For those regulars looking for the weekend preview it has been pre-empted by the FIFA Under-20 World Cup blog. However, here are a couple of unrelated articles anyways.

Stephen Brunt in the Globe & Mail has officially declared that soccer has taken root in Central Canada.

A clear sign that things are quiet in the UK as the Times has Gabriele Marcotti picking his top 50 players.

We may be three years away from the Finals but qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be getting underway in two months time.

Back to the Under-20s. International age-group championships are extremely difficult to predict because of the constant turnover as players progress. With the exception of Brazil and Argentina, who have both consistently delivered great teams, you are never quite sure what you are going to get from the other countries.

The media tends to relate the strength of teams competing at age-group championships with senior squads. However, it has been shown that this a poor predictor of success.  
Take Italy, France and Germany for example. In the last seven world cups these countries have delivered between them four World Cups and have been  runners-up five times.

Compare that to the twelve Under-20 championships held since 1983 and the same three countries can account for one runners-up spot – that in 1987 when the then West Germany lost to the then Yugoslavia. Drill-down to the under-17 level and it doesn’t get much better – France won in 2001 and West Germany in 1985.

If there are any hints of what to expect, sometimes clues can be found be looking at the countries performance at the Under-17 Championship held two years prior. Although the age groups do not line up perfectly  there has only been one occasion out of nine when a top four country at the Under-17s has not at least matched that record two years later at the Under-20s.

And that is not solely down to the traditional powerhouses of South America. The likes of Ghana, Nigeria, Germany and Spain have top four finishes in different age-group competitions two years apart.

So what happened at the Under-17 World Cup held in Peru two years ago? The winners were Mexico who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. Netherlands took third and Turkey fourth. Only the two finalists out of the final four have qualified for Canada 2007.

Meanwhile five other countries that qualified for Peru 2005 have also made it through the qualification process to the under-20s in Canada. Costa Rica made it to the quarter finals in 2005 before losing to the eventual winners Mexico. Mexico had trailed 1-0 for most of the game before snatching an equalizer with only two minuts remaining. Two goals from Mexico in extra time saw Costa Rica exit the competition.

Gambia did not make it out of the group stage but were desperately unfortunate. They finished tied on points with Brazil and Netherlands but failed to move on due to an inferior goal difference. What made it worse was that Gambia missed a late penalty when down 2-0 to Netherlands when a successful attempt would have seen them qualify. Perhaps Gambia might be a country that should not be written off too quickly in the Under-20s. 

Another Brazil victim was North Korea but again the eventual silver medalists were pushed all the way. The North Koreans took Brazil to extra time before eventually losing 3-1.

The USA won their group comfortably but could not deal with a Dutch side in the last eight. The remaining country Uruguay finished bottom of their group losing all three games.

Coming up tomorrow a look at some of the stars from Peru 2005 and where they are now.

From Aldo, some information on the Chile team. Colo Colo star Alexis Sanchez forward that’s heading back to Udinese of Italy this upcoming season will miss the first match against Canada due to a red card suspension from the last game of the qualifiers back in January. Also missing this match due to red or yellow card accumulations are Hans Martínez, Jaime Grondona and Juan Pablo Arenas.

You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that you think might be of interest about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a blog and you have information on the tournament post your link under comments.

The tournament starts on June 30, with the final set for Toronto on July 22. Make sure to tune in nightly to the Fox Soccer Report at 10:00 EST on Fox Sports World Report in Canada and Fox Soccer Channel in the USA. 
 

Gabriele Marcotti on the Champions League semi-finals and the possible affects of fatigue.

Graham Hunter on the race for the La Liga title.

Patrick Barclay on Chelsea’s debt to the late Boris Yeltsin.

Duncan Castles on one of the world’s great players – in a number of positions – Michael Essien.

David Lacey asks why defenders are so often overlooked when it comes the time to dish out awards.

Stephen Brunt describes Toronto FC’s biggest star – BMO Field.

From a regular blog contributor Flashman – the arrival of Toronto FC.

A regular corresponder Michael Carlson brought up an interesting idea last week. He pointed out that a lot of fans record games to watch later but often don’t really know if the game is worth watching or a real dog. The blog community constitutes a wide range of soccer tastes and hours of game watching each week.

So if you have seen a game this week that you consider a “must-see” let’s hear about and conversely if you suffered through ninety minutes of tedium here is your chance to issue a consumer warning.

Stephen Brunt is Canada's best sportswriter by a considerable length. He is also one of the few Canadians in the mainstream media that knows and understands the game. Here is a piece he did just prior to Toronto FC's debut on Saturday against Chivas. Brunt also appears regularly on radio with Canada's version of Jim Rome - a man called Bob McCowan. However, to date no one has asked McCowan to do anything that  would be deemed illegal in some US states.

A nostalgia piece in the Dundee Evening Telegraph and a look at a much younger yours truly.

Ian Bell senses that the trouble we have seen this season at Champions League and UEFA Cup matches has the game, one more, on an ugly path.

Jonathon Northcott on a player who may turn out to be one of the bargains of this season.

Patrick Barclay says that it is “Athens or bust” for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

Antonio Rattin has been invited to the opening of New Wembley.

An Iranian movie about a group of women willing to sacrifice a lot in an attempt to watch a game of football.     

It was a very good weekend of football. The Premiership tightened at both ends. Real Madrid drew closer to Spanish leaders after Barcelonma lost and Sevilla drew. Valencia opted to rest players before the Champions League second leg and that helped Athletic Bilbao out the bottom three in La Liga.

The top four in Germany all won but Borussia Monchengladbach seem to be running of of games at the other end of the table.

MLS got underway and I took in the Colorado Rapids - DC United and Chivas - Toronto FC matches.

Coming up this week - Monday league games in England, plus Champions League and UEFA Cup between Tuesday and Thursday. And finally in anticipation of a couple of questions (a) no Arsenal should not fire Arene Wenger, (b) Arsenal will not sell Thierry Henry this summer and (c) I still believe Arsenal will finish no lower than fourth in the Premiership this season!!

And finally, finally - I've noticed some new names posting comments the last couple of weeks - welcome to all of you and thank you to all the regular contributors and readers.