The newest FIFA rankings were released this morning, and the results have significant implications for CONCACAF teams as we prepare to start the new World Cup qualifying cycle. There has been quite a bit of movement at the top and bottom of the list, which I wasn't expecting. To start, here are the bottom ten CONCACAF teams, who would play the first round of World Cup qualifying if it started today (new teams highlighted in bold red): Belize, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, St.

Below are collated results of the first round matches of CONCACAF World Cup 2014 qualifying. Ties are two-leg series and standard FIFA rules apply (aggregate goals, away goals rule, extra time and penalties if tied on aggregate and away goals). Home team of first leg is listed first, and its score is also listed first for both legs.

The first match-up of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign will begin in earnest on Wednesday. Belize and Montserrat, ranked in positions 172 and 202 of FIFA's World Rankings respectively, will begin the qualification process in the CONCACAF region with a two-legged fixture taking place on June 15th and 19th.

FIFA announced the draw for the extra-preliminary round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers for the CONCACAF region this afternoon. As expected, they are using the FIFA World Rankings to determine the bottom ten national teams in the region with the cutoff being the March 2011 rankings. Those rankings will freeze in place the composition of the teams that enter the first three phases of the qualifying competition.

He has worked at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan while studying the game under the guidance of the late great Sir Bobby Robson. The same man has broken countless records with Porto and continues to prove his worth on the managerial stage. No, I am not talking about current Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho but rather his protégé and current FC Porto head coach André Villas Boas.

The United States would enter CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the semifinal phase under the proposed format brought by the CONCACAF Executive Committee. The proposal awaits the approval of the FIFA Executive Committee, which meets at the end of May in Zurich, Switzerland.
In the previous two World Cup cycles, the U.

The appointment of Bob Bradley as the national team coach for Egypt is significant on a number of different fronts, both on and off the field, and for our nation and abroad.
Where I have addressed the signficance of Bradley's on-field influence in a number of different posts, Seth Vertelney of goal.