Barca Beat City, PSG Smash Bayer

The round of sixteen draw drew intriguing matches, but perhaps the most anticipated was the match between Manchester City vs FC Barcelona. Manchester City had most of the chances in a goalless first half, then Lionel Messi scored the opener with his penalty after conceding a red-card tackle from Demicheles. Dani Alves finished off the English giants with his goal in stoppage time, to make the score 0-2 in Barcelona's favour.
Paris Saint Germain were huge favourites for their match against Bayer Leverkusen. Matuidi put PSG in front after 2 minutes, then Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored two to make the score 3-0 before halftime. Then PSG's new signing, Cabaye, added his goal to make it 4-0 in PSG's favour.

Fair Play Award Won By Afghanistan

After a hard time with a lot of conflict, the AFF has still had time for soccer/football. The Afghanistan Football Federation had won the Fair Play award, which was won last year by Uzbekistan.

Ronaldo, Angerer, Pele, and Heyneckes Win

The FIFA Baloon D'or is the greatest award a player can get. This year's finalists were Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Frank Ribery. After and outstanding performance last year, Ronaldo was awarded the trophy. Zlatan Ibrahimovic won the Puskas award after his bicycle kick against England, and Angerer was voted women's player of the year. Jupp Heynecks was awarded with the coach of the year, after getting a perfect season with his side, Bayern Munich. Pele won the greatest player of the century award, and the team of the year was:

Manuel Neur

Dani Alves   Thiago Silva   Segio Ramos   Phillip Lahm

Frank Ribery   Andres Iniesta   Xavi Hernandes

Lionel Messi   Zlatan Ibrahimovic   Cristiano Ronaldo

Lewandowski, Bayern's New Striker

The Polish striker had an incredible season for last year's finalists in the UEFA Champions League. Scoring 4 goals against Real Madrid in one match, he is now one of the greatest strikers in the world. Robert Lewandoski is not the first player from Borrusia Dortmund to go to rivals Bayern Munich. A few months ago German midfielder Mario Gotze made the move that upset Dortmund fans. Robert Lewandoski made the move for 5 years, lasting until 2019.

Tottenham 3 Wins In A Row, Manchester City Edge Swansea

Tottenham has been off to a rocketing start with their new manager. In the game Manchester United v Tottenham Hostpur, Emmanuel Adebayor started the match with a goal in the 34rd minute, then new signing from Ajax Christain Eriksen delivered the second. One minute later, Welbeck got one back for United, but it was not enough as the red devils lost 1-2 to Spurs. Manchester City were expected to put away their game against Swansea City, but the game was a lot more close than we expected it to be. Fernandinho scored the opener with a great strike, but then Wilfried Bony got the equalizer in stoppage time for the first half. Yaya Toure scored the next goal to make it 1-2. Then Kolorav smashed Swansea's hearts with his strike. Bony got his second in the last two minutes to make the score 2-3 for Manchester City.

Chelsea Push off Liverpool, Spurs Destroy Stoke

There was a big buildup for the Chelsea-Liverpool match. Martin Skertel scored the opener early in the 4th minute, but Chelsea quickly equalized in the  17th minute with an amazing Eden Hazard strike from outside the box. Chelsea then scored again with Samuel Etto scored the finisher in the 34rd minute. Tottenham had their second game with their new manager, and it went along well. Tottenham Hostpur won 3-0, with goals from Roberto Soldado, Moussa Dembele, and Aaron Lennon.

Bayern Win Club World Cup

Bayern Munich players can now say they got a perfect year, after winning the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, and now the Club World Cup. The runners up for this year were Raja Club Athletic. Dante scored the early opener in the 7th minute, then Thiago doubled the Germans' lead at the 22nd minute.

December FIFA Rankings 2013

It was a huge upset when there were no changes in the top eighteen in the FIFA Rankings. Bosnia and Herzegovina moved up two places, while France and Mexico went down one point each. Iran has moved up 12 points to reach 33rd place. Let's hope for a better FIFA Ranking in the top 10 for the January rankings.

Manchester City 6-3 Arsenal

Yesterday in the EPL there was a fantastic match between the league leaders Arsenal and previous season's runners up Manchester City. Aguero opened up the match, then Theo Walcott got the equalizer soon. Negredo then made the score 2-1. Fernandinho made the host's advantage by two, but Theo Walcott made a second to make the score 3-2. David Silva made it nearly impossible for the Gunners to come back by adding his goal. Fernandinho scored his second in the 88th minute. Two goals were scored in this nine goal thriller by Yaya Toure and Per Mertesacker.

World Cup 2014 Draws

These are the groups for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014! The "group of death" is Group G.
Group A            Group B              Group C                Group D          Group E          Group F
Brazil                  Spain                  Colombia              Uruguay           Switzerland   Argentina
Croatia                Netherlands        Greece                  Costa Rica        Ecuador         Bosnia
Mexico               Chile                   Cote d'ivoire         England            France            Iran
Cameroon          Australia              Japan                    Italy                  Honduras        Nigeria

Group G           Group C
Germany          Belgium
Portugal            Algeria
Ghana              Russia
USA                Korea Republic

Liverpool Smash Norwich, Everton Edge Manchester United

2nd place Liverpool have had a really one sided match against Norwich. Luis Suarez opened the match with a 15th minute strike, then adding a hat trick before halftime to make the score 3-0 at halftime. Suarez then scored his fourth at the 74th minute, then Bradley Johnson gave Norwich a tiny piece of hope at the 83rd minute with his goal, but that was all gone when Raheem Sterling gave the fifth goal for Liverpool, ending the game 5-1.

Manchester United played a tight game against visitors Everton, United had to cope without Robin Van Persie. The only game in the match came by Bryan Oveido in the 86th minute.

Vote now for The FIFA Puskas Award!

The FIFA Puskas Award is to congratulate the player with the greatest goal of the year. You can now vote or go see the other nominated goals by going to the FIFA.com website by clicking here. I voted for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's bicycle kick against England.

   

FIFA November 2013 Rankings

Many teams have earned a great place in the FIFA Ranking after their qualifiers. The top four have not changed, first being Spain, Germany, Argentina, then Colombia. Portugal have moved up to fifth place after their playoff against Sweden, while Brazil moved up to tenth place after smashing Honduras 5-0. England is now only one spot ahead of USA, while France moved up to nineteenth place after qualifying for the World Cup. Iran is now forty fifth place after defeating Thailand 3-0. Canada have only been negative, now 114th place.

Zlatan, Cristiano, Make a Fantastic Show

It was a big buildup for the second leg for Portugal and Sweden, especially after Portugal won 1-0 at home in the first fixture. After a very tense first half, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opener at the fiftieth minute. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a very easy header in the 68th minute. Zlatan added a second, after an smashing free kick outside the box. Ronaldo destroyed the Swede's hopes of making the Road to Rio by adding two goals in two minutes. The aggregate score was 4-2 in Portugal's favour. 

France Fights Back

In another day of World Cup Playoffs, more great teams are lucky to qualify. Ukraine recently defeated France at home 2-0, but France fought back to get three goals to make it to the World Cup. Mamoudo Sakho scored two goals, surprisingly, being a defender. Karim Benzema also scored a goal to make the score 3-0. This meant France is now one of the teams to make the road to the World Cup 2014.

Ronaldo Brings Portugal 1-0 in World Cup Playoff

The European playoffs for the Brazil 2014 World Cup always brings intense matches. For this leg, it was Portugal at home facing Sweden. All eyes were on the two superstars, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal were on the front foot for most of the game, and Ronaldo finished off an intense match by a close range header to bring Portugal 1-0.

AC Milan Hold Barcelona

This UEFA Champions League group stage fixture was a tough one for both sides, AC Milan and Barcelona, both knowing the opposition side have bought tough players and will be using the effectively. Brazilian trickster Robinho scored the opener in the ninth minute, but the world's greatest player, Lionel Messi, scored an equalizer in the twenty third minute, and the score stayed like that until the rest of the game. Other great games in this match day include: Arsenal 1-2 Borrusia Dortmund, Porto 0-1 Zenit, and Shakle 0-3 Chelsea.

Chelsea Smash Cardiff

On Saturday Oct. 19, Cardiff City visited Stamford Bridge for a EPL match against Chelsea. Cardiff scored an early opener by an unfortunate mistake by Brazilian David Luiz, but then the blues equalized by an even more unfortunate goal than the last, the Cardiff goalkeeper bounced the ball only to have Samuel Etto steal it from him and pass the ball to Eden Hazard to make the score 1-1. Samuel Etto scored the goal to make his side go into the lead, then Oscar finished a shot from distance to make it 3-1, then Eden Hazard finished off the game with a fourth goal. The score was 4-1 for Chelsea.

October 2013 FIFA Rankings

The monthly FIFA international team rankings have been updated on October 17, 2013. Spain remain on first, but Germany retain their second place position before Argentina. Confederations Cup 2013 winners Brazil drop down to 11th, but recent qualifiers for the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Bosnia, have moved up to 16th place. Belgium have played in great form recently, and they have a reward for that. They have now moved up to fifth place, Colombia standing in front of them. The best movers this month include Moldavia, Scotland, and Azerbaijan. The worst movers for this month include New Caledonia, Montenegro, and Barbados.

2014 Qualifiers are Back

England vs Montenegro

England were not strong favourites for their World Cup 2014 qualifier against Montenegro, after their recent meeting with them, drawing 1-1. This time it was England that were home, and it was a very exciting game. No goals were at half-time, but England managed to score an opener from Wayne Rooney, then Montenegro scored an unlucky goal, making the scoreline 2-0 for England. Montenegro managed to pull the score back to 2-1, but England got another than a penalty finished by Daniel Sturridge to make the score 4-1 for England.

Germany vs Republic of Ireland

The German giants took their qualifier seriously against the Republic of Ireland, knowing that if they win, they're in to the World Cup next summer. Sami Khederia scored the opener before half time, then Germany secured two more goals to win the match. Germany are now one of the teams to qualify to the World Cup.

Croatia vs Belgium

The two giants of their group, Belgium and Croatia, went head to head in their qualifier, Croatia being the home team. Lukaku scored the opener, rounding the goalkeeper, then scored another to make the score 2-0 for Belgium. Croatia managed to pull one back, but it was not enough as the score was 1-2.

Spain vs Belarus

World champions Spain were a bit underrated before their qualifier against Belarus, and those that have underrated them did a little bit of boasting at half time, the score being 0-0. But Xavi Hernandez scored the opener for Spain, then substitute Negredo scored a diving header to make the score 2-0. Belerus scored an impressive goal, but Spain won 2-1.