Last year it was Houston falling at home to New York. This year it is Columbus having their season ended by Real Salt Lake. Schelotto did what he could, but it wasn't enough. This result continues to demonstrate that the order of matches in the two-leg format does not help the higher seeded side in MLS as it does elsewhere. Click to continue reading...

The group phase of the U-17 World Cup is now over, and Mexico and the USA are the only two CONCACAF sides in the knockout stages. USA defeated UAE 1-0 on Sunday to finish second in their group, while Mexico beat Japan 2-0 on Friday to finish second in Group B. Now the Mexicans will face South Korea in their round of 16 match, and the Americans will play Italy. Click to continue reading...

This morning FIFA confirmed the match referees who will be in charge of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff. Alberto Undiano Mallenco, who is from Spain, will direct the first leg. He was the match referee for the 2007 U-20 World Cup final, the most recent Real Madrid-Barcelona match, and a number of UEFA Champions League matches. Click to continue reading...

To the surprise of no one, the first leg of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff in Saprissa has officially sold out. Tickets were sold in approximately two days at spots all over the country. I would have been shocked if there hadn't been a sellout. Click to continue reading...

As I expected, René Simões has promoted some players from Costa Rica's U-20 side to the senior team for the big playoff against Uruguay. The inclusion of Bryan Oviedo was not a surprise, as he was one of the Ticos' best players in Egypt. The selections of Mena and Gamboa indicate that Simões wants to bolster his defensive unit, especially in the central positions. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer's playoffs begin tonight -- in less than ten minutes, as a matter of fact -- with the Sounders hosting Houston Dynamo, or Dynamo Houston. Here are the other matchups: East: Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake Chicago vs. New England West: LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA When I look at the playoff matchups, any of the eight teams can appear at MLS Cup next month, and it's possible to see a path to a league championship for all eight sides. Click to continue reading...

For the second game in a row, Honduras held their own at the U-17 World Championships in Nigeria. Unfortunately, for the second time in a row they lost, this time to the host team by the minimum. The match told the tale of a Honduran side that were organized in the back but couldn't generate sustained possession in their opponent's half. Click to continue reading...

The U-17 World Cup kicked off in Nigeria yesterday, and while three of the four CONCACAF sides gave creditable performances, only Costa Rica managed to win points. (USA play tomorrow against Spain.) Honduras ceded most of the possession to Argentina, but they came close to scoring when Néstor Martínez struck the bar and crossbar on a free kick. Click to continue reading...

Both Costa Rica and Uruguay are making their arrangements for the World Cup playoff next month and scrambling to find out as much about the opponent as possible. René Simões is in Brazil right now, but he made a side trip to Montevideo with his head trainer to reserve training and living accommodations and do some additional scouting. Click to continue reading...

I've updated my CONCACAF club/country coefficients with data from the now-completed group stage of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League. I'll discuss the results in a future post, but the coefficients confirm the near-total domination of the Mexican clubs in the region's top club competition. I've posted the coefficients on my Soccermetrics blog, and you can find the files here. Click to continue reading...

That thrilling Honduras-USA qualifier is now available online from the closed-circuit provider that showed it earlier this month. You'll have to pay for it (big surprise there), but it's only five dollars. Hat-tip to Steven Goff at Soccer Insider. Click to continue reading...

Oguchi Onyewu had surgery on his torn patellar tendon today, but instead of a three- to four-month layoff, he will be out of action for up to six months. If he's not able to come back until April, that's not going to be enough time to get back to match fitness. Between Onyewu, Charlie Davies, and Jay DeMerit, the USA's chances for a successful summer in South Africa could be over before they start. Click to continue reading...

Just a day after the Hexagonal concluded, René Simões released his list of players for the playoff against Uruguay next month. He didn't have any players from the Costa Rican U20 squad, but maybe he'll add to this list at a later time. Click to continue reading...

After a long qualifying phase in North and South America, Uruguay and Costa Rica will have to deal with replacing suspended players for the first leg of the CONMEBOL/CONCACAF playoff. Uruguay will have to go without Andrés Scotti, Diego Pérez, Maximiliano Pereyra, Martín Cáceres, and Cristian Rodríguez. Click to continue reading...

Trinidad & Tobago 2-2 Mexico Not too many cared about the match. T&T go out of the World Cup in a blaze of glory and maintain their unbeaten home streak over Mexico. It's incredible that Mexico have never won a World Cup qualifier in Trinidad & Tobago. Dennis Lawrence played well in his international farewell, and Carlos Edwards established himself as a reference point for future T&T teams. Click to continue reading...