Thirty-two South Africa 2010 qualifying matches on Wednesday. The last hugely busy day on the World Cup qualifying schedule.
Three sorts of matches on tap.
1. The plurality that have no realistic bearing on South Africa 2010. Matches in which kids will get their first cap and not even the most rabid of fans will have much emotion invested.
2. The chunk that involve one team with finals aspirations ... and one team without any. The fascinating matches that leave everyone wondering if the teams with nothing to play for ... play as if they do have something to play for.
3. The minority of matches that matter to both teams.
Let's look at those from categories 2 and 3, in ascending order of intrigue.
--Ukraine at Andorra. The Ukrainians sneak into second place in Europe Group 6 with a victory over puny Andorra. Ukraine got a scheduling break; England clinched at home against Croatia, then lost 1-0 at Ukraine in a match that didn't really matter to the English. Flip those matches on the schedule and it would be Croatia playing to clinch second, at Kazakhstan. Now, Croatia needs a victory and an Andorran miracle. Good luck with that.
--Slovenia at San Marino. Slovenia finishes no worse than second in Europe Group 3 if it can defeat the feeblest team in UEFA. San Marino has been outscored 44-1 in nine matches. Slovenia will be looking for a big score to make sure it wins a goal-differential battle with Slovakia if the latter loses at Poland -- a result that would make Slovenia champions of the group, avoiding the second-place playoffs.
--Portugal at Malta. The Portuguese can complete their charge into second place in Europe Group 1 with a victory over the Maltese -- who have been outscored 22-0 in qualifying. Even without the injured Cristian Ronaldo, Portugal should have this wrapped up in a matter of minutes, and then gets ready for the home-and-home with some other second-place Euro squad for a South Africa berth. Note: Portugal had six points from its first five qualifying matches but is in position to claim 13 points from its second five.
--Luxembourg at Greece. Another match that shouldn't be close, but ... Greece does no worse than second in Europe Group 2 with a victory, and could finish first via goal differential if Switzerland loses to Israel. Greece won 3-0 at Luxembourg 13 months ago. But if the Greeks somehow to contrive to tie the Grand Duchy guys, Israel could jump them for second by beating the Swiss.
--Honduras at El Salvador. Honduras needs a victory -- and a Costa Rica defeat at the United States -- to secure the third and final automatic Concacaf berth in South Africa. Los Catrachos may have a harder time than the hexagonal standings would indicate because 1) they are coming off a devastating home loss to the Yankees and 2) El Salvador is their historic rival. (See: The Soccer War of 1969.)
--Costa Rica at United States. A more meaningful match than the one above because the Ticos control their fate; they return to the finals if they can win a qualifier in the States for the first time in 24 years. Luckily, for Costa Rica, the U.S. already has clinched and may be distracted by the automobile accident today that badly injured forward Charlie Davies. However, U.S. coach Bob Bradley insists his team will play hard, with its best XI, because it wants to finish atop the Concacaf standings, which it currently leads.
--Ecuador at Chile. Ecuador sits sixth in the South America table, and sixth brings you nothing, but the Ecuadorans can jump up to No. 5 -- and the home-and-home playoff with the No. 4 team out of Concacaf -- if it can win against the already-qualified Chileans (and the Argentina-Uruguay match has a loser). How much does Chile care? And can Ecuador recover from its critical home defeat vs. Uruguay last Saturday?
--Slovakia at Poland. The Slovaks are looking for their first World Cup finals as an independent nation, having just missed a chance to clinch Europe Group 3 when they lost 2-0 at home to Slovenia. Poland has disappointed, and is out of contention, but if the Poles care enough, and the Slovaks are too tight (and miss their four suspended players too much) ... Slovakia could find itself in the second-place playoffs.
--Israel at Switzerland. One of the two matches in which both sides have something to play for. Switzerland clinches Europe Group 2 with a victory or tie. Israel can slip into second -- and a spot in the second-place playoffs -- with a victory combined with a Greece tie or loss at home to Luxembourg. Greece not beating Luxembourg is unlikely, but weirder things have happened.
--Argentina at Uruguay. The Match of the Day. The winner finishes fourth in the Conmebol standings and gets the region's final automatic berth at South Africa 2010. Argentina finishes fourth with a tie -- unless Ecuador wins by five goals at Chile. Uruguay has been the steadier side, especially since Diego Maradona took over Argentina, a year ago. But if we compare sheer talent, the Argentines must rate as favorites, even on the road ... and even though Maradona is winless in three road qualifying matches as coach. If Argentina loses and Ecuador wins, Ecuador finishes fifth and gains the home-and-home playoffs with the No. 4 side out of Concacaf for a berth. And Argentina is done. Lots of tension here.
Read more!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Messi, Diego: More about Argentina
These guys can't stop making news. Or prompting columnists and analysts to write and talk about them.
Argentina. Diego Maradona. Lionel Messi.
OK, those are three pretty compelling concepts in the world of soccer.
Argentina's profoundly uneven qualifying campaign comes to a close -- well, at least the South America portion of it -- on Wednesday when the albicelestes play Uruguay just across the River Plate, at Montevideo.
If Argentina wins, it finishes fourth and gains at automatic berth to South Africa 2010. A tie, it almost certainly finishes fourth in the South America standings.
But an Argentina defeat puts Uruguay in the No. 4 slot, and leaves Argentina fifth, and headed for a playoff with the No. 4 team out of Concacaf ... or even sixth, behind Ecuador (if it wins at Chile) -- and out of the World Cup, as of Wednesday night.
Anyway, at this moment, Messi may want to make an appearance in crunch time.
Author Harry Harris has noticed that Messi, FIFA's World Player of the Year for 2007, has gone missing in action. And it might be nice if he showed up for the crucial match with Uruguay.
What Messi's issues might be are open to speculation. The author of the linked piece (above) suggests Messi is "overawed" by the idea of national icon Maradona as coach of the team.
That sounds a bit far-fetched, actually. Messi has played in too many big matches.
More likely? Messi is being used badly ... or is a bit out of form ... or can't actually get excited about playing for a coach who has Argentina to four defeats in its last six matches.
Anyway, we keep coming back to Argentina, don't we?
Mostly, it's about big names and big stakes. Argentina still is at risk of being the biggest name not to get to South Africa. The world will be watching to see if Maradona -- and Messi -- can avoid that indignity. Read more!
Argentina. Diego Maradona. Lionel Messi.
OK, those are three pretty compelling concepts in the world of soccer.
Argentina's profoundly uneven qualifying campaign comes to a close -- well, at least the South America portion of it -- on Wednesday when the albicelestes play Uruguay just across the River Plate, at Montevideo.
If Argentina wins, it finishes fourth and gains at automatic berth to South Africa 2010. A tie, it almost certainly finishes fourth in the South America standings.
But an Argentina defeat puts Uruguay in the No. 4 slot, and leaves Argentina fifth, and headed for a playoff with the No. 4 team out of Concacaf ... or even sixth, behind Ecuador (if it wins at Chile) -- and out of the World Cup, as of Wednesday night.
Anyway, at this moment, Messi may want to make an appearance in crunch time.
Author Harry Harris has noticed that Messi, FIFA's World Player of the Year for 2007, has gone missing in action. And it might be nice if he showed up for the crucial match with Uruguay.
What Messi's issues might be are open to speculation. The author of the linked piece (above) suggests Messi is "overawed" by the idea of national icon Maradona as coach of the team.
That sounds a bit far-fetched, actually. Messi has played in too many big matches.
More likely? Messi is being used badly ... or is a bit out of form ... or can't actually get excited about playing for a coach who has Argentina to four defeats in its last six matches.
Anyway, we keep coming back to Argentina, don't we?
Mostly, it's about big names and big stakes. Argentina still is at risk of being the biggest name not to get to South Africa. The world will be watching to see if Maradona -- and Messi -- can avoid that indignity. Read more!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Seven Matches, No New Finalists
Seven more qualifying matches played today for South Africa 2010 ... but no new team secured a berth in next year's big event.
Still stuck on 19 teams ... with 13 still to be determined.
The closest we came to getting to 20 teams was in Africa, where Nigeria scored three minutes into extra time to eke out a 1-0 victory over Mozambique. A Nigeria draw would have clinched Africa Group B for Tunisia, which won 1-0 at home over Kenya.
Biggest African disappointment this quadrennium?
Has to be Nigeria. This is a serious soccer nation, with the biggest population in Africa and lots of oil money, and a squad made up of players from some of Europe's elite leagues. Among its starters today: Midfielder Mikel John Obi (Chelsea), defender Joseph Yobo (Everton), midfielder Seyi Olafinjana (Hull City), midfielder Kalu Uche (Almeira) and his brother Ikechukwu Uche (Real Zaragoza), Taye Taiwo (Marseille). Etc.
Still, Nigeria suffered a scoreless tie at Mozambique, a team of unknowns, back in March, and was unable to make up for that gaffe by defeating Tunisia. Nigeria twice had one-goal leads in a home match with the Tunisians last month, but settled for a 2-2 tie.
Now, Nigeria needs help. It must win at Kenya while Tunisia loses at Mozambique, on Nov. 14. Tunisia hasn't exactly overpowered its opposition, either, but it has come through in pressure situations.
Another interesting match was Algeria's 3-1 home victory over Rwanda, a result that leaves the Algerians on the cusp of South Africa -- and its first World Cup finals since 1986. Algeria leads Egypt by three points in Group C, with the final match scheduled in Cairo on Nov. 14.
Algeria advances with a victory, a draw or even a one-goal loss, because it is plus-7 in goal differential to Egypt's plus-3. Egypt would advance with a 2-0 victory because it that would leave each team at plus-5 in goal-differential, and Egypt would win on the basis of a 3-2 lead in away goals. However, if Algeria scores one goal or more, Egypt would have to win by three goals.
Got all that?
The third match today worth noting was Brazil's 2-1 loss at Bolivia. It would be bigger news if Brazil hadn't already qualified, but it showed up with a representative side (Luisao, Maicon, Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Ramires, Adriano) ... and still lost. Of course, winning with your best players is difficult, in La Paz, Bolivia, which sits 12,000 feet above sea level.
Another huge day of qualifying coming Wednesday, with 32 matches scheduled. At least four more participants in South Africa 2010 will be identified -- two from Europe, one from South America and one from Concacaf. Also, the 10 participants in home-and-home playoffs for five berths also will be known -- eight runners-up in Europe, the No. 4 team out of Concacaf and the No. 5 team from South America. Read more!
Still stuck on 19 teams ... with 13 still to be determined.
The closest we came to getting to 20 teams was in Africa, where Nigeria scored three minutes into extra time to eke out a 1-0 victory over Mozambique. A Nigeria draw would have clinched Africa Group B for Tunisia, which won 1-0 at home over Kenya.
Biggest African disappointment this quadrennium?
Has to be Nigeria. This is a serious soccer nation, with the biggest population in Africa and lots of oil money, and a squad made up of players from some of Europe's elite leagues. Among its starters today: Midfielder Mikel John Obi (Chelsea), defender Joseph Yobo (Everton), midfielder Seyi Olafinjana (Hull City), midfielder Kalu Uche (Almeira) and his brother Ikechukwu Uche (Real Zaragoza), Taye Taiwo (Marseille). Etc.
Still, Nigeria suffered a scoreless tie at Mozambique, a team of unknowns, back in March, and was unable to make up for that gaffe by defeating Tunisia. Nigeria twice had one-goal leads in a home match with the Tunisians last month, but settled for a 2-2 tie.
Now, Nigeria needs help. It must win at Kenya while Tunisia loses at Mozambique, on Nov. 14. Tunisia hasn't exactly overpowered its opposition, either, but it has come through in pressure situations.
Another interesting match was Algeria's 3-1 home victory over Rwanda, a result that leaves the Algerians on the cusp of South Africa -- and its first World Cup finals since 1986. Algeria leads Egypt by three points in Group C, with the final match scheduled in Cairo on Nov. 14.
Algeria advances with a victory, a draw or even a one-goal loss, because it is plus-7 in goal differential to Egypt's plus-3. Egypt would advance with a 2-0 victory because it that would leave each team at plus-5 in goal-differential, and Egypt would win on the basis of a 3-2 lead in away goals. However, if Algeria scores one goal or more, Egypt would have to win by three goals.
Got all that?
The third match today worth noting was Brazil's 2-1 loss at Bolivia. It would be bigger news if Brazil hadn't already qualified, but it showed up with a representative side (Luisao, Maicon, Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Ramires, Adriano) ... and still lost. Of course, winning with your best players is difficult, in La Paz, Bolivia, which sits 12,000 feet above sea level.
Another huge day of qualifying coming Wednesday, with 32 matches scheduled. At least four more participants in South Africa 2010 will be identified -- two from Europe, one from South America and one from Concacaf. Also, the 10 participants in home-and-home playoffs for five berths also will be known -- eight runners-up in Europe, the No. 4 team out of Concacaf and the No. 5 team from South America. Read more!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Eight More Qualify for South Africa
Great day for soccer fans. Matches decided in the final seconds. Clutch victories on the road. Eight more berths in South Africa 2010 assured ... but 13 still unknown with only a (comparative) handful of qualifying matches still to play.
Ten of the most significant results from today ... including all eight of the 2010 clinching matches, from least-rousing to most:
10. Malawi 1, Cote d'Ivoire 1. The least impressive and least surprising clinching performance of the day. Ivory Coast, as it has been known in English, led the weakest group in Africa, Group E, by six points with two matches to play, and needed only a tie today to clinch, and that's what it delivered. But not before trailing minnow Malawi untilthe 67th minute, when international star Didier Drogba scored for the Ivoirians.
9. Mexico 4, El Salvador 1. This one rated a zero on the Surprise Meter. Little El Salvador at Mexico, in Azteca ... the outcome was never in doubt. And neither was Mexico getting one of the three guaranteed Concacaf berths in South Africa 2010. Mexico turned things around back in Games 6, 7 and 8, when it came from behind to win at home against the United States, 2-1; then crushed Costa Rica, 3-0, at San Jose; and when El Tri survived a determined performance by Honduras to win 1-0 on a penalty over Honduras, at Azteca. Oh, and those games coincide with the accession of Javier Aguirre to the coach's job.
8. (tie) Argentina 2, Peru 1; Portugal 3, Hungary 0. Two of the glamour soccer powers at risk of not making the World Cup finals came through and now control their destiny. Martin Palermo can off the bench to score three minutes into stoppage time as Argentina avoided what would have been a humiliating and disastrous tie with bottom-feeder Peru, in Buenos Aires ... and Simao scored twice for Portugal in its romp and jumped into second in Europe Group 1 with only a home match with Malta left. That is, Portugal can begin planning to be in one of the four home-and-home second-place playoffs for a South Africa ticket.
7. Ecuador 1, Uruguay 2. The visitors rallied for a victory, at 9,300 feet above sea level, in Quito, to win on a penalty by Diego Forlan in extra time. Uruguay now gets arch-rival Argentina at home, in Montevideo, on Wednesday, with the fourth (and final) guaranteed berth from South America at stake. If Ecuador recovers to win at Chile, and there is a loser in the Uruguay-Argentina, Ecuador would finish fifth -- and go into the home-and-home playoff with the No. 4 squad out of Concacaf.
6. Serbia 5, Romania 0. Milan Javanovic scored twice as the Serbs clinched Group 7. Serbia goes to the finals for the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
5. Colombia 2, Chile 4. The Chileans overcame the shock of an early own goal in the thin air of Medellin (5,000 feet) to roll to victory and qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1998. Jorge Valdivia, who plays for Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, scored the decisive goal in the 72nd minute.
4. Ireland 2, Italy 2. The Azzurri needed only a tie to clinch Europe Group 8, but it didn't look likely when Sean St. Ledger scored for Ireland in the 87th minute. However, Alberto Gilardino scored in the 90th minute to put Italy through to South Africa. Ireland's consolation prize: A berth in the second-place playoffs for one of the last four Euro berths in 2010.
3. Denmark 1, Sweden 0. It took 79 minutes before a goal was scored, but Jakob Poulsen's strike clinched Group 1 for Denmark and all but eliminated the Swedes from future consideration. Sweden now can finish second only if it defeats Albania and Portugal somehow loses at home to Malta. OK, let's just say it: Sweden is dead.
2. Honduras 2, United States 3. Little-known forward Conor Casey scored twice and Landon Donovan got the key third goal on a bending free kick as the U.S. secured one of Concacaf's three assured berths with an unexpected victory at San Pedro Sula. Honduras had been unbeaten and untied in eight previous home matches in this qualifying cycle, outscoring the opposition 12-2 in the final round. The U.S. will appear in its sixth consecutive finals after missing the previous nine.
1. Russia 0, Germany 1. In a match pitting the FIFA world-ranked Nos. 4 (Germany) and 5 (Russia) teams, the superpowers of Europe Group 4, Miroslav Klose scored in the 34th minute and Germany held on for 32-plus tense minutes -- in Moscow -- while playing with only 10 men, following the expulsion of defenseman Jerome Boateng. Russia figures to be a very formidable opponent in the second-place playoffs. Read more!
Ten of the most significant results from today ... including all eight of the 2010 clinching matches, from least-rousing to most:
10. Malawi 1, Cote d'Ivoire 1. The least impressive and least surprising clinching performance of the day. Ivory Coast, as it has been known in English, led the weakest group in Africa, Group E, by six points with two matches to play, and needed only a tie today to clinch, and that's what it delivered. But not before trailing minnow Malawi untilthe 67th minute, when international star Didier Drogba scored for the Ivoirians.
9. Mexico 4, El Salvador 1. This one rated a zero on the Surprise Meter. Little El Salvador at Mexico, in Azteca ... the outcome was never in doubt. And neither was Mexico getting one of the three guaranteed Concacaf berths in South Africa 2010. Mexico turned things around back in Games 6, 7 and 8, when it came from behind to win at home against the United States, 2-1; then crushed Costa Rica, 3-0, at San Jose; and when El Tri survived a determined performance by Honduras to win 1-0 on a penalty over Honduras, at Azteca. Oh, and those games coincide with the accession of Javier Aguirre to the coach's job.
8. (tie) Argentina 2, Peru 1; Portugal 3, Hungary 0. Two of the glamour soccer powers at risk of not making the World Cup finals came through and now control their destiny. Martin Palermo can off the bench to score three minutes into stoppage time as Argentina avoided what would have been a humiliating and disastrous tie with bottom-feeder Peru, in Buenos Aires ... and Simao scored twice for Portugal in its romp and jumped into second in Europe Group 1 with only a home match with Malta left. That is, Portugal can begin planning to be in one of the four home-and-home second-place playoffs for a South Africa ticket.
7. Ecuador 1, Uruguay 2. The visitors rallied for a victory, at 9,300 feet above sea level, in Quito, to win on a penalty by Diego Forlan in extra time. Uruguay now gets arch-rival Argentina at home, in Montevideo, on Wednesday, with the fourth (and final) guaranteed berth from South America at stake. If Ecuador recovers to win at Chile, and there is a loser in the Uruguay-Argentina, Ecuador would finish fifth -- and go into the home-and-home playoff with the No. 4 squad out of Concacaf.
6. Serbia 5, Romania 0. Milan Javanovic scored twice as the Serbs clinched Group 7. Serbia goes to the finals for the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
5. Colombia 2, Chile 4. The Chileans overcame the shock of an early own goal in the thin air of Medellin (5,000 feet) to roll to victory and qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1998. Jorge Valdivia, who plays for Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, scored the decisive goal in the 72nd minute.
4. Ireland 2, Italy 2. The Azzurri needed only a tie to clinch Europe Group 8, but it didn't look likely when Sean St. Ledger scored for Ireland in the 87th minute. However, Alberto Gilardino scored in the 90th minute to put Italy through to South Africa. Ireland's consolation prize: A berth in the second-place playoffs for one of the last four Euro berths in 2010.
3. Denmark 1, Sweden 0. It took 79 minutes before a goal was scored, but Jakob Poulsen's strike clinched Group 1 for Denmark and all but eliminated the Swedes from future consideration. Sweden now can finish second only if it defeats Albania and Portugal somehow loses at home to Malta. OK, let's just say it: Sweden is dead.
2. Honduras 2, United States 3. Little-known forward Conor Casey scored twice and Landon Donovan got the key third goal on a bending free kick as the U.S. secured one of Concacaf's three assured berths with an unexpected victory at San Pedro Sula. Honduras had been unbeaten and untied in eight previous home matches in this qualifying cycle, outscoring the opposition 12-2 in the final round. The U.S. will appear in its sixth consecutive finals after missing the previous nine.
1. Russia 0, Germany 1. In a match pitting the FIFA world-ranked Nos. 4 (Germany) and 5 (Russia) teams, the superpowers of Europe Group 4, Miroslav Klose scored in the 34th minute and Germany held on for 32-plus tense minutes -- in Moscow -- while playing with only 10 men, following the expulsion of defenseman Jerome Boateng. Russia figures to be a very formidable opponent in the second-place playoffs. Read more!
Friday, October 9, 2009
On the Eve ...
Check here on Saturday for two posts on the day's qualifiers. One from early results, and one from the end of the day, after the Concacaf scores come in.
In between, I probably will be driving around Southern California looking for a place that is broadcasting the closed-circuit (!) United States match from Honduras. Yes, closed-circuit. Meaning it is not on television, live, anywhere. Which is insane. But I'll stop here. If you want to read more fulminating about this, check my other blog, oberjuerge.com Read more!
In between, I probably will be driving around Southern California looking for a place that is broadcasting the closed-circuit (!) United States match from Honduras. Yes, closed-circuit. Meaning it is not on television, live, anywhere. Which is insane. But I'll stop here. If you want to read more fulminating about this, check my other blog, oberjuerge.com Read more!
Russia Seeks Historic Victory vs. Germany
Russia and Germany. You think they would have a long soccer history.
They don't. Something about a couple of world wars, a revolution, etc. They didn't play between 1912 and 1955. Even since then, despite being fairly close, geographically, they have met only sporadically.
Still, there is some history here ... and the bottom line is this:
Russia never has defeated Germany (or West Germany) in an "official" match. "Official" being World Cup, European Cup or Olympic.
Which is germane to this moment, because Germany plays Russia in Moscow on Saturday with the lead in Europe Group 4 at stake. The winner almost certainly will finish first in the group and gain entry to South Africa 2010. The loser will fall into one of the four second-place playoffs -- with a berth at stake for the survivors.
This preview doesn't mention Russia's unfortunate soccer history vs. Germany, but in other material we had seen references to German dominance.
So we looked it up. The results:
Germany: Four victories, one tie, zero defeats. This is from a very handy English language history of every Russia international match. Going back to 1912.
That 4-0-1 German record includes a 1966 World Cup match (2-1), a 1972 Euro Cup meeting (3-0), a 1992 Euro Cup match (1-1), a 1996 Euro Cup match (3-0) and a Germany victory last year in this round of qualifying (2-1).
Germany has pretty much dominated the series, even when we include friendlies (but not matches between the Soviets and East Germany or the "United" German team at the 1956 Olympics).
In those other matches, Germany or West Germany is 13-2-3 vs. Russia.
Russia's last victory over Germany or West Germany? A friendly in 1956, 2-1.
So, Russia will be looking to make history -- as well as all but lock up its World Cup berth.
(And, yes, let's discuss the relevance of a tie, though we will deal with it in paranthetical matter. Ties are boring, but they often are strategically significant, and a tie ... clearly benefits Germany significantly. A tie with Russia, Germany remains a point ahead of Russia and then needs only to win, at home, against Finland, to be sure of finishing first. Finland is a competent side but will be playing for nothing, besides messing with the Germans, which I don't believe is a major issue in Finland at the moment. While Russia goes down to Azerbaijan for an almost certain victory. So Germany may just settle for 0-0, if it's that way in the second half, and hope it can defeat the Finns, which it probably can ... But back to thinking someone will win!)
This game also matches teams ranked Nos. 4 (Germany) and 6 (Russia) in the FIFA world rankings. Meaning it is rivaled only by last month's Brazil-Argentina match (pitting No. 1 vs. No. 8) for the highest-ranked teams meeting in the qualifying rounds.
Lots going on, in this one. Read more!
They don't. Something about a couple of world wars, a revolution, etc. They didn't play between 1912 and 1955. Even since then, despite being fairly close, geographically, they have met only sporadically.
Still, there is some history here ... and the bottom line is this:
Russia never has defeated Germany (or West Germany) in an "official" match. "Official" being World Cup, European Cup or Olympic.
Which is germane to this moment, because Germany plays Russia in Moscow on Saturday with the lead in Europe Group 4 at stake. The winner almost certainly will finish first in the group and gain entry to South Africa 2010. The loser will fall into one of the four second-place playoffs -- with a berth at stake for the survivors.
This preview doesn't mention Russia's unfortunate soccer history vs. Germany, but in other material we had seen references to German dominance.
So we looked it up. The results:
Germany: Four victories, one tie, zero defeats. This is from a very handy English language history of every Russia international match. Going back to 1912.
That 4-0-1 German record includes a 1966 World Cup match (2-1), a 1972 Euro Cup meeting (3-0), a 1992 Euro Cup match (1-1), a 1996 Euro Cup match (3-0) and a Germany victory last year in this round of qualifying (2-1).
Germany has pretty much dominated the series, even when we include friendlies (but not matches between the Soviets and East Germany or the "United" German team at the 1956 Olympics).
In those other matches, Germany or West Germany is 13-2-3 vs. Russia.
Russia's last victory over Germany or West Germany? A friendly in 1956, 2-1.
So, Russia will be looking to make history -- as well as all but lock up its World Cup berth.
(And, yes, let's discuss the relevance of a tie, though we will deal with it in paranthetical matter. Ties are boring, but they often are strategically significant, and a tie ... clearly benefits Germany significantly. A tie with Russia, Germany remains a point ahead of Russia and then needs only to win, at home, against Finland, to be sure of finishing first. Finland is a competent side but will be playing for nothing, besides messing with the Germans, which I don't believe is a major issue in Finland at the moment. While Russia goes down to Azerbaijan for an almost certain victory. So Germany may just settle for 0-0, if it's that way in the second half, and hope it can defeat the Finns, which it probably can ... But back to thinking someone will win!)
This game also matches teams ranked Nos. 4 (Germany) and 6 (Russia) in the FIFA world rankings. Meaning it is rivaled only by last month's Brazil-Argentina match (pitting No. 1 vs. No. 8) for the highest-ranked teams meeting in the qualifying rounds.
Lots going on, in this one. Read more!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
England, Jack Warner and the 2018 Bid
We have noted before, on this site, that the wrangling over who will host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 ... sometimes seems to eclipse the run-up to the 2010 World Cup.
It seems a bit crazy, to be so agitated about tournaments nine and 13 years away, involving players who may not even be professionals yet ... but there it is. The would-be host countries are thinking about this. A lot. Even with a rash of crucial qualifiers coming up this weekend.
One of those countries is England, which wants to host either Cup, and generally is connected to the 2018 Cup -- because it will have been in the Americas in 2014, and away from Europe since 2006.
However, the highly influential (and controversial) Jack Warner, FIFA executive member and president of Concacaf, made lots of news in England this week by criticizing the English bid.
First, in this story, in which Warner said England's bid was creeping along when it ought to be galloping.
Then, in this more recent story, in which Warner said England needed to inject some energy into its bid by including, oh, David Beckham as one of its primary salesmen.
Warner is considered something of a boogieman in England, where he generally is considered to be hopelessly corrupt. But he is feared because he appears to wield so much power over the Concacaf voting bloc. And, by extension, over Sepp Blatter himself.
Blatter's accession to the FIFA presidency, remember, came via the parts of the world that were not Europe. Including Concacaf -- the Caribbean, North American and Central American confederation. (Warner is from Trinidad & Tobago.) Europe almost unanimously supported the Swede Lennart Johansson over Blatter, a Swiss.
Anyway, follow the links if you want to see a batch of England-oriented hand-wringing over their bid, and Jack Warner's criticism of it. Read more!
It seems a bit crazy, to be so agitated about tournaments nine and 13 years away, involving players who may not even be professionals yet ... but there it is. The would-be host countries are thinking about this. A lot. Even with a rash of crucial qualifiers coming up this weekend.
One of those countries is England, which wants to host either Cup, and generally is connected to the 2018 Cup -- because it will have been in the Americas in 2014, and away from Europe since 2006.
However, the highly influential (and controversial) Jack Warner, FIFA executive member and president of Concacaf, made lots of news in England this week by criticizing the English bid.
First, in this story, in which Warner said England's bid was creeping along when it ought to be galloping.
Then, in this more recent story, in which Warner said England needed to inject some energy into its bid by including, oh, David Beckham as one of its primary salesmen.
Warner is considered something of a boogieman in England, where he generally is considered to be hopelessly corrupt. But he is feared because he appears to wield so much power over the Concacaf voting bloc. And, by extension, over Sepp Blatter himself.
Blatter's accession to the FIFA presidency, remember, came via the parts of the world that were not Europe. Including Concacaf -- the Caribbean, North American and Central American confederation. (Warner is from Trinidad & Tobago.) Europe almost unanimously supported the Swede Lennart Johansson over Blatter, a Swiss.
Anyway, follow the links if you want to see a batch of England-oriented hand-wringing over their bid, and Jack Warner's criticism of it. Read more!
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