Category: Soccer America Daily

The USA was drawn potentially the most difficult of the three semifinal groups, where if form holds it will face 2006 World Cup finalist Trinidad & Tobago, fourth in 2006 CONCACAF qualifying, Guatemala, fifth in 2006 CONCACAF qualifying, and Cuba. Canada could meet Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica, making it once again a longshot to advance to the Hexagonal. Costa Rica might have to play Panama, Haiti and Guyana in Group 3, which looks like the easiest of the three groups.

The novelty of the World Cup 2010 qualifying draw in Africa is that World Cup 2010 host South Africa will take part in qualifying since the competition also serves as qualifying for the 2010 African Nations Cup. The Bafana Bafana were drawn with powerhouse Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone in the first group stage.

Asia’s first group stage includes the most hotly contested group to emerge from Sunday’s World Cup 2010 qualifying draw in Durban. Group 1 consists of Australia, which reached the round of 16 at the 2006 World Cup, Iraq, the 2007 Asian champion, China, which played in the 2002 World Cup, and Qatar, arguably the most ambitious nation in the Middle East.

Old foes will meet again in Europe’s World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. England must face Croatia, which knocked it out of Euro 2008 last Wednesday, in Group 6. Scandinavian rivals Sweden and Denmark, involved in a match in Copenhagen in June that was abandoned when a Danish fan came on the field and attacked the referee, will meet in Group 1, where Portugal will be favored.

Mike Woitalla reporting from South Africa
Coach Bob Bradley‘s challenge of guiding the USA to the 2010 World Cup finals came into focus on Sunday at the World Cup Preliminary Draw in Durban, South Africa. For Bradley’s take on the USA’s likely opponents in its first stages of qualifying, his look back on his first year at the helm, and his preparation strategy …

The USA will have to play at least 18 games to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. It begins CONCACAF qualifying in June 2008 with a two-game series against Dominica or Barbados.

Could it be that the face of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is that of Cameroonian player Samuel Eto’o? That’s what FIFA President Sepp Blatter implied at the unveiling of the tournament’s official poster, stating that the profile imposed onto an African map was that of a very popular European-based player from Cameroon.

As South Africa’s World Cup organizers made their case that the crime-ridden nation would be safe for tourists in 2010, Austrian Pieter Burgstaller was shot to death Friday at a golf resort an hour-drive from where the World Cup Preliminary Draw was held two days later in Durban — a resort Coach Bob Bradley visited last week on an inspection tour of potential World Cup 2010 facilities at which to base the U.S. national team if its qualifies

Mike Woitalla reporting from South Africa
“Africa is ready, Africa’s time has come. Africa is calling, come to Africa in 2010,” said South Africa President Thabo Mbeki to launch the 90-minute gala that sorted out the qualifying competition for the next World Cup while celebrating the arrival of the world’s biggest sporting event to the continent for the first time.

[INTERNATIONAL HEADLINERS] Liverpool’s version of Family Feud continued as Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez blasted his American owners for what he perceived to be a lack of knowledge of Europe’s transfer system. Manchester United’s coaching staff tried to deflect attention for its shock loss at Bolton Wanderers, while goalie Scott Carson, the goat in England’s loss to Croatia, returned to action with a shutout win on the road for Aston Villa. In Mexico, the playoffs moved into the semifinals with American Edgar Castillo still in the hunt for the Torneo Apertura championship.

[AMERICANS ABROAD/VIDEO] Freddy Adu added to his growing reputation as a goal scorer with a goal on the final touch of the game in Benfica’s 3-1 comeback win at Academica Coimbra on Sunday.

Play begins in the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament with 16 games Friday and Saturday. For the first- and second-round matchups …

Ridge Mahoney analyzes the expansion draft
San Jose head coach Frank Yallop has assembled the first 10 pieces of the Earthquakes expansion puzzle, and he has some history with most of the players selected.

[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] Paraguay is the surprise leader after four games in South America’s World Cup 2010 qualifying competition ahead of Argentina, which lost for the first time on Tuesday, and Brazil, which was lucky to beat Uruguay at home.

Steve McClaren pulled a Greg Ryan Wednesday night. But unlike the Ryan, who lasted 25 days as U.S. women’s coach after his team’s 4-0 loss to Brazil following his decision to switch goalies, McClaren lasted all of about 12 hours after England’s shocking 3-2 loss to Croatia at Wembley before the FA dumped him as coach. Like Ryan, McClaren switched goalies with disastrous effect. But similarities between Ryan’s U.S. women and McClaren’s England don’t end there.

England’s national team and English soccer came under attack following England’s 3-2 loss to Croatia that knocked it out of Euro ’08. Overrated. Arrogant. Egotistical. Those were some the charges leveled.

Pots for the 2008 European Championship draw Dec. 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland, are set. How does a Netherlands-Italy-Germany-France group sound? Or Austria-Sweden-Romania-Poland? Both are possible.

Besides Russia, Portugal, Turkey and Sweden clinched berths at Euro ’08 on the final day of qualifying.

Six of the eight top seeds are still alive in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament, which moves into the round of 16, beginning Friday. For all the post-Thanksgiving schedules …

Brandon Haynes scored two goals in overtime to give Raleigh Broughton High School a 3-2 win over Greensboro Grimsley in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association boys 4-A final Saturday night and claim the No. 1 ranking in the final NSCAA/adidas Boys Fall Rankings, ahead of Indiana’s Evansville Reitz Memorial. Broughton finished the year with 27 wins in a row to repeat as state champion. For the final Top 25 …