Croatia

Mexico (3-1) Croatia

Croatia vs. Mexico: Who Will Advance? (UPDATE: Mexico Moves On)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


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Mexican fans.

UPDATE: Mexico beats Croatia 3-1, and earns a spot in the Round of 16.

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Cameroon’s already been eliminated from Group A, leaving Brazil, Croatia and Mexico battling for the two spots in Group A. Barring an upset of epic proportions, Brazil looks likely to best Cameroon in their match, and advance to the Round of 16. But who will be the other team from Group A to advance: Croatia or Mexico? The two face off today 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.

Croatia (4-0) Cameroon

Cameroon and Croatia in Group A Fight for Survival (UPDATE: Croatia Dominates)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


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It's do or die for Cameroon in today's World Cup match.
AP | Fernando Llano

UPDATE: With a 4-0 win over Cameroon, Croatia earns their first win and stays alive in Group A. The Indomitable Lions, meanwhile, were anything but indomitable, and leave the 2014 World Cup with two losses.

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From VOANews.com:

Wednesday’s final matchup features Croatia and Cameroon, two teams in Group A that lost their opening games and need a good result to keep their World Cup dreams alive. The match begins at 6 PM ET (10 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.

From Sao Paolo to Brooklyn

Os fãs do futebol de Seleção em Brooklyn

By Mike Eckel   |

Brazil wins and they go crazy in… Brooklyn?!

New York City has one of the largest populations of Brazilians and Brazilian-Americans in the United States (eastern Massachusetts has the largest). So no surprises that they were going bonkers in one neighborhood in Brooklyn Thursday when the Seleção opened their World Cup bid with a 3-1 victory over Croatia.

Check out the scene at this VOA photo gallery from photographer Adam Phillips.

Croatian Player: Just Give the Trophy to Brazil

By Andrew Palczewski   |
Croatian players were outraged over what they thought was an unjustified penalty.

Thanassis Stavrakis | AP

The 2014 World Cup kicked off yesterday with Brazil beating Croatia 3-1. But the game was not without controversy: Croatia alleges an early penalty that gave Brazil the lead shouldn’t have been called.

Speaking to the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Croatia’s players could hardly hide their anger:

Dejan Lovren was judged to have fouled the Brazil striker Fred, resulting in a penalty. The Southampton defender was the most furious among Croatia players. “I can hardly hold back the tears,” he said. “Why don’t they just hand out the trophy to Brazil right away? Everything is going their way, everyone is saying they must win it, so why do we play then?

“The ref didn’t even speak English. I asked him why did he give the penalty and he just mumbled something. My team-mates tell me the same thing – how can you have an international ref who is officiating the opening match, but he doesn’t speak English and you can’t even speak to him?”

Was the ref’s call justified? Or are the claims of favoritism for Brazil true? Tell us below, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Follow Live Match Coverage

Brazil-Croatia Will Start or Spoil The Party

By Mike Eckel   |


here

Croatia v. Brazil

Paulo Whitaker, Antonio Bronic | Reuters

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 unparalleled multilingual, multinational analysis.

VOA correspondents will be tweeting and providing commentary and critiques of every match in Brazil, beginning with the kick-off match of Brazil v. Croatia, beginning at 4 p.m. USEDT (8 p.m. GMT)

Check it out here.

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