No country entered this World Cup more stressed out than two-time champ Argentina, home to arguably the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi. The team failed to impress during the qualifying season, and many Argentinians have questioned the qualifications of their coach, Diego Maradona, a national hero, and headache. Maradona, whose …
World Cup
England Hands the U.S. a Tie
The scoreboard at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg was inoperative tonight. So was England’s goalkeeping.
World Cup: US vs England – The Martians Have Landed
One of the lasting images of the first World Cup in Africa has to be the sight of 500 England fans turning a tin-roof township shack into a pub outside the stadium in Phokeng where their team plays the US in exactly an hour.
The U.S. and England Go To War
Dispensing with the customary platitudes that swirl around the World Cup — of how it unites and knits together disparate peoples — the famous Dutch coach Rinus Michels once likened football with “something like war,” a challenge that required thinking of your opponent as the consummate enemy. The English and Americans have a longer …
Day 2 World Cup Predictions
South Korea vs. Greece
Probably not destined to be a classic, these are two sides with the resources to cancel one another out, both having learned to prioritize a disciplined, defensive work ethic to compensate for their limited attacking power. In that respect, though, without having watched either team lately, I’m inclined to give …
France Sabotaged, Again, By Its Coach
There’s something quite obviously perverse about the French football authorities. Mindful of the fact that pretty much all of the nation’s football fans — and more importantly, pretty much all of its football players — believe (with very good reason) that coach Raymond Domenech is an incorrigible idiot, they have finally agreed to …
The World Cup In 3D: Right Idea, Wrong Sport?
Today marked the highly anticipated debut of ESPN’s 3D network, with the South Africa-Mexico World Cup opener the first event televised by the fledgling channel. Over the past few years, every sports executive who fancies himself a futurist has been claiming that 3D TV will shake up the way we watch the games. Since I’m not quite ready …
60 Years in the Making: Can the U.S. Shock England Again?
Let’s drop the niceties: that was NOT a great start to the Cup
With all due apologies to my fellow-blogger Tony Karon and 50 million other South Africans, that a pretty lame start to the tournament.
I know, I know: we’re all meant to celebrate the first game, to be happy for the host nation, to make allowances for the fact that first games are often ties… But set aide these niceties for a moment, …
Not Too Shabby
Happy to swallow my prediction (0-1 to Mexico) along with the boerewors roll I got at Madiba’s, Brooklyn’s South African watering hole where the scene vaguely recalled that vignette in Joseph O’Neill’s fabulous New York praise poem, Netherland:
It was on Coney Island Avenue, on a subsequent occasion, that Chuck and I came upon a bunch
…
Live Blog: South Africa vs. Mexico
Welcome to what feels like the most eagerly awaited day in the history of football: June 11, 2010 heralds the kick off on the 19th World Cup. The first to be held on African soil, if you needed reminded. TIME’s World Cup blog will be keeping you updated on all the events taking place at the opening ceremony and that first match between …
Why the vuvuzela doesn’t do it for me
It’s not that they make too much noise, it’s that there’s no volume control.
The trouble with vuvuzelas is that they keep the noise level consistently high. There’s no perceptible increase or decrease of noise to go with the ebb and flow of the game. After Shabalala scored, you’d have expected the stadium to explode with noise. But …
World Cup Opening: From The Stands
The big idea behind holding the first soccer World Cup in Africa is to change perceptions and prove that Africa, or at least South Africa, is a place and a people as capable as any. With some awesome looking new stadiums, new roads, trains and airports across the country – and a great rock concert in Soweto last night headlined by stars …