Soccer By Ives

Tickets for USA-Mexico qualifier on sale Saturday

                                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

If you are a U.S. national team fan intent on traveling to Mexico for the highly-anticipated World Cup qualifier between Mexico and the United States, your chance to get tickets is coming.

Tickets for the Aug. 12 qualifier go on sale to the general public on Saturday. Tickets went on sale on Mondayfor Banamex credit card holders, but if you don't have one of those (and I'm sure 99.9 percent of SBI readers don't), you will have to wait until Saturday to start stockpiling the tickets.

U.S. Soccer will also be selling an allotment of tickets. Details on that process have yet to be revealed.

Will you be making the trip to Mexico City? Are you counting down the days? Think this will be the match that finally sees the U.S. national team win in Mexico?

Share your thoughts below.

USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier set to kick off at 4pm

 

                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Mexican Football Federation has announced that the USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier in Mexico City on Aug. 12th will start at 4pm (ET). No word yet on what led to that decision, which is odd for a Wednesday game.

The 3 p.m. local time kickoff should mean that the game will be played in hot and humid conditions at Estadio Azteca. When Mexico defeated the United States in Mexico City in 2005, the match was played at noon, which led to very hot and muggy conditions. (Okay, so maybe I'm not a weatherman. A quick check of The Weather Channel tells me that the average high temperature in Mexico City in mid-August is mid-70s. The 2005 qualifier was played in March). So why is this game being played so early? To better manage crowd violence if the United States actually wins?

What do you think of this news? Think Mexico is getting desperate? Does that start time make you more likely to make the trip to Mexico City? Will you be skipping work to watch this crucial World Cup qualifier? What's your best excuse for missing work to watch a mid-day soccer game?

Share your thoughts below.

Soccer Saturday: Your Running Commentary

It is a somewhat light day of soccer on the international calendar, as the Confederations Cup resumes and African World Cup qualifying takes center stage.

There will be a running commentary post for today's MLS action beginning at 4pm, so look out for that, but if you are following the international front (or South American soccer), feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

World Cup Qualifying: UEFA Rewind

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Seven games. Six shutouts. 22 goals.

Those are just some of the more interesting numbers that describe Wednesday's UEFA World Cup qualifiers. But the midweek action wasn't just about numbers as some intriguing story-lines developed, including England getting one step closer to South Africa, Sweden keeping themselves from the brink of elimination and a former American youth player scoring his first international goal.

Here is a recap of Wednesday's UEFA qualifiers:

World Cup Qualifying: CONMEBOL Rewind

 

By NESTOR F. SEBASTIAN

With four rounds left, and after almost three years of home-and-away matches among the 10-nation pool of countries in South America, the dust is closely settling on who will make it to South Africa next year and who will stay home and watch it on TV----and there's been little surprise at the outcome.

Brazil sits at the top of the table after 14 matches with 27 points, followed by a relentless Chile (26), who've been a revelation with the most wins so far in this campaign. Paraguay, which started out red-hot, hasn't won in its past four matches, but still sits in third with 24 points, while Argentina claims fourth with 22 points.

The fifth-place playoff spot that would take on CONCACAF's fourth-placed team now belongs to Ecuador (20) points, followed closely by Uruguay (18) and Colombia and Venezuela (both at 17). Bolivia (12) is close to being eliminated while Peru (7) was officially bounced from the competition.

Here's is a quick recap of this week's CONMEBOL's qualifying action:

World Cup Qualifying: CONCACAF Rewind

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

With the United States and Costa Rica having already reached the half-way point in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, it was the bottom four teams of the table that were left to fight it out in a pair of close qualifiers Wednesday night.

Mexico's qualifying campaign got a much needed lift as El Tri defeated Trinidad and Tobago in the friendly confines of Estadio Azteca, 2-1. Honduras also jumped up the table as they grabbed three points with their 1-0 win over visitors El Salvador.

A busy day in World Cup Qualifying

World Cup qualifying kicks off around the world today as the pressure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup grows and teams start securing their places in the 32-team field.

There are always surprises in qualifying, which makes the matches that much more exciting and unpredictable. Consider that Argentina sits in fourth place in CONMEBOL qualifying while Portugal and Sweden stand in danger of not even qualifying for the tournament. Then you have the positive surprises, such as Hungary and Chile, who are both enjoying strong qualifying campaigns.

What matches are the headliners today? Brazil-Paraguay and Finland-Russia are two of the better tilts, while U.S. national team fans will have a close eye on tonight's CONCACAF qualifiers.

Here is a closer look at today's World CUp qualifying action in Europe, South America and the CONCACAF region:

CONCACAF Update: How much trouble is Mexico in?

Three road qualifiers. Three losses. Three points from four matches.

That is the sorry state the Mexican national team finds itself in four games into its World Cup qualifying campaign. Saturday's 2-1 loss to El Salvador has Mexico in must-win mode mid-way through the Hexagonal Round of CONCACAF qualifying.

So how much trouble is Mexico in? We will find out on Wednesday, when 'El Tri' faces Trinidad & Tobago in Mexico City. Mexico. A win vs. T&T would help the Mexicans regain some balance and move back into a comfortable position in the standings. A tie or a loss and Mexico would head into the August 12th showdown vs. the U.S. national team in full panic mode.

Here is a quick rundown of the CONCACAF Hexagonal

USA 2, Honduras 1: A Look Back

 

                                                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

What a difference three days can make.

Last Thursday morning, after the U.S. national team's 3-1 loss to Costa Rica, pessimism was king and there was little reason for optimism regarding the U.S. team and it's future this summer and beyond. One gutsy comeback win later, there is once again reason to believe that there is something to look forward to in the coming months if you are a U.S. fan.

Yes, the Americans needed a comeback to beat Honduras, but they delivered one of their gutsiest performances in recent memory. That, and the inspired performances of players such as Carlos Bocanegra, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Jonathan Spector and Jonathan Bornstein (to name a few) bodes well for the U.S. team's summer.

Here are my grades for the U.S. players on Saturday:

Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

It is a light day in the soccer world, but there are still matches worth watching and talking about today.

World Cup qualifiers in South America (Peru vs. Ecuador) and Africa (Mali vs. Ghana) headline the schedule, while a pair of MLS matches are on the docket as well.

Whether you watched some of the action from earlier today, or you're preparing to watch the upcoming matches, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

USA comes back to beat Honduras, 2-1

 

                                                                          Photo by ISIphotos.com   

When Carlos Costly's fifth-minute strike gave Honduras an early lead on Saturday, U.S. men's national team fans had the scary feeling that they were in for a repeat performance of Wednesday's awful loss to Costa Rica.

The U.S. team didn't let that happen.

Instead of folding to an early goal as they did on Wednesday, the United States stepped up and delivered a gutsy comeback that rejuvenated its World Cup qualifying hopes and gave several young players the chance to impress.

Landon Donovan's penalty kick tied things up before halftime, then Carlos Bocanegra headed home a Clint Dempsey header for the game-winning goal.

The victory moves the United States into second place in the CONCACAF Hexagonal qualifying group, two points behind first-place Costa Rica (which won at Trinidad & Tobago, 3-2, on Saturday) and five points ahead of El Salvador, which defeated Mexico, 2-1, on Saturday night in San Salvador. Mexico now sits fifth overall, a point behind fourth-place Honduras and a point ahead of last-place Trinidad & Tobago.

What did you think of the U.S. team's victory? Which players impressed you the most? Are you looking forward to Confederations Cup again? Are you still not happy with the U.S. national team?

Share your thoughts below.

USA vs. Honduras: Match Night Commentary

 

The U.S. men's national team will look to erase the memories of Wednesday night's crushing 3-1 loss to Costa Rica by trying to beat Honduras at Soldier Field in Chicago tonight (8pm, ESPN2).

The U.S. team needs to avoid a loss tonight to keep from dropping as far as third place in the CONCACAF Hexagonal standing.

I will be providing commentary and analysis throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match:

Soccer Saturday: Your Running Commentary

Good afternoon folks. For those of you who will be enjoying the international soccer action today, with World Cup qualifying from Europe to South America, this is your post to discuss all the action.

If you will be watching the likes of England or Serbia, or Argentina or Brazil, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Who should the USMNT start vs. Honduras?

               

                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

The starting lineup you see above is the U.S. national team squad that played against (and was embarrassed by) Costa Rica on Wednesday. Take a good look at it. You will never see it again. Ever.

You certainly won't see it on Saturday vs. Honduras, and not just because Michael Bradley is set to miss the Honduras match as he serves a suspension for yellow card accumulation. In fact, Bradley is highly unlikely to be the only player of the ones pictured above who won't be in the lineup on Saturday.

U.S. head coach Bob Bradley has some tough decisions to make as he prepares for a match that is suddenly vital to the U.S. team's pursuit of a World Cup berth. Does he bench DaMarcus Beasley, or does he play him at his natural left wing spot? Does he start Pablo Mastroeni, or go with the more athletic Ricardo Clark? Does he stick with Jozy Altidore, or does he give recently-called Conor Casey a shot? Does he take a chance and start Frankie Hejduk (who is nursing a groin injury), or does he go with Jonathan Spector?

Here is the lineup I can see Bob Bradley starting against Honduras on Saturday (along with the lineup I would go with):

Costa Rica 3, USA 1: The Day After

 

It was ugly as it was thorough.

The U.S. men's national team was absolutely dominated on Wednesday night, losing to Costa Rica, 3-1, in a result that could have been even worse. Costa Rica did everything the United States was supposed to do, passing the ball well, moving well as a group, dominating with speed and sound defending.

Here is my story on the match for ESPN.com.

Here is what today's newspapers in San Jose look like:

USA vs. Costa Rica: Match Night Commentary

The top two teams in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying square off tonight at Estadio Saprissa as the U.S. national team visits Costa Rica.

You know all the background by now. The Americans have never won at Saprissa. Costa Rica is very strong at Saprissa and a win for either team tonight would go a long way toward helping that team qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Early word around San Jose is that tonight's atmosphere won't be as rabid at Saprissa as in year's past. There will be no alcohol sold and no coins allowed at the stadium. Any coins brought in by fans will be taken away and donated to charity. Souvenirs and food bought in the stadium must be paid for with paper money and no coin change will be given. Also, battery-operated radios won't be allowed (so there won't be any battery tossing.

Those restrictions aren't likely to stop Costa Rica's fans from making it an intimidating place to play tonight. The key will be the Americans keeping things from getting out of hand early on. In fact, you shouldn't be surprised to see the U.S. team on the attack with an offensive-minded lineup.

I will be providing commentary throughout the evening so please feel free to follow the match here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions on tonight's match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (some interesting lineup tibits after the jump):