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getin2thegame France is already in big trouble...
(how could the 2006 World Cup runner-up lose to a team ranked number 101 in the world ?)
( sacré bleu ! )
Two Great Champions Keep Winning... Unfortunately
San Antonio Spurs Dynasty —
... Yes, I know, I know I said I wouldn't mention soccer anymore until next week, but this is insane. They announced the qualification groups for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa last Sunday (let me ruin the suspense for you now, Brazil is gonna win it - in fact they'll win the next two) and Manolis and I got whole new fresh batch of nations to despise for no rational reason. Greece's group is a joke. All they've got standing in their way is Israel and Switzerland, it's pathetic. I've already congratulated him on qualifying for the Cup. ...
World Cup 2010
Football Down Under and Beyond —
One of the things I learned as a novice fan following the 2006 World Cup is that the World Cup as I knew it was not the World Cup Competition as such, but merely the finals. This really got me, the very idea of an international competition with over 200 teams. This tickled the political and social chords of interest at least as much as the sporting spectacle. ...
Most Important September WCQ's
Climbing the Ladder —
The most important qualifier for each region during the next week: AFC: 9/6 - Saudi Arabia vs Iran Three teams in Group 2 are expected to compete for the two automatic bids; they are these two and South Korea. Iran struggled a bit during the last round, waiting until the final matchday to advance. Given how often the other two qualify for the World Cup, I'd say Iran are the favorites to finish third. Here's their chance to prove otherwise. CAF: 9/7 - Benin vs Angola Three teams are competing for first place in the group. You have Benin on 9 points, with Angola ...
World Cup qualifying wrap
The Netminder —
We'll discuss separately whether the USA's second 1-0 qualifying win is a wonderfully efficient and professional performance or a boring show by a team that should have the confidence to get after it. No U.S. fans will be complaining about the standings, at least. With Trinidad and Tobago managing only a home draw against Guatemala, the USA could clinch a spot in next year's finals with two games to play. The math would work like this: - Sept. 10: USA beats T&T in Bridgeview, Ill. We'll assume the worst result from a U.S. perspective in the other game: Guatemala over ...
The Weathered Cryogen News
du Nord —
It was not pretty. It was not entertaining. It was a little nerve wracking. But it was one goal and a win for the USA in Cuba. 6 points from 2 games on the road is a good thing. But please, let's get the motor running. OK? Is that too much to ask? ...
Grey Is Not A Colour For Eating News
du Nord —
I look forward to seeing all of you in Chicago on Wednesday night!! ~and~ Michael Essien has blown out his ACL while playing for Ghana, and will be out for at least the rest of 2008. Details from the BBC. ~and~ World Cup Champion Italian flopper Fabio Grosso on the dive he took in the Penalty Box against Australia in the last World Cup: "Instinctively, despite the fatigue, I forced myself to drive into the opposing box and, I swear this is true even though many people don't believe it, the Australian player caught me totally deliberately with his shoulder and I went down. A clear ...
Next Great Project News
du Nord —
Roy Keane talking about Jack Warner: "He's a clown." Oh yeah! I have had my problems with Keane but this is priceless. See video in the Jack Warner/Sepp Blatter/FIFA Idiocy & Scandal News section. ~and~ Luxembourg scored one of the great upsets of all time on Wednesday, beating Switzerland 1-2 Zurich. This is only Luxs 2nd win in their last 56 matches! And to make it worse for the Swiss, it was their first game with new coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. Team USA Matches & Scores: -Wed Sep 10 USA 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago - USA goals Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey & Brian ...
Global weekend: Oct. 10-12
The Netminder —
World Cup qualifying, USL final, pivotal MLS games and some college action this weekend. Home teams first; all times ET MLS, Mexico and Brazil are all playing through the international weekend, but the Mexican-based players we're most interested in watching are with the U.S. team instead. TOP GAMES South Florida-Louisville (men), 8 p.m. Fri. (Fox Soccer Channel): Big game in Big East. No idea how Soccer America found it, but the RPI has been published, and these two are top 10 teams any way you look at it. (More college: live scores: men | ...
Attack is the only way back for France
Reuters Soccer Blog —
[image] Why are France struggling so much in their World Cup qualifying campaign ? Such a team should not have had any problems against Austria, Serbia or Romania, the three teams they’ve met so far. Yet, they only have four points and it could have been worse, as it seemed Les Bleus were in for a spanking in Romania in their last game as they were trailing 2-0 after 15 minutes. That was until Yoann Gourcuff netted with the kind of shot you see in the Bundesliga every weekend but that we have not seen here in France since Franck Sauzee in the 1990s: a 30-metre drive that went under the bar and put France back on track . It ...
Is Portugal really in bad shape? (and other UEFA qualifying analysis)
Climbing the Ladder —
Outside of CONCACAF, UEFA is my favorite confederation to watch when it comes to World Cup qualifying. I love seeing quality teams go at it, but what really excites me is the possibility that several of those teams could get left out. There are always a couple of surprise packages, and it's a guarantee that one of the "elite" teams (England/France/Germany/Italy/Netherlands/Portugal/Spain) will be in trouble. ...
World Cup Qualifying & Friendlies Around The World This Weekend
du Nord —
Here are all the matches going on around the world this weekend, for World Cup qualifying or just friendlies. And don't forget, the Confederations Cup is just a week away. CONCACAF Matches & Scores: -Sat Jun 6 Trinidad & Tobago v Costa Rica El Salvador v Mexico USA v Honduras Standings (after 3 of 10 rounds): 9 Costa Rica (4 played) 7 USA (4 played) 4 Honduras - - (Playoff) - - 3 Mexico - - (Out) - - 2 El Salvador 2 Trinidad & Tobago Top 3 go to World Cup - 4th place team has a home and away playoff against CONMEBOL 5th place ...
Scores From Last Weekends World Cup Qualifiers & Friendlies Around The World
du Nord —
Here are all the scores from matches that went on around the world last weekend, for World Cup qualifying or just friendlies. And don't forget, the Confederations Cup is just a few days away. Netherlands, South Korea, Japan & Australia all join host South Africa as the first teams qualified for the 2010 World Cup! 27 more to go. CONCACAF Matches & Scores: -Sat Jun 6 Trinidad & Tobago 2-3 Costa Rica - TnT goals by Carlos Edwards & Collin Samuel. CR goals by Alvaro Saborio & Celso Borges(2). El Salvador 2-1 Mexico - ElS goals by Julio Martinez & Eliseao Quintanilla(PK). Mex goal ...
World Cup 2010 Is One Year Away
Springfield MO Soccer —
I’ve set up a Countdown timer on this website, you can find it in the center column between my Twitter feed and the Comments section.
My Scandinavian forebears aren’t doing to well at the moment, with Sweden in 4th place after 6 games, 4 points back of Hungary and tied with Portugal while Denmark are on top 7 points ahead of Sweden. Norway is in worse shape although may have a better opportunity, with 3 pts from 3 draws in 5 games. Netherlands sit on top with 21 and Scotland is part of the group as well.
Who do you want to see included next year? ...
Some News for Fri Sep 4, 2009
du Nord —
QUESTION ON MY MIND Why didn't New England Revolution and FC Dallas change the start times of their games on Saturday night? New England v Kansas city starts at the exact same time as the USA game and Dallas v DC just 30 minutes later. The teams and the league should be completely embarrassed by this. And we should all make sure they know about it. The most blame and ridicule of all should be heaped on the shoulders of US Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati because he also holds the position of President of Kraft Soccer, and the Kraft family owns the New England Revolution. We all know that MLS is making ...
WCQs - Where We Stand
Climbing the Ladder —
Good weekend for the USA, as none of Argentina/France/Portugal could win. 1) In Africa, this weekend's results mean that Cameroon and Tunisia should now be considered clear favorites to qualify. If Gabon can't beat Cameroon at home, then how they can hope to get a result on the road? Togo let in a last second equalizer against Morocco which probably ended their hopes. Meanwhile, the draw with Nigeria means that all Tunisia needs to do is beat Kenya at home and Mozambique away. Should be easy, except the latter already held Nigeria to a scoreless draw at home. In Group C, Zambia's out of the running and Algeria still hold the ...
Some News for Mon Sep 7, 2009
du Nord —
STARTERS Brazil & Ghana are the next two teams to have qualified for the World Cup. dN Edgar Castillo of UANL Tigres got his clearance from FIFA on Friday to swap from the Mexican national team to the USA. TEAM USA Official Team Blog dN World Cup Qualifying Match & Score: -Sat Sep 5 USA 2-1 El Salvador - USA goals by Clint Dempsey & Jozy Altidore. ELS goal by Cristian Castillo. Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy, UT Attendance: 19,006 Match report from US Soccer. Post game quotes by USA ...
Some News for Tue Sep 8, 2009
du Nord —
This is the Back To School Edition! QUESTION ON MY MIND Why did DC United switch a game date to Wed Sep 9 and schedule the game opposite the USA game? They should be lambasted for it. I hear the game was originally scheduled on the day the team played an exhibition against Real Madrid. One thing to consider with these schedules is TV time. All the leagues games are on television, and those schedules are made a long time in advance, so moving them around isn't as easy as I want it to be. Great point. Thanks to the league insider who informed me. STARTERS The one we have ...
Some News for Wed Sep 10, 2009
du Nord —
STARTERS Chicago Red Stars CEO Peter Wilt, a great friend of du Nord, writing for Pitch Invasion, does a very cool Q & A with another great friend of du Nord, former Minnesota Thunder player & coach and current Portland Timbers assistant coach Amos Magee. TEAM USA World Cup Qualifying Match & Score: -Wed Sep 9 Trinidad & Tobago v USA - 6pm Central on ESPN Classic Venue: Hasley Crawford Stadium - Port of Spain, Trinidad dN Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer is one of the few American journalists in T&T this week, and he is cranking them ...
They're Partying in Santa Monica, Weeping in San Pedro
100 Percent Soccer —
At least I'm guessing that's the case given the two communities are the epicenters of the English and Croatian ex-pat communities respectively in Southern California after England 's 5-1 win over Croatia today that earned them a World Cup berth.
All is not lost for the Croats, however, and England can help by beating Ukraine next month.
The Galaxy's David Beckham played the irrelevant final 10 minutes in this one.
Game story.
All the scores.
Standings.
Meanwhile, U.S. striker Jozy Altidore is getting amped for T&T.; He just tweeted: Walking into the locker room, its ...
Some News for Thu Sep 10, 2009
du Nord —
STARTERS After yesterdays results things look like this for the USA to get in the World Cup: - Beat Honduras (Oct 10) or Beat or Tie Costa Rica (Oct 14). There are several other ways to get in too, but they are all slightly more complex. These 3 choices are straight up and doable. dN From T&T;'s Newsday: "The United States, as they did 20 years ago at the same venue, ended Trinidad and Tobago’s dreams of advancing to the sport’s most prestigious tournament." dN With wins on Wednesday, England, Spain and Paraguay all grabbed a place at the World Cup! TEAM USA ...
You can still watch Ukraine v England on TV … you just have to come to Croatia
Reuters Soccer Blog —
[image] A quick look around the blogosphere suggests that for many England fans the idea of watching the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in front of a computer screen at the mercy of an ISP, or at a crammed cinema, sounds about as appealing as making the long trip to Dnipropetrovsk . But do not despair, England fans, because there is an option for those of you determined to watch it on telly. Croatia’s HRT 2 state television, also viewable in Serbia on cable, is showing the game live, so here is your chance to combine a bit of light football watching with an autumn dip in the Adriatic somewhere along Croatia’s mesmerising ...
Sunil Gulati, Sunshine Man.
Unprofessional Foul —
Sunil Gulati, is a man with the half full glass today and he stares at it through red white a blue tinted glasses. You have to love this guy, he will even email you back if you write to him to tell him he sucks (I know many people who have done this). Yep, everything is rosy in Gulati-ville, especially when your team are set to win the World Cup next year.
What? You didn’t hear? The USA are going to win the World Cup! How do I know this? Because Sunil Gulati says they can. And what gives Gulati the belief that Landy cakes and co will lift the orbicular topped golden statue next year? Because they made the final of a test ...
Some News for Fri Oct 9, 2009
du Nord —
STARTERS The last time the USA was in Honduras was late March of 2001. And while many things in American soccer have changed in just 8 years, others have stayed remarkably the same. The game that night was only shown in America via Pay Per View. (Sound familiar?) So, via the glory of Big Soccer, 8 of us lost souls met up in a basement in St Paul. None of us knew each other, but 1 person turned out to be none other than Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated (who wrote about that evening). For me the greatness of that night is today I am still in contact with all but 1 of those people, and 3 of them are regular travel partners of mine ...
Some News for Mon Oct 12
du Nord —
STARTERS YES! YES! YES! We are going to South Africa! It's now official, the USA have qualified for the World Cup for the 6th time in a row! Wow! We have come a long way since I was a kid learning about the game in the mid-70's. dN The Associated Press has quotes from MLS commissioner Don Garber talking about the league figuring out a way to match the international calendar. -For the first time we have the league directly addressing this situation with seriousness, which leads me to believe that they will find a way to make it happen. dN George Vecsey of the New York Times ...
Some News for Tue Oct 13, 2009
du Nord —
STARTERS Team USA will travel to Denmark for a friendly on Wed Nov 18. Seeing as Sat Nov 14 is also an international date, do we see our team playing on that day as well? -Denmark's best known players are probably Daniel Agger, Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson & Nicklas Bendtner. dN Many of us have wondered what's come from this partnership MLS formed with the German Bundesliga a few years back? I discovered this note from Germany today and reading between the lines you find something going from MLS to Germany: "The Bundesliga's commercial arm, DFL Sports Enterprises, celebrated its first year of ...
Capello Looking For Plan A, B And C Ahead Of World Cup
TheOriginalWinger.com —
Fabio Capello1 With England already qualifying top in Group 6 for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa , head coach Fabio Capello has opened up in the media about the importance of his team being able to play differing styles of football dependent on who the opponent is. Via Guardian “I want to see Agbonlahor and the other players,” said Capello. “I will do a lot of ‘experiments’. We need a different plan, and a different style sometimes. We have played more or less the same style in all the games we’ve played. Sometimes, during the friendly games, we’ve changed it but we need to practise other styles. I want to see some players in this ...
The UEFA Situation Boot Room
Unprofessional Foul —
One scenario for every buck Wolf lost on Jeopardy!
It all began more than a year ago, for some just weeks after the end of their European Championship campaigns. Yet here we are today, with just a single game to play in the group stage of World Cup qualifying, and there is still so much to be settled. Only four of the nine groups are ...
