With 28 qualified nations in action last night (Tuesday) or tonight, including eight games between qualifiers and 12 others involving at least one team heading for South Africa, this is a good time to assess the usefulness of international friendlies. Is there really anything interesting to say about this week’s matches?
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
03/03/2010
24/09/2009
USA World Cup game threatened by political turmoil
The crucial World Cup qualifying match between the USA and Honduras may be moved as tension grows in the Central American country.
Ousted president Manuel Zelaya recently returned to Tegucigalpa but immediately took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, says the New York Times.
His replacement, Roberto Micheletti, has closed all Honduran airports and introduced curfews and roadblocks.
FIFA’s first option would probably be another Central American state. There is also the possibility of moving the game to a city in the United States while still considering it a home game and gate for Honduras. They apparently enjoyed wide support in Chicago in June when the two sides met.
FIFA and the United States Soccer Federation are now monitoring the situation. The game is scheduled to take place on October 10th.
With two qualifying matches remaining, the USA leads the six-team North, Central America and Caribbean group on 16 points. Mexico are second on 15, followed by Honduras on 13.
Ousted president Manuel Zelaya recently returned to Tegucigalpa but immediately took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, says the New York Times.
His replacement, Roberto Micheletti, has closed all Honduran airports and introduced curfews and roadblocks.
FIFA’s first option would probably be another Central American state. There is also the possibility of moving the game to a city in the United States while still considering it a home game and gate for Honduras. They apparently enjoyed wide support in Chicago in June when the two sides met.
FIFA and the United States Soccer Federation are now monitoring the situation. The game is scheduled to take place on October 10th.
With two qualifying matches remaining, the USA leads the six-team North, Central America and Caribbean group on 16 points. Mexico are second on 15, followed by Honduras on 13.
22/09/2009
Problems mount up for new Costa Rica manager
Rene Simoes was recently appointed to turn Costa Rica’s fortunes around in the two remaining World Cup qualifiers.
But it seems the 56-year-old Brazilian is running into trouble already, according to the Los Angeles Times.
L.A. Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, one of the players Simoes took to the 1998 World Cup for Jamaica, is not optimistic about his old coach’s chances.
“It's not a very good time to come in for Rene Simoes; he has two difficult games coming up” [home against Trinidad and Tobago and away against the USA], Ricketts said.
“It's a very tight group, and for him to impose his style on the Costa Rica team will be very difficult.”
The answer, says Ricketts, may be the counter-attacking game favoured by Simoes.
“When he came to Jamaica for the '98 campaign, we were unbeaten at home,” he said.
“[Simoes] plays a very tight defensive game. Everyone is pulled in and you beat them on the break.”
Complicating the new coach’s situation even more is the attitude of Costa Rica's top clubs, some of whom are not pulling their weight.
“Simoes has asked to have two weeks with his players leading up to the final two qualifying games [in October], but two of the country's top club teams, Saprissa and Cartagines, are refusing to release their players for that long.”
Costa Rica is currently behind the USA, Mexico and Honduras in fourth place. Only the top three automatically qualify for South Africa. The fourth place finisher faces a tough two-game playoff against the fifth placed South American team.
But it seems the 56-year-old Brazilian is running into trouble already, according to the Los Angeles Times.
L.A. Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, one of the players Simoes took to the 1998 World Cup for Jamaica, is not optimistic about his old coach’s chances.
“It's not a very good time to come in for Rene Simoes; he has two difficult games coming up” [home against Trinidad and Tobago and away against the USA], Ricketts said.
“It's a very tight group, and for him to impose his style on the Costa Rica team will be very difficult.”
The answer, says Ricketts, may be the counter-attacking game favoured by Simoes.
“When he came to Jamaica for the '98 campaign, we were unbeaten at home,” he said.
“[Simoes] plays a very tight defensive game. Everyone is pulled in and you beat them on the break.”
Complicating the new coach’s situation even more is the attitude of Costa Rica's top clubs, some of whom are not pulling their weight.
“Simoes has asked to have two weeks with his players leading up to the final two qualifying games [in October], but two of the country's top club teams, Saprissa and Cartagines, are refusing to release their players for that long.”
Costa Rica is currently behind the USA, Mexico and Honduras in fourth place. Only the top three automatically qualify for South Africa. The fourth place finisher faces a tough two-game playoff against the fifth placed South American team.
17/09/2009
Speculation about likely World Cup bases
A Reuters report out today about World Cup bases makes for interesting reading, not least because some of the teams mentioned haven’t yet qualified and may not even do so.
According to this report France, Sweden and Paraguay have set up coastal bases, despite the South Americans being the only one of the three to have secured qualification.
The French have apparently booked a facility on the southern Cape coast. Coach Raymond Domenech must be thinking the play offs are an inconvenient but easily surmountable barrier.
Other teams looking ahead include Sweden, who have booked in at Durban, and Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the USA, who have all booked hotels or guest lodges in Pretoria.
Japan and Switzerland are heading for Johannesburg. Japan have already qualified, but the Swiss may not make even make the play offs.
England will allegedly be based at Sun City, although Fabio Capello and his team will probably wait for the draw in December before deciding on the location of their base for the tournament.
According to this report France, Sweden and Paraguay have set up coastal bases, despite the South Americans being the only one of the three to have secured qualification.
The French have apparently booked a facility on the southern Cape coast. Coach Raymond Domenech must be thinking the play offs are an inconvenient but easily surmountable barrier.
Other teams looking ahead include Sweden, who have booked in at Durban, and Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the USA, who have all booked hotels or guest lodges in Pretoria.
Japan and Switzerland are heading for Johannesburg. Japan have already qualified, but the Swiss may not make even make the play offs.
England will allegedly be based at Sun City, although Fabio Capello and his team will probably wait for the draw in December before deciding on the location of their base for the tournament.
15/09/2009
Costa Rica sack coach
Poor recent form has put Costa Rica on the brink of elimination from the World Cup and resulted in Rodrigo Kenton being handed his P45.
The former national team assistant and youth manager took over the Ticos in June 2008 and single-handedly resurrected their fortunes after a disastrous spell under Hernan Medford. By last month his team were riding high at the top of the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
But three losses over the past month means Costa Rica are now in fourth spot and face the prospect of a play off against South America's fifth-place finisher. This could be Ecuador, Colombia or Argentina.
A new coach will soon be appointed to oversee the remaining qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago (10th October) and the USA (14th October).
The former national team assistant and youth manager took over the Ticos in June 2008 and single-handedly resurrected their fortunes after a disastrous spell under Hernan Medford. By last month his team were riding high at the top of the North, Central America and Caribbean group.
But three losses over the past month means Costa Rica are now in fourth spot and face the prospect of a play off against South America's fifth-place finisher. This could be Ecuador, Colombia or Argentina.
A new coach will soon be appointed to oversee the remaining qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago (10th October) and the USA (14th October).
04/09/2009
Will Cameroon bring Roger Miller out of retirement?
Looking ahead to World Cup qualifiers in September
South America
The top 4 teams qualify for the World Cup. The 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from the North, Central America & Caribbean group.
Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
The real surprises are the Chileans, who have managed to overcome the handicap of ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez to score 23 goals. We can expect to hear more about the trio which has contributed 13 so far - Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo and Matias Fernandez - next year.
Expect a late surge from Argentina, who’ve been a bit inconsistent so far. They play Brazil and Paraguay in early September, while Chile take on Brazil in the second of their scheduled September games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Argentina - Brazil
Chile - Venezuela
Colombia - Ecuador
Paraguay - Bolivia
Peru - Uruguay
September 8th
Uruguay - Colombia
Venezuela - Peru
Paraguay - Argentina
Bolivia - Ecuador
Brazil - Chile
North, Central America and Caribbean
Three sides qualify directly for South Africa 2010 and the fourth-placed team takes on the fifth-placed finisher in South American qualifying.
This one looked almost done and dusted for Costa Rica until a recent heavy defeat in Honduras put their plans on hold. Now four teams are vying for the three automatic places: Costa Rica (12 pts), Honduras and USA (10) and Mexico (9).
The US has the easiest of the September fixtures, facing El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago in the space of four days. They should win both.
Costa Rica and Mexico also square up in early September. This and the US – Costa Rica clash in October are the remaining key games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
USA - El Salvador
Honduras - Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica - Mexico
September 9th
Trinidad and Tobago - USA
El Salvador - Costa Rica
Mexico - Honduras
Africa
One team qualifies from each group.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are looking good in their respective groups. If the latter beat Burkina Faso in early September they will be six points ahead with two games to play.
Cameroon clearly need to bring Roger Miller out of retirement. They have one point from two games and must now beat Group A leaders Gabon to stand any chance of going through.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Group A
Gabon - Cameroon
Togo - Morocco
Group B
Mozambique - Kenya
Group C
Rwanda - Egypt
Group E
Malawi - Guinea
Ivory Coast - Burkina Faso
September 6th
Group B
Nigeria - Tunisia
Group C
Algeria - Zambia
Group D
Ghana - Sudan
Benin - Mali
September 9th
Group A
Cameroon - Gabon
Asian play-off
The winner plays New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Inter-Continental Play-Off
September 5th
Bahrain - Saudi Arabia in Manama
September 9th
Saudi Arabia - Bahrain in Riyadh
Keep an eye out for the scores and results at World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 from this Saturday.
South America
The top 4 teams qualify for the World Cup. The 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from the North, Central America & Caribbean group.
Brazil currently lead the group by one point from Chile (26), Paraguay (24) and Argentina (22).
The real surprises are the Chileans, who have managed to overcome the handicap of ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez to score 23 goals. We can expect to hear more about the trio which has contributed 13 so far - Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo and Matias Fernandez - next year.
Expect a late surge from Argentina, who’ve been a bit inconsistent so far. They play Brazil and Paraguay in early September, while Chile take on Brazil in the second of their scheduled September games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Argentina - Brazil
Chile - Venezuela
Colombia - Ecuador
Paraguay - Bolivia
Peru - Uruguay
September 8th
Uruguay - Colombia
Venezuela - Peru
Paraguay - Argentina
Bolivia - Ecuador
Brazil - Chile
North, Central America and Caribbean
Three sides qualify directly for South Africa 2010 and the fourth-placed team takes on the fifth-placed finisher in South American qualifying.
This one looked almost done and dusted for Costa Rica until a recent heavy defeat in Honduras put their plans on hold. Now four teams are vying for the three automatic places: Costa Rica (12 pts), Honduras and USA (10) and Mexico (9).
The US has the easiest of the September fixtures, facing El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago in the space of four days. They should win both.
Costa Rica and Mexico also square up in early September. This and the US – Costa Rica clash in October are the remaining key games.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
USA - El Salvador
Honduras - Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica - Mexico
September 9th
Trinidad and Tobago - USA
El Salvador - Costa Rica
Mexico - Honduras
Africa
One team qualifies from each group.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are looking good in their respective groups. If the latter beat Burkina Faso in early September they will be six points ahead with two games to play.
Cameroon clearly need to bring Roger Miller out of retirement. They have one point from two games and must now beat Group A leaders Gabon to stand any chance of going through.
Forthcoming fixtures:
September 5th
Group A
Gabon - Cameroon
Togo - Morocco
Group B
Mozambique - Kenya
Group C
Rwanda - Egypt
Group E
Malawi - Guinea
Ivory Coast - Burkina Faso
September 6th
Group B
Nigeria - Tunisia
Group C
Algeria - Zambia
Group D
Ghana - Sudan
Benin - Mali
September 9th
Group A
Cameroon - Gabon
Asian play-off
The winner plays New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Inter-Continental Play-Off
September 5th
Bahrain - Saudi Arabia in Manama
September 9th
Saudi Arabia - Bahrain in Riyadh
Keep an eye out for the scores and results at World Cup Bafana Bafana 2010 from this Saturday.
13/08/2009
Latest World Cup qualifying results
Spent some of last night ‘tweeting’ (2010bafbaf) goal news as it came in from around Europe. Discovered that if Croatia and Slovenia score around the same time, and one of the scorers has 17 letters in his name, you will run out of available space or 'characters' as Twitter fans call it. Lesson learned.
Europe
Group 3
Slovenia 5 San Marino 0
Group 4
Azerbaijan 0 Germany 2
Group 6
Belarus 1 Croatia 3
Group 7
Faroe Islands 0 France 1
Group 9
Norway 4 Scotland 0
North, Central America and Caribbean
Mexico 2 USA 1
Trinidad and Tobago 1 El Salvador 1
Honduras 4 Costa Rica 0
Costa Rica. What are you like?
Europe
Group 3
Slovenia 5 San Marino 0
Group 4
Azerbaijan 0 Germany 2
Group 6
Belarus 1 Croatia 3
Group 7
Faroe Islands 0 France 1
Group 9
Norway 4 Scotland 0
North, Central America and Caribbean
Mexico 2 USA 1
Trinidad and Tobago 1 El Salvador 1
Honduras 4 Costa Rica 0
Costa Rica. What are you like?
01/07/2009
What have we learned from the Confederations Cup?
Several things, in no particular order:
South Africa can host a major football tournament without a breakdown in law and order.
Brazil and Spain will probably do OK, but the latter need a Plan B when Plan A (pass the opposition to death and Ole! Ole! Ole! your way to a stunning victory) doesn’t work.
Italy’s glut of strikers with two left feet will hamper their attempts to retain the trophy. Either that or they’ll have a major corruption crisis and pull together in time to win it again (see 1982 and 2006).
Both South Africa and the USA have made early bids for ‘plucky outsiders who might cause a few upsets’ status.
Swarms of angry bees will invade every stadium. At least that’s what this sounds like:
http://www.southafrica.info/2010/vuvuzela.htm
And if the Lions tour is any guide, sales of Rorke’s Drift tunics, hats and t-shirts will go through the roof next summer. At least they’ll do better than novelty items referring to the crushing defeat suffered just hours earlier at Isandlwana.
South Africa can host a major football tournament without a breakdown in law and order.
Brazil and Spain will probably do OK, but the latter need a Plan B when Plan A (pass the opposition to death and Ole! Ole! Ole! your way to a stunning victory) doesn’t work.
Italy’s glut of strikers with two left feet will hamper their attempts to retain the trophy. Either that or they’ll have a major corruption crisis and pull together in time to win it again (see 1982 and 2006).
Both South Africa and the USA have made early bids for ‘plucky outsiders who might cause a few upsets’ status.
Swarms of angry bees will invade every stadium. At least that’s what this sounds like:
http://www.southafrica.info/2010/vuvuzela.htm
And if the Lions tour is any guide, sales of Rorke’s Drift tunics, hats and t-shirts will go through the roof next summer. At least they’ll do better than novelty items referring to the crushing defeat suffered just hours earlier at Isandlwana.
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