Some Soccer News for Wed Feb 29, 2012

STARTERS

Something extremely fishy went down in Bahrain today as they needed to win, have Qatar lose, and overcome a -8 goal differential to advance in Asian World Cup qualifying. And in the dying moments of their games Bahrain were up 10-0 with Qatar losing 2-1. Do you think authorities won't be looking into match fixing allegations?
-Bahrain's opponent Indonesia saw a player red carded in the 2nd minute and were called for 4 penalties.
-Qatar pulled out a last second 2-2 tie to advance and send Bahrain packing.

dN

Claudio Reyna, Tony Meola, Des Armstrong and Tony DiCicco were announced as the next member of the Soccer Hall of Fame.

TEAM USA

International Friendly
-Wed Feb 29
Italy v USA - 1:45pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris - Genoa

dN

USA roster
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Clarence Goodson - Brondby
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham
M:
Michael Bradley - Chievo
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht
Brek Shea - Dallas
Danny Williams - Hoffenheim
F:
Jozy Altidore - AZ
Terrence Boyd - Dortmund
Edson Buddle - LA Galaxy
Clint Dempsey - Fulham

dN

Italy Roster
G:
Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus
Morgan De Sanctis - Napoli
Salvatore Sirigu - Paris St Germain
Emiliano Viviano - Palermo
D:
Ignazio Abate - Milan
Davide Astori - Cagliari
Federico Balzaretti - Palermo
Andrea Barzagli - Juventus
Leonardo Bonucci - Juventus
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus
Domenico Criscito - Zenit St. Petersburg
Christian Maggio - Naples
Angelo Ogbonna - Torino
M:
Daniele De Rossi - Roma
Claudio Marchisio - Juventus
Riccardo Montolivo - Fiorentina
Thiago Motta - Paris St Germain
Antonio Nocerino - Milan
Andrea Pirlo - Juventus
F:
Fabio Borini - Roma
Sebastian Giovinco - Parma
Alessandro Matri - Juventus
Giampaolo Pazzini - Inter

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Tue Feb 28 - new music mix at Spotify.

STORY OF THE DAY

Simor Kuper writing for Mio Stadium about the threat of matchfixing.

FIFASCANDALIZATIONINGS

Trinidad & Tobago news site Wired868 responds to the lawsuit that Jack Warner has threatened to file against them.

DID YOU KNOW?

Brian Sciaretta of the New York Times does a Q & A with Carlos Bocanegra about his teams - the USA and Rangers.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Eslam Omar of Ahram writes about Bob Bradley and his Egyptian team who are set to face Niger in a friendly today.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Nike's new Brazil v Brazil ad, featuring several great guest stars like Ronaldo and Anderson Silva. And Javier Mascherano?!?!






















MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Jeff Maurer of the Washington Post examines commissioner Don Garbers recent State Of The League address and comes up with some solutions of his own.
(NOTE: Satire involved)

MLSSoccer.com Season Previews

New York Red Bulls

Portland Timbers

Chicago Fire
San Jose Earthquakes
DC United
Club Deportivo Chivas USA
Toronto Football Club
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club
New England Revolution

COLORADO RAPIDS

Former Raps forward Caleb Forlan has signed with Birmingham in England.

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Post with an article on centerback Emiliano Dudar who suffered a horrible head injury while playing for his last team.
-And the latest team notes.

MLS PRESEASON SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:

-Tue Feb 28
Costa Rica U20 0-3 Philadelphia Union - PU goals by Chandler Hoffman, Roger Torres & Antoine Hoppenot.
Venue: Costa Rica

-Wed Feb 29
Community Shield: Sounders Sounders v Chiapas Jaguares(Mexico) - FREE admission!
Venue: CenturyLink Field - Seattle WA

dN

Coming up:

-Thu Mar 1
Belen v Philadelphia Union
Venue: Costa Rica

dN

Preaseson Tournaments

Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic - Feb 24-Mar 3
Venue: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex - Orlando FL

2 of 4 rounds have been played.

Group 1
6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+4)
2 Sporting Kansas City (0)
1 Houston Dynamo (-1)
1 Montreal Impact (-3)
Group 2
4 FC Dallas (+4)
4 Toronto FC (+2)
1 BK Hacken (Sweden) (-2)
1 Orlando City SC (USL Pro) (-4)

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Feb 24
Sporting Kansas City 0-0 Houston Dynamo
Montreal Impact 0-3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC - VW goals by Eric Hassli, Darren Mattocks & Sebastien Le Toux(PK).
-Sat Feb 25
Orlando City SC 2-2 Toronto FC - OC goals by John Rooney(PK) & Kevin Molino. TFC goals by Miguel Aceval & Torsten Frings.
BK Hacken 1-1 FC Dallas - BKH goal by Mattias Ostberg. FCD goal by Fabian Castillo.
-Sun Feb 26
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 Houston Dynamo - VW goal by Sebastien Le Toux(PK).
Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Montreal Impact - SKC goal by Soony Saad. MI goal by Mike Fucito.
-Tue Feb 28
Toronto FC 3-1 BK Hacken - TFC goals by Ryan Johnson, Moises Ororzco & Joao Plata. BKH goal by Andreas Drugge(PK).
Orlando City SC 0-4 FC Dallas - FCD goals by David Ferreira(PK), Fabian Castillo, Blas Perez & Andrew Wiedeman.
-Wed Feb 29
Sporting Kansas City v Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Houston Dynamo v Montreal Impact
-Thu Mar 1
Toronto FC v FC Dallas
Orlando City SC v BK Hacken
-Sat Mar 3
Consolation Game
G1-1 v G2-1
Championship Game
G1-2 v G2-2

dN

Jeld-Wen Field Tournament - Feb 27-Mar4
Venue: Jeld-Wen Field - Portland OR

Standings:
3 Allmanna IdrottsKlubben (Sweden) (+2)
1 Portland Timbers (0)
1 San Jose Earthquakes (0)
0 CD Chivas USA (-2)

-Mon Feb 27
CD Chivas USA 0-2 AIK - AIK goals by Viktor Lundberg & Lalawele Atakora.
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Portland Timbers - SJE goal by Hayner Mosquera(OG). PT goal by Khalif Alhassan.
-Thu Mar 1
AIK v San Jose Earthquakes
CD Chivas USA v Portland Timbers
-Sun Mar 4
San Jose Earthquakes v CD Chivas USA
AIK v Portland Timbers

dN

The Desert Diamond Cup - Feb 22-Mar 3
Venue: Kino Stadium - Tuscon AZ

2 of 4 rounds played.

Standings:
6 New England Revolution (+3)
3 LA Galaxy (+1)
3 Real Salt Lake (-1)
0 New York Red Bulls (-3)

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Feb 22
LA Galaxy 2-3 New England Revolution - LAG goals by Edson Buddle & Mike Magee. NER goals by Benny Feilhaber, John Lozano & Jeremiah White.
Real Salt Lake 1-0 New York Red Bulls - RESL goal by Paulo Junior.
-Sat Feb 25
LA Galaxy 2-0 Real Salt Lake - LAG goals by Paolo Cardozo & Mike Magee.
New England Revolution 2-0 New York Red Bulls - NER goals both by Kelyn Rowe.
-Wed Feb 29
Real Salt Lake v New England Revolution
LA Galaxy v New York Red Bulls
-Sat Mar 3
Third place match
3 v 4
Final
1 v 2

dN

Carolina Challenge Cup - Feb 25-Mar 3
Venue: Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston SC

The first of 3 rounds is complete.

Standings:
3 DC United (+1)
1 Charleston Battery (0)
1 Columbus Crew (0)
0 Chicago Fire (-1)

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Feb 25
DC United 1-0 Chicago Fire - DCU goal by Hamdi Salihi.
Charleston Battery 2-2 Columbus Crew - CB goals by Dane Kelly & Jose Cuevas(PK). CC goals by Eddie Gaven & Mirovan Mirosevic(PK).
-Wed Feb 29
Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire
Charleston Battery v DC United
-Sat Mar 3
DC United v Columbus Crew
Charleston Battery v Chicago Fire

USA U23/OLYMPIC TEAM

Friendly
Match & Score:
-Wed Feb 29
USA U23 v Mexico - 9:00pm CT on TeleFutura (CHANGED).
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium - Frisco TX

US Soccer previews tonight's game.

Olympic qualifying begins Mar 22.

Roster
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Sean Johnson - Chicago Fire
D:
Greg Garza - Tijuana
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Alfredo Morales - Hertha Berlin
Ike Opara - San Jose Earthquakes
Kofi Sarkodie - Houston Dynamo
Zarek Valentin - Montreal Impact
Jorge Villafana - Chivas USA
M:
Joe Corona - Tijuana
Mix Diskerud - Gent
Dilly Duka - Columbus Crew
Jared Jeffrey - Mainz
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Michael Stephens - LA Galaxy
F:
Freddy Adu - Philadelphia Union
Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bulls
Teal Bunbury - Sporting Kansas City
Joe Gyau - Hoffenheim
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia Union
Tony Taylor - Estoril Praia

Mexico Roster
G:
Antonio Rodriguez - Veracruz
Liborio Sanchez - Queretaro
D:
Nestor Araujo - Cruz Azul
Darvin Chavez - Monterrey
Israel Jimenez - Tigres
Hiram Mier - Monterrey
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara
Hugo Rodriguez - Atlas
M:
Javier Aquino - Cruz Azul
Jahir Barraza - Atlas
Ricardo Bocanegra - Atlas
David Cabrera - UNAM
Jorge Enriquez - Guadalajara
Marco Fabian - Guadalajara
Hector Herrera - Pachuca
Diego Reyes - America
F:
Jeronimo Amione - Atlante
Javier Cortes - UNAM
Alan Pulido - Tigres

USA U20 TEAM

Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Feb 29
USA U20 v Montreal Impact reserves
Venue: both at Disney Wide World of Sports

Roster
G:
Tomas Gomez - Georgetown U
Jesus Guzman - Santos Laguna
Kamil Kaminski - Legia Warsaw
D:
AJ Cochran - U Wisconsin
Christian Dean - U California
Mobi Fehr - no club
Eric Miller - Creighton U
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - U North Carolina
Javan Torre - LA Galaxy Academy
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Seth Casiple - U California
Daniel Cuevas - Santos Laguna
Matt Dunn - OFK
Daniel Garcia - FC Dallas Academy
Alejandro Guido - no club
Benji Joya - Santos Laguna
Mikey Lopez - U North Carolina
Collin Martin - DC United Academy
Daniel Metzger - U Maryland
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
F:
Villyan Bijev - Fortuna Duesseldorf
Alfred Koroma - Solar Chelsea
Sean Okoli - Wake Forest U
Andrew Oliver - Chicago Fire Academy
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecap

AMERICANS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Michael Lewis of Big Apple with an article on young Nicholas Gaitan who recently signed with Boca Juniors.

CONCACAF

Paul Kennedy of Soccer America tells us about the first USA opponent in qualifying Antigua & Barbuda, and how they are building their team.
-Half of the team plays together regularly for Antigua Barracuda FC in the 3rd division USL Pro. Another chunk of the team plays in lower leagues in England.

International Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Feb 29
Italy v USA
Mexico v Colombia
Bolivia v Cuba
Guyana v Guatemala
Armenia v Canada
Antigua & Barbuda v Trinidad & Tobago
Ecuador v Honduras
New Zealand v Jamaica
El Salvador v Estonia
Wales v Costa Rica
Paraguay v Panama

SPAIN

Football Fashion has images of Spain's new second uniform, and it's pale blue.

AFRICA

African Cup of Nations 2013 Qualifying

Group Stage - Matchday 1

Matches & Scores:
Seychelles v Congo DR
Gambia v Algeria
Ethiopia v Benin
Guinea-Bissau v Cameroon
Madagascar v Cape Verde Islands
Malawi v Chad
Tanzania v Mozambique
Liberia v Namibia
Kenya v Togo
Rwanda v Nigeria
Sao Tome e Principe v Sierra Leone
Congo v Uganda
Burundi v Zimbabwe

dN

Standings

ASIA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Third Round - Matchday 6

Today was the last day of this round that will see 10 teams advance (the top 2 from each of 5 groups.)

Japan did lose to Uzbekistan today, but with N Korea also losing Japan was able to advance.

Here are the 10 who move on: Jordan A1, Iraq A2, S Korea B1, Lebanon B2, Uzbekistan C1, Japan C2, Australia D1, Oman D2, Iran E1 and Qatar E2.

The biggest teams knocked out are China, N Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Feb 29
Tajikistan 1-1 N Korea
Oman 2-0 Thailand
UAE 4-2 Lebanon
China 3-1 Jordan
Bahrain 10-0 Indonesia
Iraq 7-1 Singapore
Iran 2-2 Qatar
Japan 0-1 Uzbekistan
Australia 4-2 Saudi Arabia
S Korea 2-0 Kuwait

dN

Standings

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Feb 29
Spain v Venezuela
England v Netherlands
Germany v France
Italy v USA
Switzerland v Argentina
Poland v Portugal
Mexico v Colombia
Denmark v Russia
Antigua & Barbuda v Trinidad & Tobago
Armenia v Canada
Austria v Finland
Azerbaijan v Palestine
Bolivia v Cuba
Chile v Ghana
Cote d'Ivoire v Guinea
Croatia v Sweden
Cyprus 0-0 Serbia
Ecuador v Honduras
Egypt v Niger
El Salvador v Estonia
Georgia 2-1 Albania
Greece v Belgium
Guyana v Guatemala
Hong Kong 5-1 Chinese Taipei
Hungary v Bulgaria
Ireland v Czech Republic
Israel v Ukraine
Latvia 0-0 Kazakhstan
Luxembourg v Macedonia
Malta v Liechtenstein
Moldova v Belarus
Montenegro v Iceland
Morocco v Burkina Faso
New Zealand 2-3 Jamaica
Northern Ireland v Norway
Palestine 2-0 Azerbaijan
Paraguay v Panama
Philippines 1-1 Malaysia
Romania v Uruguay
Slovenia v Scotland
South Africa v Senegal
Tunisia v Peru
Turkey v Slovakia
Wales v Costa Rica