World Cup Draw Review: Concacaf

Concacaf has finally gotten a system that seems fair and likely to qualify the best teams to the World Cup. There was still a problem this time around however, typical for the region. The problem is that unlike the rest of the world Concacaf chose to use the rankings from March for their seeding, four months prior to the draw. The direct result of this unwise choice was Cuba being seeded while Panama, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada had to go through the first group round.

The first group round makes sence for Concacaf. Six groups of four teams in which only the group winner progresses. This gives a lot of the smaller nations a chance to play more than just 2 games and against more than just one opponent. While the eventual result of most of these groups are obvious, in the long run I think the region will benefit from more matches for the smaller nations. The draw in Brazil this past weekend formed the groups for this first group round as well as the Semi Round that will follow.

Group A is made up of El Salvador, Suriname, Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic. El Salvador made an amazing run all the way to the final round (the Hexagonal) of qualifying last cycle and though it was unexpected they did well to represent themselves. Suriname made it to the Semi Round last time in what was also an unexpected performance. At that stage they put up little fight though. The Cayman Islands and Dominican Republic have not had much previous qualifying success and group play in the World Cup is a new experience for both. El Salvador are a force at home versus the region's best and should not have much problem versus opponents of this quality. I fully expect them to win the group and qualify for the Semi Round with ease.

El Salvador

2006 qualifiers, Trinidad and Tobago were drawn into Group B where they will meet Guyana, Barbados and Bermuda. Given the talent in this round, this group is one of the strongest. Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the World Cup in 2006 but since then have been on a downward spiral and have not even played a match this year. They have played Guyana a few times over the last few years however and that may go a long way for them. Guyana has never made it to the Semi Round and even with Trinidad and Tobago's struggles they will most likely not make it past this group. Barbados made it to the Semi Round in the World Cup 2002 qualifying cycle and even managed a victory over Costa Rica to open their campaign. After that historic win however they were not able to record another victory. Since then Barbados has fallen a bit and will most likely not be much of a threat on the group. Bermuda has not done well in World Cup qualifying since the 1994 cycle but the last time around they managed to beat Trinidad and Tobago in Trinidad. If they can repeat that feat it will go a long way in this group. Expect a close group but without many major upsets.

Trinidad and Tobago

Group C should be called the group of minnows. Panama, who are one of the region's best currently, will face Dominica, Nicaragua and the Bahamas. None of those three have ever made it to the Semi Round and rarely qualify for regional tournaments. The Bahamas are a super minnow and will most likely not earn a point. Nicaragua qualified for a Gold Cup not too long ago but are usually not a threat in World Cup qualifying. Dominica, regardless of being second seeds, are just as bad as Nicaragua if not worst. Panama made it all the way to the Hexagonal in the 2006 cycle but followed it up by failing to qualify for the Semi Round last time around. Panama should win the group with full points and move on.

Canada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and St.Lucia make up Group D. Puerto Rico and St.Lucia are true minnows while St.Kitts are good enough to beat both but not beat Canada once. Canada, traditional underachievers, are used to the Semi Round and should be back there again. They have not qualified for the Hexagonal the last 3 times though, not since the 1998 cycle. St.Kitts played in the Semi Round in the 2006 cycle but were embarrased by Mexico there. If there's any doubt as to who will win the group going into the final match, St.Kitts having to play in Canada in November will settle it.

If there's a tough group in this round then Group E wins the title hands down. Grenada, Guatemala, St.Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize make up a thrilling group. Grenada have done well enough over the past 5 years to warrant being seeded in this round but will have their work cut out for them. Their toughest opponents are Guatemala, who are regulars at the Semi Round and true favorites to win the group by most. St.Vincent and the Grenadines had a great level of success for a nation of their size from the 1994 cycle to the 2006 cycle and no one can take their reputation away from them. They made the Semi Round in every one of those 4 cycles before failing in the 2010 cycle. Belize will bring up the rear but are far from the easiest minnow that could've been drawn into the group. While Guatemala are favorites they will play their final 2 matches against Grenada with the last being in Grenada. Playing in the Caribbean is never an easy task for Central American nations and could prove decisive for Guatemala. St.Vincent and the Grenadines however may benefit from being placed as a third seed. They play their final 2 matches against Belize and if they manage to keep things close going into those final 2 games it may put them in great position to win the group. They're also familiar enough with Grenada to not be threatened by their ranking.

Grenada

The final preliminery group includes Haiti, Antigua, Curacao and the US Virgin Islands. Overall this is the weakest group and there may not be much outside interest here. The US Virgin Islands will end play with 0 points and I can garauntee that before a ball is kicked. Curacao played formerly as the Netherland Antilles, well atleast all their players did before the Antilles broke apart. Antigua, while improving over the years, can threaten Haiti for the group but if they get past then they will suffer a harsh reality upon reaching the next round. Haiti would usually be the outright favorites in the group but after the tragedy that struck their nation last year...who knows what kind of effort they will put forth.

The Semi Round is where the quality of football gets higher and we seperate the men from the boys. Group A includes the USA and Jamaica from the seeded teams and most likely Haiti and Guatemala from the groups I listed above. The USA will of course finish top 2 and qualify from this group to the Hexagonal. Guatemala (if they mak it to this stage) will put up a nice challenge, but truthfully Jamaica are as good, if not better, than their 1998 team that qualified for the World Cup in France. Haiti, if they make it past the previous round, will finish last in the group.

Jamaica

Group B in the Semi Round should be the toughest. It involves Mexico and Costa Rica from the seeded pots and most likely Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador as winners of their preliminery groups. Mexico are traditionally the region's best and Costa Rica can be as strong as the top seeds on any given day. Trinidad and Tobago realistically should not pose much of a threat to either of the top 2, while El Salvador should be dominant at home but not good enough overall. If all teams play at their best though, expect fireworks and surprises.

Group C will be the weakest of the bunch overall. Honduras and Cuba were the seeded teams assigned to this group and they are expected to be joined by Canada and Panama. Honduras are not far removed from their World Cup appearance in 2010 but a Gold Cup loss to Jamaica would suggest that they are closer to the second seeds than they are to USA and Mexico in quality. Cuba, while seeded, will in all likelihood finish last in the group. They don't travel well, as you would expect wth a country in their situation, and they just don't have the players to compete against the better teams in the region. Canada has a nice opportunity to make it to the Hexagonal for the first time since the 1998 cycle, but they usually underachieve and Panama can cause them trouble. Panama are my pick to finish 2nd in this group as they have been improving steadily since 2004 and the draw was favorable to them.

Cuba

I will revisit these groups once we get a clearer picture of what these groups will looks like. The preliminery round will begin on September 2nd and the road to Brazil will begin to take shape in North America. By the end of the year we will know for sure what the Semi Round groups will look like and what to expect heading deeper into this cycle.

World Cup Draw Review: Asia and Oceania with a touch of South America

Asia and Oceania are still not merged into one confederation and I have no idea why! Before we get to those confederations though, let's take a quick look at South America. I have spent a big part of the summer watching and writing about South American football, so I have a fairly good idea of where each team is in terms of quality. Brazil qualifies automatically as hosts and therefore will not take part in the qualifiers this time around. The other 9 South American teams however will face off in one big 9 team group as usual. There are 4.5 spots in the World Cup on the line. That means 4 teams qualify automatically with the 5th placing team playing off with an Asian team for a spot in the World Cup. We can potentially have 6 South American teams in the World Cup with Brazil added to those possibly 5 spots. 6 teams out of the overall 10 nations seems like a bit much to me, but oh well lets see how that works. With 9 teams facing each other in 1 big group we will always have 1 team off on a matchday. Personally I expect to see Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia to qualify. Chile should get the 5th spot with Ecuador challenging them all the way.

Colombia National Team

 In Asia we have already had 2 rounds of football to narrow the field of teams down to 20. These 20 teams were drawn into 5 groups over the weekend. The top 2 teams in each group will move on to the next round. This system protects the regions top teams to some extent while allowing for minor upsets in which teams move on.

Group A drew China, Jordan, Iraq and Singapore together. China, Jordan and Iraq should all be in the fight for the top 2 spots. Singapore I don't see moving on but they may not exactly be walkovers either. Iraq and Jordan will open against each other in Iraq and it will be a good opportunity for either side to start off their campaign on a strong note. Jordan needs the fast start more as they finish their campaign against Iraq at home and then on the road against China.

Group B brings South Korea, Kuwait, U.A.E and Lebanon together in another interesting group. South Korea should be favored and even with a slip up should be able to finish top 2 in the group. Kuwait and the U.A.E will battle for the other spot while Lebanon will add some excitement as they pick up points. The key matchup here is U.A.E hosting South Korea in their 4th match. If U.A.E are able to get points in this matchup it will go a long way in determining if they get one of the top 2 spots.

As interesting as the first two groups may be, Group C is the group of death in Asia. Japan, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Syria are sure to excite in a group that could see any of the 4 nations moving on to the next round. Japan of course are favorites but all of their 3 opponents are capable of qualifying to the final round along with them. North Korea hosts Japan in the 5th matchday in a very important match for them, while Uzbekistan will try to defeat Syria at home the same day to avoid needing too much versus Japan in the final match.

Japan Team

Group D, involves Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand. Saudi Arabia usually qualifies for the final round and up until the last World Cup they were good enough to qualify for the big tournament. They are very shaky nowadays though and missing the final round is not out of the question. Australia should be the favorite in the group and I have no doubt they will win it. Oman and Thailand are a bit mysterious but Saudi Arabia should be weary of both. If Oman can beat Saudi Arabia at home in their opening game they will get an early strong hold on the 2nd spot. They face Thailand second and play two of their final three games at home.

Iran, Qatar, Bahrain and Indonesia make up Group E. Indonesia poses no real threat here but the group will not be short on excitement. Iran are the top seeds in the group and have qualified for World Cups recently, while Qatar was just awarded the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup and are expected to atleast make the final round. Then there's Bahrain. Bahrain made it all the way to the intercontinental playoffs the last two times they attempted to qualify. They faced Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 playoff for the final World Cup spot and in 2010 they battled with New Zealand. Both times they lost barely. This cycle they go into this semi round as a third seeded team but something tells me they'll have a lot to say about who progresses and who doesn't from this group. They travel to Qatar in the 5th matchday then finish at home against Indonesia, so that game against Qatar will essentially decide whether they move on or not.

In Oceania, there's no real secret that New Zealand will win the confederation and represent them in the intercontinental playoff. Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will try prevent this but I doubt they will succeed. New Zealand's main treat on their way to possible World Cup qualification is going to be the 4th placed Concacaf team. New Zealand can expect to meet Costa Rica or Honduras or possibly Jamaica in that intercontinental playoff and personally I don't think they can defeat any of the three....we are a long way away from that however, and a lot can change. We'll see how it works out.

World Cup Draw Review: Africa

The World Cup qualifying draw for all continents (barring South America who didn't need a draw) took place on Saturday in Brazil. The continent of Africa is using a format that begins with a preliminery round that has 24 teams playing in 12 playoffs. The 12 winners will then move on to the second round which will be a group stage. The preliminery round of 24 teams includes some notable quality teams, such as Congo, Congo DR, Togo and Kenya. Assuming these four move on to the second round of qualifying they will most likely be joined by Namibia, Liberia, Mozambique, Burundi, Rwanda and the winners of Equitorial Guinea vs Madagascar, Tanzania vs Chad and Somalia vs Ethiopia (Ethiopia is favored in this rivalry). Mauritania will be the only African nation to not partake in qualification this time around. These playoffs will take place on November 11th with the return legs on November 15th.

The second round was also drawn on Saturday and here's a review of the groups as well as what we can expect. Group A features, South Africa, Botswana, Central African Republic and the winner of Somalia vs Ethiopia. Only the winner of each group progresses from this round and I think South Africa should be the winner of this group easily. If there's any challenge it will come from Botswana.

Group B includes Tunisia, Cape Verde, Sierre Leone and the winner of Equitorial Guinea vs Madagascar. This group will come down to Tunisia winning surely, but the Cape Verde Islands have an outside chance granted they defeat the teams they are expected to and get an upset over Tunisia.

In Group C we have Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Gambia and the winner of Chad vs Tanzania. This will arguably be the group of death in Africa. Cote d'Ivoire should be one of the strongest on the continent, while Morocco aren't that far removed from being one of the continent's top level nations. Gambia won't be a walk over either and can easily take points from either of the top 2 teams. If Morocco plays to the top of their ability we will have a close one here.

Ghana, Zambia, Sudan and the winner of the Burundi and Lesotho tie make up Group D. At first glance Ghana are the clear favorites but Zambia are traditionally tough in qualifying while Sudan can hold their own. Ghana should be good enough to win the group but an upset wouldn't be out of the question.

Ghana National Team

Group E involves Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger and the winners of Sao Tome and Principe vs Congo. I think its safe to assume that Congo will win the preliminery matchup and join the group. Burkina Faso are the 4th highest ranked team in Africa and have the quality to win the group but Gabon has every opportunity to win the group as well. Niger and Congo should give the top 2 enough problems to make this group a close one.

Nigeria should win Group F in all likelyhood, but they like to make things harder than it should be in qualifying. Malawi joins them in the group with the winners of Seychelles vs Kenya and Djibouti vs Namibia joining them.

Group G includes multiple time African Nations Cup Champion Egypt. They usually dominate the Nations Cup, (winning the last 3 tournaments) then fall flat in World Cup qualifying (last qualifying in 1990). They are joined by some tough opposition in Guinea, Zimbabwe and the winner of Comoros vs Mozambique. Guinea are very formidable and can seriously challenge Egypt for the group and Zimbabwe are the highest ranking 3rd seeded team. Mozambique are the highest ranking of the nations in the first round playoffs as well. If Egypt falter, and there's plenty opportunity to do so, Guinea or even Zimbabwe can win this group and shock the world.

Algeria, Mali and Benin were drawn into Group H with the winner of Eritrea and Rwanda joining them. Algeria and Mali will fight for the group while Benin and Rwanda will likely decide the outcome by taking points from one of the top 2.

Cameroon

Group I, Cameroon, Libya and the winner of Guinea-Bissau vs Togo and Swaziland vs Congo DR should be interesting. Cameroon are favorites undoubtedly but the group will realistically involve Togo and Congo DR. Both nations are not that far removed from being serious threats in World Cup qualifying. Libya also poses a threat and are not second seeded for no reason. Cameroon should be fine but 1 mistake may be enough in this group to derail them.

The final group will be made up of Senegal, Uganda, Angola and the winner of Mauritius vs Liberia. 2002 qualifiers Senegal and 2006 qualifiers Angola stand out in this group. I think it will be closer than the rankings and seedings suggest.

The Final Round this time around in Africa will be full of excitement and interest. The 10 group winners will be drawn into 5 playoffs with the 5 winners qualifying for the World Cup. Potentially we could have South Africa, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso/Gabon, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon and Senegal/Angola in 2 game playoffs for their spot at a World Cup. Imagine, South Africa vs Nigeria, Tunisia vs Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana vs Algeria, Burkina Faso/Gabon vs Cameroon and Egypt vs Senegal/Angola for a spot in the World Cup. There will no doubt be some thrilling matchups and thrilling finishes in Africa with the World Cup on the line!

Awakening of a Sleeping Giant

The first real super power in the beautiful game's history was not Brazil, Germany, Italy or Argentina, it was Uruguay. Dating back to 1916, when Uruguay started playing opposition not named Argentina, they dominated the game. That was the first year they took part in a major tournament, and they won it. It was the first edition of the Copa America, held in rival Argentina just like the recently concluded tournament. The second Copa America showed even more of Uruguay's dominance in the early years, they again won it all, this time without losing or drawing a game or conceding a goal. They had played two tournaments and won both, this would not be the last time that they achieved this feat. Uruguay would finally lose a match at the tournament in its third edition but even then it was the final and the game's only goal came after 122 minutes.

Having established themselves in South America, Uruguay took their act international, becoming the first South American team to compete in the Olympics in 1924 in Paris. It was unchartered territory for the team, having only played South American opposition in their history to this point. It didn't matter however as Uruguay won the tournament without losing a match, beating Switzerland in the gold medal match. Four years later Uruguay again headed to Europe to defend their Olympic title, this time in Amsterdam. In the final they met a familiar foe, Argentina, but just as they had done in the Copa America a decade before they won the tournament for the second time, in their second appearance. Uruguay had now made their mark on the world, so much that they were chosen to host a new tournament, the World Cup.


Uruguay 1930 team photo

Uruguay had now made their mark on the early history of the Copa America and travelled to Europe twice and won the Olympic tournament. So they were understandably upset when only four European nations made the trip to their nation to participate in the first World Cup. As they had done with the Copa America and Olympic tournaments, they again won a tournament in their first appearance. They won every game and again faced Argentina in the final. They boycotted the 1934 World Cup in Italy to repay the European nations for not making the trip to South America in 1930. The 1938 World Cup in France was also boycotted by Uruguay, this time because a previous agreement to alternate World Cups between continents had been ignored. World War II followed soon after, so Uruguay had to wait until 1950 to see if they could make it 2 for 2 in the World Cup.


Uruguay scores in the 1950 final

Uruguay won the1950 World Cup, once again without losing a game. They defeated Brazil in the final at the Maracana in what was considered an upset. Regardless, Uruguay had managed to win another tournament in their first two appearances and were clearly a force when it came to international tournament football. They participated at the 1954 World Cup and lost for the first time ever in the Semi Finals versus a Hungarian team that hadn't lost in years. At the end of regulation the score was tied at 2, the Hungarians added on after the 110th minute. Uruguay won their 9th Copa America title two years later but a 5-0 loss to Paraguay prevented them from qualifying for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. By 1970 they had won 11 Copa America titles and managed a 4th place finish in the World Cup that year, but their dominance over the rest of the world was a thing of the past and the next 40 years was filled with a lot of inconsistant play.

After 1970, Uruguay fell into mediocrity, they qualified for the World Cup every once in a while and when they did they did nothing of notice. The little nation had fallen off as one of the world's super powers and was replaced by Brazil, Germany, Italy and their rival Argentina. As the turn of the century came and passed, Uruguay were barely featured in the world's biggest tournament. A poor showing at the 2002 World Cup was followed by failure to qualify for the 2006 tournament. Then came 2010, a new generation of players and an emergence.

The first round put them in what appeared to be a tough group. They would have to play the hosts, South Africa, a tough Mexican team and 2006 finalist, France. Surprisingly to football purists, Uruguay won the group. They then beat South Korea in the round of 16 putting them in the Quarter Finals. This was further than many had expected the team to make it and it would have been satisfactory. Four South American nations had made it to the stage in all, more than we were accustomed to. Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina were still present. Argentina were then dismantled by Germany, Brazil lost their cool versus the Netherlands and Paraguay blew their chances against Spain. Uruguay however battled Africa's last hope, Ghana, in one of the tournaments most memorable games. The match went to penalties, albeit by some Uruguayan luck, with Ghana missing a penalty in the 120th minute. Uruguay won the shootout and made it to the semi finals, for the first time in 40 years.

Diego Forlan

One man could be given the credit for Uruguay's shock performance at the World Cup, Diego Forlan. He wasn't exactly one of the new generation, having played at the 2002 World Cup, but his performance at the 2010 World Cup was the stuff of legend. Even though Uruguay lost to the Netherlands in the semi finals, Forlan managed to score in both that game and the 3rd place playoff. He was awarded goal of the tournament by FIFA, even though any of his 5 could have been given that honor. He was also awarded the FIFA Golden Ball, given to the tournament's best player overall, quite an honor.

Walter Gargano

Uruguay had finished 4th in the World for the first time since 1970 and there was no feeling of a fluke involved, tough players like Walter Gargano, Diego Perez and Eguren showed quality. Up front Forlan had looked like the world's best but Luis Suarez had emerged as a star and also had a good world cup himself. Muslera in goal turned out to be a very valuable goalkeeper and role players in midfield like Alvaro Pereira emerged in the 2010 World Cup and proved to be as good as advertised. Uruguay had not only finished in their highest position since 1970, they were the highest placing South American team, outranking Argentina and Brazil as well as Paraguay.

Alvaro Pereira

One year later and we are one year removed from the World Cup. One of the most exciting Copa America tournaments in recent memory has just concluded, and Uruguay are the winner. The sleeping giant has emerged, the Copa America title, their first in 16 years, was their record 15th. In all they have won more major titles than any other nation in the world and for the second year in a row have outdone Brazil and Argentina. They now play the beautiful game as well as anyone in the world. Winning the Copa America in Argentina is nothing new for them, but even after the World Cup performance last year not many would have bet on them to win it all. Led by Forlan they have a core of players young enough to continue performing at this level. Players like Caceres in defense have their careers ahead of them, and once Forlan has retired young forwards Luis Suarez and Edinson "El Matador" Cavani look more than capable of carrying on upfront for the next decade. With the next World Cup on South American soil in 3 years, and the Confederations Cup preceeding it, Uruguay are in perfect position to make another strong run in a tournament. The rest of the world better take notice, because the sleeping giants from the tiny nation are back!

El Matador Cavani

The Penalty Problem

In the past week we've had a lot of football. The 4 Copa America Quarter Finals, the 2 Copa America Semi Finals and a Women's World Cup Final, just to name a few. Of these 7 critical games, 5 of them went into extra time and of those 5, 4 of them went to Penalty Shootouts. So in one week, we had 7 matches that helped decide the eventual outcome of tournaments and more than half were decided by the dreaded shootout. Personally, I love shootouts, the excitement is unrivaled in sports and it tests the composure of players when everything is on the line. When is it too much though? The concept of the penalty shootout has worked so well for so long because we usually only see them in small doses. Between World Cups 1986 and 2010 we've had an average of 3 penalty shootouts per World Cup. 7 World Cups, 21 Shootouts, 112 Knockout Games, That's less than 1 in every 5 World Cup games.

Why are we now seeing more and more penalty shootouts, but why? I've come up with 3 main reasons for this. (1) Parity (2) Conservative Play (3) Refereeing Decisons. Parity is definitely alive in the international game. There was once a clear seperation between the elite nations of the world and everyone else, that seperation is now blurred. Recent penalty shootout matchups that potetially show parity are
Brazil .vs. Paraguay in the Copa America 2011 Quarter Finals and Venezuela vs Paraguay in the Copa America 2011 Semi Finals. In the first matchup we have one of the world's elite in Brazil being held to a goalless draw and eventually losing in a Shootout, in the other we have traditional regional minnows Venezuela holding Paraguay and almost actually winning. In another example involving Paraguay we have the World Cup 2010 Second Round matchup vs Japan, a team that has not ever really been a real Quarter Final quality team. Yet still they were just a shootout away from reaching that milestone just a year ago. 

The fact that Paraguay were involved in so many penalty shootouts may point to another one of my listed reasons, conservative play. Certainly the fact that Paraguay has been in shootouts with everyone from Japan and Venezuela to Brazil may have something to do with their style of play. They may not be intentionally trying to play for penalties but their defensive style of play may give weaker teams the opportunity to. One small fact about Paraguay in those last 3 shootouts is that they've won all 3. They're becoming the Germany of South America when it comes to penalty shootouts and if they're that good at it, why fight the possibility of it? Certainly the factor of conservative play has been around for quite some time where penalties are concerned. That's where the biggest problem lies with the concept of a penalty shootout.


Vizcarrondo

Refereeing decisions certainly play a part in the number of extra time games we seem to be having. What's new though? A missed penalty call there, a disallowed goal here...it's all been seen in the beautiful game. In the recent Venezuela vs Paraguay game, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo put Venezuela up seemingly only to have the goal disallowed for offside. Here we have a weaker team not going the conservative route and playing for the win and having their goal disallowed for an offside call that was debatable at best. The goal would've made history as Venezuela has never made the Copa America final in history. Now if the call was correct and should've been made I stand corrected. From the replays I've seen though it would be very difficult for me to make that call...but of course, I'm no referee. It just seems to me that the officials are in too much of a hurry to make such calls and in games where goals are hard to come by it makes all the difference.

So what's the alternative? As much as I love penalties, the only real alternative would be to get rid of the concept all together. There's nothing we can do about parity, infact we should welcome it, but conservative play and bad refereeing decisions will happen regardless. At the end of the day, the most important of games should not be decided by penalties. If we were to get rid of shootouts the best alternatives I can think of are Silver Goal and the system the MLS used in its early years. Silver Goal is simple, if one team scores in the 1st half of extra time the other team then has to score before the end of that period for the match to continue. If the other team cannot tie the score by the end of that period of extra time, the team that has the lead is the winner. In this case, if the score is tied after extra time we can then use the penalty shootout to settle things. It would definitely throw conservative play out the window in many situations. The second alternative is the former MLS solution. Not much was good in the first years of the MLS but their way of settling ties were fun and made sense. Instead of 5 standard penalties by both teams, we would have 5 shooting opportunities by both teams. Each player would be given 5 seconds to go 1 on 1 with the keeper and attempt a shot. If no shot was attempted in 5 seconds then it counts the same as a miss. This alternative brings a little more of the game into the decider and would be just as exciting for fans. Regardless, we have penalty shootouts for the near future and there's not much that will be done to change that fact. I just hope we get them in smaller doses, so we can enjoy the novelty and hope the better team wins.

The Women's World Cup Final

Yesterday there was a lot of football being played around the world. I am so happy that the game I chose to give the most attention to was the FIFA Women's World Cup Final. It was worth it, from start (literally) to the end of the game. It was a good final and worthy of the occasion.



Megan Rapinoe

The first thing I noticed was that Megan Rapinoe was finally starting for the US. She had an amazing tournament and in my opinion has been really underated. The game kicked off and immediately there was an opportunity for the US on the Japanese goal. Lauren Cheney within seconds had a shot at the near post, a shot in which she should've passed to Wambach in the middle, but a good shot regardless. Welcome to the final.

Lauren Cheney

In the 8th minute, Cheney was again at it, just missing on a cross by Megan Rapinoe. Less than 5 minutes later, the favour was returned, Rapinoe missed on a cross by Cheney. Despite the near misses, after 15 minutes it was all USA, but where was Abby Wambach? She was yet to make an impact on the game. Megan Rapinoe began to make her mark on the game gradually however, hitting the post in the 18th. The Japanese still hadn't had much chances in the game and the US almost capitalized in the 27th when Wambach finally showed up with a powerful left footed shot from the edge of the 18 yard box. The shot was hit as well as she could hit it and ricocheted off the crossbar. I still have no idea how she missed that shot. Japan replied quickly with their first good chance of the game. A through ball from Ohno was played to Ando putting her in a good 1 on 1 situation, but her weak shot was saved easily by Hope Solo.

Hope Solo

30 Minutes into the match, the USA still had the upper hand but Japan had began picking their spots. The 15 remaining minutes before the half saw Japan get more involved, even missing a great opportunity in the 43rd. The Half came with the score still tied 0-0, even though the USA had dominated for the most part. Japan were still very much in it though and could easily steal the game.

Alex Morgan

At the half the US lost the early spark plug, Lauren Cheney. She was replaced with qualifying hero and youngest team member, Alex Morgan. The US started where they left off and in the 49th minute there was a scramble infront of the Japanese goal but the ball was cleared. The US were causing problems for the Japanese. Japan continued to counter attack with through balls but rarely got off a shot. The USA led in shot total 15-5 at this point, though they struggled to get a shot on target. Japan began to get more creative, and a clever pass over the top by Sawa to Kinga was shot over bar. After an hour of play the score was still tied 0-0 with the Japanese evening things out.

Abby Wambach started getting more opportunities in the air after the 60 minute mark and began getting more involved in the play upfront. She had been absorbing most of the attention by the defence to this point, freeing up her strike partners, Lauren Cheney at first and now Alex Morgan. In the 65th minute she caught a break from the tough Japanese defence and was able to connect with a diving header. The shot was tipped just over the bar by the keeper, though it was an amazing shot. Just 3 minutes later, Megan Rapinoe, who had been so good all tournament long with her passes and crosses, sent a perfect long ball down field to transition from defence to offence. The ball found substitute Alex Morgan who had a clear path to goal in front of her. She took 1 touch before shooting, the ball found the corner of the net, the USA had opened the scoring! It was 1-0 in the 69th minute. Could the USA hold on though?

Japan immediately pushed forward to compensate for the goal, but the next 10 minutes were uneventful. Japan didn't change their strategy and kept pushing forward with through balls and clever passes. You could feel that one of these created opportunities would bend the defence to the point of breaking. The defence indeed broke under the pressure. With just 9 minutes left in the game, a ball was lifted into the penalty area by Japan and caused problems for the US defence. Buehler got to the ball but quickly passed it off to Kreiger, unable to clear, Kreiger lost control of the ball and it fell to the feet of Aya Miyama. Miyama smartly shot away from where Hope Solo would be diving and converted the relatively easy chance. Late into the game the score was tied. Just 1 minute later, Nagatoma of Japan had another good chance but the defence prevailed. The pressure had now shifted unto the US.

The Americans started playing long ball for the remainder of regulation time. Japan kept pushing for a winner though, and the action began going back and forth. USA began pressuring hard into the 90th minute but no shots were taken as the defence were able to handle everything thrown at them. The final whistle blew and it was 1-1. We would go to extra time

The USA true to form, began attacking immediately in the extra period. Wambach got off a strong header in the 91st but directly at the goalkeeper. 5 minutes later the USA were still getting more opportunities and had seemed to be back to dominating. Japan rarely pressured in the entire first period of extra time, just seemed to be playing defence. In the 103rd minute, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe began building up play from the corner, ending with Alex Morgan heading down the touchline towards goal. She crossed in the tight space she had and found Wambach in the 6 yard box. Abby headed the ball at point blank range and there was not much the keeper could do. Goal, USA! They now led 2-1, and it was Abby Wambach's 13th all time World Cup goal. A USA record. The whistle sounded and we would head to the last period of extra time.

The match continued immediately without much break and the Japanese tried to apply the pressure. In the 112th minute the US defence again messed up but Japan couldn't equalize. A defensive substitution was then made by the USA replacing Megan Rapinoe with Heath Tobin. In the 115th minute Japan again pressured the breaking US defence but again couldn't score, despite beating Hope Solo, who appeared to get injured on the play. The play resulted in a corner kick, but a slight delay ensued as the US trainers worked on Hope Solo. The resulting corner kick was taken and Sawa got her head to it putting the ball into the back of the net. In her 5th World Cup, she had just scored her tournament leading 5th goal, with just 5 minutes left. It was now 2-2. The US puhed forward again and in the 120th minute Abby Wambach missed a sitter. Maybe because the ball came to her foot and not her head. In injury time Japanese defender, Iwashimizu pulled down Alex Morgan on the edge of the penalty area and was Red Carded for the infraction. The resulting free kick gave USA more than 1 good opportunity to score, but they couldn't convert. We would go to penalties!!!

The USA would kick first, and Shannon Boxx would be the taker. She went to the keeper's left, but a great reflex save was made giving the US their first shootout miss in history. Aya Miyama stepped up for Japan and simply rolled her shot down the middle as Solo moved out of the way. Japan led 1-0. Carly Lloyd stepped up and promptly sent her penalty over bar. The US were now in trouble. Nagasato stepped up to give Japan a 2-0 lead, but failed. Hope Solo made the save, keeping the score at 1-0 after 2 kicks each. Tobin Heath stepped up next with the aim of scoring the USA's first kick. She too failed, her shot saved by the Japanese keeper. Hope Solo made a good effort on Japan's next kick, getting a hand to the shot, but the pace sent it into the back of the net. Sawaguchi had scored and Japan now led 2-0 after 3 kicks each. It was now clear that the USA would lose in all likelyhood. Abby Wambach stepped up next and converted a beauty of a penalty, but it would be too little, too late. Kunagai would convert Japan's 4th and final kick to give Japan the win 3-1 in the shootout, and their first World Cup title. This one would hurt the US player's for sure. They led twice only to be equalized late, but after the tragedy in Japan earlier this year at least their nation gets something to smile about.

Sawa holding the trophy!

The Death of Brazil and World Cup Qualifying

The King is dead! The King is dead! Well maybe not but let's be honest with ourselves, this isn't the Brazil that we've gotten used too. This isn't the attack spearheaded by Ronaldo or Romario. It certainly isn't the creative squad that had Ronaldinho in the middle with his magic, and it definitely isn't the Brazil that put fear into the hearts of every nation across the world.


Ronaldinho circa 2002

 The downfall began at the 2006 World Cup. Ronaldo, the golden boy of the late 90's, had shown up well overweight and the amazing Ronaldinho ended up having a bad tournament by everyone's standards. Their new stars Robinho and Adriano both seemed to have their own personal issues and their defensive problems finally caught up with them. They exited the tournament without reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1990. Even then Brazil possessed a different breed of player though. An overweight Ronaldo still managed to score 3 times in 5 games at a World Cup. It's hard to imagine any of their new crop of players being able to contribute in that manner.

Ronaldo: early 2000's

After the 2006 tournament the team managed to win the Copa America in 2007 behind a great tournament from Robinho and then the 2009 Confederations Cup in exciting fashion. It would have been easy to consider the 2006 World Cup a fluke, but then came the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The team again lost in the Quarter Finals. During this tournament the Brazilian downfall was arguably because of the uncharacteristic loss of composure by their players in tough situations. Dunga, who had been coach for the entire cycle was replaced after the tournament. It would have been easy to blame Dunga for the bad performance and he probably did deserve it, but the results have carried over apparently.

The 2011 Copa America on rival ground in Argentina never looked like it would be Brazil's tournament. They started off with a goalless draw with Venezuela, which was shocking for 2 reasons. (1) Brazil did not defeat historical whipping boys, Venezuela and (2) Brazil did not manage to score against historical whipping boys, Venezuela. It was followed by a 2-2 draw against Paraguay, in which Brazil needed an 89th minute equalizer from Fred to get the point. After 2 games they had a draw and a near loss, 2 points from 2 games. This very unBrazilian performance was followed by the group finale against Ecuador. After being tied at 2 goals in the second half, Brazil managed to pull away and win the game 4-2. The group ended with Brazil on 5 points and placed them in a Quarter Final bout with Paraguay. Unlike the first game, which ended 2-2, the Quarter Final matchup was a goalless draw. The second time in the tournament that Brazil failed to score. The match inevitably went to a penalty shootout and the Brazilians lost. Not only did they lose, but they lost without converting a single penalty...out of 4. Elano, Andre Santos and Fred missed the goal completely while Thiago Silva had his shot saved. Very unBrazilian indeed.

Neymar

The new golden boy is the teenager, Neymar. I'm not sure if he'll ever get to the level of the great Brazilians of the past, but he'll definitely be in Brazilian plans for the remainder of this cycle. The next World Cup happens to be in Brazil, so the pressure will be on for them to perform at the tournament. They'll have the luxury of avoiding World Cup qualifying and preparing for the tournament. They will have almost 3 years to build a team capable of winning it all on home soil. We will see how it goes for the Brazilians.

There was a lot of football yesterday other than the Brazil-Paraguay game. There was the Women's World Cup final, which I will get to later. There was a World Cup Qualifying match in the Concacaf region, in which Belize beat Montserrat 3-1 to win the matchup 8-3 on aggregate. They will move on to Round 2 which will be drawn into groups at the big draw in Brazil on Saturday. There was also another Copa America Quarter Final yesterday. Venezuela managed to beat Chile 2-1 to move on to the Copa America semi-final where they will meet Paraguay, not Brazil.