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July 6, 2010 After defeating Uruguay, Holland is headed to the World Cup finals.

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July 6, 2010 Some plays in sports test the limit of what's ethical. But it seems the universe eventually straightens things out.

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July 6, 2010 NPR's Mike Pesca on why New Yorkers should root for Uruguay in the semifinals.

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July 6, 2010 Whether you're rooting for the Dutch, Uruguayans, Germans or Spanish, 'Cleats' has the chants you need to know.

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July 5, 2010 Despite all the talk of this being South America's World Cup tournament, only Uruguay survives. On Tuesday, the team will play Arjen Robben and the Netherlands.

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July 2, 2010 What a game! Heartbreak for Africa will be the inevitable headline. But you couldn't find a better advertisement for the joys of soccer. This game had more drama than a theater festival.

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July 2, 2010 After two periods of extra time and a penalty shootout, Uruguay won a nerve-racking quarterfinal match against Ghana. But NPR correspondent and Ghanaian Ofeibea Quist-Arcton says the Black Stars have done Africa proud.

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• Heartbreak For Ghana, But A World Cup Highlight
• Brazil Vs. Holland: NOT Again
• A Flag Isn't Just A Flag In Soccer-Crazed Germany

July 2, 2010 Germany's soccer team meets Argentina Saturday in a much-anticipated World Cup quarterfinal match, and fans are fired up. But fervent flag-waving and other displays of nationalism are not sitting well with everyone in a country where extreme "patriotism" is part of a painful past.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

July 2, 2010 In 1998, my heart broke when Holland lost to Brazil in a penalty shootout. Only four years earlier, Brazil snuffed out Holland’s dreams in the quarterfinals in the U.S. So the outcome I’d anticipated from today’s game felt gloomily predictable.

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July 2, 2010 See how major powerhouse teams, underdogs and African nations have fared in the last seven World Cup tournaments.

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July 2, 2010 No doubt as Ghana plays again, the comparison to Oregon will rise again. The implication is derision, but what you don't know about Oregon might surprise you.

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July 2, 2010 Africa's only remaining hope in this first World Cup to be played on the continent faces Uruguay in a do-or-die quarterfinal Friday. South Africans are rallying behind the squad, and so is much of the rest of Africa.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

July 1, 2010 Hopes are pinned on Ghana to score for Africa, for posterity and for the history books.

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