The Whole Delivery

Focus: Whether His Team Wins A 4th World Cup For Germany, Joachim Low Has Proven His Greatness Photo from Getty Images Two years ago, Joachim Low faced intense criticism for his German side falling to a less talented Italian side in the Euro 2012 semifinals. That skepticism on whether he was truly the man who could lead this latest golden generation of the German nation, the first as a unified collective, further popped up despite a near flawless World Cup qualifying campaign. Blowing a 4-0 lead at home against Sweden and the long drawn out feud he and Leverkusen forward Stefan Kiessling had added to the immense pressure on the 54-year-old manager. Low could have easily folded the minute a number of his key talents started to be stricken with injuries. Ilkay Gundogan's long term back issues have ruled him out for a while. Marco Reus suffered a devastating blow knee injury right before the tournament. Mario Gomez couldn't get back to full fitness in time to make the ...

Focus: How Lionel Messi Already Merits Being Right Next To Maradona And Pele, Even Without A World Cup Title  Photo from Getty Images   He posted a final message on Facebook, enthralled by what is to come forth. He wasn’t born the last time his nation won a World Cup, barely born the last time they were in a World Cup final. It’s another step taken on the legacy of a 27-year-old from the town of Rosario, a legacy that has featured a tournament where he has answered all of the questions from any of his rational critics looking for that one incompletion on a glorious resume. Yes, even before the final that could give him the one trophy missing from his glorious cabinet, Lionel Messi has answered any of the final doubts about his claims to be the greatest footballer in history with his monthly display in the rival nation of Brazil. “Tomorrow we will play the most important match of our lives with this t-shirt,” Messi wrote on his Facebook page. “My dreams and my...

Photo from Getty Images and FIFA.com Faryd Mondragon has the unique distinction of being the only player in the entire 2014 World Cup who was a squad member in the 1994 installment in the United States. At the time, Mondragon was a soon to be 23-year-old keeper who saw first hand how his Colombian nation came into the tournament as destined for greatness, picked by some to even be world champions. Of course, it turned out to be the opposite of that, as a 3-1 loss to Romania, followed by the more infamous 2-1 defeat at the hands of the host Yanks proved to be the start of a long painful demise on the global stage for Los Cafeteros. The shock exit out of World Cup ’94. The tragic death of Andres Escobar. The quick departure out of the group stage of the following World Cup in France. The three consecutive cycles of failing to qualify for the 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cup. Mondragon has seen his country endure its pinnacle and a pitfall, its apex and its vortex, its crowing ...

FT: France 0-1 Germany  Photo from Getty Images One experience class centerback over an talented but young one made the difference in Germany advancing to a record 4th semifinal. Whether their trip in the last four this time will come back with a title is another story.  Nevertheless, despite France controlling most of the second half, it was still the brilliance of both Mats Hummels and Manuel Neuer who preserved the lead for another big win for their nation.  There will still be concerns in attack for Low. Miro Klose's movement did not cause the French any trouble, while the still lethargic Mesut Ozil was poor. Thomas Muller couldn't get himself into real dangerous spots because of Klose, but still is a constant threat instead of Ozil.  Didier Deschamps honestly did the best he could on the day, as he had to allow Benzema to have Grizemann and Valbuena on with him for as long as possible. Giroud just could not join him earlier in that half....

FT: France 2-0 Nigeria (Pogba 79; Yobo 90 OG)  Even a great goalkeeper in fine form is always susceptible to a mistake. And that is what happened to Vincent Enyeama today.  Just his moment allowed Paul Pogba the difference making goal to have France survive a Nigerian side who had better tactics than them.  Deschamps decision to start Benzema with Giroud was a disaster, as Efe Ambrose was having his way all day due to Patrice Evra having no one helping him.  The change to Grizemann should have occurred sooner, but came on to push Les Blues back into the quaterfinals. But Pogba did well to maintain his composure and score what turned out to be the winner, with Joseph Yobo on his 100th (and maybe final) cap a bystander for the header.  France will need a lot better if they are to be a Germany team with Joachim Low's side get through a revenge laden Algerian side.  But he likely will return to supporting Benzema with two wingers inste...

Photo from  FIFA.com Whether it was the beginning of the match or the end, it was all about Keylor Navas. The 27-year-old keeper added to his amazing year by coming up with the denial of Theofanis Gekas to allow Michale Umaña to hit the winning penalty, sending Costa Rica through to their first World Cup quarterfinal. It was the latest great performance from the in-demand Levante man, as his stop of Gekas was the only penalty not given in the deciding kicks. Maybe the only man more coveted for Los Ticos than Navas is manager Jorge Luis Pinto, who saw his team muster up another magical display by his courageous underdog side when Michael Umana picked up a poor second yellow with a rash challenge on Jose Holebas in the 66th minute. That came 14 minutes after Bryan Ruiz added his second goal of the tournament with a clever finish past Orestis Karnezis to give Costa Rica the 1-0 lead. It seemed the CONCACAF side would produce another resolute defensive play with the Gree...

Still the best World Cup song ever and the one that should have always been the official song of 2010 competition instead of that "Waka Waka" forever crap (another "genius" move by FIFA), it's the timeless classic "Wavin Flag" from the always underrated K'naan.   Stay tune for TWD's Round of 16 coverage of The FIFA World Cup Finals tournament, beginning with Brazil and Chile at noon ET on Saturday.  

While most people are still surprised to hear that Clint Dempsey is a rapper, yours truly has been on his alternate profession since it all started. From 2006, with his rap alias Deuce, it's Dempsey with the late Big Hawk and XO repping Texas music pretty good in the era when the Houston Chopped and Screwed scene was at its most prominent. The World Cup Flashback Friday edition, it's the 2006 American World Cup theme anthem "Don't Tread." More to come today, stay tuned. 

Postgame Version  Photo from Getty Images  Goalkeeper Fatau Dauda and defender John Boye were the determining factors in the US going through over Ghana, with Portugal realistically out of it because of goal difference.  Germany really could have found the opener early on, but good backline defending by the US kept them scoreless. The US even countered with a few moments on the other end, but it was all about Omar Gonzalez remerging as a vital cog for Jurgen Klinsmann's side.  But both Gyan and Portugal had their opportunities today, with Ronaldo guilty of spurring four golden chances to sum up how dreary his World Cup was. Paulo Bento had to deal with injuries (Coentrao, Almeida, Meireles, Postiga) and stupidity (Pepe) in these three matches, but his tenure looks set to be over.  For Kweshi Appaih's side, against a Portugal team that could have been exhausted after Manaus, they could not produce outside of Gyan's leadership. They fell behi...

It takes quite the achievement to top Lionel Messi on a day where he scores two goals at a World Cup, but that is what one young exciting Swiss has done. Xherdan Shaqiri's hat trick makes him the standout player of Day 14. Messi's two latest goals were matched in the same game by 21-year old Nigeria rising force Ahmed Musa , who was at his best against Argentina and showed why he is one of African football's luminous talents. Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic had fine departures to a World Cup that surely will not hurt their reputations. They earned the goals their performances in the previous two matches warranted and will be a major part in a Bosnia side that will be tough in Euro 2016.   While Shaqiri got all the praise, Gokhan Inler 's captaincy to a Swiss revenge victory over Honduras four years in the making shouldn't be overlooked. The Napoli man showed his underrated value with another solid display in midfield, including delivering the key pass...

FT: Netherlands 2-0 Chile  No Van Persie, no problem for a great mental performance today from the Dutch side. Although Chile did not have Arturo Vidal and Arjen Robben will get the headlines again, most encouraging for Van Gaal will be seeing the best defensive display of the three matches for his team. The inclusion of Dirk Kuyt at left back and moving Daley Blind on the inside in the three centerback role prove to be quite effective. Although Alexis Sanchez did have his moments,  most of them happened on the outside of the box. Eduardo Vargas didn't have anything significant in this match and that is a testament to the organized displays from Ron Vlaar and Stefan De Vrij. If there was one team in this tournament who do not fear facing Brazil in a Round of 16 encounter, it is certainly Chile. With Vidal fully rested now, they will need everything from the Juventus man to cause the big upset. Meanwhile, the Dutch will await Mexico or Croatia in the Round of 16. A...

Pre-game Thoughts Netherlands-Chile For the Dutch vs Chile, Dirk Kuyt's inclusion into this World Cup will be so key, as Van Gaal has placed him at outside wingback to make Alexis Sanchez have to defend a bit. You could also see Nigel de Jong play deeper to monitor Sanchez, especially with Arturo Vidal on the bench Jeremaine Lens is preferred over Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for the little more mobility up top to pressure the diminutive pairing of Medel and Jara. Isla may have to comeback and contend with that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Australia-Spain Meanwhile, as the final international game for Xabi Alonso (and maybe the last for David Villa as well) gets all the attention, it will be interesting to see what young Adam Taggart does as life after Tim Cahill begins. (Will be a Halftime and Postgame Thread) 

Photo from Getty Images  FT: Korea Republic 2-4 Algeria  As mentioned at halftime, Kim Young-Gwon and Hong Jeong-Ho reputations diminished massively today. Islam Slimani gave them constant problems, and when they needed Han Kook-Young to protect them, he could not on that sweet 4th goal from Yacine Brahimi.   A dream day for Valid Halilhodzic, as the tensions between him and the Algerian federation will subside for tonight. Concerns though will be how his captain Madjid Bougherra lost focus on Son's goal while his backline couldn't prevent Koo finishing the second.   Hong Myung-Bo will have to ponder major chances heading into a must win side against a Belgium team who will at least look to have one good performance before the knockout stage.  It's one thing to have Messi and company score a boatload of goals on them four years ago, but it is another to have a talented but decent at best Algerian side do the same.  (More to c...

Photo from FIFA.com First, how Referee Carballo didn't send Diego Godin off for his deliberate challenge on Sterling after already receiving a yellow clearly must have been due to just the Spanish speaking solidarity. That can only explain how ridiculous that call was not made.  Second, another listless performance from Gerrard, Welbeck, and Henderson, and it seems again that the same problems that Gerrard had with Lampard seem to be the same with Henderson.  Henderson plays on the right at Liverpool a little ahead of Gerrard, but he's just playing ahead of him in the center and neither really are committed to joining in on the attack. Henderson has got to stick behind Gerrard and protect him when he gets forward while the captain has to be that deep lying playmaker for his nation. That is the only way they will get themselves out of this mess.  For Oscar Tabarez, it was as perfect of a half you could come up with outside of Godin being lucky to not be...

Best XI For Day 5  The undisputed choices were Muller, Kroos, and Khedira. Muller obviously with no further explanation needed, with Kroos showing once again how great his passing is no matter if he is deep or forward in the midfield. Sami Khedira has found maybe his best after a long term injury absence. Manager Jogi Low needed that so badly in his sea of injuries that now unfortunately includes Mats Hummels.  The rest was not so straight forward, but Hummels and Mehrdad Pooladi definitely deserved their place.  The Borussia Dormund man's fine header broke the game open for Germany before Pepe tried to break Muller's head, while Merhdad did so well to hold firm on the left for Iran while also providing a great ball that Ashkan Dejagah could have given the Persian princes a great victory.   Geoff Cameron throughout the day did as best a job on Asamoah Gyan as a centerback could do and wasn't responsible for that tremendous backheel he set up Ayew ...

Photo from FIFA Argentina-Bosnia's The Tactical Thoughts  1) Weary of Bosnia's attack, Sabella has went with a five man defense, where Roja versus Hajrovic will be key. You expected Zabaleta will try and make Lulic defend, but can Roja do the same on the young Galatsaray rising force.  2) With Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez with him, who will be the creative man that will join the front three, or will Zabaleta be that man. This is a risky formation (in terms of creativity) that Sabella has decided to go to instead of with Palacios as another attacking option.  3) How Dzeko is able to deal with not just two, but maybe three men on him will be interesting. You'd expect Garay and Fernandez to be the main ones on him with Campagano focused more on Mismovic underneath.  4) The dogged Muhamed Besic has a chance to move away from the Hungarian league and be a holding midfield destroying personality. He following around Di Maria and Messi to make sure ...

Photo from Fifa  Mexico-Cameroon Pre-Match:  The Formations:  Cameroon                               Itandje        Djeugoue-   N'Koulou - Chedjou -  Assou Ekotto                         Mbia    -    Enoh                                    Song              Moukandjo          Choupo-Moting                                 Eto'o            ------------------------------------------------------------------------               ...

Final Thoughts For Croatia:  1) Stipe Pletikosa has been a reliable goalkeeper for so many years for Croatia, but may have seen his final night as his nation's #1. Monaco's Danijel Subastic surely would have at least saved at least two of those goals that went in, including that poor Nyemar penalty, and may have saved all three of them. It is something that Niko Kovac will ponder a lot on over the next few days 2) Kovac will be relieved to have Mario Mandzukic back in the lineup, as Nikica Jelavic showed tonight how far he has fallen from just last year. He offered nothing of significance despite a nervy defense and lively play from Ivica Olic on the left.  3) Considering it was an off night for Ivan Perisic, and the match was always going to be difficult for playmakers Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, Kovac can take confront in his side showing that they have the quality to cause major problems to anyone, anywhere. This performance will certainly make them ...