What does Ramadan mean for World Cup players?

Religion or athletic aspirations

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is observed for thirty days, during this time healthy Muslims are expected to fast during daylight hours, this means no food or drink for the hours of fasting.

Muslim player Karim Benzema

Most Muslims wake up early in the mornings to eat before the sun rises and break their fast after the sun sets. Observing fasts is one of the pillars of the Muslim faith.

Brazil at this time sees the sun rising around 6:30 am and 7:00 am and the temperatures closing in to the 90s with humidity matching.

Players would therefore face hot, stuffy conditions with no food nor water and no chance to replenish water loss during water breaks. Several of the remaining teams such as Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France have Muslim. Algeria who also holds a chance to the finals of the 2014 World Cup is predominantly Muslim will have to choose between religion and athletic aspirations.

Muslim fans supporting the 2014 World Cup

Ramadan also called Ramadhan or Ramzan starts today Sunday, June 29, 2014.

Fans alike will be observing Ramadan. Some players have said that they will not be observing this year's fasting.

United States vs Portugal

The stars and stripe take on a wounded powerhouse. 

Click here for live stream of the match.

 Over the past two decades the United States have taken on soccer. A game they really had no clue about and showed very little interest in. The development of 'soccer' as it is called in the United States, shows that finally they are paying attention to the game that seizes the greatest audience in the world. They continue to show vast improvements.

For the short time they have taken it on their interest has increased their potential.
The surprisingly huge fanbase has been the driving force over the past few days for the team to progress to the finals of the World Cup.

Click here for a live stream to the match.

With the crushing defeat that Portugal has recently suffered the United States stand a chance to make a great comeback. This may be an indication that in the very near future they will be a force to reckon with.

They will have to defend and strike at the same time.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his team will try to hold the Stars and Stripes back from their goals in a bid to survive the round of 16 and try to score at the same time. In the meanwhile Dempsey and the Americans will attempt to re-create the last match's score.

John Brooks scored in his World Cup debut

 John Brooks' debut was a wonderful start for the young defender and will give him a chance at appearing once again as a substitute when Jurgen Klinsmann gives the nod.

So far it seems the tables have turned for the underdogs, and the substitutes have taken the place of the stars of their team.

Luis Suarez getting hooked up with Barcelona?

Barcelona or Real Madrid

Mundo Deportivo reports that Luis Suarez is in the process of signing with Barcelona for £52m. Once completed this bid will partner the Uruguayan striker with Messi and Neymar. Word is that the former La Liga champs also had Robin Van Persie and Marco Reus in their sights as options but chose Suarez instead. 

Two parts of the trio

Suarez has made his mark 31 times in 33 matches in the Premier League while playing for Liverpool last season. Most recently following minor knee surgery he scored twice for Uruguay whilst trouncing England 2-1.

Suarez following knee surgery

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho thinks that Suarez is an "absolutely amazing" player and can be the best in his field once he continues to work on his maturity. He confesses that "when he dives and tries to win penalties out of nothing" he dislikes it.

Barcelona competes with Real Madrid in the quest for the 27-year-old striker who is a favourite with the ladies even though he has two kids and is married to Sofia Balbi.

The striker and the striking, Luis and wife Sofia

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz moved to the capital Montevideo and honed his skills in the streets and was spotted by the Club Nacional de Football. He played with them from 2003-2006.

Suarez and team, Delfina and Benjamin.

The Guardian ranked Suarez as the 9th best player in the world in December, 2013.

The French vs The Swiss

Another French Revolution

The Swiss has powerful arsenal but was totally blown away by the French attack. Even with some disappointing play from some of the players that were expected to perform France still made an extremely loud statement: This is (football) war!

Karim Benzema one of the favourites for the Golden Boot award made his expected mark and had other good shots at goal even assisted Matuidi in his goal.

The most striking part of this World Cup to this point is the fact that substitutes have had a great impact on their team's score. 

With goals at the 17th and 18th minutes France unleashed their artillery quite early, penetrating in the 40th, 67th and 73rd minutes. 

At this point Switzerland continued to do battle, their start was good but extremely late scoring in the 81st and 87th minutes. 

If only they had put their battle plan to action sooner then quite possibly something positive would have come out of it for them.



The Swiss suffered losses even from the players as well including Von Bergen who stumbled of the field with a bloddy mouth from Giroud's unintentional boots and was replaced by Senderos.

Von Bergen stumbles of the field with bloody mouth.

'Dreamy' mug shot gets felon viral attention

Criminal or Hero

Just recently when the police in Stockton, California carried out a raid one of the four persons arrested on felony charges was Jeremy Meeks. Police Department of Stockton posted on Facebook the mugshots of the arrested felons to give the public an idea of their regular business. From that moment Meeks' photo became an internet sensation.

Mugshot: Jeremy Meeks

 It appears the ladies and some men agree that he is 'handsome', 'hot' and 'dreamy'. His chisled face, blue eyes and high cheek bones are the features that draw the attention.

Comments vary with mostly men being on the negative side saying:

"It is utterly pitiful the women that are attracted to this person (criminal)"

On the other hand other comments say:

"Versace needs to give him a contract and pay his bail and swoop him up to Italy."

"Wonderfully and Fearfully Created - A Great Master Piece of God's Creation - Turn to the Lord - God Loves you!!"

Even jokingly said:

"Wow! Next Calvin Klein face now!"

"Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz there's a LOT of batteries dying tonight bahahaha"

"Am in love with a criminal." 

Jeremy Ray Meeks appears to have 6 felony charges against his name and has his bail set at $900,000. A fan of Meeks has started a Facebook fan page in his name with over 20K like at this posting, while the viral mug shot on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page has over 61k likes and more than 17k comments and was shared more than 7 thousand times.

Someone claiming to be Jeremy's mom has started a gofundme.com campaign to raise funds possibly for his bail. She claims that Meeks was going to work since he has a job and that the tats are from his past and that he is not presently affiliated with any gang.

Meeks has a son and a girldfriend.

Meeks with his son.

World Champs knocked out

Sent home with their tails tucked in, Spain beaten by Chile.

Spain did not have a chance to regain their composure with Chile always right there on their every move. Chile kept them completely at bay without allowing them to breathe easy.

The frustration was obvious but the kindness was still there.

Offering a helping hand...even tho he needs it.

Not nice

No love lost

Mother got a taste of her own medicine

The only chance and you screwed it.

Spain vs Chile

Football war is on

Two teams with everything to loose. Both Spain and Chile will be playing their hear out, Chile to get to move on and Spain to regain their standing from the mauling by the Dutch. They really nothing to prove since they have already won the highest football tournament three times.

Watch the match here Spain vs Chile
Just allow the ads to load and close them to watch the match in wonderful clarity.

Half Time
The world champions are going home, and they're 45 minutes away from it.

Chile plays unselfishly for the glory of all.

Brazil vs Mexico

Playing now
Click here for the match between Brazil and Mexico.

June 17, 2014 - FIFA World Cup Matches

Belgium vs Algeria, Group H of FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, scheduled for today Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Kick off: 16:00 GMT, 17:00 UK, 12:00 PM ET at Estadio Mineirão.

 

 Here is today's link to the live streaming of the match 

Belgium vs Algeria. 

 

Ghana vs US review

A wonderful match for both teams, Ghana played a a technically more dominant game but the American substitute John Brooks Jr. managed to squeeze a header in to solidify a win.

The United States must have had Ghana in their cross hairs from 2010 when they took away their chance in the round of 16. They started a heated match and scored in the 1st minute of the game. Dempsey who scored the goal gave them a chance to relax and have Ghana chase their equalizer which happened way down in the 82nd minute, Brooks took the opportunity to become the United States newest hero and couldn't believe his eyes when his header went to the back of the net taking them to 2-1.

 

Ghana vs United States: Another heated match?

Watch the match: Ghana vs United States live online right here.

Click here for the match.

Switzerland vs Ecuador

This should also be a heated game, since both teams will try to out play each other.

The match between Switzerland and Ecuador is live streamed right here by clicking the picture or this link. 

Chile vs Australia

Chile it seems has a better chance at coming out on top of this match. Their team comprises of two top league players in the persons of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal. Sanchez plays for Barcelona and Vidal who plays for Juventus will have a chance to venture to the front of the stage against this Australian team.

Australia is not really the faves for this one but who know what will happen with the World Cup starting with such heated matches as Spain and Netherlands.

The Live streaming link for the Chile vs Australia match

Watch the FIFA World Cup 2014 live online

Spain vs Netherlands live streaming online

This year it seems the World Cup is not so easily accessible on television, but thanks to the internet, there is live streaming. 

You can watch the games online via the following links:

Live Stream Link 1: Watch Live Football

Live Stream Link 2: Watch Live Football

Live Stream Link 3: Watch Live Football

 

 

Brazil's Main Sport

Brazil's soccer culture

Soccer or football, as it is called in most playing countries is a major part of Brazil's culture. Brazil is the only country that qualified for every world cup competition ever held. The Brazilian national team won the tournament and coveted trophy a whopping five times, in1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

Brazil produced a number of superstar players including arguably the greatest footballer ever, Pelé, who still holds the title of top scorer of all time.

Cafu, Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká are some of the most notable names to come from the Brazilian team.

Today Neymar showed his exellence in securing 2 of the 3 goals against Croatia. Brazil has always been a favourite to come out on top in every tournament they played.

The FIFA World Cup 2014 tournament can be viewed online by clicking here. Just be patient and close the ads once they load.

FIFA World Cup 2014

When is FIFA World Cup 2014?

You might not always know the answer to the world's questions but you will have a general idea of the happenings of the season. For instance you may not know the exact days of the FIFA World Cup 2014 but you know its happening some time in June or July, 2014.

You have an idea that FIFA World Cup is held every four years, you may also know that soccer is also called football in most countries that are serious about the game.

Info: FIFA World Cup 2014 is being held in Brazil and got started today amid protests. The host country Brazil played Croatia in the opening match and won 3-1 with their star player Neymar scoring two of those 3 goals. 

This year's tournament runs from June 12 through July 13, 2014. The opening match was played in Sao Paulo and the finals schedule to be played in Rio de Janeiro.

The first matches for Groups A-H listed below. The last match for the group phase will be played on June 26.

Date	Match No	Match	Group	Venue	Time (IST)
13.6.14	1	Brazil vs Croatia	A	Sao Paulo	1:30 AM
13.6.14	2	Mexico vs Cameroon	A	Natal	9:30 PM
14.6.14	3	Spain vs Netherlands	B	Salvador	12:30 AM
14.6.14	4	Chile vs Australia	B	Cuiaba	3:30 AM
14.6.14	5	Columbia vs Greece	C	Belo Horizonte	9:30 PM
15.6.14	6	Uruguay vs Costa Rica	D	Fortaleza	12:30 AM
15.6.14	7	England vs Italy	D	Manaus	3:30 AM
15.6.14	8	Ivory Coast vs Japan	C	Recife	6:30 AM
15.6.14	9	Switzerland vs Ecuador	E	Brasilia	9:30 PM
16.6.14	10	France vs Honduras	E	Porto Alegre	12:30 AM
16.6.14	11	Argentina vs Bosnia-Herzegovina	F	Rio de Janeiro	3:30 AM
16.6.14	12	Germany vs Portugal	G	Salvador	9:30 PM
17.6.14	13	Iran vs Nigeria	F	Curitiba	12:30 AM
17.6.14	14	Ghana vs USA	G	Natal	3:30 AM
17.6.14	15	Belgium vs Algeria	H	Belo Horizonte	9:30 PM
18.6.14	16	Brazil vs Mexico	A	Fortaleza	12:30 AM
18.6.14	17	Russia vs Korea Republic	H	Cuiaba	3:30 AM