Race to Brazil hots up

We're roughly halfway to the next World Cup with 31 places still up for grabs. Europe, Oceania and the Americas have just been in action.

The competition in Europe, which has the lion's share of final qualifiers (13) is now beginning to thin out with some clear water emerging between the competing nations.

In Group A, Belgium and Croatia are tied at the top following comfortable wins over Scotland and Wales respectively.

Italy are in pole position in Group B after beating Denmark in Milan 3-1. The Azzurri are four points clear of second-placed Bulgaria.

The strangest match in Europe saw Sweden claw back a 4-0 deficit in Berlin to draw 4-4 with Germany in their Group C clash. When Mesut Ozil scored Germany's fourth in the 56th minute, all seemed lost for Erik Hamren's team.

But a Zlatan Ibrahimovic header just after the hour mark heralded an extraordinary comeback, capped by Rasmus Elm's equalising drive in the 92nd minute. Germany had never looked so stunned.



The Netherlands continued their 100% record with a 4-1 victory in Romania to top Group D and Switzerland maintained a three-point lead over Norway in Group E with victory in Iceland.

Russia enjoy the healthiest lead in Europe in Group F, five points clear of Israel and Portugal, who could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Northern Ireland. Bosnia & Herzegovina top Group G on goal difference from Greece, and in Group H Montenegro kept up the pressure ith a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Kiev to draw level on points with England, whose game in Warsaw was rained off.

Like Germany, world champions Spain were also victims of a late lapse in concentration, allowing Olivier Giroud to head an injury-time equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw for France in Madrid. The two countries are now tied with seven points from three games in Group I.

With Brazil hosting in 2014, the fight for the four and a half places in South America is a little easier.As it stands, Argentina are well on their way three points clear of Ecuador and four ahead of Colombia before a four point gap to Venezuela, Uruguay and Chile.



CONCACAF's final round is now set with the three automatic qualifiers to come from Mexico, the USA, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama. Wins for the States and Jamaica on the final day edged out Guatemala on goal difference, while Canada failed to make it through after an 8-1 mauling in Honduras.

In Oceania, New Zealand and New Caledonia are running away with it, with the All-Whites leading the Pacific Islanders by three points after four games. The two meet in Wellington on the 22nd of March and the group winner will play off against the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF for a place in Brazil.

In Asia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran sit in the automatic qualification spots after four matches, with Oman and Uzbekistan poised to playoff the fifth-placed South American side.

Africa does not resume until March.

BRAZIL 2014's final 32

• Hosts - Brazil
• Europe - 13
• Africa - 5
• Asia - 4.5
• North & Central America - 4.5
• South America - 4.5
• Oceania - 0.5

Top Scorers so far

• AFC- Younis Mahmoud (Iraq), Hassan Abdel Fattah (Jordan), Le Cong Vinh (Vietnam) 7
• CAF - Tresor Mputu (DR Congo) 4
• CONCACAF - Deon McCaulay (Belize) 11
• CONMEBOL - Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi (Argentina) 7
• Oceania - Georges Gope-Fenepej (New Caledonia) 8
• UEFA - Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herz), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Tomer Hemed (Israel) 5

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Tags

World Soccer football

USA shuts the Bradley chapter

The USA have fired Bob Bradley as their manager.

The New Jersey-born coach was relieved of his duties today after five years at the helm.

Last month's loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final proved his undoing, as the US had led 2-0 in that game before capitulating embarrassingly 4-2 and the defeat also meant they missed out on the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the group stage the USA had also lost a game to Panama, 67th in the FIFA World Rankings.

America's unexpected last-eight finish at the 2002 World Cup has set a perhaps unrealistic benchmark for future US elevens and compared to that unforgettable campaign in Korea, the national team has stagnated since.

Having taken over from Bruce Arena following the 2006 World Cup finals, Bradley led the US into the 2010 competition in South Africa, where his team beat Algeria with a dramatic last-gasp strike and drew with England and Slovenia to win the group, before they lost 2-1 to Ghana in the second round.

Under Bradley the US also won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007, which allowed his team its finest hour at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. There the Americans beat European Champions Spain 2-0 in the semi-final and led Brazil by the same score in the final, before going down 3-2 to a Kaka-inspired second half comeback.

Last summer Bradley was linked with Aston Villa and Fulham. He previously coached Chicago Fire, Chivas USA and the Metrostars in Major League Soccer. The 53 year-old leaves the US ranked 30th in the world, one place higher than when he took over in 2006. Their highest position under Bradley was 12th in August 2009 following the Confederations Cup.

Jurgen Klinsmann, who has run a soccer consultancy in California for some years now and was offered the job back in 2006, appears to be the favourite once more, although 38 year-old Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis is an outside bet.



(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Tags

World Cup Pens
World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football

Mexico strike Gold in California

CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Mexico 4:2 USA

Bradley 8', Donovan 23'
Barrera 29' & 50', Guardado 36', Dos Santos 76'

Mexico overturned a two-goal deficit to retain their status as champions of North & Central America following an action-packed win over the United States in Pasadena.

In front of a largely pro-Mexican crowd of 93,420 which left the Rose Bowl feeling more like the Azteca, the USA stormed into a 2-0 advantage after Michael Bradley headed Freddy Adu's corner in after eight minutes and Landon Donovan coolly slotted home Clint Dempsey's deft through-ball a quarter of an hour later. Donovan celebrated by mimicking a chicken, a mocking reference to the contaminated fowl Mexico had blamed for returning five positive drug tests shortly before the tournament.

Unlike in 2009 when the more lucrative pull of the FIFA Confederations Cup saw the US field a B-team in the Gold Cup, Bob Bradley picked a strong starting eleven with Donovan the sole MLS representative.

But a crucial injury early on to experienced full-back Steve Cherundolo left Jonathan Bornstein, who plays his football for Tigres in Mexico, and Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj, who spent last season on loan at Leeds, holding the backline together. Their inexperience proved costly as the US left several gaps which were exploited by raiding Mexicans. Tactically, the Americans proved their own worst enemy by gambling on maintaining an open game when two goals to the good.

Bornstein was caught out of position when Pablo Barrera pulled one back just short of the half-hour, the West Ham man finding the time and space to fire past Tim Howard from Israel Castro's defence-splitting lance.

With 36 minutes gone the American cushion had evaporated.

Giovani Dos Santos was again a tormentor supreme, running onto Castro's chip before teasing Bornstein and whipping in a cross which Lichaj could only knock into the path of Andres Guardado for an easy tap-in.

So dangerous was Dos Santos in a Mexican shirt, that once more it raised the question of why he cannot find a place in Tottenham Hotspur's first-team squad.

The former Barcelona starlet has been on the North London club's books since 2008 but has only made ten appearances, spending more time on loan at Ipswich, Galatasaray and last season, at Racing Santander in Spain.

Barrera netted his second and Mexico's third five minutes after the break with the goal of the game. Having peeled away from Carlos Bocanegra on the edge of the box, he met Guardado's diagonal assist first-time with a classy hit from the outside of his boot which left Howard clutching air.

Now the US had to play catch-up. Bocanegra crashed the box at a set-piece as he does so well but guided his header inches wide of the upright. And when Dempsey curled a shot against the crossbar with goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera rooted to the spot just short of the hour it looked like it was not going to be the US' day.

The ebullient Dos Santos clinched the cup fourteen minutes from time as he ran onto Gerardo Torrado's incisive ball and smuggled it from Howard's despairing lunges. He then led a host of white shirts on a merry-dance through the box before lobbing the lot of them with a spectacular finish worthy of a tournament-decider.

Chicharito failed to get on the day's scoresheet but ended up player of the tournament (MVP) and top scorer with seven goals.

The defeat was doubly sour for the US as it means there will be no repeat of their 2009 Confederations Cup heroics when they beat Spain and led Brazil 2-0 in the final before succumbing 3-2.

Instead, Mexico join hosts Brazil, Spain and Japan as qualifiers in the eight-team tournament in June 2013. The winners of the 2011 Copa America, Euro 2012, the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the 2013 African Cup of Nations will complete the line-up.

The Gold Cup remains somewhat of an oddity for several reasons: It is biennial instead of every four years, has had guest teams almost win it before and its only two strong sides invariably make it to the final, unless a superior tournament robs them of their first-teamers.

When as this year it hands the winners passage to the next Confederations Cup however, it is taken seriously. It is always held in one country (the USA) but as on Sunday, the volume of Latino expat support can leave the host nation feeling like it is playing tough away games.

Tim Howard was less than impressed by the Spanish-language trophy presentation:

"CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," he fumed. "I think it's a f*****g disgrace...You can bet your ass if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English."

For a region turned upside-down this month through internecine conflict ending in the resignation of its notorious boss Jack Warner, there was at least an exciting game of football to remind everyone what it should all be about.

USA: Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Steve Cherundolo (Jonathan Bornstein 11'), Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya (Juan Agudelo 63'), Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu (Sacha Kljestan 86').

Mexico: Alfredo Talavera, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido (Torres 28'), Hector Moreno, Andres Guardado, Gerado Torrado, Israel Castro, Pablo Barrera, Efrain Juarez, Giovani Dos Santos, Javier Hernandez.

Shots on target: USA 4, Mexico 8
Possession: USA 46%, Mexico 54%

Att: 93,420



(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile

Tags

World Cup Pens
World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football