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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (4 Viewers)

How wonderfully poetic would it be that if FIFA some how does over turn this and when ever they play again, the US at full strength beats them by 2, and that 1 goal difference between the original and replay is enough to hurt them in a tie breaker?

I am not sure I would stop laughing for a month :)

 
You know what you should do [Costa Rica]? You should sanction me. Sanction me with your army. Oh! wait a minute! You don't have an army! So I guess that means you need to shut the #### up! Shut. The. ####. Up!.

 
Does Sam's Army exist anymore as a supporters group? All I ever hear mentioned on TV and on twitter is the American Outlaws supporters group.

 
First result of the day is in.

Aussie fell by behind by 2 but clawed back to a 2-2 draw with Oman. Not great dropping the two points at home for Australia who have only secured 2 points from 2 home games. 4 teams are with in 2 points of each other. Oman has played one extra game though.

 
Sout Korea and Qatar are level at half time with no goals. As expected SK is carrying play but has not created great chances. Qatar is defending first, second and last. They did not get into the SK penalty area more than once in the whole half.

The feed for this game is free on americaonesports.com and is very good.

 
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'Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
'NewlyRetired said:
:pickle: :pickle: :pickle: 97th minute South Korea with winner to beat Qatar 2-1!!!!Suck it Qatar.
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How do you say "Fergie time" in Korean?
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Solid result for anyone who hates Qatar. :hey: They remain in 4th in the group(3rd place is the playoff spot) and they have played 1 more game than everyone else.Qatar only have 2 games left now but one of them is at home against the 3rd place team in Iran. Still way to close to call but not getting this point today is likely to come into play in the final standings.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
Earthquake of a 5.5 in Mexico City occurred in the last hour or so. No one reported injured.http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/earthquake-shakes-mexico-city-no-immediate-reports-of-damage/2013/03/26/754c3a40-9617-11e2-8764-d42c128a01ef_story.html
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Sheesh. Blizzards, earthquakes -- what next? Locusts?Hope that's not the precursor to a bigger quake.
 
:pickle: :pickle: :pickle: Lots of dancing already for me todayFifa statement on Costa Rica protest
FIFA received a letter via email and fax from the Costa Rica FA on 24 March 2013 with regards to the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier played on 22 March between USA and Costa Rica.FIFA has examined the content of the letter and, taking into consideration article 14, paragraph 4 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup regulations, has confirmed that the conditions established in the regulations for an official protest have not been met by the Costa Rica FA.Therefore, the result of the match played on 22 March stands and is considered as valid.
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NBC has made its first hire for the EPL hosting gig. You should all remember her from Euro 2012 on ESPN

Though NBCUniversal's coverage of the English Premier League won't debut until August -- the network outbid ESPN and Fox to become the English- and Spanish-language media rights holder across all platforms and devices in the U.S. -- NBC Sports has made its first splashy hire: ESPN UK presenter Rebecca Lowe has been tabbed for the studio host role. She will host the coverage from NBC Sports Group's new International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Ct. after she and her fiancé (former Luton manager Paul Buckle) move to the States this summer from England."I will still call it football, I'll still say a penalty not a PK, and a fullback and not an outside back," said Lowe, in an email. "If I start trying to translate in my head, it could get messy. Having said that, living in America will no doubt rub off on me and I'm sure a few Americanisms may creep into my vocabulary over time. I certainly don't want to use words or phrases that the U.S. fans don't understand but I'm sure I'll be told if no one knows what I'm meaning!"Soccer fans will note Lowe was seen Stateside for ESPN's coverage of the 2012 Euro championships and the Women's World Cup from Germany in 2011. Prior to joining ESPN UK, where she co-hosted live coverage of the Premier League, Lowe worked as a studio host for Setanta Sports and was a longtime contributor to the BBC. She began her sports television career after winning the 2002 BBC Talent Search for a football reporter. Last year she became the first woman to front the FA Cup Final for a U.K audience. "She's whip-smart and knows the sport cold," said ESPN anchor Bob Ley, who worked with Lowe at the 2012 Euros and 2011 Women's World Cup. "We lived on a bus together in Germany for a month and I can tell you football is her life."
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Also a side note that BT is considering Ian Darke as their lead analyst for next season. That may mean a new voice for the US Nats and World Cup on ESPN.

 
'NewlyRetired said:
:pickle: :pickle: :pickle:

Lots of dancing already for me today

Fifa statement on Costa Rica protest

FIFA received a letter via email and fax from the Costa Rica FA on 24 March 2013 with regards to the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier played on 22 March between USA and Costa Rica.

FIFA has examined the content of the letter and, taking into consideration article 14, paragraph 4 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup regulations, has confirmed that the conditions established in the regulations for an official protest have not been met by the Costa Rica FA.

Therefore, the result of the match played on 22 March stands and is considered as valid.
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Official response from the Costa Rican federation
 
Japan missed out on being the first team to qualify for WC2014 (outside of the hosts) after losing at Jordan 2-1. All Japan needed was a draw.

 
Probably too much to hope that Obama asks Landon why he is not in Mexico when they meet shortly. Nice article here about Landon training with a college team while visiting his brother. I wonder if playing pick up in Cambodia and training with these guys will help him mentally remember that he actually likes the sport.

For most college soccer teams, the spring season is full of hard work and low-key exhibitions intended to prepare for the fall season – hardly the stuff of memories.But last week was just the opposite for the University of Wisconsin men's team, as the Badgers' training sessions Wednesday and Friday at the McClain Center were ones they'll likely never forget.That's because Landon Donovan, the career leader in goals and assists for the U.S. national team, practiced with UW as he geared up for his return to Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy this week after an extended offseason."That was a big surprise, to see Landon show up at our practices. It was a cool experience," said junior defender-midfielder Paul Yonga, one of the Badgers' three captains. "It was a pretty big shock when we heard that."Donovan, who turned 31 earlier this month, was in Madison because his brother lives in the area – he also played Thursday at Keva Sports Center in Middleton, as he also did back in December 2011.Training and scrimmaging alongside a player of Donovan's stature had an immediate impact on the Badgers."It had a good effect," said senior midfielder and captain Tomislav Zadro, who is coming back from a torn ACL in his knee. "The guys, the intensity just went up, everybody wanted to show their best stuff."What did the UW players see from Donovan?"You could tell that he was class," Zadro said. "The way he moves off the ball, he's always thinking ahead and putting himself in position to receive the ball. Just his movement off the ball was something really special – that's what I was looking at. He's always open, he's always a target for his players to pass him the ball. I thought that was really impressive.""You can tell he's a superstar," Yonga added. "You could tell that he wasn't trying as hard as he obviously could, but his touch was amazing, his awareness of where to play the ball and just the little simple details, you could tell that he's obviously at the highest level."With a roster full of players with professional aspirations, there was plenty for the Badgers to learn from Donovan, who also has spent time with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany's Bundesliga and Everton of the Premier League during his career."You definitely see what your touch has to be like, your awareness, the speed of play, it's definitely different than the college level," Yonga said. "Just to see how quick he was able to play and know where every guy on the field was – sometimes he was playing balls without even looking, he just knew there was going to be a guy there. It just shows you the level of awareness you need to have at the next level."Every time he saw there was an opportunity to give a guy a pointer, I think that's what he did."Beyond his play, which saw him score several goals and set up a few others, Zadro was struck by Donovan's overall approach."He was focused, totally," he said. "Whatever the coach said, he was always willing to listen, he didn't think he was better than anybody just because he was playing with a bunch of college guys."He was a down-to-earth guy. That's what I liked most about him. It would be easy to be cocky in his position. Anybody who follows soccer in America knows that he's probably the best player of all-time to come out of this country, and everybody in the world knows who Landon Donovan is, right? Compared to him, we're a bunch of nobodies. And he was really cool about everything. Even in training, he didn't think he was better than anybody, knew everybody's names – that's what really stood out for me, he took the time to remember guys' names, even though he was only here for two days."That impression of Donovan extended off the field. After Friday's training session, he headed to the locker room with the players and played a few games on the team's new ping pong table – "He's a pretty good ping pong player," Yonga said."You watch guys on TV and you often hear about these big egos with some guys, but to see Landon, he's actually a genuine guy, he's willing to come to play with a bunch of college guys and even hang out with us after. It's just good to see."Donovan is scheduled to rejoin his Galaxy teammates on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as President Obama welcomes them to commemorate their second straight MLS Cup title, then will return to Los Angeles and prepare for match action.So is he ready to return to MLS?"Definitely," Yonga said. "He wasn't trying his hardest, but I'm sure, looking at his technical ability, I definitely think he's ready to start back in there. I wouldn't doubt it.""He's ready," Zadro echoed. "You can tell he's fit. ... I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm excited to see him play."
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So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.

 
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
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Oh how I wish the US qualifying matches against minnows was boring and a given.
 
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
I hate UEFA's format.They have 15 or so teams that really have no business in a "final round" of qualifying. They should have a pre qualifying round to whittle down the minnows and allow the final groups to be more manageable and not have 4 games for the top teams be near automatic wins.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
I hate UEFA's format.They have 15 or so teams that really have no business in a "final round" of qualifying. They should have a pre qualifying round to whittle down the minnows and allow the final groups to be more manageable and not have 4 games for the top teams be near automatic wins.
Click to expand...
Not equitable and too many teams to manage well.
 
'Mjolnirs said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
Oh how I wish the US qualifying matches against minnows was boring and a given.
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Most of CONCACAF minnows are removed from the process before the US, Mexico, CR etc even get involved in qualifying.UEFA has some very low ranked countries playing immediately against some of the highest ranked teams.It would be the equivalent of Mexico having a game against Cayman Islands. It just makes no sense.
 
'The Z Machine said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
I hate UEFA's format.They have 15 or so teams that really have no business in a "final round" of qualifying. They should have a pre qualifying round to whittle down the minnows and allow the final groups to be more manageable and not have 4 games for the top teams be near automatic wins.
Click to expand...
Not equitable and too many teams to manage well.
Click to expand...
Why is it too many teams to manage? UEFA has 53, ASIA has 46, Africa has 54. It would not be hard at all to remove the minnows from UEFA similar to what CONCACAF, or Asia or CAF does. In fact, UEFA is the only confederation that does not do this (South America only has 10 countries and non are ranked lower than 43rd so there are no minnows).It would reduce fixture congestion since you could remove the utterly useless games with San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, Faeroe Islands, Luxumborgh, etc.If every other region can manage this process, I think UEFA could as well if they wanted.
 
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'NewlyRetired said:
Japan missed out on being the first team to qualify for WC2014 (outside of the hosts) after losing at Jordan 2-1. All Japan needed was a draw.
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The win by Jordan also pushed Australia into 3rd and into a playoff spot. So, nobody can clinch now until June.
 
Big win by Egypt today, winning 2-1 at home with a late 87th minute goal.

This gives Bradley's side a perfect 3-0 start and an excellent shot at advancing to the final round of qualifying (which is just a home and home series with the winner moving on to the WC).

There were 22 Egypt players listed on the ESPN match center. No less than 14 of them had first names that were Mohamed or Ahmed :)

Safe to say Bob is not on a first name basis with these guys :)

 
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'NewlyRetired said:
If game is to be replayed from scratch, it turns out it would have been better to abandon in second half.

Still, it is going to take a pile of money from CR to get this replayed. It would set a bad precedent where teams are going to protest games more often that they lose.



Has anyone ever heard of a game being replayed from scratch that was completed? Have match fixed games even done that?

Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle)

3/25/13, 12:23 PM

FIFA spokesperson confirms in email that if game is abandoned,it picks up where it left off.Admits 2014 WC regs online are "not up to date."
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Most (hilariously) famous case of FIFA granting a replay following a protest.

Probably the most FIFA decsion of all of FIFA's decisions :)

-QG

 
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Japan has basically clinched their spot and can do no worse than the playoff in any event. They need the comically unlikely combination of:

Australia wins at Japan

Iraq wins at Oman

Iraq wins at home vs Japan

Jordan wins at Australia

Jordan wins at home vs Oman

Iraq wins at Australia

AND

Jordan beating Japan on goal differential. Right now Japan is +10 and Jordan is -6.

Unless all of the above happens, Japan will finish top 2.

-QG

 
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It also looks like Iran is this year's version of North Korea (maybe it's an axis of evil thing?)

Through 5 games they have won two games 1-0, lost two games 1-0, and tied the other game 0-0. Hope we get to see this exciting brand of soccer in Brazil :excited:

-QG

 
'NewlyRetired said:
'The Z Machine said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
I hate UEFA's format.They have 15 or so teams that really have no business in a "final round" of qualifying. They should have a pre qualifying round to whittle down the minnows and allow the final groups to be more manageable and not have 4 games for the top teams be near automatic wins.
Click to expand...
Not equitable and too many teams to manage well.
Click to expand...
Why is it too many teams to manage? UEFA has 53, ASIA has 46, Africa has 54. It would not be hard at all to remove the minnows from UEFA similar to what CONCACAF, or Asia or CAF does. In fact, UEFA is the only confederation that does not do this (South America only has 10 countries and non are ranked lower than 43rd so there are no minnows).It would reduce fixture congestion since you could remove the utterly useless games with San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, Faeroe Islands, Luxumborgh, etc.If every other region can manage this process, I think UEFA could as well if they wanted.
Click to expand...
Plus, the current UEFA system sucks in terms of being equitable. So much depends on your draw.A good example in 2010 was Bosnia-Herzegovina. They were in Spain's group, so they had no chance to win, but did manage to finish 2nd ahead of Turkey and Belgium. Then they went to the playoffs and drew Portugal. Never had a chance.Meanwhile, Slovakia qualified by winning a group that included Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland and San Marino.If you remove some of the minnows early on, you'd not only get rid of a lot of pointless matches, but you could shrink the number of groups to maybe 6 and have two teams qualify from each group. Then it wouldn't be so crushing to land in a group with Spain or Germany.
 
'Spartans Rule said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'The Z Machine said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
So my German friend (and Bayern fan) from way back in the day emails me today lamenting how boring these international breaks are now that FIFA and UEFA decided to allow all the minnows into the qualification process. Germany plays Kazakhstan today for the second time in 5 days, having won 0-3 at Astana. Qualification is a certainty. He did note that its probably a bit more interesting for us in concacaf. Bayern could clinch the Bundesliga on Saturday (a record) or at the latest next week. They have a cake~walk through the DFB Pokal, so all that's on his mind is the first leg against the Old Lady @ Allianz on Tuesday.
Click to expand...
I hate UEFA's format.They have 15 or so teams that really have no business in a "final round" of qualifying. They should have a pre qualifying round to whittle down the minnows and allow the final groups to be more manageable and not have 4 games for the top teams be near automatic wins.
Click to expand...
Not equitable and too many teams to manage well.
Click to expand...
Why is it too many teams to manage? UEFA has 53, ASIA has 46, Africa has 54. It would not be hard at all to remove the minnows from UEFA similar to what CONCACAF, or Asia or CAF does. In fact, UEFA is the only confederation that does not do this (South America only has 10 countries and non are ranked lower than 43rd so there are no minnows).It would reduce fixture congestion since you could remove the utterly useless games with San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, Faeroe Islands, Luxumborgh, etc.If every other region can manage this process, I think UEFA could as well if they wanted.
Click to expand...
Plus, the current UEFA system sucks in terms of being equitable. So much depends on your draw.A good example in 2010 was Bosnia-Herzegovina. They were in Spain's group, so they had no chance to win, but did manage to finish 2nd ahead of Turkey and Belgium. Then they went to the playoffs and drew Portugal. Never had a chance.Meanwhile, Slovakia qualified by winning a group that included Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Poland and San Marino.If you remove some of the minnows early on, you'd not only get rid of a lot of pointless matches, but you could shrink the number of groups to maybe 6 and have two teams qualify from each group. Then it wouldn't be so crushing to land in a group with Spain or Germany.
Click to expand...
:goodposting: They have so many choices they could make to make it better and so many different formats to look at around the world. It must come down to money/politics/votes because it makes too much sense to alter and make better.
 
First text regarding the game tonight; "3-0 to Mexico....u won't have being saved by snow this time"

I replied, "Chicharito es un hijo de puta frijol"

 
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