Sunday’s World Cup matches
ROUND OF 16: ENGLAND VS. GERMANY
Where: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein.
Time: 7 a.m. PDT
TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Univision; Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5 and KDLD-FM 103.1
The buzz: Of all eight games in the second round, this one is the highlight. It is a clash of two former world champions with a long history behind them. Germany has one of its youngest teams ever. England has the usual underachieving bunch trying to rise to the moment. “I think we’re a better team,” said England goalkeeper David James, ignoring the fact that since England defeated Germany to win the 1966 World Cup, the Germans have gone deeper into the tournament than England in every edition since. Germany Coach Joachim Low has his own take on the game. “England remain England,” he said. “They can fight, they can run, they are mentally strong and incredibly experienced. It’s youthful lightness against international class. We’re absolutely looking forward to the match.”
— Grahame L. Jones
ROUND OF 16: MEXICO VS. ARGENTINA
Where: Johannesburg. Time: 11:30 a.m. PDT.
TV: ABC, ESPN Deportes, Univision. Radio: Sirius/XM, KLYY-FM 97.5, KDLD-FM/KDLE-FM 103.1, KSPN-AM 710.
The buzz: These teams have a long history with each other, but in recent years it hasn’t favored Mexico. Argentina knocked Mexico out of the last World Cup in the second round four years ago, winning 2-1 in what was arguably the best match of that tournament. This is the fifth time in as many World Cups that Mexico has reached the second round, but it hasn’t advanced beyond this stage since 1986. “It’s going to be competitive against another team from the Americas, another that knows how to manage the clock, the referee, the fouls — that looks for every advantage,” Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre said. The Mexicans say they believe Argentine striker Lionel Messi is the world’s best player but they don’t plan to focus all their attention on him because of the respect they have for the rest of Argentina’s fast front line. Messi, in fact, hasn’t scored yet, but Gonzalo Higuain tied for the first-round scoring lead with three goals. He’ll be up front with Messi and Carlos Tevez. That could be a problem for El Tri, which plays an aggressive, attacking game that leaves it open to a quick-strike counterattack — something Argentina specializes in. Mexico’s offense has struggled, scoring just three times in as many games — one on a penalty kick. They’ll need to do better than that Sunday in what figures to be a high-scoring game.
— Kevin Baxter
