[Soccer] WC 2010 Qualifying Games CONCACAF 9/5 and 9/9

I agree with your shoe-ins, but I believe Davies and Clarke are sure 2010 players. Wow... I thought you'd have Freddy Adu in your list... I thought he was the next US phenom... what happened?

That was Clarke's first score and it came at the right time. I am proud to call him a Dynamo. In regards to the game, the ref stole that penalty kick from the U.S. in the first few minutes on that slide save to the corner by the Trinidad defender. I thought it was a sure foul there. Even though Trinidad had some sure shots and Howard saved them, it was tighter than the way the score ended up. Aren't you glad I was wrong about the score?

El Salvador. What can I say...? I expected you to beat the Ticos fair and square... I know they're going down and you should continue to fight. I don't know about beating Mexico at Azteca though... you think we might throw the game so you can go? I don't think so. Good luck, though. You need at least 4 points to tie CRC and for them to lose. Tough chances await you.

I am satisfied [for México] to come out with a win, but this is not how it's supposed to be. There will always be an argument as to how we can score. We have good attackers and passers and enough technical skills to get it done... but we shouldn't wait until the referee calls a foul for a penalty. Granted, Valladares had some awesome stops to take goals away from Blanco and Sabah in the first half, and Ochoa did the same to save what otherwise would have given Honduras a go ahead score in the second half. Noticing how he kept the ball away from the Honduran team when the score was secure shows the reason why he was needed. Up front, Gio did his job and got through to the penalty area. I believe that was a good call. Blanco's skill and experience, again, are key to this team. I would have liked to see Nery's skill one-on-one with Honduras this time... I think he would have scored easily.

See, the stand-back-and-wait-to-counterattack trick has been overplayed. I believe we have finally figured out how to defend a sure counter with the current midfielders and the defenders who don't give up to the first attack. Costly and Guevara tried it with no success. You won't beat anyone in the World Cup with that style of play, and it makes it boring. Do you win games? Maybe. Do you get criticized for the cowardly ways you play and would people start hating you for it? Yes. Ask Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda.

Here are Honduras' options: beat the U.S. and let Mexico sit alone up on top of the group, or lose to U.S. and go play the CONMEBOL fourth place. It's plain and simple. With El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago there to fight for 4th and spoilers respectively, Mexico will not have much trouble having Franco and Vela back. Heck, we might even let Blanco take a break .

 

Julio-R-, yeah... let's talk about something... isn't it more fun to see an attacking, well-skilled game than a loose-ball free-for-all game like the one played at Port-Au-Spain last night? I will try to argue with you and say that maybe it hasn't been since the last two games, but since the last 5 games (at Costa Rica).

Also, why won't they give Adu a chance and call him? He seems to be even more fun to watch than the ones who currently play loosey-goosey with Donovan. If he doesn't get enough playing time with his own team, why not go back to MLS and start for someone in need? How do you explain FRANCO in Mexico not playing in a club team but getting to even start for the team, and Omar Bravo not being in a club and still getting a call for these first few games ? If you don't want to give up a spot, I can understand... what happened to him?

Also, I meant in QUALIFIERS for Clark. I heard Schwartz say this last night and failed to add this. To help your country in advancing to the World Cup is more important, I think, than just scoring in friendlies.

Here is the standings table after this round:<table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"><tbody><tr><th width="165"><div style="text-align: center; position: relative; white-space: nowrap;">Team</div></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Played">Pld</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Won">W</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Drawn">D</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Lost">L</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Goals for">GF</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Goals against">GA</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Goal difference">GD</span></th><th width="25"><span style="border-bottom: 1px dotted; cursor: help;" title="Points">Pts</span></th></tr><tr style="background:blue; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;"><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="12" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national_soccer_team" title="United States men's national soccer team">United States</a></td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>14</td><td>9</td><td>+5</td><td><b>16</b></td></tr><tr style="background:blue; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;"><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/22px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="13" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/Mexico_national_football_team" title="Mexico national football team">Mexico</a></td><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>12</td><td>9</td><td>+3</td><td><b>15</b></td></tr><tr style="border-bottom: 3px solid green;"><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Flag_of_Honduras.svg/22px-Flag_of_Honduras.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="11" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/Honduras_national_football_team" title="Honduras national football team">Honduras</a></td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>14</td><td>8</td><td>+6</td><td><b>13</b></td></tr><tr style="border-bottom: 3px solid blue;"><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Flag_of_Costa_Rica.svg/22px-Flag_of_Costa_Rica.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="13" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica_national_football_team" title="Costa Rica national football team">Costa Rica</a></td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>13</td><td>−4</td><td><b>12</b></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Flag_of_El_Salvador.svg/22px-Flag_of_El_Salvador.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="12" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/El_Salvador_national_football_team" title="El Salvador national football team">El Salvador</a></td><td>8</td><td>2</td><td>2</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>−2</td><td><b>8</b></td></tr><tr style="background:red; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;"><td style="text-align: left;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Flag_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.svg/22px-Flag_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="13" width="22">&nbsp;</span><a href="/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_national_football_team" title="Trinidad and Tobago national football team">Trinidad and Tobago</a></td><td>8</td><td>1</td>
<td>2</td><td>5</td><td>8</td><td>18</td><td>−8</td><td><b>5</b></td></tr></tbody></table>
RED is eliminated. Blue means qualified for at least a CONMEBOL playoff spot.

After the 1-3 start, everyone was laughing at my team. We're certainly not stinking it up now.