"Magic Marta" and the Brazilians upset #1 internationally ranked and pre-tournament favorites USA 4-0 to punch their ticket to the title match against Germany in China's Shanghai Stadium. The Brazilian women now have a chance to fight for their first ever Women's World Cup title. The only thing the Americans received were four yellow cards and a red card that dismissed Shannon Boxx, which is a huge loss for the Americans as they play Norway for the bronze medal.
This loss was a huge shocker for the female "stars and stripes" who entered this match on 51 game unbeaten streak. In fact, this was the worst defeat in the history of the women's US national team.
The match was scoreless until the 20th minute, but just like the "semi-final between Germany and Norway, it was an own goal that broke the deadlock, with Leslie Osbourne the unfortunate perpetrator on this occasion. Stooping in an attempt to cut out Formiga's inswinging corner at the near post, she succeeded only in glancing the ball past her helpless keeper."
Already 1-0, Brazil's Marta scored seven minutes after Osborune's own goal to increase the advatage 2-0. At the final minute of the first half, Boxx recieved two yellow cards causing her to be sent off and forcing the Americans to play the rest of the game a player down. Brazil's Cristiane scored in the 56th minute and Marta scored again 23 minutes later to seal Brazil's entry into the final against Germany.
The final and third place match will be played on September 30th in Chinia's Shanghai stadium.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Women's World Cup Update: Germany Defeats Norway, Advances to final
Women's World Cup Defending Champions Germany plowed through its semifinal match against Norway 3-0 to advance to the title match. However, according to FIFA's website, the match was not that easy for the Germans "with the Scandinavians running their rivals close for much of the game until quick-fire goals from Kerstin Stegemann and Martina Mueller in the last 20 minutes put the game beyond their reach."
Both teams played very well for the first 40 minutes, but Norway's luck ran out after the match's first goal was scored for Germany through an own goal by Norway's Trine Ronning at the 42nd minute. However, with a whole half of soccer to play, Norway was still in reach to win it, but about 30 minutes into the second half, Norway's luck started to spiral downward as Germany scored two goals at the 72nd and 75th minutes keeping any chance of a win out of reach. Even though she did not score any goals during the match, Germany's Birgit Prinz was named player of the match due to her outstanding assists in both of the last two goals.
While Germany goes on to play in the title match, Norway will play the loser of the second semifinal between the United States and Brazil for a chance at third place (see bracket here).
The Brazil-USA match will be played tomorrow at China's Hangzhou Stadium. A match between these two teams has been highly anticipated since the start of the tournament being that they are two of the best women's national teams in the world aside from Germany. Even though the United States holds two World Cup titles, Brazil, who has not yet won any World Cup titles, currently has a scret weapon within Marta, the tournament's current leading scorer, playing for its team. This player was feared by many teams before the World Cup began. Click here for match preview.
Both teams played very well for the first 40 minutes, but Norway's luck ran out after the match's first goal was scored for Germany through an own goal by Norway's Trine Ronning at the 42nd minute. However, with a whole half of soccer to play, Norway was still in reach to win it, but about 30 minutes into the second half, Norway's luck started to spiral downward as Germany scored two goals at the 72nd and 75th minutes keeping any chance of a win out of reach. Even though she did not score any goals during the match, Germany's Birgit Prinz was named player of the match due to her outstanding assists in both of the last two goals.
While Germany goes on to play in the title match, Norway will play the loser of the second semifinal between the United States and Brazil for a chance at third place (see bracket here).
The Brazil-USA match will be played tomorrow at China's Hangzhou Stadium. A match between these two teams has been highly anticipated since the start of the tournament being that they are two of the best women's national teams in the world aside from Germany. Even though the United States holds two World Cup titles, Brazil, who has not yet won any World Cup titles, currently has a scret weapon within Marta, the tournament's current leading scorer, playing for its team. This player was feared by many teams before the World Cup began. Click here for match preview.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Wayne Rooney at it again?
English soccer player Wayne Rooney may be considered one of the best players on Manchester United, but to many people throughout the world he is nothing but a pest. Current Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson knows this firsthand. Rooney has been begging Ferguson for a spot in tomorrow night's Carling Cup tie against fellow English Premier League Cup Conventry. According to this article from Fox Soccer Channel, Ferguson would like to keep Rooney out of the match in order to give less experienced players a chance to play at senior level, but now Rooney is even pleading Ferguson to give him the role of captain. "He wants to play, he wants to be the captain, he wants to take the penalties, the corners, the free-kicks, the goal-kicks, the lot," Ferguson told Manchester United radio. The most shocking part is that Ferguson may actually accept Rooney's demands just to get the 21 year old player off his back. This may cause Ferguson to have to change much of teh lineup for this match. Ferguson would have been wise to keep big named players such as Ronney out of match like this. Even though the Carling Cup is a well known English Premier League Cup, it is still not as prestigous as the league's FA Cup. Putting Rooney or any other all star player in this match could risk injury and then keep these players out of more important matches in the future. But, of course, the "all might" Rooney had to get his way. Although this may seem like a very minor occurence, the Manchester United coaching staff and managers know how Rooney is based on the many incidents he has had while playing for both Manchester United and the English Premier League. The most recent incident occured in the 2006 World Cup which will be discussed later in this post.
Wayne Roooney first became known on the world soccer stage while playing for the English national team in Euro 2004 at only 17 years old. At that point in his career, it seemed like nothing can go wrong to this young English celebrity who just started playing for his dream club, Manchester United. However, the now 21 yeard old is not as well liked outside of England.
However, behind the scenes, Rooney was becoming a nuisance. After his outstanding performance at the Euro 2004, other Manchester United players were bothered by his "tough guy" attitude and he started to become a bully to the other players.
On September 7, 2005, Rooney got into some disciplinary problems while playing for the English national team in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Northern Ireland, which England lost 1-0. During this match, Ronney launched an on-field outburst against former England captain David Beckham, but since then the pair have played the incident down. His disciplinary problems followed him to his Manchester United career as well when he was dismissed in a scoreless draw against Villarea, a club that plays in Spain's La Liga. This match was extremely important for Manchester United as it was an away match in the European Champion's League competition. In this match, Rooney challenged a yellow card booking against him by referee Kim Milton Nielsen because he felt that it was unfair. In protest, Rooney sarcastically applauded the referee and was sent off for dissent. Rooney's sending off in both of these match possibly costed his team crucuial wins.
After these incidents, Rooney promised his teammates and coaching staffs that he will keep his temper under control and a second chance was given. Both his club and national team managers defended Rooney's action claiming that his youth as an excuse for his bad hehavior. Another excuse was that players from oppossing teams that were familiar with his disciplinary problems used this against him by teasing or provoking him, a common tactic in soccer usually used against good players to get them sent off. HOwever, the real test here is how a player like Rooney handles this pressure. Knowing this, many gave him a second chance, and in the 2005-2006 season, he was successfully able to keep his quick temper in check which was seen in his drop in cards received.However, this quickly changed that summer in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinal match against Portugal where Rooney was sent off in a crucial match for the English team after an incident at the 62nd. In the play, Rooney attempted to gain proper control of the ball in a challenge with Portuguese players Ricardo Carvalho and Petit, during which he appeared to stamp on Carvalho's groin. The incident occurred right in front of Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo. As play was stopped, Rooney caught Portuguese player and fellow Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo speaking to the ref causing him to push Ronaldo aside and was shown the red card for what was thought to be a combination of the incidents involving Carvalho and Ronaldo. Being that the 2006 World Cup revolved around horrible officiating, it was natural that this call would become the center of controversy. On July 4th, the ref admitted that the red card was due to the stamp on Carvalho, and not what occured afterwards, telling a England-based newspaper: "It was violent play and therefore he got a red card. People can say what they want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence. For me it was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players."
Many English sportscasters believed that this situation mirrored David Beckham's sending off in his World Cup debut in 1998 in which many English fans refused to trust Beckham for several months, but somehow Rooney's incident was the opposite.After England lost on penalties, the BBC sportscasters showed a clip of what they found interesting regardingRooney's dismissal. Before the match, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's Manchester United teammate, approached him from behind and placed his head close to Rooney to whisper something into his ear. After this, Rooney appeared upset, and many fellow English players aknowledged this through his behavior in the locker room. Later Rooney claimed that Ronaldo advised him to be careful of what he does because he was going to tell the ref to send him off. This story may explain why Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portuguese bench but no one knows if this was the truth. Many simply called this action a gesture of victory since he had managed to get a dangerous English player sent off and therefore Portugal were more likely to win the match. Cristiano Ronaldo said in a post-match press conference that Rooney was a friend and he had not urged the referee to take out a red card, but just pointed out that Rooney had committed a foul. Instead of widespread complaints from England fans at Rooney like what happened in Beckham's case, many Manchester United fans and media disgustingly attacked Ronaldo and some even tried to convince Manchester United management to throw him out of the team. Some even harrassed his family in Portugal as well as allegedly sending death threats to his family members. This caused this Ronaldo to consider leaving the English club and join Real Madrid who had shown interest in the player, but Sir Alex Feruson sent his assistant manager to Portugal to convince him not to and he ended up signing a contract woth them for a ntoher five years. This controversy also costed Ronaldo FIFA's Best Young Player Award at the World Cup as a result of an email caimpaign conducted by some English fans against it and the award was given to Germany's Lukas Podolski. They cited Ronalso's behavior as a factor. On July 3rd, Rooney came out with a statement and claimed that his actions were accidental:
"I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not team-mates...I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho. He slid in from behind me and unfortunately ended up in a positioning where my foot was inevitably going to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it. When the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked."
Here is a youtube video of Rooney's contact with Carvalho on the field when the incident occured:
Here is a youtube video of Rooney's comments regarding Ronaldo and the incident as well as his international career in general:
Wayne Roooney first became known on the world soccer stage while playing for the English national team in Euro 2004 at only 17 years old. At that point in his career, it seemed like nothing can go wrong to this young English celebrity who just started playing for his dream club, Manchester United. However, the now 21 yeard old is not as well liked outside of England.
However, behind the scenes, Rooney was becoming a nuisance. After his outstanding performance at the Euro 2004, other Manchester United players were bothered by his "tough guy" attitude and he started to become a bully to the other players.
On September 7, 2005, Rooney got into some disciplinary problems while playing for the English national team in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Northern Ireland, which England lost 1-0. During this match, Ronney launched an on-field outburst against former England captain David Beckham, but since then the pair have played the incident down. His disciplinary problems followed him to his Manchester United career as well when he was dismissed in a scoreless draw against Villarea, a club that plays in Spain's La Liga. This match was extremely important for Manchester United as it was an away match in the European Champion's League competition. In this match, Rooney challenged a yellow card booking against him by referee Kim Milton Nielsen because he felt that it was unfair. In protest, Rooney sarcastically applauded the referee and was sent off for dissent. Rooney's sending off in both of these match possibly costed his team crucuial wins.
After these incidents, Rooney promised his teammates and coaching staffs that he will keep his temper under control and a second chance was given. Both his club and national team managers defended Rooney's action claiming that his youth as an excuse for his bad hehavior. Another excuse was that players from oppossing teams that were familiar with his disciplinary problems used this against him by teasing or provoking him, a common tactic in soccer usually used against good players to get them sent off. HOwever, the real test here is how a player like Rooney handles this pressure. Knowing this, many gave him a second chance, and in the 2005-2006 season, he was successfully able to keep his quick temper in check which was seen in his drop in cards received.However, this quickly changed that summer in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinal match against Portugal where Rooney was sent off in a crucial match for the English team after an incident at the 62nd. In the play, Rooney attempted to gain proper control of the ball in a challenge with Portuguese players Ricardo Carvalho and Petit, during which he appeared to stamp on Carvalho's groin. The incident occurred right in front of Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo. As play was stopped, Rooney caught Portuguese player and fellow Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo speaking to the ref causing him to push Ronaldo aside and was shown the red card for what was thought to be a combination of the incidents involving Carvalho and Ronaldo. Being that the 2006 World Cup revolved around horrible officiating, it was natural that this call would become the center of controversy. On July 4th, the ref admitted that the red card was due to the stamp on Carvalho, and not what occured afterwards, telling a England-based newspaper: "It was violent play and therefore he got a red card. People can say what they want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence. For me it was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players."
Many English sportscasters believed that this situation mirrored David Beckham's sending off in his World Cup debut in 1998 in which many English fans refused to trust Beckham for several months, but somehow Rooney's incident was the opposite.After England lost on penalties, the BBC sportscasters showed a clip of what they found interesting regardingRooney's dismissal. Before the match, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's Manchester United teammate, approached him from behind and placed his head close to Rooney to whisper something into his ear. After this, Rooney appeared upset, and many fellow English players aknowledged this through his behavior in the locker room. Later Rooney claimed that Ronaldo advised him to be careful of what he does because he was going to tell the ref to send him off. This story may explain why Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portuguese bench but no one knows if this was the truth. Many simply called this action a gesture of victory since he had managed to get a dangerous English player sent off and therefore Portugal were more likely to win the match. Cristiano Ronaldo said in a post-match press conference that Rooney was a friend and he had not urged the referee to take out a red card, but just pointed out that Rooney had committed a foul. Instead of widespread complaints from England fans at Rooney like what happened in Beckham's case, many Manchester United fans and media disgustingly attacked Ronaldo and some even tried to convince Manchester United management to throw him out of the team. Some even harrassed his family in Portugal as well as allegedly sending death threats to his family members. This caused this Ronaldo to consider leaving the English club and join Real Madrid who had shown interest in the player, but Sir Alex Feruson sent his assistant manager to Portugal to convince him not to and he ended up signing a contract woth them for a ntoher five years. This controversy also costed Ronaldo FIFA's Best Young Player Award at the World Cup as a result of an email caimpaign conducted by some English fans against it and the award was given to Germany's Lukas Podolski. They cited Ronalso's behavior as a factor. On July 3rd, Rooney came out with a statement and claimed that his actions were accidental:
"I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not team-mates...I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho. He slid in from behind me and unfortunately ended up in a positioning where my foot was inevitably going to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it. When the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked."
Here is a youtube video of Rooney's contact with Carvalho on the field when the incident occured:
Here is a youtube video of Rooney's comments regarding Ronaldo and the incident as well as his international career in general:
Monday, September 24, 2007
New York Red Bulls expected to play in New Stadium in less than a year
It has been a year already since the New York Red Bulls have broke ground for their new stadium and the team as well as the fans are extremely excited, especially since their fan base is rising as result of the unexpected 5-4 result against David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy in August, an exciting match that turned many New York and New Jersey residents that have never been to a soccer game before into Red Bull fans looking forward to attending more games. If David Beckham did anything for Major League Soccer, he ironically did more for the Red Bulls than his own team in Los Angeles.
The New York Red Bulls have finally followed the example of many other Major League Soccer clubs and have broken ground at the site of the new Red Bull Park on September 19, 2006. That's right, Red Bull fans! The New York Red Bulls are expected to move out of Giants Stadium and set up shop at a new soccer-specific stadium in Harrision, New Jersey next year. According to an article from the New York Times that was posted on the official wesbite for Red Bull Park, the new stadium will cost 200 million dollars and will seat 25,000 people. The Red Bulls have made Giants Stadium there home since the franchise first started as the New York/New Jersey Metrostars in 1996 as one of the first MLS clubs. The stadium is expected to be finished by July 2008 so the team is expected to play in the new stadium for at least half of the 2008 season.
According to the New York Times article, "Red Bull Park, which will be built on the eastern bank of the Passaic River across from Newark, will be managed by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which sold its interest in the MetroStars and half its share in the stadium to Red Bull, a company based in Austria that makes the energy drink of the same name."
Marc deGrandpre, the Red Bull managing director, is by no doubt excited avout the new stadium for his team and was quoted as saying the following by the New York Times:
"This stadium is going to be the crown jewel of soccer stadiums in the United States and North America. When we purchased the team we said we were committed to building a stadium that will evoke English Premier League and European stadiums. It will cost a little more than we first thought because of the roof covering the fans, but we feel it will be an electric environment."
The playing surface of the new stadium will be grass, according to Marc deGrandpre, "because that's what Bruce Arena wants, and we do what our coach wants."
If any player is the emost excited about the new stadium, it is Livingston, New Jersey resident Josmer Altidore. Sixteen years old at the time, he was only a rookie when they broke ground. "I thought I was daydreaming for a second, honestly.But then I heard the crowd roar and thought: 'Oh, shoot. That was for me.' Hey, I'm 16 and having fun," he said of his first goal for the team which he contributed around the same date ground was broken.
According to the article, "the stadium is part of a $1 billion redevelopment project on 300 acres of an abandoned industrial area along Harrison's waterfront. It will include 6,000 apartments and condominiums, 3.5 million square feet of office space and 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Red Bull and AEG will contribute $100 million to the project, and Hudson County and Harrison will finance the cleanup and the construction of a parking garage. Harrison has already completed an initial $40 million bond sale, backed by Hudson County."
The one year anniversary of the breaking of ground of this new stadium comes at around the same time that Major League Soccer had established the goal that they will expand the league from the now 13 teams to 18 teams by 2010.
"This is really a celebration for soccer," said Nick Sakiewicz, who was the former general manager of the franchise and the president of AEG New York. "I knew we had made it when I met recently with Harrison's chief of police and found out he is a carded referee with U.S. Soccer. It has been six long years, but we got it done."
For more information regarding this exciting new addiiton to Red Bull soccer, check this website.
The New York Red Bulls have finally followed the example of many other Major League Soccer clubs and have broken ground at the site of the new Red Bull Park on September 19, 2006. That's right, Red Bull fans! The New York Red Bulls are expected to move out of Giants Stadium and set up shop at a new soccer-specific stadium in Harrision, New Jersey next year. According to an article from the New York Times that was posted on the official wesbite for Red Bull Park, the new stadium will cost 200 million dollars and will seat 25,000 people. The Red Bulls have made Giants Stadium there home since the franchise first started as the New York/New Jersey Metrostars in 1996 as one of the first MLS clubs. The stadium is expected to be finished by July 2008 so the team is expected to play in the new stadium for at least half of the 2008 season.
According to the New York Times article, "Red Bull Park, which will be built on the eastern bank of the Passaic River across from Newark, will be managed by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which sold its interest in the MetroStars and half its share in the stadium to Red Bull, a company based in Austria that makes the energy drink of the same name."
Marc deGrandpre, the Red Bull managing director, is by no doubt excited avout the new stadium for his team and was quoted as saying the following by the New York Times:
"This stadium is going to be the crown jewel of soccer stadiums in the United States and North America. When we purchased the team we said we were committed to building a stadium that will evoke English Premier League and European stadiums. It will cost a little more than we first thought because of the roof covering the fans, but we feel it will be an electric environment."
The playing surface of the new stadium will be grass, according to Marc deGrandpre, "because that's what Bruce Arena wants, and we do what our coach wants."
If any player is the emost excited about the new stadium, it is Livingston, New Jersey resident Josmer Altidore. Sixteen years old at the time, he was only a rookie when they broke ground. "I thought I was daydreaming for a second, honestly.But then I heard the crowd roar and thought: 'Oh, shoot. That was for me.' Hey, I'm 16 and having fun," he said of his first goal for the team which he contributed around the same date ground was broken.
According to the article, "the stadium is part of a $1 billion redevelopment project on 300 acres of an abandoned industrial area along Harrison's waterfront. It will include 6,000 apartments and condominiums, 3.5 million square feet of office space and 1.2 million square feet of retail space. Red Bull and AEG will contribute $100 million to the project, and Hudson County and Harrison will finance the cleanup and the construction of a parking garage. Harrison has already completed an initial $40 million bond sale, backed by Hudson County."
The one year anniversary of the breaking of ground of this new stadium comes at around the same time that Major League Soccer had established the goal that they will expand the league from the now 13 teams to 18 teams by 2010.
"This is really a celebration for soccer," said Nick Sakiewicz, who was the former general manager of the franchise and the president of AEG New York. "I knew we had made it when I met recently with Harrison's chief of police and found out he is a carded referee with U.S. Soccer. It has been six long years, but we got it done."
For more information regarding this exciting new addiiton to Red Bull soccer, check this website.
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final Set: To Be Televized Live on Fox Soccer Channel
The United States Open Cup, the only soccer competition that gives all American soccer teams the chance to prove themselves as the best, is the oldest soccer competition in the United States. Established in 1914 as a minor tournament for only ameatur teams, it has became more important when professional teams were given the chance to compete in it in 1995 and became even more prestigious when Major League Soccer was established in 1996.
Today, qualified American teams in Major League Soccer and the three divisions that make up the United Soccer Leagues (USL) join qualified ameatur clubs of the United States Adult Soccer Association every year to compete for the title of best soccer team in America. Ever since professional teams had the chance to qualify, USL First Division and MLS teams have pretty much dominated the last two or three rounds of the competition while only MLS clubs have made it to the final.
2006 Defending champion Chicago Fire has lost their chance to defend their title after a 1-0 upset against USL Division 1 club Carolina Railhawks in the third round. The semifinalists included two USL Division 1 teams (Carolina Railhakwks and Charleston Battery) and Major League Soccer teams (New England Revolution and FC Dallas). As always, the USL teams have once again been defeated by the MLS clubs as Carolina played a hard fought game against the New England Revolution and lost 2-1 after extra time. The result was the same between Charleston and FC Dallas as FC Dallas scored the winning second goal during extra time. The final between the New England Revolution and FC Dallas will take place on October 3 and will be televized on Fox Soccer Channel in New England's second apperance in the competiiton. The last time they qualified was in 2001 when they made it the final and were defeated by the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in overtime. See this article for more information regarding this year's US Open Cup title match.
For results and other information regarding the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, check out the offical website.
Today, qualified American teams in Major League Soccer and the three divisions that make up the United Soccer Leagues (USL) join qualified ameatur clubs of the United States Adult Soccer Association every year to compete for the title of best soccer team in America. Ever since professional teams had the chance to qualify, USL First Division and MLS teams have pretty much dominated the last two or three rounds of the competition while only MLS clubs have made it to the final.
2006 Defending champion Chicago Fire has lost their chance to defend their title after a 1-0 upset against USL Division 1 club Carolina Railhawks in the third round. The semifinalists included two USL Division 1 teams (Carolina Railhakwks and Charleston Battery) and Major League Soccer teams (New England Revolution and FC Dallas). As always, the USL teams have once again been defeated by the MLS clubs as Carolina played a hard fought game against the New England Revolution and lost 2-1 after extra time. The result was the same between Charleston and FC Dallas as FC Dallas scored the winning second goal during extra time. The final between the New England Revolution and FC Dallas will take place on October 3 and will be televized on Fox Soccer Channel in New England's second apperance in the competiiton. The last time they qualified was in 2001 when they made it the final and were defeated by the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in overtime. See this article for more information regarding this year's US Open Cup title match.
For results and other information regarding the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, check out the offical website.
FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 Update
The FIFA Women's World Cup has been going on for about two weeks already and only four teams remain to claim this year's title. Host team China was already eliminated in teh quarterinfal. This year's semifinalists include 2003 defending champion Germany, Norway, 2003 bronze medalist the United States, and Brazil (see the bracket here). All of the quarterfinal matches ended in shutouts (Germany-North Korea 3-0, Norway-China 1-0, and USA-England 3-0 except for the Brazil-Australia match which had an exciting and competetive 3-2 outcome.
The two semifinal matches will take place on Wednesday (Germany vs Norway) and Thursday (USA vs Brazil). The losers in these two matches will play for third place while the winners will play in the title match. Both matches will take place on September 30th.
Defending champions Germany and the United States came into the tournament as favorites, and the possibilty of Germany-USA final may make for an intersting match.
For more information on the FIFA Women's World Cup in China, check out the official website.
The two semifinal matches will take place on Wednesday (Germany vs Norway) and Thursday (USA vs Brazil). The losers in these two matches will play for third place while the winners will play in the title match. Both matches will take place on September 30th.
Defending champions Germany and the United States came into the tournament as favorites, and the possibilty of Germany-USA final may make for an intersting match.
For more information on the FIFA Women's World Cup in China, check out the official website.
Croatian Soccer League: NK Rijeka defeats Hajduk Split 4-0
One month after Croatian soccer club Hajduk Split fired their coach Ivan Pudar , Hajduk, once one of the best teams in the Croatian soccer league (finished second only to first placed Dinamo Zagreb last season), lost 4-0 against NK Rijeka on Saturday causing Rijeka to rise to second place behind Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk to fall to fifth place.
As a result of this disspointing result, FIFA has reported today that the team's president will resign. President Blanko Grgic blamed this on the team's recent lossess, especially this 4-0 loss against Rijeka and is stepping down for "moral reasons."
FIFA quotes Grgic as saying:
"The team has had poor results, and I'm getting tired of it. As a president I'm the most responsible for the performance which is far below expectations."
Hajduk Split is known for its heavy rivalry against league leader Dinamo Zagreb as well as the many brawls that take place between the fan cluvs of these two teams ("Bad Blue Boys" for Dinamo and "Toricida" for Hajduk). These two fan clubs as well as others in Eastern Europe are known for lighting up flares during games. One flare-related incident at a Hajduk-Dinamo match caused the match to be delayed for a substantial amount of time due to a massive fire that resulted (see the YouTube video below for one example of the many incidents).
FIFA has not made any reports regarding a replacement as of yet.
As a result of this disspointing result, FIFA has reported today that the team's president will resign. President Blanko Grgic blamed this on the team's recent lossess, especially this 4-0 loss against Rijeka and is stepping down for "moral reasons."
FIFA quotes Grgic as saying:
"The team has had poor results, and I'm getting tired of it. As a president I'm the most responsible for the performance which is far below expectations."
Hajduk Split is known for its heavy rivalry against league leader Dinamo Zagreb as well as the many brawls that take place between the fan cluvs of these two teams ("Bad Blue Boys" for Dinamo and "Toricida" for Hajduk). These two fan clubs as well as others in Eastern Europe are known for lighting up flares during games. One flare-related incident at a Hajduk-Dinamo match caused the match to be delayed for a substantial amount of time due to a massive fire that resulted (see the YouTube video below for one example of the many incidents).
FIFA has not made any reports regarding a replacement as of yet.
New York Red Bulls manage 2-2 draw against New England Revolution
Interstate 95 rivals New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution clashed at Giants Stadium on Saturday for the third and final time this regular season. New England entered this match already qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs while the Red Bulls are still struggling for points at a crucial point in the season.
The New York Red Bulls dominated the entire three match series against New England and was defintely the better of the two teams, but this was not visible by simply looking at the scoreline. The rivalry heated up at the very first minute of the first match which took place on Saturday July 14th at Gaints Stadium. Despite creating any chances and dominating the entire game, the Red Bulls lost this one 1-0. The second meeting at Foxboro near Boston on Saturday August 25th was even worse as the Red Bulls suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of New England. At this match, the Red Bulls were clearly the better of the two teams but an unfortunate own goal gave New England the game winner at the 80th minute. The score was 1-1 until then, but Red Bulls player Carlos Mendes passed the ball to Red Bulls goalie Jon Conway from forty yards away only for Conway to misjudge the pass and see the ball trickle right into the back of the goal conceding a gift of three points to New England who clearly did not deserve it and extended the gap betweent he two teams by nine points in the standings at that point in the season. What was even more unfortunate was the fact that Red Bulls goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus, arguably one of the best goalies in Red Bulls franchise hisotry, could not make the trip up north due to personal reasons, giving Conway, a reserve, the chance to start. This match did, however, see Livingston, New Jersey native and US Under 20 World Cup star Jozy Altidore score his eigth career goal.
The match at Giants Stadium this past Saturday night gave the Red Bulls one final chance to post a win against the New England Revolution. Again, the Red Bulls did dominate the entire match, but only managed a disspointing 2-2 draw giving both teams only a point in the standings. The first goal was scored 22 minutes into the match by New England's Taylor Twellman, who has become rather well known for his participation in the US national team's Gold Cup squad this summer. The red Bulls answered fifteen minutes with the equalizer. The goal was scored by Francis Doe giving him his first gaol of the season and was assisted by Dane Richards. Doe and Richards are two players unkown to most Red BUlls fans but came out as heroes against the Revolution. The scoreline remained the same frot he rest of the first half. Second half scoring opened once again by Twellman at the 70th minute giving him his 14th goal of the season and putting New England in the lead once again in the lead. Juan Pablo Angel, a contender for the MLS MVP award, scored his 16th goal of the season and the equalizer for the Red Bulls six minutes before the final whistle giving the Red Bulls only a point in the standings.
These results put the Red Bulls in third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 38 points and below Interstate 95 rivals DC United (first place with 50 points) and New England (second with 46 points). Both of these teams have clinched MLS Cup playoff spots. At this point in the regular season, the Red Bulls can still qualify, but if things stay as they are now, they may end up playing the New England Revolution two more times in the two-legged first round of the playoffs. All three of these teams have played 26 games each and only have four more matches remaining this season. The following is the schedule and my prediction for the remaining Red Bulls matches this season:
Saturday 9/29 vs Real Salt Lake (televized nationally on Fox Soccer channel): This match is expected to be an automatic win for the Red Bulls and an easy chance for the Red Bulls to pocket three points. This western conference team is currently in fifth place in the Western Conferece standings with only 23 points in 26 matches and only the Los Angeles Galaxy below them. However, the one other time that the Red Bulls met with this team resulted in a 3-3 draw and the Red Bulls were unable to stop a Real Salt Lake comeback. However, this was an away match for the Red Bulls and being that the Red Bulls have an 8-3-2 record at home and assuming that Red Bull coach Bruce Arena is smart enough to start players like Claudio Reyna, Juan Pablo Angel, Altidore, and Clint Mathis, the Red Bulls could win this one easily with talent liek this.
Thursday 10/4 at Toronto FC (televized nationally on ESPN 2): Newcomers this seaosn to Major League Soccer, Toronto has failed to make a huge impression. The Red bulls are currently 2-0 against this team (2-1 away, 3-0 home). If the Red Bulls manage to lose this one, I would be really surprised.
Saturday 10/13 vs Kansas City Wizards (televized on MSG 2): This is the final home match for the Red Bulls and this team is defintely tougher than the two teams that will be facing before this. Currently two points below the Red Bulls in the standings in fourth place in the East, this match will probably even ore crucial for Kansas City than it will be for the third place Red Bulls. Their current reconrd against Kansas City is 0-1-1 (3-2 away loss, 3-3 home draw). Being that the Red Bulls have a good record at home (8-3-2) and their match against the Wizards at home was a nail-biter for all fans, this match can go either way. However, Kansas City will be going into this game after meeting an almost unstoppable DC United team at home a week before. My Prediction: 2-1 Red Bulls.
Thrusday 10/18 at Los Angeles Galaxy (televized nationally on ESPN 2): The Red Bulls will end their reuglar season in Home Depot Center against West Coast rival LOs Angeles Galaxy. The Red Bulls have met the Galaxy twice this season, one of which was a 3-1 loss in a qualifying match for the US Open Cup and had no bearing on the regular season standings. However, it was against David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy that the Red Bulls played their most thrilling and high scoring game of the season in front of 66,237 fans in Giants Stadium, a record for any soccer match in the United States in the last few years. In this match, David Beckham did take part in assiitng the Galaxy in 3 of their goals, but he failed to create much magic in the second half and could not penetrate the outstanding Red Bull defense as New York defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 in arguably the most exciting match in the history of Major League Soccer. It was defintely the most popular with over 60,000 spectators, many of which have not ever seen a soccer game live before. With David Beckham out for the rest of the season, the Red Bulls have a good chance to win against Los Angeles once again, although they may not be able to make a repeat of that magical night. However, since the Galaxy is close to the bottom of the playoff standings, Landon Donovan and the Los Angeles Galaxy will definitely make a greater effort to win this match. I tie may be possible in this match but I do not see the Red Bulls losing.
For more information regarding the New York Red Bulls and too witness their rush to the 2007 MLS Cup, check out the New York Bulls official website.
The New York Red Bulls dominated the entire three match series against New England and was defintely the better of the two teams, but this was not visible by simply looking at the scoreline. The rivalry heated up at the very first minute of the first match which took place on Saturday July 14th at Gaints Stadium. Despite creating any chances and dominating the entire game, the Red Bulls lost this one 1-0. The second meeting at Foxboro near Boston on Saturday August 25th was even worse as the Red Bulls suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of New England. At this match, the Red Bulls were clearly the better of the two teams but an unfortunate own goal gave New England the game winner at the 80th minute. The score was 1-1 until then, but Red Bulls player Carlos Mendes passed the ball to Red Bulls goalie Jon Conway from forty yards away only for Conway to misjudge the pass and see the ball trickle right into the back of the goal conceding a gift of three points to New England who clearly did not deserve it and extended the gap betweent he two teams by nine points in the standings at that point in the season. What was even more unfortunate was the fact that Red Bulls goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus, arguably one of the best goalies in Red Bulls franchise hisotry, could not make the trip up north due to personal reasons, giving Conway, a reserve, the chance to start. This match did, however, see Livingston, New Jersey native and US Under 20 World Cup star Jozy Altidore score his eigth career goal.
The match at Giants Stadium this past Saturday night gave the Red Bulls one final chance to post a win against the New England Revolution. Again, the Red Bulls did dominate the entire match, but only managed a disspointing 2-2 draw giving both teams only a point in the standings. The first goal was scored 22 minutes into the match by New England's Taylor Twellman, who has become rather well known for his participation in the US national team's Gold Cup squad this summer. The red Bulls answered fifteen minutes with the equalizer. The goal was scored by Francis Doe giving him his first gaol of the season and was assisted by Dane Richards. Doe and Richards are two players unkown to most Red BUlls fans but came out as heroes against the Revolution. The scoreline remained the same frot he rest of the first half. Second half scoring opened once again by Twellman at the 70th minute giving him his 14th goal of the season and putting New England in the lead once again in the lead. Juan Pablo Angel, a contender for the MLS MVP award, scored his 16th goal of the season and the equalizer for the Red Bulls six minutes before the final whistle giving the Red Bulls only a point in the standings.
These results put the Red Bulls in third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 38 points and below Interstate 95 rivals DC United (first place with 50 points) and New England (second with 46 points). Both of these teams have clinched MLS Cup playoff spots. At this point in the regular season, the Red Bulls can still qualify, but if things stay as they are now, they may end up playing the New England Revolution two more times in the two-legged first round of the playoffs. All three of these teams have played 26 games each and only have four more matches remaining this season. The following is the schedule and my prediction for the remaining Red Bulls matches this season:
Saturday 9/29 vs Real Salt Lake (televized nationally on Fox Soccer channel): This match is expected to be an automatic win for the Red Bulls and an easy chance for the Red Bulls to pocket three points. This western conference team is currently in fifth place in the Western Conferece standings with only 23 points in 26 matches and only the Los Angeles Galaxy below them. However, the one other time that the Red Bulls met with this team resulted in a 3-3 draw and the Red Bulls were unable to stop a Real Salt Lake comeback. However, this was an away match for the Red Bulls and being that the Red Bulls have an 8-3-2 record at home and assuming that Red Bull coach Bruce Arena is smart enough to start players like Claudio Reyna, Juan Pablo Angel, Altidore, and Clint Mathis, the Red Bulls could win this one easily with talent liek this.
Thursday 10/4 at Toronto FC (televized nationally on ESPN 2): Newcomers this seaosn to Major League Soccer, Toronto has failed to make a huge impression. The Red bulls are currently 2-0 against this team (2-1 away, 3-0 home). If the Red Bulls manage to lose this one, I would be really surprised.
Saturday 10/13 vs Kansas City Wizards (televized on MSG 2): This is the final home match for the Red Bulls and this team is defintely tougher than the two teams that will be facing before this. Currently two points below the Red Bulls in the standings in fourth place in the East, this match will probably even ore crucial for Kansas City than it will be for the third place Red Bulls. Their current reconrd against Kansas City is 0-1-1 (3-2 away loss, 3-3 home draw). Being that the Red Bulls have a good record at home (8-3-2) and their match against the Wizards at home was a nail-biter for all fans, this match can go either way. However, Kansas City will be going into this game after meeting an almost unstoppable DC United team at home a week before. My Prediction: 2-1 Red Bulls.
Thrusday 10/18 at Los Angeles Galaxy (televized nationally on ESPN 2): The Red Bulls will end their reuglar season in Home Depot Center against West Coast rival LOs Angeles Galaxy. The Red Bulls have met the Galaxy twice this season, one of which was a 3-1 loss in a qualifying match for the US Open Cup and had no bearing on the regular season standings. However, it was against David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy that the Red Bulls played their most thrilling and high scoring game of the season in front of 66,237 fans in Giants Stadium, a record for any soccer match in the United States in the last few years. In this match, David Beckham did take part in assiitng the Galaxy in 3 of their goals, but he failed to create much magic in the second half and could not penetrate the outstanding Red Bull defense as New York defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 in arguably the most exciting match in the history of Major League Soccer. It was defintely the most popular with over 60,000 spectators, many of which have not ever seen a soccer game live before. With David Beckham out for the rest of the season, the Red Bulls have a good chance to win against Los Angeles once again, although they may not be able to make a repeat of that magical night. However, since the Galaxy is close to the bottom of the playoff standings, Landon Donovan and the Los Angeles Galaxy will definitely make a greater effort to win this match. I tie may be possible in this match but I do not see the Red Bulls losing.
For more information regarding the New York Red Bulls and too witness their rush to the 2007 MLS Cup, check out the New York Bulls official website.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
994 Days until South Africa 2010
Saturday September 15, 2007 was a signifcant day for South Africa as its people prepare to host the 2010 World Cup. It was on this day that FIFA officially started its 1000 day countdown to the big event's opening day. South Africa's hosting of soccer's biggest tournament is a reason for celebration for the entire African continent because it is the first time that the World Cup was ever held there. Therefore, South Africans took a break from preparations to hold celebrations and other events that took place all over South Africa.
The idea that South Africa won the right to host the event has come under much scrutiny and controversy since it was first announced on May 15, 2004. Critics have pointed out that South Africa is an unsafe location to hold the World Cup due to concerns regarding crime in the country (see this article). BBC has even went as far as saying that "South Africa is the most dangerous country in the world." These concerns, however, were dismissed by FIFA President Joseph Blatter as he praised South Africa's eagerness in preparing for the event. Blatter also said that if South Africa had not stepped up to the plate to host the biggest event in soccer, it would never touch African soil. This was echoed by South African President Thabo Mbeki:
"The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents a golden opportunity to showcase Africa to the world. Now we have to show that the African renaissance is upon us and Africa's time has come. The South African Government will leave no stone unturned to host a tournament that brings great satisfaction to billions across the world."
The CEO of the South African Organising Committee had this to say regarding the unveiling of the 1000 day countdown:
"The 1000 Day Countdown marks the beginning of the operational phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We are running within time and within budget and we are confident that the tournament will be a success. There is a shared vision and commitment by all South Africans that this World Cup must work."
The 1000 day countdown is also important to the rest of the soccer world because it means that the qualifying tournament for the 2010 tournament is very close. Each continental zone will hold there own qualification tournament to narrow down the field from 200 to 31 (South Africa automatically qualifies as host to make it 32), some of which will begin as early as October:
Oceania: 10 teams will compete. This qualification tournament has already started with the South Pacific Games hosted by the small island nation of Samoa. The nine teams that participated were narrowed down to three (New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu). These teams will join New Zealand in the Oceanian Nations Cup. The winner in Oceania plays the winner of round 5 of the Asian qualification tournament. Oceania, being the weakest of the confederations, is not guranteed a spot in the World Cup.
Africa: 51 teams will compete, only 5 teams qualify. This 51 team field is reduced to 48 through a a preliminary round making up of two two-legged ties (Madagascar will play Comores while Sierra Leone plays Guinea Bissau) and one one-legged match between Djibouti and Somalia. These teams were placed in these ties depending on their location on the July 2007 rankings. The first set of matches will take place in October and the second set in addition to the Dijibouti-Somalia face-off will take place in November. The three winners will join the top 45 nations in Africa to advance to the next round. The remaing 48 teams will be drawn into groups at a ceremony on Novmeber 25th to be held in the South African city of Durban located on the Indian Ocean. South Africa will not compete since they autmoatically qualify as host.
Asia: 43 teams compete, 4 or 5 qualify (depending on who wins against Oceania's top team). Asia'a qualification tournament will begin with a preliminary round that will include all members of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) except for Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Iran who are higher in the FIFA rankings and receive a first round bye. These matches will take place in October. The AFC held a drawingceremony on August 6th for the first preliminary round as well for the second round. Guam withdrew from the competition so Indonesia has received a bye. This will be Australia's first World Cup as a member of the AFC.
Europe: 53 teams compete, 13 places up for grabs. Europe's qualifcation tournament will not begin until after the drawing ceremony at Durban in November when Europe's groups will be constructed. This qualification tournament will not begin until next August after Euro 2008 is completed.
CONCACAF (Confederation of North/Central America, and the Carribbean Associations of Football): 35 to compete, 3 or 4 qualify (depending on the results of an inter-continental playoff against a South American team). This qualification tournament does not begin until February 2008. In the final round, the top three teams qualify while the fourth place team must play a two-legged playoff against the fifth place team in South America.
South America: 10 teams compete, 4 or 5 qualify. All 10 South American teams will compete in a single group starting in October 2007. The top four advance to the World Cup while the fifth place team plays the fourth place team in CONCACAF.
For more information regarding South Africa's preparations, qualifying, and other 2010 World Cup news, click here.
The idea that South Africa won the right to host the event has come under much scrutiny and controversy since it was first announced on May 15, 2004. Critics have pointed out that South Africa is an unsafe location to hold the World Cup due to concerns regarding crime in the country (see this article). BBC has even went as far as saying that "South Africa is the most dangerous country in the world." These concerns, however, were dismissed by FIFA President Joseph Blatter as he praised South Africa's eagerness in preparing for the event. Blatter also said that if South Africa had not stepped up to the plate to host the biggest event in soccer, it would never touch African soil. This was echoed by South African President Thabo Mbeki:
"The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents a golden opportunity to showcase Africa to the world. Now we have to show that the African renaissance is upon us and Africa's time has come. The South African Government will leave no stone unturned to host a tournament that brings great satisfaction to billions across the world."
The CEO of the South African Organising Committee had this to say regarding the unveiling of the 1000 day countdown:
"The 1000 Day Countdown marks the beginning of the operational phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We are running within time and within budget and we are confident that the tournament will be a success. There is a shared vision and commitment by all South Africans that this World Cup must work."
The 1000 day countdown is also important to the rest of the soccer world because it means that the qualifying tournament for the 2010 tournament is very close. Each continental zone will hold there own qualification tournament to narrow down the field from 200 to 31 (South Africa automatically qualifies as host to make it 32), some of which will begin as early as October:
Oceania: 10 teams will compete. This qualification tournament has already started with the South Pacific Games hosted by the small island nation of Samoa. The nine teams that participated were narrowed down to three (New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu). These teams will join New Zealand in the Oceanian Nations Cup. The winner in Oceania plays the winner of round 5 of the Asian qualification tournament. Oceania, being the weakest of the confederations, is not guranteed a spot in the World Cup.
Africa: 51 teams will compete, only 5 teams qualify. This 51 team field is reduced to 48 through a a preliminary round making up of two two-legged ties (Madagascar will play Comores while Sierra Leone plays Guinea Bissau) and one one-legged match between Djibouti and Somalia. These teams were placed in these ties depending on their location on the July 2007 rankings. The first set of matches will take place in October and the second set in addition to the Dijibouti-Somalia face-off will take place in November. The three winners will join the top 45 nations in Africa to advance to the next round. The remaing 48 teams will be drawn into groups at a ceremony on Novmeber 25th to be held in the South African city of Durban located on the Indian Ocean. South Africa will not compete since they autmoatically qualify as host.
Asia: 43 teams compete, 4 or 5 qualify (depending on who wins against Oceania's top team). Asia'a qualification tournament will begin with a preliminary round that will include all members of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) except for Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Iran who are higher in the FIFA rankings and receive a first round bye. These matches will take place in October. The AFC held a drawingceremony on August 6th for the first preliminary round as well for the second round. Guam withdrew from the competition so Indonesia has received a bye. This will be Australia's first World Cup as a member of the AFC.
Europe: 53 teams compete, 13 places up for grabs. Europe's qualifcation tournament will not begin until after the drawing ceremony at Durban in November when Europe's groups will be constructed. This qualification tournament will not begin until next August after Euro 2008 is completed.
CONCACAF (Confederation of North/Central America, and the Carribbean Associations of Football): 35 to compete, 3 or 4 qualify (depending on the results of an inter-continental playoff against a South American team). This qualification tournament does not begin until February 2008. In the final round, the top three teams qualify while the fourth place team must play a two-legged playoff against the fifth place team in South America.
South America: 10 teams compete, 4 or 5 qualify. All 10 South American teams will compete in a single group starting in October 2007. The top four advance to the World Cup while the fifth place team plays the fourth place team in CONCACAF.
For more information regarding South Africa's preparations, qualifying, and other 2010 World Cup news, click here.
ABC and ESPN signs TV deal for World Cup and Euro Cup
FIFA called it "the biggest TV deal in a single country in FIFA's history."
No, it wasn't signed in a European country or in any other country known for its soccer teams. It was signed in the United States. That's right, the nation better known for playing football with an oval-shaped ball has signed one of the largest television deals with international soccer's governing body. However, this is not the most impressive part since for FIFA this is somewhat old news (ESPN and ABC made this deal with FIFA in 2005 for last year's 2006 World Cup and will continue to shwoe evry single World Cup match until 2014). The most impressive news is that ABC and ESPN have signed a deal with UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to be the offical broadcast partners to showe evry single Euro 2008 match live and the US national team is obviously not a participant in this tournament so why would ESPN take part? According to this article from Soccerway, America's biggest cable sports network has received "immense success" from their deal FIFA. Could this mean that soccer is growing in America? ESPN is no stranger to the Euro Cup, but for some reason they stopped showing matches after 1996, but in 2008, ESPN will indeed show every single match with the help of its partner stations, ESPN 2 and ABC, as well as it Spanish langauge station, ESPN Deportes, which now officially owns the rights for all Spanish langauge broadcasts in the United States.
No, it wasn't signed in a European country or in any other country known for its soccer teams. It was signed in the United States. That's right, the nation better known for playing football with an oval-shaped ball has signed one of the largest television deals with international soccer's governing body. However, this is not the most impressive part since for FIFA this is somewhat old news (ESPN and ABC made this deal with FIFA in 2005 for last year's 2006 World Cup and will continue to shwoe evry single World Cup match until 2014). The most impressive news is that ABC and ESPN have signed a deal with UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to be the offical broadcast partners to showe evry single Euro 2008 match live and the US national team is obviously not a participant in this tournament so why would ESPN take part? According to this article from Soccerway, America's biggest cable sports network has received "immense success" from their deal FIFA. Could this mean that soccer is growing in America? ESPN is no stranger to the Euro Cup, but for some reason they stopped showing matches after 1996, but in 2008, ESPN will indeed show every single match with the help of its partner stations, ESPN 2 and ABC, as well as it Spanish langauge station, ESPN Deportes, which now officially owns the rights for all Spanish langauge broadcasts in the United States.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Italy returns to top of monthy FIFA Rankings
FIFA, the governing body for international soccer, has released its official world rankings for September today, and unlike August's rankings, there was a lot of movement this month. As always, the top ten national teams are dominated by European teams with the exception of South American sides Argentina and Brazil. Here is how the top ten looks this month:
1. Italy (1488 points, up 2)
2. Argentina (1451 points, no change in points)
3. Brazil (1444 points, down 2)
4. Germany (1330, up 1)
5. Netherlands (1246, up 2)
6. France (1220, down 2)
7. Spain (1178, up 1)
8. Portugal (1169, up 2)
9. England (1165, up 3)
10. Croatia (1151, down 4)
The most interesting thing about the new rankings is the fact that the 2006 World Cup champions Italy has returned to the top from #3 which was their position in August. According to FIFA.com, Italy has played three matches since the August rankings were released. This included a 3-1 loss against Hungary in a friendly on August 22nd as well as two Euro 2008 qualifying matches against France and Ukraine on September 8th and 12th. even though a a big loss to Hungary may be an embarrassing defeat to a team like Italy, it does not affect them since it is only a friendly match, however, France (ranked 6) and Ukraine (ranked 17) are both top 20 teams so a tie or a win would still be a good result for the Italians, especially since continental qualifiers are worth much more than a friendly. (check out this article for more info). Brazil slipping down two spots to number 3 is also an unexpected result. Winning three friendlies in a row since the August rankings (2-0 vs Angola, 4-2 vs the United States,and 3-1 vs Mexico) was apparently not enough for the Brazilians to top the Italians being that Brazil does not have any major competitions scheduled while Italins are currently competing for a spot in next summer's Euro 2008. This is expected to change however as the Brazilians open their South American 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign against Colombia on October 13th.
As discussed in an earlier post in this blog, Croatia is beating England in the standings in its quest to qualifying for next summer's Euro Cup, but this has not remained true for the world rankings as you can see from the top ten. England has faced much tougher opponents since the last edition of the rankings were released (a 2-1 freidnly loss against Germany, a 3-0 win against Israel for Euro qualifying, and another Euro qualifying match against Russia which also ended in a 3-0 win for England). All three of England's recent opponents are ranked in the top 35). Croatia, on the other won their last three matches against weaker teams. This included a 5-3 win against 39 ranked Balkan rival Bosnia and Herzegovina (a team that has went down 14 spots in this edition of the rankings due to some major failures in Euro Cup qualifying) as well as 2-0 win against 127th ranked Estonia in Euro qualifying and a 6-0 win against 169 ranked Andorra also in Euro qualifying. Since England and Croatia are only 14 points apart in the rankings, this can easily change as Croatia completes their last three matches in Euro 2008 qualifying: a home match against Israel on October 17th and an away match against Macedonia on November 17th, culminating in a much anticipated match in London's Wembley Stadium on November 21st between these two European rivals.
When analyzing FIFA's rankings, it is also important to look at each continental zone seperately :
Africa: The sport of soccer on this continent is growing as South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup. The South African national team itself is ranked 15th in Africa and 73rd in the world but has failed to make any big effect on the rankings going down 12 spots and losing a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations 3-1 against Zambia (ranked 61st in the world). The best African team, according to this month's rankings, is Nigeria. Even though Africa is one of the most overlooked confederations in the world of soccer, the world looks to its teams as it becomes home to the next world cup.
North America, Central America, and the Carribean: The biggest rivarly in this continetal zone is between 18th ranked United States (a team with a lot of potential that could quite a bit of damage in major competitions) and Mexico who is currently the best team in the confederation. Another team to look at in this confederation is the Canadian national team which has made several leaps in the rankings since the 2007 Gold Cup that took place in June and caused Canada to become the best mover in the rankings as it went up 38 spots in June's rankings. Canada is currently ranked 3 in the confederation and #54 in the world. As a result, Canada's national team is defintely strong enough to do some major damage in this confederation World Cup qualifying competition which starst later this month.
South America: This 10 team confederation is the second strongest in the world after Europe with two teams (#2 Argentina and #3 Brazil) in the top 5. These two teams make up one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. While Brazil (discussed earlier in the post) has went down in this month's rankings, Argentina has remained in the same spot due to mediocre scores against Australia (1-0 win) and a 2-1 loss to Norway. This is most likely due to very little competiton goign on in this confederation which will change as World Cup qualifying starts in South America. While Brazil plays Colombia in Bogota in its qualifying opener, Argentina will play Chile at home.
Oceania: The weakest of all of the continental zones, Oceania is made up of 11 nations which are all ranked between 119 and 200. However, this confederation has shown quite a bit of movement this month after the conclusion of the South Pacific Games Soccer tournament which serve as a preliminary competition to its official World Cup qualifying tournament in which only four teams compete (the top three finishers in the South Pacific games as well as New Zealand). However, New Zealand, who has been the most dominate since Australia moved to the Asian confederation following the 2006 World Cup, has suprinsingly lost its number one spot to Fiji (previously #5) and is currently number 6 behind Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Samoa. All of these countries except for Samoa will compete alongside New Zealand for a chance to qualify for the World Cup. Oceania is not gauranteed a spot in the World Cup and could lose it to an Asian team.
Asia: The Iraqi national team has proven that they should not be taken lightly after defeating fellow Middle Eastern nation Saudi Arabia 1-0 to win its first Asia Cup title this summer. However, this was not enough for the Iraqis to make a fast break to the top of Asia's rankings and is currently #7 in Asia (65 in the world). Iraq's recent success means very little since their likelihood in qualifying for the World Cup is very low due to low player morale and the fact that many Iraqis fans are afraid to celebrate after an incident where a suidice bomber killed several fans who were watching Iraq beat South Korea in the semifinal match that qualified them for the final. More regarding this incident and the Asia Cup final can be read in this article from msnbc.com. Iraq has not played a match since the Asia Cup final and does not yet have any scheduled for the future making this a sad end to such a triumphant victory. Below is a youtube video of Iraq's winning goal against Saudi Arabia:
Japan (ranked 34 in the world) currently tops the rankings in Asia after a 4-3 win over Switzerland on September 11th. The Australian national team (ranked 3 in the zone and 48 internationally), which has been a member of the Asian Conederation for a little over a year, has accliamted rather quckly in its new continental zone.
Europe: With European teams being the most dominant and Euro 2008 qualifiers in full swing, member nations of this continental zone have shown the most movement. UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) have also proven that they are the most competetive continental zone in world soccer as well as the strongest. While Italy is obviously the current leader in Europe, teams like Germany, Netherlands, France, and Spain have also proven to be strong teams. As a matter of fact, it is Germany that can currently boast best record in Euro 2008 qualifying so far. The newest member of UEFA is Montenegro, which is probably one of the youngest national teams in the world right now being that its soccer federation was established about a year ago, has finally acquired some points in this month's ranking after playing fellow Balkan nation Slovenia to a 1-1 draw as well as a 2-1 loss to Sweden. These results were obviosuly not enough to catapult Montenegro to a much higher position, but these matches were still significant because they gave the young Montenegrin players their first goals since their federation was established following last year's independence from their union with Serbia. In August's ranking, Montenegro was ranked last in Europe with no points at all. This month they aqcuired 21 points putting them passed Faroe Islands (ranked 193 in the world) and San Marino (ranked 196) to #186.
For complete rankings and other information regarding FIFA's offical world ranking including ranking procedure, click here.
1. Italy (1488 points, up 2)
2. Argentina (1451 points, no change in points)
3. Brazil (1444 points, down 2)
4. Germany (1330, up 1)
5. Netherlands (1246, up 2)
6. France (1220, down 2)
7. Spain (1178, up 1)
8. Portugal (1169, up 2)
9. England (1165, up 3)
10. Croatia (1151, down 4)
The most interesting thing about the new rankings is the fact that the 2006 World Cup champions Italy has returned to the top from #3 which was their position in August. According to FIFA.com, Italy has played three matches since the August rankings were released. This included a 3-1 loss against Hungary in a friendly on August 22nd as well as two Euro 2008 qualifying matches against France and Ukraine on September 8th and 12th. even though a a big loss to Hungary may be an embarrassing defeat to a team like Italy, it does not affect them since it is only a friendly match, however, France (ranked 6) and Ukraine (ranked 17) are both top 20 teams so a tie or a win would still be a good result for the Italians, especially since continental qualifiers are worth much more than a friendly. (check out this article for more info). Brazil slipping down two spots to number 3 is also an unexpected result. Winning three friendlies in a row since the August rankings (2-0 vs Angola, 4-2 vs the United States,and 3-1 vs Mexico) was apparently not enough for the Brazilians to top the Italians being that Brazil does not have any major competitions scheduled while Italins are currently competing for a spot in next summer's Euro 2008. This is expected to change however as the Brazilians open their South American 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign against Colombia on October 13th.
As discussed in an earlier post in this blog, Croatia is beating England in the standings in its quest to qualifying for next summer's Euro Cup, but this has not remained true for the world rankings as you can see from the top ten. England has faced much tougher opponents since the last edition of the rankings were released (a 2-1 freidnly loss against Germany, a 3-0 win against Israel for Euro qualifying, and another Euro qualifying match against Russia which also ended in a 3-0 win for England). All three of England's recent opponents are ranked in the top 35). Croatia, on the other won their last three matches against weaker teams. This included a 5-3 win against 39 ranked Balkan rival Bosnia and Herzegovina (a team that has went down 14 spots in this edition of the rankings due to some major failures in Euro Cup qualifying) as well as 2-0 win against 127th ranked Estonia in Euro qualifying and a 6-0 win against 169 ranked Andorra also in Euro qualifying. Since England and Croatia are only 14 points apart in the rankings, this can easily change as Croatia completes their last three matches in Euro 2008 qualifying: a home match against Israel on October 17th and an away match against Macedonia on November 17th, culminating in a much anticipated match in London's Wembley Stadium on November 21st between these two European rivals.
When analyzing FIFA's rankings, it is also important to look at each continental zone seperately :
Africa: The sport of soccer on this continent is growing as South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup. The South African national team itself is ranked 15th in Africa and 73rd in the world but has failed to make any big effect on the rankings going down 12 spots and losing a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations 3-1 against Zambia (ranked 61st in the world). The best African team, according to this month's rankings, is Nigeria. Even though Africa is one of the most overlooked confederations in the world of soccer, the world looks to its teams as it becomes home to the next world cup.
North America, Central America, and the Carribean: The biggest rivarly in this continetal zone is between 18th ranked United States (a team with a lot of potential that could quite a bit of damage in major competitions) and Mexico who is currently the best team in the confederation. Another team to look at in this confederation is the Canadian national team which has made several leaps in the rankings since the 2007 Gold Cup that took place in June and caused Canada to become the best mover in the rankings as it went up 38 spots in June's rankings. Canada is currently ranked 3 in the confederation and #54 in the world. As a result, Canada's national team is defintely strong enough to do some major damage in this confederation World Cup qualifying competition which starst later this month.
South America: This 10 team confederation is the second strongest in the world after Europe with two teams (#2 Argentina and #3 Brazil) in the top 5. These two teams make up one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport. While Brazil (discussed earlier in the post) has went down in this month's rankings, Argentina has remained in the same spot due to mediocre scores against Australia (1-0 win) and a 2-1 loss to Norway. This is most likely due to very little competiton goign on in this confederation which will change as World Cup qualifying starts in South America. While Brazil plays Colombia in Bogota in its qualifying opener, Argentina will play Chile at home.
Oceania: The weakest of all of the continental zones, Oceania is made up of 11 nations which are all ranked between 119 and 200. However, this confederation has shown quite a bit of movement this month after the conclusion of the South Pacific Games Soccer tournament which serve as a preliminary competition to its official World Cup qualifying tournament in which only four teams compete (the top three finishers in the South Pacific games as well as New Zealand). However, New Zealand, who has been the most dominate since Australia moved to the Asian confederation following the 2006 World Cup, has suprinsingly lost its number one spot to Fiji (previously #5) and is currently number 6 behind Fiji, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Samoa. All of these countries except for Samoa will compete alongside New Zealand for a chance to qualify for the World Cup. Oceania is not gauranteed a spot in the World Cup and could lose it to an Asian team.
Asia: The Iraqi national team has proven that they should not be taken lightly after defeating fellow Middle Eastern nation Saudi Arabia 1-0 to win its first Asia Cup title this summer. However, this was not enough for the Iraqis to make a fast break to the top of Asia's rankings and is currently #7 in Asia (65 in the world). Iraq's recent success means very little since their likelihood in qualifying for the World Cup is very low due to low player morale and the fact that many Iraqis fans are afraid to celebrate after an incident where a suidice bomber killed several fans who were watching Iraq beat South Korea in the semifinal match that qualified them for the final. More regarding this incident and the Asia Cup final can be read in this article from msnbc.com. Iraq has not played a match since the Asia Cup final and does not yet have any scheduled for the future making this a sad end to such a triumphant victory. Below is a youtube video of Iraq's winning goal against Saudi Arabia:
Japan (ranked 34 in the world) currently tops the rankings in Asia after a 4-3 win over Switzerland on September 11th. The Australian national team (ranked 3 in the zone and 48 internationally), which has been a member of the Asian Conederation for a little over a year, has accliamted rather quckly in its new continental zone.
Europe: With European teams being the most dominant and Euro 2008 qualifiers in full swing, member nations of this continental zone have shown the most movement. UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) have also proven that they are the most competetive continental zone in world soccer as well as the strongest. While Italy is obviously the current leader in Europe, teams like Germany, Netherlands, France, and Spain have also proven to be strong teams. As a matter of fact, it is Germany that can currently boast best record in Euro 2008 qualifying so far. The newest member of UEFA is Montenegro, which is probably one of the youngest national teams in the world right now being that its soccer federation was established about a year ago, has finally acquired some points in this month's ranking after playing fellow Balkan nation Slovenia to a 1-1 draw as well as a 2-1 loss to Sweden. These results were obviosuly not enough to catapult Montenegro to a much higher position, but these matches were still significant because they gave the young Montenegrin players their first goals since their federation was established following last year's independence from their union with Serbia. In August's ranking, Montenegro was ranked last in Europe with no points at all. This month they aqcuired 21 points putting them passed Faroe Islands (ranked 193 in the world) and San Marino (ranked 196) to #186.
For complete rankings and other information regarding FIFA's offical world ranking including ranking procedure, click here.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Brazilian national team get sweet revenge from Mexico on neutral ground
After defeating the US National Team 4-2 in a friendly match on Chicago's Soilder Field on Sunday September 9, Brazil traveled to Foxoboro, Massachsuetts to face off against rival Mexico on neutral ground on Wednesday September 12. The last time these two sides faced each other was in this past summer's Copa America in Venezuela in which Mexico defeated the number one world ranked soccer powerhouse 2-0. This was an embarrassing result for Brazil and their preparendess for this month's friendly showed their need for revenge. In the Copa America, Brazil was without several of their star players, but this time they had internationally known player Ronaldhino on their squad as well as Kaka, who is arguably one of the best young players in the world right now. Both players contributed goals in Brazil's 3-1 victory over Mexico. Brazil's next match is a 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Colombia in Bogota and Brazil's short trip to the United States to play these friendly matches was considered a warm-up for the more serious matches that come before them in the quickly approaching South American World Cup qualifying matches. For more news regarding the Brazilian national team as well as schedule of its future fixtures and results, check its profile page on FIFA's official website.
Euro 2008 Qualifying Update: Croatian National Team Still at Top of Group E Standings
At this time last year when the qualification tournament for Euro 2008 began, the players of the Croatian National Soccer Team would have never believed that they would be able to top their group's standings despite the fact that England is in their group, but the quality of performance of the Croatian team of today is looking very different than it was in the 2006 World Cup and may even be returning to the glory days of the 1998 World Cup, which was when Croatia made its debut and earned third place in the tournament. This is all thanks to Croatian coach Slaven Bilic, who happened top be a retired memebr of the 1998 sqaud, and Eduardo da Silva, a Brazilian-born player who currently plays for the London-based soccer club Arsenal.
On October 11, 2006, Croatia (who was at the time ranked 19 in the world) defeated England (then ranked 5) 2-0 in the a crucial match played in Zagreb. Croatia took the three points from the win and never looked back, winning 4 of their qualification matches and tying one since then and has not been defeated since they lost to Brazil 1-0 in teh last World Cup on June 13, 2006.
The national team's latest qualification matches took place on Saturday Septemebr 8 against Estonia and Wednesday September 12 against Andorra. The matrch against Estonia was the most impressive of the two. Much of the first 39 minutes of the match saw many chances for Croatia but no goals and even a disspointing missed penalty kick from Darijo Srna in the sixth minute but the game quickly turned around during the last six minutes of the first half when Arsenal FC forward Eduardo da Silva made a powerful low shot into the back of the net. Da Silva returned and doubled Croatia's advantage a minute for the referee's whistle to end the first half. No gaols were scored in the second half by eitehr side, but da Silva's heroics carried Croatia into another win and another three points in the standings. In the next match, Croatia defeated Andorra 6-0. The next qualification sees Croatia playing host to Israel in Zagreb's Maksimir stadium on October 13. The last time Croatia played Israel was in Tel Aviv which ended in a 4-3 win for Croatia and an Eduardo da Silva hat trick on November 15, 2006.
Croatia currently sits in first place with 23 points above England who currently has 20 after defeating Russia 3-0. Being that England has made a rather quick come back since their slow start to their qualifying campaign, Croatia's final qualifying match against England in London on November 21st may very well be the deciding match aas to which team will end the qualifying round in first place. Even though both of the top two teams will have a spot in the final tournament next summer, neither team wants to be left behind and both teams have something to fight for which will make this match a must see.
For Group E standings, results, and schedule, click here.
On October 11, 2006, Croatia (who was at the time ranked 19 in the world) defeated England (then ranked 5) 2-0 in the a crucial match played in Zagreb. Croatia took the three points from the win and never looked back, winning 4 of their qualification matches and tying one since then and has not been defeated since they lost to Brazil 1-0 in teh last World Cup on June 13, 2006.
The national team's latest qualification matches took place on Saturday Septemebr 8 against Estonia and Wednesday September 12 against Andorra. The matrch against Estonia was the most impressive of the two. Much of the first 39 minutes of the match saw many chances for Croatia but no goals and even a disspointing missed penalty kick from Darijo Srna in the sixth minute but the game quickly turned around during the last six minutes of the first half when Arsenal FC forward Eduardo da Silva made a powerful low shot into the back of the net. Da Silva returned and doubled Croatia's advantage a minute for the referee's whistle to end the first half. No gaols were scored in the second half by eitehr side, but da Silva's heroics carried Croatia into another win and another three points in the standings. In the next match, Croatia defeated Andorra 6-0. The next qualification sees Croatia playing host to Israel in Zagreb's Maksimir stadium on October 13. The last time Croatia played Israel was in Tel Aviv which ended in a 4-3 win for Croatia and an Eduardo da Silva hat trick on November 15, 2006.
Croatia currently sits in first place with 23 points above England who currently has 20 after defeating Russia 3-0. Being that England has made a rather quick come back since their slow start to their qualifying campaign, Croatia's final qualifying match against England in London on November 21st may very well be the deciding match aas to which team will end the qualifying round in first place. Even though both of the top two teams will have a spot in the final tournament next summer, neither team wants to be left behind and both teams have something to fight for which will make this match a must see.
For Group E standings, results, and schedule, click here.
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