 69th, Gabriel Silva struck Brazil's 2nd to tighten the knot around the Saudi Arabians' neck. The final nail was knocked into the coffin in the 86th minute by Dudu. Spain v.s. South Korea was a lot closer though: they were 0-0 through the 1st and 2nd halves before eventually getting to penalty kicks. They were all even except for a miss from Kim Kyung Jung. That could have happened to anyone though, so the South Koreans will surely be pondering a lot of 'what ifs'. They, like the Saudis, had a good tournament though. France v.s. Ecuador and Nigeria v.s. England were also close games, but they each arrived at conclusions before penalties. The French were saved from the block with a goal from Antoine Griezmann in the 75th minute. It was a tough match and either side could have won it, France just were more capable when it came to it. Last but not least we have Nigeria v.s. England. As the last representatives of the African continent, Nigeria have quite a few hopes riding with them. England meanwhile have all of the supporters of the Three Lions behind them. It was a relatively uneventful 1st half before Edafe Egbedi slotted home in the 52nd minute to book the Nigerian's appearance in the Quarter-Finals.

U20 World Cup Colombia update. 8/10/2011.

Where to begin? There were 4 really good games yesterday with Cameroon and Mexico remaining deadlocked 1-1 into penalties. There, Mexico easily dispatched the Africans 0-3. Meanwhile, the hosts (Colombia) faced Costa Rica in a hard-fought, pitched battle. Luis Muriel gave the Colombians the lead in the 56th minute before John Ruiz scored in the 63rd and Mynor Escoe again in the 65th to give the Costa Ricans a 1-2 lead. It didn't keep though, with Pedro Franco equalizing for the hosts in the 79th minute. So, it was 2-2 as the game drew to a close. Penalties loomed and the Colombians were fighting for survival. Salvation came from James Rodriguez who converted a brilliant 3rd minute of stoppage time penalty that clinched the continuation of the hosts' tournament hopes. Meanwhile, in the other tier, Portugal fought Guatemala in what ended 1-0 for the Europeans. Nelson Oliveira's 7th minute penalty conversion was enough for the Portuguese to go on to the Quarter-Finals. Last but not least, Argentina v.s. Egypt. It could have been a fantastic match. Instead, it was a game that was decided by penalty kicks. Not to say that the game wasn't intense, rather, more field action would have been nice. Erik Lamela was Argentina's hero, converting 2 penalties, in the 42nd and 64th minutes. So, that's a 2-0 lead for the Argentines. Egypt's Mohamed Salah did bring the Egyptians 1 back in the 70th, but that was the extent of their fight back as the Argentines held on for the win. More games come today as Brazil take on the impressive Saudi Arabians, Spain face South Korea, a match which may seem one-sided, but the South Koreans may be able to dig deep and cause an upset; you never know. In the other tier, France will face Ecuador in a game that could go either way. Nigeria v.s. England could be the greatest game of the tournament. The Africans are highly motivated and very talented while England are a hard-fighting, close-knit side. Keep watching!

This Wednesday: International friendlies.

50 games are to be played and, despite animosity to the fixtures from just about every angle, it could be amazing. Germany vs. Brazil, Italy vs. Spain, England vs. The Netherlands and the United States vs. Mexico are just some of the highlight matches. Tune in for what could be some great matches!

Community Shield: Manchester City v.s. United. German league too.

It was quite a spectacular game in all respects, 2 of England's top teams going at it: League Champions and near-European Championships Manchester United against big-money wielding and rivals Manchester City. At the end of the 1st half, Manchester City rather surprisingly led United 2-0 thanks slightly to United's Spanish keeper David De Gea. De Gea did not have a good 1st half shall we say. Joleon Lescott's 38th minute header into the back of the net could have been avoided, but Edin Dzecko's long-distance strike was a thing of beauty. Yes, the defense gave him a bit too much room, but that is not to take away from the 25 yard-out strike. The score line could have been quite different though, as United's possession play led to several scoring opportunities which they were unable to take advantage of before City scored. United, however, were obviously tired of losing at Wembley Stadium. In the 2nd half, Chris Smalling was the one to bring Manchester United 1 back. Ashley Young set him up nearly perfectly from his free-kick and Smalling was all too happy to oblige with a finish. Nani then drew United level after a gorgeous piece of passing workmanship. De Gea luckily stepped up his game in the 2nd half which made the going easier for United. With such a score line, some of United's new signings came out to play. Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, and Tom Cleverley combined for a spectacular turn-around. City did hold the line after the teams were made equal, doing their best into stoppage time. They could not, however, stop Nani in the 4th minute of extra-time in the 2nd half. Wayne Rooney's corner found Nani who made it past Yaya Toure and easily slotted home. 3-2 Manchester United, and what a show! Meanwhile, in Germany, Bayern München got their domestic season up and running... and lost. Yes, they lost 0-1 to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in their opening match and it was depressing. Igor De Camargo struck the winning goal for the visitors in the 62nd minute after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and defender Jerome Boateng failed to deal with a long ball from the back which shattered Bayern. Welcome to the new season! Last year's nearly-relegated side beating a former titan! 1. FSV Mainz 05 overcame last year's runners-up Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in a bit of a more interesting game. Sami Allagui opened the scoring in the 32nd minute while Ömer Toprak's late own goal sealed the day.

FIFA Senior International Men's World Rankings update.

Well it has been a while since we went over what things looked like at the pinnacle of the World's game. So, here we go! Spain continue to sit on the top of the World, a position they have held since July of 2010! The Netherlands is still in 2nd place, where they have been since the same time as Spain. Germany meanwhile, continue to hold on to 3rd place; a position they have held since June of 2011. Brazil are in 4th after reclaiming England's spot from last month. Uruguay have similarly moved up, springing from Uruguay's brilliant performance in the Copa America in Argentina. England have been bumped down to 6th following less-than-dazzling performances from them and good games from other teams. Portugal are in 7th still (since June 2011.) Italy are down too, dropping to 8th which moves Croatia down to 9th. Argentina are still in 10th (where they've been since June of this year.) That is after a hosting of the Copa America where they were not nearly as impressive as they could have been. Chile on the other hand are up to 11th following a very good Copa America performance. Peru, Paraguay, and Colombia have also moved up, climbing to 25th, 26th, and 19th respectively. All other movement has simply been around these strong-performing Copa America teams. Cheers!

U-20 World Cup update. One step closer to wrapping up the Group Stage.

Well Group C finished up today and there were 2 great games to be seen. Ecuador were actually able to salvage themselves for the next round. Beating Costa Rica 3-0 was exactly what was necessary for them to get one step closer to their dreams. Edson Montano struck very early in the game, the 2nd minute in fact. Marlon de Jesus tied the knot with 2 more goals in the 13th and 69th minutes. With that, Ecuador edged themselves into 2nd place meaning they are going to the Second Stage. Australia also had the chance to make it into the next round. They just had to defeat Spain by a larger margin than Ecuador beat Costa Rica. That's not too much to ask is it? Well, things got of to a terrible start for the Australians. Sergi Roberto scored in the 1st minute, Alvaro Vazquez scored a hat-trick with goals in the 6th, 13th, and 18th minutes. Finally, Kerem Bulut scored 1 for the rather hapless Aussies. The goal came in the 27th minute. Sergio Canales quickly put Spain back on the right path when he converted a penalty in the 31st minute. After such an exciting 1st half, the 2nd half kind of disappointed with no more goals meaning the match ended 1-5 in favor of the Spaniards. As I post this, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria are playing and the Africans are living up to their formidable reputation: they lead 0-1 in the 79th minute thanks to a goal from Ahmed Musa in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. But Olarenwaju Kayode has undoubtedly sealed it for the Nigerians! Another sensational goal coming in the 85th! Croatia v.s. Guatemala is also taking place with the sides level, up until the 81st minute. Marvin Ceballos has now scored an absolutely fantastic goal! Yes, he collected a yellow the next minute for his celebration but so what? He may have just won them a bit of pride after a rather disappointing World Cup. Hopefully the great games keep coming!

Supercoppa in Beijing, U-20 World Cup, Domestic action. 8/6/2011.

Well 2 Italian giants faced off today in China for the right to the 1st piece of silverware of the season: the Supercoppa. AC Milan took on their domestic rivals Inter Milan and, despite going down 0-1 to a Wesley Sneijder goal, turned things around and won thanks to a goal each from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Ibrahimovic equalized on the hour in the 2nd half after a 1st half that Inter convincingly won despite just scoring once. Boateng then did the honors with 22 minutes left to play, slotting home to make it 2-1 for AC. They held on for the win. Christian Abbitati served AC Milan well, stopping several shots from the likes of Dejan Stankovic, Samuel Eto'o, and Sneijder. Meanwhile, in Colombia, the U-20 World Cup continues apace with Groups A, B, E, and F completed; Group D essentially done; and Group C almost finished. So, who will we see in the next round? From Group A the hosts Colombia are through with 9 points putting them in 1st while France grabbed 2nd with 6 points. In Group B Portugal ended up on top with 7 points. 2nd place was a hard-fought honor, but Cameroon were able to claim it with 4 points. Over in Group C things are still solidifying but one thing is for certain: Spain are through with 6 points from their 2 games. Costa Rica have 3 points which could be enough as Australia and Ecuador each have 1. While Group D also has a round of games to play,the 1st and 2nd place teams have completely dominated their competition meaning the 3rd games are just formalities. Nigeria and Saudi Arabia both have 6 points from 2 games, with the Africans leading on goal difference. Croatia and Guatemala will just be playing for pride as their is no way they can progress. Brazil and Egypt wrapped up Group E amassing 7 points each. The Brazilians took 1st on goal difference. Group F was much closer. Argentina had 7 points from their 3 games giving them 1st easily, while Mexico managed to get by in 2nd with just 4 points. Best of luck to the sides that continue to fight, and thank you to North Korea, England, Austria, Panama, Guatemala, Croatia, Uruguay, New Zealand, Mali, and South Korea for gracing the tournament with your talents while you could. Better luck next time around! And last but not least, some domestic league action! In Scotland, Rangers' match with Kilmarnock was postponed, but Dundee United and St. Mirren drew 1-1 when they played. A draw was also on the cards when Dunfermline took on Inverness. That game ended with 6 goals evenly divided between the 2 teams. 3-3 when the final whistle blew! Up north in Sweden, Mjallby drew with Malmo thanks to 2nd half goals which made it 1-1. Trelleborg were more convincing when they defeated Gefle 2-0. Again, 2nd half goals made all of the difference. Germany's league continues to start up with a total of 6 matches today! Bremen beat Kasierslautern 2-0 thanks to 2 Markus Rosenberg goals in the 2nd half. Augsburg and Freiburg finished level 2-2 thanks to a late equalizer from Sascha Molders in the 81st minute. Hannover edged Hoffenheim 2-1 in a game which saw 2 of the 3 goals scored come from the penalty spot. Koln were handily bested by a visiting Wolfsburg 0-3 thanks to 2 Patrick Helmes goals on either side of Marcel Schafer's 85th minute goal. Last but not least, Stuttgart thrashed Schalke 3-0. Over in Russia, Zenit St. Petersburg have cut down CSKA Moskva's lead to just 2 points after defeating them 0-2. As I post this, Dinamo Moskva are level with Kuban thanks to an equalizer from Kevin Kuranyi in the 59th minute. Sergey Davydov had given Kuban the lead in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half.

Domestic Leagues, opening and continuing. 8/5/2011.

Well possibly the biggest news is that the German Bundesliga is back up and running! The league officially started today with Borussia Dortmund getting off to a flying start. Currently, they lead Hamburg 3-0 after 2 goals from Kevin Grosskreutz on either side of Mario Gotze's 29th minute goal. The 2nd half isn't looking too much better for Hamburg. The Dutch league is also starting today as Feyenoord defeated Excelsior 0-2 with a goal from Guyon Fernandez in the 55th minute and an error from Leen Van Steensel in the 71st. In Russia, the domestic action continues at a blistering pace with most teams having played 18 games. Moscow is very well represented thus far: CSKA Moskva lead the pack with 41 points while Zenit St. Petersburg are in 2nd with 36. A point behind them is Dinamo Moskva. Romania's domestic league is also in swing with a 3-way tie for 1st as Dinamo Bucuresti, CFR 1907 Cluj, and Universitatea Cluj each have 6 points from their first 2 games. Scotland is also in action with 4 teams having 4 points from 2 games while Celtic have yet to play their 4th (thus having the opportunity to take the lead of the league as they currently have 3.) The teams with 4 points are: Motherwell, Rangers, Dundee United, and Saint Mirren. Shakhtar Donetsk lead the Ukrainian Premier League with 10 points from 4 games. Vorskla Poltava and Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih are tied for 2nd with 9 points each. The Czech Republic is currently being led by Dukla Praha who have amassed 4 points from 2 matches. The list of teams that will probably overtake them is quite large as Sparta Praha, Bohemians 1905, FK Teplice, FK Pribram, and FC Hradec Králové each have 3 points having played their openers and won. The Swiss league on the other hand has a tie for 1st with FC Thun and Luzern each holding 7 points from 3 games. FC Sion have 6 from 3 and FC Basel and BSC Young Boys have 5. Best of luck to all of the teams in the new season!

Checking back in on the U-20 World Cup in Colombia!

What an exciting group stage it has been! Youth football is alive and well according to the performances we have seen thus far. In Group A we have the hosts Colombia sitting somewhat comfortably in 1st place with 6 points from 2 games. South Korea and France are tied for 2nd with a win and a loss each giving them 3 points a piece. Mali bring up the rear with 0 points from 2 matches. France face unlucky Mali in their last match after thrashing after suffering a big loss to the hosts in the opening match but defeating South Korea 3-1. Meanwhile, Colombia face-off against the South Koreans in a game both teams will really want to win. Group B has been a little less impressive, but there have been some great games as Portugal find themselves on top of the table with 4 points from 2 games while New Zealand and Uruguay have 2 points each. Cameroon are in 4th with a point. The last match ups include Portugal v.s. New Zealand and Uruguay v.s. Cameroon. Both will be close, hard-fought matches as the winners of the games will probably qualify for the next round. Moving on to Group C, Spain have essentially wrapped up their ticket to the next round with 6 points from 2 games while Costa Rica are almost there, holding 2nd place with 3 points. Australia and Ecuador are the teams that have everything to fight for though, each having 1 point meaning if Costa Rica loses or even ties, they leave the door open for either the Australians or the Ecuadorians to move forward in the tournament. Ecuador face the Costa Ricans while Australia hope for something in their match against undefeated Spain. And how about Group D? Things are wrapped up here with Nigeria and Saudi Arabia the clear winners each winning their 1st 2 games convincingly. Their match on the 6th will be about pride. The same is true of Croatia v.s. Guatemala. They have no chance of qualifying now so we will say good bye to them once the group stages are over. Group E on the other hand has been much less straight forward. Yes, Brazil and Egypt have 4 points each while Panama and Austria have 1 each; but the 3rd and 4th placed teams will give it their all. That is not to say that Brazil and Egypt wont, but Panama and Austria could be more motivated. As it stands presently though, Brazil are crushing the Panamanian's dreams 3-0 while Austria still cling to hope, only losing 1-0 in the 59th minute. Good luck to all of the teams! The last of the groups, F, is the first to be brought to a close. How did it end? Well, in tears for some and ecstasy for others. Here are the specifics: Argentina finished top with 2 wins and a draw, totaling to 7 points. Mexico finish 2nd by the very slightest of margins; winning, drawing, and losing once each for a total of 4 points. England tied all of their games for 3 points, while the North Koreans tied 1 and lost 2 for 1 point. Congrats to the teams that made it to the next round and better luck next time for the teams that missed out!