After looking at my last post, I'd like to make a few changes to my last post as I have made a few changes to my final MLS Cup 2008 rankings. Below are the new updated rankings (any changes I made will be described, any club that does not have an explanation has not been changed or I do not have anything further to say about them).
1. Columbus Crew
There is no way I can change the Crew's position in my rankings. Congratulations to them and their fans. No hard feelings that they lost to my Red Bulls. However, the Red Bulls still have the winning record over them in the regular season. Nobody can take that away. See you guys next season!
2. Houston Dynamo
I'm starting to like this club more and more. I'll be rooting for you guys when you play Firpo for your last group stage match in the Champions League. Houston is the only American club that has a chance to advance and I hope they d. If they do not, I would probably ended up rooting for the Montreal Impact, but please don't make do that, Dynamo. Represent the league and the the US Soccer Federation-- I do not want to to root for a Canadian club (do disrespect to our neighbors in the north) but you will leave me no choice if I do. GO USA and MLS!!!!!
3. Chicago Fire
Sorry Chicago Fire fans, I still hold quite a big grudge against this club, but like I said, they do deserve all the wins they get. Sorry about the word "hate" I used in the last entry. Hate is such a strong word, but I guess I am just jealous that you have such a good club. If the Red Bulls ended up facing the Fire (instead of going into the Western Conference playoffs had they done a little bit better), your club would have definitely eliminated my Red Bulls. We'll see what happens next season though.
4. New York Red Bulls
Okay, so here is my first change . I was thinking about it a little bit and I had a change of heart regarding my ranking of the Red Bulls. They deserve a higher rank than #6 spot I put them in last time. It was fantastic run though, but please, do better next season. You guys didn't deserve the MLS Cup the way you played the regular season, but now that you are runners up, you have my attention and if you do well in the CONCACAF Champions League next season, I will feel a little bit better about the Red Bulls.
5. Real Salt Lake
I had Real Salt Lake ranked 8th last time, but they do deserve a better rank. They made it farther than I thought they would, but the Red Bulls were just simply the better club in the Western Conference Championship match.
6. Kansas City Wizards
What was I thinking ranking them 5th? The Kansas City Wizards are s till a fairly decent club, but they deserve that high of a ranking. Sorry guys.
7. New England Revolution
Nice win at the Superliga and I still have respect for this club, but c'mon, this wasn't your best season. By the way, what happened to Taylor Twellman? I haven't seen much of hom lately.
8.Chivas USA
Still an overrated club.
9. FC Dallas
10. Colorado Rapids
11. DC United
12. Toronto FC
13. Los Angles Galaxy
14. San Jose Earthquakes.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
MLS Cup 2008 Wrap Up
It looks like Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio will be celebrating this week with a traditional New York pizza from Staten Island, a large New York hero, and a Lager brewed at Brooklyn Brewery according to this article about a friendly wager that Bloomberg and the Columbus mayor announced to celebrate both clubs' first ever MLS Cup final.
Unfortunately, the New York Red Bulls came up short in a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew, who also won the Supporters' Shield--given to the club with the best regular season record. The Red Bulls had the better offense in the first half despite seeing themselves down 1-0 in the first 45 minutes, which gave the Red Bulls hope for the second half. Staten Island's own John Wolyniec scored the equalizer early in the second half, but 87 second later, Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall's header off a Schelotto corner kick put Columbus back in the lead 2-1. Frankie Hejduk scored the third goal off another assist from Schelotto, an Argentine national, to keep it out of reach in the 82nd minute. For the match report and more details regarding this match, click here.
To wrap up the 2008 Major League Soccer season, I would like to provide my final rankings for the 2008 MLS Cup and Regular Season as well as some final words and analysis regarding how each of the clubs finished. Since some clubs can get extremely luck when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs and playoff runs, I would like to analyze how each club did and why I ranked them the way I did by comparing their quality of play between the playoffs and regular season, instead of allowing the playoffs to speak for themselves. If you disagree with my rankings, let me know and we can debate.
1. Columbus Crew
Not even the fans of the biggest rivals of the Columbus Crew can deny it--Columbus Crew is definitely the number one club in Major League Soccer's 2008 season after winning both the regular season and the MLS Cup as well as the MLS Coach of the Year Award. Coach Sigi Schmid, who has been managing the club since the 2006 season, has taken a club with very successes to their first ever MLS Cup and won it (too bad it had to be at the expense of the New York Red Bulls) but I congratulate them anyway. In addition to the 2009 season, the Crew also has to look forward to the 2009-2010 season of the CONCACAF Champion's League, which starts next summer. The Columbus Crew got an automatic qualification to this international tournament--the winner of which advances to the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. Even though the Mexican and Latin American clubs have pretty much dominated the 2008-2009 edition of this Cup, I can definitely see the Crew do fairly well in the tournament even though they probably will not make it all the way--this, however, depends upon whether or not Schelotto decides to stay in Columbus or return to Argentina.
2. Houston Dynamo
I know I'll probably hear it from a lot of Red Bull fans that New York should be taking the #2 spot, especially since the New York Red Bulls upset Houston in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Let me just say that I am a huge fan of the New York Red Bulls and nothing will ever change that but I have been extremely critical of the Red Bulls this season, especially closer to the end of the regular season and the way they backed in to the playoffs, but before I digress (I will talk more about the Red Bulls when I get to them), let me talk about why I ranked the Houston Dynamo #2. I ranked the Dynamo second in the regular season and they had a good enough regular season to stay in that position. They are also the only American club that actually has some chance to advance to next round of the 2009-2009 season of the CONCACAF Champions League (this is if they can win their last match in the group stage), but they are the only American club that has that chance. Therefore, I would not rank them lower for losing against the Red Bulls. They are still a pretty solid club that just had a bad day, and even if they d not advance in the Champions League, they have a good shot at going just as far, maybe farther next season since they are joining the Crew in the 2009-2010 Champions League as Supporters Shield Runner Up.
3. Chicago Fire
I hate the Chicago Fire, especially after that 5-2 trashing that they had done to the Red Bulls in the last Red Bulls match of the regular season. This forced the Red Bulls to rely on DC United to lose against the Columbus Crew and forced them to play in the Western Conference for the Playoffs since they had to take the second wild card berth. Also, Chicago Fire is a powerful club even though I still hate the club, but I have to admit they do deserve the wins they get. The Chicago Fire has qualified for the 2009 Superliga, which will start in July.
4. New England Revolution
New England is another club that did not move at all from their spot in the regular season. In my opinion, New England is starting become more and more overrated since they won this season's Superliga final against their Western conference rival Houston Dynamo--a club they have lost two in both the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, and finally beat them in a title match. Unfortunately, it was not the MLS Cup. Ever since they won the Superliga, I have not much from the New England Revolution. They have once again qualified for the Superliga next season/
5. Kansas City Wizards
Nope, no Red Bulls yet, but the Wizards have played fairly well this season and they were also pretty overrated in the last few seasons. They made it to the playoffs, but we eliminated in the first round by the Columbus Crew, and seeing how amazing an improvement the Crew have made since last season overall, I have to be pretty lenient with the Wizards.
6. New York Red Bulls
Finally! I know. Where do I start with this club that has disappointed me so much this season? They had a terrible regular season and they were only able to win one road match the entire regular season until playoffs and suddenly they started playing better where it counted but it doesn't stop me from wondering "why?" The only reason I can think of is because they ended up playing in the Western Conference (which sorry to say sucks pretty bad--except for Houston Dynamo which was a very good win but it seemed to come out of no where). Real Salt Lake seemed much easier for the Red Bulls. The main reason I am ranking them so low is the fact that if they did beat the Chicago Fire in their regular season finale, they would have ended up in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, but I do not think they would have made it as far as they did, so strangely, losing to Chicago was actually good for the Red Bulls--it allowed them to advance into an easier conference. Had they gone forward in the Eastern Conference, they would have probably of had to play Chicago again in the conference final if they would have been able to defeat the Crew in the first round (a club they should have beaten to win the Cup). The keys to the Red Bulls success in the playoffs was mainly due to Danny Capero (their new and young goalkeeper) and Juan Pablo Angelo (an excellent striker from Colombia). Cepero started playing goal in the second to last match of the regular season against the Columbus Crew, which they actually won 3-1. They also beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 in their first match of the regular season back in April. Cepero was like a wall in the matches against Houston and Salt Lake and one of the biggest highlights of the Red Bull season actually involved him. In his MLS debut (the match against Columbus Crew near the end of the season), he actually scored a goal off a free kick from beyond mid field--something few goalkeepers can boast that they have ever done!. Here is a youtube video of this amazing goal:
To give the Crew goalie some credit, however, there was nothing the Crew goalie could have done to stop that. The (American) football turf caused a higher bounce than usual so there was no way he could have saved that. That is definitely a once in a lifetime event.
The reason Cepero took over is because the Red Bulls regular starting goalkeeper allegedly purchased some over the counter painkillers not knowing that they had an illegal performance enhancing drug in the ingredients. The league suspended him.
Don't think I let that win against the Houston Dynamo go unnoticed! I had the Red Bulls ranked 8th in the regular season and their win against Houston and their unexpected playoff run is what put them up 2 spots to #6. My opinion of the Red Bulls, however, might change when I see them play against some premier league clubs that are not MLS affiliated in the Champions League next season which they qualified for by being MLS Cup runner up.
7. Chivas USA
Chivas USA, in my opinion, is extremely overrated and I feel that they should have done a lot better in the playoffs. it doesn't help that they were upset and eliminated by Real Salt Lake. This is the reason why I have them dropping one spot from #6 in the regular season to #7.
8. Real Salt Lake.
I also have Real Salt Lake dropping one spot to #8. I don't really consider defeating Chivas USA much of an upset anymore--maybe last season it would have been, but not this season.
9. FC Dallas
FC Dallas is another club that has become somewhat overrated the past few seasons. This season have not seen them play very well. In my rankings, the did not move at all mainly because they didn't qualify for the playoffs.
10. Colorado Rapids
My opinion of this club is the same as that of FC Dallas. I have seen very little from them this season.
11. DC United
The one club that could boast being the most successful club in Major League Soccer is now practically falling apart. Last season they started off badly but were able to come back to win the Supporters Shield for the second time in a row, but this season they were downright horrible. They were eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League fairly early in the group stage and were lucky enough to face off against fairly easy clubs in the US Open Cup-- the only title they won this season--this win gives them another shot at redemption since this title qualifies them for Preliminary Round of the Champions League. Read this article about DC United's failed season.
12. Toronto FC
With Los Angeles Galaxy struggling this season, Toronto FC has actually saved themselves from ending their second season in MLS on the bottom. To be honest, the club has not been that bad this season--after picking up a few quality wins here and there. For example, a 1-1 tie and penalty kick loss in a friendly tournament (Carlsbery Cup) against Pachuca, one of Mexico's best clubs. They also managed a 1-1 tie against the Columbus Crew at home as well as a 3-2 win against a determined Chicago Fire side at home.
13. Los Angeles Galaxy
It is somewhat strange to see the Galaxy so low in the standings this season and not making the playoffs two seasons in a row, especially with players like Landon Donovan and David Beckham on the squad. Despite this, Landon Donovan did win the Golden Boot in the regular season.
14. San Jose Earthquakes
This was the expansion year for the San Jose Earthquakes and like most clubs during an expansion year, they were not that successful. The Earthquakes franchise did play as one of the original clubs when the league was first established in 1996 but were then known as the San Jose Clash. They successful for a few years winning two MLS Cups and a Supporters Shield. However, in 2005, they were put on hiatus while most of the players and coach moved to Houston to form a club known now as the Houston Dynamo. Eventually the club was reformed in San Jose.
For more information regarding MLS Cu 2008, check out the official website.
4.
Unfortunately, the New York Red Bulls came up short in a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew, who also won the Supporters' Shield--given to the club with the best regular season record. The Red Bulls had the better offense in the first half despite seeing themselves down 1-0 in the first 45 minutes, which gave the Red Bulls hope for the second half. Staten Island's own John Wolyniec scored the equalizer early in the second half, but 87 second later, Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall's header off a Schelotto corner kick put Columbus back in the lead 2-1. Frankie Hejduk scored the third goal off another assist from Schelotto, an Argentine national, to keep it out of reach in the 82nd minute. For the match report and more details regarding this match, click here.
To wrap up the 2008 Major League Soccer season, I would like to provide my final rankings for the 2008 MLS Cup and Regular Season as well as some final words and analysis regarding how each of the clubs finished. Since some clubs can get extremely luck when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs and playoff runs, I would like to analyze how each club did and why I ranked them the way I did by comparing their quality of play between the playoffs and regular season, instead of allowing the playoffs to speak for themselves. If you disagree with my rankings, let me know and we can debate.
1. Columbus Crew
Not even the fans of the biggest rivals of the Columbus Crew can deny it--Columbus Crew is definitely the number one club in Major League Soccer's 2008 season after winning both the regular season and the MLS Cup as well as the MLS Coach of the Year Award. Coach Sigi Schmid, who has been managing the club since the 2006 season, has taken a club with very successes to their first ever MLS Cup and won it (too bad it had to be at the expense of the New York Red Bulls) but I congratulate them anyway. In addition to the 2009 season, the Crew also has to look forward to the 2009-2010 season of the CONCACAF Champion's League, which starts next summer. The Columbus Crew got an automatic qualification to this international tournament--the winner of which advances to the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. Even though the Mexican and Latin American clubs have pretty much dominated the 2008-2009 edition of this Cup, I can definitely see the Crew do fairly well in the tournament even though they probably will not make it all the way--this, however, depends upon whether or not Schelotto decides to stay in Columbus or return to Argentina.
2. Houston Dynamo
I know I'll probably hear it from a lot of Red Bull fans that New York should be taking the #2 spot, especially since the New York Red Bulls upset Houston in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Let me just say that I am a huge fan of the New York Red Bulls and nothing will ever change that but I have been extremely critical of the Red Bulls this season, especially closer to the end of the regular season and the way they backed in to the playoffs, but before I digress (I will talk more about the Red Bulls when I get to them), let me talk about why I ranked the Houston Dynamo #2. I ranked the Dynamo second in the regular season and they had a good enough regular season to stay in that position. They are also the only American club that actually has some chance to advance to next round of the 2009-2009 season of the CONCACAF Champions League (this is if they can win their last match in the group stage), but they are the only American club that has that chance. Therefore, I would not rank them lower for losing against the Red Bulls. They are still a pretty solid club that just had a bad day, and even if they d not advance in the Champions League, they have a good shot at going just as far, maybe farther next season since they are joining the Crew in the 2009-2010 Champions League as Supporters Shield Runner Up.
3. Chicago Fire
I hate the Chicago Fire, especially after that 5-2 trashing that they had done to the Red Bulls in the last Red Bulls match of the regular season. This forced the Red Bulls to rely on DC United to lose against the Columbus Crew and forced them to play in the Western Conference for the Playoffs since they had to take the second wild card berth. Also, Chicago Fire is a powerful club even though I still hate the club, but I have to admit they do deserve the wins they get. The Chicago Fire has qualified for the 2009 Superliga, which will start in July.
4. New England Revolution
New England is another club that did not move at all from their spot in the regular season. In my opinion, New England is starting become more and more overrated since they won this season's Superliga final against their Western conference rival Houston Dynamo--a club they have lost two in both the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, and finally beat them in a title match. Unfortunately, it was not the MLS Cup. Ever since they won the Superliga, I have not much from the New England Revolution. They have once again qualified for the Superliga next season/
5. Kansas City Wizards
Nope, no Red Bulls yet, but the Wizards have played fairly well this season and they were also pretty overrated in the last few seasons. They made it to the playoffs, but we eliminated in the first round by the Columbus Crew, and seeing how amazing an improvement the Crew have made since last season overall, I have to be pretty lenient with the Wizards.
6. New York Red Bulls
Finally! I know. Where do I start with this club that has disappointed me so much this season? They had a terrible regular season and they were only able to win one road match the entire regular season until playoffs and suddenly they started playing better where it counted but it doesn't stop me from wondering "why?" The only reason I can think of is because they ended up playing in the Western Conference (which sorry to say sucks pretty bad--except for Houston Dynamo which was a very good win but it seemed to come out of no where). Real Salt Lake seemed much easier for the Red Bulls. The main reason I am ranking them so low is the fact that if they did beat the Chicago Fire in their regular season finale, they would have ended up in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, but I do not think they would have made it as far as they did, so strangely, losing to Chicago was actually good for the Red Bulls--it allowed them to advance into an easier conference. Had they gone forward in the Eastern Conference, they would have probably of had to play Chicago again in the conference final if they would have been able to defeat the Crew in the first round (a club they should have beaten to win the Cup). The keys to the Red Bulls success in the playoffs was mainly due to Danny Capero (their new and young goalkeeper) and Juan Pablo Angelo (an excellent striker from Colombia). Cepero started playing goal in the second to last match of the regular season against the Columbus Crew, which they actually won 3-1. They also beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 in their first match of the regular season back in April. Cepero was like a wall in the matches against Houston and Salt Lake and one of the biggest highlights of the Red Bull season actually involved him. In his MLS debut (the match against Columbus Crew near the end of the season), he actually scored a goal off a free kick from beyond mid field--something few goalkeepers can boast that they have ever done!. Here is a youtube video of this amazing goal:
To give the Crew goalie some credit, however, there was nothing the Crew goalie could have done to stop that. The (American) football turf caused a higher bounce than usual so there was no way he could have saved that. That is definitely a once in a lifetime event.
The reason Cepero took over is because the Red Bulls regular starting goalkeeper allegedly purchased some over the counter painkillers not knowing that they had an illegal performance enhancing drug in the ingredients. The league suspended him.
Don't think I let that win against the Houston Dynamo go unnoticed! I had the Red Bulls ranked 8th in the regular season and their win against Houston and their unexpected playoff run is what put them up 2 spots to #6. My opinion of the Red Bulls, however, might change when I see them play against some premier league clubs that are not MLS affiliated in the Champions League next season which they qualified for by being MLS Cup runner up.
7. Chivas USA
Chivas USA, in my opinion, is extremely overrated and I feel that they should have done a lot better in the playoffs. it doesn't help that they were upset and eliminated by Real Salt Lake. This is the reason why I have them dropping one spot from #6 in the regular season to #7.
8. Real Salt Lake.
I also have Real Salt Lake dropping one spot to #8. I don't really consider defeating Chivas USA much of an upset anymore--maybe last season it would have been, but not this season.
9. FC Dallas
FC Dallas is another club that has become somewhat overrated the past few seasons. This season have not seen them play very well. In my rankings, the did not move at all mainly because they didn't qualify for the playoffs.
10. Colorado Rapids
My opinion of this club is the same as that of FC Dallas. I have seen very little from them this season.
11. DC United
The one club that could boast being the most successful club in Major League Soccer is now practically falling apart. Last season they started off badly but were able to come back to win the Supporters Shield for the second time in a row, but this season they were downright horrible. They were eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League fairly early in the group stage and were lucky enough to face off against fairly easy clubs in the US Open Cup-- the only title they won this season--this win gives them another shot at redemption since this title qualifies them for Preliminary Round of the Champions League. Read this article about DC United's failed season.
12. Toronto FC
With Los Angeles Galaxy struggling this season, Toronto FC has actually saved themselves from ending their second season in MLS on the bottom. To be honest, the club has not been that bad this season--after picking up a few quality wins here and there. For example, a 1-1 tie and penalty kick loss in a friendly tournament (Carlsbery Cup) against Pachuca, one of Mexico's best clubs. They also managed a 1-1 tie against the Columbus Crew at home as well as a 3-2 win against a determined Chicago Fire side at home.
13. Los Angeles Galaxy
It is somewhat strange to see the Galaxy so low in the standings this season and not making the playoffs two seasons in a row, especially with players like Landon Donovan and David Beckham on the squad. Despite this, Landon Donovan did win the Golden Boot in the regular season.
14. San Jose Earthquakes
This was the expansion year for the San Jose Earthquakes and like most clubs during an expansion year, they were not that successful. The Earthquakes franchise did play as one of the original clubs when the league was first established in 1996 but were then known as the San Jose Clash. They successful for a few years winning two MLS Cups and a Supporters Shield. However, in 2005, they were put on hiatus while most of the players and coach moved to Houston to form a club known now as the Houston Dynamo. Eventually the club was reformed in San Jose.
For more information regarding MLS Cu 2008, check out the official website.
4.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
SCORE ALERTS!!!!!!
Some updates for tonight's live matches:
USA has scored their first goal against Guatemala 1-0 in the second half.
Mexico may be seeing the end of their World Cup run. Honduras is currently leading 1-0 as Jamaica leads Canada 2-0. Mexico may still qualify but they better hope Jamaica doesn't score too many more goals against Canadians if it ends like this. The most embarrassing thing is that a Mexican defender defender scored the goal for Honduras. One fan on the FIFA website feels tat Mexico is selling out in order to allow Honduras--a fellow Latin American team--to qualify ahead of Jamaica. This could be and it will work, but Mexico better pray that Jamaica doesn't shut out Canada with 2 or 3 more goals or else Mexico may be eliminated now. Karma's a bitch, huh Mexico?
Costa Rica is leading el Salvador 2-1 in the second half.
Jamaica beating Canada 2-0 in 2nd half.
Trinidad and Tobago beating Cuba 2-0 in 2nd half.
USA has scored their first goal against Guatemala 1-0 in the second half.
Mexico may be seeing the end of their World Cup run. Honduras is currently leading 1-0 as Jamaica leads Canada 2-0. Mexico may still qualify but they better hope Jamaica doesn't score too many more goals against Canadians if it ends like this. The most embarrassing thing is that a Mexican defender defender scored the goal for Honduras. One fan on the FIFA website feels tat Mexico is selling out in order to allow Honduras--a fellow Latin American team--to qualify ahead of Jamaica. This could be and it will work, but Mexico better pray that Jamaica doesn't shut out Canada with 2 or 3 more goals or else Mexico may be eliminated now. Karma's a bitch, huh Mexico?
Costa Rica is leading el Salvador 2-1 in the second half.
Jamaica beating Canada 2-0 in 2nd half.
Trinidad and Tobago beating Cuba 2-0 in 2nd half.
Today's Results in other World Cup Qualifying matches
A number of important matches have taken place already for World Cup qualifying.
Suriname and Haiti tied 1-1 in a match that ended up being meaningless anyway as both teams were already eliminated.
Fiji defeated New Zealand 2-0 in another meaningless match as New Zealand as already won Oceania qualifying and with it the Oceanian Nation's Cup which qualifies New Zealand not for the World Cup (not yet anyway) but instead they get to try out the world stage in the 2009 Confederation Cup next summer. Since Oceania is the weakest region, they may not get represented at all in the World Cup unless New Zealand can defeat an Asian team in a playoff. Australia is currently a member of the Asian confederation and is doing very well in its qualifying tournament.
Australia defeated Bahrain 1-0. Australia is currently in first place in Group 1 of Asian qualifying and has a perfect record thus far with no ties or losses. In addition, no team has scored against them as of yet either. However, it is still the middle of round 4 in Asia and anything can still happen.
United Arab Emirates, a fairly weak team, managed to tie Iran, one of the strongest of the Middle Eastern teams, 1-1. This mean very little for the Emirates as they are their group and this match has given them only their first point.
Japan defeated Qatar 3-0. South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 which keeps South Korea at the top of the group 2 standings.
Czech Republic beat San Marino in the only European qualifying match. This was pretty much expected and puts Czech Republic in a three way tie with Poland and Slovenia with the Czechs in second place.
To see scores and standings as well as other World Cup news, click here.
Suriname and Haiti tied 1-1 in a match that ended up being meaningless anyway as both teams were already eliminated.
Fiji defeated New Zealand 2-0 in another meaningless match as New Zealand as already won Oceania qualifying and with it the Oceanian Nation's Cup which qualifies New Zealand not for the World Cup (not yet anyway) but instead they get to try out the world stage in the 2009 Confederation Cup next summer. Since Oceania is the weakest region, they may not get represented at all in the World Cup unless New Zealand can defeat an Asian team in a playoff. Australia is currently a member of the Asian confederation and is doing very well in its qualifying tournament.
Australia defeated Bahrain 1-0. Australia is currently in first place in Group 1 of Asian qualifying and has a perfect record thus far with no ties or losses. In addition, no team has scored against them as of yet either. However, it is still the middle of round 4 in Asia and anything can still happen.
United Arab Emirates, a fairly weak team, managed to tie Iran, one of the strongest of the Middle Eastern teams, 1-1. This mean very little for the Emirates as they are their group and this match has given them only their first point.
Japan defeated Qatar 3-0. South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 which keeps South Korea at the top of the group 2 standings.
Czech Republic beat San Marino in the only European qualifying match. This was pretty much expected and puts Czech Republic in a three way tie with Poland and Slovenia with the Czechs in second place.
To see scores and standings as well as other World Cup news, click here.
Round 3 of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying ends tonight
A few big matches are going on right now live in World Cup 2010 Qualifying for the CONCACAF region:
USA vs Guatemala: This match is currently on Fox Soccer Channel and as I am typing this it is 0-0 at the 20th minute. The United States is already through to the next and final round, which will be in the form of a 6 team round robin format---top 3 teams automatically qualify for the big tournament while the 4th place team plays the 5th place team from South America in a two legged play off. Chances are pretty slim for Guatemala to take the 2nd spot to advance since a win will make them tied with Trinidad and Tobago but tat is only if Trinidad and Tobago lose to Cuba which may seem like a long shot. The match is also on Galavision in Spanish. More to come regarding this match later.
Honduras vs Mexico: another biggie for both teams. A win for Mexico will put them into the next round, but a determined Honduran side will play with all they got as a win from them a little help from the Jamaicans against the already eliminated Canada could put Honduras and Jamaica through the next round. This scenario will leave the Mexicans crying home--something that has not happened in a while and I can't wait until it does--it would be the equivalent of Croatia eliminating England last year in Euro 2008 qualifying. This match is only in Spanish on Telemundo and is still scoreless.
El Salvador vs Costa Rica: not televized in New York (atleast not with the channels I have). Not too much riding on this match. Both of these teams are already advancing and Costa Rica has already solidified their place at the top of the group.
Jamaica vs Canada: not televized (at least I don't think it is). The Canadians are already eliminated, but Jamaica is still alive. The match is currently 1-0 in the 36th minute. In favor of the Carribean nation. The Jamaicans have not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 in which they were eliminated in the group stage which included Argentina, Japan, and the third place Croatian team. To keep their hopes alive this year, Jamaica must win but Mexico must beat Honduras in order for that to happen. There may be other scenarios in which Jamaica can advance but then it would have to go through complicated tie breakers and they have to have a pretty sizable lead over Canada so goal difference can go their way.
Trinidad and Tobago vs Cuba: I don't think this one is on any American channels either. Cuba is already eliminated, but Trinidad and Tobago can easily solidify their place in round 4 with a win or tie. However, a tie could screw their chances if Guatemala somehow manages an upset against the United States. The match is currently 0-0 in first half stoppage time.
Honduras and Mexico are currently in halftime while El Salvador and Costa Rica have hit the half hour mark. The rest of the matches are in first half stoppage time.
You can track the results live on this site.
USA vs Guatemala: This match is currently on Fox Soccer Channel and as I am typing this it is 0-0 at the 20th minute. The United States is already through to the next and final round, which will be in the form of a 6 team round robin format---top 3 teams automatically qualify for the big tournament while the 4th place team plays the 5th place team from South America in a two legged play off. Chances are pretty slim for Guatemala to take the 2nd spot to advance since a win will make them tied with Trinidad and Tobago but tat is only if Trinidad and Tobago lose to Cuba which may seem like a long shot. The match is also on Galavision in Spanish. More to come regarding this match later.
Honduras vs Mexico: another biggie for both teams. A win for Mexico will put them into the next round, but a determined Honduran side will play with all they got as a win from them a little help from the Jamaicans against the already eliminated Canada could put Honduras and Jamaica through the next round. This scenario will leave the Mexicans crying home--something that has not happened in a while and I can't wait until it does--it would be the equivalent of Croatia eliminating England last year in Euro 2008 qualifying. This match is only in Spanish on Telemundo and is still scoreless.
El Salvador vs Costa Rica: not televized in New York (atleast not with the channels I have). Not too much riding on this match. Both of these teams are already advancing and Costa Rica has already solidified their place at the top of the group.
Jamaica vs Canada: not televized (at least I don't think it is). The Canadians are already eliminated, but Jamaica is still alive. The match is currently 1-0 in the 36th minute. In favor of the Carribean nation. The Jamaicans have not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 in which they were eliminated in the group stage which included Argentina, Japan, and the third place Croatian team. To keep their hopes alive this year, Jamaica must win but Mexico must beat Honduras in order for that to happen. There may be other scenarios in which Jamaica can advance but then it would have to go through complicated tie breakers and they have to have a pretty sizable lead over Canada so goal difference can go their way.
Trinidad and Tobago vs Cuba: I don't think this one is on any American channels either. Cuba is already eliminated, but Trinidad and Tobago can easily solidify their place in round 4 with a win or tie. However, a tie could screw their chances if Guatemala somehow manages an upset against the United States. The match is currently 0-0 in first half stoppage time.
Honduras and Mexico are currently in halftime while El Salvador and Costa Rica have hit the half hour mark. The rest of the matches are in first half stoppage time.
You can track the results live on this site.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A Quick Update
The New York Red Bulls defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 for the Western Conference Championship which qualifies them for a meeting with a familiar foe from the Eastern Conference--the Columbus Crew--in the MLS Cup final next Sunday. This is the first ever MLS Cup final for both clubs. I don't have much time to go into detail--I will do that in a future post, but I do want to say that the Red Bull goalkeeper Capero was almost flawless in the playoffs.
Before I end this post, I just wanted to mention one thing. I was looking at some of my most recent posts and noticed that I forgot to follow up on my most post regarding the Tottenham-Dinamo Zagreb UEFA Cup match. I apologize for that. The final result was a shutout win by Tottenham over Dinamo. For more UEFA Cup and European Champions League results, go to uefa.com
Before I end this post, I just wanted to mention one thing. I was looking at some of my most recent posts and noticed that I forgot to follow up on my most post regarding the Tottenham-Dinamo Zagreb UEFA Cup match. I apologize for that. The final result was a shutout win by Tottenham over Dinamo. For more UEFA Cup and European Champions League results, go to uefa.com
Friday, November 14, 2008
MLS Cup Update: Columbus Crew defeats Chicago Fire in Eastern Conference Championship
Last night, the Columbus Crew, who also happens to be the winner of this year's Supporter's Shield (given to the club with the best regular season record) has qualified for their first ever MLS Cup in club history by defeating Chicago Fire 2-1 and winning the Eastern Conference Championship.
Here is a video of excerpts of the match from youtube:
Columbus Crew will advance to the MLS Cup next Sunday where they will play either Red Bull New York or Real Salt Lake. New York will be playing Real Salt Lake for Western Conference Championship this Saturday. More news to come regarding that match up.
Here is a video of excerpts of the match from youtube:
Columbus Crew will advance to the MLS Cup next Sunday where they will play either Red Bull New York or Real Salt Lake. New York will be playing Real Salt Lake for Western Conference Championship this Saturday. More news to come regarding that match up.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Dinamo Zagreb vs Tottenham Hotspur airing right now on Fox Soccer Channel
As I was flipping channels, I hit Fox Soccer Channel and to my surprise a Dinamo Zagreb (my favorite Croatian club) match is being aired. Lucky for me the match just started. Dinamo is playing London based club Tottenham in an away match for the group stage of the UEFA Cup (Europe's consolation tournament, the Champions League is the big prize in Europe). This match is especially interesting since former Dinamo Zagreb player and Croatian national Luka Modric plays for Tottenham. Since some Dinamo fans are known for violence, it will be interesting to see how they would react if one of their own scores a goal against Dinamo (currently first place in Croatia's league one). An announcement had to be made in Tottenham's stadium for the "Bad Blue Boys" (Tottenham's notorious fan group) to stop shooting flares. It almost seems as if the game is being played in Zagreb as Dinamo chants are being heard loudly in Croatian. This does not seem to be helping the struggling Croatian club as they are now down 2 goals close to the end of the first half (if anyone did watch this match already please do not spoil it for me). Modric assisted the first goal.
I will blog with more information as the game goes on.
Current score: 2-0 Half time
I will blog with more information as the game goes on.
Current score: 2-0 Half time
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