We are at the grand finale of what has been a truly captivating World Cup Qualifying Campaign. Qualification began on June 16^th 2011 in a CONCACAF match between Montserrat and Belize. Over 816 matches have been played to create a 32 team field for Brazil. Although those 32 teams will have the opportunity to go for glory, to me the World Cup is made by teams like Montserrat and Belize with players who hold 9-5 jobs and whose only desire is to one day make the World Cup. I still remember listening to the story of the American Samoa team that claimed their first ever victory in a World Cup Qualifying in a 2-1 defeat of Tonga. It is these small stories that make the World Cup tournament such a truly remarkable event.

That being said, there are still 11 spots to be decided over the next seven days in Africa, Europe, and intercontinental matches between Uruguay and Jordan, and Mexico and New Zealand. Here is the latest list of teams to qualify for Brazil 2014:

With the table set, let’s take a look at who still is looking to join them in Brazil.

(Author’s Note: There will be a follow-up preview and review for Tuesday and Wednesday’s matches next week.)

Matches You Will Most Likely Be Watching

Mexico v New Zealand (11/12 ESPN2 and Univision)

I sincerely hope someone is printing out T-Shirts that is calling this the $600 million dollar match because that is how Mexico stands to lose should they be unable to defeat the Kiwis of New Zealand.

Now over the duration of these World Cup previews, I have routinely criticized the Mexican Football Association for their sheer ineptitude at hiring and firing coaches, upsetting their best players, and for giving half-hearted performances in winnable games. But I am going to have to give some credit here, I like the hiring of former Club America coach Miguel Herrera for this two game playoff. During last night’s epic Global Football Today podcast (available for your listening pleasure on the GFT website) my partner in crime Brian Sanders made a couple of good points in regards to the selection of Herrera and of a squad of all domestic players. First, he mentioned the discrepancy between the European players and the domestic players. The domestic players, should Mexico lose this match, will hear it from their fans in every club match for the rest of their professional lives. The European-based players? They get to fly back to their club squads and stay away from the anger and resentment of Mexico City. So it makes sense to bring players who have more to lose with a Mexico defeat.

Second, the team is made up by a healthy number of players from Club America so there should be very little issues in regards to chemistry. I am very interested to see what happens when Raul Jimenez is given the keys to the Mexico attack. The 22 year old has shown immense progress this summer, scoring two goals in the Gold Cup and providing Mexico the spark in their 2-1 victory over Panama in Mexico City.

It would be easy to say that New Zealand is at a tremendous disadvantage in this two legged playoff. Having qualified for this playoff match back in March and not playing in the FIFA Confederations Cup due to their loss to Tahiti back in 2012, New Zealand has only played in three international friendlies leading up to this match. It is a squad mostly composed of players from the Australian A-League. They were also dealt a further blow when Captain Winston Reid, who starts for West Ham United, was ruled out of this two-legged playoff due to a hamstring injury. Without Reid, the club will rely heavily on Forward Shane Smeltz and Midfielder Marco Rojas, who just signed a major contract with German side Stuttgart. New Zealand has always shown themselves to be a very good defensive side, as evidenced by their run in the 2010 World Cup where they held the defending champions Italy scoreless. But New Zealand will have to score some goals to make this competitive. Smeltz (23 goals for New Zealand,) and Leicester City Forward Chris Wood (10 goals in 32 appearances) are their best options up front.

What this really comes down to is how New Zealand will react in the first match in Mexico City. If they can be able to get a result, or at least hold them to a 1-0 loss, then that gives them a tremendous chance at getting a victory in Wellington next week. Mexico has not looked good throughout this entire tournament and I am not expecting them to light the world on fire so late into the tournament. But they have been playing better in their past few matches and they should have the advantage against New Zealand.

Sweden v Portugal (11/15 2:40pm, ESPN Deportes)

Without question the crown jewel of all of the European Playoff matches this is the match that all soccer fans are looking forward to. Anytime a match features two of the best players in the world like Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo it should deliver at least one or two incredible goals. If you are looking to show a friend a soccer match that will have a few Sportscenter highlights, this is the match.

I would like to say that the Swedes have the advantage, given their recent run of form. The Blue-Yellows have only lost three matches all year, two of which were against Germany and Argentina, and have a particularly good record against Portugal all time going 6-6-3 (W-D-L) in head to head matchups. Having watched a lot of their Group this year during World Cup Qualifying, what I have been most impressed with is how well they move the ball, with or without Ibrahimovic. Midfielder Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland) has provided excellent pace for their offense giving Ibrahimovic and strike partner Johan Elmander (Norwich City) space to work their magic.  Sweden loves the “jail break” goal, where the midfield either crosses or passes a ball into deep open space for one of their forwards.

In what seems like a tradition every four years, Portugal once again does just enough to make the playoffs. To say that their form has been a bit lacking during qualifying is a bit of an understatement. While their record in qualifying may look good (6-3-1), if you look a bit deeper into the results you see a team that often had to rely on late minute heroics to get a result. Their two draws at home against Israel and Northern Ireland look particularly bad. They also received a very favorable call on the road in Israel when Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid) should have been called for offsides on his game-winning goal. Don’t get me wrong: Portugal deserves to be here. They got the results they needed to make it to the next round. I guess what I am interested to see is how they will shape against a much better opponent in Sweden.

Portugal’s difficulties in qualifying seem to be part of much larger problem: Where is this team going? Gone are the days of the “Golden Generation” of Figo, Deco, and Rui Costa. While Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously one of the best players in the world and Pepe and Coentrao are two of the best defenders in the world, they have never truly been able to make that leap in international competition. I still think last year’s failure at the European Championship hangs over this team.

It seems simplistic to say, but this series will come down to which one of the two best players in soccer has the better game: Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo has scored 6 goals in qualifying including 3 in the 4-2 comeback victory over Northern Ireland in September. Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic has scored 6 goals in qualifying. Both players have shown that they are able to lift their team and get a goal when they need it. But neither has really seen success on the international level. This playoff match may provide an indicator as to who is the best in the world.

Games Worth Watching This Weekend

Cameroon v Tunisia (11/17 9:30am, beINSPORT):0-0

The only African qualifier during this week’s slate of games where there is no clear leader, Cameroon and Tunisia should both come into this match fully expecting to earn a spot in Brazil. Historically two of the best national teams in all of African football, Cameroon were able to survive an onslaught of shots by Tunisia and secure a 0-0 draw in the first leg. Cameroon starting goalkeeper Charles Itandje (Konyaspor-Turkey) made several key stops to be able to keep the teams level.

Going into the second leg, Cameroon is going to have to find some spark on offense. His holiness, Samuel Eto’o, decided that he once again that he wants to play for Cameroon but did very little in ninety minutes against Tunisia. Although he is without question one of the best footballers that Cameroon, and Africa as a whole, has ever produced Eto’o no longer has the pace to play a full match. In the Tunisia match he often missed passes and was not able to break away from defenders like he once could. His talents would best be served as a 65^th minute sub, somebody who can come off of the bench and give them a last minute goal. It would be wise that the Indomitable Lions look towards Forward Eric Maxim Cuopo-Moting for the scoring touch. He already has 4 goals for Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga this season and has scored two other goals for Cameroon in qualifying this year.

While Cameroon should be expected to defeat Tunisia at home, I would not be surprised if the Eagles of Carthage pull this one out. The partnership up front of Saber Khalefa (Marseille) and Amine Chermiti (Zurich) looked very promising during long stretches of the Cameroon match setting a couple of decent opportunities. The key will be whether or not they can hold back what can be a dangerous Cameroon attack. Without Captain Karim Haggui (Stuttgart,) who is out due to injury, Tunisia will have to rely on Aleddine Yahia (Lens) to lead a relatively inexperienced defense against the likes of Alexandre Song (F.C. Barcelona,) and Stephane Mbia (Sevilla).

The good news for Tunisia is that this Cameroon side has not looked particularly strong recently, only winning one of their last five matches. So they have a chance to pull off an upset, but they are going to have to finish their opportunities, something that they were not able to do in the first leg.

Other Games of Note:

Nigeria v Ethiopia (11/16 10am, beINSPORT): Nigeria leads 2-1

Senegal v Ivory Coast (11/16 2pm, beINSPORT): Ivory Coast leads 3-1

Games Worth Scouring the Internet For

Iceland v Croatia (11/15, 2pm ESPN3)

There aren’t many “David vs. Goliath” matches in this round of World Cup Qualifying but this match between Iceland and Croatia is pretty darn close. Never has the term minnow been more appropriate than in describing Iceland, a country that not only loves its fish but also only has a population of 298,000. But despite their, Iceland fields a team of players who are not quality professionals but play in some of the top leagues in Europe. Of course, the first name that pops into any football fan’s head is Gylfi Sigurdsson, the Midfielder who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. A specialist on set pieces and someone who has a devastating right foot, Sigurdsson will act as the conduit for the Icelandic attack.

Iceland also features two tremendous strikers up front in Eiour Smari Guojohnsen (Club Brugge- Belgium) and Kolbenin Sigborsson (Ajax). Sigurdsson, Guojohnsen, and Sigborsson combined for 11 of Iceland’s 17 goals during qualifying. Sigborsson is also tied for third in the Eredivisie with 6 goals and will be looking to make a move to major European club team in the next transfer window. Although Iceland may be a minnow in size they have teeth and should be an interesting matchup against a Croatia defense that has looked shaky against teams with more than quality striker.

While everything has been going smoothly for Iceland leading up to this two-legged playoff, for Croatia it has been quite the opposite. After a promising start in their qualifying group, Croatia stumbled losing three of their last four matches and falling out of contention for the automatic qualification spot. After such a disastrous end to the group stage, the Croatian Football Association fired Manager Igor Stimac and replaced him their Under-21 Coach Igor Kovac. Kovac, who spent most of his career in the Bundesliga, has very little coaching experience outside of being an assistant to the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. But Kovac did have 83 caps with Croatia during his playing career so he is very familiar with the Croatian style of play. I am not sure if this is the best time to bleed a new coach (I wonder Croatian FA President Davor Sukur made any overtures to Guus Hiddink, who would have been my choice,) but Croatia has enough veterans on their squad that they should be able to make up for any  lapses in experience.

Part of the reason why Croatia has had such difficulties recently is that they are missing their scoring touch. You would think with a team that can call on the likes of Midfielder Luka Modric (Real Madrid,) and Forwards Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich) and Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk) to fill out their lineup sheet that there would be no problem scoring. But in their last three qualifying matches, Croatia was only able to score one goal (a garbage time goal by Niko Kranjcar against Belgium). They should have plenty of opportunities to score against Iceland, who gave up 15 goals during qualification, including 6 to Switzerland.

Ukraine v France (11/15 2:40pm ESPN3)

Greece v Romania (11/15 2:40pm ESPN3)

Wait! This Game is Actually Happening?

Uruguay v Jordan (11/12 10:30 am One World Sport)

I don’t really have too much to say about this match because I think it is pretty easy to say that Jordan has no shot in defeating Uruguay. Although I would not be surprised if Jordan gets at least a satisfactory result at home (they did defeat Japan at home earlier this year in qualifying,) Uruguay is far too experienced to be caught napping against Jordan.

There are two things though to look forward to in this match. First, I hope that Uruguay takes this opportunity to give some of their younger, more untested players an opportunity to play. One of Uruguay’s biggest problems is that they have relied too heavily on some of their more established players and we haven’t seen some of their players come up from the U-21 system. I would really like to see Jose Maria Gimenez, 18, of Olimpia get playing time over Andres Scotti, 37, of Nacional. There is nothing for Scotti to gain from this match. However, Gimenez would have the opportunity to play in an important match in a very, very hostile environment.  While I do understand that Uruguay has to start setting its lineup for the World Cup, they also need to start focusing on the future.

Second, no matter what the score ends up being over two legs, this is a very important series for Jordan and football in the Middle East as a whole. To say that football in the Middle East has been on the decline recently is being generous. With Japan and South Korea now firmly entrenched as qualifying favorites, and the addition of Australia to the AFC, qualifying for the World Cup has now become more difficult in Asia. Now obviously with turmoil going on in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Yemen, and Jordan as well football is not the top priority in the region.

But with the World Cup being held in Qatar in 2022, it is important that the region starts to awaken from its slumber and begin to make strides to being a competitive region. Having Iran make the World Cup this year is a great start. If Jordan can pull off at least a respectable showing in the next week against Uruguay, it could only improve football not only Jordan but in the region as well.

#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)

Hotter than a summer in Rio, World Cup Qualifying picked up in September with teams from UEFA, CONMEBOL, and CONCACAF qualifying for next’s showcase in Brazil. Here is the list of teams that have already qualified thus far for Brazil 2014.

With that in mind, let’s get to Friday’s games!

(Note: I did not include any of the friendlies that are being played over the weekend. Since this article is about World Cup Qualifying, it did not seem like a strong fit. Plus I am not sure why Brazil is playing Zambia in China.)

Matches You Will Most Likely Be Watching

Mexico v Panama (9:30pm ESPNews, UniMas)

If you had said to me seven months ago that this would be a “must-win” match for El Tri, I would not have believed. Mexico finds themselves in the dubious position of being in fifth place in the CONCACAF Qualification bracket, behind Panama on goals scored (7-4). Although they should have the advantage playing at home against Panama, fans of El Tri should not sleep on “The Canal Men.”  Panama should actually be ahead of Mexico on points but the club drop two points against Jamaica in a 0-0 draw at home September. Having had the chance to watch them grow over these past few years, you can see that this is a team that believes in themselves and wants the chance to go to Brazil. Their captain, Felipe Baloy, has extensive experience playing in Mexico for Santos Laguna and should provide composure on a very young backline. Also look out for their goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. Although I was a bit skeptical of him in my piece on the Los Angeles Galaxy, that was more to do with him acclimating himself to a new club. With the Panama national team, he has been superb with making key saves and providing leadership for the other players.

I am very concerned about Mexico in this match. Although history tells us that Mexico at home is one of the most surefire bets in professional soccer, this is not the same Mexico team that has terrorized CONCACAF since its inception. It always felt like when I would watch Mexico play that they liked it when the other team scored, that it meant there was a real competition. Well now there is real competition in CONCACAF and Mexico seems to be failing. Although they played very well in the first half against the United States in their last qualification match, their confidence just evaporated after the first goal was scored.  New head coach Victor Vucetich has been successful  with Monterrey, winning the Apertura 2009 and 2010 and is a 4-time winner of the CONCACAF Champions League (2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013) so he has some understanding of how football is played within the region. I also like that he was able to convince Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to come back and play. Mexico’s goalkeeping has been terrible for months and Ochoa, who plays for Ajaccio in Ligue 1, should be an upgrade. Mexico needs three points in this match, especially with their final match of qualifying being played at Costa Rica on Tuesday.

United States v Jamaica (6:30pm, ESPN)

I hesitate to put this match as a match worth watching because  it is a match where very little is at stake (the United States has already qualified and Jamaica is all but eliminated,) since it is the United States and it will be shown at every bar during happy hour on Friday it is worth taking a look at. With two matches remaining, the United States will probably use this match as a means to test the team’s squad depth and to see what sort of chemistry can be created. Although international breaks are often criticized (and rightfully so) for being useless, the matches that a team has between the end of qualification and the start of World Cup play are important and very few.  So for the United States, these next two matches are great opportunities to play against teams that are still have a shot at qualifying.

It will be interesting to see how certain players step up given some of the injuries on the team. With no Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Brad Evans, and Jermaine Jones, players like Sacha Kljeistan and Mix Diskerud will be given opportunities to show what they can do and show that they deserve to be in the 18 that is named to play in the World Cup. I am also interested to see how U.S. National Team Jurgen Klinsmann chooses to use winger Aron Johansson. The AZ Alkmaar striker has shown in limited appearances so far that he can be a spark plug off of the bench and provide that little bit of creativity in the box from the forward position that the U.S. has not had in 20 years.

For Jamaica, needing three points and A LOT of help in other matches, I hope that they come out of the box swinging. I am not sure what happened between this time last year, when they beat the United States at “The Office,” their home stadium in Kingston, and now. They looked like they were going to be a very difficult team to get points off of when they drew with Mexico in Mexico earlier this year.  The lineup that they will be bringing to Kansas City on Friday night is stacked with players playing in MLS and in England. Players like Defenders Jermaine Taylor (Houston Dynamo) and Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace,) and Forwards Ryan Johnson (Portland Timbers,) and Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps) are all quality players who will make life difficult for the United States. The one player to really watch out for though is Forward Deshorn Brown. The 23 year old forward for the Colorado Rapids has had a great rookie season with the club, scoring 7 goals and has helped lead the Rapids back into relevancy.

England v Montenegro (3pm Fox Sports 1)

It is fairly easy to knock the English for their lackluster play thus far in World Cup Qualifying. I am sure that any person in London can pick up a magazine on the street corner and read about how terrible the team is. But I would like to give some credit where credit is due: beyond Moldova and San Marino, England is playing one of the more difficult groups in Europe. Poland, Ukraine, and Montenegro, have all proven to be very capable opponents for one of the “top teams in the world.” Although the English do have two home games to finish off qualification, neither Montenegro nor Poland will be an easy three points.

For the English to win they are going two things to happen. First, Joe Hart is going to have play like one of the best goalkeepers in the world. His play has really suffered since being humiliated in the Euro’s last year against Italy. His play for England has been at best spotty, and he has looked lost for Manchester City. Hart has shown in the past that he can be a dominant goalkeeper, that he can make game-changing plays and dictate the flow of a match. They will need him at the top of his game against the likes of Hart’s teammate at Manchester City Forward Stevan Jovetic.

Second, the Three Lions need for Wayne Rooney to be Wayne Rooney. Rooney has been quite effective for England scoring 5 goals during Qualifying. Although his form his time with Manchester United this season has been turbulent (when is it not?) he always seems to use the international breaks as a release for his frustrations with his club. England has scored 25 goals during Qualification and Manager Roy Hodgson seems to have found a role for the likes of Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, and Frank Lampard, with each playing an important part in the English attack. But it is Rooney with his creativity and ability to make plays in small spaces that drives this English attack and will be the deciding factor on Friday’s result.

Montenegro will be a very difficult team to draw three points off of. Bear in mind this is the same Montenegrin team that secured a draw in qualification for the 2012 European Championships.  But they will be without starting forward Mirko Vucinic (Juventus-Italy,) goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic (Tom Tomsk-Russia,) center back Marko Basa (Lille-France,) and midfielder Miodrag Pekovic  (Hansa Rostock-Russia.) The Brave Falcons will have to rely on Defender Stefan Savic (Fiorentina-Italy,) Midfielder Nikola Drincic (Rapid Wien-Austria,) and Forward Dejan Damjanovic (F.C. Seoul) to pick up the slack. Damjanovic has scored 3 goals in Qualification thus far, including the one that secured a draw against England in March.

With injuries piling up, and an automatic three points against Moldova on Tuesday, Montenegro may just try and settle for a point in this match.

Game Worth Getting on the Big Screen At Happy Hour

Ecuador v Uruguay (5pm beINSPORT Spanish)

This is the most important match of this round of World Cup Qualifying.  In Uruguay’s last two Qualifying matches, they turned around what had been a very disappointing campaign. In the teams past two matches, they went on the road against Peru (playing at altitude) and  played  Colombia at home and secured 6 points. Coupled with Ecuador’s 1-0 loss at home to Colombia, both teams are now tied on points with 22.

However it may be too little, too late for Uruguay. They are still behind Ecuador on goal differential (+4,) and would have to secure some kind of result against Argentina on Tuesday. Although Uruguay sports some of CONMEBOLs best strikers in Luis Suarez (10 goals) and Edinson Cavani (4 goals,) Ecuador has only given up 14 goals during Qualification. Of those 14, only 3 were at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, their home stadium in Quito. Their defense, which is led by Walter Ayoyi (Pachuca,) is excellent at man-marking and rarely loses their shape.

Ecuador does not have the players up front to go goal for goal for Uruguay, so look for them to try and take their opportunities on the counter when they can run a defensive strategy that emphasizes possession. Spain showed in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup that Uruguay can beaten by maintaining possession and limiting their chances in the final 1/3^rd of the field. I would imagine that Ecuador’s manager, Reinaldo Rueda, will try and employ a similar strategy.

Other Games Available to Watch on Television:

Germany v Austria (2:30pm ESPN2)

Sweden v Austria (2:45pm GolTV)

Honduras v Costa Rica (5pm beINSPORT)

Argentina v Peru (7pm beINSPORT)

Senegal v Ivory Coast (Saturday 1pm, beINSPORT)

Tunisia v Cameroon (Sunday 1pm, be INSPORT)

Games Worth Scouring the Internet For

Burkina Faso v Algeria (12pm beINSPORT play)

Although Burkina Faso and Algeria do not have the pedigree of Senegal and the Ivory Coast, or Egypt and Ghana (by the way, why the hell is that game not available on television?) the Stallions and the Desert Foxes should make for an interesting pairing. The two teams play very similar styles that focus on a solid defense and making their opportunities off of the counter-attack. While Algeria brings back a team mostly composed of veterans from their 2010 World Cup, Burkina Faso made it all the way to the final of the 2013 African Cup of Nations. A solid set of games between these two could further prove the need for FIFA to allocate more World Cup spots to CAF.

Burkina Faso rode this style to the final of the African Cup of Nations, where they were ultimately beaten by Nigeria. Their top defender is Bakary Kone who is a regular for Lyon in the French first division. He is a very tall, strong defender who showed in the Africa Cup of Nations that he can hold down tough, imposing forwards. They are going to have difficulty scoring though. The club only scored seven goals in the previous round of qualification, which in Africa’s final round. Burkina will rely on Forward Moumouni Dagano. The former Sochaux and Genk striker is Burkina Faso’s all-time leading goal scorer but has yet to score a goal during qualifying. Their other main target is Fortuna Dusseldorf Forward Artiside Bance, who has scored 2 goals in qualifying.

Although Algeria still prioritizes defense, they have developed a couple of scoring options. Forward Islam Slimani, who plays for Sporting CP in the Portugese Premier League, has scored 5 goals in qualifying and against Burkina Faso in a friendly in June.  They also have Ishak Befodil, who was signed by Inter Milan this summer. The 21 year old is one many Algerian who grew up in the French academy, but chose to play for Algeria. He has only made two appearances for the senior national team, but tremendous speed and upside. Their defense is anchored by Left Back Djamel Mesbah, who plays for Parma in Serie A, and Centre Back Carl Medjani of Olympiacos in Greece.

With Algeria’s attacking advantage, it will be difficult for Burkina Faso to make it through to the World Cup. But this is a team that showed by beating Mali and Ghana en route to the African Cup of Nations that they can play with teams that have skills advantages by remaining composed on defense and making the most of their limited chances on the attack. Despite their lack of football history, the Stallions can defeat Algeria.

Croatia v Belgium (noon, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes)

There may be many other games this weekend that have much more at stake, but there are few matches that provide the quality of players like this Croatia and Belgium match. In order to receive the automatic qualification spot in Group A, Croatia would have to win their next two matches and Belgium would need to lose their next two matches.  Despite how unlikely this situation would be, Croatia is bringing all of their starters into this match. If nothing else, it will provide an excellent opportunity for their starters to have one more quality match before the UEFA playoffs begin.

Of course, when one looks at the roster of Croatia names like Mario Mandzukic of Bayern Munich, Luka Modric of Real Madrid, and Nikica Jelavic of Everton automatically pop out. Croatia has always been known for their outstanding offensive players. But it is this team’s defense that has really led the way. The team has only allowed 5 goals in qualifying and was able to secure a draw 1-1 against Belgium in Brussels in June. They are going to have their hands full against the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Christian Benteke, and Eden Hazard tomorrow but they should have adequate resources up front to counter any Belgian attack.

Although the Belgians have been quite impressive in qualifying, losing Vincent Kompany to an injury on Sunday will make things more difficult for this squad. Belgium is immensely talented, but they are also very young and still gaining experience. In Kompany’s absence, they will look to Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen to replace him. That is a pretty good replacement, but they are going to need someone to step up and replace Kompany’s leadership and ability to keep a team composed under duress. The Belgians are lucky in that they only need to get a point in the next two matches to secure the automatic qualification place in Group A. But a loss against Croatia would make things interesting going into Tuesday’s match with Gareth Bale and Wales. If nothing else, this should be an excellent chance for anyone who wants to watch two of the best teams in the world try and prove who is better.

Other Notable Matches Available on Standard Internet Packages (Check out ESPN3 and beINSPORT Play for the Full Slate.)

Netherlands v Hungary (2pm, ESPN3)

Slovenia v Norway (2:40pm ESPN3)

Colombia v Chile (7pm beINSPORT Play)

After a weekend of thrilling matches and league-changing transfers, the good people at FIFA have decided to plug in two World Cup Qualifying matches and international friendlies. Although I do not want to get on a tangent, doesn’t this feel like a weird time to have World Cup Qualifiers? The club season is starting for the European clubs and the Central and South American clubs, Major League Soccer is entering its playoff stretch, and even the prominent Asian league teams are just starting. Although I know time is fleeting during the summer to complete these matches, perhaps if FIFA is looking into changing the 2022 World Cup from summer to winter when they schedule these matches should also be looked into. Just a thought.

That being said, there are plenty of intriguing matches to watch on Friday. So far only 5 teams have qualified for next year’s World Cup (Australia, Brazil, Iran, Japan, and South Korea) and very few clubs have been eliminated… One of the great things about the explosion soccer on television is that many of these matches are readily available to watch on the television dial or on your computer. So here are the matches to watch out for (Please note: The matches listed are only a few of the games that will be played this weekend. Also, I did not include England versus Moldova because England should crush them and that does not seem terribly interesting. If you are interested in any other matches, check out the Washington Post weekend soccer guide

Matches You Will Most Likely Be Watching

U.S.A. v Costa Rica (10pm beIN Sport)

I almost put this match in the “Matches You Will Want to Scour the Internet For” since it is being played on beIN SPORT, an upstart sports channel that is funded by the al Jazeera television network. I have very limited experience with beIN SPORT, but from the few times that I have watched over “legal” feeds it reminds me a lot of Fox Soccer Channel when it first started. Pretty low-tech coverage, but their announcers were very good for the Jamaica match in June. And yes for those are wondering Former U.S. Men’s National Team player and current beIN SPORT commentator Cobi Jones still has dreadlocks.

The United States comes into this match with no pressure at all. Having won their past twelve matches in all competitions, including 3 of their past 4 CONCACAF Qualifying, they do not need to necessarily win this match. The U.S. has not won in its past 7 matches in Costa Rica and will face a team that is still angry at the snowmageddon match in February, where the United States beat Costa Rica in Colorado. With 13 points already and an easy win coming up next month at home to Jamaica, all the United States needs to do is get 1-3 points in the next two matches to qualify for Brazil.

For Costa Rica, three points would put them in the same position that the United States currently sits in: they would not qualify, but they would essentially be a lock. The Tica’s do not have another easy match in qualifying with two road matches with Jamaica and Honduras, and a match at home with Mexico so a point with the U.S. is essential.  The player to watch out for in this match is Alvaro Saborio. The Real Salt Lake midfielder has been in top form in MLS recently and should pick apart the shaky U.S. backline.

Mexico v Honduras (8pm ESPNNews)

There are very few matches during this international date that will matter more than Mexico-Honduras. Both teams are fighting for the third and fourth spots in CONCACAF. With Mexico leading Honduras by two points, it would appear that they are the odds-on favorite to advance (4^th place goes into a two-game playoff with New Zealand, who won the Oceania Football Confederation tournament.) This Honduras team is also loaded with European club players like Defender Maynor Figueroa (Hull City,) Midfielders Andy Najar (Anderlecht Roger Espinoza (Wigan,) and Wilson Palacios (Stoke City.) Throughout this competition, the smaller countries in CONCACAF have shown how much they have improved both tactically and their skill level. Honduras has taken their experiences both at the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics and developed a solid defense who can deliver decisive blows on the counter-attack. This is a very dangerous team.

The other reason why this match is important is that it may be the last match for Mexico head coach Jose de la Torre. Mexico has not been playing well in the past few games, going winless at the Estadio Azteca  (the home of the Mexican National Team) in this round of qualifying, not advancing through the Group Stage of the Confederations Cup, and bottoming out of the Gold Cup in the semi-finals to Panama. While Javier Hernandez has looked very good, the rest of their team has been disorganized with sloppy possession on the attack and poor challenges on defense. In particular, Midfielder Giovanni dos Santos has been a disappointment. While they did just pull off a 4-1 victory over the Ivory Coast last month in a friendly, it does not erase the flaws of this team. We may see another upset on Friday night

Uruguay v Peru (10:30 PM, beIN Sport Spanish)

Simply put, this is it for Uruguay. A team who came within a whisker of the 2010 World Cup Final has looked generally pretty poor this time, getting beaten by Bolivia 5-1 in La Paz Bolivia and drawing to Paraguay at home. With three matches coming up against Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador, they need to demolish Peru in this match if they have any hope of either Qualifying for the final spot in the CONMEBOL Confederation (the Confederation that represents South America,) or to making it into a two-game playoff with the winner of the Asian playoff.

A quick note on the Peruvian team: if you are a Major League Soccer, or in particular a fan of F.C. Dallas, make sure to check out Peruvian Goalkeeper Raul Fernandez. Having watched him all season for F.C. Dallas I can tell that he is certainly on form and will make it difficult for Uruguay. Peru, while technically still in the running for fourth and fifth place, is looking to build off of this performance and further enhance their fledgling program. The Incas finished third in the 2011 Copa America, and have had some pretty impressive victories during this round of World Cup Qualification, beating Chile twice and Ecuador at home. However, they still have two matches on the road against Argentina and Venezuela which are no easy tasks. If they can get points off of this match and at home against Bolivia on the 15^th of October, they might just make the playoff spot.

Games Worth Taking a Long Lunchbreak/Happy Hour For On Friday

Italy v Bulgaria (5PM, Univision Deportes)

Italy could secure themselves a spot in Brazil if they can defeat the Lions of Bulgaria. This should be a high scoring match; the two clubs have combined for 23 goals in Group B during qualifying. In their first match, a 2-2 draw in September of last year, the Bulgarians proved to be a very difficult opponent for Italy, breaking down a normally stout Italian defense for two quality goals from Stanoslav Manolev (PSV Eindhoven,) and Georgi Milanov (CSKA Moscow.) Although Bulgaria plays a very tough defensive style, they have always been known for developing skillful midfielders and attackers. The player to watch out for in this match is Ivelin Popov the captain who plays club football for Kuban Krasnodor in the Russian Premier League. He is a highly skilled attacking midfielder who can cut through defenses with precise, accurate passes and can make his own shot off of crosses.

Nonetheless, the Italians should be able to match any Bulgarian attack with their own set of quality strikers. With a club that features the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi, and Mario Balotelli you should expect a team that can score goals with relative ease. Balotelli seems to finally have found his rhythm with the Azzuri, scoring three goals in World Cup Qualifying and 5 goals in all competitions this year. And of course, they have the legendary Gigi Buffon in goal, which put on one of the best performances I have ever seen in the FIFA Confederations Cup this past summer. This is one of the most talented teams in international soccer right now and they should qualify for Brazil within the next two matches.

Croatia v Serbia (2:45 ESPN3)

This match is not for the faint of heart. While many World Cup Qualifying matches feature teams that have very little history with one another, this match is nothing but history. For those of you that do not remember your World History: both Serbia and Croatia were originally a part of the country formerly known as Yugoslavia. In the early 1990’s Yugoslavia broke up and violent conflicts between the different ethnic groups (Bosnians, Croats, Serbs, and eventually Kosovars) started up. Although tensions in the Balkans have lessened, these ethnic groups still do not get along on the soccer pitch. Matches are routinely abandoned and riots are very common. The first leg of this match, a 2-0 victory for Croatia in Zagreb, was actually quite peaceful. But with this match being played in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia things may be different.

Instead of worrying about their history, Serbia should be focused on the plight of their current squad. To say that their current form has been disappointing is an understatement. Having lost to Macedonia and been drubbed 5-0 at home to Belgium, Serbia cannot qualify directly for the World Cup and must run the table with their last three matches to have any hope of making it to Brazil. The Serbs are currently 9 points behind Croatia for the second spot in Group A, with matches coming against Macedonia and Wales. Croatia still has to play Belgium at home and Scotland on the road which is why Serbia still has a chance to make it to the playoffs. But first they will have to beat Croatia.

The club will be playing a mostly young squad with only two players over the age of 30 on the squad (Goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic and Defender Milan Bisevac.) The Serbian defense should provide quite the challenge for. Defenders Branislav Ivanovic, Aleksandr Kolarov, Matija Nastasic, and Neven Subotic all feature regularly for Chelsea, Manchester City, and Borussia Dortmund.  Croatia will need their attacking duo of Eduardo da Silva and Mario Mandzukic, who 2 goals each during Qualifying, to step up and help bury their rivals.

Sweden v Republic of Ireland (2:45PM GolTV)

Germany v Austria (2:40PM Univision, ESPN3)

With all due respect to the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan, Qualification in Group C has always been a four horse race. While one would assume that Germany would be leading the pack by a wide margin, the other three contenders (Austria, The Republic of Ireland, and Sweden) have all proven to be difficult opponents for the Germans. Sweden in particular, gave the Germans fits on defense in the 4-4 draw in Munich. With Germany leading the group with 16 points, and the other three teams tied with 11, the Germans could essentially win the group by beating Austria on Friday. The Germans still have an automatic three points against the Faroe Islands coming up and will have the Republic of Ireland at home in October.

Out of the other three teams vying for the second-place playoff berth, the Irish have the most difficult road ahead. Although they are tied with Sweden and Austria on points they are behind in goal differential by 2 (Sweden) and 8 (Austria) goals respectively. They also do not have any more matches against the Faroe Islands and will need to beat Sweden at home on Friday and get points on the road at either Austria or Germany. The 6-1 clobbering that the Republic of Ireland received at the hands of Germany and their 2-2 draw at home to Austria have nearly killed their World Cup campaign.

I have been really impressed with the work that Austria has put on during their last few matches. A team that seemed like it bottomed out during the 2012 European Championship Qualifiers, they have come back to life during this campaign, defeating Sweden and nearly getting a result from Germany. Their team has been led by Bayern Munich striker David Alaba, who has scored 4 goals in the tournament, including a critical goal that allowed them to get a result in Dublin against Ireland. If Austria can either get a result, or keep the game within reason, against Germany then they can set themselves up to make a run for either first or second place in the group.

Match Worth Scouring the Internet For

Jordan v Uzbekistan (Noon This is on a channel called One World Sports. I have no idea what that is, and chances 99% of Americans do not have it.)

I nearly chose the Ghana vs Zambia World Cup Qualifier but I am not even sure if that is being televised in Africa, let alone a feed from a T.V. Channel in some distant country. Which is a real shame because both Ghana and Zambia are very good teams. Having watched plenty of African football during the African Cup of Nations, I hope that more of their matches will be covered in the future.

The match between Jordan and Uzbekistan is interesting because the winner will play the fifth-place team CONMEBOL, which will in all likelihood be Uruguay or Venezuela. While one would think that the Asian teams would be at a disadvantage that is not always the case. Often with different styles and time and temperature changes you get interesting results like Australia defeating Uruguay to advance to the 2006 World Cup or Costa Rica nearly defeating Uruguay to enter the 2010 World Cup. So this match between Jordan and Uzbekistan is an important match for both sides. Neither side has ever made it this far in World Cup Qualifying so it would be huge for either country to advance on with the tournament.

Both teams have had their moments during qualifying. Jordan had some very impressive victories at home against Australia and Japan. It is off of those two victories, and defeating Oman in the final match, that the club found themselves in this position. Their defense has been very poor all tournament, allowing in 16 goals and only scoring 7. In particular, the 6-0 defeat at the hands of Japan stands out as their worst performance.

Unlike Jordan, Uzbekistan features one of the best defenses in all of Asia. Having only allowed in 6 goals all tournament, they were able to secure this playoff match by defeating Iran 1-0 in Tehran and managing to lose only 1-0 to South Korea in Seoul. For minnows like Uzbekistan it is critical to minimize the damage when they go on the road so that goal differential does not become a factor.  Their top player is Captain Server Djerperov, who plays in the South Korean domestic league with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. Djerperov was instrumental in the victory over Iran, setting up Forward Ulugbek Bakayev for the winning goal.

Wait, This Match Is Actually Happening?

Belarus versus Kyrgyzstan (Internet)

One of the funny things that happen during international match days is that inevitably there are a few teams that will be left out of the World Cup Qualifying fun. It is during this illustrious time period that we, the soccer fans, get Canada versus Mauritania, Japan versus Guatemala, and this gem of a match. In one corner, you have Kyrgyzstan ranked 135^th in the world whose World Cup dreams ended in 2011 after having been thrashed 7-0 in two matches against the aforementioned Uzbekistan. There are a couple of players that play in the lower levels of Ukrainian football, but for the most part all of their players play in the Kyrgyzstani league.

While Kyrgyzstan may be out of World Cup Qualifying, Belarus is still in the heat of it. And by the heat of it I mean trying to avoid catastrophe against France and Spain in Group H. While they did secure a victory against the mighty Georgia and a draw against Finland, France and Spain have crushed Belarus to the tune of 7-1 in two matches. With two matches coming up against France and Spain, I am not really sure what insight Belarus will get from playing the likes of Kyrgyzstan. Perhaps a morale boost is needed before they get thrashed by two of the best teams in the world.

(Author’s Note: My apologies on getting this out a little late. Any time that your kickball team loses 20-1, you need a night to drink cheap beers and play darts. )

Having watched a few tournaments in my time, I have to say that this has so far been one of the most exciting set of first round games that I have ever seen in a soccer tournament, let alone the Gold Cup. With teams like Panama and Martinique pulling off upsets, Haiti playing two very solid games, and Chris Wondlowski finally scoring some goals for the United States, it appears that this tournament is only going to get better as we get closer to the final. So with that in mind, here are a few of my thoughts as we enter the second and third games of group play:

#1The depth of CONCACAF, both in terms of players and teams, has never been stronger.

For me the true barometer of how far CONCACAF, and the United States national team, has come can be directly correlated back to the 1990 World Cup. Before the 1990 World Cup here are the top teams in CONCACAF: Mexico and ? While Costa Rica and Honduras would make the occasional World Cup appearance, the talent pool in the Confederation was small. Now with the rise of the United States and Costa Rica as dominant powers in the region, and teams like El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Panama improving, this Confederation is the strongest that it has ever been.

When I watched Haiti-Honduras the other night, one of the things that really caught my eye was how much their styles reflected their former European owners. Haiti plays WITH A French mentality, one of that relies on physical strength in the their forwards and defenders and gives the creative controls to the midfield. Meanwhile, Honduras tries to play the tika-taka Spanish style, lulling their opponents to sleep with possession and then scoring with a certain moment of brilliance. Smaller nations for years have employed coaches from various European countries to install these European styles, mostly with limited success. But what is different this time is that it seems to be working.

Having more quality teams in CONCACAF can only improve the overall play in the tournament, but also strengthen the top teams as well. It does the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica no good to beat teams 7-0. Playing against quality competition will only make the top team’s players better. Even having a sparring partner like Martinique, who cannot play in the FIFA World Cup because they are still a part of the French Republic, who can field a capable side and play some good football is an asset to CONCACAF.

Although there are still some minnows like Belize and Cuba swimming around, there are many more big fish in the CONCACAF fish bowl.

#2The effect of Major League Soccer on CONCACAF cannot be understated

Major League Soccer often gets criticized for not being European enough, for not producing the next great superstar, and for not being as fun to watch as the best leagues in the world. While the style of play is certainly not like La Liga, and the teams in MLS may not be on par with the top European clubs, I would beg to differ on it not being able to produce quality players. If you look at the lineups of all of the teams playing in this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, only three teams do not have a player that either currently plays for has played for an MLS Club: Cuba (which is impossible given the embargo,) Mexico, and Belize. Anytime I have turned on the Gold Cup the past few days, I have seen an MLS goalkeeper make an amazing save (Nick Rimando-U.S.A./Real Salt Lake,) score an amazing goal (Jairo Arrieta-Costa Rica/Columbus Crew,) set up a game winning goal (Frederic Piquionne-Martinique/Portland,) or act like a magician in the midfield (Andy Najar- Honduras/formerly with D.C. United.) Of the 17 players who have scored in the Gold Cup so far this year, 7 of them have played in Major League Soccer.

It seems that because Major League Soccer scouts and signs players all throughout the region, that they are able to buy the best players and give them excellent training and eventually make them better players. This kind of ties into my first observation in that if these players are playing at a higher level, that they will pass those skills that they have learned back to their National Team, which will in turn make them play better. Even if the players do not play in Major League Soccer, the fact that there is another quality league to play against in the CONCACAF Champions League (the North and Central America equivalent to the UEFA Champions League) will make players who play for Monterrey and Marathon better.

The resources and effort that Major League Soccer has placed on development of the beautiful game has not only benefited the United States, but the entire CONCACAF region.

#3 I would hate to put too much emphasis on two games, but Mexico is in deep trouble.

When I first started researching this Mexico squad, I thought it was a great opportunity for the team to breathe some new life into their squad. Manager Jose de la Torre brought in a lot of players who lacked experience on the national team level, but had shown in Liga MX that they were quality players looking for the right opportunities. I thought that these players would play with a little more attitude and a lot less entitlement. I was wrong.

I am not sure who that team playing Panama was last Sunday, but it certainly did not look like the Mexico team that I had grown to know and love (and sometimes loathe when they were beating the United States.) They had absolutely no imagination in the midfield, their forwards looked lost, and their defense could not stop a Panama team that did not have its best player, Blas Perez. The Mexico team that I had always known were mentally tough, who always seemed to keep themselves in the game, and would always prey on another team’s mistake. Panama missed at least 5 gimme goals, and where in the past Mexico would seize the opportunity and crush their opponent’s spirit, this team instead allowed a goal late in the first half to go behind 2-1.

They did look a bit better in the game against Canada. They were spreading the ball out on the flank much better and were to get more quality balls into Marco Fabian. But even in the Canada match, they still looked to be a bit outclassed by a Canadian team that they should be demolishing by 4 or 5 goals.

In a competition where teams like Panama and Haiti have shown that they are improving greatly, and where the United States has shown that they have good depth, it seems like Mexico still has yet to show up.

#4 Canada is by far the worst team in the entire Gold Cup

While it would be easy to point out that Belize and Cuba were beaten by much wider margins in their games against the United States and Costa Rica, Canada has given a much worse performance. Belize and Cuba are both minnows and were beaten by teams that are two of the best in CONCACAF and the world. Canada lost to Martinique, who let’s give them full credit played an amazing, but rarely plays friendlies or in tournaments. It is astonishing how bad Canada really is. You would figure that a country that invests very heavily in their soccer academies, who has seen three MLS clubs develop young Canadian talent, and who has some European-based players could be able to put on a better performance than this.

With every other team, there is at least one facet of their game that I could say was playing pretty well. Even Mexico has seen players like Marco Fabian and Goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco play quite well. The only two players that I can honestly say of Canada’s that have even put in a marginally good performance are Rusell Teibert and Will Johnson. They look like they are at least trying on the pitch. After Martinique scored, it looked the team almost knew that this was coming. Perhaps they did: During the match they had been outshot 27-8, even though they had 59 percent of the possession.

It would be easy to say that all of the play goes to the players, but I think a lion’s share of the blame goes to the Canadian Football Association. For some reason, Canada only hired their new coach, , a few weeks ago leaving and he is not even actually coaching the team in the Gold Cup. The team is actually being coached by an interim manager, Greg Sutton the former Toronto F.C. Goalkeeper. While I would have no problem if Canada was just playing a friendly match, this is Canada’s biggest tournament for the next two years! They are already out of World Cup qualifying, and the next Gold Cup is not until 2015.

It is a disgrace the attitude that the Canadian F.A. has shown this tournament. While it is true that the United States and Mexico are fielding “B” level squads, these are the two powers of CONCACAF and they can field a quality squad based off of their reserve players. So can Honduras, who is mostly using domestic-based players. But Canada is a dreadful team who could have used this tournament to build something. Instead they will be put out of their misery on Sunday when Panama beats them, and the soccer world will continue to wonder when Canada will get their act together.

#5 The play of Kevin Olimpia and Shane Orio has been remarkable

It would be easy to give the name of any one of the strikers who has scored a goal in the Gold Cup and claim that they are the breakout players of the tournament. But for me it has been the play of two of the smallest countries goalkeepers, Kevin Olimpia of Martinique and Shane Orio of Belize that have truly surprised me the most.

Having watch a little bit of each coming into the tournament, I knew that both of these players would be good, I just did not think that they would be this good. What has impressed me the most is their ability to hold off some of CONCACAF’s best strikers. Olimpia was able to stop all of Blas Perez’s shots during the Panama match, and only allowed a goal on a penalty kick that was created off of a ridiculous challenge in the 90^th minute.  He has kept his team in both games and set Martinique up nicely to qualify for the next round.

As for Olimpia, it may seem odd to go credit to a goalkeeper that allowed in 6 goals, but the performance that he gave in the first half against the U.S.A. was one of the better performance s I have seen from a goalkeeper in all of soccer this past year. He is a very technically efficient keeper: he makes himself bigger on one-on-one opportunities to shrink the strikers shooting window, he reads plays very well, and he is able to recover rebounds very effectively. As I said in the preview for Belize, this is a squad that is largely made up of members of the armed services and police force of Belize. They only have two professionals on the squad. Yet the performance that they showed against the United States should be commended. In particular they play of Shane Orio.

Group A has heavy weight Mexico, good Panama, a YOUNG Canada, and surprise Martinique. Mexico better roll in every game as their manager is sitting on a really hot seat at the moment. Canada is in search of direction so they are playing an extremely young squad. Panama is still in the race for the World Cup but need to find some more depth for further success. Martinique is happy to be here and willing to upset the apple cart if they can, remember Cape Verde in the African Cup of Nations? Winners: Mexico, Runner-up: Panama, 3rd and possibly in quarterfinals: Canada, Last: Martinique

Group B is the best of the three with El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Trinidad and Tobago. For Honduras the focus is building more depth for a side  that could seriously make the World Cup. Haiti sees themselves as being able to take the mantle of best in the Caribbean from Jamaica, who didn’t make the Gold Cup, and will see this side as one who will be ready to make a push and develop over the next few years. El Salvador is kicking themselves for not making the hexagonal but with a very young side will look for the future to build on. Trinidad and Tobago made the hexagonal in qualification for 2010 but missed a generation so are having to rebuild and will look to this tournament for assisting in that. Winners: El Salvador, Runner-up: Honduras, 3rd and possibly in quarterfinals: Haiti, Last: Trinidad and Tobago.

Group C is like A with a heavy weight in the USA, a newcomer in Belize, with Costa Rica looking for qualifying depth, and Cuba just looking for something. Cuba is a weird one. They do well at making youth tournaments for a county that is very much baseball and boxing first. They always seem to have a player defect during the tournament but are one of the best in the Caribbean. Whenever Communism falls on this island and helps develop soccer they could become formidable indeed. This is just a looking for depth USA team that has a lot of players who have been out of the loop, play in smaller leagues, or just have had recent bad luck. Enough said. Belize is making their first major tournament as they did so and caused Guatemala to miss out. Costa Rica is looking for more players to help in qualification. With the hex as it usually is that leaves few places in Brazil outside the USA and Mexico. Winners: USA, Runner-up: Costa Rica, 3rd and possibly in quarterfinals: Cuba, Last: Belize

Best Group Stage Match: Honduras v El Salvador, as much history as the football itself. In 1969, after a World Cup qualifier playoff game that was won by El Salvador and had massive violence surrounding the previous two matches that the playoff was played in Mexico City.

Quarterfinal matchups:

Panama v Honduras: Each team will need this for the same reasons, to find more depth for their ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign. Honduras seems to have more talent but Panama the better squad cohesion. Going with Honduras in a talent comes through.

Mexico v Haiti: Should Haiti make a massive upset there would be riots all over Mexico and a certain few head will roll and be on spikes or worse. But honestly the talent is so vast in diversity that it would be farcical to say Haiti would win. Mexico through.

United States v Canada: In hockey this would be a different story but this is soccer. Since 1986 the fortunes of Canada and USA have gone in opposite directions. Canada will be happy with their quarterfinal appearance but no shot against the US unless this was played in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, or Edmonton. USA through.

Costa Rica v El Salvador: This is a fun one. Costa Rica is looking to find more depth while El Salvador is trying to usher in a new generation. The distinct advantage El Salvador will have will be they could fill M&T Bank Stadium and make the 12 man felt. Need an upset somewhere. El Salvador through

Semifinals:

Mexico v Honduras: Mexico has the better talent but if they don’t make the final it is because Honduras finds it in them to replicate what they did against Mexico early in the year and possibly one better, a 2-2 draw in Honduras. Common wisdom says Mexico will find a way to get a winner but this will be the most nerve racking of the semifinals. Mexico through.

USA v Costa Rica: the United States will see this as just another step in asserting their dominance of the region as they pry it away from Mexico. Costa Rica will give them all they can handle but it will be more of the same from the group stage match. USA through.

Finals: The big two will go at it again and depending on what comes from an all Liga MX side and the pressure their coach is under will mean what kind of opposition the US will face. The States gained so much confidence from winning at Azteca last August and the draw in March. Mexico has totally lost the mojo they had coming away from the Olympics. As feisty as this usually is the relatively inexperienced Mexican side will have difficulties dealing with the enormous pressure. USA as Champions

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The U.S. men’s national team played to a scoreless draw against Mexico yesterday in a sold-out Azteca Stadium. The U.S. gained an important point in qualifying, which places them third in-group standings.

 Panama leads the pack in first with Costa Rica following in second. The scoreless draw against the U.S. marks Mexico’s third straight draw in qualifying, which places them fifth in the pool.

Although El Tri controlled most of the possession, they had an unlucky night with several missed chances and several fouls that were not called in favor of Mexico.  Less than half an hour into the match, both back-line players DaMarcus Beasley and Matt Besler were in a dangerous position after picking up yellow cards early in the half.

Klinsmann once again started with a 4-2-3-1 formation last night after testing it out against Costa Rica. With Jermaine Jones out after sustaining an ankle injury against Costa Rica, Maurice Edu was brought in to partner with Bradley in the midfield. Edu missed his opportunity to make himself present last night and was not able to catch up to the Mexican’s pace.

Klinsmann made another change to the line-up last night, which included adding Matt Besler to the central back-line. The start gave the Sporting Kansas player his second cap with the stars and stripes.

My man of the match honors go to both Brad Guzan and Michael Bradley. Both players gave a solid performance. Guzan made some major saves for the U.S. last night, which will serve to grow the U.S. fans’ faith in the future of the goalkeeping position after Howard. As usual Bradley was a standout last night getting most of the touches last night while also being active defensively.

The U.S. will once again be on the road on June 7^th for a qualifying match against Jamaica.

Should fans be happy with a scoreless draw?

For the United States a tough start to qualifying as three of their first four matches are on the road.  What is of note is that the dates against Mexico on the road and at home are different than in the last few qualifying cycles. Instead of a visit to Estadio Azteca in the summer months a more manageable trip during March than in the heat of summer.

The United States begins their qualification journey with a trip to San Pedro Sula, Honduras on February 22. In late March, the 22, the first home match is against Costa Rica followed by the all important trip to Mexico City on the 26. Into June and three matches which can make the journey to Brazil easy or otherwise; the 7th in Kingston at Jamaica, the 11th home to Panama, the 18th home to Honduras. Into September, the 6th, a visit to San Jose, Costa Rica and the new Chinese built and financed Estadio National de Costa Rica before the crucial home match against Mexico on the 10th. In October as qualifying concludes hosting Jamaica occurs on the 11th before the finale at Panama on the 15th.

Other matches of note, aside from the always highlighted USA-Mexico matches, the Clasico Centroamericano, between Costa Rica and Honduras, is first in Costa Rica on June 7th then the reverse fixture in Honduras on October 11th.