The big names found a way to get to Brazil. With Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat trick, Portugal booked its ticket to the 2014 World Cup with a win over Sweden. Meanwhile France was able to defeat Ukraine after being two goals down in their first match.
Mexico also advanced, though this was a foregone conclusion after they dismantled New Zealand in their first match. This ended an amazing journey for Mexico which needed a late goal from arch-rival Team USA to even get them in this position.
Here’s an interview with Landon Donovan from August 2012 where he discusses Team USA, Jurgen Klinsmann and the 2014 World Cup. It’s interesting hearing his take on the aggressive he expected from Klinsmann and how this preceded the winning streak that led the United States to the 2014 World Cup.
Donovan is a class act, but more importantly he’s the kind of player that can help Team USA do some damage on the world stage.
Mexico was staring World Cup qualifying elimination in the face as Panama scored in the 80th minute to tie their match 1-1, but then Raul Jimenez unleashed a spectacular bicycle kick that will be remembered forever by Mexican soccer fans.
This could be interesting. A Polish startup has an engine that can predict the outcome of the match with over 90% accuracy for certain matches.
This is awesome.
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