The U.S. starts the next round today in its attempt to go to Germany next year. They face Trinidad & Tobago down in Port of Spain. Should be a fun setting. Catch it if you can at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN2. I'm not sure if that just-resolved labor dispute will leave any hangover.

Another major match today is between Denmark and Greece. Both are pretty desperate for a win. DK only has 6 points off of 4 matches -- but are lacking 2 or 3 top players today. Greece was of course the surprise team of last year's Euro -- it has 5 points. Ukraine leads the group with 11.

US wins 2-1 over T&T today. Eddie Johnson scored his 6th goal for the US off a beautiful cross from Steve Cherundolo. In the second half, Eddie Lewis blasted a shot from outside the box that beat the T&T keeper.

Next match is against Mexico. The US has never won in Mexico.

I thought the US played extremely well in their opener. Excellent defense from Eddie Pope was key, and Landon Donovan had a good game controlling the midfield.

In other qualifiers, England tied Holland 0-0 in a dull match. Sven Goran Eriksson, the England coach, was criticized for not playing his younger players in their natural positions, opting to play in a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-4-2. The big match in Asia was Japan's last-gasp win over North Korea. A substitute for Japan scored in second half stoppage time for a 2-1 win. North Korea appears to be doing for the men's tean what they've done for the women- offering money and gifts if they qualify for the World Cup.

This probably isn't the proper thread for this. But since this is for World Cup 2006 I thought I would post this question here.

Is anyone planning on attending the World Cup in Germany? Requests for the first round of tickets became available on the first of this month. The request period ends on March 31st. The lottery awarding tickets will take place in April.

I put in my request for tickets in Frankfurt.

Mike

I wish with all my heart that I could go. But somehow, I don't see my parents letting me go by myself to Germany. And I certainly will not drag them along lol! Maybe when the World Cup comes back to the Americas I will be able to go. Good luck getting tickets MarinerFan!

[ February 10, 2005, 02:00 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

I'm very happy about Team USA's win over Trinidad & Tobago, but I was kind of hoping that we would do away with these ugly jerseys.

The jerseys wouldn't be so bad if EVERY other Nike-sponsored national team (Holland, Mexico, and Brazil to name a few) didn't have almost the same jersey. :mad:

Ireland won its match over those poor sports from Portugal (think of the United States' 2002 victory). Now, the Irish face Israel in Tel Aviv on Easter Sunday. I hate when two countries that I love have to face each other. I would love to see both Ireland and a rapidly improving Israel team qualify. But, unfortunately they are in the same bracket with this country called "France".

Germany's Miroslav Klose who scored five goals in the last World Cup has been pulled from the Confederations Cup with a knee injury. The fact that it's not due to any recent specific event may mean it's chronic. If it persists or reoccurs up to the 2006 Cup, that would be a lot of goals to replace. He was one of my favorite players in the 2002 Cup - wild and loose. That makes a good striker but can also lead to injury.

Three things that must drive his coaches crazy:

Somersault 1

Somersault 2

Somersault 3

And two reasons they probably put up with it:

Header 1

Header 2

Little wonder both his homeland Germany and his land of birth Poland vie for his services in the Cups.

[ June 02, 2005, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

My guess is that Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann will only name Klose to his roster if he absolutely has to. Klose was strong in the opening round, but faltered in the knockout rounds of the 2002 World Cup. If I remember correctly, he had minimal impact for Germany at Euro 2004. Kevin Kuranyi is the likely starter up top for the decidedly less formidible Germans during qualifying, and at the 2006 World Cup unless someone else breaks through.

Interesting metromathis. I haven't seen Kuranyi play, but the conservative style the German's play could hold back any good striker. I didn't think they really got Klose into header position during that final game. Nobody else was really clicking offensively.

To be realistic, no German forward really stands out right now. It just so happens that Kuranyi is the best of the rather ordinary forwards being produced. If Germany does well in 2006, expect it to be the marvelous work of Michael Ballack propelling them.

WCQ REMINDER: Panama vs. USA
There will not be a live telecast in the United States. The game starts at 9:30 p.m. EDT, Telemundo will televise it at 11:30 p.m. EDT, and ESPN2 will broadcast it at 1 a.m. EDT Thursday.

U.S. team arrives in Panama Updated: 3:41 a.m. ET June 7, 2005
Hot temperatures await for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier

PANAMA CITY, Panama - The U.S. soccer team practiced in the morning in Salt Lake City, where it was pouring. When players got off their charter flight in Panama in the evening, it was raining, too. Everywhere the Americans went Monday, there were dark clouds — even in Cancun, Mexico, where their plane stopped to refuel during its seven-hour trip. But there was one difference — it was 47 degrees when the Americans worked out at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where they beat Costa Rica 3-0 two days earlier. In Panama, the temperature was about 80 degrees, with the humidity at 85 percent. More rain was forecast, meaning the field at Estadio Rommel Fernandez could be quite muddy for Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifier.

In the semifinal round last September, mud helped the United States gain a 1-1 tie. When Eddie Lewis lofted the ball and it bounced off a Panamanian player, Landon Donovan turned and mis-hit the ball on the soggy turf. The ball sliced to Cobi Jones, who scored the equalizer. But back home at Washington’s RFK Stadium one month later, the Americans routed Panama 6-0. “A lot of it depends of the environment that you play in,” midfielder DaMarcus Beasley said. “A crowd is very important sometimes in a game. They can take a team out of a game.” Panama, which lost 2-0 Saturday at Trinidad and Tobago, is rapidly falling out of contention for a World Cup berth, and needs a victory over the Americans.

Mexico (3-0-1) leads the North and Central American and Caribbean’s region with 10 points, one ahead of the United States (3-1). Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica all are 1-2-1 with four points, and Panama (0-2-2) is last with two points. The top three nations qualify for the 32-team field, and the fourth-place team goes to a home-and-home playoff with the No. 5 Asian team for another berth. “We’re playing a team that needs a result,” U.S. coach Bruce Arena said. “One point’s not going to do them any good, so we need to be smart about that. The last thing we want to do is open ourselves up early in the game, but we certainly know that if we get the first goal in that game, they’ll struggle.” Arena started three forwards Saturday, but the Americans tend to play more conservatively — and tentatively — on the road. They were outshot 13-5 in the second half of last September’s game in Panama. In March’s qualifier in Mexico, U.S. players let the home team control the ball for much of the first half. “We have in the past given too much respect to different teams, and it’s cost us early in games and it then takes us a while to get us back on track,” Beasley said.

Japan and Iran have qualified.

As have Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Argentina. Last I heard is that the fourth place team in North+Central American Grouping will take on either Kuwait or Uzbekistan in a play-in game. I watched about 70 minutes of last night's US 3 @ Panama 0 game. I thought the game was well played by both teams as they both had chances to score. Panama just didn't have the luck; Kelsey's huge 3 saves in 4 seconds and a Panamanian shot directly off one of the posts. About the sixty(?) minute mark it seemed the Panamanian team was just trying to get the US team to draw red/yellow cards for retaliation, especially after one Panamanian player put a hard kick into the back of Beasley. Classless, but understandable looking at the score. Next qualifiers for the US are in August.

Iran are returning to the World Cup after failing to reach it in 2002. In 1998, they faced the US in the first round and won 2-1.

No surprises from any of the other qualifiers.

In the CONCACAF region, the US and Mexico can pretty much book their tickets to Germany as well. Costa Rica will likely take the third automatic qualifying spot, with Guatemala facing an Asian team in a home-and-home play-off series.

Argentina's 3-1 win over Brazil certainly raised some eyebrows. Argentina has always been a great team, and they've done an excellent job preparing for the World Cup: in 2004, their Olympic team placed second in the Copa America (after conceding a late goal to Brazil and losing in penalty kicks) and won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

The US plays Trinidad and Tobago in Connecticut on August 17.

I know that there are always going to be ups and downs, joys and disappointments, starts and stops. But it looks like USA soccer is finally starting to kick in at the international level. Beasley and Donovan are exactly the kind of young players who have to lead that charge. I'll be glad to root for these two trailblazers, along with the rest of the USA team, win or lose.

I'm actually a little disappointed by some of the younger players Bruce Arena played in this game. I was expecting a big game out of San Jose star Brad Davis, but it seemed like his international debut wasn't as stellar as I was hoping for. Jimmy Conrad did fairly well, and Santino Quaranta seemed ok.

On the other hand, Donovan is absolutely on fire for the national team right now. He's got 5 goals in his last 3 games. Beasley is quite possibly my favorite US player to watch. He's a genius on the ball, his speed is amazing, and he's just an all around fun player to watch.

Shockers in the CONCACAF Gold Cup...

In the quarterfinals, only the US advanced easily.

Surprising Honduras, minus captain Amado Guevara, are into the semifinals with a 3-2 win over Costa Rica. The US will face Honduras in the first semifinal, after a pair of goals from Damarcus Beasley helped the US a 3-1 win over Jamaica.

In the quarterfinals today, the shocker was that Mexico, considered the top team in the tournament, were eliminated at the hands of guest team Colombia. This has to be a huge disappointment for Mexico, after doing so well at June's Confederations Cup.

The other guest team, South Africa, crashed out of the tournament after a loss to Panama via penalty kicks. In the extra time period prior to PKs, South Africa had a shot hit the crossbar. However, the young guns from South Africa had two of their penalties saved.

In the semifinals on Thursday, the US will face Honduras and Colombia and Panama will square off. All the remaining matches in the tournament will be played at Giants Stadium. Expect to see a US-Colombia final, one of their few matches since the 2-1 US win in the 1994 World Cup that saw own-goal scorer Andreas Escobar killed on his return to Colombia.

Edited to add:
Interestingly, in 2000, Colombia knocked the US out of the Gold Cup on penalty kicks. Including that match, the teams have faced off 5 times since the 1994 World Cup match, with Colombia with two wins and another via penalty kicks, one for the US, and a tie. The teams faced off earlier this year, with the US routing a young Colombian side 3-0.

[ July 17, 2005, 08:20 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

I have to admit I'm impressed with Beasley's progress. I always thought his lack of weight and agression would keep him low on the scoreboards for his entire career.

From what I've read, he not only scored two goals but the third was his kick bounced off another player, so he just missed a hat-trick on a technicality - amazing productivity for him.

Maybe playing in Europe gave him some confidence.

Europe has been phenomenal for Beasley. He had an absolutely stunning season for PSV until he was injured in a league match. After PSV lost to AC Milan in the semifinals of the Champions League, I wondered if the result would've been different had Beasley been there. He's always been a good player for the US, but his time in Europe has helped him get to the next level.

One shocker and one near shocker in the Gold Cup semifinals...

First, the near shocker. The US needs two goals in the final 7 minutes to come from behind to beat Honduras. Chicago Fire defender Ivan Guerrero scored for Honduras in the 30th minute. Bruce Arena was ejected from the game for complaining from the bench about a call. John O'Brien tied the match, hammering a mistouch from a Honduran defender into the net in the 86th minute for his first international goal since his historic strike against Portugal in the opener of the 2002 World Cup. Defender Oguchi Onyewu scored his first international goal in dramatic fashion, a diving header to put away a Landon Donovan freekick. His goal came in the second minute of second half-stoppage time.

Now the shocker: Panama, currently sitting at the bottom of the 6 team final round of World Cup Qualifying in CONCACAF, knocks off Colombia 3-2. Panama have looked like a new team with Jorge Dely Valdes returning to the side after a brief "retirement." He had the second goal for Panama.

The final is this Saturday at Giants Stadium: US vs. Panama. Expect a tough match out of Panama, looking completely different than the team's World Cup qualifier a month back. My prediction is a 2-0 win for the US.

The story of that game seems to be the play coming off the bench and the overall resilience of the team, as Donovan mentioned.

I was wrong- the final is this Sunday. It will be televised in Spanish on Univision. Sunday has potential for a full evening of soccer- from 3-5 PM, the US men in the Gold Cup Final, and from 5-7 PM, the US women will take on Iceland in a friendly on ESPN2.

Approaching the end of regulation, the US and Panama are tied 0-0. Jorge Dely Valdes had a shot off the crossbar for Panama. On the other end, Clint Dempsey should have scored off a low cross across the box from Santino Quaranta, but he was caught flat footed and couldn't get a touch on it. The US has built some great attacks so far but between good play from Jaime Penedo, the Panama goalkeeper, and poor finishing, the match remains scoreless.

Donovan drives a free-kick to Oguchi Onyewu, but he hits his header wide, unlike Thursday night. The match will now go to extra time.

[ July 24, 2005, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

And the US wins their third Gold Cup in the penalty kick shootout!

Santino Quaranta, Landon Donovan, and Brad Davis scored the penalties for the US for a 3-1 shootout win. Quaranta scored for the US, then Kasey Keller saved Panama's attempt. Chris Armas, playing in place of the injured Pablo Mastroeni, hit a poor shot right at the Panama goalkeeper.

Excellent win for the US, who win the Gold Cup for the second time in 3 years.

USA***Upcoming World Cup Qualifying Match Schedule***USA
17 AUG USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago
3 SEP USA vs. Mexico (in Columbus - You better get your candy ass down there metromathis13!) wink
7 SEP USA vs. Guatemala
8 OCT USA vs. Costa Rica
12 OCT USA vs. Panama

Sadly, I don't have tickets. I was too nervous about getting my wisdom teeth out two weeks ago to participate in the pre-sale for ussoccer.com members. When tickets went on sale to the general public last Tuesday, they sold out in 20 minutes! So I will be stuck READING about the game on ussoccer.com's Matchtracker. We don't get ESPN Classic here, the network showing the game.

frown

REMINDER TONIGHT...

Another important World Cup qualifier at 8.00 p.m. (EST) on ESPN2. Team USA has a home match against Trinidad & Tobago. A win means that the United States would at the very most only need to pick up three points in the next four games to qualify for the World Cup 2006. In other action, Costa Rica plays at Mexico, and Panama plays at Guatemala.

LET'S GO USA!

US defeats Trinidad and Tobago 1-0! Brian McBride scored in the 2nd minute, his 10th World Cup qualifying goal in his career. The win gives them 15 pts. after 6 matches. A win over Mexico on Sept. 3rd would guarantee a World Cup berth for the US.

Obviously I am excited that the U.S.A. won last night, but I was a little dismayed at the way they played in the second half. Granted, Taylor Twellman's disallowed goal was such a bad call because Twellman was clearly on-sides. However, I am used to the U.S. getting shitty calls from referees in international play. We still had an 11 on 10 advantage for about 45 minutes (until Bobby Convey's red card in the 89th minute evened it up to 10 a side), and we still couldn't do a damn thing. I am expecting much better play against Mexico!

GO U.S.A.!

I was upset about Twellman's goal being called back as well. It was a horrific call, and the poor guy has been trying so hard for his first international goal. Truely a bad call...fortunately, it didn't cost any points.

I'll go out on a limb and predict a 3-1 USA victory.

It's is bad news that it's only gonna be shown on ESPN Classic (I don't subscribe to that) -- I guess ESPN / ESPN 2 will be showing college football instead. We'll be heading to a tavern to catch it. metromathis -- that FIFA Matchcast on the internet you mentioned is actually OK in pinch. I followed one of the Denmark games earlier in the year. Whoever is doing the commentary on it is clearly a Brit, since they used terms like "football", "pitch" and "Denmark are ..."

(btw -- for those in the DC area who aren't aware, the Capitol Lounge, which is a great soccer bar, was gutted by fire last week. Will need to head to the Lucky Bar instead).

The other squad I follow is Denmark, who are sorely in need of a victory in Turkey on Saturday. Otherwise they'll most likely be staying at home next summer.

Clinched a spot - good job. And the American fans didn't even resort to throwing bags of urine like the Mexico City fans did earlier in the qualifying round.

There was nothing like watching the Americans clinch the spot for the World Cup over an archrival like Mexico. It's just unfortunate that maybe 5% of the sports-minded public knew about it, and less even saw it, as it was thrown over on ESPN Classic. Thankfully I was in an area that got to see the USA completely control the match, specifically in the second half. I am quite aware that yesterday was the first Saturday of college football (considering that my school got outscored in the final 2 seconds), but it is just disgraceful the way soccer gets treated in this country. Maybe people win tune in when we are playing in our fifth consecutive World Cup. Naah.

Personally I wouldn't be so down on the possibilities of more fan support if we start winning in the Cup race Cattledog. First there is the lack of drug scandal thus far in soccer. Also soccer is a great equalizer from a height point of view. Short guys can do big things. That brings a whole potential new fan base to the sport. Personally I tend to most like the players that are about my 6' height - purely prurient reasons of course . wink But other folks also look for someone they could emulate as fans.

The US hammered Mexico to reach their fifth straight World Cup. As Damarcus Beasley was repeatedly fouled by the Mexican midfielders, American defenders Frankie Hedjuk and Oguchi Onyewu pushed the Mexican strike pair of Jared Borgetti and Francisco Fonseca around.

And actually, the game was shown last night at 2:30 AM on ESPN2. It was quite fun to watch- it reminded me of the 2002 World Cup, when the matches were played in the middle of the night here.

I'm interested to see who Bruce Arena calls up for the remaining qualifiers- Eddie Gaven? Freddy Adu? Will Taylor Twellman finally get a chance in the World Cup qualifiers? Will Jeff Cunningham get more minutes than he did vs. Mexico?

The next US WCQ is vs. Guatemala in Guatemala City on Weds. night. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 at 10 PM eastern.

Also, the Ukraine qualified for their first World Cup as an independent nation. That brings the list of nations qualified to this:
Germany
Argentina
US
Ukraine
Japan
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Iran

Nations close to booking their tickets include the Netherlands, Mexico, and Brazil.

Brazil qualified last night with a 5-0 win over Chile. Inter Milan star Adriano scored a hat-trick.

A couple big matches to keep an eye on over in Europe: Ireland-France; Hungary-Sweden; Ukraine-Turkey; Norway-Scotland. How did Scotland end up in a tie with Italy?

Freddy! Freddy! Freddy! being a DC United fan I'd love to see that.

Man -- that brings back fond memories of setting the alarm clock for 2:25 AM, watching a match, and crawling back into bed at dawn that summer!

I followed that game on Saturday. Scotland scored an early goal in the 13th minute, then tried to hold on as long as possible to the lead, but Italy scored in the 75th.

The game was in Glasgow, so the Scots did have the crowd behind them. Plus if they lost they would have pretty much been eliminated from contention, so desperation could be a factor too (although their hope of actually making second place is pretty slim to begin with).

[ September 06, 2005, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: thecrookedcap ]

I am not sure how many games are left in the European Zone, but Scotland is still only two points behind second place Norway and Slovenia. They've got a chance.

The most intriguing European group to me is Group 4 with Switzerland, Ireland, and France deadlocked with 13 points. Israel is right behind with 12. Cyprus and Faroe Islands are out of it. C'mon Ireland and Israel!

Generally, most teams in Europe have two games remaining on their schedules, with notable exceptions being Turkey, Israel, and Poland.

Sadly to Cattledog (and myself), Ireland lost its first match of qualifying, 1-0 to France. It is in fact the first lost by any of the top 4 teams in the qualifying season, which is a major feat in itself. It is the most exciting group in all of World Cup qualifying, bar none. I guess we can all thank France for that, as it was their (seeming) underachievement that made this race possible.

How long do you think Sven-Goran will keep his job? I thought the blow-out in Copenhagen was bad enough -- but losing to Northern Ireland?

I caught only a few minutes of the Guatemala-U.S. match -- sounds like both teams played conservatively.

Denmark needed some help yesterday from Ukraine - -hoping they'd beat or at least tie Turkey -- but no such luck. I think now Turkey needs to lose to Albania or something (plus two DK wins) for the Danes to move on. Not likely to happen.

WHOA! I was so busy watching the US Open last night that I didn't realize that Northern Ireland upset England 1-nil. Since Poland defeated Wales, this puts England's 2006 World Cup hopes in major jeopardy. They now must probably win their final two fixtures against Austria and Poland to qualify. That sucks about the Republic of Ireland going down last night, but thanks for the information anyway, crookedcap. The United States ended in a scoreless draw, but it's all rather anti-climactic for the Americans right now.

Actually, England is in great shape. They are guaranteed second place (which leaves them eligible for a spot), with third place Austria seven point behind with two games to go. First is not an impossibility either. If they win out, they get first. Poland may be five points ahead, but they only have one game left, and that game is against England in Manchester.

England has been trying out a 4-5-1 formation this week against Wales and Northern Ireland. Methinks it won't be back for the next batch of games.

I don't know WHAT Sven Goran Eriksson was thinking. The 4-5-1 formation got England 1 goal against Wales on Saturday, and it came late in the match from midfielder Joe Cole. Wayne Rooney was completely ineffective. He was even worse against Northern Ireland, kicking a free kick completely off target out of frustration and lashing out at captain David Beckham when he tried to calm him down.

England's little experiment should've been done in a friendly, not in this crucial stage of World Cup qualifying.

I have a feeling unless Sven's men do well next year (semifinals or final), he will be looking for a new job. He simply hasn't gotten it done in major tournaments- Brazil capitalized on a relaxed English defense for the game-winning goal in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, and 2004 was no better, with England crashing out to Portugal on PKs after Beckham missed the opening PK.

More big matches this weekend.

USA travels to San Jose. Costa Rica has much more to play for since they have yet to qualify. Arena announced he will play a bunch of reserves including Tim Howard as goalkeeper.

Fun stuff over in Europe -- this is it. The games Saturday and then those on Tuesday. Then we'll know which second place teams move on to elimination round.

Saturday's best: Sweden - Croatia; Spain - Beligum; and Netherlands - Czech Rep. (this game will be the featured Yahoo FIFA "Matchcast" to follow online)

As usual I'll be keeping an eye on Denmark. They're hosting Greece in an essentially elimination game for the loser. (DK needs help -- would also need to beat Kazakhstan on Tuesday and have Albania tie or miraculously beat Turkey)

And South America -- who knows? Argentina and Brazil are already in. Tough to pick among Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela (whew) ...

btw -- three of the matches will be televised in the U.S. tomorrow.

USA v Costa Rica on ESPN II

Mexico v. Guatemala on Telemundo

Italy v Slovenia also on Telemundo

Also coming up today:

-African Qualifying concludes. If the first place teams hold, we'll be seeing some first timers in the World Cup (Togo, Angola) and NOT be seeing some of the big timers (Senegal, Nigeria, and either Tunisia or Morocco). Africa is the toughest continent bar none to qualify in.

-The "first leg" of Uzbekistan and Bahrain for the playoff with CONCACAF. Uzbekistan won the first time out 1-0, but FIFA invalidated the match. We'll see if it comes back to hurt them.

-And the match that means oh so much, Switzerland and France. UEFA Group 4 has been talked about at length, and the befuddled mess will be cleared up somewhat soon. If France wins, they've just about punched their ticket with only a game against minnows Cyprus. For the Swiss, it's as close to a must-win as possible, as they've got Ireland on deck for their finale.

After an awesome day of qualifying, 3/4ths of the field is set.

Africa: With the sole exception of Tunisia, every team we'll see in Germany is making its first appearance. Ghana, Angola, Togo, and Cote d'Ivoire are in. Cote d'Ivoire should be sending a big thank you present to Egypt, who got them in by tying first place Cameroon and allowing them to leap frog back into first.

CONCACAF: Costa Rica clinched. Since Guatemala lost, there is no way Costa Rica cannot finish in third, irregardless of the Costa Rica-USA result (not to spoil it for anyone). Trinidad leapfrogged Guatemala into the fourth place playoff position, which they can clinch with a win vs. Mexico (at home) or a Guatemala loss or draw.

South America: Ecuador and Paraguay are in. Uruguay can clinch the final spot with a win, otherwise they face losing it to either Columbia or Chile.

Asia: Bahrain and Uzbekistan tied 1-1. Now the second leg in Bahrain follows.

Europe: Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland, England, and Croatia have all clinched. Sweden is in with a point. Romania, Czech Republic, Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Spain, Bosnia, Slovakia, Russia and that mess the call Group 4 are all still alive.

[ October 08, 2005, 08:25 PM: Message edited by: thecrookedcap ]