All the pressure lies squarely on Argentina entering the final stages of qualifying for World Cup 2010. The giants find themselves sitting 4th in the South American standings with only 4 matches left to play. The schedule is not kind to finish either.
Next up is a massive home date with rivals Brazil followed by a difficult road test at Paraguay. Brazil is currently top table with only 1 loss in 14 qualifiers and Paraguay is 3rd.
The heat is really on Coach Diego Maradona and it will be interesting to say the least to see how he would handle a poor result at home to Brazil. He has not always handled strife with the best reactions.
Jonas Gutierrez has pulled out of the Argentina squad for the two matches with a torn muscle in his right leg suffered last week playing for Newcastle United in a Carling Cup match.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
CONCACAF - Home teams all win
The home teams all held serve Wednesday during CONCACAF qualifying for World Cup 2010. The big match of the day pitted the USA making the daunting trip to Mexico to play at famed Azteca where the US had never won. Things looked good for the Americans though as Charlie Davies put the US ahead after only 9 minutes of play, but Azteca was not ready to submit. Mexico rallied back to tie the match in the 19th and snatch the victory in the 82nd minute winning 2-1.
Honduras emphatically jumped into 2nd place in the group with a 4-0 romping of top spot Costa Rica. Carlos Costly notched two goals on the night and Costa Rica limps home to face Mexico in the next round.
The last two placed squads also squared off on Wednesday as Trinidad defeated El Salvador with Cornell Glenn the hero on the night. The result pretty much eliminates El Salvador from contention as both teams sit well off the pace on 5 points now.
In the next round of play, El Salvador travels to face the US, Mexico goes to Costa Rica and Honduras hosts Trinidad. The three World Cup spots are totally up for grabs between the top 4 right now. Costa Rica 12, Honduras & USA 10, Mexico 9.
Honduras emphatically jumped into 2nd place in the group with a 4-0 romping of top spot Costa Rica. Carlos Costly notched two goals on the night and Costa Rica limps home to face Mexico in the next round.
The last two placed squads also squared off on Wednesday as Trinidad defeated El Salvador with Cornell Glenn the hero on the night. The result pretty much eliminates El Salvador from contention as both teams sit well off the pace on 5 points now.
In the next round of play, El Salvador travels to face the US, Mexico goes to Costa Rica and Honduras hosts Trinidad. The three World Cup spots are totally up for grabs between the top 4 right now. Costa Rica 12, Honduras & USA 10, Mexico 9.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
France gets by Faroe Islands 1-0
France ran circles around the Faroe Islands but were only able to manage a single goal on the evening as they got past Faroe Islands 1-0 despite a whopping 21-3 shot advantage. Andre-Pierre Gignac was the hero for France as he collected a ball in the Faroe box in the 42nd minute, turning and firing home what would be the only goal of the match.
"We knew it would be complicated against opponents concentrating on defending," the powerful 23 yr old stated. "It would have been nice to score more goals but we did show that we are capable of creating chances."
With the victory France cut Serbia's lead in Group 7 of European World Cup qualifying to 5 points with Serbia having played one more match. The big match looms on September 9th as France will travel to Serbia where a Serbian win would just about wrap up their spot in South Africa 2010.
"We knew it would be complicated against opponents concentrating on defending," the powerful 23 yr old stated. "It would have been nice to score more goals but we did show that we are capable of creating chances."
With the victory France cut Serbia's lead in Group 7 of European World Cup qualifying to 5 points with Serbia having played one more match. The big match looms on September 9th as France will travel to Serbia where a Serbian win would just about wrap up their spot in South Africa 2010.
Norway blows past Scotland 4-0
Scotland's Gary Caldwell lost his head and Scotland saw their World Cup hopes take a major blow as they were blown out 4-0 in Norway Wednesday evening. Gary Caldwell picked up two yellow cards in only two minutes and was sent off in the 34th minute of play leaving Scotland shorthanded for an hour. The resulting freekick from the 2nd yellow incident saw John Arne Riise blast home the go ahead goal. The freekick took a deflection to beat Scotland keeper David Marshall.
The death blow came on the stroke of halftime as Morten Gamst Pederson scored from just inside the penalty area sending Scotland to the halftime break down 2 goals and down a man.
The third Norway goal came on the hour mark when John Carew fought through the Scottish defence only to see his shot hit both posts before coming back into play where Erik Husseklepp tapped into the empty net. The rout was on and Pederson would claim his 2nd on the night in the 90th minute as he neatly curled home the 4th.
The win pulls Norway off the bottom of Group 9 and into contention for the playoff position just a point behind Scotland. Holland has already clinched the group title and a spot in South Africa 2010 next summer.
The death blow came on the stroke of halftime as Morten Gamst Pederson scored from just inside the penalty area sending Scotland to the halftime break down 2 goals and down a man.
The third Norway goal came on the hour mark when John Carew fought through the Scottish defence only to see his shot hit both posts before coming back into play where Erik Husseklepp tapped into the empty net. The rout was on and Pederson would claim his 2nd on the night in the 90th minute as he neatly curled home the 4th.
The win pulls Norway off the bottom of Group 9 and into contention for the playoff position just a point behind Scotland. Holland has already clinched the group title and a spot in South Africa 2010 next summer.
Top Four in CONCACAF Square Off
The top four sides in CONCACAF qualifying for South Africa 2010 will battle it out today as the 2nd half of the round robin begins. The USA travels to the infamous Azteca to face Mexico in the polluted air at 7,400 feet altitude. A Mexico loss would put the side in danger of missing out on the World Cup.
Meanwhile, top group Costa Rica travels to neighboring Honduras to face the 3rd place side. A Honduras win would really tighten the standings while a Costa Rica win would see them almost assured of a place in South Africa 2010.
The last two placed squads also face off when Trinidad hosts El Salvador. The loser of the match is probably out of the running for a top 4 CONCACAF position.
Meanwhile, top group Costa Rica travels to neighboring Honduras to face the 3rd place side. A Honduras win would really tighten the standings while a Costa Rica win would see them almost assured of a place in South Africa 2010.
The last two placed squads also face off when Trinidad hosts El Salvador. The loser of the match is probably out of the running for a top 4 CONCACAF position.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Capello says Beckham must return to Europe
England coach Fabio Capello stated in the press that David Beckham must return to play in a major European league after the MLS season ends in November to have any chance of making the England squad for South Africa 2010. If he does not Capello said David Beckham would be left off the England roster for the World Cup.
Currently playing for the LA Galaxy, Beckham has made it fairly clear he plans to head back to Europe and play as soon as the MLS season is over. AC Milan have made it clear they would be interesed in his services once Beckham becomes available, but he may want to return to the English Premier League to maximize his exposure to the England decision makers.
Currently playing for the LA Galaxy, Beckham has made it fairly clear he plans to head back to Europe and play as soon as the MLS season is over. AC Milan have made it clear they would be interesed in his services once Beckham becomes available, but he may want to return to the English Premier League to maximize his exposure to the England decision makers.
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