It doesn't seem that long ago, but the last qualifiers were back in November of last year. I wanted to take a moment to make a list of the major positives that have occurred to the national team that give me a good feeling about the next set of matches and the rest of the qualifiers. November 2007: Antonio Valencia is a great young talent June 2008: Antonio Valencia is a star in the EPL, generating transfer rumors to Manchester United and Liverpool November 2007: Felipe Caicedo is a great young talent June 2008: Felipe Caicedo is worth $12M and plays for one of England's top clubs November 2007: Christian Benitez is playing great in Mexico June 2008: Christian Benitez is a bona-fide star and leads his team to the Mexican championship November 2007: Joffre Guerron, I think he plays for Liga. June 2008: Joffre Guerron's blazing speed and skill take Liga to the Copa Libertadores final and get him signed to La Liga for $5M. I could add that Castillo, Espinoza, and a few other players have continued to show great form at their clubs. But taking into account the above, we have a lot of reason to be optimistic about the state of our team and players. Let's hope for the best!