International Football (non-USMNT)
- Thread starter SoxFanInCali
- Start date
I was all ready to blame the goal on Skrtel, sight unseen, but he doesn't appear to be playing.Infield Infidel said:
A few wacky results.
Malta wins! 1-0 over Armenia
Scotland wins by the same score in Croatia.
Moldova draws 1-1 with Poland
Malta wins! 1-0 over Armenia
Scotland wins by the same score in Croatia.
Moldova draws 1-1 with Poland
Egypt won 4-2 in Zimbabwe this past week, which makes them the only CAF country to have won all of their games so far. Good for Bob Bradley and for a team that's been through a hell of lot in the last two years. They can wrap up the group next week against Mozambique, though they'll only be rewarded with an all-important home-and-home. The qualifying process in Africa is brutal.
With 56 teams, if it weren't for all the crazy travel, they could probably do two rounds of 6 team groups, sort of like in Europe. But so many teams are really terrible. There are probably 15 Andorras. It would be more fair for the more powerful teams though
Not to mention Africa is pretty underserved with only 5 WC spots.
Not to mention Africa is pretty underserved with only 5 WC spots.
Infield Infidel said:
The travel is bad, both because there's a lot of distance to be covered and because infrastructure is often terrible. I'd guess that expense is an even bigger issue.
If money weren't an issue, I think AFC is a better model than UEFA because the distribution of talent within AFC is a closer fit for Africa. They eliminate half the confederation over two preliminary home-and-home rounds. This leads 5 group / 20 country semifinal round, and then to a 2 group 10 country final round. But that's 14-16 matches for a typical AFC qualifier compared to 8 for the typical qualifier coming out of the CAF process.
It's just a shame. The current CAF system is so arbitrary and there are very few matches between the best teams. It's not nearly as compelling as what we've seen in the Cup of Nations.
Armenia, who lost at home to Malta last week 1-0, just beat the Danes in Denmark 4-0. Good god what a poor showing for a team that was in the last WC
Iran beat Armenia Lebanon 4-0. They face South Korea next week, and need a win, or draw along with an Uzbekistan loss, draw, or win over Qatar of no more than 3 goals to guarantee qualification.
If they lose to South Korea, they will need a Qatar win or draw.
Really sucks to not have Dejagah healthy right about now.
If they lose to South Korea, they will need a Qatar win or draw.
Really sucks to not have Dejagah healthy right about now.
Javier Mascherano just got sent off for kicking the driver of the medical buggy taking him off the pitch.
I miss that guy.
I miss that guy.
Infield Infidel said:
Yura Movsisyan has become surprisingly good for a guy out of Pasadena City College.
It's survival time for Mexico. All the teams in the Hex have a game in hand over Mexico and Panama. They don't play next week.
Depending on how things break next week, Mexico could be 3rd, 4th, or 5th going into the final four matches.
If the home teams (US and Costa Rica) win, Mexico is 3rd but 3 points out of 2nd, and 5 pts out of 1st
If the road teams (Honduras and Panama) win, Mexico is 5th, 1 point out of 4th and 2 pts out of 3rd
If they are two draws, Mexico would be tied for third with Honduras, +1 on GD, 1 pt ahead of Panama
They also don't play Jamaica anymore, so no easy points in their last four: Honduras, @USA, Panama, @Costa Rica. They basically have to win their home games. Everyone else plays Jamaica one more time, so that should be at least 1 pt for each
Depending on how things break next week, Mexico could be 3rd, 4th, or 5th going into the final four matches.
If the home teams (US and Costa Rica) win, Mexico is 3rd but 3 points out of 2nd, and 5 pts out of 1st
If the road teams (Honduras and Panama) win, Mexico is 5th, 1 point out of 4th and 2 pts out of 3rd
If they are two draws, Mexico would be tied for third with Honduras, +1 on GD, 1 pt ahead of Panama
They also don't play Jamaica anymore, so no easy points in their last four: Honduras, @USA, Panama, @Costa Rica. They basically have to win their home games. Everyone else plays Jamaica one more time, so that should be at least 1 pt for each
Mr. Wednesday said:
Winless and scoreless, as well. That team is an unmitigated fucking disaster right now. Were it not for some miraculous saves by Corona, they'd be pretty much screwed at this point.
They're playing some horrendous football right now and are going to get absolutely slaughtered at the Confederations Cup. That's not going to be fun to watch.
I haven't been watching them, but how in the heck did they manage to squander the momentum from their 2011 Gold Cup? That team looked like they were on their way to bossing the region in qualifying.
It's difficult to say exactly what has caused it. I thought they did fairly well last year leading up to beating Brazil in a friendly (for what little that's worth these days). But since then, their passing has been inconsistent, particularly in the attacking third. One could point to the injury to Giovani dos Santos as the catalyst for the beginning of their poor form. Lacking that creativity from the middle, they began to emphasize the wings a little more. And that's fine, considering Andres Guardado is up to the task most of the time. But in the past few months, he's been putrid. He can't seem to do anything right these days, including missing a wide open net against Panama. Absent those two guys consistently feeding the ball to Chicharito and De Nigris, their attack has been nonexistent because of a lack of valid options (Aquino is good with the ball but he's a 20-30 minute guy whom you don't want to see out there for prolonged stretches).
And if that weren't enough, you add on the pressure that this team is starting to feel and you get a recipe for disaster. Their panic is palpable if they haven't scored by the 60th minute. Salcido starts to fire long shots that have no business being taken, long balls start to get a little bit longer and their bread and butter, the short-medium passing game, starts to fall apart.
Then there's the manager. There are starting to be murmurs from several managers from Liga MX that de la Torre has become too predictable. That his tactics are easily guarded against due to his inability to adjust (I wonder if that's what drove him to try dos Santos on the wing in a recent qualifier - a position in which he is effectively neutered because his strength is his ability to use the whole field). The entirety of the crowd at Azteca last night was heard chanting "Fuera Chepo!" Which means that the fans of El Tri are finally fed up with him. Frankly, it's about damn time people start calling for his head. I was sharpening the guillotine months ago.
Firing the manager in the midst of the hex is not unheard of. Sven Goran Eriksson got the boot after an abysmal showing a few games into the hex prior to South Africa. They were able to salvage their position then. Hopefully, that'll happen this time around too.
And if that weren't enough, you add on the pressure that this team is starting to feel and you get a recipe for disaster. Their panic is palpable if they haven't scored by the 60th minute. Salcido starts to fire long shots that have no business being taken, long balls start to get a little bit longer and their bread and butter, the short-medium passing game, starts to fall apart.
Then there's the manager. There are starting to be murmurs from several managers from Liga MX that de la Torre has become too predictable. That his tactics are easily guarded against due to his inability to adjust (I wonder if that's what drove him to try dos Santos on the wing in a recent qualifier - a position in which he is effectively neutered because his strength is his ability to use the whole field). The entirety of the crowd at Azteca last night was heard chanting "Fuera Chepo!" Which means that the fans of El Tri are finally fed up with him. Frankly, it's about damn time people start calling for his head. I was sharpening the guillotine months ago.
Firing the manager in the midst of the hex is not unheard of. Sven Goran Eriksson got the boot after an abysmal showing a few games into the hex prior to South Africa. They were able to salvage their position then. Hopefully, that'll happen this time around too.
Zlatan being Zlatan
He then threw the ball at the Faroes keeper's face
the whole story is Onion-esque http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/thetoepoke/id/3441?cc=5901
He then threw the ball at the Faroes keeper's face
the whole story is Onion-esque http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/thetoepoke/id/3441?cc=5901
Eurosport cuts away from Iran/South Korea in the 18th minute to show... highlights of the Australia match. "Hopefully we'll be back for the second half."
Good god.
Good god.
Today is the U-21 European Championships: Spain vs. Italy. Spain is loaded with talent, and this tournament should provide them with an opportunity to redeem themselves after a very disappointing Olympics last year.
Holy shit. Ghoochannejad!!! Hold the line
God dammit. Uzbeks leveled against Qatar, but it won't matter for Iran unless the Uzbeks roar back to win by 3+ and Korea scores 2+.
Heroic sequence by Ahmadi. Two point-blank saves on Soo off a very well taken free kick along the touch line.
God dammit. Uzbeks leveled against Qatar, but it won't matter for Iran unless the Uzbeks roar back to win by 3+ and Korea scores 2+.
Heroic sequence by Ahmadi. Two point-blank saves on Soo off a very well taken free kick along the touch line.
Uzbek score again 2-1, this is bananas
and another! Uzbeks 3-1
Uzbek 4-1, if Korea score in stoppage time, Uzbeks move ahead of Iran
That's it in Ulsan, Iran 1-0, Iran look through
Uzbeks score again 5-1
Quiroz doesn't shake the Korean coach's hand
Korea had about 4 good chances in the last 5 minutes
and another! Uzbeks 3-1
Uzbek 4-1, if Korea score in stoppage time, Uzbeks move ahead of Iran
That's it in Ulsan, Iran 1-0, Iran look through
Uzbeks score again 5-1
Quiroz doesn't shake the Korean coach's hand
Korea had about 4 good chances in the last 5 minutes
A very harsh (for Korea) 4 minutes of stoppage time. Now, 4-1 Uzbeks. Holy crap.
Hold. the. line.
Lee Keun-Ho just took 5 years off my life.
Over. 5-1 Uzbekistan now. No handshake from Queiroz. What a dick.
Uzbekistan game is over, South Korea and Iran are through, Uzbekistan to the playoffs. This is why Queiroz didn't shake Choi's hand but there's still no place for that.
Hold. the. line.
Lee Keun-Ho just took 5 years off my life.
Over. 5-1 Uzbekistan now. No handshake from Queiroz. What a dick.
Uzbekistan game is over, South Korea and Iran are through, Uzbekistan to the playoffs. This is why Queiroz didn't shake Choi's hand but there's still no place for that.
Spain's u21 squad just comfortably beat Italy to win the Euro U21. They simply outplayed their opponents in every match and the top 3 goal scorers of the tournament were all Spanish. Some commentators where suggesting that Brazil 2014 could be Spain's swan-song, but the future still seems very good indeed.
Highlights from the Iran/Korea match - Ahmadi's insane saves are at 1:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hDN7o0W9Bk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hDN7o0W9Bk
Maybe this isn't the right thread, zo feel free to move it Zomp.
In Case You Were Wondering, Spain is Definitely Not Over
In Case You Were Wondering, Spain is Definitely Not Over
England and Scotland will kick off a friendly in about an hour.
Unbelievably, this is their first game in the 21st century.
Unbelievably, this is their first game in the 21st century.
Ha! The Flower of Scotland 1-nil over the Three Lions early at Wembley. I never thought they'd get a sniff. Their fans must be going crazy.
What is it about putting on an England shirt that turns English keepers into Sunday leaguers? The shot was right at Hart, and he deflected it into the net.
Nice play by Walcott to equalize. I do love "You're not singing anymore" Fun game for the neutral.
Dani Alves with one of the more brutal/needless own goals I've ever seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t15EqZBfdO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t15EqZBfdO0
Scotland weren't half bad tonight. They clearly ran out of gas with about a half an hour left, understandable given their excitement. But Strachan is clearly able to wring much more out of these players than their previous bosses.
Bad news for Aston Villa and fantasy football players, its being reported that Benteke has broken a leg tonight playing for Belgium.
Edit: Seems this may not be as accurate as I thought, so ignore!
Edit: Seems this may not be as accurate as I thought, so ignore!
I saw Phil Neville outside the Portugal -Holland match. People were not falling over themselves for autographs or pictures.
Behold the insanity of CAF qualifying - the confederation recently ruled a bunch of players ineligible, retroactively changing the point totals for teams in over half the groups. So, tomorrow, the final matches of the second round have increased the stakes for a number of teams.
For Cape Verde, they were 5 points behind Tunisia (11-6), with one match to go, conveniently against Tunisia. But with the change in the E. Guinea match, Cape Verde now has 9 points, only two behind Tunisia. A win would put Cape Verde in the WC for the first time ever.
For Cape Verde, they were 5 points behind Tunisia (11-6), with one match to go, conveniently against Tunisia. But with the change in the E. Guinea match, Cape Verde now has 9 points, only two behind Tunisia. A win would put Cape Verde in the WC for the first time ever.
Hungary @ Romania, starting right now... has huge implications in that group.
Anything less than a win tonight from Mexico @ Honduras and Mexico's WC chances start to get very dicey...
Anything less than a win tonight from Mexico @ Honduras and Mexico's WC chances start to get very dicey...
ESPN3 is doing redzone type coverage of the games. Kinda just scrolling through the 2EST kickoffs now. Nothing spectacular, but it's nice to hop in and out of the different qualifiers.
BoredViewer said:
I'm surprisingly torn on this. On the one hand, I want Mexico to grab this opportunity by the horns and take the easier path to a berth in the World Cup. On the other, anything less than a win will most certainly lead to changes, possibly including De La Torre's ousting, which in the long run is best for the club (including, but not limited to, better management in the World Cup).
Ideally, they'll win but not resoundingly so, combining his firing with the three points. Which would be a win-win for Mexico fans. Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is that they'll limp to another punchless 0-0 draw, leading to his firing and the team having to scramble to salvage what is left of their World Cup chances.
Serbia vs Croatia tonight was always likely to be...competitive. Here's a clip of the second sending off in the game. Classic!!!
http://vine.co/v/hJjXZ5jFamm
http://vine.co/v/hJjXZ5jFamm