Former FIFA president says World Cups were fixed

Joao Havelange, president of FIFA from 1974-1998 claims the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed and produced the exact results his predecessor to the job, England's Sir Stanley Rous, wanted.

Havelange, who is Brazilian, claims that during both finals, the referees made decisions that allowed European nations to advance and help the host country win the cup (1966 England, 1974 West Germany).

In the 1966 semifinal between England and Argentina, a ref gave Argentina's captain Antonio Rattin a direct red for arguing. England won the match 1-0. In 1974 he points to missed calls that resulted in Pele getting injured and Brazil losing their chance to play Germany in the final.

There are been theories for years that some sort of fixing happened but there has never been an official as high ranking as Havelange to back them. So is this true or is this just the talk of a proud South American?

As far as I can see, he doesn't offer any sort of proof other then the 'isn't it strange this happened' kind. The fact that calls seemed to go to the home country more often then not is no surprise. The additional fact that it was European refs that made a number of the calls against South American nations just adds fuel to the speculation, but without any proof, there really is nothing to this story.

Even Pele gets robbed in Brazil

Pele, the soccer legend himself, was robbed by an armed gang earlier this month. Pele was the passenger in a car that was stuck in traffic when a gang of 10 armed men surrounded his vehicle. The men took his gold necklace, a mobile phone and a watch.

His driver was also robbed, however when the gang recognized Pele, they returned items to the driver but not to the super star.

"Pele, who is said to have remained calm during the robbery, apparently believed the men were high on drugs."

Police say these types of robberies are common in Brazil, which I'm sure is not what FIFA wants to hear ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

US beats Italy; face Canada in the Championship

Congratulations the US Women's team who beat Italy 2-0 today to win their group and a spot in the Peace Queen Cup finals on Saturday.

The win mean the women took all three-group games, including a 1-0 win against Brazil (a little better then their World Cup result from last year). Also, their offense seems to be back as they out scored their opposition 5-1.

The final will be a rematch of 2006 as America's neighbor to the north will try to extract their revenge. The Canadians walk out of their group as undisputed masters as they took all 9 points with a +9 goal difference (10-1). As impressive as this is, it must be noted that the US faced the number 4,12 & 13 teams in the world while Canada faced off against the 23,24 and 27th.

This is the fourth final the US women have played in this year and the second involving Canada. So far the US is 3-0.

US World Cup Qualifying tickets go on sale Sunday; Brazil-Venezuela tickets tomorrow

Tickets for the US Men's first 2010 World Cup Qualifier go on sale this Sunday (happy Mother's day) at 3pm ET/12pm PT. The red, white and blue start their race to South Africa on 15 June at the The Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. against Barbados.

Tickets prices range from $18 to $65 and can be purchased at ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macy’s, Wherehouse Music, FYE and Ritmo Latino).

This match represents the first ever World Cup Qualifier at the Home Depot Center, so hopefully a full house will come out.

On the other side of the country, tickets for the Brazil-Venezuela friendly on 6 June go on sale tomorrow (9 May). The game is a doubleheader with the New England Revolution and FC Dallas facing off in the second match.

Tickets for the two games rage from $30 to $110 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222.

Two great nights of soccer on the coasts.

Confederations Cup spot earns US soccer $1.4 million

FIFA has placed $17.6 million into the prize fund for next year's Confederations Cup in South Africa.

"The winners will receive $3.75 million and the runners-up $3.25 million, while the team finishing third will get $2.75 million with $2.25-million going to the fourth-placed country. The other participants will each receive $1.4 million."

The US joins South Africa, Brazil, Italy, Egypt and Iraq in the Confederations Cup. The winner of Euro 2008 and the Oceania Nations Cup will fill the final two spots.

So where will this money go? Hopefully it will be used to improve the youth system in the US. The better the facilities, coaches and training are for the younger players, the better the national team will be in the next decade.

As far as the Confederations Cup, this will be a test run for South Africa. With five World Cup venues being used, we should have a better understanding of just how many glitches we can expect during 2010. Also, since fewer fans travel for the Confederations Cup, this should give the locals a great chance to see some top quality soccer.

US men to face top 5 team in June; World Cup Qualifying host city shortlist released

President of US Soccer Sunil Gulati announced that the US men will face a top 5 FIFA ranked team June 8th in the Northeast (edit note, the linked article says Northwest, but it is indeed the Northeast). Although he did not hint at the team, I think I have a good guess.

The current top 5 are Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany. Since all three European teams qualified for Euro 2008, which starts on 7 June, it is pretty safe to rule them out, which leaves the two South American powerhouses. The US men just played Brazil in the fall, and although I'm sure a lot of money was made out of it, I have a difficult time seeing the men in yellow back on US soil so soon. Which leaves me to guess the team for early June is Argentina.

As far as where? New York is the obvious choice provided they put down grass, but US Soccer loves Foxborough, which has no national games on the 2008 schedule. DC can also make a case, but US Soccer might be saving RFK for a qualifier. I would think Giants Stadium would land this one (combined with a Red Bulls game), but the Kraft family has a strong gravitational pull on the soccer federation.

Gulati also mentioned the possibility of adding another game in Europe ahead of their 4 June match against Spain (could this mean the training camp will be held in Europe?). After 2006, the federation promised harder tests for the men's team and it looks like they are delivering again on that promise.

The other bit of joy Gulati shared with us is the list of possible Wold Cup Qualifying sites for the semi-final round. RFK Stadium (DC), Pizza Hut Park (Dallas), Home Depot Center (LA), Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Denver), Qwest Field (Seattle), Toyota Park (Chicago) and Crew Stadium (Columbus) are the locations in the running for the three home games the US men will play if they advance to the semifinal round. Likely opposition is Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and Cuba.

US Men's 2008 schedule:
19 Jan - US 2-0 Sweden
06 Feb - US 2-2 Mexico
26 Mar - US at Poland
04 Jun - US at Spain
08 Jun - vs. someone
15 Jun - vs. Barbados-Dominica winner at LA (8pm ET/5pm PT)
21/22 Jun - at Barbados-Dominica winner

If they beat Barbados-Dominica winner
20 Aug - Away
06 Sep - Away
10 Sep - Home
11 Oct - Home
15 Oct - Home
19 Nov - Away

Looks like a very busy year.

Pele - Beckham in US handled 'very, very bad', likes England for World Cup 2018

Pele believes that the way David Beckham was introduced to the US audience was 'very, very bad' because he was introduced as 'a scorer of goals.'

But Beckham is not the only problem he sees for MLS as he also believes that the current salary cap is hurting the game.

Pele believes MLS players' salaries need to be raised to the level of American football or baseball players. He also wants the lifting of restrictions on player movements, which are designed to stop wealthy teams from amassing the best players.

"This was one of the mistakes. They have to give freedom to the owners of the teams to buy the players and (chose) which players they want to put (out)," Pele said. "The big mistake in the league now is to control the level of the teams. If they opened this up, it would be much better.

The biggest problem with this move, of coarse, is that it is basically what NASL did back in the 70's, and that didn't end up so well.

Still, he is correct that if the league ever wants to see the attendance numbers of the Cosmos (50-60,000 per match), they will need to have more money to spend to attract top talent. However, at this point the league is not looking for such numbers, instead, they want to build a strong foundation for later improvements. Yet it is hard to argue that raising the salary cap a few million dollars per team is a bad idea.

In other Pele news, he thinks England is well suited to hold the 2018 finals. He sited stadiums as the main reason the country should get the Cup. He then went on to talk about his own country hosting the 2014 World Cup.

'It is fantastic. The Brazilians love football, they live football.
'When Brazil was nominated to get the World Cup it was fantastic.
'Of course there is a lot of controversy about the situation and people ask if Brazil is ready to host the World Cup.
'If you look now, no-one is able to play in the World Cup. If FIFA was there now they would say no, but seven years from now Brazil will be in shape to host the World Cup.'

Brazil and Germany to host World Cups

The country that inspired the colors used on the World Cup trophy will indeed host the finals in 2014. Fifa made official what people have known for years when they voted today to award the South American giants the honor of having the games.

Brazil has a little less than seven years to renovate/build stadiums and improve transportation issues, hopefully not at the cost of social programs for their people.

But Brazil was not the only country to earn a World Cup, as 2006 World Cup hosts Germany will again take on the role for the 2011 Women's World Cup. The decision came down to Canada (host of the 2007 U-20 World Cup) and Germany, but really, it was Germany's all along. This should give the German women an even greater chance of a three-pete.

Congratulations to Brazil and Germany.

World Cup rotation dead - Fifa spits on Concacaf - Why is Jack Warner still in charge?

Fifa made it official today, the rotational system will die after the 2014 Brazil finals, meaning everyone except for little Oceania and Concacaf got a piece of the World Cup pie.

This comes as no surprise as Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has been hinting at this for some time now but still, one has to wonder why Concacaf President and Blatter's BFF Jack Warner was not able to bring his confederation the finals as he promised. Since it was Concacaf's to lose and Warner lost it, hopefully all the FAs will realize that Warner is not the great strength he portrays himself to be.

So 2018 now becomes an open bidding tournament much like, as Blatter points out, the Olympics. I guess that means 2018 process will be a lot like those for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Blatter listed China, Australia, Mexico, the United States, England and one combined offer from the Netherlands and Belgium as countries already showing interest in the finals. However, seeing that those in Europe pushed this moved, it is pretty safe to say that most of them are already unofficially out. I'm sure Fifa will keep as many countries 'in the game' as they can so as to milk as much out of it as possible, but in the end, 2018 is now England's World Cup to lose.

October 2007 FIFA Rankings - Argentina takes the top spot

The October rankings are out and Argentina has returned to the top spot. They last held the #1 position in March of this year. Other movement has England again falling out of the top 10 after climbing to number 9 last month while Mexico took a bit of a slide to 15th. The US holds steady at 18, which is 11 spots hirer then they were last October. However the big news is Russia who pole-vaulted 10 spots to 16th overall.

Rank Team (Last month) Points
1. Argentina (2), 1,533
2. Brazil (3), 1,459
3. Italy (1), 1,387
4. France (6), 1,271
5. Germany (4), 1,245
6. Spain (7), 1,226
7. Netherlands (5), 1,207
8. Portugal (8), 1,203
9. Czech Republic (11), 1,174
10. Croatia (10), 1,155

11. England (9), 1,137
12. Romania (12), 1,086
13. Scotland (14), 1,049
14. Greece (15), 1,034
15. Mexico (13), 978
16. Russia (26), 960
17. Uruguay (19), 900
18. United States (18), 886
19. Nigeria (23), 841
20. Poland (16), 837
Both the Ukraine (22nd) and Sweden (24th) fell out of the top 20.

Over the whole list, Georgia had the biggest upswing by ticking up 33 spots to 71st, followed by New Zealand (+28 spots to 128th) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (+24 to 73rd).

On the downside, Bolivia went backwards 17 steps to 107th, Belarus shed 24 spots ending up in 94th and the biggest loser of all is Cape Verde Islands who dropped 36 places to land at 112th.

Here is the way CONCACAF shapes up:
15 Mexico (13)
18 USA (18)
51 Canada (54)
55 Honduras (59)
64 Cuba (71)
65 Panama (66)
66 Costa Rica (56)
68 Haiti (83)
73 St. Vincent and the Grenadines (97)
78 Trinidad and Tobago (64)

92 Guyana (103)
93 Barbados (108)
100 Guatemala (88)
103 Jamaica (96)
134 Bermuda (135)
141 El Salvador (137)
144 Suriname (143)
145 Antigua and Barbuda (131)
148 Dominican Republic (139)
156 St. Kitts and Nevis (146)

161 Nicaragua (158)
163 St. Lucia (163)
165 Grenada (162)
170 Bahamas (168)
180 British Virgin Islands (179)
181 Turks and Caicos Islands (181)
183 Netherlands Antilles (182)
187 Dominica (186)
188 Cayman Islands (188)
195 Puerto Rico (195)

197 Anguilla (197)
200 Belize (200)
200 Aruba (200)
200 US Virgin Islands (200)
200 Montserrat (200)

Uruguay and Argentina want to host the World Cup

Back in 1930, Uruguay hosted the first ever World Cup and they want to do it again 100 years later. However, they realize that the current version of the finals is a bit too big for them to do it alone, so they have joined with neighbors Argentina for the right to host the 2030 World Cup.

AFA president Julio Grondona expressed his desire to help Uruguay host the event through a formally written letter that was sent to the AUF headquarters in Montevideo earlier on in the week.

“Working for this goal together will bring the relationship between both nations closer than ever. The sporting authorities, and both governments, must work together so that we can reach our objective by 2030,” he stated.

Grondona (76) feels that both nations have a lot of work to do, and they will only send in their proposal once they have a detailed outline of the whole project.

So these two have joined together to host an event that is still 23 years away.

But there might be a problem with this desire. FIFA is expected to soon pass a rule that will end the World Cup rotation after 2014 and that will open up future finals to all continents except for the last two that have hosted World Cups. Because of these changes (and other things coming out of FIFA), it is very much speculated that Europe will again play host in 2018. So here is the way future cups look:
2010 - South Africa
2014 - Brazil
2018 - Europe (most likely England)
2022 - Asia or North America
2026 - Asia or North America
2030 - ?

Knowing that Europe doesn't like going more then two finals without playing host, it would be hard to imagine them not pressing for the 2030 cup.

This is still along way from anything happening and who knows what shape the world will be in 20-years from now (or what rules FIFA will have changed), but the way things are looking from here, it might be a choice between celebrating the history of the game or letting Europe have another one.

2007 Women's World Cup Final Thoughts

So another World Cup has come and gone and what do you know, the Germans won it all. Hard to believe the three weeks went by as fast as it did.

So what did I learn? Getting up early is fun however it really hurts the blogging. Also, to relate this to the '06 men's World Cup, the US played the role of Brazil, Germany played the role of Italy and Brazil played the role of Germany. Think about it, the US came in expected to make it to the final, but never really looked amazing (until the third place match). Germany was a strong team whose defense did much of the heavy lifting. Brazil was a good team heading in but many didn't think they had what it would take to go deep. Also, the US lost in their second playoff game (like Brazil) and Brazil lost in their third playoff game (like Germany). Not perfect, but there are similarities.

But enough of that, here are my final thoughts are certain parts of the fifth Women's World Cup.

US WNT - Maybe calling yourself the greatest team no one has ever heard of was a bit too much. The style and skill that we have come to expect wasn't there till the third place match.

Coach Greg Ryan - So why exactly wasn't the team playing up to their skill till they weren't playing for anything? And who changes keepers going into the semifinals when the new keeper has only played seven games in the last 51? Coaches are paid to make the difficult decisions but they get fired for making the wrong ones.

Hope Solo - She said the right thing just in the wrong way. Okay, she probably shouldn't have said anything but come on, she was playing great leading up to the semifinal then her coach benches her for some crazy reason. I don't think she meant to attack Briana Scurry, just point out that Scurry wasn't the team's number one heading into the cup, so why make the change?

Briana Scurry - Someone who was placed into a bad situation by someone who should have known better. Still Scurry, when she has a game or two to get ready, is strong between the posts.

Kristine Lilly - Pure class and wonderful skill. She is the type of players that all children, male or female, should watch. She gave everything and was humble while doing it.

Abby Wambach - A joy to watch. The way she pushes through and opens up options is something that you seldom see.

ESPN - Their announcers were actually talking about the action on the pitch for the majority of the game. What a crazy concept. Maybe try to import that into the MLS broadcasts and you'll see better ratings.

US Soccer - Didn't send the team's psychiatrist or chef over to China. Odd choice to make.

German WNT - Wow, no goals allowed and people thought the Italian men had something amazing in the '06 World Cup. If it had to be someone other then the US, Germany was the best.

Birgit Prinz - Stands as a wonderful example of what a striker should be. Smart with the ball, quick and a danger in the air.

Nadine Angerer - Nice to know that Germany can produce fantastic keepers no matter what gender they might be.

Brazil WNT - If their country doesn't finally accept the amazing team they have before them, they are idiots. The US, Sweden and China wrote the first chapter of international soccer but Brazil is writing the second. Their physical style is new to the game and brings it to an even higher level. Best moment of the whole cup was when the team held up a banner reading 'Brazil - We need your support' while getting their picture taken after receiving the silver medal.

Marta - The best player of the whole tournament without a doubt. She danced and the world was stunned.

China - Way to pull off a good show and great job fixing the grass in Shanghai in only 7 days.

US Women's Soccer League - Who knows how much of a role the lack of a top women's league in the US played in this World Cup. As the quality of play improves across the globe, if the US wants to stay at the top, they need a good league producing quality players.

US 2-4 Brazil - Good match, poor calls and player grades

US MNT 2-4 Brazil
That Brazil won this match is not a big surprise, however it is amazing how much poor calls by Mexican referee Armando Archundia caused the result.

Not to take anything away from Brazil but Archundia did not call an obvious pk against Brazil for the take down of Josh Wolf yet somehow managed to see a foul against Ronaldinho after Bocanegra clearly got the ball away from him. That foul lead to Ronaldinho's goal. That's a two-goal difference in the match, but those we not the only missed calls. Twice Brazil had handballs not called and at least twice hard tackles went uncalled. Other then the card against Robinho for the dive right before the half, he basically let the men in yellow run the match.

But enough of that, let's talk about the play overall because this was one of the best matches by the US in some time. Their passing, which was nowhere in Sweden, returned as did a quick style of play. How nice was it to see the team just take off instead of holding it in the back allowing the opposition to flood all their players behind the ball while they figured out where they wanted to go. Also, nice work taking balls off the feet of the Brazilians.

The fact that the team played Brazil so close that a few poor calls could have changed the outcome of the match does say a lot for the performance the side put on today. Yes, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Robinho and Afonso had their moments, but they were only moments. Brazil did not dictate the pace of this entire match.

The US national team is past the days of moral victories, but this is as close as we can come to having one. We played the best team in the world and were able to run with them. Now the question is can we make this happen again and in a match that counts?

Still, this game made me feel good about the shape the team is taking as we head toward World Cup qualifying next year.

Here are the grades:
Staring XI
Tim Howard (GK) - It is hard to fault Howard on any of the goals but he needs to do more to organize his back line. B
Cherundolo (D) - He watched the wings and forced Brazil to move inside. B
Onyewu (D) - This has nothing to do with the own goal, which he could do nothing about. This grade is for his poor clearance skills, lack of physical play and all around poor marking. C+
Bocanegra (D) - He covered for the mistakes of others and forced balls away from the area. B
Pearce (D) - Was the weakest spot on defense. Brazil was flying down his side. He did put in some good time in attack but was not on top of it in the back. C
Bradley (M) - Did a wonderful job containing in the middle and redirecting attacks, however, yet again, he makes a very stupid play late that costs his time big time. Maybe the key is to never let him play past the 75th minute. B-
Feilhaber (M) - He did a hundred little things that disrupted the Brazilian, but did not play much in the US attack. Still, keeping the ball away from Kaka might have been the best 'offensive' thing he could do. B
Donovan (M) - With the exception of the corner kick that lead to the first goal, he was a non-factor in this one. Did not lead and often gave the ball away. C-
Beasley (M) - He was everywhere and had some great passes. Plus, when he moved back to defense after Arnaud, the line got stronger, but he needs to work on his free kicks big time. B
Wolff (F) - Nothing like taking the action right to the defense but he still gave the ball away a bit too often. B-
Dempsey (F) - He showed some great ball control and his goal was some of the smartest play in the whole game, but he is still far from an attacking forward. His play is that of an attacking midfielder, but if he is going to play up top, he needs to learn how to change things up. Still, great to see a player unafraid to play a little rough. A-

Subs
Eddie Johnson (F) (on in the 70' for Wolff) - The good news is he didn't look nervous and even made a couple smart plays, but over all, he was not a threat. Granted he wasn't given much, but a late striker sub needs to create some of his own chances. C
Convey (M) (on in the 71' for Feilhaber) - It was obvious that the year off due to injury has decreased his skill as he was far from good. Gentleman’s D
Arnaud (F) (on in the 86' for Pearce) - He stepped on the pitch with one desire, move the ball toward the Brazilian goal and that is what he did. Also won a couple balls and challenged players. Normally I wouldn't give a grade because of his short time on the pitch, but I did like what I saw so I'll say light B+.

US vs. Brazil starting lineup

US MNT vs. Brazil
4pm ET/ 1pm PT
TV: ESPN2
Internet: Text commentary

With an hour till kickoff, here is the US starting lineup:

Howard

Cherundolo     Onyewu     Bocanegra (capt.)     Pearce


Bradley             Feilhaber
Donovan                                                       Beasley

Wolff

Dempsey

Dempsey up top with support from Wolff will be fun to watch. Dempsey has had a great start to his season but this will be his hardest test. He will need good balls from Donovan and Beasley, but if they are forced to track back, he might have to take on a multiple players to make anything happen.

The starters that seem to have the most to prove are Donovan and Bocanegra. Not that they are in any danger of getting dropped from national team duty, but they have not been anywhere near their best of late.

Here is Brazil's lineup:
GK: Doni
D: Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Gilberto
M: Mineiro, Gilberto Silva, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Robinho
F: Afonso

World Cup 2014 - FIFA inspecting Brazil, Germany will wear Adidas

The FIFA 2014 World Cup inspection tour of Brazil is underway. Representatives will visit five candidate cities during their nine-day trip while 13 other cities will make their presentations in Rio de Janeiro.

Although Brazil is the only country up for consideration to host the finals, they are not guaranteed to win them. FIFA will want to know how the country plans to update their stadiums and transportation options before they award them the 2014 cup.

If Brazil is not granted the finals, the bidding could open up to anyone.

FIFA will make their final decision on October 30, however if the finals are not heading to the land of the samba, changes are we will know about it before then.

In other World Cup news, no matter where 2014 is played, Germany will be wearing Adidas gear. The German FA has voted to reject a $680 million, 8-year deal with Nike and will stay with German based Adidas instead.

The Bundesliga was in favor of a move to Nike, which would have seen them received $68 million more over the eight years. Adidas will pay the FA $27 million per year for the first 4 years and then $34 million per year for the final four years.

Brazil's roster for US match

The roster for the September 9, US match is out and it is full of all those amazing Brazilian stars. Is is hard to believe this match has yet to sellout.

Goalkeepers: Doni (Roma), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Alex Silva (São Paulo), Lúcio (Bayern Munich), Juan (Roma), Alex (Chelsea), Kleber (Santos), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin)

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Josué (VfL Wolfsburg), Fernando (Bordeaux), Elano (Manchester City), Kaká (AC Milan), Julio Baptista (Real Madrid), Diego (Werder Bremen)

Forwards: Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Robinho (Real Madrid), Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow), Afonso (SC Heerenveen)
You can find tickets here.

US men to say no to Mexico, will play Brazil on Sept. 9 instead

The US men have pulled out of their match against Mexico at Estadio Azteca on September 9 and will play Brazil at Soldier Field in Chicago instead. They are calling it a "Clash of Champions" as the match pits the Concacaf and Conmebol cup winners.

"It is a very exciting opportunity for our players to get to play perhaps the most storied team in the world,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “We have developed a tremendous schedule for 2007, and adding Brazil is another important piece of the puzzle as we continue to build our team towards World Cup qualifying next year. I have told our players many times that these are special games, and we need to take advantage of the opportunity. We are very much looking forward to the challenge.”

Brazil is expected to bring their top-tier talent to this match and with Brazil on the bill, Bob Bradley should have an easier time getting European based players over.

As much fun as it would have been fun to play in Azteca, getting a fixture with Brazil is not something you can turn down. We all wanted tougher matches, well it is hard to get tougher then this.

Ticked for the match will go on sale Friday. The game will air live at 4pm ET/1pm PT on ESPN2 and Univision.

One bad thing about this game, it will compete against the NE-DC MLS match airing live on TeleFutura at 3pm ET. Also, ever team except Kansas City has a game that weekend.

Is Canada about to land a match with Brazil?

Rumor out of Canada has it that Brazil will be stopping by on September 8th to take on their national team. "The Associated Press reported from Sao Paulo that the Brazilians may also face Canada at a location and a date still to be determined."

Brazil will play Mexico in the US on the 12th, but has no game scheduled for the 8th, which is also an international date. The Canadians will play in Iceland on August 22nd and in Toronto against Costa Rica on Sept 12, so both teams are free and will be in the area.

No official word yet on whom the US will play on Sept 12.

Mexico to play Brazil in Foxborough on Sept 12

Three days after the US men head to Mexico, the Mexican national team will come north of the border to play Brazil at Gillette Stadium.

Here's an interesting quote from the New England Revolution's general manager Craig Tornberg: "Brazil and Mexico are arguably the most popular national teams in the world. What an incredible opportunity for our fans to experience the highest level of international soccer."

September 12th is an official FIFA international fixture so clubs are required to release players if asked so Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho are expected to be part of the team.

It is always good to see the boys from Brazil playing on US soil, I just wish the US men were the opposition.

The US still does not have a game set for September 12.

The Brazilians were drunk and Ronaldo is fat and old

It turns out some of the Brazilians from their World Cup squad might have enjoyed a bit too much liquid courage during their stay in Germany. Ricardo Teixeira, the President of the Brazilian soccer federation, has admitted that a group of players often returned to the hotel drunk between 4 and 6 in the morning on the days between matches.

Although he didn't name any players that were drinking, he did lay heavy into Ronaldo.

"How can an athlete arrive for a World Cup weighing 98 kilograms (216 pounds)?" he said, adding that it would be OK if Dunga stopped summoning the 30-year-old striker for the national team.

"How old is Ronaldo today? How old is he going to be in the 2010 World Cup? That's all I have to say," Teixeira said. "We need to find another Ronaldo."

So I guess Brazil isn't over the German defeat just yet.

Teixeira also expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the team prepared ahead of the cup in Switzerland. You know, it is just a shame that Teixeira, as president of the federation, was powerless to do anything about this before it happened.