CONCACAF/CONMEBOL tournament would work - Grant Wahl - SI.com

I love the idea of the combined tournament.

CONCACAF/CONMEBOL tournament would work - Grant Wahl - SI.com

Euro 2012 Qualification Begins: Where to Watch The Games

In case you can't imagine a weekend w/o soccer to watch...

Euro 2012 Qualification Begins: Where to Watch The Games: "

It hasn’t even been two months since Andres Iniesta’s golaso in Johannesburg yet meaningful international football returns with Friday’s slate of Euro 2012 qualifiers. No doubt Spanish supporters are looking forward to the defence of their 2008 title but can English fans summon the passion after their bummer summer? The four home nations plus Ireland begin European qualification against a mix of minnows and middle-of-the-pack squads. Wouldn’t anchovy be a more apt term than minnow? Often times we don’t want to eat anchovies, just as we often don’t care to watch our boys go out for a jog against an also-ran, but we know deep down that eating anchovies is good for us, just as doing well against the smaller nations builds confidence and form for more important matches. Five matches to keep an eye on this Friday.

Republic of Ireland at Armenia, 11am ET, ESPN3.com, Republican Stadium, Yerevan

Ireland play their first meaningful match since Thierry Henry’s crime against humanity. Dreams of being drawn as the 33rd nation for this past summer’s World Cup dashed, the Irish look to now qualify for an international tournament for the first time since 2002. While Russia and Slovakia loom with talent such as Shay Given at keeper, John O’Shea at right back and a midfield of Glenn Whelan possibly partnered with rocket-footed Darron Gibson the Irish should have their sights set on advancement. Armenia are typical minnows, although they have enjoyed some good results at home, defeating Belgium last year, drawing with Portugal in 2007 and well, only losing to Spain 2-1 last year. Friday’s match could see the full debut of former Real Salt Lake (still embarrassing to write that name) forward Yura Movsisyan. Movsisyan has lived in the United States since age 14, but chose to play immediate first-team football for Armenia rather than fight for a potential place under Bob Bradley.

Bulgaria at England, 3pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel, Wembley Stadium, London

Advancement from a group featuring the Bulgarians, the Welsh, the Montenegrans and the Swiss should be assured even for an English side at a crossroads. No Frank Lampard means no free kicks menacing fans seated in the upper echelons of Wembley. John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch will also miss out. Wayne Rooney will be there, searching for his first goal for England since his icing on the cake in the 5-1 cathartic thrashing of Croatia a year ago. He won’t be seeing his Man United counterpart across the pitch as Dimitar Berbatov has retired from international football. While the inclusion of Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott will give the team more pace and more threats, Don Fabio will have to forge a defence from the likes of Michael Dawon and Matthew Upson. And while few keepers outside Gianluigi Buffon are crucial to their country’s success, England have yet to settle on a #1 for qualification. This will be the first Euro qualifier at Wembley since Steve McClaren’s last stand; rain is not in the forecast for Friday.

Northern Ireland at Slovenia, 2:45pm ET, no TV or online in US. Stadion Ljudski vrt, Maribor

When last we saw Slovenia they were sluggishly surrendering against England in their sharp mountain-range shirts. Gray-haired defender Stephen Craigan will anchor a Northern Ireland side that split their matches with Slovenia in qualifying for this past year’s World Cup. Jonny Evans should be beaming with pride as his younger brother Corry has been shortlisted for the match. The Ulstermen seek their first-ever European Championship qualification but are up against it in a group that includes Italy and Serbia. Crucial points could come from matches against their neighbours to the far north, the Faroe Islands.

Scotland at Lithuania, 2:15pm ET, no TV or online in US., S. Darius and S. Gir?nas Stadium, Kaunas

Lithuania has produced many fine athletes. Unfortunately, they’ve all played basketball. However, Lithuania enter Friday’s match riding the wave of their triumph in the esteemed Baltic Cup over Estonia and Latvia. While Scotland narrowly missed out on qualification for Euro 08, their campaign for South Africa was dismal. George Burley was rightfully sacked, but new gaffer Craig Levein has already suffered an embarrassing defeat in only his second game in charge, 3-nil to Sweden three weeks ago. The Tartan Army will hope grinning Kenny Miller, with five strikes in three matches, can find the same form abroad. Scotland will need the confidence of early results in a fairly easy group that contains only one real power in the tiki-taka horde of Spain.

Wales at Montenegro, 1:30pm ET., no TV or online in US, Podgorica Stadium, Podgorica

Montenegro, as an independent nation, is only four years old and only played its first international match in 2007, a 2-1 victory over Hungary. Their talented young star, Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina, suffered a brutal knee injury in early August and will miss the rest of the year. This will be their first attempt at Euro qualification and a rematch of their 2-1 victory over the Welsh a year ago. Craig Bellamy, playing at home for Cardiff City, will feature in the attack. All eyes will be on Gareth Bale, who has set this young season ablaze with his scintillating start for Spurs. The most anticipated games in the group will be those against England, on March 26, 2011 in Cardiff and on September 6, 2011 in London. Gavin and Stacey will be a house divided.

Other games on ESPN3.com this weekend:

• Kazakhstan v Turkey, Noon


• Andorra v Russia, 12:30pm


• Faroe Islands v Serbia, 1pm


• Sweden v Hungary, 2pm


• Slovakia v Macedonia, 2:30pm


• Estonia v Italy, 2:30pm


• Belgium v Germany, 2:45pm


• Greece v Georgia, 2:45pm


• San Marino v Holland, 2:45pm


• Liechtenstein v Spain, 2:45pm


• France v Belarus, 3pm


• Portugal v Cyprus, 3:45pm

Related posts:

1. Euro 2012 Qualification Preview: England v Bulgaria


2. England and the Mikel Arteta Debate: An Undecided Stumble into Euro 2012 Qualification


3. World Cup 2010: This Is Where It All Begins

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Why you will hate the new CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Format

Interesting. This change would make things a bit tricky for the US in terms of qualifying, moreso than in the past. However, the biggest issue, for me, is the fact that we'll be losing out at the Mexico games which are so much fun. Oh well.

Why you will hate the new CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Format: "

Photo by ISIphotos.com

In case you haven't heard by now, CONCACAF is preparing to change its World Cup qualifying format dramatically, doing away with the old Hexagonal final qualifying round in favor of a two-group final round that gives eight teams a chance to battle for the three (or four) automatic World Cup berths the region receives.

So why will you hate it?

Under the new format, the final eight teams in CONCACAF qualifying will be placed in two four-team groups, with the winner of each group qualifying automatically and the two second-place teams playing off for the third automatic qualifying spot.

So why will you hate it?

No USA-Mexico. No trip to Azteca for the United States and no visit to frigid Crew Stadium for 'El Tri'.

Sound crazy? Too bad it's happening.

FIFA is expected to ratify the changes, which will go into effect for the 2014 World Cup qualifying cycle. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati acknowledged on Tuesday that the changes are likely to go through, and his only remark about the lost USA-Mexico qualifiers was to make clear the two rivals would still find ways to play each other.

No, it won't be the same. Not even close.

The United States and Mexico could still meet in the Gold Cup, and in friendlies, but chances are they would be kept in seperate qualifying groups under the new CONCACAF format, meaning no more of the heated qualifiers that both side's fans spend years looking forward to.

So why is CONCACAF making these changes? It's making them to give more of the region's smaller teams a chance to play against the big boys. The new system will consist of three group stages (eight groups of four, then four groups of four, then a final two groups of four), up from the current system's two group stages. It will mean 32 teams will have a chance to play in a group stage, instead of the 16 that used to play in group stages. It also means eight teams have that chance to survive the final round, up from the six that have made up the Hexagonal in the past.

The changes make sense if you're from a smaller country, but for Mexico and the United States it means more games against smaller nations and likely means the elimination of the big-money qualifiers against each other. If CONCACAF sticks to a stringent seeding process, and you have to believe the region will do its best to keep Mexico and the United States away from each other, then the days of Americans making the trip to Mexico City and Mexicans braving the cold in Ohio are over.

The likely tradeoff for the region's powers is that there is less of a chance of facing an early-round group of death (which is what we saw when Mexico, Honduras, Canada and Jamaica wound up in the same second-round group in 2008). There is some added danger in that a top power getting off to a slow start in the final group could find itself forced into a playoff for a World Cup place. When you consider how slowly Mexico started in the last Hexagonal qualifying cycle it isn't out of the realm of possibility.

The bright side? If there is one it's that there will be more early-round group matches to play and potentially give experience to younger players. Chances are there will be a few cupcakes in the first group stage where Bob Bradley can give a look to some inexperienced players. It also means more qualifying matches, which could conceivably help the FIFA rankings of CONCACAF's powers.

Is that worth the tradeoff of losing USA-Mexico qualifiers? Not really, but it's the system we're facing.

What do you think of this development? Hate the changes, or are you liking the idea of three group stages?

Share your thoughts below.

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