Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Four More World Cup Berths To Be Decided on Wednesday

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 08:00 PM PDT

The World Cup 2010 picture is getting clearer and clearer. Right now 19 of the 32 available spots are booked. Qualified teams are: South Africa, Japan, Australia, S. Korea, Netherlands, N. Korea, Brazil, Ghana, England, Spain, Paraguay, Cote d’Ivoire, Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Chile, Mexico, USA.

So that leaves 13 places still to be filled. Four of these will be decided on Wednesday: Two in Europe plus one each in South America and CONCACAF.

Also decided on Wednesday: The playoff teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL (who’ll play each other for one golden ticket) and the eight from UEFA (who’ll be drawn to play each other for four spots).


The most interesting showdown looks to be in South America, where 4th place (and automatic qualification) will be decided. Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador are still in the hunt. Table looks like this:


October 14th games to watch:

Uruguay vs Argentina
Chile vs Ecuador

Argentina need a win to guarantee fourth place. Fifth place gets a playoff vs the fourth place CONCACAF team. Sixth place gets a box of tissues.

Speaking of CONCACAF…


It’s either Costa Rica or Honduras for third place and automatic qualification. Costa Rica goes into the final game with a two point advantage. Fourth place gets that not so coveted playoff vs a South American team.

Games to watch October 14th:

USA vs Costa Rica
El Salvador vs Honduras

In Europe, seven of the nine group winners (and therefore automatic World Cup qualifiers) have been decided. Switzerland or Greece can still claim Group 2, while either Slovenia or Slovakia can take Group 3.

Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France and the Republic of Ireland have all secured second place in their groups, and will be drawn against each other in four (seeded) playoff matches. More on that tomorrow.

Teams looking to make the playoffs include Portugal and Sweden in Group 1 (though Portugal need only a win against played nine, won none Malta), Israel and Latvia in Group 2 (assuming they can catch Greece or Switzerland), Czech Republic and Northern Ireland in Group 3 (assuming they can catch either Slovakia or Slovenia), Ukraine and Croatia in Group 6 (Ukraine need only to beat Andorra).

Here’s the complete European standings if you want to study in detail. Everything will make a lot more sense by Thursday morning.

Games to watch October 14th:

Portugal vs Malta
Greece vs Luxembourg
Poland vs Slovakia

So, who will you be supporting in Wednesday’s games?

ESPN Annoints The United States A “World Power”; Jozy Altidore Dumbfounded.

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 03:40 PM PDT

And you wonder why people blast Americans as ignorant on the subject of football.

A slight bit of egg on the face from The Global Leader here in an interview with Hull City player Jozy Altidore. ESPN’s First Take, which is essentially their sports-based edition of an all-inclusive morning show, had Jozy on to celebrate World Cup qualification from CONCACAF. The host, Jay Crawford, then asked a question no one, particularly man in the interviewee’s seat, saw coming: is it safe to say the US has arrived as a world power?

Jozy’s return volley is an absolute classic: In soccer?

(Unembeddable link of YouTube video here, which may not be available outside the US. It’s 50 seconds in.)

Alan Kardec Is The New Marco van Basten (Or MvB Jr.)

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 01:05 PM PDT

Who says this year’s U20 World Cup is a watered down edition of an already watered down fountain soda? Alan Kardec, one of those ‘names’ back home in Brazil dotting the wish lists of European clubs, put in what can only be the goal of the tournament and a goal which will only serve to build his burgeoning reputation. Within mere seconds of it hitting the back of the net, the name ‘van Basten’ was uttered, praise saved for only the highest of high volleys.

And it was.

The angle on Alan’s was tighter, but van Basten’s was from further away and was a full volley, not off the bounce, so they’re not quite on par. Of course Kardec is only 20, so his junior has plenty of time to graduate into a full-on adult MvB.

And this was the only goal in what was a very un-Brazilian game, but the only goal in a tepid semifinal is still enough to get into the final - or so you may have heard.

***

Meanwhile Ghana made it to Friday’s final on the back of the best team boot color scheme coordination in the tournament.

Well, they had to win their game against Hungary, but I would’ve sent them through on their shoes alone.

[101 Great Goals]

Shay Given is About to Become a Centurion

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 09:28 AM PDT

Ireland’s reflex-tastic super-keeper Shay Given will reach the magic 100 cap mark tomorrow when he plays against Montenegro. Ireland have second place in Group 8 and a World Cup playoff place sewn up, so there’s not much riding on the game. But it will still be a big moment for the Man City keeper.

Given has been almost impossibly committed to the Irish national team. So much so that Given’s level of commitment somehow managed to annoy Roy “commitment” Keane a couple of years ago.

“I think players have agendas, certain players come over all the time no matter what,” Keane said. “Maybe they want to get 50 or 100 caps and a pat on the back for it. Shay is one of those ones. He wants to get 200 caps.”

Well, as of tomorrow he’ll be halfway there Roy. So here’s a WorldCupBlog “pat on the back” for Shay Given, in the shape of two YouTube videos:

First, a brilliant save from a Zinedine Zidane free kick back in 2006:

Second, a “Thank You” video from a Newcastle fan made after Given left:

Not sure where Offside and WorldCupBlog readers rank Given, but I’d say he’s up there with the best. Maybe he’s not quite Iker Casillas or Gigi Buffon. But he’s got to be close.

He was more or less single-handedly keeping Newcastle afloat last season (that’s not quite accurate, as he used two hands) and in hindsight their relegation was sealed the second he signed for Manchester City.

He’s 33 now (good age for a goalie) and in a team that could very likely be doing big things in the next few seasons. Given will be integral to that and will likely command a bit more worldwide respect as a result.

So that we don’t overlook his achievement, Kevin “Zinedine” Kilbane will also win his 100th cap vs Montenegro tomorrow. I was going to say there weren’t any good YouTube videos of Kilbane in action, but then I found this one titled: “Kevin Kilbane - World Class” and subtitled “He’s ace and you know it.” Enjoy:

For more on the Irish national team, visit Eugene at Ireland World Cup Blog
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MLB Championship Series: Heroes and zeroes for the four survivors

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Latest World Cup Blog Updates

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Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Adrian Mutu No Longer An Int’l Man of Mystery. Or Int’l Man At All.

Posted: 12 Oct 2009 01:00 PM PDT

It just does not pay to be Adrian Mutu these days; though fortunately one doesn’t have to pay to be him either.

Mere days after getting the glorious, oh so glorious news that his €17m fine to be paid to the order of Chelsea FC had been lifted, Romania was knocked out of contention for World Cup 2010 before the final day of qualifying. This comes as no surprise given their rampant suckitude during WCQ, but a major disappointment on the back of their torrid Euro2008 qualifying campaign.

To add insult to his unqualified misery, Adrian Mutu was then kicked off the Romanian national team. Because he loves the night life, he got to boogie.

Days before the biblically important qualifier with Serbia, Adrian was spotted in a discotheque in Bucharest. The tricolorii then lost the game 5-0 in Belgrade. One plus one type deal.

Therefore both the manager, Razvan Lucescu, and general manager of the Romanian NT have proclaimed Adrian no longer welcome in the yellow, blue and red, making it all the more official and damning.

“As long as I am in charge he will no longer be selected at international level.”

Romania general manager, Ionut Lupescu, added: “Mutu did not respect the national team shirt. Furthermore, he left after the match against Serbia without saying good bye to the coach and his teammates. Clearly, the national team is not his priority”.

Adrian responded:


“Can’t I have friends and go out with them? Can’t I sit close to a woman?”.

If we may be so bold as to speak for the Romanian FA: No. No you cannot.

At a youngish 30 - drug suspensions can do wonders for career longevity along with a shiny mane - this is clearly a big blow to the Romanian side’s biggest attacking threat and best player. The problem is even with an oft-injured Mutu, they were nowhere close to par during qualifying. So what’s to lose?

But why is this necessary? Has he learned nothing? Why isn’t he locked into a dungeon by family, friends, loved ones ad Steven Seagal at sundown in order to avoid more Chelsea-type disciplinary situations?

At least it’s not all bad, though. At least now he’ll be able to snap up that assistant manager job at McDonald’s to supplement his Fiorentina income during int’l breaks once that fine’s suspension is ultimately lifted.

See, there’s always a silver lining. Even when you’re Adrian Mutu.

Apparently Argentina Asked Peru to Roll Over. But Peru Didn’t.

Posted: 12 Oct 2009 07:44 AM PDT

Late late 2-1 win over Peru for Diego Maradona’s Argentina on Saturday night, with Martin Palermo scoring the all-important goal in the 93rd minute (and drawing a magnificent Klinsmann-esque diving celebration from his coach, see the very end of the above video.)

It was close. Unnecessarily close, considering Peru are rock bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying group. Which might explain why, according to Peru’s 36 year old midfielder Roberto Palacios, Argentina spent much of the game asking Peru to just give up.

According to Tuttosport, Palacios specifically named and quoted Argentina’s Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who he claims:

“Reminded me that the situation was complicated, he wanted [us] to lower the arms, did not know how to control us. The only thing I said was that I would like to let them win, but we could not give away anything because our qualification to the World Cup was very negative.”

Weird.

Would Mascherano really spend an entire match asking inferior opposition to give up and let them win? Or was it maybe just a bitr of (bizarre) gamesmanship?

Peru’s 90th minute equalizer suggests they had no intention of “lowering their arms”, but Palermo’s 93rd minute winner proves Argentina ultimately didn’t need them to. But only just.

The narrow win leaves Argentina in possession of the fourth and final automatic World Cup qualification spot:


Next game is a biggie. Argentina go to Uruguay this Wednesday October 14th, where a win for either team guarantees fourth spot. But loser isn’t guaranteed the fifth place playoff spot, because Ecuador (who go away to already qualified Chile) are lurking in sixth and ready to pounce.

Thanks to Alessio from Juventus Offside for sending us the Palacios/Mascherano tip. If you have any story tips, please send them to tips[at]theoffside[dot]com
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