Alhaji Righteous De Ambitious

Sunday, January 23, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: Burkina Faso wins U-17 African Championship

Link to International Football News - World Cup Blog

Burkina Faso wins U-17 African Championship

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 10:15 AM PST

When you think of African football, a few nations come to mind first. Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Togo, etc. One that would come much later down that list for most of us is Burkina Faso. The senior side has never reached a World Cup, and aside from a 4th place finish in 1998, have never gotten past the first round of the African Cup of Nations. But today was Burkina Faso’s day to shine, as they claim their second-ever youth title, the 2011 African U-17 Championships. They previously won the African U-20s in 2003.

Burkina Faso won it 2-1 over Rwanda, who would also seem to be a surprise entry in the final, but who had the advantage of being hosts. Their goals came from Zaniou Sana and Kabore Abdoul Aziz. Congratulations to them – they have to be feeling great about their footballing future today.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Teams are Set for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup” plus 1 more

Teams are Set for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 12:54 AM PST

Today, in the Copa Centroamericana (one of approximately 80 international tournaments currently in progress around the world), the 5th place match was won by Guatemala over Nicaragua. Why, you may ask, should those outside of one of those two countries pay any mind at all to that fact? The answer is that 5th place in that particular Copa came with a bonus – the final invite to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The teams are now set, and here they are:

Automatically Qualified (3): United States (host), Mexico, Canada
Qualified through the 2010 Caribbean Championship (4): Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Grenada
Qualified through the 2011 Copa Centroamericana (5): Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala

Now that the teams are set, we’ll have group stage fixtures very soon.

Oh, The Drama: The Ten-Man Japanese Late Show

Posted: 21 Jan 2011 07:37 AM PST

Japan looked down and out, down 2-1 and a man halfway through the second half, the clear momentum shifting to the hosts. And then Qatar met Shinji Kagawa.

Well, they’d already met him since he technically nodded in Japan’s first goal too, even if it was going in anyway.

One of Europe’s brightest new stars, absolute terror of the Bundesliga, scored the first goal while Japan was down a man, then created the winner in the 90th minute while, sending Japan into the semifinal to face the winner of South Korea and Iran. Arguably the game of the tournament thus far, and perhaps even 2011.

Friday, January 21, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Asian Cup Quarterfinals Preview” plus 1 more

Asian Cup Quarterfinals Preview

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 07:50 PM PST

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It’s something of a shame that there wasn’t some sort of elaborate Asian Cup bracket, because looking at the quarterfinal matches it reads across the board as though it could’ve been drawn up on paper. Japan, Australia and South Korea were arguably the three favorites heading in, with shouts from Iran and Qatar, all three have to be favorites to make the semifinals, along with the Uzbek upstart (Jordan’s miracles may have run dry) and the insane training regime which has spawned a new Asian power.

Of course, maybe splitting the final prize 5,000 ways wouldn’t be all that wonderful.

Friday, 21 Jan 2011:

Uzbekistan vs. Jordan
Japan vs. Qatar

Saturday, 22 Jan 2011:

Australia vs. Iraq
Iran vs. South Korea

25 Jan 2011: Semifinal 1: Uzbekistan/Jordan winner vs. Japan/Qatar winner
25 Jan 2011: Semifinal 2: Australia/Iraq vs. Iran/South Korea winner

The theory that stronger opposition in the early stages reaps stronger performances later is grounds for eternal debate, but if we assume this to be the case, the two strongest Asian showings from the World Cup, South Korea and Japan, may be on a collision course for the final with the two stiffest quarterfinal tests. The Blue Samurai take their continued evolution and sweet nickname into the house that Qatar built, simply because it’s in Doha. Form team/better team versus the home team.

Earlier in the day it’s Uzbekistan and Jordan, arguably the two most surprisingly impressive teams of the groups; Jordan, in fact, was most stunningly so, but Uzbekistan seems as though it may have a little bit more. Cinderella looks as though she’ll lose her shoe here.

On the other end, South Korea gets Iran, a quietly good football team, but not quite as good as South Korea, while Australia gets the defending champions, Iraq, looking for a second miracle.

A brave soul would pick something a great distance from Uzbekistan v Japan and South Korea v Australia; the smart mind wouldn’t.

Paul The Octopus Gets His Monument

Posted: 20 Jan 2011 08:17 AM PST

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The memorial for Paul the Octopus was unveiled today to throngs of press, photogs and grieving Germans.

Though it might seamlessly meld into the opulent landscape of ancient Xanadu, the replica World Cup trophy featuring octopus is quite the cheeky little centerpiece.

So does Spain get that one as well?

GERMANY-OCTOPUS/MEMORIAL