Midweek WCQ's

Since many of the games have actually already started I'll hold off on doing any predictions and instead just post a quick little roundup of what's going on with the matches today.

Europe

Not too many marquee matchups today but plenty of importance nonetheless. England v. Ukraine and Italy v. Republic of Ireland are two of the most intriguing games and probably the two I'm actually most interested in. Quick turnaround return matches in Greece v. Israel and Turkey v. Spain could also be interesting. There are also teams that can distance themselves from the rest of their groups (including Italy and England) and Denmark and Hungary, the top two teams in Group 1, play bottom two Albania and Malta respectively, leaving middle two and perennial World Cup participants Portugal and Sweden biting their nails. Scotland v. Iceland could be a hotly contested match for 2nd place in the small group 9. Northern Ireland take on a game Slovenia squad and a win could greatly help them in their bid to reach the big tournament. Rounding it out is the always fierce meeting (in any sport for that matter) between the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Asia

Many of the Asian matches are already finished or underway. Australia have virtually qualified with a win over Uzbekistan, aided by a PK from my old Liverpool favorite Harry Kewell. The Move to the AFC is looking more and more like a good one for Australia. South Korea also dispatched their Northern rivals 1-0 in Seoul.

CONCACAF

All three matches in the CONCACAF zone should be good ones. I love T&T but the US should dispatch them pretty easily. El Tri face a stern test going into Honduras and I also expect Costa Rica to take care of El Salvador at home although the away side showed great fight against the Americans in the last round.

South America

Colombia already lost to Venezuela away last night tightening a very gripping South American qualifying zone. Brazil should be back to their winning ways as they host Peru and I also expect Argentine to take care of Bolivia. Ecuador v. Paraguay in Quito and Chile home against Uruguay could be the most exciting matches in any zone and while I tried to refrain from calling anything I'll single out the red-hot Forlan to net at least one for Uruguay.

No African qualifiers today. Lots of coverage on FSC and GolTV. Enjoy everyone!

WCQ Weekend

Another World Cup qualifying weekend is upon us. There are a lot of games in the next couple of days. Here are a few that I think will be interesting from each zone as well s my assessment of Italy's matchup against Montenegro. I hope to watch a number of games and hopefully give my take on what I saw on Monday. Enjoy!

Oh and if you'd like to check out all the games there's no better place than Fifa.com.

Europe

Portugal v. Sweden: While it is still early both of there perennial contenders find themselves towards the bottom of Group 1. Group leaders Denmark are sure to pick up full points away to Malta so each team will be looking for a maximum take with the losers sure to face an uphill battle from then on. Good news for Portugal as the always dangerous Deco has been cleared to feature in this match.

Northern Ireland v. Poland: Both are tied with 7 points in a tight Group 3. Look for David Healy to add to his storied international career. I don't know why but I'd love to see Northern Ireland in South Africa.

Republic of Ireland v. Bulgaria: At the beginning of the campaign I'd had slated Bulgaria as stronger than Ireland but they sit 7 points back of the Irish and will need this game if they hope to gain any ground on their hosts or Italy. But the Irish had the smarts to hire an Italian to lead them and I think they'll take this one in Dublin despite Dimitar Barbatov's best efforts.

Spain v. Turkey, Netherlands v. Scotland, and Israel v. Greece are also games I expect to be competitive. I do like the home side in each though.

And of course there are the Azzurri. I love that Lippi is back in command and the attacking style he employs which is not always typical of the Italians. Montenegro will look to stifle the world champions and have a solid back line. With that said I think Lippi will use a 4-3-3 with Udinese pair Di Natale and Quagliarella complimenting the in-form Iaquinta up front. It might be tight but as an Italy fan I'm quite used to that and I expect the group leaders to take full points away from home.

Africa

Togo v. Cameroon: Arsenal's Adebayor has the OK to play in this match which could be a high-scoring display of attacking African soccer.

Mozambique v. Nigeria: I won't pretend to know a ton about African soccer but I do know the classically dominant teams and Nigeria certainly fits that description. From what I have read however a Mozambique team that recently tied the Ivory Coast could prove a stern test for the Super Eagles away from home.

South America

Uruguay v. Paraguay: Top of the standings Paraguay will face a tough trip to Montevideo especially without Roque Santa Cruz who should sit despite being named to the squad. I expect Paraguay to play conservatively as they are sitting pretty right now and a Uruguayan playmaker like Forlan will have the quality to catch them napping.

Ecuador v. Brazil: Ecuador are a quality side despite many who claim their best asset is their location. Quito is indeed a difficult place to play and Brazil's record there is not stellar but I expect the Selecao to be raring to go.

I just picked these matches at random since all of the South American qualifiers are always rife with passion and quality.

CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean)

3 games since only 6 teams remain in contention. The US is sure to have it's hands full in El Salvador but I do expect a close win. Trinidad and Tobago will face a tough match against the Hondurans in Port of Spain. Both teams are without key players in Yorke (T&T) and Suazo (Honduras) and the Soca Warriors have a pretty poor record against Honduras, even at home.

The most intriguing matchup here is Mexico v. Costa Rica. Mexico and their manager, former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, desperately need not only a win but a strong result but Costa Rica have proven to be no pushover in the past and recently with a 2-0 defeat of Honduras. I expect El Tri to take it at home but it is sure to be a heated match.

Oceania

Haha. I imagine few care but New Zealand has predictably already won the right to face the 5th place AFC team in a home and home playoff for a spot at South Africa 2010.

Asia

Japan v. Bahrain: Japan can distance itself from the bottom of its group with a win at home over Bahrain. I expect they'll do so and rumor has it that Nakamura's free kicks have been a focal point for the Japanese and I'll call the Celtic hitman to tally at least one goal.

Iran v. Saudi Arabia: Both teams have experience and one win can vault them into better position to catch the two Koreas which top the group. I can't imagine Tehran is a very welcoming place to play.

Whoa that took a long time, doubt I'll do another one of these for the second slate of games in a few days but who knows? We'll see how much I enjoy this weekend.

International Soccer

Don't get me wrong, I love club soccer. I follow my clubs passionately and most of the year it's leagues and cup competitions that dominate the headlines. But as we get closer and closer to another World Cup the international games start to pick up.

International sports in general are a great leveller. Take the Olympics for instance. For the majority of the time no one gives a damn about who the best pole vaulter or speed skater is. But strap a flag on their uniform and all of a sudden it means something totally different. While MLS struggles to build up more of its fan base, U.S. Soccer at least seems to draw interest. That may mean that there is more interest in the sport as a whole but I think some kind of nationalism has at least a little but to do with it.

With that said, many of these games mean 10x as much to other countries. I will never forget the USA/Honduras Gold Cup match I saw at Giants Stadium. Sam's Army was there doing a great job as usual but one look at the colors throughout the stadium proved who had the real support of the crowd. When Honduras scored to go 1-0 up, the place went nuts. I love the passion soccer fans exhibit in general. Add passion for one's country to this and it's hard not to get caught up.

FSC has some OK Asian qualifiers on this weekend but GolTV actually has a few I'm waiting eagerly like Spain v. Turkey and The Netherlands v. Scotland. Way too many games to even begin a comprehensive analysis but I'll post a few teams and players to watch tomorrow with maybe a few little previews. I'd also like to analyze the groups in each qualifying zone sometime soon but until then, later days.

Reds Run Riot...Again

Wow, another smashing of a quality opponent. Stevie G with the hat-trick, add in Riera's blast and Kuyt's typical johnny-on-the-spot heroics and you have a 5-0 thrashing of Villa at Anfield. Villa put on some pressure early and I have to give credit where credit is due. Pepe Reina is not my favorite keeper by any means but he made some quality stops when the game was still in doubt and his assist on Riera's goal was something to behold. He's actually a very effective distributor of the ball which I feel is an underrated quality in a goalie. Great game all around but especially by the man between the posts.

Milan, well, that was a different story. Very frustrating game against Napoli who were very spirited at home. The Rossoneri were actually lucky to escape with a point.

In more good news though my picks continue to improve. I was 5 out of 10 for the EPL and 4 out of 5 for Serie A. I got a couple exactly and even my upset pick of Tottenham over Chelsea was spot on. Maybe someday soon I'll match myself up against a real journalist and see who does better.

International games coming up very soon, can't wait!

Big Game Gets Bigger

All of Liverpool's remaining matches must be treated as big games if they are going to catch Manchester United but yesterday's results have made this one of the utmost importance. It's one thing to win to keep up, but this win can help them catch up as Fulham shocked a surprisingly undisciplined Manchester outfit 2-0. Chelsea's loss to Tottenham (which I called, by the way) means a win would also give Liverpool full possession of 2nd in the table. Aston Villa will be a tough test but let's see the boys take it at home.

C'mon you Scousers!

My Favorite Time of the Week

Weekends mean that soccer will be on. Real soccer, not like the kind displayed by the Energy Drinks on Thursday. Good win for the Sounders, bad defense and goalkeeping for NY. Also a rough day Friday for my BC Eagles whose men's basketball and hockey teams both had their seasons ended today.

Let's hope my soccer teams fare better.

Here are my picks:

English Premier League

Playing on Sunday, game I hope I get to see, are Liverpool and Aston Villa. 2 top five clubs so you think it should be a close match but Liverpool are healthy and red hot while Martin O'neill's men are free-falling. Aston Villa will be the more desperate but Liverpool more confident. I'll call it 3-1 for the Reds at home at Anfield.

Portsmouth v. Everton: I know that Pompey will be desperate for points at home but I can't overlook Everton's advantage on paper, even though they were soundly beaten in the corresponding fixture. 2-1 Everton.

Blackburn Rovers v. West Ham: 1-1

Fulham v. Manchester United: 1-2

Stoke City v. Middlesbrough: 1-0

Tottenham v. Chelsea: My upset special of the week. 2-1 Spurs.

West Bromwich Albion v. Bolton Wanderers: 2-3

Newcastle v. Arsenal: I really hope Newcastle avoids the drop and they have drawn so many times this seson that I think their desperate need for points earns them another. 1-1.

Wigan Athletic v. Hull City: 2-0

Sunderland v. Manchester City: 2-1

Italian Serie A

Milan play away to Napoli this weekend. I don't know a ton about Napoli and can't recall seeing them this year. They are mid-table but they just changed coaches, hiring former Rossoneri midfielder Roberto Donadoni, and drew lowly Reggina last week. I just like the form Milan are in and will take them 0-2 over Napoli.

AS Roma v. Juventus: A big game for Roma but they will not be able to overcome the amount of injuries and suspensions they face. 1-3 Juve.

Internazionale v. Reggina: No contest 3-0.

I'll pick Genoa and Fiorentina to both pick up wins also as they continue to fight for the 4th spot.

I might be able to finally watch some games now that my cable is fixed!

MLS Kick-Off

So Major League Soccer kicks off it's 14th season tonight, 9 p.m. here on the East Coast with the expansion Seattle Sounders hosting finalists from last year, the New York Red Bulls.

A lot of people ask me what I think about the MLS when they find out I am a huge soccer fan. Honestly I have mixed feelings. I think it's natural for the U.S. to have a league and ultimately no matter what the quality of the league, it's good for soccer in America. It builds the sports' profile here with young people and is an OK venue for some home-grown talent to emerge.

By the same token, the quality of the league is still not to the point that it can retain it's top talent, even the U.S. based players. Sure there are exceptions (Landon Donovan, Brian Ching) but most Americans who really want to hit it big eventually ply their trade elsewhere. Soccer in the US has the unenviable task of competing with already established sports like baseball, basketball, and football. In other countries it's soccer first with those other sports developing later, if developing at all. So the main problem for MLS naturally seems to be interest, and thus revenue.

While the US might be the biggest market of all, the MLS is mighty poor in comparison to other domestic leagues. In order to combat this the MLS needs to find ways to appeal to fans.

In the early years I thought the MLS was completely inept at this. They were gimmicky, tried to be too flashy, and screwed around with their own rules (There were originally no ties. Every tie game ended in a shootout, and not a PK shootout. Think about the shootouts the NHL has these days and that's basically what you had. Lunacy.) This was all done in the hopes that it would make soccer more appealing to the average American sports fan.

What I really think they need to do is cater primarily to people that are already fans of soccer. People that are already fans of the sport just want to see quality soccer and they want to see facets of the formats that work so well overseas. Soccer as a sport already has a big fanbase in the US as exhibited by surges in ratings for international tournaments and European leagues and cups. The MLS doesn't need to convert people, it needs to bring in people who already love soccer. I think the current administration is doing a good job. Things like the increase of soccer specific stadiums, partnerships with other international clubs, participating in more cup tournaments (such as the CONCACAF Champions League), and a focus on bringing in more foreign talent have all greatly helped the game in the states. The fact that expansion continues to occur is also an encouraging sign.

So what next? Like I said more needs to be done to raise the profile of the league among already die-hard soccer fans. The atmosphere at new stadiums needs to continue to improve and I think as rivalries develop this will also. Something more concrete that I would like to see is to get rid of the very American notion of conferences and playoffs. The MLS should adopt the table format used in most other leagues with each team playing a home and home against the others and the points leader taking the cup. It's definitely a foreign concept but there is a reason it works: every single game is important.

I pledge to do my part and support the MLS more than I have. I rooted for the Red Bulls (god what a bad name though) back when they were the MetroStars and my interest has renewed over the last few years. They fielded a good squad last year and obviously made a deep playoff run. Also, with the prices for sporting events skyrocketing MLS games are still pretty cheap and I have been had a good time with a few (many) drinks and friends at New England Revolution matches since my relocation to Boston. So go to a game, see the ever-changing face of MLS and show your support if you are a true soccer fan.

It'd be cool if the expansion team could get its first win in its first home game. But I'll never root against NY. Go Energy Drinks.