Welcome soccer fans, and everyone else, we’ve made it to the end of another day, and you’re now rewarded with a late night World Cup Qualifier. The USMNT heads down to Costa Rica in what is currently a top of the table matchup with the US holding the top spot with 7 points and Costa Rica sitting right below with 6 points.
I’m sure some here aren’t quite sure whats going on as you may not follow soccer, well never fear as we’re always willing to help new fans along and catch everyone up to speed, so join us after the jump for all that good stuff.
Here’s the breakdown: We’re currently in the 4th round of World Cup Qualifying in the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) and we’re down to the final six teams left, so lets look at the table:
The top three teams automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the 4th place team plays the 5th place team from CONEMBOL (South America). The 5th and 6th place teams? Never worry, as they get swatch watches as parting gifts. If you want more information on how we got from 35 teams to 6, check here.
The United States Men’s National Team is currently trying to make their sixth consecutive World Cup, but heading to Costa Rica is no easy task. Costa Rica holds up rather well on their home turf as they’ve held the US to a 0-6-1 record in qualifiers. The US will face a tough task tonight as they may just try and play for another draw on the artificial turf at at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.
The US is coming off of a big match against Trinidad and Tobago that saw the US win 3-0 thanks to three goals from young striker Jozy Alitdore, but prior to that one, they had to scrape out a 2-2 draw against El Salvador that saw the team play uninspired football for most of the game.
Costa Rica is coming off a similar run as they won their last match 1-0 against El Salvador but lost their prior match 2-o in Mexico City against a struggling Mexican national team.
With it being rainy season and a rather beat up artificial surface I’d expect a grind it out match from the US rather than a free and open match that we’d probably all hope would happen.
In team news, Maurice Edu will definitely out after picking up an injury in the final match for Rangers in Scotland. Frankie Hedjduk will also probably not play and expect Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark to replace him in the lineup. Altidore will probably not be start as he’s recovering from toe surgery, but he may come on in the second half as a sub.
I’d expect Brian Ching to start up front with Landon Donovan, Clint Depmsey, and Michael Bradley providing the offensive support from the midfield. Though the four of them are rather interchangeable and we could see a bit of switching depending on how the game plays out.
At the back though its a little harder to tell who’s going to be there. We know Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu will probably hold down central defense in front of Tim Howard, but the remaining spots could be up for grabs. I would expect Ricardo Clark will get the start alongside Pablo Mastroeni in the center of defense to provide a bit of needed defensive support. At fullback is where the real tossup is, Marvell Wynne will probably get the nod on the right side and DaMarcus Beasley again manning the left.
I expect a rather interesting game, though we probably won’t see much goalscoring, though the lineup from last game did allow for pretty good offensive play. We can only hope the US comes out victorious.
Now have at it in the comments, don’t forget to tip your waiter, and head on over to Style Points tomorrow night for night 4 of this pub crawl as it were.
Sparty & Friends has a take on the DS bullshit. I don’t feel like linking it. Find it on your own.
Well, I need a bit more info than that. Who is Sparty & Friends?
They’ve been linked on DS in the past. They were spawned from Shanoff, after we(click my name) shut Shanoff down a few times.
Nevermind, I finally found it. Thanks.
Fucksticks. Weird post placement again.
Back from working my butt off. Looking at the carnage, Kinda glad I wasn’t around.
Carnage? The footy game, or did I miss something?
footy game!
Check Yahoo.
Well, it was fun here at ATD tonight – maybe I’ll stop by Style Points tomorrow during the hosketball spectacular. Buenos noches, all.
Well what a fiasco of a match, at least the A’s one, so this night hasn’t been a total waste.
or you know they won too
Heh. Dog’s sound asleep, wagging his tail. I’m trying not to laugh and wake him up.
Ha, for god knows what reason, my dog enjoys sleeping on her back against a wall and constantly sleep runs upside down.
I miss my dog. She was the best.
She was a snorer, and sleep runner. Good times.
Hola folks, the rain held off and we only got mercied in one game – sounds like we were as competitive as the USA.
How’s the ACL? And any good pix for us? We need something visual for comedy relief after that “match”.
Alright, kids, I’ve got to hit the road. Thanks so much for stopping by tonight, feel free to come back any time- even if it’s not party night!- and say “hello.”
Feel free to stay as long as you want tonight, just make sure to lock up before you leave!
I for one will, I need a good footy site and you guys definitely fill that niche for me.
G’nite, and I hope you feel better tomorrow, babe!
Well, I would stop by in the future, but seeing as I’m not a regular and people only occasionally responded to my idiotic, semi-literate comments… well, I feel left out and intimidated. But if you were to start a super secret comment ninja ombudsmen group thing, then I might be up for it.
Er, or, I’ve rather liked this site for a while now and this whole shebang was a decent excuse to randomly say… some shit… tonight… or something.
Love the site guys, you’re a must read.
Cheers,
MS
After my epic comment got nibbled, the short answer is no. The field was in good shape, but we only had 9 dudes, and trying to play a 340/320/330 field with 3 outfielders was impossible. I ended up visiting my Grandpop in the hospital afterward, because the field is literally right next to the place. (Only gall bladder, he’s 81 but the DR’s ain’t too worried)
Browsing through the comments, it appeared some people were playing both sides of the fence (shit-talking us). Anyone we should be concerned about?
I’ll talk to you thru email about it.
Awwww
I feel so left out of this.
Trust me, hun. You don’t want to be conscripted into this.
Jeeez sculpt, making me pop up another browser window and everything.
I think I pulled a quad though, and tomorrow’s volleyball night.When healthy, my effectiveness in volleyball roughly compares to a Turret’s patient during quiet hour. I feel bad for my team.
Alright, it’s getting late. I’ll try to drag my notes together into something comprehensible tomorrow, MH – hopefully, it won’t sound like an 8th-grader’s term paper.
Good night, folks. Don’t let the bastards get you down.
Okay, whomever’s left, Hasta Manana. I’ve got some actual work to do now.
/knocks on the door, sees empty dixie cups and used condoms on the floor
Anyone still here? Did I miss the party?
I think we still have some whippets left.
WAKE UP! FIRE DRILL!!!!
[...] Donovan, Altidore. My immediate reaction was huh? The first thought I formulated can be seen here. No matter if this group went 4-3-3, 4-5-1, or 4-3-2-1, the issue for the US would be on the [...]
I didn’t mean for this to show up here, but I meant to shamelessly plug it here. If you want one mans reaction to the US-Costa Rica match, its yours to read.