World Cup

Controversy has surrounded the World Cup in Qatar. But once the games start, we tend to lose sight of the bad and focus more on national pride and the dreams of young athletes.

In a tense match that saw a lot of action but no score for more than 90 minutes of play, Germany was finally victorious over Argentina to take home the 2014 World Cup title on Sunday with a 1-0 win.

Brazil, without striker Neymar, was in shambles. Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos scored two goals each for Germany, and Miroslav Klose became the highest goal scorer in World Cup history.

With World Cup fever peaking, flag stores in Austin have been selling out of the old red, white and blue. The oldest red, white and blue, in fact – the…

Two key questions are whether the U.S. can strike early, as it did against Ghana, and whether Belgium can pull away late, as it has in all its games so far in Brazil.

The Americans need a win or a tie to decide their own fate; a loss would mean they need help to advance to the round of 16. The game begins at noon Thursday, ET.

Sunday's U.S.-Portugal match drew an average of 24.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen, ratings that put the game above the decisive Game 5 of the recent NBA finals.

Despite a deflating tie with Portugal, the U.S. is in a good spot: A tie or win against Germany moves them to the round of 16. A loss would unleash a complex scenario.

Mexico and Croatia square off today in World Cup play. On the sidelines, both nations are among the targets of a FIFA probe into alleged homophobic and racist chants.

U.S. captain Clint Dempsey scored just 29 seconds after the starting whistle, one of the fastest goals in World Cup history. The U.S. lost to the West African nation in the previous two World Cups.