Euro 2012 Draw

In the world of soccer it never seems to slow down, and true to form this past Sunday UEFA held the qualification draw for the Euro 2012 tournament. Euro 2012 will be held in Poland and Ukraine from June 8th through July 1st, 2012. 51 teams will take place in the qualifying rounds, broken out into six groups of six countries and three groups of five countries. 

Qualification matches will start this September with the first set taking place on the 3rd or 4th. Each group winner automatically advances to the finals, while the top eight group runner-ups will meet in four play-off draws. 

Group A:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Turkey	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Belgium	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kazakhstan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Azerbaijan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group B:

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Russia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Group C:

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Group D:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bosnia and Herzegovina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Belarus	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Albania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Luxembourg	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group E:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Finland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moldova	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
San Marino	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group F:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Israel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Malta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group G:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bulgaria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wales	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Montenegro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group H:

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Group I:

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scotland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Liechtenstein	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Soccer Table Update as of 2/8

EPL:
- Past week's results - The midweek saw relegation zone Hull City hold up a strong home performance against the current leaders Chelsea with a 1-1 result - On Saturday Liverpool continued their second half surge with a 1-0 win in the Merseyside Derby against Everton - Manchester United throttled Portsmouth on the back of three own goals - The battle for 4th place remained tight as neither Tottenham or Aston Villa could find the back on the net with a 0-0 draw - Hull City finished off their best week of the season with a 2-1 win over Manchester City, including the first EPL goal for US striker Jozy Altidore - On Sunday the marque match-up of the week saw Arsenal lose its second straight key game 2-0 to Chelsea.
 - Current EPL Table - The EPL is officially a two horse race at this point with Chelsea (58) and Manchester United (56) pulling away from the pack - Arsenal (49) remain safe in third for now, but the pack battling for the 4th Champions League spot is closing in, including Liverpool (44) who has climbed back into 4th - ManCity sits in 6th with 41 points, but has two games in hand over the leaders - With their strong week Hull City (24) move three points clear of the relegation zone - Following two more losses this week Portsmouth now sit seven points from safety.

Serie A:
 - Past week's results - Two top sides continued to slide as Juventus and AC Milan both ended with draws, Milan scoreless - AS Roma continue their blazing streak with a 1-0 win over Fiorentina, but they may run out of time to catch Inter Milan - The champions and league leaders, Inter, delivered a strong and expected 3-0 result against Cagliari - Sampdoria took home their third straight win 2-1 over Siena.
 - Current Serie A Table - Inter continues to cruise at the top of Italian football with 52 points, but how will they stack up in their pending Champions League match-up against Chelsea - AS Roma on their hot streak move into second place at 44 points - AC Milan (44) fall to third but still sit strong for a CL spot - With another poor result Juventus falls out of European football position and is passed by Sampdoria and Palermo - At the bottom of the table only 5 points separates 14th through 19th, will Siena looks destined for division two next year ten points back of 17th place.

FA Cup:
 - The FA Cup will enter the fifth round next week, which means we are down to 16 teams. The draw was made on Sunday 24th and the matches will take place next Saturday (13th) and Sunday (14th). Check out the full breakdown of the fifth round match-ups.

Check back later this week for reports on the Euro 2012 draw and the upcoming schedule for the USSF Division 2 Soccer League.

Soccer TV Schedule for the week of 2/6

Another action packed week of soccer as the EPL and Serie A fit in mid week games to make up for the winter storms and pending European competitions. The weekend is kicked off with the Merseyside derby on ESPN2 in HD, followed by match-ups for ManCity, Tottenham and Juventus. Sunday features the match of the week as Arsenal try to rebound from last week's defeat to ManU and get back into the title chase against Chelsea. The schedule also features mid-week games for Manchester United, Fulham, and the second of two AC Milan games over six days (both of FSC).

Saturday (6th):
- EPL: Liverpool vs. Everton - 7:30am - ESPN2HD
- EPL: Hull City vs. Manchester City - 10am - FSC
- EPL: Tottenham vs. Aston Villa - 12:30pm - FSC
- Serie A: Livorno vs. Juventus - 2:30pm - FSC
- Serie A: Palermo vs. Parma - 5pm - FSC
- EPL: Sunderland vs. Wigan - 7pm - FSC

Sunday (7th):
- Serie A: AC Milan vs. Bologna - 9am - FSC
- EPL: Arsenal vs. Chelsea - 11am - FSC
- Serie A: Fiorentina vs. AS Roma - 2:30pm - FSC

Tuesday (9th):
- EPL: Fulham vs. Burnley - 3pm - FSC
- EPL: Wigan vs. Stoke City - 5pm - FSC

Wednesday (10th):
- EPL: Aston Villa vs. Manchester United - 2:30pm - FSC
- EPL: Wolverhampton vs. Tottenham - 5pm FSC

Friday (12th):
- Serie A: AC Milan vs. Udinese - 2:30pm - FSC

World Soccer Magazine - February 2010 Issue

The February issue of World Soccer is being delivered to news stands, mailboxes and bookstores across the globe this week. This month has a part 1 of the magazine World Cup Guide. Here is a preview of what this month's issue features:

• Cover Story: A look into Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan, and his quest to bring the European Cup back to Inter.
• World Cup Countdown: Profiles of top players from Slovenia, Uruguay, South Korea, and Greece
• Opinion Pieces: Paul Gardner looks at refs giving out yellow and red cards across Europe's top five leagues. David Conn writes about the drastic differences in spending amongst EPL clubs.
• 2010 World Cup Guide: Part 1 includes detailed analysis of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, and Chile.  
• Inside Football: Keir Radnedge reports on the status of the World Cup 2018 and 2022 bidding process.
• Numbers: The top 50 most influential managers of the past 50 years. 
• Dispatch Updates from South Africa, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Canada, and more.
• Talent Scout: Tomorrow's stars from Peru, Switzerland, Argentina, Italy and five hidden talents from Africa. 
• Interviews with Atletico Madrid and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, and former Middlesbrough, WBA, and Sheffield United manager Bryan Robson as he takes over the Thailand national team.
• Travel spotlight city - Turin, Italy.
• A full recap report of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.

MLS 2010 Preview: Full Schedule Released

We are now less than two months away from the start of the 2010 MLS season. As reported back in October the MLS First Kick will take place on Thursday March 25th as the Seattle Sounders host the new expansion club Philadelphia Union. Then on Saturday March 27th six additional match-ups take place including Chicago vs. New York on ESPN2 and New England at the LA Galaxy on Fox Soccer Channel. Now comes news of the full MLS schedule for the upcoming season. Here is a look at 13 key dates over the course of the year ahead and the match-ups to watch for:

1) April 1 - Real Salt Lake v. Houston (ESPN2) / LA Galaxy v. Chivas USA (ESPN2) - Four major players in the western conference have early season battles.

2) April 17 - Chivas USA v. Houston / Chicago v. DC United / Real Salt Lake v. LA Galaxy (FSC) - Title game rematch as Real visit the Home Depot Center.

3) May 8 - LA Galaxy v. Seattle / New England v. Columbus (FSC) / Houston v. Chivas USA  - Three key playoff match-ups

4) May 29 - LA Galaxy v. Columbus / Chivas USA v. DC United

5) June 5 - Houston v. LA Galaxy / Real Salt Lake v. DC United / New England v. Seattle

6) June 26 - Seattle v. Philadelphia (ESPN2) / Chicago v. New England / DC United v. Columbus

7) July 10 - San Jose v. Philadelphia (relegation battle, oh wait) / Columbus v. Houston / LA Galaxy v. New England

8) July 24 - Real Salt Lake v. Chivas USA / Houston v. Columbus - both match-ups within 2 weeks of each other could decide the overall league table winner.

9) August 14 - Houston v. New England / Columbus v. Real Salt Lake / Seattle v. Chivas USA

10) September 4 - LA Galaxy v. Chicago / Columbus v. DC United (FSC) / Seattle v. New England

11) September 18 - Chicago v. Real Salt Lake / Seattle v. Columbus / DC United v. LA Galaxy (FSC)

12) October 3 - Chivas USA v. LA Galaxy (ESPN2) - Late season Super Clasico

13) October 23 - Real Salt Lake v. Colorado / Seattle v. Houston / Chicago v. Chivas USA (FSC)

To check out the full schedule details, game times, and TV coverage head over to the MLS schedule website.

What match-ups or dates strike you as the most interesting so far?

Soccer Table Update as of 2/1

EPL:
- Past week's results - A double set of games this week to make up for the recent FA Cup action and the winter storms across England. On Tuesday Tottenham secured three points with a win over Fulham and Wolverhampton earned a much needed draw against Liverpool. Wednesday saw the US National & LA Galaxy striker, Landon Donovan, bag his first Premiere League goal for Everton in a 2-0 win against Sunderland. Chelsea kept rolling with a 3-0 result against Birmingham City.

On Saturday league leaders Chelsea provide the late match heroics of a true championship contender in a 2-1 victory against Burnley. Everton, Aston Villa and Liverpool also took home wins on Saturday as they battle for European positions. Sunday belonged to the city of Manchester. Reigning champions ManU topped title contenders Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates. ManCity also continued their strong push with a 2-0 result against Portsmouth.
- Current EPL Table - The table become a two horse race after the big match on Sunday, with Chelsea (54) leading ManU (53) by one point. Third place is securely in the Gunners hands at 49 points. The second pot is for the coveted 4th spot in the UEFA Champions League. Four clubs currently sit only 2 points apart - Tottenham (42), Liverpool (41), Manchester City (41), and Aston Villa (40). Skip over the myriad of teams in the middle which can't decide if they want a spot in Europe or will a relegation battle. At the bottom of the table only 2 point separate 14th through 19th (sorry Portsmouth you are stuck in 20th for a while). Burnley and Hull City currently sit with 20 points in the relegation zone.

Serie A:
- Past week's results - Sunday is soccer (or football) day in Italy and this was the week of draws. AC Milan continued their recent struggles with a 1-1 draw against Livorno. Juventus kept the same slowing pace with a 1-1 draw with Lazio. The big movers of the weekend were AS Roma 2-1 over Siena and Sampdoria 2-1 over Atalanta. Inter Milan took the week off.
- Current Serie A Table - Even without playing Inter Milan continue to run away with the Serie A title at 49 points. AC Milan and Roma are tied for second place with 41 points, but Milan have a game in hand. Napoli remain the 4th CL team at 38 points. Serie A currently is more spread out than the EPL, including the bottom - 7 points separate 14th to 19th. Siena appear to be the only sure lock for relegation sitting 8 points behind 17th place.