Yes the European domestic leagues are over, but there's a slew of international World Cup qualifiers this weekend. A full rundown of the highlights after the jump, assuming that you can find any of these on a TV or computer near you.
Have at it in the comments, or feel free to talk about your weekend plans.
Update: Discuss US v. Honduras here as well. Here's a pic from the NY Kid....
Here's more pics from the NY Kid....
Note: These aren't complete WCQ match listings, but what I view to be the best of the bunch. All times are EST. All games are on Saturday.
UEFA
11:00 am Kazakhstan v. England
11:00 am Azerbaijan vs Wales (Setanta)
1:30 pm Bulgaria v. Ireland
2:00 pm Sweden v. Denmark (Setanta)
2:15 pm Croatia v. Ukraine
2:30 pm Italy v. Northern Ireland (Gol)
2:30 pm Serbia v. Austria (FSC)
2:45 pm Iceland v. Netherlands
CONCACAF
8:30 pm USA v. Honduras (ESPN)
9:00 pm El Salvador v. Mexico
CONMEBOL
3:00 pm Uruguay v. Brazil
5:00 pm Argentina v. Colombia
6:50 pm Paraguay v. Chile
AFC
4:00 am North Korea v. Iran (FSC - rebroadcast at 10:00 am)
12:00 pm Qatar v. Australia (FSC)
Also, FSC is showing Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids at 10:00 pm.
Look for me and Precious Roy on the tee-vee tonight at the US v. Honduras match. I'll be the handsome one in the Altidore jersey.
ReplyDeleteHa, the wife and I will be at the match as well. Look for the slightly inebriated man with the slightly irritated woman.
ReplyDeleteAustralia can punch the second ticket to the world cup by taking a single point against Qatar. Socceroos!
ReplyDeleteSorry that the rest of the post didn't show up! It's fixed now. Stupid html.
ReplyDeleteEngland starting lineup: Green, Johnson, Terry, Upson, A Cole, Walcott, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Heskey.
ReplyDeleteGlen Johnson dumps the ball clumsily and it is nearly 1-nil to the home team in Almaty. Since then the English have seemed off their pins.
ReplyDeleteWould be 2-nil Kazakhstan but for an unfortunate bounce and a bad linesman's call.
ReplyDeleteThis game is kind of a snoozefest.
ReplyDelete@Sarah Yeah not too surprising. I'm heading out to do some grocery shopping. Now that will be exciting!
ReplyDeleteSo, 2-0 at the half. I'm looking for anywhere to find Macedonia-Norway. Need a win from the Mastodons (that's what they are called, right?)
ReplyDeleteOh well, no luck on the stream. Looks like following text updates for me.
ReplyDeleteTook all of two minutes for Belarus to break through on Andorra. San Marino are similarly bad of course, now down 3-0 to Slovakia in half an hour.
ReplyDeleteIs Gerrard really wearing #11? That seems odd.
ReplyDeleteGabon is beating Adebayor's Togo 2-0 in the 56th.
Slovakia score another in the 35th. Chelsea's little kid, Miroslav Stoch the poacher. 4-0.
Liechtenstein take a surprise lead on Finland in the 13th. Mario Frick with the goal.
ReplyDeleteWith Liechtenstein scoring, only Azerbaijan remain goalless in European qualifying. Those two teams are in the same group.
ReplyDeleteGabon win 3-0 and lead that group early.
ReplyDeleteClose for the Aussies. Header off the post.
ReplyDeleteJust watching England second half. SWP is having a nightmare. Absolutely terrible. First touch has let him down and he's given the ball away more times than he's kept it. I don't know if anyone else is watching but this is one of the worst performances I have ever seen by SWP.
ReplyDelete3-0 Engerland. Roonaldo on the goal.
ReplyDeleteBecks on. LB swoons.
ReplyDeleteAll zeroes in Macedonia at the half.
ReplyDeleteLamps scores a penno. 4-0
Lamps 4-0
ReplyDeleteLooks like Heskey dove to me, but I didn't see the full replay.
ReplyDeleteFinns tie it up at 1. A Mikael Forssell sighting for the goal.
u75 - what is your US prediction tonight?
ReplyDeleteForssell scored 10 in a match once and he looks like the bad guy from the Da Vinci code.
I have a feeling it will be a nervy win. I'll have a better guess once I see the lineup, but I'll be offline by then. Put me down for 2-1 US, with a 1-1 result running close behind.
ReplyDeleteWith a 1-0 win, Japan have qualified. Australia 20 minutes away from going through with a draw.
ReplyDeleteMacedonia-Norway ends 0-0. All in all, that's fine for me.
ReplyDeleteQatar's #15 deserved more than a yellow there.
ReplyDeleteUSMNT lineup: Howard; Spector, Onyewu, Bocanegra (c), Bornstein; Dempsey, Clark, Mastroeni, Donovan; Altidore, Casey
ReplyDeleteBench: Guzan, Feilhaber, Wynne, Kljestan, Beasley, DeMerit, Davies
ReplyDeleteNo Torres, no Adu
Can we expect direct updates from Chicago?!
ReplyDeletebtw, I'm watching tonight's match with a contingent of Germans who liken the American style of play to Ireland, but without the flair.
@EF: I have texted the UF contingent to see if I can get live updates. As for the comment about Ireland, I can't disagree. Right now, I would love if we played on par with Australia - but we're about 2-3 steps behind where they are at the moment.
ReplyDeleteDid Torres slap Bradley Jr. during halftime on Wednesday. How is he not even on the bench tonight?
ReplyDeleteno liveblog from anyone?
ReplyDeleteFYI coverage is starting on ESPN Classic and will switch over to ESPN when the college baseball game ends. Doh.
ReplyDeleteNevermind.... switched over already.
ReplyDeleteI've heard from the NY Kid and Precious Roy. Their tickets are "sick." I think that means good. Should hopefully have some pics as well.
Spec,
ReplyDeleteany plans to start an open thread for the game, or just stay here?
@jjf3: Seeing as how the day WCQ games went over like a lead balloon let's just keep it here. Borat approves!
ReplyDeleteWTF is this music the US is coming out to? Sounds like the closing credits to an early 90s Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.
ReplyDeletecouldn't see the Ingerland game, and I went to the bar for the Sweden-Denmark game (nice job Sweden - at least 12 legit scoring chances to 3, including a PK?? - you don't deserve a WC berth), so I had little to add earlier. Though I have to admit that that Borat photo is one I never never ever need to see again. Even refreshing is getting me brief glimpses of it...I expect nightmares tonight...
ReplyDeleteMexican ref?? Really? Shouldn't CONCACAF/FIFA recognize that certain countries have more well-developed "rivalries" than others, and keep refs out of thier rival's games??
ReplyDeletejesus h christ
ReplyDeleteStellar
ReplyDeletethey just come out asleep every time. its unbelievable really.
ReplyDeleteThe NY Kid reports that the place went ballistic after the goal... Soldier Field is 70% Honduras.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, yet more Pollyanna from Harkes. This team is in disarray, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess its more like 60% non-US Mexicans, and 10% Honduran, not that that changes the atmosphere...
ReplyDeletemake that "anti"-US rather than "non"
ReplyDeletedumbass
The NY Kid reports that Palacios is a monster in person.
ReplyDeleteits embarrassing how bad our crowds are at home
ReplyDeleteHe's my boy but playing Jozy was a big mistake... Totally out of form.
ReplyDeleteWelp, the germans have said they'd rather see honduras than us in the WC- better an underrated than overrated team.
ReplyDeleteI saw Jozy live against Mexico here in Houston when he was in form - he looked like a man among boys physically...
ReplyDeletelike LeBron in HS
dammit, US
methinks harry redknapp made the signing of the second half of the season with palacios.
ReplyDeleteand speaking of redknapp, did anybody else catch his comments about getting out-bid for barry, basically not able to match wages? unsurprising i suppose, but still interesting.
Christ, can Beckham teach free kicks as penance for pissing off to Milan?
ReplyDeleteBayer probably looks at donovan and thanls God he left.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda a-feared to ask this, but how bad does the US look without a top-5 world keeper? Or, if you disagree on 5, top-10? How many mistakes have Friedel and he cleaned up over the years?
ReplyDeletei agree, jjf3. keeping has saved us from complete embarrassment innumerable times.
ReplyDeleteI would guess more than their fair share.
ReplyDeleteUS still hasn't found a replacement for McBride up top.
ReplyDeletethis is an argument I can't win Steve, so I won't try. I'll just say that Ching can be the bridge to Jozy, whenever he comes of age. Ching is the exact same type of player that McBride was, and I expect him to last longer than anyone wants him to, much like Brian did...
ReplyDeleteYou can start laughing now...
see, I've never really like Ching much. All the games I've seen him in, he's been quiet. McBride wasn't the most talented by any means of course, but his workrate (I know, tired argument) was what made him crucial. I've never really seen that from Ching. Other than that, I agree - they are very similar players.
ReplyDelete(I should mention that I don't watch MLS, so I only see Ching when he plays for the US)
And why, praytell, has no one made a 'that was a Costly goal' comment?
ReplyDeleteMy conclusion is that the US just isn't all that good. We look great against teams like Trinidad & Tobago because they are horrible. But against equal competition, I don't see much that separates us from Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteI can already see the next 14 months... Qualify for the WC, crash out in the group stage. Same as it ever was.
by the way, is Ching hurt or did he just go unpicked?
ReplyDeleteHis hurt. Bad hamstring I believe.
ReplyDeleteI watch him (FUCK!) for the Dynamo and the USMNT. He does everything McBride did - he works, and works, and when he's not scoring, he's holding the ball at his feet for his support to run on to...
ReplyDeletebut I know this argument has run its course. Dempsey doesn't score in El Salvador (I think, check my memory on location), if Ching doesn't hold the ball and feed him to his foot...
so you think the Ching-Altidore pairing hasn't clicked yet because Altidore isn't quite ready? I'd be glad to see it happen, definitely.
ReplyDeleteChing wasn't included in the Confederations Cup roster so expected he'll be out for a while.
ReplyDeleteThat looked like a penalty to me.
ReplyDeletethat had to be a PK
ReplyDeletethe Mexican ref didn't see enough diving antics to make the call. Needed more embellishment.
ReplyDeletePK!!???
ReplyDeletemakes up for the non-call a minute ago.
ReplyDeleteC'mon Lando don't choke.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. The only thing Landycakes can do...
ReplyDeleteYou know, but for the little things -- making saves, converting penalties, making tackles -- the US would be really really terrible.
ReplyDeletesuch a travesty that he's ahead of McBride now. Mostly on PKs I'd imagine.
ReplyDeletethat was actually a pretty great move from Lando before he got taken down.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that same tackle a card on Casey? And there goes the free kick into the stands.
ReplyDeleteSteve:
ReplyDeleteI can see Jozy taking Ching's spot, but right now Jozy just needs to play. He spent the majority of the season on-loan to a team that didn't need him, (and therefore, he didn't play), and he's coming off surgery as well. Jozy is much more dynamic than Ching, but he could also spend a year learning from him for the good of the US. As for them together, that woud be a pretty intimidating front-line to put up, but you would miss the pure speed/goal option - that doesn't mean they couldn't work together next year...
Well, at least we're not in as bad as shape as Mexico... Losing 1-0 to El Salvador.
ReplyDeleteAnybody know why AC Milan would accept 60% of what City offered for Kaka last year? If that wasn't enough to change your mind, why now?
ReplyDeleteWhat's going on with Altidore? Does he need to be the lone striker to be useful, or is this just a byproduct of poor match fitness? Or is he overrated?
ReplyDeletebecause at the end of the day, you can't make a player go somewhere he doesn't want to go...
ReplyDeleteI personally think its fitness and playing time...
"assuming he's still under contract" - add to my first statement...
ReplyDeleteI think that was the most consecutive passes I've ever seen from the US.... Too bad it ended with a cross behind the goal.
ReplyDeleteFeilhaber on. Our very own Avenging Jewish Angel
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference having Spector and Clark in the team makes.
ReplyDeleteWho did he come on for? I missed it?
ReplyDeleteBenny on for Mastroeni
ReplyDeleteso you're saying we put someone on for a player I didn't even realize was playing?
ReplyDeleteNovel concept...
Thanks. US has had a much better start to this half.
ReplyDeleteAnother question I'm afraid to ask, because I know the answer...
ReplyDeleteSpector plays regularly in the EPL. Demerit plays regularly in the Championship. Wynne sucks regularly in the MLS. DMB gets no playing time in the SPL.
WHO THE FUCK RUNS THIS TEAM?? IF Bradley really thinks these are his best players, why is he the coach?? And if he has no choice, who the FUCK runs this coming catastrophe in 2010???
Heh the NY Kid says he's drunk and almost got ejected
ReplyDeleteDEUCE!! How did he miss that??
ReplyDeleteDamn Dempsey. Nice ball from Benny. And good work from Bornstein. Hopefully Bradley will see what happens when you use competent backs.
ReplyDeletei don't get it, either, jjf, and neither can I think of a good replacement, since (as others here have pointed out) the real issue is lack of talent.
ReplyDeleteAnd Donovan picks up a very, very weak yellow.
ReplyDeletecan you imagine how much more exciting this would be with Ibisevic, Rossi, and Subotic on the field? (not that Rossi ever really considered playing for us)
ReplyDelete@Steve: But why would those players ever want to play for this team? (Someone made that point during the Costa Rica game but worth repeating.)
ReplyDeleteThere must be some Kryptonite like substance in the Western hemisphere that makes Dempsey play so poorly for USMNT.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Steve is suggesting they WOULD, just that things might be different with more talent.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know. but I can dream, right? (my girlfriend says more like a hallucination).
ReplyDeleteI blame Sunil
ReplyDeleteGET IN!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSteve,
ReplyDeleteI admit to being an apologist.
But I have to say this: what if a real coach (who's media-rating internationally is bigger than all of his players) tells them what to do? If Guus, for example, comes here, and tells Clint, Landon, Boca, or OO, you "need to work for your job", how much better does the team get that moment?
And fuck, we just scored... so much for that argument
Way to go to ground, head-first for that.
ReplyDeleteGreat headers by Deuce and Bocanegra there! And here comes Jay DeMerit.
ReplyDeleteThat's what you like to see! Much better heart tonight.
ReplyDeleteyay for the goal. good trash goal.
ReplyDelete@Spec: I blame Sunil too.
@jjf: Guus would definitely whip them into shape. I'll put that on the wish list. I think Klinsy would have been (still might be?) exciting. He'll at least look better on the sideline.
This guy is a genius!
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe that Bradley started Wynne over Spector in Costa Rica... What a dunce move.
ReplyDeleteI will say this:
ReplyDeleteBenny look surprisingly good for a guy who never plays.
Oh, and Jozy doesn't...
@jjf3: I agree. More Benny, less Mastroeni. Hopefully Jozy will get fit soon.
ReplyDeleteWell that was shambolic
ReplyDeleteyeah, I'm not cracking on Jozy. He's clearly rusty and uncomfortable playing full time...
ReplyDeleteHoly fuck, what just happened?
Dear Tim Howard, I love you...
Fantastic game from Clark... Man of the match for me.
ReplyDeletewhew on that one
ReplyDeleteGetting pretty sloppy in the back.
ReplyDeleteBornstein making a very strong case to start again.
ReplyDeleteHoly Shit, I cannot believe what the difference is between what Timmy expects, and what he's seeing for the USA. He clearly expects a certain level of competence, and what he's dealt with over the last week is not up to Everton standards....props to Phil, Joleon, Yobo, etc...
ReplyDeleteJ, and start at forward at that.
ReplyDeleteDear Bob Bradley: More Spector, Benny, Bornstein and Clark please
ReplyDeletegod Beasley is so terrible. soooo terrible.
ReplyDeleteAnd less Beasley as well.
ReplyDeleteYes less Beasley he is pretty much useless at this point of his career
ReplyDeletehooray.
ReplyDeletePhew! Another ugly win by the US but I'll take it.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to regret this tomorrow, but this is one of the biggest problems with US soccer - they market the people you know, rather than the ones who'll actually make a difference...DMB and Landycakes are yesterday's news, but no fricking way we do we ignore them...
ReplyDeleteTorres and Benny have more to do with our results in SA than either of them, or Bradley for that matter...
"DMB and Landycakes are yesterday's news"
ReplyDeleteAnd you remember how lousy yesterday was.
/Thornton Mellon
Looks like Mexico is still down as well? Anyone now for sure?
ReplyDelete@jj3: Hopefully Bradley Sr. will recognize that after tonight.
Oh good the Confederations Cup starts in a week and a half... I am predicting losses of 3-0, 5-1, and 2-1.
ReplyDelete@ Spectator: You are more upbeat than I am. The way the US has been playing, I will be surprised with 1 goal in 3 matches.
ReplyDeleteNice job, MG...you got a great laugh out of me...
ReplyDeleteThank g-d I'm drunk....
looks like it's still 1-0 to El Salvador. Not sure how much time is left.
ReplyDeleteBlanco converts penno for Mexico... 1-1.
ReplyDeleteApparently Mexico just scored. About 20 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteMy impressions:
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for Tim Howard, we'd be in third.
Clark proved to be a dynamo in the midfield.
Donovan showed heart, but he'll quickly put that back in the box for fear of being recognized as a gritty player.
Feilhaber had a bigger match than I think most people realized - he complemented Clark in a way Pablo couldn't: Feilhaber would go forward, allowing Clark to play a more withdrawn middie role. Bradley needs to play these two together more often.
@Fatalist: I agree. I think Benny played a huge role in the way the US came out in the second half. It was a much better combination than Mastroeni and Clark in the first half.
ReplyDeleteI also think our keepers keep us in more games than some care to acknowledge. It was a little better tonight with Spector and Bornstein, but there is still room for improvement.
Wow the Mexico PK came off a total and utter dive.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA and El Salvador get a PK off a handball going the other way!!
ReplyDelete2-1 El Salvador!!
ReplyDeletePK for El Salvador. 2-1. Mexico might be in real trouble.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to fall on a sword for this lineup, but I DEMAND that our backline be Boca, Demerit, Onyewu, and Spector.
ReplyDeleteThat is the "Best" 4-man back-line the USA can put together anytime soon...
Any lineup without Demerit or Spector is a joke, a lineup put together to made the MLS look good...
Goal for Mexico waved off due to offsides... Wow what a game.
ReplyDeleteAnd the El Salvador goalkeeper is on the pitch with a mystery injury.... the minutes keep ticking away.
ReplyDeleteFulltime Mexico lose!!!! Hahahaha!
ReplyDeleteDidn't El Salvador have a lot of mysterious injuries when the US played them last time. And there is the final whistle.
ReplyDeleteLast 15 minutes of the match was a clinic in time wasting.... But serves Mexico right. They never should have gotten the PK to equalize.
ReplyDeletejjf- to answer your question, we've seen the US without a world-class keeper. It's called Kasey Keller starting for the 2006 World Cup, and it means a certain group-stage crash out. As opposed to an "assumed" group-stage crash out
ReplyDeleteYay! My 2-1 prediction played out. I hate that it did.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I've got some bad news.
ReplyDeleteMy Tranmere side just got pummeled by 'boro in the FA Cup. The board, well, the board is pissed.