La Main de Henry

Soooo, where to begin with yesterday's "slight" controversy.

Before the video gets taken down, take a look (the replay shows it clearly):



Henry admitted the handball, claiming it was not intentional. His intent is certainly debatable, but I wouldn't question that because in the heat of the moment sometimes that kind of thing happens. It's not so much that the handball is intentional but more that you just aren't really thinking, it's all instinct and adrenaline, and only after your hand is touching the ball do you really realize what you're doing.

Certainly Ireland are aggrieved, rightfully so. However, I am going to straight off debunk a number of the Irish complaints.

The offsides. Of all the complaints, this is the most stupid, plain and simple. The players who were offside did not play the ball! Henry was in an onside position, that's all that matters! Then, when Henry played the ball, Gallas (who was offside when the kick was taken) was no longer offside because he was behind the defender on Henry. Simple, it's all on the video easy to see and it's in the rules, so I don't want to hear about offsides on the play anymore. Done.

France and Ireland should replay the match in Paris. Again, just stupid talk from justifiably bitter losers. If FIFA/UEFA were to set such a precedent it would be unheard of and would destroy the legitimacy of the sport as far as I'm concerned. Once you did it here, there'd be no differential between replaying this match and any given match across the world where some controversial call/no call, such as a clear dive leading to a penalty. It would be chaos... Now, speaking entirely hypothetically, what if the French were to say, we don't want to take the victory in this manner, we admit cheating and are willing to replay the match (or replay just the extra time)? I'd still be hesitant, though I might ultimately allow it. The reason even that is dangerous is again the precedence it sets. Now every time a controversial call leads to a result, the aggrieved team would be lobbying the team that benefited to do the same, and that to me isn't much more sporting than cheating in the first place. Part of what makes sports so great, and remember that sports are merely entertainment, is the controversy and talking points that are imbued throughout sports history.

It was Henry's handball that robbed Ireland of a place in the World Cup. I find this point technically wrong because Henry's handball merely robbed the Irish of a chance to continue extra time and try to win the playoff match in penalties. If the Irish were in fact advancing based on away goals or something, and then France's goal changed that result entirely, then yes, they had an actual World Cup place taken away from them. For large portions of the game, the Irish were taking it to France. France continued to show that something is amiss with this team. And Raymond Domenech continues to be an idiot (subbing Malouda for Gourcuff, and keeping Benzema on the bench??), yet the French were dominating extra time and looked like they might get a goal. Ireland had some great chances to put the game away during normal time and failed to do so, that's their own fault and it came back to hurt them. (I know I'm being harsh here, more on my true feelings on the Irish performance follow below.)

Henry is a cheat and this forever tarnishes his legacy. I think people are getting a little hysterical with the calls for Henry to fall in a ditch, etc. etc. He cheated, yes. Is he a cheat? No. There's a difference. Amado Guevara is a cheat. Henry cheated in this instance. Did the Hand of God forever taint Maradona? I say no. In fact, it's part of his mystique. (Maybe if you're English you feel differently.) Of course that goal may be softened somewhat by the fact that Maradona came back three minutes later and ripped through the entire team with probably the most famous goal in soccer history.

I think Henry has done too much, on and off the field. I think his admission of touching the ball, and the way he spoke with the Irish players on the field after the game, is key in somewhat easing this moment from being a huge black mark on his career to merely a negative mark. He even supposedly told the ref it hit his hand. The real question should be what the hell the referee and his assistant were watching/thinking?! Still, this doesn't completely taint Henry's career. It will become part of his and the sport's history, and it'll be talked about all summer when France play in the World Cup, and be reprised the next time qualification comes up for France and Ireland individually. Yet, Henry will still be Arsenal's and France's greatest goalscorer, and a World Cup, Euro Championship, and Champions League title winner, in addition to so many domestic honors.

I'll finish with two more analogies. To some people, Zidane's sending off in the World Cup final tarnished his legacy. I understand that a little because that was his final game and it could have been an unbelievable send off by winning his second World Cup, yet he let his famous temper get to him and he struck out so violently. But no one is using that to diminish Zidane's on the field accomplishments or his place among the all-time greats. As far as I'm concerned he's still the greatest player during my era (Ronaldo was close because of his excellent peak, though he definitely tarnished his legacy when he got fat and continues to play out a somewhat sad ending to his career).

Lastly, many of these complaints are coming from people who obviously have a bias for Ireland, or maybe against France. But if it was a reverse situation, anyone who claims that they would not only own up to it but have told the ref to disallow the goal or would ask for a replay are simply lying through their teeth or lying to themselves. You can say that all you want but you aren't in that situation, and I know you would be no difference than Henry or the French in the same situation. If the US was in the playoff against Uruguay and Clint Dempsey used his hand to divert the ball leading to the goal that sent the US through yesterday, I don't know a single US fan who wouldn't take the goal and qualification. We'd be just like the French. I'd say, yeah he used his hand, yeah it was wrong, yeah the ref should have called it, but such is life and such is sport, sometimes that happens. I wouldn't be proud and I'd know we backed into qualifying, but I would not call Dempsey a disgrace and give up our qualification. And you wouldn't either. So I don't want to hear it.

(And yes, I understand that if this happened to the US, I'd be absolutely heated and would forever hate the opposing player. I'm a biased fan, that's sports. So I'm not actually judging the Irish supporters. I feel for them, and having them in the World Cup would have been great. And let's face it, based on the merits of performance and heart, Ireland should have gone through with a performance in Paris that the UK press are rightfully calling heroic. Giovanni Trapattoni did a great job with that team.)

Counting Down to the Final Field of 32

Today is the big final day of qualifying as 12 teams are vying for the final 6 spots in the 32-team field for the 2010 World Cup.

Kicking off first is Algeria v. Egypt. Algeria is best known for producing great French footballers (see Zidane, Zinedine; Nasri, Samir; and Benzema, Karim), while Egypt are the two-time defending Africa Cup of Nations champions. Most of their team is based out of Egypt, with the notable exception being Mohamed Zidan of Borussia Dortmund. Algeria actually has a squad with players from a variety of European clubs, ranging from Lazio and Siena to AEK Athens to Portsmouth and Hull. Still, even after telling you that its not like you or I would recognize any of those names. Egypt has the momentum from beating Algeria just three days ago, and I'd like to see them rewarded for their generosity in providing the US with the boost it needed to showcase itself at the Confederations Cup.

Up next is Ukraine v. Greece. Greece rely on a disgusting brand of defensive tactics, playing very disciplined and hoping for a rare counter-attack goal. Ukraine will feel confident of winning at home after the 0-0 draw in Athens with one-time superstar Andriy Shevchenko leading the forward line, while thankfully his namesake Andriy Voronin can't even make the squad. I don't really care who wins this match, but I think most neutrals would rather not have Greece advance considering their negative approach to the game.

Kicking off at the same time this afternoon are Bosnia v. Portugal and Slovenia v. Russia. I've been touting this Bosnia team with all their hitmen (Džeko and Ibišević), but they have received a massive blow with the apparent loss of playmaker Zvjezdan Misimović, the man who makes the VfL Wolfsburg attack go. Even if the late reports of his injury absence are true, Bosnia can't really complain about the injury luck department because Portugal of course are playing without arguably the best player in the world (even though in terms of relative impact to the team, Misimović's injury hurts Bosnia more). Deco continues to lead the Portuguese, even though he's on the downside of his career. Youngsters like Nani and João Moutinho have yet to really make their mark, although Nani played well in the first leg. Still, Portugal has so many talented names across the pitch that they really should still qualify, but an early strike by Bosnia could set up a wonderfully entertaining and tense match.

I honestly can't really analyze Slovenia, not having seen them play ever and not knowing any of their players. Russia, on the other hand, have a host of quality players all over the pitch, and not just the attackers everyone knows (Arshavin) but also Igor Akinfeev in goal, who proved he is one of the world's top young keepers with his Champions League performance against Manchester United for CSKA Moscow. The X factor still has to be Guus Hiddink. I think few people would bet against the Russians with the Dutch master managing the sidelines. I'm not sure Slovenia will shut out Russia even though Slovenia had one of the best defensive records during qualifying (in a weak group where they finished second to Slovakia and above the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland, and San Marino), and grabbing an away goal would make Slovenia's job that much tougher.

The final UEFA qualifying match pits France at home against Ireland. The Irish were incensed after their first leg 1-0 loss and have sounded confident that they can overturn their deficit. There's no need to rehash how France have all the talent in the world but have yet to put it all together. France also have something of a history of crashing out in big moments like these, and I wouldn't doubt that the Irish squads's heart and work rate will seriously test France's nerve. An Ireland victory overturning a deficit at the Stade de France, site of France's greatest triumph, would be quite famous indeed. Will it happen? I'm not as confident as the Irish seem to be. It could be the type of game where France look dominant in possession at times, but something like tied scoreline late could lead to the Irish dominating the ball while desperately searching for a late goal and France just hanging on and nipping an insurance tally that sends them through. In any case, you surely won't have a hard time finding plenty of analysis to sate your appetite prior to this match since the UK-centric soccer press in the US has largely been focusing on this match above all the others.

Lastly, tonight's final Wold Cup Qualifier pits Uruguay against Costa Rica in Montevideo, Uruguay. Having won the first leg, I really see no way that Uruguay doesn't finish off this playoff and beat the Ticos. The Costa Rica loss (OK, it was a tie, but it felt like a crushing loss to them) against the US really was the end of their World Cup hopes. They knew it. You knew it. Costa Rica is not a good road team, and while I think that the US-Mexico-Honduras trio from CONCACAF are talented and could give a South American team a tough go in a playoff, any other team from CONCACAF would have a lot of problems, and we already saw that in San Jose on Saturday.

With that said, I hope you have a TV or internet feed so you can sit back and enjoy the drama.

What We Learned This Weekend

We learned little this weekend, most judgments pending further outcomes.

We learned the US has some defensive depth because Jonathan Spector is versatile and can play center back in a pinch. And I hope we can get a chance to see what we have in Edgar Castillo on Wednesday against Denmark (especially seeing as Bornstein was poor against Slovakia). Building defensive depth is never a bad thing (though Clarence Goodson does not count as defensive depth).

We learned were reminded that the US has no attacking depth. In addition to an uninspired Jozy Altidore, Bob Bradley called upon Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson, and Jeff Cunningham to lead the attack. That's otherwise known as the striker pu pu platter. Granted with unavailable players limiting his choices, Bob Bradley didn't have much to work with. MLS playoffs kept Robbie Findley and Brian Ching from getting looks. And more importantly, Landon Donovan and Stuart Holden were absent, meaning that probably the US's next best option at forward, Clint Dempsey, remained in midfield rather than moving up top.

Also, can we just pray that Donovan doesn't get injured, because let's face it there is little creativity and menace to the US attack without him and if Jozy isn't having an A game. Holden can add that element, but again he wasn't there, though he will be against Denmark. Robbie Rogers hasn't hurt himself with his displays, but I don't think he's a starter and he's definitely not someone who should be expected to be the fulcrum of the US attack. And unfortunately Torres won't be playing Wed either. Feilhaber and Bradley controlled the midfield well, though some of that was due to the extreme defensive look Slovakia was playing, but they never really carved out a truly threatening final pass.

We learned that Brad Guzan looks like he will continue to provide excellent back up in the net despite still playing behind Brad Friedel at Aston Villa. His Cup heroics for the Villains are not flukes.

We learned that FIFA knows how to give out toothless punishment. Two month ban for Maradona for his explitive-laden rant means his can't be present at the World Cup draw and he misses one friendly match. Tough.

We learned that Uruguay will be joining said World Cup draw. Sure they still have the second leg to play, but Costa Rica has been in a free fall during qualifying and there's no way they will overturn a 1-0 home leg defeat in Montevideo on Wed. The World Cup is better off for having La Celeste rather than the Ticos.

Nothing was settled in UEFA qualifying, though we did learn another reason to hate the French, what with Lassana Diarra causing some sort of ruckus and being "unclassy" with the Irish. The World Cup would be better off having the Irish fans and their team's spirit there, but in pure talent, the country that gave us Michele Platini and Zinedine Zidane are the better bet. They outclassed Ireland in Dublin, and players like my man Joann Gourcuff, Thierry Henry, and Patrice Evra do qualify as classy footballers in my book. The 1-0 away win is a great result, and while the Irish won't go down without a fight, they have long odds at this point.

Russia also has some classy players, with Andrei Arshavin (in my book the main reason why Arsenal are looking like a real threat this season) leading the way. Having Guus Hiddink in charge pretty much guarantees some nice attacking football and probably a good World Cup showing if they make it there, but they need to be wary after Slovenia grabbed an away goal. Still, I couldn't name you a single player from Slovenia. Elsewhere, Ukraine and Greece played to a 0-0 draw, fitting for a match that is drawing the least amount of attention of all the playoffs. And Portugal will continue to make things difficult for themselves. While a clean sheet victory at home is usually a great way to start off a tie, the slender advantage means there will be stressful times in the second leg in Bosnia. I'd love to see one of Bosnia's superb strikers get a goal to really open up that match. All neutrals may want Portugal to win so Ronaldo can play in the World Cup, and even though I'm inclined to want the same, deep down don't we know that Portugal is just going to disappoint in the World Cup anyway?

Finally, we also learned our 2009 MLS Cup participants! Landon Donovan and David Beckham can get you a long way in MLS, so the LA Galaxy have to be favorites for MLS Cup. For the second straight year an unexpected team got hot at the right time to make it to the playoff championship, this year being RSL. Salt Lake has players to like (Findley, Yura Movsisyan, Kyle Beckerman, Clint Mathis) and Nick Rimando had flashbacks to his 2004 Eastern Conference Final penalty kick heroics (one of the great matches I've ever attended). I think it'll be a good Cup final, and the Seattle crowd should be a good one, hopefully giving the MLS season a nice send off.

An Emotional Release

Sometimes a rare or unusual confluence of things make what should be an ordinary event become something greater. Well, last night at RFK Stadium was surely one such event. From events happening before the game to the progression of events during the game, it all lead to a rather gratifying and joyous last-second 2-2 draw.

The USA already qualified for the World Cup, so technically this game was meaningless. The players wanted to win to finish first in the hexagonal and possibly get a seed for the World Cup draw. But let's face it, that seed is not happening, just forget it, so the match was meaningless from the standpoint of being absolutely necessary.

Yet Tuesday morning's accident that left Charlie Davies seriously injured and another person dead altered everything.

The US has never really gotten a hold of what type of team it is in terms of formation and attacking style, and you can tell it has somewhat bothered the team in the past, and certainly bothered fans for a long time. Sometimes it's two deep defensive midfielders, maybe one defensive midfielder and an attacking mid, sometimes attacking through the wings, sometimes trying to force it through the middle, you never really know. But with a shortage of World Class talent to build around an attacking style that can dictate a set style or pace no matter the opponent, the US team has formed one hard and true identity- the classic never-say-die attitude, always fighting and lots of heart. They showed resilience in the Confederations Cup, and time and again during World Cup qualifying when fighting back from deficits, such as the improbable comeback against a Honduran side previously unbeaten at home.

Well, fighting on behalf of a fallen comrade was certainly another motivator to just fight for everything until the last whistle, to do whatever it takes to get a result and honor their friend and teammate.

Costa Rica, on the other hand, was still playing for it's World Cup life. And they brought their game in the first half. They withstood early US pressure, including a laughable, inexplicable misfire by Saturday's USA hero Connor Casey (at 9 minutes nonetheless, when we were honoring ChuckDeez! RFK might have literally combusted had Casey scored). Then came Bryan Ruiz tooling Oguchi, who looked increasingly off key since his summer move to the AC Milan bench. Then came Michael Bradley failing to track Ruiz before he unleashed an unstoppable shot that must have sent an entire country into delirium.

But a not-so-predictable thing happened. Costa Rica backed off, trying to defend the lead with 10 men, the US took complete control, and despite blowing way too many chances, showed heart to rescue a point, an undefeated home campaign, and first place bragging rights in CONCACAF.

Of course, it never should have come down to the last second. Connor Casey blew that early chance, showed a lack of killer striker instinct by deferring to Landon Donovan on a clear chance later, and then pretty much didn't do anything aside from two or three decent flicks/lay-offs. The man is something of a hero after his Honduras performance, yet he gets no slack from USA fans, and his performance didn't help.

His strike partner was also wasteful, though no one can doubt Jozy Altidore's otherwise immense performance. He was all over the place, winning tackles, setting up teammates, and probably should have scored twice (though his first half chance saved by Navas was good agressive goalkeeping). He clearly wanted to play well for his good friend and his comments after the game about always leaving everything on the field because you never know when it's your last are heartening for US fans and scary for opposing defenses.

Landon Donovan may be even more guilty of profligacy than Casey, and he may have even been a little tired for once. He usually can be counted to attack defenders and push the ball forward when a game gets stretched end to end late in the second half, but he tended to hold back somewhat, though that did help retain possession.

The keys were the introduction of Jose Francisco Torres and Robbie Rogers. Benny Feilhaber was ineffective because he was coming far too deep to receive the ball from his defenders, while Bradley was playing above him. Something seems backwards about that scenario. Torres on the other hand played the part perfectly, and his distribution was great, throwing in a key tackle as well. Rogers also came in and missed some chances, though they are more excusable since you wouldn't expect him to finish with his right foot or head anyway. Still, both Torres and Rogers may merit more playing time after last night.

Still, after all these performances, the US was down late, and the air in the stadium was entirely sucked out after Oguchi went down with a serious injury. By the way, I'm going to send a big F You to AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani, who wants compensation from the USSF for Gooch's injury.

Additionally, the Costa Ricans were continuing with absolutely ridiculous time wasting. It began in the first half! At one point an "injured" player was getting up and the Costa Rican medical staffer dumped the entire contents of his cooler on the field. Seriously?! For this egregious poor sportsmanship, the karma gods struck them with what I can only imagine is a horrible, gut-punching twist of fate.

While part of me is upset that we couldn't sell out the final home qualifier and only 26,000 people were in attendance (though that was 75-80% USA fans, filling the entire lower bowl with US fans), at the game the crowd was simply amazing, a great atmosphere around the entire stadium, not just the usual loud side of RFK. And you can't discount the effect and atmosphere of those classic RFK stands bouncing up and down like its glory days. As the game was dying and it seemed like we couldn't get the point, and the disappointment of DC United's season at RFK was bleeding over to the USMNT, well the fans decided the heck with it and jumped and cheered for one last attack, trying to will a goal. And when Jonathan Bornstein came unmarked and buried his header, well we might have celebrated harder than when the US clinched qualification on Saturday. It was an affirmation of the US's heart, getting a point for Davies, bragging rights over Mexico in the CONCACAF standings, and sticking it to the Costa Ricans for their antics all at once (while also benefiting the Hondurans, who I must say the US felt good helping after their country was so respectful of the USA on Saturday, a rarity in Central America). All those emotions were released at once, a necessary outpouring from both the team and its fans.

There's probably more to add (what does Gooch's injury mean for the team, Bornstein's continued good play, the marked improvement of Central American goalkeepers recently - Navas was very good last night, the ongoing central midfield question, who steps in up top next to Altidore, etc.), and I'm sure we'll go over that at some point. But to finish things off, here's the video of the final seconds, with the US crowd, the corner kick and goal, US celebrations, and Costa Rican heartbreak:



(For a sound clip of how important this was to Honduras, listen to the Honduran radio call from El Salvador when the US scores)

USA Qualify; Argentina Survive (For Now)

ARF gave his thoughts on the USA game, and I don't have much to add. But it's difficult to understate how important it was for this side to get a road win against a quality opponent. And for all the hand-wringing the American side has put themselves (and its fans) through, the US would actually top CONCACAF with a home win against Costa Rica on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how Bradley approaches that game, which means little to the Americans but everything to Los Ticos who would qualify for their third straight World Cup with a win.

Costa Rica took care of business against Trinidad and Tobago, and now sit third in the table and two points ahead of Honduras. A Honduras loss or draw in El Salvador would send Costa Rica to South Africa and Honduras to the playoff with COMNEBOL. A Honduras victory would force Costa Rica to win in Washington D.C., because Honduras would go through on goal difference if Los Ticos only managed a draw. Honduras must quickly recover their composure after their home defeat; three points is a must on Wednesday to apply pressure. Elsewhere, Mexico won and qualified for the World Cup as well, though the first had to clear the pitch of bees.

The weekend's fixtures clarified the picture in South America considerably. Chile won in Colombia to punch their ticket and eliminate the Colombians. Venezuela fell to Paraguay and were also eliminated in every way except mathematically. Uruguay overturned a 1-0 deficit in the second half and stunned the Ecuadorian crowd in Quito with a 2-1 victory when Diego Forlán converted a penalty in extra time. Uruguay now sit in fifth in the playoff spot, with Ecuador one point behind. Both are still within striking distance of the fourth place side, Argentina.

The Argentines remain the big story as they slop through their qualifying rounds and risk staying home entirely. Maradona remains the manager despite his obvious ineptitude, though perhaps he would not remain so after the qualifying stage. Playing at home against last place Peru is the closest one can get to an automatic three points in CONMEBOL, but a stunning turn of events nearly saw Argentina give the game away in the final moments. Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín scored at the beginning of the second half in his Argentine debut, but also missed two other good chances that would have put the game away. Peru were the inferior side but were not lifeless, at one point hitting the crossbar from distance. At some point in the second half the rain starting coming so hard it was virtually unplayable, and Peru took advantage of the sloppy conditions and found a stunning equalizer in the 90th minute. But the agony turned to ecstasy for Argentina when substitute Martin Palermo, who hadn't played for the national team in ten years, tapped in for a dramatic victory. Because the goalkeeper was well off the line, it looked as though Palermo was actually offside, with only one defender between himself and the goal. Regardless, it was a massive relief for Maradona, who belly flopped and slid on the soaking turf as though he'd scored the goal himself. Maradona has since called the goal a miracle, and it's hard to disagree, from an Argentine perspective. Along with the inevitable speculation about Maradona getting fired, the other unanswered question for the struggling Argentines: where's Messi?

Argentina are hardly out of trouble going to the last matchday, as they must travel to Uruguay with the World Cup on the line. Argentina only need a draw to be bound for South Africa, but that's asking a lot against a Uruguay side that would qualify with a win. An Argentina loss would send them at best into the playoff. An Argentina loss coupled with an Ecuador win in Chile would send Ecuador into the playoff and stunningly keep Argentina and Messi home during the next World Cup.

In Africa, the Ivory Coast was the second African side to qualify by drawing against Malawi 1-1, with Drogba scoring the equalizer. Cameroon defeated Togo, and would qualify with a win in Morocco. If they fail to win Gabon could capitalize and qualify. Nigeria found a late goal against Mozambique to keep their hopes alive, but still need another victory and a slip-up from group leaders Tunisia in the last matchday. And Algeria and Egypt both won, setting up their dramatic matchup in the qualifying finale. Egypt must win by two goals to advance. The last round of African qualifying is on November 14.

Bahrain and New Zealand played the first leg of their playoff, which concluded 0-0. I'm sure it was scintillating.

Good news for those who want to see Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup, as Portugal's victory over Hungary along with Denmark's victory over Sweden (which sent the Danes to South Africa) moved the Portugese into second place. A victory over woeful Malta would send Portugal into the playoff round. Bad news for CR himself, as he re-injured himself in the match and will miss three to four weeks. In other European action, Greece found a vital victory against Latvia, and would qualify for the playoffs with a win over Luxembourg. They could even still win the group if Israel were to defeat Switzerland. Slovenia's road victory over Slovakia puts them in a similar position as Greece; Slovenia need only defeat San Marino to at least qualify for the playoffs. Thus far San Marino have zero points, have scored one goal and allowed fourty-four. I'm guessing Slovenia gets it done. Slovakia must win in Poland or Slovenia will qualify and the Slovaks will be relegated to the playoffs. And Ukraine's victory over England has moved them above Croatia into second place. Ukraine only need to defeat Andorra to finish second, and they will. Croatia will not be going to South Africa.

Several groups have locked in both first and second place after this weekend. Germany's victory over Russia locked up the group for the Germans and second place for the Russians. Likewise, the 2-2 draw between Italy and Ireland sent the Italians through and the Irish into the playoff round. Serbia and France both won in order to finish 1-2 in that order. And Bosnia and Herzegovina won to finish second, and will attempt to qualify for their first World Cup via the playoffs. Of the European matches on Wednesday, only the Switzerland and Slovakia matches hold much interest for qualification, unless a truly shocking upset were to happen.

Speaking of the European playoffs, FIFA announced the rules for determining the matchups last week, deciding on two pools of teams based on FIFA World Rankings. Is FIFA playing favorites? This piece examines.

When the Yanks Come Marching In

Well that was exhilarating.

The USA clinched World Cup qualification with a rather stunning 3-2 victory over Honduras in San Pedro Sula last night. Due to the TV rights debacle, rather than watching the game at home, I watched the game at a bar in DC packed to the hilt with scream USA fans. That was $15 well spent.

So all discussion about the game begins and ends with Connor Casey. When the starting lineups were flashed and Jozy Altidore was not listed, there was considerable angst among the crowd. At one point early in the match, Casey was shown on camera and was actually booed by the crowd watching the game. Well, he certainly had something to say about that, didn't he?

He started off slowly, but his hold up play improved drastically as the first half wore on, and then he hit for the two goals. He gets all the credit for going in and challenging the 50-50 ball with keeper and not just slamming into him for a foul. And while Donovan's pass was amazing and had the bar on it's feet in anticipation of the go ahead goal, Casey did well with his first touch and coolly slotted home. He drew the foul on the third goal as well, completing a drastic turnaround from previous performances with the USA, receiving a vociferous standing ovation from the crowd at Fado in Chinatown.

I agreed with the analysis in previewing this game that it certainly had the potential for going back and forth attacking, but not necessarily goals. Well I guess the natural consequence of the attacking mindset of both teams was in fact goals, and it made for a great viewing experience.

The second half in particular was just great to watch. It was probably the best half the US has played in quite some time in qualifying, certainly the best since the first half against Brazil and the game against Spain in the Confederations Cup. The most encouraging sign to me was that after the first goal, the US sensed it could grab control, and they followed through in seeking and getting the second. Even more impressive, the US sensed a chance to kill the game right then, and while I couldn't hear the audio at that point, I'm sure the Honduran crowd felt the same. And when Casey drew that foul in perfect free kick territory, we all sensed this was the moment that would clinch qualification, and Donovan capped just an amazing string of performances for the USA this year with the ultimate game winner. By this point, I had long lost my voice, but I sure as hell was still screaming hoarse.

Of course, a CONCACAF match wouldn't be a CONCACAF match without the referee conspiring to let the home team back in the game. He continuously missed easy fouls against Honduras but made weak calls against the US. The second goal was initiated with a pass in the box that was so offside that I really don't know how the linesman could ever be retained for another WCQ after missing it. Then the ref ignored a blatant foul by Honduras outside of their box and subsequently gave Honduras a phantom foul call in the US half at the other end. That free kick resulted in the US hand ball and it seemed the like the ref blowing the game was going to be complete. The Football Gods however made sure that karma was restored, and Wilson Palacios choked from the spot, hitting a pretty nice field goal. The US killed the game nicely with neat possession, even getting a chance or two to salt the game away, though in the end it was enough to book their tickets for next summer.

A final note on watching the game. We couldn't hear the audio with the crowd so loud in the bar, and as the clock hit 90 minutes, we must have missed the sign for time to be added on and we couldn't hear what extra time was given. So when Stuart Holden was subbed, the fourth official raised the number 7, but without showing the substitute number (which turned out to be Steve Cherundolo), so the crowd initially thought this meant 7 extra minutes. Well, let's just say that if the ref had given that, we may have rioted right there in downtown DC, and somewhere Mark Hughes would be feeling our pain. But the US held on and showed great heart to pull out the victory, making sure that when I see them Wednesday, I'll be able to relax and give the boys a nice send-off to South Africa.

A few other things to add on player performances:

-Stuart Holden made a fantastic cross for Charlie Davies's chance in the first half, but was largely ineffective. I love his energy off the bench, but he didn't exactly earn a starting spot last night. He improved in the second half, but was still a little disappointing.

-Michael Bradley started off slowly in the first half, but was very good in the second half, covering a lot of ground. His long range shooting is probably overrated, and he took a number of attempts in the second half that weren't very close, though his accuracy was improving with each attempt, ending with one that was dangerous. His midfield partner Rico Clark was also not at his best early on, but improved as did the entire team in the second half, allowing Donovan in particular to start taking control as he sought to link with Casey. Yet, there still remains questions about who to pair with Bradley in the central midfield in my mind.

-Charlie Davies, how do you miss that chance?! His first header was great, drawing a fantastic save from the Honduras keeper, but you absolutely must finish the rebound. No excuses. He still fought and chased well, but his end result was lacking, and despite promising play from him in France, his play with the National Team has slightly dropped off from the summer. Wonder if he misses playing with his buddy and usual starter Jozy.

-Also missing a fantastic chance was Benny Feilhaber after he dribbled through the Honduras defense and was in one on one with the keeper. He went for the far post curl, typically the correct shot, but he missed badly. My brother thought it was a great opportunity to fake the shot and drag the ball past the keeper near post. He came on a little late for my liking, and I'd like to see him start on Wednesday.

-Spector was solid in the second half, and Jonathan Bornstein held up well opposite him on the back line for a second straight match. Maybe he'll have something to say about that left back position after all. He'll still be a liability against world class opponents, but he's forcing Bradley's hand.

-Gooch made some great interventions throughout the game, but also threw in some shaky moments, in particular his give away setting up his foul, which led to the first Honduran goal. His lack of playing time at AC Milan could be problematic if it continues through the Spring.

-I'm not sure how many coaches vacillate between getting things horribly wrong to getting things amazingly right out of left field any more than Bob Bradley. The Connor Casey pick over Altidore seemed destined to lead to further derision from US fans, but his faith was rewarded. Altidore has so much potential, but his loan move to Hull is increasingly turning out poorly, with his playing time being limited and of course Hull just sucking in general. Now comes the typical time where Bradley can experiment with his selections. Wednesday's match may be meaningless to the US, but Costa Rica still hasn't qualified and they will come looking for a victory, so it will be a good chance for Bradley to get some players a good run in against a desperate opponent without worrying about absolutely needing three points.

It was a great night of football that left me both amped and drained all at once, and I can't wait for the next stage to come for this US team.

USA Hitting the Stretch Run

Massive five days coming up for the US Men's National Team. San Pedro Sula. Honduras unbeaten at home. Costa Rica. No second chances.

Before going into my own thoughts. There's obviously an abundance out there to read up on to prep for the game. Stating the obvious, Jeff Carlisle says the US is wary of los Catrachos' home form, having gone 8-0 during this qualifying cycle. He says watch out for the Honduras midfield (Wilson Palacios is dangerous), the absence of Dempsey (no matter his form, he's scored big goals for the US), and the glut of players with yellow cards who could miss a potentially all or nothing final game.

This second ESPN observer mentions other obvious things, like the Honduras home crowd advantage, lack of playing time for US players in Europe (I guess he doesn't count Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, and Carlos Bocanegra... great reporting buddy) and the general unappealing style Bob Bradley prefers. This guy just repeats that the Honduras midfield is dangerous and that the constant switching of the US starting lineup is unsettling.

In an actual piece of analysis, someone named Leander Schaerlaeckens writes that the US has a big problem - a lack of a world class defensive midfielder. Interesting because most people consider this the deepest position in the US player pool. It may be disingenuous to speak of the US lacking a world class player at any position, because let's face it, other than Tim Howard the only players who could argue for world class status are Landon Donovan and hopefully Jozy Altidore in the future. But his point is still valid. All the great teams have those rocks that cover the back four and sit behind the attacking players. In recent years that has been personified by payers such as Makelele, Gattusso, Marcos Senna, Javier Mascherano, and Felipe Melo. Going back further, all the great teams had the hard man in the middle - France in 98 had plenty of those players (Deschamps, Vieira, Petit), Brazil has had them (Gilberto Silva, Dunga), and even those total football Dutch teams from the 70s needed their hard men to cover for Cryuff and co. For the US, Bradley doesn't count as a pure defensive mid, because he likes to roam forward and is given the license to do so. Clark is serviceable, but still needs fine tuning in holding his position and eliminating certain reckless fouls and tackles from his game. Jermaine Jones is the obvious candidate, but he recently suffered another injury set back which means he probably won't play again until 2010. Maurice Edu has potential, more so than Clark and Bradley, but he's also been injured for so long now, he has a lot of question marks. Let's hope he can return to action and get on the field for Rangers during the second half of the SPL.

It's curious to question US defensive midfield talent, because even though the US seemingly has more central midfielders than any other position (considering that Feilhaber, Jose Francisco Torres, and even Landon Donovan and Stuart Holden can all play center mid, not to mention the players Bradley has given caps to who won't be in South Africa), but in reality the reason it's often so hard to choose between the players is because there's so little difference between them and no one player stands out. Feilhaber has the best vision and passing, Torres the most calm and experience in big time club matches, Bradley the most two-way ability, Clark the most bite, and Donovan the best overall, but there's really no pair from those players that you would consider scary for opposing teams, even in CONCACAF.

Another unique take on the game is Grant Wahl, who thinks this could be a back-and-forth shootout type of game since a tie doesn't really help either team and both need victories to prevent big worries ahead of Wednesday's final games. I agree that we could see some open play, with the midfields getting stretched and some dangerous counterattacking, but I don't think that necessarily means lots of goals. Lots of heart attacks maybe.

The question everyone keeps wanting to talk about it the Holden v. Feilhaber debate for the starting lineup. While I usually advocate for Feilhaber to start no matter what, if he's put on the wing, I'm not sure I like it as much. So my view is that Holden should start, giving more energy and defensive presence up and down the wing. Feilhaber will remain the first man off the bench to bring in extra presence and that final bit of quality in the midfield as the game enters the final third.

The other issue that needs addressing is the constant reporting of the large number of players who carry yellow cards and could miss the final match against Costa Rica, and how that could affect team selection or how people play. Put simply, that's just stupid to even consider. The US needs to go out and try to qualify tonight. As confident as I am that the US can get it done at home against any CONCACAF team, you never want your automatic qualification going down to a single match, where anything can happen or go wrong. Also, I hate to break it to people, as much as I love RFK and think it can bring a good US crowd, if Costa Rica needs something from that last game, every Costa Rican in the United States with the means and wherewithal will most certainly converge on the venerable stadium, home to many great US performances, but also home to a few instances of "home away from home" for Central American or Caribbean teams. It's the nature of the country, and the Nation's Capital in particular, so I think all focus should be on making that game nothing more than a fond send-off. I'll be there screaming my ass off, but I don't want to have to sweat out that game.

Finally, we couldn't go over today's game without the on-the-ground view. My favorite US soccer reporter, from the Washington Post, reports on the scene in Honduras, where the country is in the midst of some political turmoil in the capital, but in San Pedro Sula things have been calm and all Hondurans are united in hopes of a big victory and a huge step toward South Africa. Good to know the US players don't need constant armed guards to protect them from protesters. Maybe there's something to this Obama Nobel Prize and the international community loving the US again...well, maybe not for one night.

One final thing - check out the US Soccer scenario generator to see what the CONCACAF table will look like after you plug in possible results from every match, including how goal differential would play out.

Weekend Primer

It's the international break this weekend, and there are a number of key matches that will define the World Cup race. At this moment, South Africa (host), Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Ghana, Brazil and Paraguay are in. Twenty-one spots are yet to be claimed.

Here in CONCACAF, the big match of the weekend is obviously the Honduras-USA match. Mexico hosts El Salvador and Costa Rica hosts Trinidad and Tobago; both home sides will be expected to win. Mexico qualifies with a victory. Costa Rica needs a victory to set up their final match with the US, and could actually be relegated to the playoff with CONMEBOL with a surprise loss. The United States qualify with a win and have a great chance to finish atop the group. A loss would leave it all to be decided on the final matchday, barring a shock result in San Jose. Honduras would qualify with a home win as long as Costa Rica doesn't score at least eleven goals (unlikely). With a Honduras win, the US-Costa Rica match on October 14 would then decide the final qualifying spot, with the US needing only a draw to progress. Whoever does not progress would fall into the playoff.

In CONMEBOL, Argentina face the definition of a must-win match at home against Peru, who sit at the bottom of the table. Argentina currently sit in the playoff position. Maradona says he's not going anywhere. Bad for Argentina, entertaining for the rest of us. Chile look fairly comfortable to qualify, but could finish it off with a win at Colombia. Colombia sits in eighth but only two points back of Argentina, and badly need a win. Ecuador face Uruguay in a matchup of teams "on the bubble", so to speak. Both teams badly need a win, though a draw wouldn't be the disaster for Ecuador that it would be for Uruguay. Finally, Venezuela face already qualified Paraguay in a must win match. Everything still to play for in South America, where the cluster at the middle of the table makes predicting the final qualifying teams nearly impossible.

Action has wrapped up in Asia, with four teams qualified. Now the fifth team, Bahrain, will face Oceania winner New Zealand in a home-and-home playoff for qualification. The first leg is Saturday; the second leg is November 14.

Plenty of important matches in Africa this weekend, which offers little room for error by having four-team groups and only the group winner advancing. Thus far only Ghana have qualified. The group-leading Cameroon side of Samuel Eto'o currently lead Group A and host Togo and Emmanuel Adebayor. Both teams are still alive, along with Gabon, who host Morocco. In Group B, Tunisia lead the group and control their destiny, having twice already played (and drawn) favored Nigeria. Tunisia host Mozambique, while Nigeria look to keep pace against Kenya. In Group C, it's Algeria who have taken control, three points clear over the Egyptian side that impressed at the Confederations Cup (until the USA game anyway). Algeria hosts Rwanda, while Egypt must travel to Zambia. Algeria are the clearcut favorites at this point, especially with having the goal difference advantage as well. In Group E, the Ivory Coast are perfect through four matches, and need only one more point to punch their ticket. They should do so in Malawi. With Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Eboué, Didier Zokora, Yaya Touré, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou on the roster, among others, anyone want to draw this team in South Africa? Didn't think so.

Finally a look toward Europe, where this week will wrap up all the group qualification matches, with only the playoffs for second place teams to come. All eyes will be on Group 1 with Denmark-Sweden and Portugal-Hungary, determining if Cristiano Ronaldo will be part of the World Cup. Ronaldo is healthy and will play. Apart from desperately needing a win, Portugal will be rooting for Denmark to win, which would vault Portugal into second place and the playoff position. All still to play for in Group 2, with the Swiss topping the group with seventeen points, Greece and Latvia tied with fourteen points, and Israel lurking with twelve points. Greece hosts Latvia in an obviously crucial match, while the Swiss could qualify with a win at Luxembourg, and Israel needs three points at home again Moldova to keep any hope alive. Chaos reigns in Group 3, where Slovakia leads the group but five teams still have a chance to finish second. Slovakia, with nineteen points, hosts Slovenia, who sit on fourteen. A draw qualifies the Slovaks directly. The Czech Republic, on twelve points, host Poland, one point behind the Czechs. Northern Ireland has played an additional match and is idle, but sits on fourteen points. The race for second will be much clearer after the weekend.

The rest of Europe is less complicated. Only one match of interest in Group 4, where Germany travels to Russia. The two sides are well in front of the group, and the Russians sit one point back. A draw would do for Germany, while the Russians must play to win or end up in a playoff. Spain have won Group 5, and Bosnia Herzegovina could finish second with a win in Estonia. Otherwise they could open the door for Turkey, who travel to Belgium. England have likewise clinched Group 6, but still play in a vital match when they travel to Ukraine. Ukraine sit two points behind Croatia for second place with a game in hand. Serbia look comfortable in Group 7, four points above France. A home victory over Romania would place them in South Africa. The French would wrap up second place with a home victory over the mighty Faroe Islands. Italy look to win Group 8, and would clinch with a victory in Ireland, who sit in second. An Irish loss would leave Bulgaria at least momentarily in the hunt, assuming they defeat Cyprus.

That should be enough football tomorrow to keep you satisifed. Enjoy the games!