HexagonalBlog

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CONCACAF in general and USA in particular

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Last Updated
November 20, 2009 01:01 EST
Added
January 7, 2006

CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff: Leg 2

HexagonalBlog @ 01:11 AM EST
Almost is nothing in sport. Costa Rica played much better over 90 minutes in Montevideo than they ever did in San José, and they had Uruguay reeling toward the end, suffering as they always do, but at the final whistle it was the South Americans progressing on to South Africa and the Central Americans returning home without an official match for another 16 months. Click to continue reading...

Twenty years ago the modern era began

HexagonalBlog @ 02:10 AM EST
On 19 November 1989 -- twenty years ago today -- Trinidad & Tobago and the USA met each other in Port-of-Spain for their final World Cup qualifier match for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. The circumstances and consequences of that match have made it the most important match in US soccer history, and marked the start of the modern era in American soccer. Click to continue reading...

Second leg of CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff as it happens

HexagonalBlog @ 02:00 PM EST
World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010 started on 25 August 2007. Now, 847 days later, we're at the final day. By kickoff time in Montevideo, 31 national teams would have secured their places in the finals next summer. There is still room for one more, and it will be decided between Costa Rica and Uruguay. Click to continue reading...

Atlante lands in Barcelona's bracket

HexagonalBlog @ 12:39 AM EST
The announcement of the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup was actually last week, but got buried in my run-up to the first leg of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff. Atlante, the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League winners, received a beneficial draw when they were paired with the winners of the Al Ahli (UAE) - Auckland City (New Zealand) match. Click to continue reading...

Was it a congenital defect that killed de Nigris?

HexagonalBlog @ 11:22 PM EST
Last night I linked to preliminary autopsy reports out of Greece that said that Mexican striker Antonio de Nigris died as the result of a congenital heart ailment. Today, de Nigris' personal doctor, who is also a cardiologist, denied the claims. Dr. Mario Benavides said that de Nigris was completely healthy and had not registered any heart condition or related health problems. Click to continue reading...

The draw for the CCL knockout stage

HexagonalBlog @ 10:56 PM EST
I have not been able to cover the Champions League as much as I did last year because of other demands on my time, and my own desires to have a life. But fortunately CONCACAF has been able to fill the gap with a very good Champions League website. Today was the draw for the knockout stage (the Championship Round, as CONCACAF calls it) of the Champions League. Click to continue reading...

Latest updates from Uruguay

HexagonalBlog @ 10:35 PM EST
With less than 20 hours before kickoff in Montevideo, Costa Rica and Uruguay are just about out of time to make modifications ahead of the decisive second leg. René Simões will be back on the touchline after his suspension in the first leg on Saturday and is looking for "fresh legs" for tomorrow's match. Click to continue reading...

All in the same bowl this time

HexagonalBlog @ 11:05 PM EST
According to Spanish daily MARCA, the bowls for the World Cup final draw have already been arranged. Now, the arrangements are pending approval by the FIFA Executive Committee, and MARCA tends to be wrong quite a bit, so take this with some grains of salt. Given all that, the composition of the bowls is the following: Seeds (Bowl 1): South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England, France (if they beat Ireland) Bowl 2: the remaining UEFA teams Bowl 3: the CAF/CONMEBOL teams Bowl 4: the AFC/CONCACAF teams (Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras) The. Click to continue reading...

CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff: Leg 1

HexagonalBlog @ 10:35 PM EST
Uruguay have a foot and four toes into South Africa; Costa Rica are hanging by merely a thread. So go the verdicts from the press in both countries. Uruguay asserted themselves on a substandard pitch, used their physicality and their defensive discipline to pin the Costa Ricans in their own area and disconnect the Tico midfield from their strikers, and were opportunistic at the right time. Click to continue reading...

Antonio DeNigris, RIP

HexagonalBlog @ 02:15 AM EST
I just saw a news report on Goal.com saying that Mexican striker Antonio DeNigris has died on a heart attack yesterday. He was 31. He had played in Turkey and Greece in recent years (his last club was Larissa). Sixteen caps for the Mexican national team. More later. Wow. RIP. Click to continue reading...

First leg of CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff as it happens

HexagonalBlog @ 08:56 PM EST
The moment is here, and we're under five minutes from kickoff. So let's go: Costa Rica 0-0 Uruguay KO Commentary after the jump. 1901: Just about to kickoff. Let me give you the starting lineups for both teams: Costa Rica: Keylor Navas -- Luis Marín, Gilberto Martínez, Roy Miller -- Cristian Bolaños, Esteban Sirias -- Randall Azofeifa, Walter Centeno, Celso Borges -- Álvaro Saborío, Bryan Ruíz. Click to continue reading...

Stanford will represent in South Africa

HexagonalBlog @ 09:56 AM EST
This really isn't a CONCACAF-specific post, but congratulations to New Zealand on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa this morning. And an even bigger congratulations to fellow Stanford alumni Ryan Nelsen and Simon Elliott who were key players of the All Whites' qualifying campaign. Click to continue reading...

Costa Rica-Uruguay: Everything in place

HexagonalBlog @ 01:28 AM EST
Uruguay's national team is now in Costa Rica, and they've had their one (and only) training session on the artificial surface at Saprissa. (I had thought that FIFA regulations required at least two training sessions on artificial turf, but I could be wrong.) Óscar Washington Tabárez, Uruguay's coach, almost certainly has his starting XI ready, with the only doubt being Walter Gargano. Click to continue reading...

T&T-USA 1989: Seeking your recollections

HexagonalBlog @ 01:32 AM EST
[I'm going to make this the featured post for the next five days, except for Saturday and next Wednesday when the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff is being played.] Next Thursday is the 20th anniversary of that historic World Cup qualifier between Trinidad & Tobago and USA. In my opinion, and I doubt I'm the only person who feels this way, it was the most important match in the history of US men's soccer because of where they were at that time and where they went from that point. Click to continue reading...