The Dayton Dynamo were, I now realize, far from a high-quality team. But in Southwest Ohio in early 1990s, there were few better options. European soccer on television would come later that decade, but growing up the only live option was the Dynamo.

The Dynamo did not even play the true 11-a-side game seen around the world.

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Montevideo, Uruguay was the site of raucous celebrations as the Charruas drew the Ticos at the Centenario but thanks to their away win at Estadio Saprissa on November 14th clinched passage to the 2010 World Cup on goal aggregate.

Sebastian Abreu lost his markers after Diego Scotti centered his cross, to head the ball home past Keylor Navas to put the Uruguayans ahead but the Ticos equalized minutes later with Fernando Muslera diving to the left to get a hand on Alvaro Saborio's shot but unable in the end to keep it out of the back of the net.

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Uruguay have taken a big step towards qualifying for the FIFA World Cupâ„¢ finals after beating ten-man Costa Rica 1-0 away from home in the first leg of their qualifying play-off.

A first-half goal from Diego Lugano gave Oscar Tabarez's side strong hopes of playing in South Africa next year, following their failure to qualify for the 2006 finals in Germany.

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Uruguay have taken a big step towards qualifying for the FIFA World Cupâ„¢ finals after beating ten-man Costa Rica 1-0 away from home in the first leg of their qualifying play-off.

A first-half goal from Diego Lugano gave Oscar Tabarez's side strong hopes of playing in South Africa next year, following their failure to qualify for the 2006 finals in Germany.

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Costa Rica's new coach Rene Simoes has had a mixed bag of results. The Ticos beat his old team, Trinidad and Tobago handily, 4-0. The USA were able to claw back a draw against them with Jonathan Bornstein's equalizer (which made him a hero in Honduras) at RFK stadium.

However, the Ticos suffered a setback at home against Uruguay in the playoffs to decide the World Cup spot between the 4th placed CONCACAF and 5th placed CONMEBOL teams.

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Saturday sees the penultimate day of World Cup qualifers with nine of the 32 places still up for grab.
Already qualified
HOSTS: South Africa
AFRICA: Ghana, Ivory Coast
ASIA: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
EUROPE: Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
S. Click to continue reading...

Starting this weekend, the final slots for the 2010 World Cup will be decided around the world. So, let's have a bit of fun with the playoffs.
Today until Saturday, entries are open for picks for the first leg of the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA first legs and for the AFC/OFC second leg. We'll pick the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA second legs starting on Sunday or Monday. 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...

Blanco to the rescue again
Now that the Hex has drawn to a close, we know the three teams that are moving on to South Africa, and which one still has some work to do. CONCACAF always gets a bad rap, from within and without, in regard to its level of play. Regardless, this has been the most competitive hex since its inception in 1998: 5 teams were still alive with 2 matches to go. Click to continue reading...

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                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

Costa Rica scored two beautiful first-half goals and thought it had done enough to finish off the U.

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                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

Costa Rica scored two beautiful first-half goals and thought it had done enough to finish off the U.

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As you know by know, with the US draw against Costa Rica and the Honduran win against Trinidad and Tobago, it put the Ticos and the Catrachos in a tie for 3rd place in CONCACAF. The tie breaker was goal differential and Honduras, who where clearly one of the best teams in the region, rightly earned a ticket to the World Cup in South Africa next summer.

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As you know by know, with the US draw against Costa Rica and the Honduran win against Trinidad and Tobago, it put the Ticos and the Catrachos in a tie for 3rd place in CONCACAF. The tie breaker was goal differential and Honduras finished above Costa Rica in those statistics. Honduras was clearly one of the best teams in the region and rightly earned a ticket to the World Cup in South Africa next summer.

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By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Oct 15, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- In another thrilling CONCACAF matchday, Honduras made it to the 2010 World Cup - joining the US and Mexico - after snagging the final automatic qualifying slot by finishing third in the hexagonal. At the same time, Costa Rica's 2-2 draw against the US in Washington, DC, forced the Ticos into a two-game playoff against Uruguay, who finished fifth in South America after. Click to continue reading...

USAÂ 2-2Â Costa Rica

It took 95 minuets but the US Mens Soccer team seemed to will themselves into finishing atop their CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying group.

Bryan Ruiz scored a brace within minutes of each other for Costa Rica. Those goals in the 21st and 24th minute of play capitalized on the few chances the Ticos had been allowed up until that point.

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USAÂ 2-2Â Costa Rica

It took 95 minutes but the US Men's Soccer team seemed to will themselves into finishing atop their CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying group.

Bryan Ruiz scored a brace within minutes of each other for Costa Rica. Those goals in the 21st and 24th minute of play capitalized on the few chances the Ticos had been allowed up until that point.

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The United States rallied from 2 goals down to tie Costa Rica 2-2 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC last night. Combined with Mexico's 2-2 tie against Trinidad & Tobago, the result gave the USA top spot in the CONCACAF FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifying Hexagonal with a total of 20 points. The result, along with [. Click to continue reading...

A couple of days ago we heard about the tragic one car accident involving Charlie Davies and his two friends, sadly one of them died. You think to yourself how could these men go out on the field and try to play a match that honestly didn't mean anything, since they already qualified in Honduras for the World Cup.

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The U.S.'s final World Cup qualifying match came down to the bitter end. But that end was sweet for the Americans -- who used Jonathan Bornstein's headed goal in the last minute of stoppage time to pull out a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica at RFK Stadium Wednesday night. Costa Rica, who fell out of the automatic qualification zone with the draw, took the upper hand in the first half -- with forward Bryan Ruiz scoring two goals in a four minute span to give the Ticos a sizable lead.

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The U.S. men's national team has already clinched its World Cup berth, but a different goal is at stake in tonight's World Cup qualifier vs. Costa Rica (8pm, ESPN2) at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

The Americans will be looking to finish in first place in the CONCACAF Qualifying group and can do so with a victory, and while that motivation is tangible, it isn't quite the same as Costa Rica's motivation, which is driven by the knowledge that a win tonight seals Costa Rica's World Cup berth.

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The U.S. men's national team has already clinched its World Cup berth, but a different goal is at stake in tonight's World Cup qualifier vs. Costa Rica (8pm, ESPN2) at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

The Americans will be looking to finish in first place in the CONCACAF Qualifying group and can do so with a victory, and while that motivation is tangible, it isn't quite the same as Costa Rica's motivation, which is driven by the knowledge that a win tonight seals Costa Rica's World Cup berth.

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Ghana and Brazil are through to Friday's final of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup following their victories over Hungary and Costa Rica yesterday. The Black Satellites third final appearance comes after a tense 3-2 victory over Hungary that saw two goals from Dominic Adiyiah and one from Abeiku Quansah. Hungary stayed in the match with second-half goals [. Click to continue reading...

A resourceful, gritty victory for the US, which should shut up the critics including myself for the foreseeable future. Again all odds, and an infamous referee known for favoring Latin teams over the US or Caribbean based sides, the Americans rallied for three second half goals in a match the US basically controlled from minute twenty five onward.

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Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano has been a bastion for the Catrachos

If representation in the world leagues were a criterion for winning, the Hondurans would be a strong match for the US. Unlike Jozy Altidore, Jonathan Spector, and Oguchi Onyewu, these players also get to make the starting squad.

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Just when you thought Costa Rica's World Cup qualifying hopes couldn't get any worse, they manage to get worse.

Just a week after seeing head coach fired Rodrigo Kenton and replaced by Rene Simoes, the "Ticos' have now lost standout central midfielder Celso Borges for the remainder of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying after he suffered an injury while playing with Norwegian club team Fredrickstad, an injury he blamed on the artificial turf.

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Just when you thought Costa Rica's World Cup qualifying hopes couldn't get any worse, they manage to get worse.

Just a week after seeing head coach fired Rodrigo Kenton and replaced by Rene Simoes, the "Ticos' have now lost standout central midfielder Celso Borges for the remainder of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying after he suffered an injury while playing with Norwegian club team Fredrickstad, an injury he blamed on the artificial turf.

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Bob Bradley is being dealt a dilemma for the final two World Cup qualifiers for the CONCACAF region - win 1 and your in, but with a number of players sitting on yellow cards, if any of them accumulate another card in a US loss in Honduras on Saturday, they would not be able to play in the all-important final qualifying match against Costa Rica the following week. Click to continue reading...

One of the interesting features of CONCACAF is how quickly some of the national teams go through coaches. Bob Bradley is the longest tenured coach of a major nation in the region while the US' opponents continue to react or dare I say over react to every result.

Costa Rica has sacked Rodrigo Kenton just days after a loss to El Salvador.

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Costa Rica head coach Rodrigo Kenton was fired today, the move coming on the heels of a poor turn of form for the Ticos that has them sitting in the fourth position of CONCACAF World Cup...

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What a difference three months makes.

Back in June, Costa Rica thrashed the U.S. men's national team, 3-1, in World Cup qualifying, leading to national celebrations and rock star status for Costa Rica head coach Rodrigo Kenton, who had his team in first place in CONCACAF qualifying.

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What a difference three months makes.

Back in June, Costa Rica thrashed the U.S. men's national team, 3-1, in World Cup qualifying, leading to national celebrations and rock star status for Costa Rica head coach Rodrigo Kenton, who had his team in first place in CONCACAF qualifying.

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Over the international weekend, several West Ham players were in action for their respective national teams. Here are the players performances which I have compiled from matches I have seen and other football news reports.
Robert Green and Matthew Upson saw first team action as England routed Croatia 5-1 in a one-sided match. Click to continue reading...

The U.S.'s 1-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago was hardly the only news coming out of CONCACAF tonight, as two other (and equally important) World Cup Qualifiers took place. Mexico-Honduras was the high-profile match of the evening and Mexico took the honors, defeating the Hondurans 1-0 at Estadio Azteca.

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Not sure this fan was smiling so wide after the game, which dropped the Ticos from first to fourth.
We'll see how things shake out tomorrow. Click to continue reading...

Una larga jornada futbolera fué lo que nos dejó este fin de semana, jornadas de eliminatorias mundialistas y la fecha ocho del futbol mexicano, suficiente para que nuestra programación deportiva estuviera saturada de futbol.
Aquí les dejo lo más relevante de este pasado fin de semana:

• 1-Como primer punto recalco la victoria contundente de México sobre Costa Rica, que desgraciadamente para los ticos esta derrota los deja dejuego en conjunto y esta metido de lleno en zona de calificación directa.

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