World Cup Update -- 14 Games to Go

Some background on Colombia v. Uruguay:

Uruguay won the World Cup in 1930 and 1950 -- an ever since then this tiny nation has fought to maintain its status as one of the world's great soccer powers.  Pinned in by Brazil and Argentina, the Uruguayans are at a huge disadvantage.  But they have tremendous heart, and they don't mind hating and being hated.  Four years ago, they enraged the world when they used a blatant handball to knock Ghana out of the World Cup.  But they didn't care, and they scythed their way to the Final Four -- an amazing accomplishment for a country with fewer people than Kentucky.  Last week, Uruguay again found itself at the heart of a global controversy, as their best player -- Luis Suarez (who had scored two spectacular goals to knock England out of the competition) -- bit an Italian player.  But Uruguay sent Italy home with England, and lived to fight another day.  Suarez has since been banned from even entering a soccer stadium for the next four months -- and the Uruguayans are mad as hornets about that -- but the bottom line is that Uruguay is still playing and Italy has gone home.

Colombia has a very different history.  For most of the last 80 years or so, they have been a punching bag for the big powers in South America.  Their best team went out in disgrace in the 1994 World Cup, losing to the United States, of all teams.  But this year they're back with a bright, peppy squad that crushed all-comers in Group C, outscoring the competition by 9 goals to 2.  By contrast, Uruguay was thumped in their first game by Costa Rica, but survived by grinding out upset wins over England and Italy.

So who will win?  In games between a team that's just happy to be there, and a team that has to win, it's usually a good idea to bet on the team that has to win.  But Uruguay will really be hurt by the loss of Suarez, and Colombia has looked really good.  So I have no idea what to expect.

Tale of the Tape:

COLOMBIA:
Population:  47.4 million (27th in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $387.7 billion
Per capita GDP:  $8,125

URUGUAY:
Population:  3.3 million (133d in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $58.3 billion
Per capita GDP:  $17,121

Here are the teams:

COLOMBIA:
Goalkeeper:  David Ospina (Nice) (France)

Defender:  Juan Camilo Zuniga (Napoli) (Italy)
Defender:  Cristian Zapata (Milan) (Italy)
Defender:  Mario Yepes (captain) (Atalanta) (Italy)
Defender:  Pablo Armero (Udinese) (Italy)

Midfielder:  Abel Aguilar (Toulouse) (France)
Midfielder:  Carlos Sanchez (Eiche) (Spain)
Midfielder:  Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Fiorentina) (Italy)
Midfielder:  James Rodriguez (Monaco) (France)

Forward:  Jackson Martinez (Porto) (Portugal)
Forward:  Teofilio Gutierrez (River Plate) (Argentina)

URUGUAY:
Goalkeeper:  Fernando Musiera (Galatasaray) (Turkey)

Defender:  Maxi Pereira (Benfica) (Portugal)
Defender:  Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid B) (Spain)
Defender:  Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid) (Spain)
Defender:  Martin Caceres (Juventus) (Italy)

Midfielder:  Alvaro Pereira (Sao Paulo) (Brazil)
Midfielder:  Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio) (Italy)
Midfielder:  Egidio Arevalo Rios (UANL) (Mexico)
Midfielder:  Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid) (Spain)

Forward:  Edinson Cavini (Paris-St. German) (France)
Forward:  Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka) (Japan)

World Cup Update -- 15 games to go

(I'm not counting the third-place game).

Four South American sides will be in action today.  At 11 A.M. Central, Brazil will take on Chile.  At 3 P.M. Central, Colombia will host Uruguay.

Here's some background on today's Brazil/Chile match:

BRAZIL:
Population:  201 million (5th in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $2.17 trillion (7th in the world)
Per Capita GDP:  $10,773 (63d in the world)

CHILE:
Population:  17.8 million (62nd in the world)
2014 GDP (est.):  $277.2 billion (38th in the world)
Per Capita GDP:  $15,791 (49th in the world)

Here are the teams:

BRAZIL:
Goalkeeper:  Julio Cesar (Toronto F.C.) (MLS)

Defender:  Dani Alves (Barcelona) (Spain)
Defender:  Thiago Silva (Captain) (Paris-Saint German) (France)
Defender:  David Luiz (Paris-Saint German) (France)
Defender:  Marcelo (Real Madrid) (Spain)

Midfielder:  Fernandinho (Manchester City) (England)
Midfielder:  Luis Gustavo (Wolfsburg) (Germany)
Midfielder:  Oscar (Chelsea) (England)

Forward:  Hulk (Zenit Saint Petersburg) (Russia)
Forward:  Neymar (Barcelona) (Spain)
Forward:  Fred (Fluminense) (Brazil)

CHILE:
Goalkeeper:  Claudio Bravo (Captain) (Barcelona) (Spain)

Defender:  Eugenio Mena (Santos) (Brazil)
Defender:  Mauricio Isla (Juventus) (Italy)
Defender:  Gary Medel (Cardiff City) (England)
Defender:  Gonzolo Jara (Nottingham Forest) (England)

Midfielder:  Francisco Silva (Osasuna) (Spain)
Midfielder:  Arturo Vidal (Juventus) (Italy)
Midfielder:  Charles Aranguiz (Internacional) (Brazil)
Midfielder:  Marcelo Diaz (Basel) (Switzerland)

Forward:  Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona) (Spain)
Forward:  Eduardo Vargas (Valencia) (Spain)

I Am Watching the Olympics (Day ii)

Men's soccer: Morocco 1-Honduras 0 with about four minutes to go in the first half. This is Match 3. Match 2 is Mexico and South ... umm? ... yes, South! ... Korea, and it starts at 8:30 a.m. Central. Match 1 (Spain and Japan) starts at 8:45.

Previous reports:

-- watching Day i (July 25)