Two Late Goals Break Mexican Hearts

Giovani dos Santos gave El Tri the lead with his first international goal since 2012

Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute on a goal from Giovani dos Santos after dominating much of the first half, following the departure of Dutch defenseman Nigel de Jong. 40 minutes later, with the Dutch in desperation mode, Wesley Sneijder equalized off a Klaas jan Huntelaar header. 6 minutes later Arjen Robben drew a foul in the box for a penalty kick, which Huntelaar powered home to give the Netherlands a 2-1 victory.

Brazil Survives Penalty Kicks to Advance Past Chile

Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar stepped up when his team needed him, saving two penalties and forcing this miss from Gonazalo Jara

Brazil will advance to the next round thanks in big part to a post and a crossbar. As time was ticking down at the end of extra time Mauricio Pinilla launched a shot that beat Julio Cesar but smacked into the crossbar and away. Then in penalty kicks, after Neymar had put Brazil ahead 3-2, Gonzalo Jara's shot bounced off the inside of the post and out of bounds to seal the win.

USA Earns Tie Amass Late Portugal Goal

(fanside.com)

MANAUS, Brazil - The United States was just seconds away from clinching its second consecutive berth to a World Cup knockout stage. But in the blink of an eye, Silvestre Varela headed in the game-tying goal to save Portugalfrom being eliminated from the tournament and drawing level with the U.S. for a 2-2 final.

First Radio Episode

 

Be sure to listen to the first episode of NP Soccer Talk on Blog Talk Radio.  The archive of today's show can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/npsoccertalk/2014/02/27/champions-league-first-leg-recap-march-1st-league-match-preview.   Today's show covered Champions League Round of 16, Manchester United, David Moyes, and fixtures from around the world this weekend.  Games highlighted included the Madrid Derby, Manchester Derby, Bayern Munich vs. Schalke and many more!

Manchester United: The Troubles Continue

 

Problems continued for Manchester United today as they traveled to Greece for the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 match-up against Olympiakos.  The English side fell 2-0 to the Greek giants in what was expected to be a guaranteed win with both Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney returning to the lineup together.  The Red Devils have seldom lost when the pair have started together, however that trend did not continue today.  Today's loss was Manchester United's first loss of the 2013-2014 Champions League campaign.