Nevertheless, to all you United haters out there, it’s not over till the obese lady sings her aria! Rumors of the imminent demise of the red devils are very much hyperbolically exaggerated. We have won the Premier League without a defense more than once and it is still within the realm of fathomable plausibility that many of the other clubs are still flawed enough that we can do it again! Sure it was only Stoke City led by Sparky Hughes–the Typhoid Mary of our club alumni–but with Moyesie finally having the wherewithal to get his substitutions right (“It’s our attack, stchoopid!”), the quick-quick frontal juggernaut of Chicharito, Rooney and Van Persie proved simply too much for Stoke’s knackered thugs as the clock ticked down. All United have to do now is keep doing the same thing consistently and the rest will be like falling off a bicycle!

Last Wednesday Our Dear Lads were a goal up in two minutes. This time we were one down after three. It all began when Stoke’s left back Erik Pieters picked up the ball, eased casually past Smalling and Cleverley and crossed to the ungainly Crouch. Crouch botched his shot and De Gea made a nice reactive save, before trusting Evans with a pass. Forever positionally challenged, Jonny Evans’ ineptitude as he attempted a point-blank panic ‘pass’ back in the direction of his stunned goalie really did seem like a slapstick gag when it somehow bounced off the bamboozled Spaniard into the goalmouth, crossed the goal line, got kicked away by Evans, but then ended up back in goal after hitting an equally stunned Peter Crouch.

Minutes later, Nani completely overcooked a half-decent shooting chance from the edge of the box and began to be the subject of a torrent of verbal abuse from a section of United fans. The booing became even more vociferous after he made a dud pass outside his own box to Walters, who came close to setting up a Crouch volley that narrowly missed. Now with Nani clearly showing how genuinely upset he felt at being the butt of the cruel home crowd’s abuse, he almost caused another away goal as he gave away a sloppy ball to N’Zonzi, whose exquisite, precise diagonal ball was chested down by Crouch, before trickling away to Walters, whose hard effort was brilliantly saved by De Gea. Minutes later, De Gea pulled off one that had the whole stadium buzzing as he dived to his right to keep out a fifteen-yard thunderbolt from Marko Arnautovic.

Then a couple of real shockers. The second goal came three minutes before the interval as Van Persie scored his eighth goal of the season with a follow-up after Begovic had produced a one-handed save to keep out a Rooney header. But in only two minutes Stoke stole their lead back as Phil Jones fouled Arnautovic on the edge of the box. The Austrian then fired a free kick with the movement of metal-tipped whip. De Gea dived in time to reach the hard curving ball, but it was so accurately placed that it carried on off his fingertip into the top right corner of his net.

Just how desperately the team needs Adnan Januzaj showed the second he arrived on the hour mark of the match, simultaneously accompanied by boos for Nani as the Portuguese winger made a sad exit. With Antonio Valencia now slotting in nicely at right back, the Ecuadorian second wave began to make the Potters defense bend in too many directions at once. He won a corner for Van Persie and Wayne Rooney was able to leap high and nod a hard, glancing header which the up to then perfect Asmir Begovic misjusged and allowed in over his head. Two minutes later Patrice Evra, barely noticeable for much of the match, charged all the way down the left flank and served up a delicious cross for Chicharito Hernandez to also nod home.

It wasn’t pretty and United in no possible way looked like champions. They did, however, pull themselves together enough to show a definite sense of determination and desire. It turned out to be the 25th Premier League game in which Robin van Persie has scored. United have won 20 of those matches and drawn the other five. This seems to be be a lot more than an omen.

Apologies (not really) if you were hoping for a recap of Sunday’s regular season finale. I got absolutely nothing out of it.

So let’s talk about more exciting things!

We saw some more news about the head coach search trickle through over the weekend via several outlets including the ever vigilant Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch. Anthony Precourt had some things to say, most of which revolved around a desire to pursue Bob Bradley. He also spoke about finding the “right man” for the job which includes someone who will (obviously) represent the team well in the community. That part in particular struck me, but more on that later. Precourt also mentioned that they would spend the money to buyout the right coach. Again, more on this in a moment.

Let’s break down the names that are out there at this time. I’ve gone over some of these in the past, but it’s worth revisiting them now that we have some new updates. For a point of reference, here’s the two articles I’m referencing…

MLS Soccer: http://www.thecrew.com/news/2013/10/precourt-confirms-coaching-interest-bob-bradley-other-high-profile-candidates

Soccer America: http://www.socceramerica.com/article/54475/columbus-is-racking-up-coaching-candidates.html

Gregg Berhalter

Resume: Former US International who was just dismissed by Swedish club Hammarby in July.

Berhalter was a great player for the US and LA Galaxy later on in his career, but getting dismissed by Hammarby doesn’t do much for me. Next!

Jesse Marsch

Resume: MLS veteran who coached Montreal Impact during their inaugural season and was fired to make room for Marco Schallibaum. He was also reportedly a finalist for the Chicago Fire job back in 2010.

Marsch wasn’t exactly awful in his one year at Montreal. There were signs of promise at the end of the season, but not enough to convince Joey Saputo to keep Marsch. There’s a lot  of talk that Marsch would be a good fit for Columbus, but he doesn’t exactly get me revved up for the future; not like some of the other candidates I’m about to go over.

Frank Yallop

Resume: 2 MLS Coach of the Year awards (2001, 2012), 2 MLS Cup titles as a coach (2001, 2003), 8-9-3 as head coach of Canada from 2004-06

You won’t find a coach on this list with more MLS pedigree, that’s for sure. That might seem like an impressive resume, but here’s how his record breaks down chronologically

(Wins-Losses-Draws)

San Jose 2001-04: 64-45-32

Los Angeles 2006-07: 24-25-13

San Jose 2007-2013: 62-62-51

Notice how his record tails off as the rest of the league grows up and learns how to play. Yallop is the classic example of a bad coach being recycled around the same league over and over. Not only that, but Chris Wondolowski’s 2012 season is the only time a Frank Yallop team has ever been recognized for its offense. His goal differential in LA was +6 (89 scored, 83 allowed) and during his second stint with San Jose, which lasted SIX years, was a whopping +1 (233 scored, 232 allowed).

He may have pedigree (never mind that it came in the Dark Ages of MLS), but his teams will put you to sleep. Next!

Bob Bradley

Resume: 1 MLS Cup title as a coach (1998), 2 US Open Cup titles as a coach (1998, 2000), took over the US Men’s National Team in December of 2006 and lost to Ghana in the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup

This is the name that has everyone talking. Bradley is still the head coach of Egypt but he’s unlikely to return barring a miraculous comeback in the second leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff with (who else) Ghana.

Look, I get it: Everyone loves the man. His time at Egypt has revealed a lot about his character. But that doesn’t guarantee he’ll make a great coach for the Columbus Crew. Yes, he had success with the Chicago Fire in their first couple seasons, but that was no ordinary expansion team in 1998. That was a stacked team that won with Bob Bradley, not because of him. And while we’re on the subject, we last saw Bradley in MLS back in 2006; two years before the Crew won the double. That’s an eternity in this league. And just as with Yallop, Bradley’s teams don’t exactly keep you glued to your TV screen. Next!

Brad Friedel

Resume: Former Crew and USMNT goalkeeper who’s still currently employed by Tottenham Hotspur

I’ve talked about Friedel before. I’m not a huge fan of players jumping right into a head coaching upon retirement. Yes, he’s has his coaching license from UEFA instead of US Soccer and he does own his own academy in Cleveland, but he’s too much of a gamble with no actual coaching experience.

Tab Ramos

Resume: MLS and USMNT veteran who coached the US U-20 at the World Cup this past summer

Now THIS caught my attention. This came out of nowhere, but if it’s true that he has interview it has the potential to be a major coup. Ramos’s US U-20 may have crashed out of the group stage at the World Cup, but they drew the Group of Death with Spain, France, and Ghana. A lot of coaches would see that group and play with 11 men behind the ball hoping to poach one off the counter (a la Mr. Bradley).

Not Tab Ramos.

He played an aggressive 4-3-3 and had his team go toe-to-toe with each of these international giants. His eye for young talent would be huge for the Crew going forward. Wil Trapp started all three of those World Cup games, so Ramos is familiar with his ability. If Anthony Precourt won’t splash the cash for designated players, then the next best thing is to get real young, real quick. Ramos is the perfect candidate for just such a strategy.

There’s only one candidate I like better than Ramos at this point and I’m guessing you already know who it is…

Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Resume: Former MLS Regular Season and MLS Cup MVP, all-around Columbus Crew legend

The more I read what Precourt said about what he’s looking for in a coach, the more I think that Schelotto is the only man for this job going forward. Yes, I’m wary of former players quickly turned coach, but Argentina’s first division is one massive pressure cooker that regularly spits out world class talent. In his first ever coaching gig, Schelotto has taken Lanus as high as fourth place. Precourt says he wants a guy who will represent the team well off the field and Schelotto has been quite clear about his love for the city of Columbus and his desire to return. Columbus is coming off one of its best seasons ever in terms of attendance. Imagine how much closer we’ll get to Goal 10K if Precourt comes out right before Thanksgiving and announces that the most successful player in the team’s history is taking over as head coach!

So it really boils down to what Precourt values the most. Ramos may be able to build a better team, but GBS can coach up the current team and provide an emotional lift to the entire fan base like no other candidate out there.

As long as it’s one of those two, I’ll be thrilled going into this monumental off-season.

After 32 weeks of close games, major transfers, and the drama of all things Chivas USA there is still much to decide in the last week of the Major League Soccer season.  Although there is not one clear top team in MLS, there are plenty of quality MLS squads throughout the league which makes for a compelling two days of soccer this weekend.

So if you are at a match this weekend or watching one at home, here are a couple of storylines to follow:

#1 The Supporter’s Shield

Four teams are still in the running for the Supporters Shield, a trophy awarded at the end of each MLS Season to the team with the most points. The Supporters Shield is more than just a trophy, as it awards the team the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Should the Supporters Shield make the MLS Cup then they would also host the match. In MLS History, the team that won the Supporters Shield has gone on to win the MLS Cup 6 times (D.C. United- 1997 and 1999, the Kansas City Wizards- 2000, the Los Angeles Galaxy-2002 and 2011, and the Columbus Crew- 2008).

Real Salt Lake took the top spot Wednesday night after defeating Chivas USA 2-1. However, that was the last game of their season so they will have to play the waiting game.  The Red Bulls will face the Chicago Fire (Sunday 5pm UNi Mas) with the Fire still in contention for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Red Bulls Forward Tim Cahill has been on a tear recently, scoring three goals in his past three matches and leading the Red Bulls to an undefeated record in the past 7 matches (5-0-2).

Meanwhile, Sporting Kansas City will travel to PPL Park and face the Philadelphia Union (Saturday 3pm NBC Sports Network).  SKC  comes into the match in good form having drawn points in 6 of their last matches (5-1-1).Their last loss actually was against the Philadelphia Union 1-0 in September. Union Forward Conor Casey notched in the decisive goal in the 38^th minute. They did win their opening game against the Union at PPL Park 3-1, but the young Union team has grown since then and could still make it into the playoffs. Will get back to that later.

Despite being behind the other teams by two points, Portland looks like they have the best chance to take the Supporters Shield. With the other two teams playing opponents who are still in the Eastern Conference playoff mix, neither New York nor Sporting Kansas City will have themselves an easy match. Portland, on the other hand, will be playing Chivas USA (Saturday 10:30 MLS Live) who will be without their starting goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and his magic ability to make sure Chivas never gets blown out.

Portland has also shown in the past few weeks that they are able to put teams away and earn points in “must-win”circumstances. In previous seasons, Portland has been known as the team with the awesome fanbase and cool mascot, but would break down at the end of the season. They could not win the difficult game, which is why they were unable to make the playoffs last season.  Coach Caleb Porter, Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, and Midfielder Will Johnson have changed the identity of this team and made them a very difficult squad to plan against. Their poise and confidence was evident in the pair of 1-0 victories that they earned against the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders earlier in the month.

The 15 draws may be the deciding factor on whether or not the Timbers win the Supporters Shield. But they should get 3 easy points against Chivas, and if nothing else, gain the top spot in the Western Conference.

#2 Eastern Conference Chaos

Although the bottleneck for the last few playoff spots in the Eastern Conference was lessened last week when the New England Revolution eliminated the Columbus 3-2, there are still 5 teams playing for three spots. In addition to the previously mentioned Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union, the Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, and New England all still have a possibility of making the playoffs this weekend should results work in their favor.

The popular consensus seems to be that the Montreal Impact will defeat Toronto F.C. (Saturday 4pm Univision Deportes, MLS Live,) that the Houston Dynamo will defeat D.C. United (Sunday 1:30pm NBC Sports Network,) and that either the Chicago Fire or the New England Revolution will do enough to make it through.

Two things to keep in mind that is being lost in this narrative. One, Montreal has been terrible since July going 6-8-5. Toronto has already secured a draw in Montreal earlier this season and is coming off of two 1-0 losses against Philadelphia and Chicago where they showed they are still trying to win. Second, Houston needs one of the three teams above them to lose because they are so far behind in goals scored, which is the tie breaker should teams be level on points. For example, if both the New England Revolution and Dynamo win, then the Dynamo would need to make up a nine goal difference against D.C. United. D.C. United is terrible, but they are not bad (D.C. better not lost 9-0 because I am taking my nephew to his first game this weekend.) Houston has had great difficulty scoring this year when they need a goal, so they are really going to need Forward Will Bruin to step up and give them that push.

It should also be mentioned that the Crew may be very angry after the 3-2 result that was leveled against them last week by the Revolution. Referee Mark Geiger gave a rather interesting yellow card against the Crew which led to Revolution defender A.J. Soares goal in the 39^th minute. I would suspect that the Crew would like to return the favor to New England from last week and knock them out of the playoff contention (4pm MLS Live.)

I think the Fire- Red Bulls match is a lot closer than many people seem to believe. Bear in mind that the Red Bulls have never won a major title in their entire history, and have quite a dubious track record in big games. The Fire have really hit their stride since they lost 3-0 Columbus in September and are a much different team than when they lost to the Red Bulls earlier in the season. They are currently on a 3 game unbeaten where they have outscored their opponents 9-0.  Perhaps New York can turn around their previous misfortunes, secure a playoff spot, and doom the Fire. But that seems like a tall task for a team that has only recently shown that they can consistently pull out quality performances.

#3 The Race for the Golden Boot is On

In addition to having so many teams still alive for the Supporters Shield and for playoff spots, there is a real battle being waged for the top goal scorer in MLS. The three-horse race between Montreal Forward Marco di Vaio, Chicago Fire Forward Mike Magee, and Vancouver Whitecaps Forward Camilo Sanvezzo has produced some truly amazing goals this season. Although I am not the biggest fan of saying the top goal scorer should always be the Most Valuable Player (Ricketts and Clint Irwin would have a few words about that,) it is true that all three of these players have kept their teams in contention because they were able to make miracles for their team.

I think Magee is going to end up taking the award. It is important to note that if there is a tie then the tiebreaker will be given to the player who has the most assists. Di Vaio almost never passes the ball and I can see Toronto F.C. pushing their defense up to draw him offsides which will limit his scoring opportunities. The Impact have also had difficulties scoring recently, going without a goal in 3 of their past four matches.

So for me it comes down to Magee and Camilo. Both players have come up huge for their team this year, but with Magee playing against a Red Bulls team that have committed the fifth highest number of fouls in MLS (425) he should have more opportunities off of free kicks and penalties. Colorado has also only given up 15 goals on the road this season and will still be looking to climb up in the Western Conference playoff standings.

Having been mauled by the pundits over his admittedly odd substitutions against Southampton in the PL at the weekend, Moyes came off as more of a jolly populist for starting Javíer ‘Chicharito’ Hernandéz and Shinji Kagawa. With Robin van Persie still suffering soreness from toe and groin injuries, the dour Scot had Hernández partnered with Rooney up front while Kagawa took over on the left from Adnan Januzaj and Ryan Giggs partnered Michael Carrick in central midfield. As the Basque team is small and built for speed, it was surely a relief for the tackle-shy Carrick to deal with the tricky but more finesse-oriented Sociedad and not have to hide behind Marouane Fellaini.

United’s nerves were soothed early as they got a second minute gift thanks to some Sociedad comedy defending. Indeed, it was wonderful to watch as a slick Wayne Rooney turned Markel Bergara inside-out deep in the penalty area, setting himself up exquisitely before blasting a bazooka which rebounded off the upright straight into the uncoordinated path of a panic-stricken Iñigo Martínez, who reached out tentatively with his right foot only to tip the spinning ball into his own net. Ten minutes on, United almost made it two as their goalie, Claudio Bravo made his first save of the game, stopping a Rooney shot on the line after a fine cross from Rafael Da Silva had set him up.

Passing with confidence, attacking relentlessly and running out every ball over each blade of Old Trafford grass, United really were sincerely in it to win it on the night. They were not, however, into the same kind of bullet-velocity wing play many of us have grown used to. Moyes is much more cautious than Ferguson when it comes to transitional play on the flanks, probably due in part to Patrice Evra’s inability to adapt his old legs to new realities. Atypically, Rooney was too high up the pitch to cope properly with an early Valencia cross. His cleverly improvised extemporaneous attempt at a scissors-kick to reach Valencia’s ball almost paid off, but a miss is good as a mile no matter what the cliché. And something identical almost happened again with minutes as Valencia let fly early with yet another shock early pass and finding an offside Hernandez. The Mexican assassin headed home, but was clearly adjudged to be offside.

Real Sociedad were not invisible, though. Luckily, the gifted shot-stopping abilities of David De Gea grow and grow. His one-handed save to prevent a Haris Seferovic shot from scoring definitely saved United because the whole team was standing around arguing, after the referee allowed the match to continue despite a blatant Martínez a foul on Giggs. United got even more fortunate as De Gea clearly wasn’t quick enough to reach a terrific free kick from Sociedad’s best player Antoine Griezmann which exploded off the crossbar. Why our defense keeps downing tools in these moments seems to defy all common sense! United survived a further scare at the start of the second half when Seferovic left Evra in the dust. His wicked shot fooled Evans, whose ugly clearance almost flew into his own net.

A quick caveat here. I can’t remember any game ever ever where the goalposts were hit so often. by both sides. Kagawa and Rooney both hit the goal posts three times. Valencia, Hernandez and Rafael once each. Bizarrely, early in the second half, Alberto de la Bella almost caught De Gea out of position with a shot that grazed the bar at one end while a wide-open Valencia badly hit a wide-open sitter against the post at the other. Valencia sensibly tried to make sure with his next opportunity, unselfishly squaring for a wide-open Kagawa goal. Unfortunately, the chance went begging once more as the Japanese took a soft touch in front of Bravo’s goal instead of shooting for power.

By the time Rooney blasted over the bar from six yards out in the 72nd minute, followed by Phil Jones header blocked by Bravo and Antonio Valencia’s low, angled shot ricocheting back off the post, United just seemed cursed. Exhausted, Sociedad barely put up a defense toward the end of the game and both Rooney and substitute Ashley Young failed to profit from a clean two-on-one situation four minutes from time, and, then, after squandering that one, as Giggs’ lovely chip found Kagawa flying again; unfortunately, alone and isolated, with only the goalkeeper in his way, the Japanese lost proper control of the ball and clipped it softly to Bravo.

Beyond Rooney’s whizz-bang display and his praise for the new manager after the game, and the voices of United’s brand-new ‘singing section,’ it’s also crystal-clear that Mr. Moyes can no longer afford to ignore Shinji Kagawa’s innate brilliance. Forced to start on the left wing, Shinji made do, working well with Ryan Giggs as they alternated positioninng in both central midfield and on the flank. When Chicharito was pulled late in the game for Ashley Young, Moyes moved Rooney front-center and put Kagawa in his favorite position, in the hole behind the striker. For the last fifteen minutes or so the industrious Japanese was an unstoppable force of nature.

It will be interesting to see if Moyes gives Robin Van Persie another chance to rest this weekend against Stoke. If the Dutchman is fit,I wouldn’t be at all averse to the boss putting a slightly withdrawn RVP on the left wing and Rooney as center-forward with Kagawa in the hole.

Before the match, United’s 18-year-old wing wünderkind, Adnan Januzaj, inked a five year contract and had a press conference accompanied by Moyes and the club’s money man, Ed Woodward. This was about as good as the day was going to get. Januzaj made a fantasy day of his first start two weeks ago against Sunderland when he scored both goals; unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice. Although we all knew that the kid had helped temporally paper over some severe cracks in United’s team, especially a desperately poor defense, quality will tell and United just don’t have it. Having sat on the lead and squandered too many opportunities, it seemed to be an inevitable moment of justice when Adam Lallana wiped out United’s complacent lead with a tap-in after a late corner.

Januzaj was in the thick of things from the beginning, not the least of which was being blatantly sent flying by a studs-up Nathaniel Clyne. Still, aside from a lot of nice dribbling and a couple of killer passes into empty space, Januzaj and his partner, right winger Nani got little succor from their strikers, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. Januzaj’s third effort, however, did the trick. His perfectly weighted through ball found a slightly offside Wayne Rooney with only the goalkeeper to beat. The referee Michael Jones did not blow his whistle, though, and Southampton’s goalie Artur Boruc made a fine save from Rooney, but had no chance of retrieving when Robin van Persie moved wide and slammed home the rebound in the 26th minute.

It was only the third goal Southampton have conceded this season, which is pretty impressive considering the PL season is already eight matches in. The Saints showed grit and good organization, proving that the point they earned at Anfield before the international break was no fluke. Had they known how to score goals also, they might well have given United another hammering. Atypically, their sole big ticket item, striker Dani Osvaldo–repeatedly given the run of the box by a reticent Jonny Evans–botched a true sitter when Rooney lost possession close to his own box. Lucky for United, Osvaldo froze in front of goal and fired a mild shot that David De Gea saved easily.

Although there was some fairly decently entertaining end-to-end stuff from both sides in the first half, the second half was mostly flat and lame as both Rooney and Osvaldo missed more chances early in. How Rooney missed an exquisite Nani pass in the 73rd minute is beyond all ken. Then again, why Nani was denied a penalty after being yanked down by Luke Shaw in the penalty area on two separate occasions only referee Mike Jones will ever know. With bookings at a premium this season, one of the main differences between the two teams, was United’s team-wide reticence to get stuck in with their tackling. Marouane Fellaini, who was shouldered with much of the blame for United’s lame performance by assorted pundits, seemed terribly reticent to throw full force into his blocks and tackles. As this is the main reason the big Belgian was brought in, one can only conjecture that Moyes gave very clear instructions to his team not to foul. Unfortunately, manager Mauricio Pocchetino’s Saints/ showed no such squeamishness.

All in all, deep into the second half, the game was still in the balance, within Southampton enjoying the lion’s-share of possession, when Van Persie headed a Rooney corner on to the crossbar, Later, Januzaj executed a swerving shot from 25 yards that Boruc made a fantastic save of. Even the disappointing Marouane Fellaini missed a rebound after collecting a rebound on the edge of the penalty area. In between these efforts Southampton kept the ball and stayed in the game with nothing but hard work and much running. Indeed, over the last fifteen minutes or so–Fergie’s old squeaky-bum time–Southampton definitely finished the stronger. as Lallana and Clyne both forced fantastic late saves from De Gea. Thus when the super-lunged Clyne won a late corner, substitute James Ward-Prowse’s effort saw the centre-back pairing of Phil Jones and Jonny Evans standing around casually, leaving Southampton’s centre-half Dejan Lovren to divert it towards goal and the completely unmarked Saints’ captain Adam Lallana to toe-poke the equalizer home.

United are now eight points behind the league leaders Arsenal. This is not good! Moyes may well ponder the calm, relaxed manner in which Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama pulled the strings in midfield, while the selfless leadership and relentless running from Lallana meant Saints always had the kind of options United never had. With all the fuss about the fiendish training methodology utilized by Moyes and Round, one can’t help but wonder about what keeps happening late in every game. United have only had two wins in seven matches. and the transfer window in January still seems a long long way away. A slow Stoke City are up next in the Premier League and, normally, a sense of cautious confidence would be the order of the day. Nothing could be further from the truth right now, however, as our perfidious old boy, Sparky Hughes, and his band of oversize warriors will be bound and determined to catch us at a low ebb.

With Glen Johnson back in the starting lineup, this was supposed to be our first look at Liverpool’s truly “Best XI”. Lucas Leiva wound up missing the match due to the birth of his child and Jose Enrique was a late scratch. Still, Brendan Rodgers went to the 3-5-2 he has utilized for the last couple weeks while Johnson was injured. There were signs this wasn’t a great formation for this team in their 3-1 win over Crystal Palace two weeks ago, but Saturday’s draw really exposed the problems it presents.

I saw two big concerns in particular…

Problem 1: The Wing Backs

The biggest issue with this 3-5-2 formation is that it puts quite a bit of responsibility on the shoulders of the two wing backs. Against Newcastle this turned out to be Aly Cissokho and Glen Johnson. They both found themselves rushing to get forward to support the attack, only to be caught way out of position tracking back in defense. Ultimately the wing backs are responsible for being the only truly “wide” players in the formation and they have to cover the entire length of the field. Johnson and Cissokho didn’t look capable of doing so and neither Jose Enrique two weeks ago.

Their inability to get back also seemed to create some confusion among the three center backs as to who needed to be where and when. Yohan Cabaye’s first half goal was certainly a spectacular shot, but he had the space and time to shoot because Liverpool couldn’t figure out who needed to step into his path.

Part of it was obviously due to their man advantage, but Liverpool looked much more comfortable defensively after Luis Alberto replaced Mamadou Sakho in the second half and they went back to a traditional 4-man back line.

Problem 2: Central Midfield

Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson were constantly chasing Newcastle around in the first half, thanks in large part to the confusion created by the wing backs. Newcastle were able to easily keep possession because there was tons of space for them to switch the field. Part of the reason they had such space was because Gerrard and Henderson were getting sucked out wide to support Johnson and Cissokho.

Then there’s the issue with Victor Moses having to play a central midfielder between Gerrard/Henderson and the two man strike force of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. He was easily bottled up by Newcastle and saw his speed (his greatest asset) neutered by his new position. Liverpool were able to create more chances in the second half once he pushed out wide and had space to take his defender one on one or cut inside to play Sturridge/Suarez into the box.

Again, most of it was due to the advantage they had, but when Luis Alberto checked into the game for Sakho the team looked much more confident about their individual responsibilities. Assuming everyone is healthy, this is what the formation should probably look like…

Mignolet

Johnson – Agger – Sakho – Enrique

Lucas

Henderson     –     Gerrard

Suarez     –     Sturridge     –     Moses

If you put Suarez out wide and Sturridge in the middle, you don’t have to rely upon Johnson and Enrique to support the attack as much. Suarez’s work rate is pretty high even when he has to defend and does some of his best work cutting in from the outside. The same holds true for Victor Moses on the other side of Sturridge.

There’s still time to sort the tactics out before the trip to the Emirates Stadium in two weeks. West Brom comes to Anfield next and they will present a good opportunity to sort out any issues. A win in that particular game is now sorely needed since Arsenal and Chelsea won handily over the weekend. Liverpool’s Top 4 chances are still good, but their hopes at competing for an actual title are dwindling and a loss at home to the Baggies would almost certainly spell doom.

Here’s hoping we see a return to the 4-3-3!

Next Saturday’s final game of the 2013 season presents plenty of opportunities, even though the team isn’t going to the playoffs. New England will still have something to play for as their playoff fate has yet to be determined. They will be hungry for a win. This is a good thing and can provide a valuable experience for the younger players on this team. The biggest beneficiary is Wil Trapp, assuming Brian Bliss chooses to do what I’m proposing.

Let Wil Trapp take over for Federico Higuain as the team’s designated “playmaker”.

Saturday’s loss to New England full exposed Trapp’s greatness weakness: his strength or lack thereof. It’s easy to say he just needs to grow into his man body and hit the weight room and then he’ll be fit to play his holding midfield role. But Trapp’s best qualities actually make him a viable option as a traditional “No. 10″; a playmaker linking the forwards and the rest of the midfield. Obviously Higuain thrives in this role, but Trapp is only 20 and I think it’s worth giving him the responsibility of distributing next weekend against New England. He has great vision, he’s responsible on the ball, and his technical ability (first touch, dribbling, etc) might actually be second only to Higuain. We already know he’s struggling as a holding midfielder right now, so why not experiment and see what he’s capable of in a different position?

I’d love to see Bliss trot out one of these potential lineups…

Lampson

Barson – Gehrig – Marshall – Hyland

Tchani

Finlay          -          Speas

Trapp

Schoenfeld     –     Finley

OR

Lampson

Barson – Gehrig – Marshall – Hyland

Tchani     –     George

Trapp

Meram     –     Finley     –    Speas

The diamond 4-4-2 up top is probably more realistic since Bliss has little creativity with his tactics, though maybe he’ll change things up for the final game of the season. By all accounts, Kyle Hyland has had a decent season with the reserves as a left back and it’s worth trying to find out what he’s capable of against first team competition. I’m still not a huge fan of Aaron Schoenfeld, but his goal on Saturday earns him an encore in my eyes. The rest of these lineups (except for Marshall obviously) makes up the U-25 core of the team that’s essentially auditioning for their future with the team and possibly a new coach.

Unfortunately not even YouTube has a video of Wil Trapp highlights from his time with the US U-20 team at the World Cup this past summer, but possibly his best performance was as captain against France in the group stage. He had several decent shots from distance and did a great job providing a link between his fellow midfielders and the 3-man forward line that the US used throughout the tournament. I think if you put him behind a 3-man line of Meram-Finley-Speas you’d be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Something tells me we won’t see Trapp is such an advanced role, but I think it’s a position he is well suited for and there’s really only one way to find out for sure. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from a lineup perspective next weekend, but those are my two preferences. The team has managed to squander any potential from Justin Meram as a true winger and/or striker and Ryan Finley hasn’t had nearly enough playing time this season for us to determine his potential.

I really hope we’ll learn something new about Trapp next weekend, but who knows.

Columbus Crew fans had a mini panic attack on Friday afternoon when Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch reported that Crew legend Guillermo Barros Schelotto had interviewed with both the Crew and new expansion team New York City FC.

It’s that second part that I want to focus on. None of us can really be shocked Schelotto interviewed with Columbus, given his status among the team’s history. I’m not so sure the Hunts would’ve brought him in this early (if at all) but new owner Anthony Precourt hasn’t wasted any time. What shocks me is the thought of Schelotto becoming the next head coach of the second New York team that MLS has desired for so long and has bent its own rules (specifcially those about needing a soccer specific stadium to join MLS) to accommodate them. The powder blue New Yorkers will make Seattle look like a red headed stepchild in the eyes of MLS HQ. Would Schelotto really be put in charge of such a team from the start?

I’m not so sure.

To me this sounds like Schelotto trying to get some leverage and put pressure on the front office in Columbus. And I can’t fault him for it either. For all we know, Precourt isn’t willing to shell out big bucks for a head coach. Schelotto deserves a good deal though. He’s had enormous success with Lanus in Argentina in a very short amount of time and it wouldn’t shock me if he started attracting interest from smaller sides around Europe. We all loved Schelotto for his vision on the playing field and that vision was the result  of his desire to not only practice the game, but study it as well. He is that rare great player who knows the game so well that he can go on to become an equally great coach.

The news that Schelotto was in New York does present a bit of a wrinkle in this search for a head coach in Columbus. If New York (and potentially more MLS sides) are legitimately interested in him, then Anthony Precourt suddenly finds himself in a significant predicament. Many of us would love to have Schelotto in charge of the Crew, but we would also understand if he wound up staying in his native Argentina. But to watch the Crew turn him down and then see him wind up in New York, Dallas, or maybe even Chicago would churn all of our stomachs inside out and we’d be inclined to point our wrath at Precourt. After all, how could the Crew willingly low ball a team legend and watch him sign up with a direct competitor? There would be legitimate mutiny among not just the hardcore supporters, but casual fans who have stayed away since 2008-09 as well.

It’s going to be a long off-season, but also a very important one, so be prepared to hang on every bit of news like this going forward.

#1 Experience Matters

While it is always nice to see new teams break through the glass ceiling that is world football, there is a reason why it seems like the same teams always make the World Cup. When you look at the USA-Panama match from last night, there is no reason whatsoever why Panama should be celebrating in the 84^th minute in the manner that they did. There was still 6 minutes left in the match (plus stoppage time) and they were playing against the United States, a team that they had only beaten once before. If it was the 92^nd minute and there was no chance for the United States to even up, then dance until your heart is content. But you cannot let up against a team of the caliber of the United States. And that is just what they did.

The same can be said for Egypt in the Ghana match. Although Egypt had looked very sharp in World Cup Qualifying before Tuesday’s match, there is a difference between playing Lesotho and playing Ghana. Playing a lesser opponent you can hide weaknesses in your defense and general match fitness. But it was evident from the start of the first half that Ghana had a considerable advantage in the midfield and on the attack. As I said in the preview on Tuesday, most of Egypt’s defenders play in the Egyptian Premier League, which has not played since 2012 after the violence in the Port Said Riot, which left 179 people killed.  It is very difficult to go from playing in scrimmages and Lesotho to playing against Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari of Ghana. That is why Ghana thrashed them 6-1. Egypt will need to make some considerable adjustments before the second leg of their playoff against the Black Stars to give them even a glimmer of a chance of qualifying.

I think that there are some lessons that both Egypt and Panama can take from Bosnia –Herzegovina. In the past two qualifying campaigns, Bosnia has come very close to making the World Cup, losing to Portugal both times in a two-game playoff. The country, much like Egypt, was in the process of recovering from a civil war that left their country divided (it still is in certain regards.)  Also like Egypt, Bosnia has a rich footballing history as a part of the Yugoslavia. Despite not making the World Cup, they continued to work on developing players, finding players outside of the country who could play for Bosnia (like Neven Subotic and Vedad Ibisevic,) and like Panama got their best players to play outside of their home country so that they can gain experience.  All of the hard work in developing a quality program paid for Bosnia, as they are heading to the World Cup in Brazil.

It is very difficult to qualify for the World Cup, and there are plenty of other countries that would like to be in the position that both Egypt and Panama find themselves in (Canada, China, and India, to name a few.) To make that next step, they should look to Bosnia-Herzegovina on how to get that experience to beat the better teams in their region.

#2 UEFA’s Qualification System Needs to Be Fixed

With the exciting qualifiers going on in Africa, North America, and South America yesterday it is pretty easy to overlook some of the qualifiers going on in Europe. Well mostly because so many of them involved incredibly poor teams. Oh, Poland v England was a good match. As was Armenia- Italy, and Iceland- Norway had its moments. But San Marino-Ukraine?  Greece –Liechtenstein? Hungary-Andorra? Three of these teams were in the running to qualify for the World Cup or a playoff spot. The other three had a combined record of 0-2-28 and a goal differential of -79. Although UEFA may have some of the best teams in the world, they also have some of the worst.

UEFA and CONMEBOL are unique among the different confederations in that they are they only two groups that do not have more than one qualifying round. But as opposed to CONMEBOL, which only has 10 countries, UEFA has one round with 53(!) countries playing. I find it very odd that UEFA and their fans, which constantly look down upon American club soccer for not a having promotion and relegation system would essentially employ the same system for international competitions. You won’t see Japan play Afghanistan or the United States play Dominica unless Afghanistan or Dominica qualify through many rounds of qualification, earning their spots by playing against teams of relative strength. But you can see in the final round of European Qualifying the Faroe Islands play Germany. Not because the Faroe Islands earned the spot, but because a man picked a ball out of a bowl and drew their name.

This needs to change. A preliminary round where smaller countries would otherwise be cannon fodder for the Netherlands would help address the problem. It would give the minnows an opportunity to play against teams on their level and be able to develop realistic standards for themselves. Occasionally, they will knock off a better team as well. North Korea and Trinidad and Tobago have both made recent World Cups and did not make it through to the final round of qualifying.  It will also foster competition within the lower ranks of European national teams and ultimately creates better teams. Furthermore, it would make qualification games matter more. Who would not want to see a final day of Germany v Austria or Italy v Czech Republic? The current system does not work and with plans to expand the European Championship in the next few years, I am not sure if they are moving towards my system.

#3 There are going to be some very interesting playoff matchups

November 19^th cannot come soon enough. With a lineup that includes playoff matches in CAF, UEFA, and continental clashes between Jordan and Uruguay, and New Zealand and Mexico, World Cup Qualifying looks like it will end with a bang.

One of the great things about World Cup Qualifying is that every so often you get one or two teams that shock the world and qualify over a more established opponent. With countries like Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Iceland, Jordan, and New Zealand still with a shot to qualify, we could still see one or two upsets.

There has been some resolution with first set of matches in the CAF playoffs. Unless Ghana capitulates on itself, I don’t see Egypt going through. It also looks like Cote D’Ivoire is going through after beating Senegal 3-1. Unfortunately for Senegal their home match will be played in Casablanca, Morocco, a penalty for the fan violence after a home match last year. Another wasted opportunity for the likes of Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba.

But the other three matches are up for grabs. Although, a tie was not ideal, Tunisia showed tremendous poise against an aging Cameroon squad and have at least given them a shot in the second leg in Yaounde, Cameroon. Burkina Faso put them in a decent position to qualify, having beaten Algeria 3-2 at home. And Ethiopia still has a chance, though not a great one, to get a decent result against Nigeria.

Despite most pundits believing Mexico will defeat New Zealand, I am still not sure. I think that they have been given a tremendous advantage by having the first match played in Mexico City, but bear in mind this is a team that will have their fourth manager in a calendar year. There seems to be tremendous strife within the Mexican F.A., which has shown up on the pitch. New Zealand is not a great football team. Their last win against a team ranked in the top fifty in FIFA’s world rankings was against Honduras in May of last year.  They do have Marco Rojas (Stuttgart) and Winston Reid (West Ham,) but the rest of the team is made up of players from New Zealand’s first division or the A-League. Mexico has a clear advantage in talent, but as they have shown through qualifying, that matters little if they cannot work together.

I am also really interested to see how Jordan does against Uruguay. Uruguay are the kings of the playoff system, having entered two of the past three World Cups through the playoffs. Jordan should be a much easier task than their two previous opponents (Australia and Costs Rica,) but I wonder how they are going to do in Amman. Remember: this is the same Jordan team that beat Japan at home in March. Winning in Uruguay may be near impossible, but if they can sneak out a favorable result at home, Jordan may at least make things interesting in the second leg,

Of course, the more interesting matchups are still yet to be determined in Europe, with their matches being announced on Monday. Without knowing how UEFA picks the names out of the hat, it at least looks like the teams who have qualified are quality squads. Greece, France, Portugal, Ukraine, Sweden, Iceland, Romania, and Croatia would all make excellent additions to the World Cup field.

Please continue checking out the Global Football Today page for the latest and World Cup news and information!

Tuesday World Cup Preview

After a weekend of nailbiters and near eliminations, World Cup Qualifying for most parts of the world will end on Tuesday night with the five remaining automatic qualification spots awarded among the confederations of CONCACAF (North America/Central America,) CONMEBOL (South America,) and UEFA (Europe.) There are qualification spots still to be awarded in playoffs involving teams from CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA and the countries of Jordan and New Zealand, but for many countries their 2014 World Cup Qualifying seasons will end on Tuesday and hard questions will have to be asked about the future of football in their countries. So with an emotional day on tap, let’s take a look at the list of countries who have qualified for the World Cup (with those that qualified on Friday boldened,) and a preview of the best matches of the day.

Matches You Will Most Likely Be Watching

Ghana v Egypt (12pm, beINSPORT)

If you are looking for a reason to sneak out of the office for a few minutes and catch a quality match, this is the match to watch. On a day when most World Cup spots are pre-determined this match between the Black Stars of Ghana and the Pharaohs of Egypt should provide plenty of excitement. This is the first two of matches between the two sides, who are without question two of the most accomplished national teams in all of Africa. This has the potential to be a real cracker, and may give FIFA pause in how they allocate World Cup spots going forward.

It almost seems unfortunate that two of Africa’s best sides have to meet in Accra and Cairo rather than in Rio de Janeiro. Both sides have demolished their competition through the last round of qualifying. Ghana demolished teams in Group D, losing only once to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Champion Zambia and outscoring their opponents 18-3. This is a very young Ghanain team, with Goalkeeper Richard Kingson (Doxa Katokopia-Cyrpus) and Midfielder Michael Essien (Chelsea) being the only players over 30. There is no one main goal scorer on the squad (over nine players scored a goal in the previous round of qualifying,) but they do have plenty of players like Midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus) and Midfielder Sulley Muntari (AC Milan.)

Ghana is a little light on defense. Although they only allowed 3 goals in the last round of qualifying, the teams that they played against (Lesotho, Sudan, and Zambia) are not exactly Forward factories. Egypt’s best chance against will be exposing their weakness on defense. Ghana’s three losses this year come against teams that had at least one scoring option up front (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Japan.) This is a team built to score, not defend.

The Pharaoh’s feature a potent offense led by Midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika (Al-Ahly-Egypt,) and Mohamed Salah (F.C. Basel-Switzerland). Aboutrika and Salah each had six goals for Egypt in the previous round of qualifying. Salah would also be known by Chelsea fans for having scored the tying goal for Basel in their recent UEFA Champions League tie.  The Egyptian manager, Bob Bradley, has done an exception job at managing a situation where players are constantly at risk but an entire country is unraveling.

Much like Ghana, Egypt has some questions on defense. Only Ahmed Elmohammady (Hull City-England) plays outside of Egypt. While I have no doubt that Egypt produces quality players, the Egyptian Premier League has not been in operation since 2012 because of the civil war. Obviously the country has far more important things to take care of, but from a footballing standpoint match fitness is critical. Ghana has players who play top flight football all throughout Europe. As much as I would like to see Egypt go to the World Cup and give their people some joy, it is going to be very difficult for them to overcome such a difference in skill.

England v Poland (3pm Fox Sports 1)

Raise your hand if you had the English winning 4-1 against Montenegro on Friday? How about everybody who had Andros Townsend scoring a goal in the match? Although many suspected the English would defeat the Montenegrins, it was not expected to be such a thorough, defeat. The English controlled all aspects of the game. They outshot Montenegro 27 to 10 and bested them on shots on goal by a margin of 12 -2. What is even more astounding is that Montenegro had 0 corner kicks on the game while England had 14! England completely dominated Montenegro and finally showed some tenacity and being able to finish off teams.

Against Poland, the Three Lions are going to a much more potent offense. The good news for England is that Poland has already been eliminated from Group H and is unlikely to play their best best offensive players, the Borussia Dortmund pair of striker Robert Lewandowski and midfielder Jakub Blazsycyzskowski. But Poland has a very, young exciting group of players coming up who are likely to see the full ninety minutes. It will be interesting to see if players like Piotr Zellinski, the 19-year old midfielder who plays for Udinese, and Pawel Wszolek, the midfielder who plays for Sampordia receive a look in preparation for qualifying for the European Championships next year.

With England leading Ukraine by 9 goals for the top spot in Group H, look for them to very aggressive against a Polish team that has only one win on the road during qualifying (a 5-1 defeat of San Marino.) If the English can continue their run of form from Friday night they will be heading to Brazil.

Mexico v Costa Rica (9:30pm Telemundo)

It is popular to contend that CONCACAF has far too many qualification spots, and supposedly the quality of play is very poor, I wonder how many people who claim that CONCACAF is that bad actually watched the Panama-Mexico match on Friday night? An incredibly gripping match with both teams taking chances on offense and playing stout defense, the game was only decided in the 88^th minute when Mexican midfielder Raul Jimenez scored off of a scorpion kick to give El Tri the victory.

The Mexico team that showed up on Friday night looked nothing like the team that was sleep walking through qualification. They were tenacious on offense, had much more chemistry in the midfield, and their defense was not caught off guard on counter-attacks. I would hate to give Rafa Marquez any credit, given his history of being a flopper and cheap shot artist, but he did a splendid job of giving this team an identity in the midfield. Oddly enough, it was Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez that looked most out of form. Even the best strikers miss penalty shots, but in a match where Panama had multiple chances to take the lead, Mexico was lucky to make it out of the match with three points.

For Mexico, their mission is clear: they must win this match and hope for the best. They still technically have a chance for the third automatic qualification spot, but will have to rely on Jamaica defeating Honduras and scoring more than 2 goals against Costa Rica. Considering how poor Jamaica has been in Qualifying (0-4-5 with only three goals scored through 7 matches,) and that Costa Rica has only allowed one goal at home, this does not seem like a fairly strong scenario. I will get back to the playoff scenario with the Panama-U.S.A. match.

Costa Rica will not lay down for Mexico on Tuesday night. Costa Rica and Mexico have a long, storied history in CONCACAF. In 2001, the Tica’s became the first team at Mexico City against El Tri in over 25 years. Mexico has dominated the CONCACAF region for decades and only recently have teams like Costa Rica really been able to match the Mexicans on a consistent basis.

Expect Costa Rica to play a near full squad in their effort to defeat Mexico. The club subbed out their top three players in the Honduras match on Friday: Midfielder Christian Bolanos (Copenhagen,)  Forward Bryan Ruiz (Fulham,)  and Forward Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake). Look out for Forward Joel Campbell. The Arsenal phenom has mostly been in the news for his atrocious dive against Matt Besler in their match against the United States in September. Despite his occasional act of petulance, he also shown that he has excellent speed and can take on multiple defenders at once. Although Mexico showed improvement in their last match, they have had difficulty against teams who are quick on the counter-attack all throughout the tournament.

Panama was a warm up for the real test for the new Mexico Manager Luis Vucetich. Playing against an in-form Costa Rica team at Estadio Nacional in La Sabana that has not lost a match home during World Cup Qualifying, el Tri is going to have their work cut out for them to not lose this match, let alone get points. This is not a gimme match for Mexico- they are going to have to earn it.

Games Worth Getting on The Big Screen During a Lunch Meeting or at Happy Hour

USA v Panama (9:30 pm beINSPORT)

Unlike Friday night’s match for the United States, which was more of a thank you to the fans for their support throughout the long Qualifying campaign, Tuesday’s match against Panama actually has real implications for the CONCACAF playing spot. Panama has to defeat the United States to get on level points with Mexico for the playoff spot and the right to play New Zealand. They are also going to need to make up the goal differential of +2 between themselves and Mexico. The good news is that Mexico will have a difficult time with their road match against Costa Rica.

But the bad news is that the squad that the United States will be bringing over is not a group of pushovers. Yes, Starting Goalkeeper Tim Howard and Starting Midfielder Jermaine Jones have been sent back. As has Landon Donovan, who had a fairly uneven game against Jamaica on Friday (to be fair, he has been nursing an ankle injury for about three weeks now.) But their replacements are not waterboys. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League for Aston Villa for about two years now and would be starting on most national teams. Midfielders Mix Diskerud and Sacha Kljestian both had pretty good games against Jamaica once U.S. Manager Jurgen Klinsmann moved to a more traditional 4-4-2 in the second half. Kljestian, in particular, will be looking to make a big statement in this game as he has been getting prominent minutes for Belgian side Standard Liege in the UEFA Champions League but has found National Team call-ups to be few and far between.

But this match is really about Panama showing that they are a team who deserves to be playing in the World Cup. They have been maddeningly inconsistent throughout this World Cup Qualifying campaign. They have had a few good results on the road, such as drawing on the road against Honduras in September. But they have also had a few poor results at home, like drawing with Jamaica and blowing a 2-0 lead to Costa Rica in February.

Panama has shown in the past that they are able to keep up with the United States. In their historic 2-1 victory over the United States in the 2011 Gold Cup, Panama gave the United States fits by knocking the U.S. around on defense and by making the most of their few opportunities on offense. They also have two forwards in Gabriel Torres and Blas Perez that are Designated Players and should not be afraid to mix it up on the attacking third. This same style nearly got them the 2013 Gold Cup as well.

Even though Klinsmann has indicated that the United States would not take it easy on Panama to make things more difficult for Mexico, I would like to think that the thought of seeing the U.S.’ biggest rival being humiliated would bring him joy. News of results in other games always seem to make their way on the field. If the results of both matches are favorable to Panama, I could see the U.S. players turning the match into more of a scrimmage.

Other Games Worth Watching

Portugal v Luxembourg (1pm ESPN Deportes)

Sweden v Germany (2:45pm GOL TV)

Italy v Armenia (2:45 pm RAI Internazionale- This is a channel available on Verizon Fios and the DISH Network)

Spain v Georgia (3pm ESPN Deportes)

Uruguay v Argentina (7pm beINSPORT)

Chile v Ecuador (7:30pm beINSPORT)

Jamaica v Honduras (9:30 pm beINSPORT Spanish)

Games Worth Scouring the Internet For

Bulgaria v Czech Republic (2:15pm ESPN 3)

Norway v Iceland (2:15 pm ESPN 3)

Romania v Estonia (2pm ESPN3)

Bosnia-Herzegovina v Lithuania (1pm ESPN3)

Greece v Liechtenstein (1pm ESPN 3)