“Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski titled the American version of their new book Soccernomics (review is here), but their title for the release in the UK is Why England Lose. In the book, Kuper and Syzmanski identified the US as a rising power in soccer and England as a permanent disappointment to their rabid fans. With all the caveats that their analysis is designed to look at trends over time and not the outcome of one game, the June 12 match-up between the US and England in South Africa will be a mini-test case for their theory.” (EPL Talk)

U.S. vs. England: The View From the Other Side
“On June 12, few people will remember that in a battle between the United States and England, goalkeeper against skilled sniper, Everton versus Tottenham, that Tim Howard stopped Jermain Defoe’s late penalty kick to preserve a 2-2 tie in an English Premier League game.” (NYT)

Five of the best Groups of Death
“The more morbid football fans amongst us use the build-up to the World Cup draw as an excuse to speculate over which teams will comprise the so-called Group of Death. On Friday in Cape Town, that argument was easily settled by a Group G containing five-time champions Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Ivory Coast, Africa’s finest team. Oh yes, and North Korea.” (ESPN)

“It was a busy week on both sides of the channel as the EPL narrowed to a two horse race and the marauding Spaniards remained neck and neck. Goals, drama, and slack defending abounded as City finally managed to score more goals than an opponent. And quite the opponent it was! Meanwhile, Madrid relied on late magic to beat a mid table side but was happy to stay alive. But why I am telling you this when a picture says so much more?” (futfanatico)

Clarence Seedorf
“On the eve of A.C. Milan’s European Champions League match with F.C. Zurich in Switzerland, and days after his thunderous goal against Sampdoria, midfielder Clarence Seedorf answered New York Times readers’ questions. This is the latest installment in a monthly discussion series with Seedorf. Previous discussions can be found here.” (NYT)

“Ten minutes to five on a hot Rio de Janeiro Sunday afternoon. Flamengo have the chance to win their sixth Brazilian championship after a long and frustrating 17-year drought. They have a two-point lead over three other teams (Internacional de Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Palmeiras) and are to play an apparently easy home match against Gremio.” (ESPN)

“The one thing I hate about the end of the Champions League group stage is the relative lack of drama that seems to surround the final day. It always seems so rare that a big name club might actually not make it to the next round. Sure theres those scenarios where big club A needs a draw or win against a tiny Hungarian side to advance, but those are usually in the bag and not very exciting.” (Avoiding the Drop)