Tag Archives: Germany

Jenni Hermoso & Aitana Bonmatí Help Spain’s Women’s Soccer Team Qualify for First Olympic Games

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Jenni Hermoso and Aitana Bonmatí have helped Spain make Olympic history…

The Spanish tennis stars helped Spain beat the Netherlands 3-0 in the UEFA Women’s Nations League semifinals on Friday, a victory that secured the world champions a spot in the Paris Olympics.

Jenni Hermoso & Aitana BonmatíHermoso opened the scoring with a nice solo effort in the 41st minute before Ballon d’Or holder Bonmatí doubled the lead in the 45th. Left back Ona Batlle added the third in the 77th to complete the dominant performance by the hosts.

Spain will face France in the first Women’s Nations League final in the same La Cartuja Stadium on Wednesday. France beat Germany 2-1 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Qualifying for Spain’s first Olympic Games is the first important success for the team since Montse Tomé took over in September following the scandal that erupted when former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent at the World Cup final.

“[I and my staff] took charge in a difficult moment that nobody wanted and we took a step forward,” Tomé said. “We are proud of the work we have done. This team deserves to play an Olympic Games after all the prior generations who fought for it and came up short.”

Spain started strong in front of their fans in southern Seville.

Striker Salma Paralluelo, who scored the winner to help Spain beat the Dutch in last year’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinals, missed twice from close-range before she was stopped by goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in a one-on-one opportunity early on.

More shots came from Olga Carmona and Irene Paredes, while the Netherlands could threaten only through Lineth Beerensteyn‘s powerful shot saved by Cata Coll.

The Dutch resistance finally faltered when Hermoso used two slick changes of feet to avoid three defenders and beat Van Domselaar for the opener.

Bonmatí added a quick second blow when she raced forward to volley home a cross from Barcelona clubmate Mariona Caldentey.

The Netherlands improved after half-time, but Battle caught the visitors off guard when she finished off an attack that started with her own cross.

Spain coach Tomé gave a debut to 17-year-old Vicky López in the second half.

A moment of silence was held before kickoff in memory of the victims of a deadly fire in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.

Alex de Minaur to Face Alexander Zverev in United Cup Semifinals

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Alex de Minaur is preparing for another battle at this year’s United Cup.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan & Spanish Australian tennis player, who pulled off a major upset by beating ailing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the mixed-gender tournament, will face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals as hosts Australia battle Germany.

Alex de Minaurde Minaur is looking to break Zverev’s dominance against him, with the Aussie holding a single win against the German Grand Slam finalist in their head-to-head record (6-1).

But de Minaur and the Aussies will enter the semis with supreme confidence, having beaten the defending champions, the United States, to win their group before knocking out Serbia in the quarterfinals, with de Minaur picking up his first win against Djokovic.

“I think he’s playing one of the best tennis of his life. Beating Novak in straight sets, that kind of always shows that you’re playing really well.” Zverev said of his upcoming opponent. “The last time we played was Rome 2022, so that’s a while back. Things have changed a little bit. I think he’s gotten a lot better, closing in on the Top 10 as well.

“Of course it’s better to have that kind of head-to-head record than the opposite, but I’m expecting a tough match. Especially here, I think he’s going to be very motivated and the whole team, Australia, is going to be very motivated — and the crowd definitely plays a factor in that. But I’m looking forward to another tough match.”

While both de Minaur and Zverev are in red-hot form, their singles counterparts have not matched their success so far at the United Cup. Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic brings a 1-2 singles record into the semis, while Germany’s Angelique Kerber is still seeking her first singles win of the event.

“Perth treated us pretty nicely,” de Minaur said. “We had a great time over there, we played some great tennis and obviously the goal was to make it to Sydney and I think we’re all very happy to be here.”

France will play Poland in the other semifinal match on Saturday.

The final is set for Sunday, at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.

Manuela Vanegas Helps Lead Colombia Past Two-Time World Champion Germany Team

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Manuela Vanegas has helped Colombia pull off a massive upset…

The 22-year-old Colombian professional footballer headed a stoppage-time winner to give Colombia a 2-1 upset victory over Germany just when the two-time world champions thought they’d saved a point in a thrilling FIFA Women’s World Cup clash at Sydney Football Stadium.

Manuela VanegasThe defender powered the ball home from a corner eight minutes after German striker Alexandra Popp had converted a penalty to cancel out a stunning strike from Colombian teenager Linda Caicedo.

Caicedo, who collapsed in training last Thursday, played a starring role against Germany and netted the game’s opener with a superb curling effort into the top corner in the 52nd minute.

Colombia tore into the match from the kickoff and the Germans looked rattled not only by their aggression but also by the deafening noise of their yellow-shirted fans.

Colombia striker Mayra Ramirez headed a chance down and wide in the ninth minute and the South Americans continued to hassle the Germans with a dig to the ribs here and a flailing arm in a tackle there.

The corner was Germany’s major weapon in their opening 6-0 thrashing of Morocco, but Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez came out confidently to gather the first ball swung in from the corner flag.

Germany forward Lina Magull had a good chance in the 21st minute but her swing at the ball made contact with nothing but air, and Lena Oberdorf‘s subsequent effort was blocked.

Popp, who scored two goals against the Moroccans, should have added to her tournament tally in the 42nd minute but blazed her volley high and wide from close range.

Colombia continued to launch the ball forward to their front players at every opportunity, but it was not until seven minutes after the break that they were able to break the stalemate.

Showing no sign of the nerves that her coach said were behind her collapse on Thursday, the 18-year-old Caicedo gathered the ball on the left edge of the box, cut back between two defenders and curled it into the top-right corner.

The stadium exploded with noise as the diminutive teenager celebrated her second goal at the tournament, having become the youngest player to score in this World Cup with a similar effort in Colombia’s 2-0 opening win over South Korea.

Germany continued to spurn what chances they created, but with two minutes left on the clock, Oberdorf was brought down in the box by Perez, and Popp stepped up to thump the ball confidently into the net.

The 27th-ranked Colombians now need only a draw against Morocco in their final Group H match to be certain of reaching the round of 16, while Germany are still likely to progress if they beat South Korea in their last fixture.

Rodriguez Wins FIFA’s Golden Boot Award After Being the Top Goal Scorer at the World Cup

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World Cup 2014

James Rodriguez has the FIFA Wold Cup’s golden leg…

The 23-year-old Colombian forward was awarded FIFA’s Golden Boot award after being the top goal scorer at this year’s World Cup.

James Rodriguez

Rodriguez, who scored six goals in five games at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, celebrated along with his family following the end of the championship match where Germany edged Argentina 1-0 for the trophy.

Germany’s Thomas Mueller and Brazil’s Neymar won the silver and bronze boots for their respective five and four goals of the tournament.

Rodriguez is the first Colombian to ever win the prize.

“Thanks to God. All of you for the effort you made. And to my national team colleagues who made it all possible,” posted Rodriguez on his Twitter account.

Thanks largely to Rodriguez’s six goals, Colombia made it past the first two rounds of the World Cup for the first time in history before knocked out in the quarterfinals by host Brazil with a score of 2-1.

Messi Receives FIFA’s Golden Ball Award After This Year’s World Cup

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World Cup 2014

Despite a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final, Lionel Messi is still a golden boy.

The soccer star and captain of the Argentina national team was awarded FIFA‘s Golden Ball award as the best player of the FIFA World Cup after leading his team to Sunday’s final.

Lionel Messi

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who kept a clean sheet as his side beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time at the Maracana to claim their fourth World Cup, was awarded the Golden Gloves as the tournament’s top keeper.

“It is a sad prize that I won because we wanted to lift the trophy for Argentina,” Messi said of his consolation prize, as if the look on his face had not already said it all.

Four-times World Player of the Year Messi had a quiet game by his standards on Sunday but was the driving force behind Argentina’s push to their first World Cup final since 1990.

He scored four of their six goals in the group stage, set up Angel di Maria‘s winner in the last 16 against Switzerland and shouldered the burden of slotting home Argentina’s first penalty in their shootout win over the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Messi also won four successive man-of-the-match awards against Bosnia, Iran, Argentina and Switzerland.

While some pundits thought Messi looked jaded after the group stage and did not influence his team as much, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said he was a deserving winner.

“I think Lionel reached the pantheon of the greats a while back,” Sabella told reporters. “Yes, I think he deserved it. He played a great World Cup to get us where he did.

“I think it’s very deserved.”

Germany forward Thomas Mueller was runner-up to Messi and Netherlands winger Arjen Robben was third.

France midfielder Paul Pogba was named young player of the tournament, while Colombia took the Fair Play Award after receiving just five yellow cards in five matches in Brazil.

FIFA also praised their positive play and the behavior of their players and officials.

Shakira Performs “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

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World Cup 2014

It’s a red-hot record-setting performance for Shakira in Brazil…

The 37-year-old Colombian singer performed “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the closing ceremony of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Shakira

Banging on a Carnaval drum while sizzling in a red dress made up of sequined straps and a revealing fringe skirt, Shakirae was accompanied by samba dancers, Brazilian percussionists and Brazilian collaborator Carlinhos Brown, wearing a black tie and an Indian headdress.

It was the third consecutive appearance at the World Cup for Shakira, a first for a musical act.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” feat. Freshlyground, was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and she also performed “Hips Don’t Lie” at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin.

Shakira was immediately followed by Santana, Wyclef and Alexandre Pires, who gave an inspired live performance of the official World Cup anthem “Dar Um Jeito (We Will Find a Way).”

By the time Brazilian superstar Ivete Sangalo came out to sing, the crowd was jumping in the stands.

A roar went up in the stadium at the end of the 20-minute show, which came before the final match between Argentina and Germany. As a finale, all of the artists danced together on the field, Shakira holding her toddler son, Milan.

The closing ceremony, though brief, was an appropriately celebratory kickoff for the last game of the global tournament. It was a bittersweet sendoff for Brazil, which suffered an embarrassing defeat to Germany and ended up in fourth place after a 3-0 game against the Netherlands.

After the unprecedented success of her 2010 World Cup South Africa anthem “Waka Waka,” Shakira made a bid for this year’s World Cup with the Brazil 2014 version of her single “Dare.” The song was not awarded official FIFA song or anthem status but was included as a cut on the World Cup album.

 

The video posted on Shakira’s Vevo channel has more than 220 million views, besting Pitbull’s “We Are One,” which has almost 189 million.

Romero Saves Two Penalty Kicks to Help Argentina Reach the FIFA World Cup Final

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World Cup 2014

Sergio Romero is the man of the moment…

The 27-year-old Argentine footballer has earned a hero’s welcome in his native country after his impressive performance in the penalty shootout after Argentina and the Netherlands were tied 0-0 at the end of extra time.

Sergio Romero

Romero, the goalkeeper for his team, saved penalty kicks by Holland’s Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder. Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez put away the winning kick, sending Argentina to its first FIFA World Cup final in 24 years.

The last time a World Cup semifinal was decided by penalty kicks was 1998 when Netherlands played Brazil. Brazil won that encounter.

Argentina will face off against Germany in the final, which will be played Sunday in Rio’s Estadio Maracana.

This will be the third time Argentina and Germany will meet in the ‪World Cup final. Germany won in 1990. Argentina won in 1986.