MLS expansion - 24 teams by 2013?

Canada's sports network TSN reports that "MLS Commissioner Don Garber will lift the original ceiling of 18 franchises and announce Thursday a new expansion plan of not less than 20 and up to 24 franchises by 2013-2014."

They add that, "Vancouver and Montreal are considered expansion priorities for Garber in 2011."

This is not the first time that similar rumors have jumped up, but let's say it is true that tomorrow will see a big announcement concerning expansion, what does it mean?

First off, if the league targets 20-24 teams in the next six years, they must do something concerning the player pool. What this means is more international players and an increase in the salary cap, but that starts bringing in thoughts of NASL. MLS has tried hard to stay away from any such comparisons but if this is their realistic goal, they will need to address it soon (quick note, MLS is in a much better financial state today then NASL ever was).

Next up, the schedule. Is the East/West divide soon to be gone in favor of a single table or might they break into two different leagues and never play each other except for in cup competitions (think old school baseball rules)? Also, how does Superliga fit into this? If clubs are playing 38-46 league games*, plus US Open Cup, plus Concacaf, plus MLS Cup matches, they could easy end up with almost 60 meaningful matches in a season so throwing on 3-5 more for Superliga would be asking a great deal. Is MLS ready to kill off a moneymaker?

Finally, there is the issue of television deals. The current broadcasts are a huge improvement over a few years ago, however it is time to push for more airing over non-cable channels. The fact that most games are not available for a large (perhaps majority) portion of the country hurts the development of a stronger fan base. What casual fan is going to go hunting for HDNet or Fox Soccer Channel, if they even have it on their cable system? If they can get a game or two a week on over-the-air, national networks, the perception of the sport will begin to change. Remember, if it wasn't on TV, it didn't happen.

I know, I'm really jumping ahead of everything here, but if this is to be the path for the league, they need to make sure it is a success and these are the big three issues as I see them.

On the plus side, 24 teams means just about every large urban area in the US and Canada will have a team. Also, if they broke the FIFA limit for 24, what would stop them from going higher and adding smaller markets that show an ability to support teams.

* this assumes that teams play each other twice

Montreal Impact best team in Canada

Toronto FC's slump continued last night as they only managed a 1-1 tie against the USL's Montreal Impact. With the point, the Impact won the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and earned a trip to the CONCACAF Champions League Cup, which begins next month.

Now the question is will this win have an effect on a possible move to MLS by Montreal? Impact head coach John Limniatis thinks it does.

The platform (for entering MLS) was already set...

I think, obviously, this helps. This just shows we're capable of competing ... From what I understand, we're aiming for the start of the 2011 season to be in the MLS.

The Impact organization has a lot going for it (stadium, rich owners, good fan base) and adding solid play against top-tier teams will only help them in their quest to land in MLS.

However, this failure by Toronto as well as the defeats suffered by MLS teams in the US Open Cup points to a very different issue, player salaries. With just around $2.5m to spend on a full squad MLS teams are very limited in the depth that they can bring in, thus the difference between the two divisions is not as pronounced as it should be. If MLS did up their pay level to around $5m a year, it helps elevate this issue.

Some might think that it is not a big thing that MLS teams often get toppled by USL clubs, however I disagree. League officials are usually quick to claim MLS as a world-class league, however what fan is going to believe them if top-level teams are consistently dropping games to lower-level opposition? In the perception race, these upsets need to become a rare bread.

Canadian men's team wants Montreal to be home pitch

The Canadian men's team wants to make their first world cup appearance since 1986 and they think playing at Montreal's Saputo Stadium is the way to do it.

Tonight sees them take to the Saputo grass pitch for the first time as they try to finish off St Vincent & the Grenadines in the return leg of a two-game series and many players think this field will give them what they need to win.

"Everyone has agreed this is the best pitch there is in Canada, but the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) and whoever works for the CSA want us to play in (Toronto's) BMO Field and Edmonton as well," midfielder Julian de Guzman said Thursday. "Stuff like that will affect us immensely going toward the World Cup. We feel very comfortable right here."

So, what seems to be the problem? The players feel they play better on the real grass and like the facility. Well it turns out the CSA has a deal with BMO field to play at least six national team-related games there every year. Also, the CSA refers to BMO as 'Canada's national soccer stadium.' The good news, those six games 'are not limited to the national senior men's squad' and as far as BMO's label, what's really in a name?

This is just the latest in the back-and-forth between national team players and often tone-deft CSA. Hopefully someone in management will listen to their players and the coach and not force them to play the biggest games on a synthetic surface.

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.

MLS Expansion - Ottawa enters the running

The line for a MLS expansion team just got a little longer as Eugene Melnyk, owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, has meet with league officials to discuss a move to Canada's capital.

The report says Melnyk and MLS met last Thursday. Although no specifics are known, Melnyk does bring with him a $1.4 billion fortune to back up any bid. Also, Frank Clair Stadium, which was used during last summer's U-20 World Cup and seats just under 27,000, is all ready built, however it is in need of some renovation.

Ottawa currently has an USL-PDL side, the Ottawa Fury, but Melnyk is not involved in the ownership of the team.

I would place Ottawa towards the back of the pack at the moment since other cities seem to be further along on talks. Still, with some big money possibly behind this bid, it could easily move up if Vancouver can't figure out their stadium situation or St. Louis fails to find more investors.

2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage Schedule

Yesterday saw the draw for the first ever Concacaf Champions League group stage. The two seeded MLS sides, DC United and Houston Dynamo, were drawn into groups A & B respectively.

As far as the other MLS clubs, if New England beat Joe Public FC in their preliminary playoff, they will move into group C along with Atlante FC. Chivas USA faces a possible date with Club Santos Laguna in the Group D.

MLS will likely have a fifth team in the group due to Canada getting one spot. If TFC does make it, they will join the Revolution in Group C.

The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout phase.

Since over half of the teams in the group phase are not known at this time, it is difficult to point to who has the toughest group, but it does look like Group A could turn into a very difficult one if Cruz Azul and Olimpia both advance (although Marathon is not much better).

After the playoff runs take place (26 Aug - 4 Sept), we'll be able to see who has, on paper, the hardest road to the knockout phase.

Group A
DC United (USA)
Deportivo Saprissa (CRC)
Winner: Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes
Winner: Isidro Metapan or Marathon

Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
16 Sept D.C. United – Deportivo Saprissa (8p)
17 Sept Isidro Metapan or Marathon – Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes (10p)

23 Sept Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes – Deportivo Saprissa (TBD)
24 Sept Isidro Metapan or Marathon – D.C. United (10p)

30 Sept Deportivo Saprissa – Isidro Metapan or Marathon (10p)
01 Oct D.C. United – Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes (8p)

07 Oct Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes – Isidro Metapan or Marathon (8p)
09 Oct Deportivo Saprissa – D.C. United (10p)

21 Oct Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes – D.C. United (10p)
23 Oct Isidro Metapan or Marathon – Deportivo Saprissa (8p)

29 Oct D.C. United – Isidro Metapan or Marathon (8p)
29 Oct Deportivo Saprissa – Cruz Azul or Hankook Verdes (8p)


Group B
Houston Dynamo(USA)
CD Luis Angel Firpo (SLV)
Winner: Jalapa or San Francisco FC
Winner: Harbour View FC or Pumas UNAM

Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
16 Sept Jalapa or San Francisco – Harbour View or Pumas (TBD)
17 Sept Houston Dynamo – CD Luis Angel Firpo (10p)

23 Sept Jalapa or San Francisco – Houston Dynamo (TBD)
24 Sept Harbour View or Pumas – CD Luis Angel Firpo (TBD)

30 Sept Harbour View or Pumas – Houston Dynamo (TBD)
02 Oct CD Luis Angel Firpo – Jalapa or San Francisco (8p)

08 Oct Houston Dynamo – Jalapa or San Francisco (10p)
09 Oct CD Luis Angel Firpo – Harbour View or Pumas (10p)

22 Oct Houston Dynamo – Harbour View or Pumas (10p)
22 Oct Jalapa or San Francisco – CD Luis Angel Firpo (TBD)

28 Oct CD Luis Angel Firpo – Houston Dynamo (10p)
29 Oct Harbour View or Pumas – Jalapa or San Francisco (TBD)


Group C
Atlante FC (MEX)
CD Olímpia or CD Marathon (HON)
Winner: Joe Public FC or New England Revolution
Winner: Montreal Impact or Real Esteli

Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
17 Sept Montreal or Esteli – Joe Public FC or New England Revolution (TBD)
18 Sept Atlante – HON1 (10p)

24 Sept Joe Public FC or New England Revolution – HON1 (8p)
24 Sept Montreal or Esteli – Atlante (TBD)

30 Sept Atlante – Joe Public FC or New England Revolution (8p)
02 Oct HON1 – Montreal or Esteli (10p)

08 Oct Joe Public FC or New England Revolution – Montreal or Esteli (8p)
08 Oct HON1 – Atlante (10p)

21 Oct Montreal or Esteli – HON1 (TBD)
21 Oct Joe Public FC or New England Revolution – Atlante (8p)

28 Oct HON1 – Joe Public FC or New England Revolution (8p)
28 Oct Atlante – Montreal or Esteli (10p)


Group D
Club Santos Laguna
CSD Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa
Winner: LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders
Winner: Chivas USA or Tauro FC

Home Team Listed First (All times Eastern)
16 Sept LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders – Chivas USA or Tauro (TBD)
17 Sept Club Santos Laguna – GUA1 (8p)

23 Sept Chivas USA or Tauro – GUA1 (TBD)
25 Sept LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders – Club Santos Laguna (TBD)

01 Oct GUA1 – LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders (8p)
01 Oct Chivas USA or Tauro – Club Santos Laguna (TBD)

07 Oct GUA1 – Chivas USA or Tauro (10p)
08 Oct Club Santos Laguna – LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders (8p)

22 Oct Club Santos Laguna – Chivas USA or Tauro (8p)
23 Oct LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders – GUA1 (TBD)

29 Oct Chivas USA or Tauro – LD Alajuelense or Puerto Rico Islanders (TBD)
30 Oct GUA1 – Club Santos Laguna (10p)

Other Concacaf World Cup Qualifer results

As much fun as it is to only focus on the great show the US put on yesterday, there were ten other Concacaf Qualifiers over the weekend. So how did they turn out? Most of them went as expected, but there were a couple shocks.

Trinidad and Tobago 1-2 Bermuda - T&T get shocked at home by Bermuda. Could the team's dream of back-to-back World Cups crash out next weekend? If so, will Jack Warner get any heat for the way he destroyed the team?

Haiti 0-0 Netherlands Antilles - Haiti are the reigning Caribbean champions and Antilles held them on the road. Not as big an upset as T&T, but still something to watch.

Suriname 1-0 Guyana - The battle of the South American members of Concacaf ended in a minor surprise as Suriname beat the seeded Guyanese. The return leg is going to be fun.

Grenada 2-2 Costa Rica - This was a much tougher start then Costa Rica wanted. On the plus side, they did come back from two goals down to get the tie, but will this be enough for coach Hernán Medford to keep his job?

Panama 1-0 El Salvador - Panama has to be worried going into their second leg. The rains slowed this game down, which worked for El Salvador.

Belize 0-2 Mexico - Mexico continued their tradition of under performing against teams they do not respect. This match was never in question as Belize pretty much just sat 10 players behind the ball, but it is still a poor game by El Tri.

Guatemala 6-0 Saint Lucia - Looks like the US will have to deal with the little fish again as Carlos Ruiz netted four in this one.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0-3 Canada - Ali Gerba was the hero for Canada as he netted two. Canada should have an easy time at home this Friday.

Jamaica 7-0 Bahamas - The Reggae Boys just smashed their way into group play. Six different players, including Andy Williams, scored so this was an all over effort.

Puerto Rico 2-2 Honduras - This result means Honduras advances to the first group phase with a 6-2 aggregate win. Puerto Rico went down a goal in the 22', but tied is a few minutes later. They then went up one right before the half, but it was not meant to be as Wigan Athletic midfielder Wilson Palacios knotted it up in the 52'.

Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda play their first leg tomorrow.

Concacaf 2010 World Cup Qualifying schedule - Second Round

The second leg of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying swings into full gear this weekend as 24 teams look to advance to the first group phase. Although there are strong favorites in just about every one of these contests, the constant possibility of an upset will be present. Who knows, an early surprise goal or red card could kill a team's dream.

America will take on Barbados in their opening match at the Home Depot Center. The red, white and blue are coming off a strong tie against Argentina in front of almost 80,000 at Giants Stadium. There are still tickets available for Sunday's match.

Anyway, here is the full schedule of second round matches:

First Leg

Home	Score	Visitor
USA	8-0	Barbados
Guatemala	6-0	Saint Lucia
Trinidad and Tobago	1-2	Bermuda
Antigua and Barbuda	3-4	Cuba
Belize	0-2	Mexico
Jamaica	7-0	Bahamas
Honduras	4-0	Puerto Rico
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0-3	Canada
Grenada	2-2	Costa Rica
Suriname	1-0	Guyana
Panama	1-0	El Salvador
Haiti	0-0	Netherlands Antilles

Second Leg

Home	Score	Visitor
Barbados	0-1	USA
Saint Lucia	1-3	Guatemala
Bermuda	0-2	Trinidad and Tobago
Cuba	4-0	Antigua and Barbuda
Mexico	7-0	Belize
Bahamas	0-6	Jamaica
Puerto Rico	2-2	Honduras
Canada	4-1	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Costa Rica	3-0	Grenada
Guyana	1-2	Suriname
El Salvador	3-1	Panama
Netherlands Antilles	0-1	Haiti

USA advances to group A in Concacaf first group phase with 9-0 aggregate win over Barbados.
Guatemala advances to group A with 9-1 aggregate win over Saint Lucia.
Trinidad and Tobago advances to group A with 3-2 aggregate win over Bermuda.
Cuba advances to group A with 8-3 aggregate win over Antigua and Barbuda.

Honduras advances to group B in the first group phase with a 6-2 aggregate win over Puerto Rico.
Jamaica advances to group B with a 13-0 aggregate win over Bahamas.
Canada advances to group B with a 7-1 aggregate win over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Mexico advances to group B with a 9-0 aggregate win over Belize.

Costa Rica advances to group C with a 5-2 aggregate win over Gernada.
Suriname advances to group C with a 3-1 aggregate win over Guyana.
El Salvador advances to group C with a 3-2 aggregate win over Panama.
Haiti advances to group C with a 1-0 aggregate win over Netherlands Antilles.

Canada names World Cup Qualifier roster

Canadian men's soccer coach Dale Mitchell has named the 19-players he will use for their 2010 World Cup qualifying matches against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. The Canadians are looking to reach the finals for the first time since 1986.

Here is their roster:

GK (2): Greg Sutton (Toronto FC), Pat Onstad (Houston Dynamo)

D (6): Jim Brennan (Toronto FC), Mike Klukowski(Club Brugge KV), André Hainault (Sparta Praha), Ugo Ihemelu (Colorado Rapids), Adrian Cann (Vancouver Whitecaps), Richard Hastings(Inverness CT)

M (7): Adrian Serioux (FC Dallas), Julian de Guzman (Deportivo La Coruna),Paul Stalteri (Fulham FC),Marcel de Jong (Roda JC), Issey Nakajima-Farran (FC Nordsjælland), Atiba Hutchinson (FC København), Patrice Bernier (FC Kaiserslautern)

F (4): Tomasz Radzinski (Skoda Xanthi), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Ali Gerba (FC Ingolstadt), Rob Friend (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

The Canadians play in Kingston this Sunday and then head home to Montreal for the second leg next Friday (20 June).

It will be interesting to see if Toronto FC coach John Carver complains about these call ups.

Concacaf President Warner wants England to host 2018 World Cup and USA to get 2022

Concacaf President and Fifa Vice-President Jack Warner hopes to convince the USA to abandon their bid for the 2018 finals in order to clear the way for England.

"My message to the USA - and they don't have to listen - is to try to make a deal for 2022 and I'm quite sure that would have universal support."

Although it is painful to say, Warner does make a strong point. The 2018 World Cup is all but assured to be held in Europe and England is by far the front-runner. That said, the US has a major advantage that could trump the somewhat emotional desire to give England only their second final and that is money.

With over 20 stadiums currently able to hold 70,000+ fans and a large diverse population already built in the US, a repeat of the 1994 event (in terms of tickets sold) is very likely. These tickets along with corporate sponsorship deals would likely make FIFA a huge sum of money, even by FIFA standards.

Then again, all that will still be there for 2022.

If there is any message to take from this, it is a warning to the US Soccer Federation that you can bid on 2018, but don't expect your region's president to strong-arm people to vote for you. Warner will stay with the US during the bidding process but he will not do the heavy lifting needed to win the event.

So what should the US do? The 2018 and 2022 cups will be awarded at the same time, so the bidding process is the same time frame. Should they try to reach a deal to obtain England and other European votes or take the risk?

My thought is go for 2022.

On another note of interest, at no point does Warner point to any other CONCACAF countries as possible hosts, which suggests both Mexico and Canada are out in the cold on this one.

Toronto's ref dispute investigated by MLS

The league is looking into allegations that Toronto FC was treated in a disrespectful manner by the fourth official during Saturday's match against Columbus. Coach John Carver said referee Mauricio Navarro's attitude towards TFC was premeditated after the league sent around a DVD featuring bad behavior by coaches. Carver was featured in the DVD.

The league is now looking into the issue, but since the refs used for TFC matches are all from the Canadian Soccer Association, any disciplinary action against Navarro will come from them.

It does seem that the referees are starting to get more attention then in the past. As MLS grows and becomes more competitive, bad calls only stand out that much more. I don't know if Navarro did anything wrong on Saturday, but I do like that MLS is looking into it.

As far as Carver is concerned, he stresses that he is a passionate guy when it comes to the game and that his reactions are not meant to be aggressive.

"I'm a passionate guy, we miss a shot, I put my hands on my head," he said. "We don't get a free kick, I put my hands on my head and that's why they don't want that. ... They don't want passionate people."

Concacaf Champions League field reveald

Little, old Concacaf is soon to have a Champions League of our own and now we know just who is going to take part within it. In all, 24 teams will take part in this year's Champions League, with four of them coming from the US.

Eight teams will advance directly to the group stage (two clubs each from the United States and Mexico and one club each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras), with the others taking part in a two leg playoff.

Here is the full list of teams:

USA (4 teams): Houston Dynamo (2007 Major League Soccer champion); D.C. United (2007 Major League Soccer regular-season winner); New England Revolution (2007 MLS Cup runner-up); Chivas USA (2007 MLS regular season runner-up)

MEXICO (4 teams): Atlante FC (2007 Torneo Apertura champion); Pumas UNAM (2007 Torneo Apertura Runner-up); 2 teams to be determined (2008 Torneo Clausura champion and runner-up)

COSTA RICA (2 teams): Deportivo Saprissa (Torneo Invierno winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Verano winner, or second place team in Torneo Verano if same champion for both Invierno and Verano)

EL SALVADOR (2 teams): CD Luis Angel Firpo (Liga Mayor Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

GUATEMALA (2 teams): Deportivo Jalapa (Torneo Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

HONDURAS (2 teams): CD Marathon (Torneo Apertura 2007 winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

PANAMA (2 teams): San Francisco FC (ANAPROF Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

BELIZE (1 team): Hankook Verdes (2007-08 BPFL/RFG Insurance Cup Champions)

NICARAGUA (1 team): to be determined; Winner of playoff between Apertura winner (Real Estelí FC) and winner of Clausura.

CANADA (1 team): to be determined; Winner of three-way qualifying series between Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.

CARIBBEAN (3 teams): Harbour View FC (Jamaica); Joe Public FC (Trinidad & Tobago); winner of playoff between Puerto Rico Islanders and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad & Tobago)

The schedule has the group qualifying or preliminary round going from 26 August to 4 September. The six match group stage starts 16 September and ends by 30 October. The knockout phase does not take place till late February of next year with the final take place the last two weeks of April.

The winner will advance to the Fifa Club World Cup in December 2009.

Olympic Qualifying - Freddy Adu's and team US's are going to Beijing

US 3-0 Canada

This was the game US fans had been waiting for. Finally the play on the field reflected the talent in the roster as Canada was no match for the U23 US men. And although Freddy Adu will deservingly get the headlines, that second goal was pure art, but he was far from alone out there. Altidore, Edu, Holden, McCarty, Spector, Orozco, Wynne, Kljestan, Sturgiz and Seitz all provided key plays that resulted in this victory

Yes, there were little missteps that could still use some tightening, but in the end, last night was as close to a perfect match as anyone can expect to come on the international level. Makes me wonder if all the folks who bashed Peter Nowak after the US's sad sack routine against Cuba last Tuesday are ready to apologize.

As far as Canada is concerned, they have talent, but they were no match for the US on the night. Combine this result with their failure to get out of their group at last summer's U20 World Cup and it points to a youth system that needs some work.

So the US is returning to the Olympics and as of this point, they look like a team that has a chance at a medal.

Goals:
US - Adu 27', 47', Kljestan 78'


Guatemala 0(5)-(6)0 Honduras

And the other Concacaf spot goes to Honduras. Although the game was not as pleasing to watch as the later match, there was plenty of good soccer on display. Both teams would have deserved the win, so it is only fitting that it went to pk.

The question I want to know is what was Honduran goalie Kevin Hernandez yelling before every Guatemalan shot? Something tells me it wasn't words of encouragement.

Olympic Qualifying - Mexico fails to reach the Olympics

Mexico 5-1 Haiti

Even with a win, Mexico fails to make it out of their group. In a match where they played up a man for an hour, had a penalty kick (which was stopped) and had at least three open shots on goal, there is no reason for Mexico to have failed to get the needed six goals, but they did.

Haiti just collapsed in the final 15-minutes giving Mexico numerous three or four on none breaks, but Mexico could not make the most of them.

Overall, this was one of the strangest soccer matches I've ever seen as even when Haiti was getting stomped in the back, they still seemed to place the majority of their team up top. Add to it a red card for a Haitian player on the bench and another for some odd flight call and you've got a heck of a way to finish up group play.

This means Mexico will fail to make the Olympics for the first time since 1984 and that the US will face Canada on Thursday night in Nashville.

One last thing, I'm guessing Leonel Saint Preux is every Canadian's best friend tonight (he got Haiti's lone goal).

Update: One more last think, Haiti's goalkeeper Johnny Placide was fantastic on the night. I know that seems strange with 5 goals getting past him but he basically played the entire Mexican team by himself for the second half. He stopped shots that he had no right to stop and is the biggest reason Mexico is not going to Beijing. Okay, the biggest reason was Mexico's failure to make anything of their huge number of chances, but you get the point. So when will Hugo Sánchez get the boat for this one?

2008 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Schedule

Concacaf has two tickets to Beijing for the Olympics this August and eight nations want them. To get there, teams will need to take one of the top two spots in their group and then make it past the semifinals. Both teams in the final on March 20th will represent the region in China.

The Concacaf tournament is taking place in America this time around with games in Tampa, LA and Nashville (Tickets Tampa, LA, Nashville).

Here is the full schedule:

Group A

Team	W	L	T	Pts	GD
USA	2	0	1	7	+2
Honduras	2	1	0	6	+2
Panama	1	2	0	3	+1
Cuba	0	2	1	1	-5

Group B

Team	W	L	T	Pts	GD
Guatemala	2	1	0	6	-3
Canada	1	1	1	4	+4
Mexico	1	1	1	4	+3
Haiti	1	2	0	3	-4

Date	Matches	Venues	Kickoff Times
March 11	Panama 0-1 Honduras	Tampa, Fl	5:30 ET
March 11	USA 1-1 Cuba	Tampa, Fl	8:00 ET
March 12	Haiti 0-1 Guatemala	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 12	Canada 1-1 Mexico	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 13	Honduras 2-0 Cuba	Tampa, Fl	5:30pm ET
March 13	USA 1-0 Panama	Tampa, Fl	8:00pm ET
March 14	Canada 1-2 Haiti	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 14	Mexico 1-2 Guatemala	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 15	Cuba 1-4 Panama	Tampa, Fl	5:30pm ET
March 15	USA 1-0 Honduras	Tampa, Fl	8:00pm ET
March 16	Guatemala 0-5 Canada	Carson, Ca	5:30pm PT
March 16	Mexico 5-1 Haiti	Carson, Ca	8:00pm PT
March 20	Guatemala 0(5)-(6)0 Honduras	Nashville, Tn	5pm CT
March 20	USA 3-0 Canada	Nashville, Tn	8pm CT
March 23	Guatemala 0(3)-(5)0 Canada	Nashville, Tn	1pm CT
March 23	USA 0-1 Honduras	Nashville, Tn	4pm CT

Fox Soccer Channel (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish) will air matches live in the US while ESPN360.com will steam them on the internet.

US Women know their road to the Olympics - Schedule

The US women know now who they are training to beat as Concacaf has released their 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualification. Six nations will take part in the competition for the 2 Concacaf spots in Bejing.

The teams have been divided into 2 groups of 3. The top 2 teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. Here is the full 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualification schedule:

Group A
USA
Mexico
Jamacia

April 2 - Mexico vs. Jamacia (7:30p)
April 4 - USA vs. Jamacia (7:30p)
April 6 - Mexico vs. USA (1:30p)

Group B
Trinidad & Tobago
Canada
Costa Rica

April 2 - Trinidad & Tobago vs. Canada (5:00p)
April 4 - Costa Rica vs. Trinidad & Tobago (5:00p)
April 6 - Canada vs. Costa Rica (11:00a)

Seminfinals
April 9 - A1 vs. B2 (5:00p)
April 9 - B1 vs. A2 (7:30p)

Finals
April 12 - Third Place (5:00p)
April 12 - Championship (7:30p)

All matches will take place at Estadio Olímpico Benito Juarez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Although the US should have no problems making it through this tournament, the home pitch advantage for Mexico, combined with the short time between game number 1 & 2 (compared to Mexico), might cause a stubble in the first round.

My guess is the US will take group A with Mexico coming in second. Canada will sneaking by group B with Costa Rica claiming second. The big match will be the semifinal between Mexico and Canada as the US should easily handle Costa Rica (or T&T).

The finals are pretty meaningless in this one as both spots go to the teams in the championship match, but I still expect the US to end it on top.

Dwayne De Rosario is Canada's top player

For a third straight year, Dwayne De Rosario has been named Canada's top player of the year. The reason behind this year's honor had to do with his "combination of work rate and unpredictability mak(ing) him a real problem for opposing defenders."

On both the national team, where he scored five times, and his club side, where he proved he was one of the best clutch players in MLS, he had a strong year. To be truthful, his league performance was shaky for a large part of the regular season, however he found his way at the end.

He beat out midfielders Julian de Guzman and Atiba Hutchinson, goalkeeper Pat Onstad and defender Paul Stalteri for the honor.

One thing that I am a little surprised about is they didn't note his haircut once.

Congratulations to De Rosario, MLS and especially Houston are lucky to have you.

Liverpool might be MLS All-Star opposition; is owner also looking at Montreal MLS expansion team?

Liverpool has been asked to be the opposition for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game in Toronto as part of their American tour. The game seems to be designed perfectly for the club, as they will play in a very red stadium that normally hosts a team sponsored by Carlsberg.

But the interest in soccer in Canada might not end at this one off match as Liverpool co-owner George Gillett Jr. seems to be interested in a Montreal MLS expansion side. Gillett already owns the Montreal Canadiens (hockey), so he has contacts in the city.

This is all speculation at the moment, but if someone like Gillett (billionaire with soccer knowledge) is truly interested in making a team happen, it could probably work out. I mean, imagine how much fun Don Garber would have talking about Liverpool FC being tied in with MLS.

US to host Olympic Qualifying Tournament

The U-23 US men's team will have home filed advantage as they try to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. US Soccer will host the eight-team tournament March 11-23 with matches taking place in Carson, Ca. (The Home Depot Center), Tampa, Fl. (Raymond James Stadium) and Nashville, Tn. (LP Field).

It appears the eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the playoff stage. Since three Concacaf teams will advance to Beijing, the two teams playing in the Championship match are in no matter what while the third place game means a great deal. Both of these games, as well as the semifinals, will take place in Nashville.

So far, five teams have already qualified for this tournament (US, Mexico, Canada, Cuba and Haiti). The final three teams will come from Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador) and will be decided later this year.

US U-23 head coach Peter Nowak will call together a weeklong training camp starting 2 December. The team will then fly to China for a nine-day tour that includes two matches against China's U-23 squad.

The US failed to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, after qualifying for six straight games from 1980 to 2000.

Exact schedule and ticketing information has not been released, however, here is the basic information.

Date	Matches	Venues	Kickoff Times
March 11	Group Stage	Tampa, Fla.	5:30 & 8 pm ET
March 12	Group Stage	Carson, Calif.	5:30 & 8 pm PT
March 13	Group Stage	Tampa, Fla.	5:30 & 8 pm ET
March 14	Group Stage	Carson, Calif.	5:30 & 8 pm PT
March 15	Group Stage	Tampa, Fla.	4:30 & 7 pm ET
March 16	Group Stage	Carson, Calif.	3:30 & 6 pm PT
March 20	Semifinals	Nashville, Tenn.	5 & 8 pm CT
March 23	Third-Place and Championship	Nashville, Tenn.	1 & 4 pm CT

So each date is a double header and I'm guessing the US will be in the Carson, Ca., group while Mexico will be in the Tampa, Fl. one.

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)