Category: Soccer America Daily

[OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] It was an afternoon fans won’t quickly forget at the Home Depot Center. Canada, with its hastily assembled team of no names, and Mexico, with its Golden Generation, were in a race to run up the score and earn the second berth from Group B — and a date with the USA Thursday — in the all-important semifinals of Concacaf Olympic men’s qualifying. Canada beat group winner Guatemala, 5-0, to put the pressure on Hugo Sanchez‘s Mexico U-23s, who could only beat Haiti, 5-1, in the nightcap and were eliminated. Thus ended Mexico’s dream of its first Olympic medal. Its exit immediately sparked speculation that Sanchez will be gone by the end of the month.

[CYPRUS CUP] The U.S. under-20 women’s national team finished second at the Cyprus Cup, losing to Canada’s senior national team, 3-2, in Wednesday’s final.

The English Premier League is back in full swing this weekend with eight games televised. They include Arsenal-Middlesbrough on Saturday and Derby County-Manchester United on Sunday. In Italy, Roma needs to beat AC Milan to stay with striking distance of leader Inter Milan. Spanish leaders Real Madrid and Barcelona are at Deportivo Coruna and Almeria, respectively. For televised weekend international action …

[DATEBOOK] Memo to teams planning a visit to the North America this summer: Hurry up. The schedule is filling rapidly. Dates for the second SuperLiga tournament were announced Thursday, adding 15 matches to the days between July 12 and Aug. 5 and possibly causing conflicts yet to be foreseen, since venues for the semifinals (July 29 and 30) and final have yet to be determined. There could also be issues with SuperLiga finalists losing their Olympic players, should any be on their rosters.

[OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] Cuba’s shrinking under-23 national team was down to 10 eligible players by kickoff time Thursday night in Tampa, but its game against Honduras went ahead. Incredibly, the shorthanded Cubans held off Honduras for 68 minutes before goals from Marvin Sanchez and Hendry Thomas gave the Catrachos a 2-0 win.

The USA will have to beat Honduras on Saturday if it is to win Group B and (probably) avoid another semifinal match against Mexico with an Olympic berth on the line. Mexico will play Guatemala on Friday and Haiti on Sunday at the Home Depot Center. For the entire qualifying TV schedule …

[USA-PANAMA GRADES] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. U-23 players in their 1-0 win over Panama in Olympic qualifying on Thursday.

There isn’t a less impressive winning scoreline in soccer than a 1-0 victory courtesy of a penalty kick and not much about the match other than the result was sparkling as the USA beat Panama at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Thursday in front of a few thousand fans. But the gritty victory virtually assured the Americans passage into the semifinals of Concacaf Olympic Men’s Qualifying while eliminating Panama.

Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Germany’s Werder Bremen clinched the last two berths in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. For all the results and goal scorers …

[OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] After the USA, which had to settle for a 1-1 tie with Cuba on Tuesday in Tampa, it was Group B favorite Mexico’s turn to be stymied when the Tri was held to a 1-1 tie by Canada in Concacaf Olympic men’s qualifying action on Wednesday at the Home Depot Center in front of 9,949 fans. Canada entered the tournament with little preparation and without many of its better players but earned the tie in a match that saw both goalscorers later red-carded. In Wednesday’s first game, Guatemala edged Haiti, 1-0.

[OFF THE POST] Reason magazine reported that Guatemalan immigrant Pedro Zapata had $59,000 of cash confiscated, while on the way to his home country, by U.S. airport security, which suspected him of being a courier for drug dealers. Zapata, who was released and exonerated of the drug charge, explained that he was able to save so much money from his income as a dishwasher in Northern California because his only entertainment for seven years was Spanish-language TV and soccer games in a local park.

[OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] It was predictable: another U.S.-hosted Concacaf tournament and more Cuban defections. Within 15 minutes of arriving back at their team hotel after their sensational performance against the United States in their opening game of the Concacaf Olympic men’s qualifying tournament, five players — including goalie Jose Manuel Miranda, who was instrumental in Tuesday’s 1-1 tie — fled Tampa and defected.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Everton and Benfica, the last two teams with Americans playing in the UEFA Cup, exited in the round of 16 on Wednesday. With Tim Howard in goal, Everton beat Fiorentina, 2-0, to even their series at 2-2 but was eliminated, 4-2, in the shootout. While Freddy Adu is on under-23 duty, Benfica fell at Getafe, 1-0, and exited, 3-1, on aggregate.

[SCOUTING REPORT] Group B in Concacaf’s Olympic men’s qualifying begins on Wednesday at the Home Depot Center, where Mexico is the heavy favorite. Led by Marvin Avila, who scored two goals against Mexico’s national team in October, Guatemala could provide the Tri’s most difficult test. Lack of preparation is an issue for the other two teams in Group B, Canada and Haiti.

Defender Hendry Thomas‘ goal in the 90th minute gave Honduras a 1-0 win over Panama and the lead in Group A at the Concacaf Olympic men’s qualifying tournament in Tampa. For all the results and complete TV schedule …