Throw your hats for Jozy

Nice bounce back win for the US. We'll certainly be fine for qualifying as long as we follow the win at home/tie on the road system.

Mexico is losing at Honduras 2-0 at half time.

JOZY!!!

jp_chips wrote:Jeff, when did the US start putting Beasley at LB ? And is this considered good ?

I didn't get to see either game, but last Saturday against El Salvador was the first time they've done it recently, first time I can remember it, not sure if it's the first time ever. Not considered good. An all-around good left back instead of a guy shoe-horned in would be better.

They played Beasley once at LB in last year's qualifying round to get into the hex. It's a last resort, obviously, but I'm not sure it's bad. They simply haven't had an LB emerge. They've given numerous chances to Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein with no luck. My guess is they'd like to give Jonathan Spector a shot, who's been playing for West Ham, but I believe at RB, not LB.

They feel Beasley, even out of position, is a bigger upgrade than any downgrade they experience from replacing him with Donovan or Dempsey (or even JF Torres). Interestingly, our best LB is probably Bocanegra, who's been starting and doing well for Rennes in Ligue 1, but they're unwilling to replace him with Demerit (Watford) or Spector or Califf (Danish League).

I wasn't watching in an ideal setting (too much beer, and the TV wasn't great and was sort of far away), but I thought Beasley was our worst player tonight. Seemed all their action came down their right side.

Did I mention JOZY!

jeff2sf wrote:They played Beasley once at LB in last year's qualifying round to get into the hex. It's a last resort, obviously, but I'm not sure it's bad. They simply haven't had an LB emerge. They've given numerous chances to Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein with no luck. My guess is they'd like to give Jonathan Spector a shot, who's been playing for West Ham, but I believe at RB, not LB.

They feel Beasley, even out of position, is a bigger upgrade than any downgrade they experience from replacing him with Donovan or Dempsey (or even JF Torres). Interestingly, our best LB is probably Bocanegra, who's been starting and doing well for Rennes in Ligue 1, but they're unwilling to replace him with Demerit (Watford) or Spector or Califf (Danish League).

Would they consider Parkhurst at all ?

I imagine any path to Mexico not qualifying would include us winning at the Azteca...but I would truly laugh my ass off if that happened.

Straight red for someone on Mexico too. Good times.

Three points from three games for El Tri.

One last soccer thought for the evening. It really is something that today in Istanbul for the best national team in the world one Liverpool man won a penalty, a second converted it, and a third scored the winner late.

And in related amazing news, Bolivia raping Argentina 6-1. Yikes.

Also Costa Rica ended up getting a second half winner against El Salvador, so Sven's Mexico sit 4th 30% through the hexagonal. Will they fire him?

JOZY!

Mexican soccer directors will discuss coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's future on Friday after Wednesday's embarrassing 3-1 defeat in Honduras in a World Cup qualifier.

ESPN Soccernet

If the US were to coast through the rest of qualifiers, is there any chance they get to be in the second tier out of the four team World Cup groups, or will there always be two European powers (or a power and a semi-power, whatever) above them?

I'd think so, especially if we do well in the Confederation's Cup this summer.

Didn't Mexico get a preferential seed somewhat controversially in the last World Cup? Why can't us?

FTN or Wiz knows this better, but here's my understanding:

32 teams are divided into 8 pots of four: I think only 8 teams get placed in a preferential pot (the host plus the top 7 teams based on some complicated ranking including past performance in most recent 2 cups). Our performance in 06 Cup essentially guarantees us not being in this pot. Then the other 3 pots are based largely on geography (so the US is with other CONCACAF and therefore will never be in the same group as Mex/Hond/Costa etc.). What this means in practice is that we get placed with one of the top pot (which could be Brazil or another European team), one from Europe, and then one from Asia/Africa/S. America.

Essentially, the only way not to get into a group of death setting (if you think of the US as one of the top teams from its pot) is to get assigned to the group that South Africa (the host) will be in.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:If the US were to coast through the rest of qualifiers, is there any chance they get to be in the second tier out of the four team World Cup groups, or will there always be two European powers (or a power and a semi-power, whatever) above them?

Unlikely, unless they changing the seeding process. The way they've set it up basically 7 teams + the host get seeded and placed into one pot, then the other 3 pots are determined by geography (one with the remaining Euro teams, and two that are some combo of Asian/African/N American/S American/Oceana). Since the US will be in one of the last two pots, their group will contain a seeded team, a non-seeded Euro team and a third team (from either Asia/Africa/S. America/Oceana). In 2006, we were in the same pot as the Asian teams (so we could not be in the same group as one of them). In 2002, we were in the same pot as the Africa teams.

Best case scenario is obviously getting drawn with South Africa, who are considered "seeded" as the hosts.

Is is possible that we could end up seeded (a la Mexico in 2006)? Not really, because of both our poor performance in the 2006 WC as well as our lack of games/wins versus top competition internationally -- a result of playing in CONCACAF so our qualification (and Gold Cup) games are largely not all that helpful to our ranking. would doing well in the Confederations Cup (or Copa America in 2007) help? Absolutely, but not really enough to get us into seeded territory (more or less the top 7 teams in the world and we aren't particularly close to there).

Thanks everybody.

Sven out

Stevie and Kuyt had their contracts extended through 2013 and 2012 respectively.

Also, given Fulham's home form against the big four this season, tomorrow feels like maybe the biggest game left. Not that hosting Arsenal or going to West Ham will be a walk in the park or anything, but damn, three points tomorrow would be huge and are absolutely a must have. The mancs still have a few trips to the Northeast left, plus a derby. They'll drop a few more points, but not many, you wouldn't expect.

God if Liverpool win and Villa can get a result Sunday...

Hicks defaulted on some loans relating to the Stars and Rangers. Please sell Liverpool to some rich Arabs.

John Spector strechered off in the West Ham game.