Okay, so now we're officially way off topic... Upon researching the boards, there is a complex seeding formula that does determine the 8 seeded teams for the WC groups (https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199199), however I don't think the US is going to be affected by it - Mexico, however could be by slipping in the world rankings if they show poor form throughout the rest of the year.
Hejduk is suspended for the quarters for his second yellow in group play. But I am guessing that the players with one card in group play (i.e., Donovan) start with a clean slate for knockout. Just a guess but I would be surprised if cards carried throughout the tournament.
Scenarios for USA- 1. USA vs. Mexico = if mexico loss by less than 6 goals 2. USA vs. Jamacia = if mexico wins and South Africa wins or draws or loss by less than Jamaica 3. USA vs. South Africa = (a)mexico wins and South Africa loss by more than Jamaica, (b) mexico-jamaica draw and South Africa loss 4. USA vs. Colombia = Mexico loss by 6 or more goals I would bet on Mexico not losing..so i think its all going to come down too either Jamacia or South Africa.
I have to say I'd be down with a US v. Honduras semi-final, a Colombia v. Mexico semi-final (tons of Colombians in Jersey) and a US v. Mexico final.
Not that it will probably matter, but in 3b (Mexico-Jamaica draw & South Africa Loss) South Africa places 2nd because the 1st tie breaker is head to head.
As far as seeding goes. The U.S. is 10th right now. They cannot get to 8th by their own merit at this point. They need help. Obviously, if two of the 9 teams ahead of them don't qualify then there is nothing to talk about (assuming we qualify). Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Mexico will be seeded. Italy and Holland are looking pretty good to qualify. England will most likley make it. Spain and France are the most likely to fail to qualify. If all nine qualify then we have no chance of being seeded and as I said, if two don't qualify then we will be seeded. The interesting part occurs if only one team doesn't qualify. We are 1.5 points behind Holland would we would need to leapfrog in this case. If France or Spain don't qualify then we will need to be ahead of Holland in the November FIFA Rankings. That won't happen without Holland failing miserably in qualifing which we have assumed won't. If England is the team not to qualify then we automatically gain a full point on Holland because they have been between the US and the Netherlands for all 3 ranking periods. Currently the U.S. is 7 spots behind Holland. We would need that gap to be cut to 5 in order to overtake them. That would likely involve us overtaking Portugal and Spain in the world rankings which would probably require an almost unblemished record for the rest of the year. We have 8 remaining games. It is certainly attainable. The fact is we need two teams not to qualify. I am officially a Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Israel and Switzerland fan.
usa soccer says saturday match is on telefutura at 4pm... as to foe, I'd prefer south africa..new face, with a nice counter game... will test usa transition defense somewhat....
they said that they want to take US out of any tournament as early as possible ....as their revenge of the WC lost to US.
Exactly, I'm tired of playing the same type of team over and over again. South Africa would provide a nice test for us, with a different playing style. I'm hoping for either RSA or Colombia.
They weren't. But they have done well enough in the last 3 WC's and have a high enough Coca-Cola rating to have earned it this time. Assuming FIFA use the same formula as last time.
better learn how seeding is done.We have ZERO chance of getting a seed.It is performance at last 3 WCs plus current ranking.So for us this will include one 15th place finish ( out of 24) and one 32( out of 32)... and one 7th.If you can get a top 8 out of that, you have some magical math ability.
Did you even read his post? It's pretty clear that "Steel Keeper" is commenting on this... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199199 and he's correct (assuming FIFA doesn't change the seeding formula) that the US will be seeded if they keep the 10th spot and 2 teams above them fail to qualify. How did you not get this?
Just to take things a little farther OT.... Surely you have seen eldiablito's work in the other thread(s) tracking the projected seeds. Here are the Past WC scores for a number of teams: 31.67 Brazil 28.83 Germany 23.50 Italy 21.50 England 21.17 Spain 21.00 Mexico 19.83 Denmark 18.67 South Korea 18.33 USA 17.33 Argentina 16.17 Belgium 15.00 Nigeria 15.00 Sweden 15.00 Turkey 14.83 Paraguay 14.67 France 14.67 Japan 14.50 Croatia 14.00 Netherlands That gives us the 9th best WC score and we have year end FIFA ranks of 11th in both 2003 & 2004. If we finish 10th this year we won't make it without higher poetential seeds failing to quailify - but there is a small but real chance that France and/or Spain could fail to qualify which could be enough.... If the same formula is used Mexico is all but assured of a seed. They have the 6th best Past WC score and year end ranks of 7th in both 2003 & 2004 - there is no way they can fall far enough in the rankings between now and November for them to still qualify but not be seeded (provided the same formula is used).
South Africa 1:1 Guatemala With that result South Africa is 2nd place in their group as regardless of tonight's result someone will pass them. Jamaica win = U.S. play Mexico Tie = U.S. play Mexico Mexico win = U.S. play Jamaica
As it stands right now we play Jamaica. Mexico leads 1-0 start of 2nd half. I couldn't find a offical rules page for this Cup, if its GD as the tie breaker a Mexico draw still we play Jamaica...if its head-to-head then a Mexcio draw still leaves Mexico in 3rd place tied with South Africa.Actually thats a pretty big unknown...someone did say they tought it was head to head first tie breaker so... We play Jamaica unless they can come back.
Your post is confusing. Mexico cannot finish in a tie with either of South Africa or Jamaica. If Mexico wins, they win the group and Jamaica finishes third. If Mexico loses or ties, they finish third.
Mexico hangs on in a close game to win the group. Jamaica had a couple of shots in stoppage time that would have flipped the teams positions - had either gone in. USA plays 3rd place Jamaica in Foxboro Saturday. Mexico stays in Houston to play 3rd place Colombia on Sunday. Jamaica gets to wear the yellow jersey for one more day...
It's official, we're facing JAMAICA on Saturday @ Foxboro, MA I don't know if I'm the only one, but I really wanted to Face Mexico on Saturday, just to get them out of the way, 'cause I still have the feeling that we're likely gonna face them either in the Semis or the Cup Final.