Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa

I had trouble posting that from my iPhone (for some reason, 3G wasn't working too well at The Emirates), so I posted that last entry just now.

What a match. Arsenal played rather skittish in the first half -- spotty defense that looked like they were asleep, an inabilty to finish on good opportunities, passing the ball to people in the wrong colour jersey -- but once Cesc Fábregas entered the game shortly after the second half started, the Gunners gelled and they started to play some football.

Luckily, they did it all on my end. I was about 12 rows up from the goal that saw all three scores for Arsenal. Here's a little video I took in early game action:



I didn't take any other video, but I did get a few pictures, which I'll try to post.

Anyway, the Gunners won, 3-0, and we were all happy. Fábregas netted two of those three, but not without tweaking his hamstring.

Halftime at The Emirates

I tried this before and I don't think it worked. Maybe it'll be a double post.

Anyway, I'm at The Emirates watching Arsenal take on Aston Villa. Scoreless at the half. I should get the action on my end in second half.

Arsenal are controlling the game but can't seem to finish. They're a bit sloppy today.







-- Posted From My iPhone

A FGOC update

Arsenal Emirates Stadium
Originally uploaded by jam-sandwich

I know it’s been way too long since your Four Guys have blogged. I know. And there’s so much to break down — Australia’s matchups (which we’ll see), the U.S. games (especially the one against England) and all sort of other stuff, including venue information and the like.

We’ll get there. Right now, we’re all trying to figure out travel and accommodations. That’s the bitchy part. This weekend I plan to go on a long binge of research and potential bookings.

What I can say is that a week from Sunday I will be sitting at The Emirates in London, watching Arsenal go head to head with Aston Villa. This is shaping up to be a Reef of Death situation, since, as of today, the Gunners and the Lions are tied (effectively) with 32 points each in the Premier League table. Arsenal plays 16th-place Hull City and Villa plays 11th-place Stoke City tomorrow before taking a week off in the run up to the big game.

So giddy up. I will try to blog live from The Emirates as much as I can, but I’m there to watch some football and I’ll probably be pissed, so don’t count on me for your news.

Your World Cup Groups

Well, here they are:

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France’s hand

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
Korea, Good
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
The DutchNetherHolland
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Korea, Bad
Côte d’Ivoire
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

So it looks like your Four Guys are going to:

Durban on 13 June to see Germany.
Rustenburg on 19 June to see Ghana
Nelspruit on 23 June to see Serbia.

And we’re sure as hell going to try to hit the England/USA match on Saturday, 12 June in Rustenburg. Although that will be one hot ticket.

Australia and USA

So far, the Aussies have been put in Group D with Germany. The Yanks are in Group C with England....

Draw day

One hour to the FIFA draw (I was mistaken earlier; I thought it was at noon Eastern U.S. time - silly me. The broadcast starts at noon; naturally, we have 45 minutes of wank time for the teevee commentators to bloviate, the obligatory South Africa tourism puff pieces, the doubly obligatory Nelson Mandela interviews ... -Ed.). Here are the “pots” from which groupings will be drawn:

Pot 1 (which consists of the host nation and the top seven teams)
Argentina
Brazil
England
Germany
Italy
The DutchNetherHolland
Spain
South Africa

Pot 2 (Asia, CONCACAF and Oceania)
Australia
Honduras
Japan
Korea, Bad
Korea, Good
Mexico
New Zealand
MUTHAFUCKIN U.S.A.!

Pot 3 (Africa and South America)
Algeria
Camerooooooooon
Chile
Côte d’Ivoire
Ghana
Nigeria
Paraguay
Uruguay

Pot 4 (Europe)
Denmark, Something’s Rotten In
France’s hands
Greece
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Switzerland, even the bigots

These pots were based solely on the October 2009 FIFA World Rankings. (N.B. USA is at #11, seven spots ahead of Mexico. So you’d think we’d get a better seed with that and the fact that we won our group; alas, we will be screwed by FIFA again.)

Fun facts about the draw: Brazil and Argentina may not be drawn with any remaining South African nations (Pot 3), and South Africa may not be drawn with any other African nation (Pot 3).

Here’s the fine print on the draw procedure, if you want a crash course in the next 65 minutes.

Y'all ready for this?

T minus three hours, 50 minutes until the FIFA 2010 World Cup Final Draw.

Drew will be up at an ungodly hour in Australia to watch. I'll be in my office at work, on a slight deadline but still paying attention ... because, well, it's football, gall-durnit. And because of the children. We must always think of the children.

Let's Make It Interesting

For those following FGOC leading up to the World Cup in June/July, I've set up a "Four Guys, One Cup" group for the ESPN Soccernet Bracket Predictor on ESPN.com.

Try to make it a little more interesting to pick which of the 32 teams might hoist that bizarre trophy after a month of soccer/football.

First select which two teams will advance out of each the eight groups. The order you select them - 1st or 2nd - determines where they are placed in the 16-team bracket. Then predict the winner of the 15 bracket matches throughout the Finals. All picks lock with the first kickoff on Friday, June 11, 2010.

Get in the action now:
http://games.espn.go.com/bpredictor/en/group?groupID=432

Group: Four Guys, One Cup
Password: yourmom

It'll have to sub until we have to peel Hoover and FST from the tables at Sun City.

Oh, and Daddy is getting ready to get up at 4 am Saturday morning to watch the draw. Then the real fun begins...

T minus three days

Well, it’s December, which means that here in Washington it’s getting cold and the sun is setting at 4 p.m. Down in the Antipodes, where Drew and Mike reside, it’s summertime, so those jackasses are hitting the beach, like, daily. Because they suck.

That also means we are three days away from the Final Draw. At 7 p.m. local time in Cape Town (noon in Washington, 2 a.m. Saturday in Seoul and 4 a.m. Saturday in Melbourne), FIFA will announce the group seeding for next year’s little football contest.

Indeed, every Draw throws up at least one fiercely competitive section, where several traditional powers have to fight for the right to progress. Who can forget Group C at Germany 2006, which comprised Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro and the Netherlands? Then there are the dark horses to contend with, quality teams which strive to spring a surprise and relish the opportunity to upset the game’s established heavyweights.

Yeah, and what they didn’t say is that the United States typically gets screwed in the draw, even if we win our region, as we did this year. You watch. They’ll seed Mexico higher, and we’ll get the shaft.

Speaking of shafts, here’s one more thing we’ll have to worry about next year: meteors.



Then again, perhaps celestial catastrophes could make for some game-saving diversions, allowing Thierry Henry to hand-ball another goal. You never know.

32 Are In

Following this week's action, we now know the 32 teams that will be joining FGOC in South Africa next June.

EUROPE ZONE (13 places available):
England
Spain
The Netherlands
Italy
Serbia
Denmark
Slovakia
Switzerland
Germany
Greece
France (Cheaters)
Portugal
Slovenia

ASIA ZONE (Four automatic places, plus one play-off place):
Australia
DPR Korea
Japan
Korean Republic

AFRICA ZONE (5 automatic places sealed, plus South Africa automatically qualify as the host nation):
South Africa (Hosts)
Algeria
Cote d’Ivoire
Nigeria
Cameroon
Ghana

SOUTH AMERICA ZONE (Four automatic places, plus Uruguay, who beat Costa Rica to qualify):
Brazil
Chile
Paraguay
Argentina
Uruguay

NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN ZONE (Three automatic places, plus one play-off place - Costa Rica, who lost to Uruguay in the playoff's):
Mexico
Honduras
USA

OCEANIA ZONE (New Zealand beat Asia Zone runners-up Bahrain 1-0 in play-off to qualify):
New Zealand

Now it gets interesting. We won't know who Australia will play until December 4 (December 5 in Oz). I must say that there aren't many teams here I wouldn't want to see.

But if I had to pick: England, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Brazil would be my top choices in addition to the USA and Australia. Of course, it'll probably be the other ones that are the most fun - I like that it'll be unexpected - like one of the African teams or something.

I've seen Japan, Greece, USA, Mexico, Australia, and Argentina in person before.

Who do you want to see?

Encore: Le Main de Dieu

Here’s the video of Thierry Henry’s “Le Main de Dieu,” as some are calling it, although I have to beg to differ on the nomenclature here. Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” resulted directly in a goal; Henry’s hand ball simply allowed him to control the ball so he could pass it to William Gallas, who then scored a goal.



So perhaps it’s not a “Hand of God” so much as it is the hand of some saint. Who’s the patron saint of hand balls?

To his credit, Henry admits it was a hand ball, but he promptly passes the buck to referee Martin Hansson:

“I will be honest, it was a hand ball. But I’m not the ref,” Henry said. “I played it. The ref allowed it. That’s a question you should ask him.”

And while we’re goofing on Les Bleus, here’s a classic “Family Guy” riff on Zinedine Zidane:

Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys Cheaters

N Zed Is In

Despite the very uncomfortable nickname of the All Whites, which I've blogged about before, New Zealand has just defeated Bahrain to advance to its first World Cup since 1982.


Good on 'em.

New Zealand is kinda Australia's Canada. Has a fraction of the population (4 million to 22 million), they sorta sound alike - but have dead giveaway words that bring out their true native land, and the smaller country has a "nice guy" reputation *until* you accuse them of being from the larger country.

Just watch Flight of the Conchords.

I just did the math, and since my mother-in-law is a Kiwi, that makes my two boys one-quarter Kiwi. I gotta cheer for the All Whites.

Ed Note: If my kids are now 1/4 Kiwi, that means they are only 1/4 Australian - and 1/2 American. Just told my wife this and it did not sit well.

So, my New Zealand brethren - see you in South Africa!

Tour of South Africa

It looks like FIFA is turning tour guide. On the official site (not to mention the official Twitter feed) for the World Cup, they’re pointing us to some tourist guides for host cities in South Africa. Today, it’s Cape Town.

As we approach the final lap of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers, the spotlight will inevitably fall on next month's Final Draw which will decide the destination and the fate of the 32 qualified teams that will participate in Africa's maiden FIFA World Cup next year.

And, it is therefore no surprise that Cape Town, the city that will host the Final Draw on 4 December is now the centre of attention. In South Africa, Cape Town is often fondly referred to as the ‘Mother City’, and after a short tour of the place, it is probably not hard to imagine as to why this artistic centre that sits at the foot of one of the most majestic peaks, Table Mountain, holds such significance for the Rainbow Nation.

Renowned for its beautiful beaches, bright sunshine and artistic places, Cape Town will provide the perfect setting for the draw and, with its summer weather, the city is now gearing itself up to welcome visitors and teams alike. Known as a melting point of different cultures, languages and ethnic groups, Cape Town is one of the highly coveted destinations in South Africa for tourists.

The “Mother City”? That’s kind of lame. Other than that, though, I can’t wait to get to Cape Town. I hear it’s beautiful. And the stadium is practically in the ocean.

I think we’ll do a roundup of host cities once we know where Australia is playing (i.e., where we’ll actually be and when). But does anyone have any advice on South Africa? None of us has ever gone, so we’ll be looking for non-football things to do and see, particularly if they’re off the beaten path.

Bought the Book

Well, we're getting a little closer to South Africa.

I went out and bought a f*cking Lonely Planet.

Australians love Lonely Planet. It was apparently founded thirty some-odd years ago by travel loving Brits that made Melbourne their home. Every upper middle-class home in Australia has a f*cking bookshelf full of their own Lonely Planet collection to show off to their visitors.

Wow, you went to Peru? I've always wanted to go there.

My home in Melbourne even has the USA and Texas editions of the Aussie travel bible - how's that for irony.

They love to tell you about how Australians are so cultured because they spend so much of their lives overseas - but it usually means a few trips to cheap Asia, the compulsory year in London, and a two week long trip to New York and LA.

I know that Americans suck at international travel, but good lord stop with the preaching about world travel already.

Anyway, I bought the Lonely Planet - South Africa edition the other day. Why is costs $45 AUD in its hometown but I can get get it on Amazon.com for $19.73 AUD is beyond me.

Then, like true American tourist dorks - Herrmann and I went to one of those hip Melbourne laneway bars last Friday afternoon to look through it and decide that we really need to get serious about the trip.

The strangest thing about the Lonely Planet is that it doesn't have a separate World Cup section, it just sorta talks about WC venues in respective cities. That and headlines like this:

"The 2010 World Cup will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but Southern Africa offers a plethora of memorable activities such as the following:"

Which then lists 10 random active sports activities such as paragliding, bungee jumping, and pony trekking - three things I can guarantee will not be part of our "once-in-a-lifetime experience."

So, I'll dive into the book and try to find out more, and I've been hunting around a few other travel Web sites such as the official South Africa travel site.

We're almost a month away from the official draw when we'll know where we'll need to be - now we just need to get there.

We suck at blogging

So wow, we here at Four Guys, One Cup have been pretty crap about blogging. A shout out to Kossack Aethelstane, who called me out over at DailyKos, giving me a friendly nudge to update this damn thing.

Here’s why: Mike’s perpetually “busy” (yeah right); Drew’s got two young kids; and Scott’s “in loooooooove” or some such bullshit, which has clearly removed his testicles and the will to blog about manly things like sports, beer and shit talking. What a dick. Next thing you know he’ll be wanting to bring a girl along on the trip.

As for me, well, I’m just a lazy ass. I haven’t even really kept up my blog that well. But then again, I’ve been sick.

When last we spoke, I was blogging via my iPhone from the friendly confines of RFK Stadium here in Washington, having just watched the Yanks pull of an incredible come back to tie Costa Rica, 2-2. I was standing in the rain, and I haven’t felt 100 percent healthy since then. Sure, there was the hangover on that Thursday, but from that Friday I got sick with something — I’m not going to call it H1N1, but perhaps SARS. I’m old school.

So yeah, now we wait to see who else from CONCACAF gets to go, if anyone. Costa Rica plays Uruguay, the fifth-place South American side, on 14 and 18 November for the right to head to the big dance. (Am I allowed to use the term “big dance” in a non-March Madness context? I await my cease-and-desist from the NCAA.)

On the planning front, it appears Drew and Mike may have some inroads into accommodations in South Africa. I won’t spoil it or jinx it here, but I’m cautiously optimistic. It really is creeping up on us. In just over a month we’ll know who Australia is playing — and, more important, where and when. And, as you can see from our trusty countdown clock over there, we’ve got just 223 days and some change until the big day.

I’m monitoring airfares from Washington, but they’re still pretty high. I suppose everyone’s going to jack them up around the World Cup. But we’ll see.

Anyway, happy Friday (even though it’s already Saturday for ¾ of FGOC) and we’ll be back soon.

Wow

That went from "Oh shit, here we go again" in the 26th minute to wanking around all second half to scoring two goals in the last 15, including the tie goal in the 95th or thereabouts.

Moreover, Mexico tied, so the USA wins CONCACAF.

We'll still get a shitty seed, because international football hates us, but it's nice.

And this turned into an exciting match, in the end.

Huzzah!


-- Posted From My iPhone

Bs

Your US bend but don't break D. It's 2-0 Costa.

Good thing we've qualified already.



-- Posted From My iPhone

USA vs. Costa Rica

Your intrepid reporter is on the scene at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., to see the Yanks take on Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying.

It's cold and rainy. About 45 degrees
(8 C maybe?) and soggy. Perfect for football. I just got a beer and we're nine minutes from kickoff.

Lots of good U.S. fans: tri-corner hats, trumpets, drums. It's on.


-- Posted From My iPhone

Now That We Are In

Right. So. The World Cup. A tournament played and cheered for with the utmost fervor throughout the globe. A championship to end all championships. Will 2010 be the year that the United States of America comes into its own and takes a place amongst the legends of champions past? In a word...no.

Now, I have been one of the most skeptical fans out there. I still remain unimpressed by our offense, primarily our lack of a scoring threat that puts fear into the hearts of our competition; however, I see signs of life. We have some young players starting to step up and gain the experience necessary to be successful on the next level. We have a team starting to come together as a singular unit. We have a sense of pride amongst the team and its fans leading to expectations of consistent, solid play. We appear to have a bit of passion.

After famously (amongst our three readers) declaring the fighting American squad would not score more than 3 goals in the World Cup, I must make an amendment that will hold through until the first boot hits the pitch in South Africa. I am increasing the goal output by 33% to 4 goals. Yes, you heard me right, a full 33% increase. I see the Yanks squeezing out an extra goal, and with a lucky bounce, could hit 5. Believe it or not, this could possibly be enough to survive the group rounds with our defense...but we'll have to wait to see the draw.

All in all, I am encouraged. It seems as though the team is growing together, and heading in the right direction. This bodes well going into battle the worlds top teams. At the same time, I keep my expectations in check. We are not a powerhouse. We are not going to win the World Cup. Give us a few more decades of success and change some of the grassroots football efforts, and we might get there.

Just not in 2010.

Yankess win! (The good kind of Yankee, not those people in the Bronx)

Well, boy howdy, the Yanks have qualified for World Cup 2010!

Conor Casey scored his first two international goals in the second half, Landon Donovan added another and the United States clinched its sixth straight World Cup berth with a game to spare by rallying to beat Honduras 3-2 on Saturday.

“It never gets old, that’s for sure,” Donovan said. “After what most of us would say was a very disappointing 2006 World Cup, we now have a chance at redemption.”

In one of the most exciting end-to-end matches the U.S. has played in many years, the Americans took a 3-1 lead before Honduras closed on Julio Cesar De Leon’s second goal of the game in the 78th minute.

Sounds like it was an exciting game. Too bad none of us got to watch it. Here in America, you had to go to a bar that had purchased some strange sort of closed-circuit feed of the match. It wasn’t available on television — not even on pay-per-view. What the hell is that?

Oh well. We did it on the road, too, which is a welcome break, especially considering Honduras were 8-0 in qualifying on their home turf.

The sad thing is it renders the game I’m attending Wednesday night, USA vs. Costa Rica, pretty meaningless. Meaningful for the American side, at least; Costa Rica is in third place in the table, just two points ahead of Honduras. If the Yanks win in Washington on Wednesday and Honduras beat El Salvador, they’ll swap places and it’ll be Honduras who go into the playoff with a team from South America.

So here’s a list of everyone who has qualified for the tournament so far:

Africa
Places left: 3
Teams clinched: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana (I still hate them for 2006), South Africa (automatically qualify as host nation)

Asia
Places left: none, but Bahrain still could go if they win a playoff with the Kiwis
Teams clinched: Australia (thank god, our tickets will work), Japan, Korea (The Bad One), Korea (The Good One)

Europe
Places left: 6
Teams clinched: Denmark (Nothing’s Rotten In), England (kicking ass and taking names in their group), Germany (quietly getting it done), Italy (they’re already practicing their dives), The DutchNetherHolland, Serbia (top of their group, which includes France), Spain (a.k.a. America’s bitch)

North, Central America and Caribbean
Places left: 1, currently it’s Costa Rica, but, like me, Honduras hopes for a U.S. win on Wednesday
Teams clinched: Mexico (mang), United States (huzzah!)

Oceania
Places left: 1
Teams clinched: none, but New Zealand is in a playoff against Bahrain for the last spot in Oceania/Asia (why is Australia not in Oceania?)

South America
Places left: 1, pending a death match between Argentina and Urugay, who hold the #4 and #5 spots, respectively, and are separated by one point
Teams clinched: Brazil, Chile, Paraguay

There’s your state of play. The list will change dramatically on Wednesday, when all will be told.

And the papers want to know whose shirt you wear...

Six days from now, I’ll be standing at The Bobby to cheer on the U.S. national team in its final World Cup qualifying match, against Costa Rica.

This will be fun.

I will be drunk. Probably.

Anyway, I feel it’s time for me to break down and purchase a jersey. I know, I know. Wearing a jersey is douchey enough, but I follow this rule: Only wear a jersey to an actual sporting event, and only wear the jersey of a team that’s actually playing.*

Here’s the rub, though: The U.S. kit sucks.



How plain-Jane, batshit boring is that? Plus, I’ve no idea whose jersey I’d wear. I’m not into any one player so much that I have to have his jersey.

So I’ve decided to go old school. Here are three good ones from the olden days:


1930 World Cup



1959 Pan American Games



1950 World Cup

I think 1950 is my favourite. First, it’s a cool, simple jersey. Second, the United States upset England in an epic match that year. So, mojo.

Suggestions?


_____________
* Also permissible, but only for soccer, is wearing the club jersey of a player who’s playing in the national team game you’re attending. For example, one could wear a David Beckham LA Galaxy jersey to an England game. If Beckham’s playing.

Oh, I'm sorry, are we supposed to contribute to this blog?

So, I've been a bit busy these days. Between getting drunk, being awesome, spreading my seed, and trying not to shart, my free time has been totally consumed. I'm still down for SA, and I'm still gonna be bringing the mojo to Cape Town.

Korea continues to amaze and baffle me. I've recently developed a rapport with a Paraguayana empanada restauranteur, who shares my obscure interest in "who the fuck will qualify from South America". Paraguay looks like a lock at this point, and I may have to root for them. My girlfriend suspects that I want to ball this lady, but the truth is, I just dig her amazing carne empanadas (and that's not a slang synonym for "cans").

And, with that, I'm out. I don't have time for this shit, b/c I've been drinking. Read the Stieg Larsson novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". It will knock you out. I must go educate the youth of Korea, after sleeping it off for a few hours. Peace, amigos.

Best soccer songs?

This is fantastic. Over on the New York Times’ “Goal” blog, photographer John McDermott — who has covered every World Cup since 1982 — talks soccer anthems:

In the 1970s, John McDermott started taking pictures of the North American Soccer League, photographing players like George Best, Franz Beckenbauer and Pelé. He became a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated and Newsweek, and has covered every World Cup since 1982. He was a member of the FIFA Photographers Pool at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

In his second Ultimate XI for the Goal blog, McDermott puts down the camera and grabs his headphones to listen to the tunes that make being a soccer fan anywhere in the world a treat (or not) to the ears … the best soccer songs on the planet (in order of preference).

It’s about what you’d expect — “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is #1 — but there are YouTube links and fun mini-anecdotes about each. However, through what must have been a clerical oversight, McDermott missed what must be one of the cruelest-yet-funniest soccer songs of all time: “Always Look on the Runway for Ice.” Sung to the tune of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian,” this is sung by fans of pretty much any team Manchester United plays, and refers to an incident in 1958 when a plane carrying the United team crashed on its third takeoff attempt in Munich. Twenty-three of the 44 people on board were killed.

In other exciting World Cup news, I have officially purchased tickets to see the U.S. Men’s National Team take on Costa Rica in the final World Cup qualifier. The match is Oct. 14 here in Washington, D.C., at the friendly confines of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which I affectionately call The Bobby.


The Bobby.


Bring it.

______
* Probably not; I’m sure U.S. fans will be outnumbered by Costa Rican fans.

More Chelsea Love in South Africa- England In

Chelsea's Frank Lampard and some dude named Gerrard that plays for some crap team in red scored two goals each to see England beat Croatia 5-1 at Wembley. (Some ManU guy scored, too).

It looks like England is "back" and we'll expect to see the London press having them hosting the World Cup trophey for the first time since 1966 in tomorrow's papers.

Oh, and Spain qualified as well.

Now, two of my three teams are in - here's looking at you US of A.

Key game for Yanks tonight

US Argentina Soccer Game at Giants Stadium
Originally uploaded by NYC.andre

Team USA has a tough road ahead in World Cup qualifying. I think we all assumed the United States would wind up in South Africa in 2010; it’s become a given in the past decade or so that we’d field a team in the tournament.

But it’s no picnic. Our erratic play has put us in an awkward position. (I blame Sunil Gulati, who could have hired Jürgen Klinsmann when he had the chance.) In CONCACAF, the top three teams qualify, and the fourth-place team plays a one-game playoff with a team from CONMEBOL, the South American zone.

Currently, the Yanks hold the #2 spot, behind Honduras, although both teams have 13 points. Mexico, after languishing in the cellar for a while, follows with 12 points (but an edge on the U.S. team in head-to-head). Costa Rica is in that dangerous fourth spot with the same number of points as Mexico. El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago are fucked, stuck at the bottom with five points each.

So this could get interesting. The USA has only three games left: at Trinidad & Tobago (tonight), at Honduras (Oct. 10) and home against Costa Rica (Oct. 14), a game I will be attending, since it’s at RFK Stadium (a.k.a. “The Bobby”) here in Washington, D.C.

Barring some sort of freak accident, we should emerge from T&T with a win. Honduras is a bitch place to play, and that could easily be a loss. So the key will be Costa Rica — that game could be huge. The Ticos could very well be playing for that third spot, so they’ll be playing their asses off. And we very well could require a win in that final qualifier to keep from dropping.

The good news is that we’re coming off a good, solid home win after besting El Salvador in Utah last Saturday night. The Yanks won, 2-1, although the score should have been 3-1. Clint Dempsey drained one in the 41’ and Jozy Altidore scored in stoppage time in the first half, both off great balls from Landon Donovan (he’s really growing on me, I hate to say). Tim Howard played beautifully, as usual, and we notched the win without defenders Oguchi Onyewu (yellow card accumulation) and Jay DeMerit (injury).

After watching that game, however, I was reminded of a simple truth we should keep in mind over these next three games: FIFA referees hate the United States. The U.S. simply isn’t going to get calls their way. Last Saturday’s game reminded me of our 2006 World Cup game against Italy, which might have been one of the all-time greatest officiating travesties of any sport.

Never mind the goal that should have been, the entire game was called unevenly. And that seems to be the way the ball bounces for the Yanks. We’re not going to get any favours, so we might as well shore things up as much as we can and play through it.

(Also: Does it make an ounce (gram) of sense that a Honduran official calls a game between El Salvador and the United States? How about someone from outside CONCACAF?)

Michael Essien and Ghana...Come on Down!

In happier Chelsea-related news, the Michael Essien-led Ghana national team has qualified for the World Cup.

Michael Essien is revelling in the "fantastic feeling'' of qualifying for the World Cup finals after he scored one of two goals against Sudan to help Ghana seal a place at next year's showpiece event.

The Black Stars, who made their first appearance at the 2006 tournament in Germany, became the first African nation to book their place in South Africa after a 2-0 scoreline in Accra - the result coupled with Benin's 1-1 draw with Mali earlier in the day securing their passage.

Ghana joins hosts South Africa, Brazil, Holland, Japan, Australia, South Korea and North Korea as the eighth team to qualify.

We'll see you in South Africa.

Chelsea Cheaters

Not to bump Drew’s important post off the top, but this is hot breaking news on Teh Intartubes right now. Twitter is a-twitter. Shit is going down. Besides, this is Drew’s and Scott’s favourite club, so I have to rub it in.

Chelski is in some deep shit with FIFA.

Chelsea have been banned from signing any new players until January 2011 by football’s governing body Fifa.

The Premier League club was found guilty of inducing French winger Gael Kakuta, 18, to breach his contract with Lens when he joined in 2007.

“Chelsea is banned from registering any new players for the two next registration periods,” a statement on Fifa’s website read.

Ouch!

Doesn’t Carlo Ancelotti know cheating makes the Baby Jesus cry?

The Other Football Starts

We all agree that all of us here at FGOC love soccer. We are all going to the World Cup in South Africa next year to cheer for our favourite teams.

But, since we’ve established that despite most of us living overseas and adopting the world game, we’ve also established two other things.

We’re Americans.

And…

We’re Assholes.

So, I bring you the first weekend of College Football season in all its glory.

Last year, I lived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and saw very, very little college football, but that will change now that I’m back in Melbourne with a (somewhat) proper Internet connection and Foxtel cable that beams college football games to my little home in Moonee Ponds.

Now, despite me spending four years at the stellar institution of higher learning called Southern Methodist University, my blood runs Razorback Red. You can take the boy out of Arkansas, but you can’t take the Arkansas out of the boy.

The other three guys from FGOC went to some place called Texas A&M University – a former all-boys military school in BFE East Texas.

These two football teams play in exactly one month to renew a rivalry that’s been dormant since 1991 – my first year at that football powerhouse SMU. Plus, the game is at the crappy new JerryDome in Hoover’s hometown of Arlington, Texas.

I’d like to put out there an offer that the four of us try to make the game a little more interesting with a little wager – because both of our teams suck this year and have no hope of playing post-season football. Maybe having to sing the other team’s fight song at a South Africa bar in 2010? Extol the virtues of the winning team throughout the college football season on the blog?

Interested to hear other ideas – and GO HOGS!

Australia to Play the Good Korea

We're coming up on another set of international friendlies next week.

Australia makes a trek north to take on the Tigers of Asia - South Korea in the national capital of Seoul.

As with most friendlies, it's a worthless game, but it should be interesting to see two of the top Asian qualifiers play - and how the Aussies perform to a somewhat hostile crowd.

Which, makes me wonder, will the FGOC representative to the Republic of Korea, one FST be in attendance?

More on USA/Mexico

Great article by ESPN’s Sports Guy on the USA/Mexico game.

A choice excerpt:

I have attended all kinds of sporting events: Never have I heard a crowd more stunned than the Mexican crowd after Davies’ goal. All traces of sound vanished from the stadium. Like someone pointed a remote control at Azteca and pressed "mute." It was one of those sports moments when you wish they could have stopped the proceedings right there for 20 minutes, just so we could soak in what happened and dream about all the possibilities.

Estadio Azteca. United States 1, Mexico 0. (Pause.) Hold on, just a little bit longer. One more second. Just let me keep enjoying this.

Hat tip to FGOC friend Bill for calling this to my attention.

V Australia to Fly to South Africa

Freakin' sweet. Daddy and Mr. Man may be flying V Australia to South Africa - a hell of a lot cheaper than the Flying Kangaroo.

V AUSTRALIA SECOND PHASE EXPANSION - TUK TUK OFF TO THAILAND OR SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA!
LAUNCH FARES ON SALE 2.00PM TODAY

* BRAND NEW INTERNATIONAL ROUTES AND DESTINATIONS FOR V AUSTRALIA
* THAILAND, SOUTH AFRICA, LOS ANGELES
* $399* ONE WAY “TUK TUK TO THAILAND” FARES* EX BRISBANE AND MELBOURNE
* $1899 “FAR OUT SAFARI ” RETURN FARES* EX MELBOURNE

Monday 17 August 2009: Australia’s new international airline V Australia today announced Phuket and Johannesburg as its next two destinations along with a strengthened focus on Melbourne just six months after launch. Four new V Australia routes to commence from December onwards^ include:

* Brisbane to Phuket, Thailand direct twice weekly from 22 November 2009.
* Melbourne to Phuket, Thailand direct flights 1 a week from 3 December 2009.
* Melbourne to Los Angeles, USA direct flights twice weekly from 1 December 2009.
* Melbourne to Johannesburg, South Africa direct flights from 13 March 2010.

The airline has also lodged an application with the International Air Services Commission for permission and slots to operate flights between Australia and Fiji.

To celebrate the extra destinations of Phuket and Johannesburg, special launch fares go on sale from 2.00pm today on the airline’s website starting from $399* one way to Phuket and $1899* return to Johannesburg from Melbourne.

USA 1-2 Mexico

Well, shit. The USA’s futility at Estadio Azteca continues with a 2-1 loss to El Tri today. After a great start (a U.S. goal in the ninth minute), things went downhill pretty quickly. ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle has a good summary:

The U.S. battled hard, but this will go down as a missed opportunity for the Yanks. In a game where the U.S. looked fatigued at the end, the team’s inability to keep possession was their undoing. They simply spent so much time defending that they wore down. The sight of Juarez beating Donovan in the run-up to the winning goal was telling. Donovan is one of the fittest players on the team, yet even he looked gassed.

I’ll be less diplomatic than Carlisle. The final score belies the game, really. The Yanks played like shit. Zero play in the midfield, and thus no possession. It felt like Mexico was on a perpetual power play.

Thank God for Tim Howard, otherwise this game would have been a repeat of the Gold Cup final, only with our A squad in. Donovan played well, but again, zero play from the midfield, and defensively we were lacking.

It seems like our entire strategy — or, worse, perhaps this is becoming the “U.S. style” of football — is to play bend-but-don’t-break defence and hope for goals on the fast break, maybe the odd set piece off a foul coming from a fast break.

That’s not sustainable, as we saw in the second half of the Confederations Cup final against Brazil, and through much of this game.

I won’t comment on officiating, since I was watching streaming video at my desk while simultaneously working and chatting with two friends and keeping an eye on the Washington Post’s live chat. But I will say that the Post crowd was pretty apoplectic, as is their wont, and it did look like the ref completely lost control of the game.

General consensus was that if you look at a Mexican player, foul, possibly a card. Mount an unprovoked back-alley knife attack on an American, play on. But I didn’t see it.

Some quick hits:

• Always nice to see the klassy Mexican fans. Thanks for throwing shit at Landon Donovan as he sets up a corner. Call it “passion” if you want; I call it bush-league.
• USA maintains its perfect record in Mexico City: No wins, especially at Azteca.
• Brian Ching is worthless.
• In the end, this game was a must-win for a Mexican side that is still in danger of not buying tickets to South Africa next year. The Yanks have a bit more wiggle room, but not too much — don’t want any more of these performances.

Two more quick hits, courtesy of friends writing in:

Dave Breg: “We suck. It’s Jurgen time.” (Bring on Klinsmann, I say!)

Bill Atkinson: “At least we have clean drinking water and Tamiflu.”

All Nando's - All The Time

I don't know much about South African food.

But I do know this. Fast food in Australia is crap.

We have McDonalds. We have KFC. We have Hungry Jacks, which is a crappy version of Burger King. That's it.

No Taco Bell. No Whataburger. No Sonic. Not even freakin' Wendy's. And certainly no Taco Cabana.

There is only one fast food joint in Australia that is worth a shit, and that is Nando's. I go to my local Nando's at least once a week for the extra hot grilled chicken sandwich (or "burger" in Australian) with peri-peri spicy fries (chips in Ozspeak). It's the only food in this barren land that is the least bit spicey and it's freakin' good. Plus, they sell beer - always a plus in the fast food department.

Come to find out, Nando's is from South Africa.

I can pretty much guarantee that the FGOC clan will visit many a Nando's while we're at the World Cup.

But, the main reason for going to Nando's?

Because Herrmann hates it.

Real Madrid at D.C. United

Cross-posted at K Street Blues.

Let me just start by stating the obvious: It’s bloody hot outside.

I mean, oppressively hot. Devastatingly hot. The kind of hot that makes you lose the will to live. Right now, the thermometer says it’s 95 degrees (34C) with 39% humidity. It’s supposed to hit 100 (38C) this afternoon. So far, we’ve had such a mild summer that this seems like a sudden and brutal kick in the nuts.

So what did I do yesterday, when it was just as hot? Why, I put on a black shirt and stood out in the sun for six hours, of course!

I went to see D.C. United take on Real Madrid at FedEx Field, which is normally home to the Greater Chesapeake Region Indigenous Peoples. The fun started on the Metro, as we were waiting for the Blue Line train. A group of about 10 guys in their early 20s came down the platform, coolers in hand. They spotted our Barra Brava jerseys, and high-fived us and yelled some variations of “Go United!”

Then, they brought out the Jell-o shots.

Yeah, I’ve never done a shot in the Metro, but now I can say I’ve done one on the Metro Center platform and one on a Blue Line train. (The latter was blue Jell-o in honour of our train line’s colour.) The chaos continued at the Barra Brava tailgate party, which is always fun. One of said Jell-o shot guys actually walked barefoot over hot coals (from the barbecue) that had been disposed of on the asphalt. Later, he was seen sitting in the grass, feet resting on a pile of ice, with a look on his face that, to me, indicated a serious existential crisis was going on.

So then we, along with 72,000 of our closest friends, filed into FedEx Field for the actual game. (No word on whether coal-walker had to be carried into the stadium.) Which was pretty good — at least, the first half was. Score was tied, 0-0, at the half, mostly thanks to United goaltender Josh Wicks. Oddly, it was only after Madrid’s stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, left the game that the scoring began. (Ronaldo continues his streak of not scoring against D.C. United.)

United’s downfall didn’t actually begin until the 57th minute when Higuain, a 21-year-old forward in his fourth season with the Spanish power, blazed into the penalty area. Two minutes later, he was the beneficiary of Robben’s explosive move, and in the 69th, Robben lifted the ball to himself while at a full pace and cleverly chipped a shot over reserve goalkeeper Milos Kocic.

The one-sided score was hardly an embarrassment for United, which had two starters less than a year out of college and another who was playing in the third tier of the U.S. pro system last season. Real’s lineup included Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, the past two world players of the year, and other pricey superstars coveted by almost every other club on the planet.

Three years ago, United played Real to a 1-1 tie in Seattle, and although that Madrid side featured English star David Beckham, the roster on display at FedEx Field was one of the most expensive ever assembled. The marquee players weren’t United’s undoing; rather, it was Robben, the 25-year-old Dutchman who entered at halftime and almost single-handedly changed the course of the match.

Some notes:

• There were tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans there. Who are these people, exactly? They certainly weren’t Spanish. Bandwagon fans, all.
• I wish I had made a t-shirt that said “Faux Madrid.” That’d have shown ‘em.
• FedEx Field = epic fail. You can’t bring bottled water in. So smart when it’s 98 degrees and humid. So they charge you $5 for water — that’s warm. At least they sold Miller Lite, which is a lot like water.
• More FedEx Field Fail: loud music. Before the game and during halftime, the stadium PA blared music (really bad music, too) so loud I couldn’t hear anyone who was speaking directly, much less anything else. It also drowned out the very loud and proud United fans. Well done, stadium crew.
• Best chant from Barra Brava: “Ka-ká! Poo-poo!”
• Although I was hoping for a few more taunting references to Franco and/or fascism to be hurled at Madrid and its fans.

Oh, and I am sunburned as hell.

Travel logistics

Interesting post by Michelle Higgins in the New York Times’ travel blog today, about planning travel to major sporting events such as the Olympics and the World Cup.

It may seem too early to be planning a 2010 vacation, but travelers who want to see the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this February or cheer their favorite soccer team at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next summer had better get going.

Despite the recession, demand is high for both events, making tickets hard to come by and sending prices for any remaining hotel rooms soaring. But travelers can still watch their teams compete if they’re willing to be flexible, spend a little more money and make their travel plans now.

Higgins also hits on something that is sitting in the back of our minds here at FGOC. Namely, how the hell do we plan our trip to South Africa next year when we won’t know where (or when, exactly) Australia* is playing until early December?

Unlike at the Olympics, however, where sports are tied to specific venues, and the dates and times of most events are already set, soccer fans won’t know where, when or even which teams will be playing in South Africa until all 32 teams have qualified and FIFA holds its tournament draw on Dec. 4.

That means travelers hoping to watch the United States in quarterfinals, for example, won’t know where the team will be playing — whether it’s at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, or nearly 900 miles away in Soccer City in Johannesburg — until just a few days before.

Of course, that’s always the case when it comes to the World Cup — and the last-minute scramble is part of the fun. But following your team around will be more complicated in South Africa than at the last World Cup, held in Germany in 2006. Fans staying in Frankfurt, for example, were within a two-hour train ride from most United States matches. South Africa, on the other hand, has less reliable trains and highways, and moving from match to match requires flying.

That’s something we’re just now working out, and that’s going to be the fun part. Sort of. Do we use a travel agent and go in bulk? Use our own travel agents? Go solo? Hire a goat?

I, for one, might want to stop in somewhere before or after the main event — for example, South African Airways flies direct from here in Washington, with a stop in Dakar, Senegal, which is almost exactly halfway between here and Johannesburg. I might be tempted to stay a few days there, because when the hell else are you going to be in Dakar?

I think getting the actual tickets from FIFA might have been the easy part.

_______
* If you’re just joining us here at FGOC, we have real, actual tickets to see Australia’s games in group stage, so that’s where we’ll be. Naturally, we’ll be following the good ol’ USA, too, as well as some others (see this post to find out who’s following whom) but we actually have tickets to see the Socceroos.

USA 2018? Barry says so

P051609PS-0171
Originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream

No pictures of Barry kicking a soccer ball around the South Lawn, Drew, but he apparently did kick a ball around the Oval when he met with FIFA president Sepp Blatter the other day:

On Monday, President Obama got the U.S. campaign off to a start that Blatter conceded “merits a compliment” — demonstrating his own appreciation for “the beautiful game” by dribbling a soccer ball that Blatter had presented him in the Oval Office.

Blatter said afterward that Obama, whose basketball prowess is well-known, isn’t ready for a spot on the U.S. national team. But, he joked, Obama probably could have made the second-tier U.S. squad that was trounced by Mexico, 5-0, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup match he attended Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., as part of his four-day visit to the United States.

The key item on Blatter’s U.S. tour was the meeting with Obama, in which they discussed ways of strengthening soccer in the United States. Blatter called it “a great encounter.”

Maybe Pete Souza will offer us some shots on the official White House Flickr stream.

Blatter also formally invited President Obama to attend the World Cup, and said POTUS has instructed aides to check his schedule.

Mr. President, I hereby volunteer to buy you a Castle Lager if you decide to attend.

Anyway, conditions look right for the United States to host in 2018, at least as far as FIFA’s normal rotation goes. However, Blatter said a lot of the Europeans in FIFA think that the Continent should host every third tournament. Which is dumb. Screw Europe.

And I don’t need to remind Blatter who can put asses in seats:

[Blatter] accentuated the positives when asked if the country’s inability to capitalize on the 1994 World Cup should count against it in the next round of voting.

“Yes, it has not had the impact we expected,” Blatter conceded. “But it was the first World Cup organization, and so far the only one, where all tickets were sold, and all seats were occupied. So this is a good legacy of the organizational skill of the United States.”

Yer darn tootin’.

Any Bets on an Obama Playing Soccer Shot?

Just saw this on Politico.com:

Monday Jul. 27, 2009
2:00 p.m.
Obama meets with FIFA President Joseph Blatter.

Please God, please don't try to play soccer on the White House South Lawn for the WH gaggle.

Worker strike is off, and other news

Here’s an update to a story I posted last week, about the workers who are building the stadiums that will hold the World Cup matches next year. From the BBC:

Workers building stadiums for next year’s World Cup in South Africa are ending a week-long strike, according to negotiators in Johannesburg.

After threatening to wreck next June’s tournament unless they received a pay increase of 13%, a union spokesman said the workers had settled for 12%.

Contractors confirmed a deal had been reached and would be signed shortly, with work to resume on Thursday.

South Africa is building five new stadiums for the World Cup.

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says construction companies will be relieved that industrial action which could have lasted months has ended so quickly.

That’s putting it mildly, Jonah.

Other football news:

• Landon Donovan and David Beckham were having a little tiff, but now they love each other and will be back to slapping each other’s asses at Home Depot Center’s locker room after using Herbalife as an aphrodisiac.
• After struggling to tie Haiti in the CONCACAF Gold Cup (and possibly opting not to wear a condom), and thereby win Group B, the United States moves on to play Panama in the quarterfinals, in Philadelphia, this Saturday. I might take the train up to see that match, as long as I don’t have to visit any racist swimming clubs.
• Meanwhile, Mexico pulled their heads out of their asses and won Group C courtesy of a 2-0 victory over make-believe country Guadeloupe, which, as the boys from “South Park” said about Canada, is “not even a real country anyway.”

Finally, am I the only one who gets the shit annoyed out of them by the automatically playing videos on ESPN’s Web site?

Diski Dance, Y'all

Since I'm bored senseless here enduring another dreary Melbourne day, my thoughts turned to South Africa 2010.

And, with Hoover nominating me as the Cruise Director for the trip, I found the following South Africa travel ad for the World Cup online.

Enjoy.

Rudd Tries to Be Relevant Again

More guys in suits trying to play soccer.

As part of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's neverending attempt to become relevant on the world stage, he stopped in Switzerland following a trip to Berlin before becoming a hanger-on at the G8 Summit in Italy.

This time, it was to meet with FIFA President Sepp Blatter to lobby for Australia's 2018/2022 World Cup bid. I totally support the Aussie bid for 2022, but he looks just ridiculous kissing ass like this on the world stage.

And, this kind of crap will continue until FIFA chooses the 2018/2022 host nations in December 2010. Ugh.

Can we please just agree on one thing? Please, please no more dorks in suits trying to play soccer for yet another photo-op.

SA stadium builders need a pay rise

Work has halted on South Africa’s World Cup venues as 70,000 labourers have launched what they call the “mother of all strikes,” according to the Daily Mail.


EPA/Jon Hrusa

Work on stadiums for next year’s World Cup was halted today when 70,000 South African builders launched an indefinite strike.

Union chiefs confirmed construction on several unfinished stadiums was stopped at midday as builders downed tools following a dispute over pay.

In Johannesburg 3,000 workers at South Africa’s showpiece Soccer City stadium were this afternoon marching in protest to the headquarters of the 2010 Fifa World Cup to demand better wages.

Ever since FIFA announced South Africa as the venue for the 2010 World Cup there has been chatter about whether the country could get its act together in time, or whether they could even mount such an event. Strikes like this one will only heighten those concerns. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Labour issues abound everywhere, and this action doesn’t mean the country isn’t ready for the World Cup — not by a long shot. It recalls the drama around Athens’ hosting of the Olympics a few years ago.

According to the story, builders working on the stadiums earn an average of £185 (US$296) per month, “often for a seven day working week.” They’re asking for a 13 percent rise (to £215, or US$345) but management has countered with only 10 percent.

I, for one, support these workers.

Not to put a downer on the FGOC World Cup tour, but it’s a bit sobering when you think that the four of us are spending all this money and trekking all that way to get pissed and yell during a game in a stadium built by thousands of people making next to nothing in wages.

Gold Cup, Spice Boyz and Andres Escobar

Well, the U.S. team got off to a roaring start in the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the weekend, beating Grenada 4-0. Freddy Adu (6’), Stuart Holden (30’), Robbie Rogers (59’) and Charlie Davies (67’) scored the goals during the match in Seattle.

The match also featured U.S. goalie Troy Perkins, who used to play for United here in D.C. Most of the regular players had returned to their MLS team or had taken time off before the start of the European season, so the backbenchers got to get some quality P.T.

One other tidbit of note: Grenada’s team nickname is the Spice Boyz. I am not making this up. Maybe this means one of them will marry Mia Hamm.


So which one of them is Sporty Spice?

In other football news, would the Colombians please stop shooting each other over soccer?

A Colombian soccer player shot and killed a fan for calling him “lousy” on Sunday, days after the player’s team lost a local championship, police said.

Javier Florez, a midfielder for the Atletico Junior team of the Caribbean city if Barranquilla, ran from the scene of the shooting but soon turned himself in to authorities.

Witnesses told police Florez shot Israel Castillo with a handgun after the 27-year-old electrician called him a “maleta” — which in Colombian parlance describes a “lousy” player.

Andres Escobar, anyone?

Blatter Blabs About South Africa

I wanted to share this little interview with the readers of FGOC. Sepp Blatter, the Swiss president of FIFA, decided to bless us with the following assessment of South Africa's preparation for hosting the 2010 World Cup.

Now, I first heard it as an audio clip so it might not translate well in the printed word - but this school analogy makes absolutely no sense to me.

Enjoy.

If you get a five mark you have to repeat class, a six and you go to middle school,' Blatter told a post-Confederations Cup press conference.

'South Africa are definitely in college and on their way to university. They're just missing half a point which they may pick up by the time of the World Cup draw in December.

'I want to give you a ten by the World Cup and then you are in masters.'

What the F does that mean? And somehow, the final grade is a 7.5.

But, there's more...

'So I am satisfied with the way the competition went but there are still challenges which will have to be dealt with in terms of transport and accommodation.

'Next year there will be 450,000 fans for the World Cup and they need to get to and from matches and back to where they are staying. Camps are not really an option as it will be winter here.'

Camps? CAMPS? What on God's green Earth is he talking about?

Game over

Well, shit. That sucked.

Don't you hate it when your team is not supposed to win, and then they play like hell and give you hope, and then you think that you will actually win, but then the universe course-corrects and the team that was supposed to win actually does?

That happens a lot to us Aggies, and it happened today with the USA.

Giving up a goal within two minutes after halftime is never good. It was a nice goal, though. And we dodged a bullet with a no-goal that, upon review, should have been one. But damn. Giving up three goals in the second half is never good.

I can't fault Howard or the defence. Our offence couldn't sustain anything in the second 45, and our midfield passes sucked. We seemed to favour passing straight to Brazilian defenders.

In all, though, a highly entertaining game that gives me hope for the World Cup next year.

Great job, boys.


-- Posted From My iPhone

Halfway there

The USA are up 2-0 on Brazil thanks to Clint Dempsey and a mammoth goal by Landon Donovan. I've been a Donovan critic, but he is playing his ass off right now. He's creative and is coming up big.

Our defence is solid, and Tim Howard so far has been a brick wall in goal in the face of an all-out assault by Brazil.

Forty-five minutes to go. I hope we can hold it.


-- Posted From My iPhone

Let's go to tape

Highlights of the USA win over Spain in the Confederations Cup. Done the right way, of course, as only Univision can:



GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

Also, a nice analysis by George Vecsey of The New York Times, calling it the "miracle on grass."

Suck it, Mike

Oh, Mike.

Mike, Mike, Mike.

Resident USA hater Martin Fabricio, a.k.a. Mike "Mister Man" Herrmann, just didn’t believe in magic. Either that, or he provided some nice bulletin-board fodder for the Yanks, who just blanked Spain, of all teams, in the Confederations Cup.

USA 2, Spain 0 is your final from South Africa, and the Americans will head to the final.

USA caused one of the biggest surprises in international football history by beating European champions Spain to reach the Confederations Cup final.

Jozy Altidore scored the opener when he turned his marker Joan Capdevila to fire in from 15 yards.

Fulham’s Clint Dempsey doubled the lead when he converted Landon Donovan’s pass from close range.

Tim Howard saved from Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas before USA's Michael Bradley saw red for a tackle of Xavi.

Sounds like the U.S. side actually mounted up a bit of defence, not to mention some offensive firepower. I have not seen the game yet, but it sounds like goalie Tim Howard and the American defence were the keys to the match. It also sounds like we mounted a better all-around game, as the New York Times notes:

Tackling by the United States was superb, deference was nonexistent, recovery was vigilant and dramatic:

A muscular shoulder halted a Spanish run. A head arrived just in time to clear a ball away. A desperate slide smothered a shot. A leg raised at the last second deflected a threatening pass.

After a 3-0 win over Egypt on Sunday and an unlikely advance to the semifinals after defeats to Italy and Brazil, the United States’ previous caution became assertiveness. Against a team so secure in possession of the ball, the United States dictated the action at times, while Spain seemed back on its heels, out of sorts, its players grumbling and frustrated, raising their arms and leaning their heads back in exasperation.

The United States sent its captain into the lineup for the first time in the tournament. Carlos Bocanegra, who had missed the first round with a hamstring injury, returned Wednesday, this time at left back instead of his usual position in central defense.

The Americans preached patience and resilience.

With the win, the Americans prevented Spain from setting a new world record of 36 games without a loss.

I suppose Mike might log on and defend his lameness, but then again, he's probably "too busy" to blog.

Hold On There, Chachmo!

"All of the critics in America who said we were no good after losing to Italy and Brazil, let's see what they say now," Michael Bradley said.


Umm, the US soccer team still sucks and will not score more than 3 goals in the World Cup.

That's what they say now.


Let me put this into perspective for you. Michael Bradley, a previous reserve for team USA, is boasting after this victory. This was a victory by FIFA's #14 ranked team, USA, over FIFA's #40 ranked team, Egypt. He seems to also be taking credit for Brazil's huge victory over Italy.

The fact of the matter is this. I am thankful that I will be in the timezone, and potentially, in the city, when we fail to score in most of our games and fail to advance past the group stage. It's much better than waking up at 3:30am to see that.


*As a preemptive strike against the barrage of slurs about to come my way for not posting...SUCK IT! (some people have to work for a living!)

Insert Terry Gilliam reference here

I was looking in on the ESPN “gamecast” of yesterday’s Confederations Cup match between the USA and Brazil as it happened, but last night I got to watch a bit of it on my DVR.

Now, we all knew what the outcome of the game would be. (It ended up being 3-0 Brazil, but I expected worse.) I don’t think any of us entertained any serious notions of the Yanks pulling off the upset of the powerhouse that is Brazil, with their Kaká and their Robinho and their Fabiano. (Not to mention their goalkeeper, Júlio César — as my friend Dave said, is he going to get stabbed in the back by one of his teammates? “Et tu, Kaká?”)

What I didn’t expect was for us to look completely and utterly incompetent. I mean, yeah, I expected the time of possession to be heavily in Brazil’s favour, but I did anticipate some sort of defence out of the U.S. side. Then again, we were missing defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Frankie Hejduk, so there was a mountain to climb by itself.

And also for us not to give up the ball on ridiculous miscues just when we get an offence going. It looked like a case of being star-struck, or stage fright, or something.

Some thoughts:

• Landon Donovan played well, and even had some good moves in the forward area.
• Brazil’s first goal came on a free kick from about 20 yards out, but that free kick was based on a foul that shouldn’t have been called. Not that I’m making excuses (plus, it was beautiful ball placement by Maicon), but still. Giving up a goal in the first six minutes is a definite killer.
• U.S. goalie Tim Howard had no chance on the second Brazil goal, a breakaway by Robinho in the 19th minute.
• Things settle down a bit in the second half (hey, we held them to one goal!), but I didn’t bother to watch. So I didn’t see what the fuss was about when Sacha Kljestan was sent off in the 56th minute.
• Speaking of time of possession, the U.S. had only three shots (none on goal) in the first half, notching only two more (again none on goal) in the second. I think a couple may have hit the crossbar. Brazil had 14 shots, eight of which were on goal.
• DeMarcus Beasley sucks.

So, the Seleção continue to own our asses, and this game exposed some pretty big weaknesses. We have a lot of tinkering to do before the World Cup.

You Cannot Stop Tim Cahill, You Can Only Hope to Contain Him

And Japan didn’t.

In front of nearly 70,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – Australia came back from a 0-1 halftime deficit to see Tim Cahill score twice in the second half to top Japan 2-1. With the victory, Australia now sits atop the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.

I made my way to The G well before kickoff – arriving at 7:30 pm for a late 8:20 pm kickoff – just to take in the atmosphere. Melbourne has a pretty sizeable Japanese student population – and they came out to support their team in force.

But, um, it was a little unstable.

I saw not one, but two young Japanese male fans dressed as…um…well, there’s really no other way to say it…

Kamikazes

It was very, very unstable – and I think I did a triple take.

Is 65 years a little too soon?

Anyway – the game was great, the atmosphere terrific, and I am now even more excited for the South Africa trip. I was sitting in the nosebleeds with several friends – without Herrmann of course – he had a “conference” for the “tourism industry” and “couldn’t make it.”

Whatever.

I had the 1974 retro Australia jersey – the first time the team played in the World Cup and an Aussie soccer scarf I bought back in 2006 when Australia played Greece in a pre-Germany 2006 friendly. I can’t wait to wear them again.

I’m fully onboard the Aussie bandwagon and can’t wait for South Africa.

Oh, and one other thing to the FGOC guys. I say we offer a few ground rules for the World Cup.

#1: There will be an official one beer penalty for anyone that participates in the Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi cheer. Terrible.

The Diving Divas

While we await Drew’s recap of Australia’s 2-1 win over Japan in World Cup qualifying — he was there, live and in person, in Melbourne — here is a little humour.

We at FGOC hate the Italian team. Well, at least I do. This is for them:



Hat tip to my pal Dave for sending this to me.

South Africa in 2010 – Australia in 2022?

As the world takes a somewhat early glimpse into South Africa 2010 with this week’s Confederations Cup, countries around the globe are tarting up like an 18 year old freshmen girl at SMU Rush Week to be chosen as host nations for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Australia launched its “audacious” bid at the nation’s capital on Sunday, replete with more politicians trying to get on TV than a…well, a bunch of politicians at a World Cup launch.

Pretty much everyone agrees that England will be awarded the 2018 Cup – they are the home of the game, haven’t hosted since 1966, the EPL is the “premier” league, and Europe will have gone two World Cups without hosting by 2018.

But 2022 is a different ballgame. Russia, the US, and Australia all are considered the top countries. I don’t see how Russia could get it after England, so you have to figure that my two home countries are in the running. USA 94 saw the largest crowds in World Cup history and the largest market was wrapped in World Cup glory that glorious Summer. But, despite its’ best intentions, Major League Soccer is still a very distant fifth sport in the US and soccer still hasn’t cracked the public consciousness – and probably never will.

So, I say we support Australia’s bid. The country will need to build several new World Cup worth stadiums, the time zones suck, and the sport is still relegated behind Aussie Rules, rugby, and even cricket – but with the success of the Socceroos in 2006 and the growing popularity of the domestic A-League, soccer is on the rise. Plus, Aussies absolutely love a bandwagon to jump on and if the World Cup powers that be can take the competition to places like South Korea and South Africa – why not here?

Oh, and check out the official Australia “Come Play” video. Pretty cool except for the absolutely blatant product placement of a certain company from Oregon.



And, it kinda reminds me (a lot) of this commercial from that same company – guess there’s only so much you can do with a soccer ball.



To see more on the Australia World Cup bid – check out the official site and join me in bringing the great game Down Under – we’ll be happy to host you here in Melbourne.

It’s Official

Australia’s going to South Africa, and so is FGOC!

Following a circle jerk, 0-0 tie in Qatar, Australia became the second team to secure a ticket to South Africa.

It was a ho-hum game and pretty uneventful here in Australia, mostly because it happened in the middle of the night our time and it didn’t have the same suspense as 2006 – but that’s a good thing.

The Boys From Oz played a 2-0 victory over Bahrain to a pathetic 39,000 “strong” crowd in Sydney last night to further strengthen the #1 Asia position as many second teamers trying to gain coach Pim Verbeek’s affection.

Let’s just say that next week’s Australia – Japan match at The G should be a more exciting game. It’s a chance to shore up that top ranking, to beat a world class team, and to play before the best sports crowd in Australia.

I’ll be there wearing the green and gold and getting in some practice for South Africa. Plus, I’d love to see some Japanese ass getting kicked.

Speaking of – I received a full package (mark that) of stuff from Tourism South Africa to start planning our trip. It was great. Three random posters in a shipping sleeve – some random waterfall and two safari pictures, a hotel guide from 2004, and a general “Welcome to South Africa” brochure from a few years ago. Thought it was great that they sent so much stuff and I can’t wait to get more.

Maybe we can put up one of those Tourism South Africa posters at the new Bonza Bike shop in Melbourne with a big countdown calendar – 364 days to go!