Auteur: Andrew Palczewski

Most Goals = Most Successful?

World Cup 2014: The Best Ever?

By Andrew Palczewski   |

Brazil Soccer WCup Brew Ha Ha

In the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup, there were fears that the event would be a disaster. Would the stadiums be finished in time? Could the teams face the steamy tropical heat of northern Brazil? Would pollution and protests mar the games?

Well, according to FIFA, the 2014 World Cup isn’t a disaster. In fact, they’re calling it the best World Cup…ever.

According to Reuters:

Brazil 2014 may have had organizational glitches, but it is shaping up to be the best on-field World Cup thanks to the exciting soccer being played, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said on Tuesday.

“I think it is the best World Cup in terms of the soccer,” Valcke said in an interview with Globo television’s SporTV cable channel. “It’s the World Cup with the most number of goals since 1982.”

Even before the 32-nation tournament enters the quarter-final phase this week, more goals have been scored than at the previous World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

A pretty bold statement…considering the tournament isn’t over yet.

#ThingsTimHowardCouldSave

Tim Howard: The Man, The Myth, The Meme

By Andrew Palczewski   |

Even though the US lost to Belgium 2-1, there was arguably one US player who came out of the match a winner: goalie Tim Howard.

Howard’s impressive play against 27 shots on goal – the most faced by a goalie in the World Cup in nearly 50 years – earned him fans both in the US and abroad. And it earned him a World Cup meme of his very own: #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave.

Naturally, Howard was inserted into other World Cup scenes (and inspirations for memes):

Could Tim Howard have stopped Suarez’s bite?
Tim Howard save.
Perhaps he could have stopped the Netherlands’ Arjen Robben from taking a dive.
Tim Howard save.
Or Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal.
Tim Howard save.

Howard makes appearances in other sports, too:

But he’s not only limited to athletics – Howard is seen making historical saves:

Howard saves the Titanic.
Tim Howard saves.
Keeping the Leaning Tower of Pisa from falling.
Tim Howard saves.
If only Tim Howard was around during prehistoric times.
Tim Howard saves.

And pop culture saves – think of the movies that would’ve been changed if Tim Howard was in them:

He could’ve saved Private Ryan.
Tim Howard saves.
Bambi would’ve been a very different movie if Tim Howard was there.
Tim Howard saves.
Star Wars too.
Tim Howard saves.
With Tim Howard around, it’s safe to go into the water again.
Tim Howard saves.

But perhaps the best thing to come out of this meme for Howard? If he ever decides to retire, he’ll have other career options:

Tim Howard saves.
Tim Howard saves.

Over 1 Billion Interactions So Far

World Cup Breaks Facebook Record

By Andrew Palczewski   |
Facebook at the World Cup.

Story by Reuters

With 1 billion posts, likes and comments in just the first half of the World Cup, the soccer tournament is already the most talked-about event in Facebook Inc’s decade-long history, data obtained by Reuters showed.

The soccer conversation measured between June 12 and June 29 involved 220 million people and 1 billion interactions, the Facebook data showed. And since the ball will be rolling for another two weeks, the tournament is set to break new records as the biggest social media event to date.

Read more at VOANews.com.

USA (2-1) Belgium

United States of Altidore? (UPDATE: No Altidore & No Win)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


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Jozy Altidore.

UPDATE: After being cleared to play, and after all of the hype, Jozy Altidore never took the field in the United States’ match with Belgium. Whether his absence had an impact is unknown. But what is known is that after a scoreless 90 minutes, Belgium was able to score twice. The US tried to mount a comeback, but was only able to get one goal. With their win, Belgium moves on to face Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Previous post:

The big news for this match is that key US player Jozy Altidore has been cleared to play after straining his hamstring in the United States’ first match against Ghana. The timing couldn’t be better – the US faces a Belgian team that has yet to lose at the 2014 World Cup, so they’ll need to pull out all the stops to advance. But just before the match comes word that Altidore won’t be starting. Will he makes an appearance in the match? Will his presence alone make the difference? The match starts at 4 PM ET (8 PM UTC).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.

Argentina (1-0) Switzerland

Messi vs. Alpine Messi (UPDATE: The Real Messi Wins)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


here

The Alpine Messi.

UPDATE: The Alpine Messi kept even with his namesake and his team for most of their match, but a late goal – scored just a few minutes before the end of extra time – gave Argentina (and the real Messi) the edge, 1-0. Argentina will face the winner of the USA/Belgium match in the quarterfinals.

Previous post:

There’s no doubt that the marquee player in today’s Argentina/Switzerland matchup is Lionel Messi – not only is he one of the most well-known players in the game, he’s arguably one of all-time best. But Messi and Argentina will have some strong competition today…from Alpine Messi.

He may not be as well known, but Xherdan Shaqiri has earned his nickname with strong play, and the same stature (at 5′ 7″) as Messi. Can he help his team advance when they face off at 12 PM ET (4 PM UTC)? Or will his namesake get the best of him?

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.