Didier Baverel/Getty ImagesFalcao's ACL injury sent shock waves throughout the footballing world.

With Falcao possibly ruled out of the World Cup due to a torn ACL, Colombia lost its leading goal scorer in qualifiers and biggest name. He led Colombia with nine goals, tied for third in South America behind Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. His loss creates a significant hole for Colombia, but the country has reasons to be optimistic.

Here are five players who can step up in his absence and help coach Jose Pekerman and Colombia to a successful World Cup.

• James Rodriguez (AS Monaco): At the age of 22, Rodriguez has emerged as one of the world's best playmakers and young talents. Continue Reading...

While the Bundesliga finished its final weekend of its winter break, the four other major European leagues were all in full swing this week. With many of the star-powered clubs racking up goals this weekend, there were plenty of noteworthy performances to go around. Here are this week's five players who have improved their chances of playing in Brazil.

Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon): Not only did Eto’o’s hat trick send Chelsea to a 3-1 win against rival Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, the game doubled his EPL goal total this season. Continue Reading...

With four of the five major European leagues in action, notable performances by future World Cup stars were abundant. As we discussed last week, Five Aside will be highlighting five standout stars each week who will be making an impact on the World Cup in Brazil this summer.

Here’s a look at some players who made headlines for their club teams this past week.

Kaká (Brazil): While still fighting for his spot on the Brazil World Cup roster, Kaká scored twice Monday in AC Milan’s 3-0 win against Atalanta. Continue Reading...

GettyImagesArturo Vidal jumps for joy after giving Juventus the lead at home to AS Roma.

The calendar has officially turned to 2014, which means the World Cup is just around the corner. Each Monday, ESPN Stats & Info will review the previous week’s action and highlight five impact players soccer fans can expect to see on the field in Brazil this summer.

While the majority of players covered each week will be in one of the Big 5 European leagues (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1), you can also expect to see plenty of players who perform well in the Champions League, Liga MX and MLS. Continue Reading...

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat trick in the second leg of Portugal’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Sweden single-handedly pushed his nation through to the tournament and was a late-in-the-year performance that also strengthened his bid for the Ballon d’Or and World Player of the Year awards. However, as legendary as that performance was, it is not the only reason that he was the sport’s standout player of the year.

Here are five other notes that tell us why 2013 belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo:

• Ronaldo had the most productive year of his career, scoring 69 goals in 59 games for club and country in the 2013 calendar year. Continue Reading...

Despite missing the first five games of the Premier League season because of a suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic, Luis Suarez leads the league with 17 goals this season. Having played only 11 league games, he's on pace to shatter the league record of 34 goals, which was accomplished by both Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95) in 42-game seasons. Here are five other notes on Suarez's recent run of form.

• His productivity may be a by-product of his activity, particularly in the penalty area. Continue Reading...

The draw for the 20th FIFA World Cup was held Friday in Brazil, as the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. The tournament begins June 12 with Brazil-Croatia and ends with the final on July 13. All games are on ESPN networks.

Fans of the United States likely came away from Friday’s draw nervous about the Americans' chances in Brazil next summer as the U.S. finds itself matched up with Germany, Portugal and Ghana in Group G.

ESPN's Soccer Power Index rates Group G the second-toughest group and gives the United States a 39 percent chance to reach the knockout round, which is only slightly worse than the average U. Continue Reading...

Mexico beat New Zealand 5-1 on Wednesday in the first leg of their World Cup playoff, with the return game Nov. 20 in New Zealand. Here are five notes on the rout at Estadio Azteca:

• Mexico is now a 99.2 percent favorite to qualify for the World Cup, according to ESPN’s Soccer Power Index. That’s up from 85.0 percent before the series began.

• Mexico’s five goals surpassed its total of three in five home qualifiers during the final round. Continue Reading...

Mexico and New Zealand begin their World Cup qualifying playoff Wednesday at Estadio Azteca (3:15 p.m. ET on ESPN), with the second leg next Wednesday in New Zealand (1 a.m. ET).

Miguel Herrera is Mexico’s fourth coach in two months, and he has chosen a team comprised entirely of Mexican league players, omitting European-based players like Manchester United’s Javier Hernández and Valencia’s Andres Guardado. Here are five notes on Mexico’s last shot at a 2014 World Cup berth:

• Mexico has qualified for 14 World Cups, most of any CONCACAF country and most of any country never to win a World Cup. Continue Reading...

Two more teams advanced to the UEFA Champions League knockout round on Wednesday, meaning a quarter of the 16-team field has been decided. Here are five notes on the day's action, including Arsenal's surprise win in Germany...

• Barcelona defeated AC Milan 3-1 to reach the knockout round for the 10th straight season, tying Arsenal for the second-longest active streak behind Real Madrid’s run of 16 seasons entering this campaign. Only Real Madrid (17) and Bayern Munich (16) have reached more UCL knockout stages than Barcelona (15). Continue Reading...

Two teams advanced to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday, both from Group D, as Bayern Munich and Manchester City moved on with two group games left to play. Here are five notes on these teams and the rest of Tuesday’s action in the Champions League …

• With a 5-2 win over CSKA Moscow and Bayern Munich's win over Viktoria Plzen, Manchester City advances to the Champions League knockout round for the first time, after going out in the group stage the previous two seasons. Continue Reading...

Sweden faces Portugal in next month's World Cup playoffs, and Wednesday's UEFA Champions League games provided a mouth-watering preview of what could be, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo combined for six goals. Here are five notes on Wednesday's action...

• In Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 win over Anderlecht, Ibrahimovic capped a first-half hat trick with a 30-yard blast in the 36th minute, and he added another score in the second half to become the 10th player to tally four goals in a Champions League game. Continue Reading...