The New Republic

Yesterday’s dizzying stoppage-time goal by Landon Donovan put the U.S. READ MORE >>

For decades, superstitious sports fans have lived in fear of their favorite athletes and teams making the Sports Illustrated cover. READ MORE >>

Salon: the thrill of World Cup victory Is altitude hurting Wayne Rooney? Martin Samuel: Germany should fear John Terry READ MORE >>

What is the "American" style of play? Sean Ingle: Germany weak at the back? 538.com: USA-Ghana at even money The BBC's "farcical hype" READ MORE >>

When Landon Donovan finally slammed the Jabulani into the net, 91 minutes after the kickoff, there was one part of me that wondered “Will it count? Will it count?” And not, Alex, because I think there’s been a massive anti-American conspiracy, but simply because the refs in this group stage have been terrible. READ MORE >>

Today's results have produced many interesting developments. Not the least of which is the fact that one of Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana and the United States will now make the semi-finals.

 I think Uruguay have been the most impressive of these sides thus far but frankly any of them could make it to the semis.

 Place your bets.  READ MORE >>

To be just a little cheeky, the answer to your question, Frank, is Yes. This has nothing to do with Team America's performance. We may, nay should and do, all admire their courage, their attitude, their determination to rise above their limitations and their refusal to buckle even when all seems lost. There are other sides in the tournament who could learn from Bradley's side in these respects. READ MORE >>

So far this tournament, out-and-out wingers had seemed to be going the way of the 5-man attack and the leather ball. They'd largely been replaced by attacking systems heralded as more flexible, sophisticated, and creative. Funny, then, that it was old-fashioned wing play that saved England today. READ MORE >>

Every couple of months, Bob Bradley produces a crisis of faith. His team slips and the mind wonders, what if Jurgen Klinsmann were the man in charge? Would we look so shaky in the back? Would our attack have a bit more flair? And then his team turns around and pulls out an incredible result—a smashing victory of Mexico in the Gold Cup, a stolen win from Spain, a fantastic half against Brazil. In this tournament, he has outcoached Fabio Capello; his tactics have been, to my eyes, largely sound. He never lets his own ego or rigidity interfere with the pragmatism that the moment demands. READ MORE >>

I'm sitting in a solid block of Americans at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria watching Team USA play in the sandbox with the Algerians, and the one thing I notice is the total absence of "Yes We Can" chants. This time last year, even the South Africans were chanting Obama's campaign motto. In the teeming Johannesburg bar in which I watched Bafana Bafana take on Brazil in last June's Confederations Cup semis, "Yes We Can" was the favorite refrain, not to mention at the US-Brazil final. I haven't heard it once this year. READ MORE >>