As usual: Injuries to deal with for Blanc

Well so far no one that Blanc selected has officially withdrawn from the upcoming friendlies against Team USA and Les Diables Rouge. Yet it is clear that Blanc will have to deal with some walking wounded that will hamper his ability to field the starting 11 he might have otherwise wanted to see. Granted this might be good - allow some of the fringe players to get some playing time and thankfully France is not playing the "home and away playoff" otherwise this might take on a larger problem.

The likes of Nasri, Cabaye, Remy and Malouda are all in question, you already have Mexes and Sagna on the side line. Abidal has been asked to stay with Barcelona for a Kings Cup match, due to the South American contingent having to leave early for their matches, Barca is a bit short of first team players - the reason for Abidal being ask to stay in Barcelona (there is a La Liga rule about how many reserve players you may play, which again limits Guardiola's options). Blanc has also been asked by M'Vila's manager to take it easy on the Rennes midfielder.

So what does this mean for Blanc? Clearly he has already indicated to look to give some new faces some time on the pitch, starting with the game on Friday against the US. I think Blanc will tinker with both a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 (or a hybrid 4-2-3-1), I am leaning towards a 4-3-3 since he has been hit hard injury wise in the midfield.

For the US match look for the following.

Lloris in goal and wearing the captain's arm band.

Defense, I think Debuchy will be on the right again after a good showing against Albania with Mathieu getting his first cap on the left. Sakho and Rami will be paired in the middle.

Midfield, we will see Cabaye (if fully fit), Diarra and M'Vila

Up front, Remy on the right, Ribery on the left and Benzema up front.

Look for Koscielny make his France debut in the second half to pair with Sakho. Martin will come in for M'Vila. Menez for Remy and drop to a 4-2-3-1 with Giroud making his France debut up top of the formation.

Late on look for Ribery to give way to Malouda.

Blanc will want to give his team some run, maybe look to the game against Belgium as one to manage closer to a real match than a friendly.


FRANCE ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cédric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

DEFENDERS (7): Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Matthieu Debuchy (Lille), Jérémy Mathieu (Valencia), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Adil Rami (Valencia), Anthony Réveillère (Lyon), Mamadou Sakho (PSG)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), Alou Diarra (Marseille), Florent Malouda (Chelsea) Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Marvin Martin, (Sochaux), Samir Nasri (Manchester City)

FORWARDS (6): Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kevin Gameiro (PSG), Jérémy Ménez (PSG), Loïc Rémy (Marseille), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier)

The International Dilemna - really doesn't need to be this complicated

I was reading this last article about another potential "issue" which with nation a player will represent at the international level, click here for SI article. The debate revolves around an American player born to a German mother in Germany while his American father was stationed there for the military. Timmy Chandler has already represented his father's nation, the United States, 4 times...however none have been "competitive" games, meaning qualifiers or FIFA tournament matches. Meaning...he could still be called up for Germany! Huh??? What???

Shifting to Die Mannschaft?

I know, but those are the FIFA rules. The basic gist of the international rule is that a player can switch national allegiance if said player qualifies for multiple nations and has not represented his nation at the 'A' level for a match such as Gold Cup, World Cup, European Cup or qualifiers. Which is a well intended rule, to allow players who could represent multiple nations be afforded the choice later on in their careers. But then you get a situation such as Chandler. The rule should really be - once you have been called up for the senior squad and accepted that call up, you have declared your eligibility for said nation. Let us take the Chandler situation and change some of the dynamics. Instead of of right back being an issue due to Lahm moving back to the left, lets say the situation is because Lahm has an injury that will keep him out for a few months. Low needs a right back for qualifiers so calls up Chandler, an opportunity the right back cannot pass up. So he plays for Germany, does okay, but once Lahm is healthy, he slots back at Right Back and Chandler no longer sees his name on the call up sheet, or at best a bench player. I realize this might happen with other players, but in the Chandler situation he has already PLAYED for the US National team! Why even allow the above situation to be contemplated?

Come on FIFA do something right, revise the international eligibility rule. My suggestion - player is allowed to play for his nation of birth, nation where he holds residency or parental nation. Eliminate the grandparent rule - under that rule my child could play for France, US, England, Greece, China, Bermuda or Canada...uh really? Institute the rule that once you have been selected for the senior national team and accepted that offer, you are now only allowed to play for that nation. Otherwise we might see more dicey situations as with Chandler.

Gold Cup musings...US needs to get to Copa America

So the Gold Cup final was this past weekend, I had wanted to lay down some key strokes and give some thoughts on the finals earlier, but work sometimes gets in the way of my musing. Better late than never! For those of you that did not watch or do not know what the Gold Cup is, a quick recap.

This is the CONCACAF football championships, it is held every 2 years (which minimizes the title in my opinion) and the winner gets to go to the Confederation Cup the following year (assuming the Gold Cup version is held prior to the World Cup). Recently the finals have been another opportunity to see a US v Mexico match and to once again watch the game played on US soil in front of a predominately Mexican crowd! That was the case again this finals edition in Pasadena.

The game itself was actually exciting, the US going up early 2-0 only to concede 4 straight goals. Granted Dempsey smashed a shot off the cross bar when the US was trailing 3-2, had that goal gone in things might have turned out very differently. Both teams also sent most of their A side players - Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Howard et al for the US, Chicharito, Dos Santos, Marquez et al for El Tri. Mexico did expose that the US does a poor job with in game management, remember last Confederation Cup final when the US had a 2-0 lead on the Brazilians? The US continued to play a more wide open game after being up 2-0 and ended up paying for it, as Mexico's speed and offensive talent exploited the space. Eventually finding their way to a 4-2 victory...including a wonder goal from former Barcelona player Dos Santos:



But this post is not about the game itself, but about the value of the Gold Cup. What struck me was the reaction from many of the US players and pundits post game, it was not about the fact they lost a title or lost to hated rival Mexico...but that they cannot go to Brazil next summer for the Confederation Cup. Hmmmm interesting. I do not think I hear the losing team in the Euros say "shucks, we lost the title and now we cannot go to the Confederations Cup." To me this is indicative of what could be holding back the development of US Soccer - regular competitive games.

The reality for the US is that they have graduated, 20 years ago, playing in CONCACAF was good for the US. They had a chance to get to the World Cup, played smaller nations that were more passionate for football but clearly were trailing in regards to resources. When the US qualified for the 1990 edition of the World Cup in Italy, it was the first time in 40 years, they attended the global sporting event...promptly getting trounced losing all 3 games. However since then, the US has qualified for every edition since, and reaching two knock out stages and the 1/4 finals in 2002 (some would argue they outplayed eventual runner-ups Germany in that game and were it not for a missed hand ball might have played a semi final). That is a good run. But if the United States is serious about being a legitimate threat to go deeper and gasp...maybe even win the trophy...they cannot rely on Gold Cup and Confederation Cup as their "competitive" matches. I discount World Cup qualifiers, why? With 3 direct spots to the World Cup and a fourth that goes to play off, are the US and Mexico ever really in jeopardy of not qualifying? As I have posted in the past, the US needs to get out of their comfort zone if they expect to grow, footballing wise.

Unlike the US, Mexico will head to the Copa America in Argentina, and face some serious competition. El Tri will face, Chile, Peru and Uruguay in their group....much more serious than Panama and Jamaica. European nations are never taking a break, with the World Cup and European Cups every other year there is a constant stream of high charged qualifying matches to reach these tournaments. The US must, if it will not rework its World Cup qualification and why would they, find a way to participate in the Copa America on a regular basis. Since 1993 they have only participate in 3 editions...why has Japan participated??? The US must get into this tournament. The US must add another real tournament to their dance card if they want to grow.

Otherwise the US will be stuck lamenting another lose in the Gold Cup finals and not being able to go to the Confederation Cup...but looking forward to World Cup qualifiers versus Turks & Caicos, Bermuda and El Salvador.

CONCACAF takes a step back

A great article from SI about the proposed new World Cup qualification process from CONCACAF. The main take away - with this new system it will be very unlikely to see Mexico v USA matches played during qualifying. Both nations are head and shoulders ahead of all the other CONCACAF nations and will never be paired in the same group. The argument for this format is to give a number of the smaller nations more matches to play and develop their talent pool, a worthy goal but one that seems to be skewed. You want these smaller nations to get more World Cup qualifying games? Then create a pre-qualifier tournament for these nations, for example:

• Take the top 5 CONCACAF nations and they are in the final group.
• The remaining nations are broken into groups - 5 groups of  6 nations. The winners of each group move on.
• The 10 nation group then plays home and away to determine the ranking.
• Top 3 go to World Cup, 4th team goes to playoff.

I realize this might not work from a time perspective but there should be a way to make this work. This would give smaller nations more games that count, while preserving the competitive aspect of CONCACAF qualifiers - aka Mexico v USA.

The real issue for me is that CONCACAF does not need to give the minnows more games but needs to get their big 2 more serious matches. I have always thought CONCACAF should work with South America to merge their qualifiers. I realize this is a pipe dream, but for nations like Mexico and the US, being forced to play regular qualifiers against the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and the rest of the South American nations would help their teams develop. As Wahl points out in the article, CONCACAF does not have the equivalent of the European Cup of Nations to bridge World Cups. While I am not convinced the US and Mexico will ever move to the level of Germany, Italy, Brazil and the rest who are legitimate World Cup contenders on a regular basis, the ability to play more serious, more competitive matches on a regular basis are the only ways they will move the needle when it comes to competing on the world stage.

I realize that Gulati will never want to jeopardize the US' ability to qualify every 4 years to the World Cup. As it is currently constructed the US and Mexico are both almost 100% guaranteed to qualify, under the new format they will be 101% guaranteed. Merging with South America will drastically drop that percentage, but it would give those squads more serious international matches and potentially make the US and Mexico legitimate contenders for international silverware. Alas, I am sure that the revenue from attending the globe's biggest sporting event every 4 years is too important to sacrifice for an opportunity to truly develop your program.

Frog and Gooner podcast - looking forward for the US and French national soccer teams

After a little break...post World Cup. Frog and Gooner are back to wax on about the future of both the United States and French national soccer teams. We discuss the future of the players and managers that both sides will leverage to build moving forward with Brazil 2014 in mind...enjoy.

No surgery for Dempsey...Bradley breaths a sigh of relief

After what appeared to be a season ending knee injury, Clint Dempsey escapes the surgeon's knife and will not need his knee operated on. Clearly good news for the US National team, and if he can get back on the pitch sooner rather than later good news for the cottagers. Dempsey is one of the key elements for the US National team next summer. The other key will be the play of Tim Howard in goal. But Deuce is the most influential outfield player for the US. This injury, in a strange way, might be blessing for the US team assuming he can recover fully by South Africa. It gives him some time off, allows him to rest. If he can come back the last month of the Premiership he will get back into game playing shape for the World Cup. Again that may sound strange, but in the long run for the US it is better news than what was feared.

Injuries such as these make all of us cringe as we get closer to the World Cup. Look at what happened to Les Bleus in 2002...okay they still had more talent than a team who crashes out of the group stages with 1 point and zero goals scored....but Zidane gets injured and more importantly Pires tears a knee for Arsenal - a season where he was absolutely on top of his game. Without Zizou and Pires, France were without their 2 true playmakers. Granted Micoud should have been the one given the baton, but we will never know why Lemerre did not go down that path.

Not to dive into revisionism...but I will...you could have lined up a side like this (based on the players Lemerre took to Asia with him...not necessarily those I would have selected) -

Barthez
Liza, Desailly, Leboeuf, Thuram
Makelele, Petit, Vieira
Micoud
Trezeguet, Henry

Vieira was a beast that season so he could easily push higher up the pitch to support the attack. Makelele would be the engine. Petit still had something left in the tank, but with 2 other holding midfielders would have had less asked of him so would have not have been exposed as much.

Micoud could just sit infront of these 3 and feed deadly passes to Henry and Trezeguet. I guarantee you that team would have fared better than what was sent out versus Senegal, Uruguay and Denmark!

Dempsey injured...major blow to Fulham and US?

Arguably the most important outfield player for the US National team and a key member at Fulham, Clint Dempsey, went out on Sunday with what appears as a knee injury. Not good. With Dempsey playing one of his best seasons in England, Fulham was having a very solid season, sitting 9th in the table. The American has proven to be a spark for the London side and has scored some impressive goals during the campaign.



I do not believe that Fulham believed they could challenge for a Champions League spot, however no reason for them not to believe they could not creep closer to a top 6 spot, however without Dempsey this will be very difficult. He and Duff are really the creative midfielder/wingers that Fulham can count on for a spark of genius. With Zamora out most likely until March, Fulham will be hard pressed to find the offense to sustain themselves. Maybe Al Fayed will open the purse strings to bring in some talent during the transfer period.

What is more concerning is how this will impact the US National team. With out Charlie Davies for the World Cup, and potentially without Dempsey...where will the offense come for the US. Landycakes??? Maybe, and potentially his willingness to play in Europe prior to the World Cup will finally allow him to carry that load. However I think without Deuce, the US could struggle in South Africa. At least Bradley has almost 6 months to figure it out.

Let us hope it is a PCL and not ACL for Dempsey, Fulham and Bradley's sake.

US v England World Cup 2010 match up....the headlines begin

Oh my...the press on the other side of the pond are already starting to hype up the first round World Cup match between England and the US. The game is 6 months away!! This will only get worse. There is no doubt this group match will command plenty of interest from the footballing world. There are many story lines - LA Galaxy team mates Donovan v Beckham which will be even more interesting since there were some unsavory things said about Golden Balls by his Galaxy teammate, the 1950 World Cup match will be brought up, the American Revolutionary war and all the American players that ply their trade in the Premiership. America will be bolstered from their performance at the Confed Cup while England will be riding a high of being rated as the 3rd favorite to win the title in July.

So get ready for lots and lots of hyperbole for the next 6 months. However as with many of these hyped up group games - remember England v Argentina in 2002 - I fear that the set up can never live up to the actual match. Regardless of the outcome, both nations will fancy their chances to move to the knock out stages. Maybe Nike should have the US wear 1950 style kits....

Mexico - US, switching national teams might be risky!

Interesting article about players that might play for the US National team who have strong ties to Mexico and El Tri. Following up to the post I had a few days ago about which nation could you qualify for, but this type of national team switching is very intriguing based on the heated rivalry between the two nations. Most of the players came from South America or Africa and were playing nations in different continents than where they currently reside in. When it comes to the US and Mexico, not only are they neighboring nations and heated rivals but are, obviously, in the same qualification region. Could make for very interesting situations.

Gold Cup Finals, a tale of two teams...and halves

Ouch, 5-0 .... what else can you say? Mexico finally beat the US on American soil, and got some silverware to boot! So the game was a tale of two halves, the first one seeing two cautious teams probing ending goalless and the second half one where the substitution of one player really swung the game completely on its ear.


Once Mexico brought in their Arsenal star, Vela, the game completely changed. The US had no way of checking Vela let alone the combination of Vela and Dos Santos, the two Mexican stars that first burst on the scene in 2005 when he won the golden boot at the U17 World Cup where Vela led Mexico to the title, beating Brazil in the finals. Both players became hot property for the European big guns - Dos Santos heading to Barcelona and Vela being signed by Wenger. Clearly the Mexican team takes on a whole new dynamic with their European stars.

Vela demonstrated, what I hope he can replicate this season for the Gunners, an uncanny ability to take on defenders, displayed clinical passing, and chipped in with goals. The first 4 goals all had Vela's finger prints on - the second goal Vela completely exploited the left side of the pitch driving the ball into the box completely putting the US defense of their heels. Vela's goal was a nice give and go where he deftly flicked the ball over the US keeper. The fourth goal was a surgical diaganol pass allowing Castro to deftly beating the keeper. Whether it was threading a lethal pass, taking on defenders, or actually scoring the goal, the Arsenal man gave the US fits and the US clearly had no answers for him. The combination with Dos Santos was clearly one that the US could not match. So what to make of this match?



The US sent, as I had stated in a previous entry, their freshman team, this was not even the JV team...however a 5-0 drubbing at the international level is still an embarrassment. This was still an international final and against your heated rival from across the boarder, you would put up a greater fight that what was displayed in the second half. This tees up the upcoming World Cup qualifier in Mexico City where the scene will be very different. Both teams will bring in their Varsity teams...both teams will be looking for the full 3 points.

Mexico will expect to win. Playing at Azteca is not an enviable task for any team, least of all the despised USA who will be facing the 100,000 crazy fans in the stadium. In addition, Mexico will need to win. A victory will bring them to 9 points, 1 point behind second place USA, and will thrust Mexico back into the chase for South Africa. A Mexican draw or loss, would be devastating for their chances to get to South Africa. On the other hand, the US need to look for a result in Mexico. Not only would this make the 5-0 drubbing easier to digest, but after a very strange summer for US soccer - terrible start at the Confed Cup, followed by a rush after beating Spain, then disappointment after outplaying Brazil for 45 minutes, then a nice push to the Gold Cup finals only to end with 5 goals conceded....all the ups and downs would be palatable if the US can return home with a famous win at Azteca.

I doubt the Gold Cup loss will weigh negatively on the US, I think that they will use the 5-0 drubbing as motivation. They realize they did not bring their A Team, and the players will be highly motivated to win back the honor for the red white and blue. While Mexico will use the victory to propel them into the match against the US. They have finally secured a victory on US soil against the Americans. Mentally they must feel that world is starting to right itself, and being able to play at the Mexico City cauldron of the Azteca will only embolden the Mexicans even more to seek back to back victories against the US.

This should make for a great match...and one that counts. Looking forward to the August date!

A recap of the Gold Cup:

Final

Date	Home team	Result/	Away team
26 July	United States	0 - 5	Mexico	View events	More info

Semi Final

Date	Home team	Result/	Away team
23 July	Honduras	0 - 2	United States	View events	More info
	Costa Rica	1 - 1 Pen 3 - 5	Mexico	View events	More info

Quarter Final

Date	Home team	Result/	Away team
18 July	Canada	0 - 1	Honduras	View events	More info
	United States	2 - 1 AET	Panama	View events	More info
19 July	Guadeloupe	1 - 5	Costa Rica	View events	More info
	Mexico	4 - 0	Haiti	View events	More info

Group Stage

Date	Home team	Result/	Away team
3 July	Canada	1 - 0	Jamaica	View events	More info
	Costa Rica	1 - 2	El Salvador	View events	More info
4 July	Honduras	1 - 0	Haiti	View events	More info
	Grenada	0 - 4	United States	View events	More info
5 July	Panama	1 - 2	Guadeloupe	View events	More info
	Nicaragua	0 - 2	Mexico	View events	More info
7 July	Jamaica	0 - 1	Costa Rica	View events	More info
	El Salvador	0 - 1	Canada	View events	More info
8 July	Haiti	2 - 0	Grenada	View events	More info
	United States	2 - 0	Honduras	View events	More info
9 July	Guadeloupe	2 - 0	Nicaragua	View events	More info
	Mexico	1 - 1	Panama	View events	More info
10 July	Costa Rica	2 - 2	Canada	View events	More info
	El Salvador	0 - 1	Jamaica	View events	More info
11 July	United States	2 - 2	Haiti	View events	More info
	Honduras	4 - 0	Grenada	View events	More info
12 July	Panama	4 - 0	Nicaragua	View events	More info
	Mexico	2 - 0	Guadeloupe

Gold Cup Semi Finals....worth staying up for

So I decided last night that rather get much needed rest I would watch the Mexico vs Costa Rica Gold Cup semi final. I had watched part of the earlier semi final between the US and Honduras, which was not the most exciting of matches but still real footie. Anyways, back to El Tri's match that was a very exciting match. There was a saved penalty in the first half, a late goal my Mexico, and an even later goal by Costa Rica to send the match to extra time. Of course it would end in penalty kicks where Arsenal's Vela would kick the winning penalty for El Tri.

Some high lights:



What this sets up is another Mexico vs US match up. Which is what everyone wants to see. This has developed into a great international rivalry, granted very one sided recently (outside of Mexico City). With the World Cup qualifiers about to start up again in 3 weeks for both nations...against one another, in Mexico City.....this game looms very large, for Mexico. El Tri need to get back on the winning track versus their northern neighbors. In addition, Mexico are heading into the match with many of their young guns - Vela and Dos Santos to name a few -while the US is going in with their freshman team! The game is on US soil, but El Tri always travel well, especially in large metropolises such as Chicago or New York.

Both teams will be up for the match, the US' freshman team will want to show Bradley that they can perform in a heated, intense, international finals against their biggest rival. While Mexico will be desperate for a victory over their northern foes, and to win some hardware. It should prove to be a interesting match.

What could have been....Confederation Cup finals

Ahhh, what might have, could have, maybe should have been....for 45 minutes it appears as if the US might pull off another huge upset and knock off the Samba Boys to capture their first "major" international tourney. However in the end the class of Brazil showed itself too mighty for the unbridled enthusiasm of the Americans. A couple of thoughts:

The Good:

• Clint Dempsey was solid through out the entire tourney, but showed how dangerous he can be when given the smallest of chances. The first goal of the game was really a simple redirect of a long distance shot from Spector, but Deuce demonstrated what makes him dangerous, he fought to get himself in a dangerous position and capitalized. The same thing he did scoring the US' second goal against Spain when he was opportunistic when Ramos botched a clearance and was able to guide in the ball for the sealing goal. While I am not ready to proclaim Dempsey as some one that might become one of the world's best, he is and will continue to develop in a solid international player.
• Fabiano....speaking of being in the right place at the right time as well as being lucky...the Sevilla striker showed his class the entire tournament but more specifically the second half of the finals. The first goal he scored he showed his ability but getting position on DeMerit and execting a deadly turn and volley, easier said than done, but he should have never been allowed to establish that position. The second goal was the true sign of a "fox in the box" type striker, after a missed shot by Kaka, the Brazilian #9 was prowling the box to latch onto the rebound to head home his second. His stock in Europe just went up...wonder if SAF will sniff around since he is flush with cash!
• Another American player that should leave head high is Tim Howard. As I stated in a previous post, only way the US had a chance was for their keeper to have an A+ game. While giving up 3 goals might not warrant such a grade I will at least give him an A-. He can hardly be blamed for any of the three goals, the last one especially when Lucio was inexplicably allowed to attack the corner kick, watching the replay there was not a single US defender there to attempt to defend him! Were the Americans being coached by the Domenech method of defending set pieces??? Ugh.

The Bad:

• Ok I know I like to picking on this player....but LandyCakes I am going to call bad...why? Yes I realize he scored. But what happened to him in the second half???? If he is suppose to be a world class player, if he is suppose to be the face of US soccer, if he suppose to be the American star.....then he needs to step it up when it most counts! His goal was very nice, granted, a great example of how to play counter attacking footie. But what happened when the team came back from the locker rooms? He all but disappeared. Granted the US was a bit back on their heels after the quick strike, but that is exactly when your stars are suppose to step up. I do not recall seeing Donovan back tracking to collect the ball, calling for long clearances or pressuring Brazil in their half. I never felt he was dangerous after scoring the second goal.
• Bradley taking off Altidore. I realize that the youngster had been taken off around the 60 minute mark in prior matches, but this is the finals. At the time the Brazilians had just drawn level, so you need to keep your offensive threat out there! Altidore is the only American striker with the size, pace and skill to truly threaten a defense on the break. Maybe Landycakes should have been the one substituted for!

The Ugly:

• US defending set pieces....ugh, for a while I thought I was watching Arsenal or a Domenech led team. How can you allow an opposing player get a free run at a corner kick, especially in the last 5 minutes of the game???? Inexcusable.
• Brazil's start. It was clear that the Samba Boys thought the very sight of their yellow kit would give them the victory. Unlike Spain, they were able to overcome this poor approach.
  
• Bradley, okay this might be harsh, but I think the substitutions were poor....see Altidore... I think the intensity coming out of the locker room was terrible. The US started the game strong showing no fear, but seemed to come out for the second half...with a 2-0 lead and did not look ready, did not look prepared for what they knew would be a Brazilian attack. The most important times are the first and last 5 minutes of a half, Bradley needed to ensure his team came out with the same level of intensity as it had left the field! The one thing that the US could not afford to allow happen...they did, an early goal in the second half. Yes the players shoulder some responsibility but that is up to the coach to remind each player upon leaving the warmth of the changing room.
• The commentating on ESPN...ugh no surprise, but listening to the pundits talk about how US soccer is no longer the laughing stock of the world and how great this was made me sick...not sure what these talking heads have been watching but clearly international soccer is very different than it once was. While the big nations still dominate the collecting of silverware, clearly the smaller or less footie savvy nations are no longer the push overs they once were. Ask Argentina that lost to Ecuador, or I recall the defending WC champs, France barely beating Andorra in 1999 qualifiers for the Euros, or Greece winning the Euros 5 years ago, and the list goes on. The International footie scene is one where minnows can sometimes eat a shark. So let us not try to make a story out of an old complaint about American soccer not getting any respect. Players like Dempsey and Howard play in the Premiership, and outside of Landycakes, most of the team has aspirations to play overseas. Least we forget, this is the same hype machine that proclaimed Freddie Adu was going to be greater than Pele...btw did he get any minutes?

Overall this was a very entertaining tourney (the 3rd place game was great as well!), but let us not put too much stock in the results. Brazil, Spain, US, South Africa, and Italy will all most likely be there next year, but if any of these teams face one another then, the stakes will be much higher.

Brazil vs USA....who would have seen this final??

So the US will face Brazil tomorrow for the Confed Cup champions, who would have ever expected these two teams to face one another in the finals? The US has found itself on cloud 9 for the past 2 games - after being left for dead after being trounced the opening games against Italy and Brazil they did the necessary versus Egypt and received help from Brazil to move on to the semis. Where we all know they posted one of the biggest upsets in international footie beating the FIFA #1 team - Espana. But now they face Brazil, in a final, and regardless of the world rankings it is Brazil.

The US has only beaten the SambaBoyz once, over 10 years ago during the Gold Cup semi finals. Earlier in the Confed Cup they were outclassed by Brazil losing 3-0. The US will also be without key midfielder Bradley. So does Sam's Army have a shot?



Surprisingly I am going to say yes, and I am one of the hardest critics on US footie. However, the US seems to not fear the Brazilians (granted the series would dictate otherwise) they played them tough years ago during the World Cup in the US. They have played Brazil tough in the other matches during past Confed Cups as well. Also, the US is on a roll, realizes they are heavy underdogs, and should be the fan favorites. The US will have to play a similar style as to the one against Spain - back 4 needs to defend in unison, midfield needs to be highly active closing down Kaka and Robinho, the stikers will need to take chances on the counter and Howard will need to be solid as a back stop. Oh one more thing, Brazil needs to take the US for granted, much like Espana did for the first half of the game...and it would be nice if the US could score an early goal. Will all this happen? Can it happen? Maybe.

Here is what I see unfolding - Brazil will come out fast and furious, the US will stem the tide and Howard will make some big saves. Dempsey will find a way to score on the counter. Brazil will equalize midway in the second half. The game will go to extra time where the US will defend like a the Alamo and we will end up in PKs....where Howard will make some big saves to give the US an improbable Confed Title. This will unleash a deluge of American pundits predicting the US will do the same next year during the real tourney....ok this might be fantasy. But more fun to predict an improbable US win than another Brazil victory (which is really more likely to happen...how is that for covering all my bases)

US v Spain....more thoughts

Ok I was able to watch the game, since it was an "instant classic" on ESPN. Clearly the US brought their A game, yes Torres and Villa made some poor judgments on certain occasions, Howard was solid and made a few big saves, Casillas was unlucky on the first goal (granted Altidore abused his marker to turn on him and get the shot off), Ramos should get the second goal (he just teed it up for Dempsey), but in the end when you score such an upset you need to be a bit lucky. However, I think the US deserved this win, they played well as a unit, did not allow the fancy Spanish passing to get to them, shut down Xavi and did not allow Fabergas to do much in the midfield. They frustrated Torres and Villa enough to make them waste the opportunities they had.

Congrats to Bradley and his team. However let us not forget, it is 2009, much will change over the next year so I am not ready to proclaim the US as a team that will go deep in next year's World Cup. But for today, hats off to them, they deserve the accolades.

SHOCKER!!!

Wow the US defeats Espana 2-0...I wonder if my friend Jose is doing ok. Unfortunately I was not able to watch the game, being employed will do that to you. However from the game cast it would appear the US did exactly what I said they needed to - defend tight the first 20 minutes, rely on Howard to play an outstanding game, hope Spain was lackluster and look to get the opportunistic goal(s). Based on the 29 - 9 shot difference, clearly Howard played a superb match. The fact Spain had so few of those 29 shots in the first half attests to their not taking the match as serious as they should have as well as the Americans having the right defensive game plan to counter the Spaniards.

I would argue this is the second biggest win for the US, the first being their defeat of Mexico in the 2002 World Cup that propelled them into the 1/4 finals. After being trounced the first two matches, Bradley's men have gone out and shown their mettle. They are guaranteed a final of an international tournament, and that is nothing to sneeze at based on where US soccer was a decade ago.

France v Argentina and other thoughts

Later today France and Argentina will face off against one another in Marseilles. The last time these two sides met, the south americans showed off their class and exploited a piecemeal French defense for a well deserved 1-0 victory. It could have been much worse and France never really threaten Argentina. Will this match be any different? For some reason I doubt it, I think the outcome will be the same....why? Because France has yet to solve the problems that haunted them when they met at Stade de France!

• Defensive issues remain the down fall for Les Bleus. During that match France had to employ a little used defense of Sagnol - Escude - Squillaci - Abidal, the middle pairing was clearly not comfortable with one another at the time. This lack of experience with one another allowed for Saviola to score on what should have been a cleared ball by the defense. The issue, is that this problem still exists with Les Bleus! They continue to struggle defensively, on set pieces, and do not have the system and familiarity that a defensive alignment needs to succeed. While I hold out hope that Gallas - Mexes is given time to work, not sure 3 days of training will make this happen.
• Tactically I think that Domenech is starting to see how the attack will be run - through Gourcuff. But what about Henry, Benzema, Anelka, Nasri? Where do they all slot. While I do not think this is a major concern, I do think that Les Bleus need to figure out very quickly if Henry is best suited on the left flank with Benzema up front, and if the young Lyonnaise can provide the goals the team needs.
• General management continues to be an issue for me, and that all stems from Domenech. For the first time I was happy to see the list he sent out for the game....right up to the point he decided to bring in Boumsong. I still question his in game tactics. I do not think he substitutes well nor manages the flow of the game as a national team manager needs to do. This has definitely not changed since that last Argentina - France match.

So do France have a chance? Of course, playing in Marseilles will help since the velodrome is always a tough place for the opposition. I also think France can exploit one of Argentina's weaknesses - Heinze. I am not sure the Real Madrid defender can contain Ribery or Henry coming down the flanks. It will also be interesting how Argentina look to contain Gourcuff, will Masherano and Gago be ordered to mark the French midfielder? A task both are very capable of doing. In the end I just see too much fire power on the Argentine side - Messi, Tevez, Aguero, I think Masherano will shut down much of the French creativity by winning his battle with Gourcuff, and the French defense still has too many question marks. So I will stick with my earlier prediction of Argentina 2 - France 1.

There are some other games of interest today, in particular US v Mexico, one of the most heated international rivalries in international footie. This is the start of World Cup qualifiers for the CONCACAF region, and once again we know that the US and Mexico will make it and then a third team will emerge. So does this game have any real significance? The loser will not be out, and the winner will know they will most likely qualify. What is significant is this is the a good test for both teams, this is the only game that will really push both sides and the hatred is real. It is being played in America's heartland again, a move the US made a few years back realizing that playing a game against Mexico in a place like LA or Miami is more like a home game for Mexico, so why not have it in the an place where it might be 20 degrees and snowing. Because you know Mexico will make you play them at Azteca, where is it very difficult to breath let alone win for the US! I think the US will win, Mexico is looking a little disjointed recently and will not have some of their youth either due to suspension or because they are rusty from not getting enough game action for their clubs - Vela the former, Dos Santos the later. Still a good, entertaining match to watch. Especially to see if Landicakes mocks his Mexican foes!