It’s South Africa 2010 World Cup qualifying time again around the soccer world. In CONCACAF region (North American, Central American, and the Caribbean), the top three teams—USA, Mexico, and Costa Rica—prepare to consolidate their leads atop their respective groups.
The U.S. will host Cuba on Saturday and then play Trinidad & Tobago away next Wednesday. Mexico, USA’s archrival, has two road games; first in Jamaica on Saturday and then up north in Canada next Wednesday. Costa Rica travels to face Suriname on Saturday and then hosts Haiti next Wednesday.
All three teams have won their opening three games, justifying their status as the three best teams in CONCACAF. All three qualified for the last World Cup, which seems like a distant memory now, in Germany in 2006 and look set to do the same for South Africa in 2010.
The U.S. beat Cuba 1–0 in September in a downpour in Havana. Saturday’s game will be played at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The U.S. is recalling many of its European-based players including striker Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC in England), Jozy Altidore (Villarreal in Spain), and midfielders DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers in Scotland) and Freddy Adu (Monaco in France).
Next Wednesday’s game against Trinidad & Tobago will be the toughest test for the U.S. Recall that Trinidad & Tobago surprised the world by qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and a earning a scoreless draw against Sweden.
The American defense has been airtight, not allowing a single goal in five qualifying games so far. Their attack has 14 balls in the back of the net in those five games.
The U.S. is expected to handily beat Cuba and make it to the final qualifying stage. The final qualifying stage is six-team round-robin tournament which will likely feature Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and either Trinidad & Tobago or Guatemala.
Europe
England stunned Croatia 4–1 in September marking new manager Fabio Capello’s first big win. This result, punctuated by a hat trick from Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, has put England in an excellent position early in the qualifying tournament.
The task for Capello’s men is a little easier on Saturday as Kazakhstan visits Wembley. England will travel to face Belarus next Wednesday.
A few of the mouth-watering clashes on Saturday are Romania hosting France, Germany hosting Russia, Ukraine hosting Croatia, and Sweden hosting Portugal.
Romania and France have already both lost a game, as Lithuania surprisingly leads their group. Both teams cannot afford a slip-up here.
Germany and Russia could have been the Euro 2008 final if it wasn’t for Spain. Both teams attack well and are first and second respectively in their group.
Ukraine has won its opening two games and will probably wind up battling with Croatia for second place behind England, so this is a key game.
Sweden and Portugal are two teams that consistently qualify for major tournaments. Portugal lost a stunner at home to Denmark last month 3–2. The two teams are expected to finish first and second in their group.
South America
Paraguay is the runaway leader with 17 points while Argentina, Brazil, and Chile are tied for second place with 13 points. The only match-up between these four teams takes place next Wednesday as Argentina travels to face Chile.
