5 Things You Missed At The World Cup In Brazil: Week 4
By J.L. Herrera
The World Cup is still in motion and the USMNT is still alive in Brazil. Here are five things that you may have missed during the World Cup this past week.
1. Luis Suarez Booted from the World Cup
Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was booted from the World Cup for his biting incident during the match between Uruguay and Italy of Group D. Suarez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder while Suarez was trying to get open in the box. The referee did not see the play, but FIFA took action after the game. Suarez was banned for nine international games, including the World Cup games, and four months from playing club soccer. Believe or not, this was Suarez's third incident in which he has bitten a rival player.
2. USA ranked 11th
Many soccer sites have recalculated the ranks of the last 16 teams that were left from the group games. Out of the last 16 teams in the World Cup, the United States Men's National Team has been ranked 11th. This is a huge jump for the US as many expected them to be 16th or 15th. Of course, the host of the World Cup has been ranked as the number one team. Brazil has been picked as number one of the last 16.
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Head coach Alejandro Sabella of Argentina (credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
3. Rumors of Argentina Not Getting Along with Coach
There's been a rumor reported that Argentina, one of the candidates to win the World Cup, is not getting along with the coach. The report started when Argentine striker Ezequiel Lavezzi squirted water on his coach, Alejandro Sabella, while being harshly told orders at the sideline. Lavezzi was accused of being disrespectful, as the footage did look like it was an action done out of lack of respect. Rumors started that the Argentine players are not in accord with their coach with tactics on the field. Other reports stated that Lavezzi is the joker of the team and the water squirt to the face was a joke on his own coach. Still, the footage does not look like it was a joke.
>>More '5 Things You Missed At The World Cup' here
4. The U.S. vs. Germany Game More Popular than Super Bowl
The US game against Germany was more popular than the last Super Bowl. On the internet, Americans streamed the U.S. vs. Germany game more than the last Super Bowl. There were 1.7 million Americans streaming the soccer game compared to 600,000 streaming the last Super Bowl. The reason behind this is that the Super Bowl is televised on national networks all over the nation, while the World Cup is not. Only people who have ESPN can watch the World Cup and not everyone has cable in the U.S.. Anyway, this is still big news for US soccer.
Referee Mark Geiger (credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
5. US Referee Makes History by Officiating in World Cup Knockout Rounds
Mark Geiger, 39 years old, is the first US referee to officiate in the knockout rounds. In the past, US referees have only officiated for the group stages. In Brazil for this World Cup, Geiger has made history for the U.S. by being the appointed center referee for the France versus Nigeria game to be played on Monday. Geiger is an MLS referee form Beachwood, New Jersey and is now held as one of best refs in the world. Good job, Geiger!
>>Read United States Men's National Team Player Profiles here
J.L. Herrera is a huge fan of football and has been following the Raiders since the 1980s during the LA era. J.L. is also a freelance writer and copywriter on the web. He taught English for a little more than a decade in Los Angeles at the secondary level. While writing for web based news outlets, J.L. enjoys reading, creative writing, and watching sports. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
