The Fire suuuuuck, so what other Soccer, Football, Fútbol are you watching?

The biter banged one tonight too...fairly impressive.

 

That was an impressive feat.

 

Thank you!

 

World Cup Qualifying.
Netherlands v. Finland

And
Scotland v. Belarus

Then Poland v. Lithuania. 1:30 FS1

 

US/Morocco U20 Quarterfinal at 3pm.

 

Poland kicking off on FS1.

John Strong and the little twerp Stu Holden on the call.

 

Szymański with the Olimpico to put Poland ahead.

The Polish fans are now chanting "F*ck the Russians (Rusek)!"
Well, we all agree.

 

Everyone in this stadium wants in on that.

 

Teams through to 2026 World Cup

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States.

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan.

Oceania: New Zealand.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia.

England and Portugal will qualify with wins tomorrow.

Bolivia and New Caledonia are two of the six nations confirmed to take part in the inter-confederation play-offs in March 2026.


https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cglepde7yzlo


New Caledonia are a rising force in (third, well, fourth) World Football!
The are ranked 150th, but have been as high as 93rd.

They have dominated the Pacific games over the years, winning 7 times, coming in second 4 times, third twice, fourth once and failing to make it out of the group stage once.
They run roughshod over those "losers" from the Cook Islands. They are 5-0-0 against them, with 40 goals scored and 0 conceded
Samoa 4-0-0 29 goals scored, 0 conceded.
They kick ass over American Samoa, as well. 4-0-0, with 33 goals scored and zero conceded.
Tonga, 6-0-0, 43 goals scored, 2 conceded.

They have actually held their own pretty well against New Zealand. 34 matches, 11 wins, 2 draws, 21 defeats, 46 goals scored, 74 conceded.

 

Argentina played Friday in Miami. Messi did not play.

Inter Miami played Saturday. Messi starts and scores two goal.

Argentina played Puerto Rico in Miami last night in the match that was moved from Chicago when it was supposed to be Monday. From the article below: "Officials in Chicago said low ticket sales were to blame; officials with the Argentine soccer federation said the immigration crackdown in Chicago was responsible."
Argentina claimed it was due to the "immigration crackdown" in Chicago, but when I checked Ticketmaster before the match was officially moved, only a couple of thousand tickets had been sold. I guess Dave Baldwin was not involved in promoting the match!

Messi started and, bizarrely, played the full 90 last night. He did not score, but had 2 assists in the 6-0 drubbing of the 155th ranked team. The stadium was half full (tickets started at $25) at kick off.

Why would Scolani play him a full match in a useless, useless friendly, when Inter Messi have one of their most important matches of the season on Saturday?

That is just bizarre.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/758373

 

USMNT defeated Australia last night 2-1 after trailing early. October window was successful with this win and 1-1 tie vs Ecuador. Also featured good performances by strikers Balogun and Wright. This was accomplished without Adams, Robinson, Dest and Pulisic (only 30min). Sept window also featured multiple missing/ limited players with 2-0 win over Japan and 0-2 loss to Korea.
Last 4 opponents have all qualified for 2026 World Cup. (Interesting that FIFA ranking for US is #13 and all four are ranked lower while ELO ranking has US at #41 with all four ranked higher.)
Last four matches featured substantial minutes by US players who are considered #12 to #20 roster ranking, with generally better than expected play.
November window has US matches with Paraguay and Uruguay, both also WC qualifiers. Results should be interesting

 

I received a Rejection Notice for purchasing tickets to the World Cup.
Specifically, the Presale Draw for Visa Cardholders.

Oh, well, I guess I just do not matter at this point.

Sadly, I really don't care that much. Just apathetic about the entire process.

 

Somewhat surprised to hear this from you.
I know there are mixed emotions about USMNT but WC is still special in my mind.
I was at a 1994 WC match in Chicago. Took a carload and it really made an impression on the 14 year-olds.
Sadly -no matches in Chicago this time, maybe for good reasons.

 

Yep. I went to three matches in 1994, in Chicago and Detroit.
Went to four matches in the 1999 Women's World Cup.

I had tickets in 2006 in Germany, but had to give them up for work reasons.

I was pumped when it was announced it was going to be the US. The combination of the three countries splitting it, no matches in Chicago, and general feelings towards FIFA have really dampened my enthusiasm.

 

Not a big fan of FIFA either.

 

No losses in our last three games and all teams were top 25 in the world rankings.

 

Chicago not hosting because, like Minneapolis, they saw FIFA's demands and told them to sod off.

 

Was looking forward to my son and possibly daughter seeing a World Cup match together in Boston.

Saw Spain v England in the second round, and the final in '82. Both at the Bernabeu.

Four matches in '94, had to miss the semi in NY/NJ due to assisting with a trial, otherwise would have watched all 4 semi-finalists play live.

Warmups in Chicago and Portland for WWC '99, then all four (?) group stage matches at Soldier Field. Didn't see the Final until years later, as was in transit to Kenya.

Due to a happy work coincidence, I was in Dayton and shot up to Columbus for the original "Guerra Fria" in Columbus in '01.

Now? I can't stand what Putin's bitch is doing, along with the always feckless quims at FIFA. Can't recommend that any of my friends travel to USA. Am not going to front-load any expenses, as I expect the USA to be in deep recession, and possibly in a de facto civil war by then.

 

That is awesome!

And, on that happy note...!!!!

 

Really poor slate of matches this AM. Maybe I'll pay attention to Der Klassiker in a bit while we wait for 5:00pm CDT. Even CFB is kinda sleepy today.

 

Well, Ange Postecoglou was sacked today after 40 days in charge of Nottingham Forest, with zero wins, six losses and 2 draws.
This comes after getting sacked in June from Tottenham (despite winning the Europa League in May).
I really dislike him (for absolutely no reason), so I am pleased.

 

If he was on his way out why not sack him before the international break?

 

Why hire his silly ass in the first place?
Marinakis is a pretty terrible owner.

They dumped the very good Nuno Espírito Santo three weeks into the season.
I appreciated it, as West Ham snatched him up immediately.

 

Roma/Inter at 1:45.