World Cup Qualifying: Team USA Finally Wins One In Guatemala

The third stage of qualifying from the CONCACAF region for the 2010 FIFA World Cup commenced Wednesday:

Group A Play:

At Havana, Cuba:

Goals from Keon Daniel (27', 61') and Cornell Glen (66') led Trinidad and Tobago to a 3-1 road win over Cuba.

At Guatemala City:

In a match that ended with both teams down to 10 men because of red-card ejections, the United States, for the first time ever, won a World Cup qualifying match in Guatemala, defeating the hosts 1-0 as Carlos Bocanegra scored the game's only goal in the 69th minute.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Trinidad and Tobago (GP:1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. United States (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Guatemala (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Cuba (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

In Group B play:

At Toronto:

Canadian goalkeeper's Pat Onstad's own goal at 52 minutes enabled visiting Jamaica to gain a 1-1 road draw versus Canada. Julian de Guzman provided the lone Canadian goal at 47 minutes.

At Mexico City:

Pavel Pardo's double (73', 75') lifted Mexico to a come-from-behind 2-1 home win over Honduras.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Mexico (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Canada (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
Jamaica (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Honduras (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

Group C play:

At Port-Au-Prince, Haiti:

Late, and I do mean late, goals from Frantz Gilles (90') and Fucien Brunel (90'+5) propelled Haiti to come back from two goals down to gain a 2-2 home deadlock with Suriname, whose goals came from Wensley Christoph (31', 45'+1)

At San Jose, Costa Rica:

Alvaro Saborio scored the game's only goal (49') as Costa Rica defeated El Salvador 1-0 at home.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Costa Rica (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Suriname (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
Haiti (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. El Salvador (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)

The top two finishing teams in each group would advance to the fourth and final stage of qualifying.

Team USA Advanced To Third Stage Of World Cup Qualifying

At Bridgetown, Barbados:

Eddie Lewis scored the only goal of the match at 21 minutes to lift the United States to a 1-0 road win over Barbados on Sunday to win the two countries' two-game series 9-0 on aggregate.

The Americans now move on to the third round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They will be placed in Group 1 with Guatemala, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The other teams in the third round of qualifying:

Group 2:

Mexico
Jamaica
Honduras
Canada

Group 3:

Costa Rica
Suriname
El Salvador
Haiti

The twelve remaining countries still in contention out of the CONCACAF region for qualifying for the 2010 World Cup are divided into three groups of four teams each with each team playing two games (one home, one away) against each of the other three teams in its group. The two teams in each group with the best records would advance to the final round of qualifying.

Action in the third qualifying round starts on August 20.

2010 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING: Team USA Delivers Posterior-Section Kicking To Barbados

At Carson, California:

Brian Ching's hat trick (20', 86', 89') and Clint Dempsey's double (1', 63') helped the United States open qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in style as the host nation ripped apart Barbados 8-0 in the opening match of a two-game total-goals series on Sunday.

The winner of this series will advance to the third round of qualifying.

World Cup Qualifying: Expectations For Team USA

Seems as if the United States should not have much trouble in their forthcoming 2010 World Cup two-game qualifying series against Barbados.

Of course, the fact that the U.S. failed to score during their recent run of killer friendlies should be enough to temper any overconfidence. The Americans did show significantly more attacking verve in last Sunday's 0-0 draw with Argentina, yet the goals didn't come. According to midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who was among the more impressive performers against the Albiceleste, there is little worry in the U.S. camp.

"We're not panicking," Beasley said. "Obviously in the games it's been a little frustrating because we haven't been scoring goals. We know it will come ... We just need to be more patient in the final third. We know that if we compose ourselves around the goal then we'll be fine."

Bradley indicated that he expects Barbados to play a typical Caribbean style, with the Bajans combining physical play with a smattering of individual flair, especially through captain Norman Forde.

The series begins this coming Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California and will be televised on ESPN 2.

Kewell and the Gang: Harry's Goal Lifts Socceroos By Iraq In FIFA-Threatened WC Qualifier

At Brisbane, Queensland, Australia:

Harry Kewell scored the lone goal of the match Sunday which saw Australia defeat Iraq 1-0 in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The win increased Australia's lead atop Group One, with seven points from three games. Iraq has just one point from three games, with the top two from the four-team group to progress to the next round. Qatar hosts China on Monday.

Iraq's preparations were hampered when it was suspended from international competition on Tuesday night and only reinstated on Thursday, three days ahead of the Brisbane match.

Football's world governing body conditionally and provisionally lifted the ban after the Iraqi government reinstated the national football federation that had been disbanded the previous week.

If you remember, Iraq's soccer federation had last week been suspended by FIFA after the Baghdad government had disbanded their Olympic federation. The Iraqis' were conditionally re-instated later last week after soccer's world governing body received assurances that the soccer federation had not been disbanded.

Temporary Reprieve For Iraq

It was announced Thursday that FIFA will, for the time being, lift its suspension of Iraq's soccer federation:

However, FIFA agreed to revoke the ban after the Iraqi government provided written assurances that they had not dissolved the Iraqi Football Association (IFA).

FIFA released a statement on Thursday confirming they had lifted the ban so Sunday's World Cup qualifier would proceed but warned Baghdad that it was only provisional and had conditions attached.

FIFA said they still had concerns over the Iraqi government's attempts to control its national federations and have called for a delegation from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the IFA to join them to Zurich to discuss the issues.

This weekend's 2010 World Cup qualifying match between Iraq and Australia will be played as scheduled.