World Cup Update - 5 New Teams

We've concluded another week of World Cup qualifying for 2010 and have 5 new teams booking travel plans to South Africa next summer.

- Brazil & Paraguay clinched top 4 spots in CONMEBOL (South America) with victories this week.
- Ghana won Group D in CAF (Africa) with a 2-0 victory over Sudan. Ghana has been a perfect four for four so far in the group play.
- Spain won UEFA Group 5 with a 3-0 win over Estonia. The Euro 2008 champions took all 24 points from their first 8 games scoring 21 goals and only conceding 2.
- England won UEFA Group 6 with a 5-1 victory against Croatia (who knocked England out of Euro 08 qualification). England also held a perfect record throughout qualification and scored 31 goals in 8 games.

Wednesday night all 6 teams from CONCACAF were in action and produced the following results:
US vs. Trinidad & Tobago: 1 - 0
El Salvador vs. Coasta Rica: 1 - 0
Mexico vs. Honduras: 1 - 0

Based on last night's results this is what we know:

• The US & Mexico have guaranteed a 4th place finish at worse, in which the team would enter a home and away series with the 5th place team from South America (current Argentina).
• Following their 1 - 0 loss, Trinidad & Tobago have officially been eliminated - the first team from CONCACAF Round 4.
• The US & Mexico can both qualify for the World Cup with victories in their next game.

So while the United States' last two performances have been sub-par they have gotten the results they needed in their games, as well as throughout group play. It's nice that the US has a 4th place finish at worse, but right now 4th place is not a place any team from CONCACAF wants to be. At this moment the team that falls into that spot will get the lovely gift up getting to play away in Argentina. The US had a great week overall, but can now spend the next month preparing for the final push toward South Africa which should include finalizing the starting line-up, figuring out which 2 central mid-fielders to pair together, and getting the team to play at a more consistent and higher level.

What are your thoughts on World Cup qualifying so far? How about the USA's games this past week?

World Soccer (Sept/09 Issue)

The September issue of World Soccer is out and hitting news stands across the country, unless you live in Europe and to you this is old news about a magazine you got to read last week. While this issue is $1 more than the normal price it is definitely worth it this month. Here is a quick preview of this month's issue:

• A full preview of the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League & Europa League. The magazine features a breakdown of the 118 teams making up the two tournaments. This is a great resource to summarize the off-season moves & current status of Europe's major players, as well as, learn about dozens of other small teams throughout UEFA.
• Dispatch articles from across the globe including - Beckham's relationship with LA Galaxy fans, Portugal's bad World Cup qualifying form, Xabi Alonso's move to Real Madrid, & Mexico's World Cup qualifying resurgence.
• A great article on FIFA's ethics and issues being overlooked in South Africa.
• A financial breakdown of the top 33 earning clubs from UEFA competitions in 2008-09.
• A full breakdown of league and tournament results and standings from around the world.

World Cup Update - USA

We are about 24 hours away from the United State's next 2010 World Cup Qualifying game tomorrow at Trinidad & Tobago (6:30 ET - ESPN Classic). This past Saturday all 6 remaining teams from CONCACAF had matches with the results looking like this:

Home vs. Away (Score)
 - US vs. El Salvador (2 - 1)
 - Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago (4-1)
 - Coasta Rica vs. Mexico (0-3)

Based on those results the current CONCACAF table now looks like this:

Honduras 13
United States 13
Mexico  12
Costa Rica 12
El Salvador 5
Trinidad and Tobago 5

The US will be guaranteed at worst a 4th place finish and the playoff sport vs. the 5th place South American team with a win tomorrow night or a tie and El Salvador getting a draw or loss. At this point even with a victory the standings are too close to clinch a top 3 spot (automatic spot in South Africa). However, this is the easiest of the 3 remaining games for the US which makes it a must win like Saturday night. Make sure you tune in, set your DVR or track the game live online via ESPN's gamecast to see if the Red, White & Blue can take another step toward World Cup 2010.

Table Update as of 9/8

It was a relatively quite weekend in league action with the World Cup qualifiers going on between this past Saturday and tomorrow. However, the MLS & USL were still in action and I've included their updates below:

MLS:

• Past week's results - Only 3 games this week, but 11 goals overall. Colorado pulled over an important win heading down the stretch and Kansas City upset New England on the road 4-2.
• MLS Current Table - DC United moved into 3rd in the east over New England via goal differential. Colorado jumped over Seattle and Real Salt Lake to grab the 3rd spot in the west. 4 teams sit tied at 33 points for the final 2 playoff spots.

USL:

• Past week's results - The Portland Timbers 24 match undefeated streak finally came to an end against the Rochester Rhinos. Carolina lost on the road to Montreal and Charleston lost at home to Minnesota.
• USL Current Table - Portland is 6 points ahead of Carolina at the top of the table and need only 4 points in their last 3 games to clinch the title. 2nd & 3rd place Carolina and Puerto Rico play twice this upcoming week (including tonight).
• For any Carolina Railhawks fans out there, you can catch the game tonight live at USLLive - 8pm EDT. The site is free and has streaming video of all USL games.

FIFA 2010

Now that fall is on its way, it means we are getting closer to the release of EA Sports FIFA 2010. If you are already familiar with FIFA then you understand it is the premier soccer game around the world. For those of you that are new soccer fans or soccer fans which haven't made the jump to video games yet - it is time to get on board. The new FIFA 2010 website is up and full on content previewing the latest version of the game.

New features to this year's game include:

• 360 degree dribbling giving the user the ability to move more accurately through tight spaces.
• Teammate AI has been improved to ensure they avoid interrupting the run of play, blocking your shots, etc.
• Practice Pitch to work on your in-game skills, free kicks and defending
• Customizable Set Pieces
• Improved Manager Mode
• Full list of FIFA 2010 features

Improvements or not, I for one am looking forward the new edition so I can finally get back to making the big shot, building a star team with unknown gems and transfer market players, and playing as the world's best players. What are your thoughts - are you planning on buying FIFA 2010? Which video game system are you going to buy the game for? Which team do you like to play as?

TV Schedule for the Week of 9/4

Based on the World Cup qualifiers this week the TV schedule is light this week as most major leagues take a break. Unfortunately, the MLS still hasn't modified its schedule to conform to the FIFA calendar. The MLS still schedules its teams to play while stars are away on national team duty and fans are watching the US national team playing at the same time. Smart move.

Saturday

• Friendly: England vs. Slovenia - 12:30pm - FSC
• World Cup: Bahrain vs. Saudi Arabia - 3pm - FSC
• World Cup: Italy vs. Georgia - 5pm - FSC
• World Cup: US vs. El Salvador - 8pm - ESPN Classic
• MLS: Colorado vs. Toronto - 10pm - FSC

Wednesday

• World Cup: Northern Ireland vs. Slovakia - 2:30pm - FSC
• World Cup: Wales vs. Russia - 5pm - FSC
• World Cup: US vs. Trinidad & Tobago - 6:30pm - ESPN Classic
• World Cup: Saudi Arabia vs. Bahrain - 8pm - FSC

Friday

• USL: Charleston vs. Miami - 8pm - FSC

World Cup Update Part 3

Alright lets take a look at the African and South American groups before the next round of qualifying games kick off tomorrow.

CAF (Africa):

• CAF Current Tables. The top 20 teams from Round 2 advanced to the final round and were split into 5 groups of 4. Each group winner gets a spot in the World Cup. (Note: These matches also double for qualification into the 2010 African Cup of Nations)
• Group 1: Gabon sits atop the group with 6 points heading into the home match with Cameroon this weekend. However Togo is only 2 points back and with striker Adebayor back in form at Manchester City they could make the jump into first. 
• Group 2: Tunisia is the top team at the moment and could all but clinch a World Cup berth this Sunday with a victory over Nigeria.
• Group 3: Algeria shocked group favorites Egypt with a 3-1 victory earlier in the qualifiers to take the points lead, but Egypt gets a home rematch later in November. 
• Group 4: Ghana have ran a perfect Round 3 record to this point and will be the group winners this weekend with a victory over Sudan and a draw in the other group match.
• Group 5: Ivory Coast also have placed a perfect record s far behind the combined striking power of Drogba (Chelsea), Toure (Barca) & Kalou (Chelsea). They currently have a 7+ goal differential and take on 2nd place Burkina Faso this Saturday at home.
• Overall the stories here so far is Egypt's lack of power to pull away in their group and the Ivory Coast's scoring power (10 goals in 3 games). 

CONMEBOL (South America):

• Current CONMEBOL Table. 10 teams are playing to qualify for 4 World Cup bids and 1 playoff spot. The 5th place team in CONMEBOL will face the 4th place team from CONCACAF in a home and away series to determine the final bid for the regions.
• What is probably the best match-up on the weekend across the entire globe this Saturday, we have Brazil which sits a top the group with a record of 7-6-1 on the road taking on 4th place Argentina with a 6-4-4 record. Brazil looked very sharp the last time we saw them in the Confederations Cup (sadly defeating the US in the Final). If Argentina were to lose this game they could find themselves in the play-off spot.

World Cup Update Part 2

I'm sitting here tonight watching the start of the college football season and I'm reminded of one of the reasons I enjoy watching soccer so much. No commercials, no time outs, no long boring breaks. College football has good passion, but its hard to go from seeing commercials only during halftime (soccer) to every 3-5 minutes (most other sports).

Anyway, lets get back to the matter at hand. Tonight we are looking at the current state of the World Cup 2010 qualifying in Europe, it is just that large.

UEFA (Europe):

• UEFA Current Tables. 53 teams competing for 13 spots in 9 groups. Group winners automatically qualify and the 8 best second place teams will via for 4 additional spots.
• Group 1: Denmark has a surprising lead over the group with no losses to this point. Sweden (Zlatan Ibrahimović) and Portugal (Ronaldo) are both falling out of the World Cup as they struggle in 3rd and 4th place behind Hungary (no that is not a typo). The top 4 all play each other this Saturday which could see two major teams and two of the world biggest stars getting close to World Cup exile.
• Group 2: Greece and Switzerland are tied at the top of the group and face off this Saturday. I look for Switzerland to take advantage of the home match-up and take the group lead over the defensive minded Greek team. Israel takes on Latvia on Saturday as well in what shapes up to be a must-win for both teams trying to reach the playoff spot in Group 2.
• Group 3: Surprise leader Slovakia could eliminate their former countrymen Czech Republic this weekend. Their closest competition, Northern Ireland, sits only 2 points back and is also looking to make an unexpected visit to South Africa over traditional favorites Poland and Czech.
• Group 4: This group started as a two team show, no surprises here thus far and we still stand at two contenders - Germany & Russia. The teams meet again on October 10th which could decide the auto bid and both have easy wins next Wednesday against countries already eliminated.
• Group 5: Spain has had a perfect run in qualifying coming off the heels of their Euro 2008 victory. The other storyline besides Spain's form heading into 2010 is if Turkey can rebound to get the playoff spot from Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of a multitude of potential underdog qualifiers).
• Group 6: England is a perfect 7 for 7 and will clinch a spot in South Africa next wednesday with a victory over Croatia. If that happens, third place Ukraine will look to capitalize with a victory over last-placed Andorra and move into a tie for the playoff spot.
• Group 7: Another interesting traditional vs. surprise story line developing here. France sits in 2nd place with a game in hand behind Serbia. A win on Saturday puts France 2 points back leading into a match-up with Serbia on the 9th.
• Group 8: The 2006 World Cup winner, Italy, looks clear to qualify even with their struggles in South Africa in the Confederations Cup. Ireland seem poised to follow in line and complete the pre-qualifying predictions to grab the playoff spot.
• Group 9: The Netherlands aka Holland aka The Dutch are the first and only European team to secure a bid for 2010 so far. Only 1 point separates 2nd to 4th to grab a potential playoff position.

UEFA has a ton of great teams and there are bound to be several which are left out that would normally be considered contenders for the World Cup itself. I'll take a look at how South America and Africa are shaping up tomorrow. Your thoughts on UEFA?

World Cup Update Part 1

We are heading into another week of World Cup qualifying - September 5th & 9th. I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at each regions current table and the big match-ups next week. Today lets look at CONCACAF(North & Central America), OFC (Oceania) & AFC (Asia).

CONCACAF:

• Current Table (4th Round) - With four match days left the top 4 seem safe to advance to the World Cup or the play-off vs. South America's 5th place team. Luckily the US plays its next two games against the two worst teams in the group, they just need to take advantage of it. Two wins over the next 7 days should all but assure the US a spot in South Africa next summer. Mexico has to take on the top two teams in the group over the same time period which will either push them toward the world cup or drop them into danger. Forget the last game vs. the US, Mexico will lose on the road to Coasta Rica.

OFC:

• OFC Current Table - The worlds smallest region was the first to conclude when New Zealand finished 5-0-1, which qualified them to take on the AFC region's 5th place team (Bahrain or Saudi Arabia). Seriously, how is this even a FIFA sanctioned group? New Zealand is the star country. I know the road to the World Cup is very difficult for these teams, but with the AFC (Asia) group stretching from the middle east to Japan to Australia, it seems like the two could be more evenly split.

AFC:

• AFC Current Table - 43 teams were narrowed down to 10 for the fourth and final round of qualifying. Australia, Japan, South Korea & North Korea have already qualified for South Africa, while Bahrian and Saudi Arabia will be playing home and away over the next week to determine who will face New Zealand. The AFC vs. OFC playoff will take place during October and November. While none of these teams are traditional powerhouses I do think that several could make serious moves next summer. Japan and South Korea will be the most likely, but Australia has built a strong team and did not lose a single World Cup qualifying match in round four.

What are your thoughts on how these groups are shaping up or have ended? Should the AFC and OFC be re-aligned?

News & Rumors

Here are some of the latest news and rumored stories across the globe this week:

• After Nike sold the USL to an Atlanta based investment group things have continue to be tumultuous with America's second soccer league. The USL has restructured the front office and is considering reformatting the league. Meanwhile the Team Owners Association (TAO) is unhappy with the direction of the USL and is considering pulling out of the 2010 season. This move could take over half of the USL out of the league, as well as a few other markets (St. Louis, Tampa Bay & Atlanta). How this ends up is anyone's guess, but a MLS 'B' division is being tossed around.
• German and Spanish clubs have interest in US National teamer DeMarcus Beasley. 
• The last day of the transfer market was today and here is a recap of each transfer. Aston Villa look to be getting Manchester City defender Richard Dunne. 
• Arsenal striker Eduardo has been given a 2 game Champions League ban for his dive in the game against Celtic last week.
  
• Freddy Adu has made the move to Portuguese club Belenenses on loan. Will the young striker finally get some playing minutes that he needs to get on the World Cup 2010 roster?
• DC United and the Seattle Sounders will square off tomorrow in the US Open Cup Final & DC are getting the home field advantage.