MeanSucka - I know I may be late on this one - what do you think of Michael Owen saying that the England need to rethink psychological preparation for matches: "When fear takes over, you start to do things wrong and take the easy option which in our case is lumping the ball forward to the front men. I’m not absolving myself from blame… What must be addressed as much as anything is our psychological preparations."
Do you suspect that McClaren was playing a DVD of Shrek to motivate the team?
Bobby – As late as a Robbie Savage challenge. I think Owen has a point. The way England plays at times it does look like they are racked with fear. But fear can be generated from a number of sources and having a manager who was indecisive and seemed more concerned about his image would not have helped.
CIAO - Here is to MILAN!!! I hope they prove Marcotti wrong! Haven't writers yet learned not to write off Italians?
Bobby – I guess it stings more when it as an Italian writer writing off Milan.
CIAO - Can you please give us your early predictions for the EURO 2008?
Bobby – It is far too early to start looking at a crystal ball. I’ll keep my thoughts until next summer.
Getz76 - Is Sam Allardyce in trouble? I am completely indifferent on the topic and to me it looks like they are performing much like they were last season; was he expected to get to European competition in the first season?
Bobby – Yes. Newcastle fans are so frustrated after years of false dawns and a revolving manager’s door that they do probably have unrealistic expectations. However, having unrealistic expectations is one thing but I think you nailed it with your comment “to me it looks like they are performing much like they were last season.” With the money that has been spent – again – and to see a team that is no better must be soul-destroying.
CIAO - So I just search the World Cup in Wikipedia. 1930 was the first WC. Won by Uruguay, runner up was Argentina. Third place it listed as USA and 4th Yugoslavia. Is this correct? Was the US really 3rd?
Bobby – It was a thirteen tournament with one group of four and three groups of three. The USA was drawn in pool IV along with Paraguay and Belgium. The USA beat both 3-0. They lost 6-1 to Argentina in the semi final although they were only losing 1-0 at the half and conceded three goals in the last nine minutes of the match. I can’t find any record of a third place game so it they finished third it might have been due to a better goal average than Yugoslavia who had also lost 6-1 to Uruguay in the other semi.
European representation was limited to France, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Belgium – even at that they only decided to travel less than two months before the tournament. However, it would be unfair to make too much out of the few European teams that travelled given that Argentina and Uruguay had also contested the Olympic Final in ’28. Uruguay won both finals. The European teams that were missed the most were probably Austria, Scotland and England.
According to “The Story of the World Cup” by Brian Glanville (a book that every fan of international football would enjoy) the USA was actually seeded top in their pool. To quote Glanville – “At this time there was still professional football of a sort in the States, the rump of the attempt by such as Bethlehem Steel to put sports on its feet in the 1920s. The American team managed by Jack McColl of Brooklyn Wanderers, was made up largely of British and Scots pros: Alec Wood, James Gallacher, Andrew Auld, James Brown and Bart McGhee from Scotland, George Moorhouse from England. They were powerfully-built men whom the French players nicknamed the “shot-putters”.”
Gregz-Q1. Jamaica rehired Rene Simoes to try to recapture the '98 glory? Won't it be harder for him this time around? Q2. Which country from the CONCACAF region do you see having a good chance of qualifying for WC 2010 other than Mexico and the United States of course.
Bobby – Q1. I think it will be harder this time around. Greater expectations, CONCACAF is probably stronger than 10 years ago and they have a tough qualifying group.
Q2 Based on past performances you would have to give Costa Rica a nod as one of the countries with an excellent chance. On paper Honduras as a good squad but they have a habit of folding under pressure. Canada is in with a shout but they need to win at home and hope that a few of their more creative and attacking players stay healthy.
Milan4Ever - Is it just me or are there a lot more own goals being scored in football these days? Could it be because of the increased pace of the game or the extra pressure on defenders? or maybe even both..?
Bobby – Good question and the answer is yes and no. I went back to the last two seasons and compared the average goals scored in six of Europe’s domestic leagues with the average so far this season.
Here are the statistics by country and season (2008, 2007 and 2006).
England (2.66, 2.45, 2.48) Italy (2.52, 2.55, 2.61) Spain (2.68, 2.48, 2.46) France (2.24, 2.25, 2.13) Germany (2.76, 2.74, 2.81) Holland (3.19, 2.99, 2.98)
In some cases there are more goals being scored but in others less. There is nothing to indicate that any systemic type change leading to more goals is underway. What you might be seeing is more blow outs than normal. For example the Portsmouth/Reading and Everton/Sunderland games have increased the goal average by 0.10 based on these two results alone.
Pgaijar - Fantastic hearing about the development of football in India, earlier this year in January I was in India, and was surprised by the amount of cricket Indians watched. They took days off to watch a test match, and hopefully in the years to come India will embrace footy just as much as cricket. But one thing troubles me Bobby do you think corruption which has disrupted much of the development in India will cause problems?
Bobby – It doesn’t seem to have affected FIFA so India should be ok.
Indahaeri - There is an interesting story in Inter-Milan that is under the surface. It looks to me that there is lack of cooperation between Ibrahimovic and the new attackers that Inter signed this year.
As I watched the second half of Inter and Fiorentina this past weekend, I saw terse statements exchanged by Ibrahimovic and Suazo. I also see that Ibrahimovic seems to intentionally play better with Cruz than either with new big signings - Suazo or the Argentinian. I saw several times in that game when Ibrahimovic delayed passes to Suazo or slowed down leaving Suazo to hold the ball longer than supporting him (when Suazo had the ball).
Bobby – Ibrahimovic has always been a prickly character. I have trouble believing that a player intentionally plays better (or worse) depending on who he is playing with. Who is the big Argentine signing?
Craigy_f - Favour if you could; I have a point to prove - check out my Liverpool v Bolton game summary and give some indication of (in your opinion) of it's veracity and bias. You can just laugh at the second one!
Bobby – Let’s just say that you can’t be accused of seeing things through red-tinted glasses.
Wiegs9 – I was wondering if there are certain experience, successes or personality traits which might suggest someone would be good int'l manager for a bigger nation like Scotland, England or Ireland? I ask b/c it seems like success at a club doesn't necessarily equate to int'l success, though I wondered if you had seen any trends. Thanks!
Bobby – I don’t think there is necessarily an identikit that can be constructed as there will always be exceptions. But successful international managers tend to be older (check past winners of the World Cup and Euros) and have enjoyed some success at the club level.
The other international manager niche is coaches who graduate through the national system (working with age group teams) and work their way into a job after building trust along the way with players, the media, and the national associations. Media savvy is critical, as is the ability to get on with club managers.
Ulsterson – I didn't get to watch the game yesterday (Work) so I was hoping someone could tell me why Evra was subbed in the 47th?
Bobby – It was reported as illness.
Henry14 - Q1 Don't you feel that Jose is a risk , okay the media wants him to be paid $12m and won't it be a risk that he is given a job and Barca, then and scoop him when the fa is sending money on his blue print of facilities and before World Cup.
Q2 Tottenham could be in bottom half by February, if you look at their fixture list what do you make of that fact.
Q3 Liverpool are playing well do you see them challenging for the title given they still have to go to Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd. and they lost all those games
Bobby – 1. Find me a manager who is a sure thing.
2. As so could three quaters of the Premiership.
3. I said at the beginning of the season that I could see a four-horse race and I stick by that.
Henry14 - Milan are a poor side.
Bobby – Perhaps but remember the same or similar was said last season around this time and they finished up as the Champions of Europe.
The USA moved on to the last eight of the FIFA under-20 World Cup and will play Austria. If you want to see why a team should play to the last seconds o####ame the Americans illustrated it tonight. For although the statistics show that Uruguay enjoyed less possession than the USA, the quality of their possession was much better for large stretches of the game.
When Uruguay took advantage of a ball that slipped from the grasp of stand in keeper Brian Perk to take the lead with only 17 minutes to play this game looked as if it would go down as another disappointment for the US.
But Coach Thomas Rongen threw on Ferrari as an extra forward with around ten minutes left as the US rolled the dice. Seven minutes later the gamble paid off as a Freddy Adu corner from the right found an unmarked Danny Szetela at the back post. Szetela showed great composure before driving a cross #### shot across the Uruguay penalty area.
Andre Akpan – an early second half substitute for what looked to be a badly injured Jozy Altidore – drove to net forcing Mathias Cardaccio into an own goal.
As the game moved into extra time Uruguay began to lose their shape as Edinson Cavani found himself more and more isolated. Dax McCarty had reverted to an auxiliary right back after the equalizer and pushed forward at every opportunity.
The momentum was clearly moving in the USA’s favour and Uruguay coach Gustavo Ferrin must have been regretting the decision to take off goalscorer Luis Suarez with seven minutes of normal time left.
Suarez has been a thorn in the side of the US and once he had been substituted Uruguay lost a key attacking option.
The winner came as the game moved into the last fifteen minutes and another corner for the USA led to the winning goal. This time Michael Bradley was on hand to redirect a shot high into Uruguay’s net.
As Uruguay desperately sought an equalizer there were a few nervous moments left for USA fans. But the USA goal survived intact and the Americans were left to celebrate an epic win.
It’s difficult to single out any one player but my man-of-the match would be Nathan Sturgis. He may not be the fleetest of foot but he can read a game and his positioning is outstanding.
As for Uruguay let's just say that they blew their chance of the Fair Play Trophy.
Chris Seitz will not being playing tonight. He is still suffereing from a leg injury he picked up in the collision that led to the Brazil goal last Friday. UCLA keeper Brian Perk will replace him.
Julian Valentin is recalled in place of Ofori Sarkodie. The rest of the side is unchanged.
I will heading to the stadium in the next hour or so and I will not be able to "live" blog during the game because of FIFA rules. Feel free to post your thoughts pre-match, match and post game thoughts.
I watched the Spain - Uruguay game again on the plane this morning and the South Americans looked very good in going 2-0 up. But after that they really did show signs of falling apart and I don't think they have come close to playing that well again in the games against Jordan and Zambia.
Based on what I have seen during group play if the USA can control Uruguay's big guns Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez then I can't see how else Uruguay can beat them - with the one proviso that they don't come to the game over confident.
Here is the profile of the man who will be in the middle, Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan. He has been in charge of two games in the tournament and both finished 3-0. His first was Mexico versus Gambia and the other, Chile versus Congo.
Over the years Uruguay has gained a reputation for producing some pretty brutal sides – brutal in the sense of dirty. However, check out this statistics page and it looks like this Uruguay side has been the #### cats of the tournament so far.
Even the red card given to goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea was for a rugby tackle on a Zambian forward after he had missed what should have been a straight forward clearance. Only Costa Rica committed fewer fouls (29) in the first three games of the tournament than Uruguay (33).
On the other hand only Congo (59) has committed more fouls than the USA (57).
Congo beats Canada and so the four best third place finishers come from groups A, B, C and D. The draw for the last sixteen is now final and on side one its Austria vs. Gambia; USA vs. Uruguay; Spain vs. Brazil; Japan vs. Czech Republic.
On side two it is Chile vs. Portugal; Zambia vs. Nigeria; Argentina vs. Poland; Mexico vs. Congo.
In the quarter final round it will Austria or Gambia vs. USA or Uruguay and so on. The winner of that quadrant will play the winner of Spain or Brazil vs. Japan or the Czech Republic.
I'm heading to Toronto to cover the USA vs. Uruguay and Argentina vs. Poland games.
The remaining federation was Oceania represented by New Zealand who finished last in group C. Unlike the World Cup where you often have countries from the same federation drawn in the same group the under-20 tournament has no such duplication. It can make for some interesting comparisons.
Both South America (four for four) and Africa (four for four) lead the qualifiers based on home federation. UEFA has more countries in the last sixteen (5) with Scotland failing to move on from group F. CONCACAF have two countries out of a possible five qualify while only Japan out of the four Asian representatives have been successful.
Points gained by federation after the first group round:
FEDERATION P Pts % South America 12 21 58 Africa 12 21 58 Uefa 15 24 53 Concacaf 15 20 44 Asia 12 12 33 Oceania 3 0 0
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 FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
Scotland fans are well use to failures at World Cups. But as of last night Scotland has now taken it to a different level. Scotland’s last second loss to Costa Rica meant that not only are they heading home across the Atlantic but they also reduced the host country Canada’s chances of moving into the last sixteen. You invite someone to your party and they “water” your living room carpet!!
Yesterday was not a good day for the host nation as the options for qualifying for the knock stages eroded as the day went on. Prior to group B action the best scenario for Canada was this.
What Canada needs to do to definitely move on. Must win (against Congo) and… Hope Scotland and Costa Rica draw or….. Zambia and Jordan don’t win.
But Zambia did win.
And so before Group F action it had been reduced to – Update - What Canada must do to move on. 1. Must beat Congo and… 2. Hope Scotland and Costa Rica draw or if Scotland or Costa Rica win….. 3. Canada must then win by enough goals to finish with a better record than the other countries that finish third with three points.
But Costa Rica did win and so we are down to essentially two games that will decide Canada’s fate.
First of all here is a recap of the process to decide the four best place finishers from FIFA.com. “The four best place finishers will be determined by; most points gained in group matches, goal difference in all group matches, most goals scored in all group matches, fair play system in which the number of yellow and red cards are evaluated, drawing of lots”.
So applying the tie breaker rule we know that after yesterday’s games that North Korea is definitely going home (only two points) while Brazil (3 points and a minus 1 goal differential but have scored 2 more goals than Costa Rica) is moving on. Zambia’s win pushed Uruguay into third place but with four points they make it to the last sixteen with at least a point to spare.
So that leaves two of four spots for the best third place finishers left to fill. The teams that are left to fight it out are Portugal, Gambia, New Zealand, Canada, Congo and Costa Rica.
As they say in golf, Costa Rica is in the club house and they have set the bar (or is it they are sitting at the bar?). Here is each of the team’s positions.
Although on paper New Zealand is still in with a chance they are at a severe disadvantage. They are the only country left that could win today (against Mexico) and still finish bottom of their group. Because Portugal plays Gambia and Congo plays Canada a win for any of these countries means that they are guaranteed to finish no lower than third. So we are going to discount the chance that the Kiwis and fate can conspire to produce an unprecedented set of results and focus on the other four.
Portugal is clearly in the best position to move on and can afford to lose 2-0 to Gambia and still qualify because of goals scored. If Gambia can score the first goal then Portugal might be more inclined to cruise rather than chasing a game and possibly being hit on the break and losing heavily.
That's an advantage to Gambia but conversely they sit in a rather precarious position because of their goal differential of -2. Canada and Costa Rica especially will be hoping that Portugal can win. That scenario would put Costa Rica through. Canada would also then move on if they beat Congo (by any score) and Gambia lost by two goals to Portugal. A two goal win for Portugal is clearly the best case scenario for Canada.
If Portugal only wins by one goal then Canada should be hoping that Gambia is shut out in the process. A high scoring one goal win for Portugal would require Canada to exceed Portugal’s high scoring one goal of a difference win or beat Congo by two clear goals. If Portugal scores first then Gambia will have nothing to lose by piling forward.
Unfortunately for Canada there is one more possibility which may actually be the most likely outcome of the Portugal and Gambia match-up. A draw would mean that the group positions would stay as they are and both Gambia and Portugal would move on. That would leave Canada needing a three goal win to move on at the expense of Costa Rica.
No matter the outcome of the late afternoon games we know that when Congo and Canada kick’s off tonight both countries will know what is required. In the case of Congo they know already. A win puts them through to the last sixteen – with the possibility that they could still finish second in the group. A draw does neither country any good and so if we get an early first goal then the other side is going to be forced forward which could mean a lot more opportunities at both ends. The first goal in any game is critical but even more so tonight.
Latest Betting on today's games
Canada 2/1, Draw 11/5, Congo 11/10.
New Zealand 10/1, Draw 9/2, Mexico 2/11.
Portugal 4/5, Draw 7/4, Gambia 4/1. (I like the odds on a win by Gambia)
FIFA Under-20 World Cup Champion
Argentina 3/1, Mexico 4/1, Spain 7/1, USA 8/1, Portugal 9/1, Nigeria 10/1, Uruguay 11/1, Brazil 11/1, Chile 12/1, Japan 14/1, Czech Republic 20/1, Poland 33/1, Zambia 50/1, Austria 50/1, Costa Rica 125/1, Congo 200/1, Gambia 200/1, Canada 300/1, New Zealand 500/1.
Has there ever been a time when you could get odds of 11/1 on Brazil in a men’s international tournament at the last sixteen stage?
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 FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.You can also check out the National Post blog.
The USA’s opponents will be the third place finisher from group B (Uruguay), group E (North Korea) or group F (Scotland or Costa Rica). There is 1 permutation out of 15 that it will be Uruguay and seven each that it will be North Korea or Scotland or Costa Rica.
The permutation chances should not be mistaken for probability which at this stage would be far more complicated.
Group B
In the late afternoon games Zambia beat Uruguay 2-0 with both teams playing most of the game with ten men. I had suggested on the FSR last night that the Uruguay Goicoechea was a bit of a disaster and he was sent off in the first half and Zambia scored from the resultant penalty. The keeper miss-kicked and then pulled the Zambia player down.
Zambia had Nyambe sent off for a second yellow card just before half time. A second goal put Zambia well in control and the foul count of 23 to 4 would indicate that Zambia went out to take no prisoners. By finishing second Zambia will play the runner up from group F which will be Japan or Nigeria. Japan holds the edge if these two teams draw tonight and would then play the Czech Republic.
At times Spain made heavy weather of their win over Jordan. They jumped into a three goal lead thanks to a hat trick from Lopez. But Jordan put together a plucky second half and scored a nice goal from Loiv Al Zaideh and a perfectly struck free kick from Abdallah Salim within eight minutes of each other.
The Spanish defense for a time looked like a boxer that had taken one too many on the chin. Spain was forced to bring on Capel and Stephen in an attempt to regain control and it worked as Marcos Garcia gave them a two goal cushion with ten minutes or so to go.
Spain will play Canada or Congo, Portugal or Gambia, or Brazil in the last sixteen.
Update - What Canada must do to move on. 1. Must beat Congo and… 2. Hope Scotland and Costa Rica draw or if Scotland or Costa Rica win….. 3. Canada must then win by enough goals to finish with a better record than the other countries that finish third with three points.
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 FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
Internet Broadcast FIFA announced on Thursday that all 52 games of the under-20 World Cup will be available over the internet to a wide-array of European countries. Highlights, goals and other features will also be accessible at the official FIFA site.
Ticket Sales Ticket sales are now approaching 1,000,000.
Group B (Vancouver, Victoria) Spain, Uruguay, Jordan and Zambia
Spain is the class of this group and should progress comfortably. The European Champions have skill at every position and a top four finish is a strong possibility.
Coach Gines Melendez won the European under-17 title in 2003 and some of the same players will be with him in Canada. Juan Mata and Alberto Bueno (Real Madrid) can both create and score goals with midfield club mate Javi Garcia running the show in midfield. In defence, Gerard Pique has spent the last season on loan at Real Zaragoza from Manchester United and is normally rock solid.
Mata has been with Real Madrid since he turned 15. He scored a hat trick against Turkey in European qualifying and has drawn comparisons with Real Madrid captain Raul. He is described as possessing excellent vision with a beautiful left foot and an ability to play equally effectively on either side of the attack or through the centre. Spain plays their opening game against Uruguay.
Uruguay made it to the finals by finishing third in South American qualifying. The 1997 runners-up will look to defender Martin Caceres (Defensor Sporting) and striker Edinson Cavani (Danubio). Some considered Caceres the best defender at the South American tournament although it was noted that he had problems with “physically powerful strikers”. He is also described as quick, hard and adept at bringing the ball out of defence. He has been linked with a summer transfer to Villarreal of La Liga.
Edison Cavani scored seven goals for Uruguay in Paraguay and can finish well with either foot and is also strong in the air. Uruguay can be expected to play a 4-3-3 system.
Jordan pulled off a shock win over China in the quarter final of Asian qualifying in order to qualify. All the Jordanian squad is home based which calls into question their overall experience. Midfielder Addallah Salim and striker Loiy Al Zaideh are reputed to be the two players to watch out for.
Zambia grabbed the final African qualifying place after beating Egypt and Cameroon along the way. It will be Zambia’s second appearance at the under-20 finals. The first game for Zambia is critical in that they will be facing the other group outsiders Jordan.
Team Notes Desmond writes to say that we should keep an eye on Fwayo Tembo, Sebastian Mwansa, Cliff Mulenga and Simmon Lupiya of Zambia.
And staying with Zambia, last Monday a Richmond City youth team got a real thrill when they proved the opposition for a warm-up game against the Zambians. The score finished up 10-0 but the crowd on hand and the Richmond players will probably be cheering a bit louder for Zambia when Group B qualifying kicks off on Sunday.
Canada received a boost on Tuesday when Simeon Jackson was granted Canadian citizenship. Jackson plays for Rushden and Diamonds on the Nationwide Conference in England. The Rushden and Diamonds site will be keeping track of the youngster’s progress at the Under-20 World Cup.
The planned friendly between New Zealand and Toronto FC has been cancelled as it would have contravened FIFA Under-20 regulations.
Portugal has been allowed to replace the injured Amaury Bischoff with Zezinando. The same right has been granted to Japan. Toru Hasegawa has been replaced by Kazushige Kirihata.
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) about the twenty-four countries and I will post a regular selection. If you have a FIFA Under-20 blog go ahead and post your link under comments.
I think Shepp Messing has just told us that Ecuador - in beating Poland - became the first South American team other than Brazil and Argentina to beat a European country at a World Cup held in Europe. Sorry Shepp - not even close.
1954 - Uruguay beat Czechoslovakia, Scotland and England.
1958 - Paraguay beat Scotland.
1966 - Uruguay beat France.
Delgado on the mark again. The Ticos defense is caught ball watching after a throw-in. You can see Ecuador killing this one off now.
If the score holds then Poland and Costa Rica will be home before the postcards arrive.
What is perhaps more important is that a draw between Ecuador and Germany will put Ecuador through as group winners if Costa Rica does not score again in this game.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
