I'm quite fond of the Dracula collar trophy and it's difficult finding a graphic with all continental cups. While on the subject of CONCACAF, Sporting Kansas City really went the extra mile preparing for the Toluca away match: The OFC group stage has concluded. The two kiwi clubs finished with goal differentials of +22 and +18.
Team Wellington won by 2, 3, and 13. Auckland City won by 1, 6, and 15. The sum of the four smallest margins is 12, which is less than the biggest margin for each club. Tupapa Maraerenga lost 15-0 and 10-1 twice, so even if they had played the winner of Group A or B rather than Auckland City, their goal differential would still have been horrible. Morobe Wawens didn't score and allowed 19 in Group B without a Kiwi club, meaning that their goal differential was more extreme than Team Wellington, who scored 18 without allowing any. It's not the only competition with a big difference in quality. The 16 games in the UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 16 had the winners outscore the losers 54-5. Of the 8 eliminated clubs, 3 scored, 2 got a draw, and none of them won a leg. Defending champion Lyon won their aggregate 13-0, and VfL Wolfsburg won their aggregate 10-0.
I need to correct myself. Due to the need of neutral venues between Saudi and Irani clubs, Maktoum Stadium gets to host two group stage matches. Guess I will be there on April 22 for Al Ahli (KSA) - Persepolis. PS: I attended Al Wasl (UAE) - Al Nassr (KSA) last night. Good start for the Dubai-based club.
CONCACAF Quarterfinals, First Leg: CF Monterrey (Mexico) - Atlanta United (USA) 3:0 CA Independiente (Panama) - Sporting KC (USA) 2:1 Houston Dynamo (USA) - Tigres UANL (Mexico) 0:2 NY Red Bulls (USA) - Santos Laguna (Mexico) 0:2 Four matches for MLS teams equal four losses. Panama's CAI continues to impress in their maiden participation. Unlike Atlanta United who arrived in this competition with much hype after winning MLS Cup in their second season of existence and drawing an average attendance of 53,000. Tigres, the other Monterrey team, also has one foot in the semis after winning their "home" match in Houston in convincing fashion (Tigres fans took over the stands).
The final eight are set in UEFA: Liverpool Manchester United Manchester City Tottenham Juventus Ajax Barcelona Porto The draw is tomorrow. I have to admit I did not expect Liverpool and ManU to progress against Bayern and PSG respectively. And what a Ronaldo performance that pushed Juventus through against Atletico Madrid who would have loved to play the final at home. Seems to be a good year for England... ...and that automatically raises expectations in South America given the terrible English record in the CWC.
This week was historic for Iraqi club football. Al Zawraa hosted the UAE's Al Wasl in the first ever match on Iraqi soil in the AFC CL era. And what a night it was for the hosts at the Karbala Sport City Stadium: Also, the CAF group stage concludes this weekend with several spots in the quarterfinals still up for grabs. Ismaily, after being let back into the competition, is still stuck on two points after five matches. And of course the CONCACAF final four will be known after tonight.
And the CONCACAF semis are... Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Santos Laguna (Mexico) CF Monterrey (Mexico) - Sporting Kansas City (USA) Only Monterrey have won the competition before. Panama's Independiente held on until the 75th minute of the second leg but then succumbed to Kansas City's pressure. The final goal of Santos Laguna against the NY Red Bulls is an absolute must-watch:
What happened to the 2019 host decision? https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who...-steps-for-upcoming-international-tournaments
A reporter asked Infantino directly about it, and he simply said that a host hasn't been chosen yet. I imagine we'll have something official in the June Congress.
UCL Draw: Tottenham - Manchester City Manchester United - Barcelona Liverpool - Porto Ajax - Juventus Final Eight in CAF: Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) TP Mazembe (DR Congo) Al Ahly (Egypt) Mamelodi Sundowns (S. Africa) CS Constantine (Algeria) Horoya (Guinea) Simba (Tanzania) Draw is on March 20. Horoya and Simba booked their places in the quarterfinals by beating Orlando Pirates (S. Africa) and Vita Club (DR Congo) respectively on the last matchday. The goal that put Simba through in the 90th minute:
Simba qualified to knockout stage with three away losses - 5-0, 5-0, 3-0. Hat off! Eight teams, eight countries. Amazing, proper champions league. And Horoya is doing great in last two seasons, two group stage qualifications, two knockout stage appearances. Guinean league is climbing up ranks thanks to them (two berths for CL next season), Cameroon, Ghana and Mali are going down pretty fast. OFC changed final stage format just after group stage conclusion - all of the ties will be played on one-leg basis. Central Sport (TAH) - Magenta (NCL) winner to host Auckland City (NZL) - Toti City (PNG) winner to host Hienghene Sport (NCL) - Ba (FIJ) winner to host Team Wellington (NZL) - Henderson Eels (SOL)
And then Infantino says to Boban last Friday: "Croatia ... you are not true power in football" (or simmilar, sorry if not exact words used)
Do they not want New Zealand clubs to win? I think fans of Liga MX would complain if Monterrey played a Semifinal one game at Sporting Kansas City rather than both clubs hosting.
Yes, I saw that. The constantly changing format in the OFC is a joke. I suppose a one leg quarterfinal can be tolerated if the group winners are rewarded, but semis and final?! Ridiculous. Might as well hold the final four at a neutral site if travel is such an issue. CAF Quarterfinal Draw: CS Constantine (Algeria) - Esperance (Tunisia) Mamelodi Sundowns (S. Africa) - Al Ahly (Egypt) Horoya (Guinea) - Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) Simba (Tanzania) - TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
well, he became infantinos puppet, but all in all his task force shelved global nations league! at least something!
Boy, it really would be nice to have some clarity on the 2019 edition. June is too late. That would be after the UEFA, CAF, C'CAF and OFC final. At least announce if there is going to be a host bidding process. Or say if it's been scrapped. Although I personally hope the current format gets a swansong for those of us who did enjoy it. It would also be a nice gradual shift in frequency from annual, to two-year gap and ultimately quadrennial.
The CONCACAF final is all but set after the first legs: Tigres UANL (Mexico) - Santos Laguna (Mexico) 3:0 CF Monterrey (Mexico) - Sporting Kansas City (USA) 5:0 So things are back to "normal" in C'CAF. An all-Mexican final. After a Buenos Aires derby last year and Madrid derbies in 2014 and 2016 we are now likely to get a Monterrey one in a continental final. Color me excited!
Two results to single out: first, Mamelodi Sundowns embarrassed biggest African club - the mighty Al-Ahly - with 5-0 thumping! In the Oceanic competition Magenta won 0-8 at Central to qualify to semis where they host Auckland City. In the other game Hienghene Sport will host title holders from Wellington.
OFC Semis: AS Magenta (New Caledonia) - Auckland City (NZL) Hienghène Sport (New Caledonia) - Team Wellington (NZL) C'mon New Caledonia, create some suspense in the OFC... CAF Quarters, First Leg: CS Constantine (Algeria) - Esperance (Tunisia) 2:3 Mamelodi Sundowns (S. Africa) - Al Ahly (Egypt) 5:0 Horoya (Guinea) - Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) 0:0 Simba (Tanzania) - TP Mazembe (DR Congo) 0:0