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U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage has called in 22 players for the 6 p.m. Dec. 13 game against China in Carson and a Dec. 17 match against the same opponents in Detroit.

Added to the squad were forward Amy Rodriguez, who recently finished her senior season at USC and started the last five games at the Olympics; UCLA striker Lauren Cheney, who last weekend helped UCLA to a sixth consecutive NCAA Final Four appearance; and veteran Kristine Lilly, the world's all-time leader in caps with 340, but who has not played for the U.S. in over a year, taking time off for the birth of her daughter.

The match at Home Depot Center will also be the fifth in U.S. colors for midfielder Shannon Boxx, who grew up in Torrance. Boxx has scored in all four of her previous appearances with the U.S. in Carson and was recently named as a FIFA Women's Player of the Year candidate along with U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo.

Tickets range in price from $18 to $60 for the game in the South Bay.

The full U.S. roster includes all the players who won the gold at the Olympics against Brazil: goalkeepers Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo, Briana Scurry; defenders Rachel Buehler, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Marian Dalmy, Tina Ellertson, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone; midfielders Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Aly Wagner, Kacey White; forwards Lauren Cheney, Angela Hucles, Natasha Kai, Kristine Lilly, Amy Rodriguez.

Before you head to Gramma's house for the holiday, know that:

*Those English newspaper reports were true for once and MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis is off to England's Arsenal as chief executive officer in the new year. Is this Stan Kroenke at work?

Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said: "Ivan's credentials are first class. It is evident that he has a wealth of business acumen together with a broad knowledge of football that will not only help to maintain Arsenal's pre-eminent standing but enhance our reputation within the football community and international commercial markets."

The South African was one of the founding executives of MLS and was responsible for all player contracts.

*The Sigi Schmid family's run of cup success continues. UC Irvine, (15-1-6) where the MLS Cup-winning Schmid has a son who plays and another who is an assistant coach beat Cal Poly 3-0 Tuesday to advance to a NCAA Tournament semifinal Saturday against St John's. The game was played before the first-ever sellout (and drenched) crowd of 2,500 in the OC.

Complete bracket.

Soccer on TV today:
*At 11 a.m. on ESPNU the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team plays China in its third and final group game of the U-20 World Cup; the U.S. is through to the final round already, while China must win.

*At 11:30 a.m. on ESPN Bordeaux plays Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.

*At 2 p.m. on ESPN Classic it's Sporting Lisbon-Barcelona.

* At 5 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel it's the Houston Dynamo and El Salvador's CD Luis Angel Firpo in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Dynamo must win to advance.

Back later with word on the MLS Expansion Draft.

Lists are "in" these days in online journalism circles. So here's mine.

Who did I miss?

The MLS season is over, but soccer never ends.

Today's televised Champions League games:
*11:30 a.m. ESPN Villarreal-Manchester United
22 p.m. ESPn Classic Bate Borisov-Real Madrid at 5pm on ESPN Classic

Lastly, the NCAA Tournament resumes tonight.

I have it on good authority that Sigi Schmid, coach of the MLS Champion Columbus Crew, will be at the Cal Poly-UC Irvine game. Both his sons are involved (one playing, one coaching) with the Anteaters' program.

That's the way to start the final crucial round of World Cup qualifying: at home Feb. 11 against a reeling Mexico.

Coach Bob Bradley must be sharpening his knives already (and we'll know at noon when he talks to the media).

No venues have yet been set.

Here's the rest of the schedule:
March 28 in El Salvador
April 1 Trinidad & Tobago
June 3 in Costa Rica
June 6 Honduras
Aug. 12 in Mexico
Sept. 5 El Salvador
Sept. 9 in Trinidad & Tobago
Oct. 10 in Honduras
Oct. 14 Costa Rica

The complete CONCACAF qualifying schedule is here.

Also today, FIFA conducted the draw for the Confederations Cup.

The U.S. gets Italy and Brazil in its group. Ah well, no worries about a U.S.-Iraq final then.

Updated: Reaction.

A generous Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA helps the U.S. win while a roundup of Wednesday's international action is here.

Mexico loses, but advances in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Will Sven keep his job?

And Landon Donovan is loaned to Bayern Munich.

OK, so you don't care about the U.S. Men's National Team game against Guatemala (live at 5 p.m. on ESPN Classic and Galavision from Colorado) because the Americans have already qualified for the final round of World Cup qualifying.

Still, there are five teams vying for three remaining places in CONCACAF's hexagonal.

Guatemala must win and hope Cuba beats Trinidad & Tobago, which only needs a tie to qualify.

Mexico needs a draw against Honduras to qualify (live at 5 p.m. on Telemundo). Honduras needs to beat Mexico or tie and hope Jamaica beats Canada. Jamaica is still mathematically alive, but needs a big win over Canada.

The draw for the final round is Saturday.

In other televised World Cup qualifying games today it's:
*Saudi Arabia-South Korea at 8:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel
*Bahrain-Australia at 10:30 a.m. on FSC
*Quatar-Japan at 12:30 p.m. on FSC

Plus:
*GOLTV has the England-Germany friendly at 11:45 a.m.
*Greece-Italy at 1:30 p.m. is on ESPN2
*At 10 a.m. it's the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team-France on ESPN2 in the opening game of the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup.

A busy day as I write Tuesday's column about the karmic Sigi Schmid, but wanted to note in passing that:

*The Galaxy's poor season cost David Beckham a spot on England's squad to face Germany Wednesday so cue speculation he must leave MLS for good to keep playing for England.

*MLS Rookie of the Year and Cal State Northridge product Sean Franklin was named to his first U.S. squad along with Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein and Rolling Hills Estates' John Thorrington.

The full roster for Wednesday's meaningless (from a U.S. perspective) World Cup qualifier against Guatemala:

goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract); defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution); midfielders Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire); forwards Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire).

And the season ended Sunday for the Cal State Dominguez Hills women.

MLS today named Cal State Northridge product and Galaxy defender Sean Franklin as its Rookie of the Year. Franklin is scheduled to talk to reporters later today from the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Colorado.

How big of an accomplishment is this?

Franklin played all year in the center of a bad Galaxy defense, yet according to Coach Bruce Arena he's not a central defender.

In other MLS awards-related news, Rolling Hills Estates Robbie Rogers is one of the five finalists for Goal of the Year. Vote here. Roger already beat out Beckham to become one of the finalists; can he do the same to Blanco?

And in other Galaxy-related news, Bayern Munich's Web site has more on Landon Donovan's German adventure. Hmmm, is he going to be there 10 days or 10 weeks?

Oh, and even though this was reported a while back the Galaxy has officially announced that Tristan Bowen, 17, of Van Nuys has become the first player to come through its youth academy to sign a multiyear contract with the club.

"Tristan is an exciting and talented young player who has impressed me and all of our coaches during his time training with the club," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "He has many of the attributes which are required in order to become a good player in MLS and has shown the drive and desire to improve all areas of his game. We are excited to have him join the club and look forward to seeing him grow in a Galaxy uniform."

In Wednesday night games, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1 in Arizona and CD Guadalajara lost 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana semifinal.

At 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 the Crew and Fire face off in the Eastern Conference final with the winner heading to MLS Cup on Nov. 23 at Home Depot Center.

Even though former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid is being circumspect about what it would mean to him to walk out on the home field of the club that fired him in the league's title game, Crew forward Alejandro Moreno - who played for him in L.A. - isn't as reticent:

"We know it's special and we know he's a California guy. I think what's special is that I was in L.A. when Sigi got fired and probably at the time I thought it was wrong and even now I thought it was wrong and even with the Galaxy having won the MLS Cup after that I still think it was wrong.

"There was a lot of people who wrote him off and there was a lot of people who didn't think he was the coach he was when he was back with the Galaxy and I'm here to tell you he's still the coach (he was)."

Sigi talks here:

Blog housekeeping that it is.

Keen-eyed readers will notice I've eliminated some outdated links, scrubbed some of limited interest entirely (most of the junior colleges are gone, for instance) and generally streamlined the list that's on the right-hand side of the blog.

I added a few here and there, too, that were long overdue for inclusion (such as the official Chivas USA blog) and Luis Bueno's new offering The Touchline (the successor to Sideline Views minus Andrea Canales). The list still needs to be worked on a bit, so if you have suggestions for links (especially those with a Southern California flavor) don't hesitate to jump in.

Thanks to Web master supreme Chris Berry for the (very) quick work updating those.

The fall housecleaning gave me the opportunity to look at blogs and sites I don't always have time to check out and so with that in mind (and the absence of much actual news this morning), here's a look at what folks are chatting about around the Web:

*First off, Mexico plays Ecuador in Arizona tonight (live at 7 on Telemundo) in a friendly that could nevertheless have a bearing on the future of Sven-Goran Eriksson, according to one writer.

*While we're on the subject of coaches and job security, although conventional wisdom has held this season that Chivas USA Coach Preki was largely helpless to do much in the playoffs given the team's crushing number of injuries, there are dissenters out there who believe otherwise and are calling for his head (or at least ouster).

Some valid points there.

Chivas USA likes to point out just how many enforced changes there were over the course of the season (the team fielded 30 different line-ups in 32 games) because of a "total of 183 man-matches (lost) due solely to injuries, averaging nearly six players per game."

True enough, but Preki also made some alterations to his line-up (or failed to in a few cases) that had more than a few observers scratching heir heads.

The tubby and past it Zach Thornton starting ahead of fan favorite Dan Kennedy in goal for the final playoff game? Jonathan Bornstein playing center back in the first playoff game for the first time in his entire life? And the signing of a clearly out of his depth Roberto Nurse from the Mexican second division that had panic written all over it.

I could go on (and probably will in a future column), but add it all up and it's not surprising some hard-core Chivas USA fans are questioning Preki's future.

Preki won't get fired, but the fact fans are discussing the possibility is healthy for a team that still needs to cultivate a larger base of support. And it's fun reading, too.

Meanwhile, there are already rumblings of potential problems for Women's Professional Soccer, while Brazilian star (and would-be L.A. Sol player) Marta is apparently demanding big bucks.

Finally, let's end with a couple of minor news items:

*The always suspect FIFA rankings are out today with the U.S. dropping three places to 24th (just above Mexico) and England rising four places to 10th. Seven nations, including American Samoa are tied for 201st and last in the table, BTW. Complete rankings here.

*Fox Soccer Channel will air live at 10 a.m. Monday the sixth-annual Match Against Poverty from Morocco.

From today's (edited) FSC press release:

Captains Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo will lead teams that will include Victor Valdes and Seydou Keita (FC Barcelona), Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Zenit St. Petersburg), Joseba Etxeberria (Athletico Bilbao), Ivan Leko (Club Brugge) and Lauren (Portsmouth).

Not a whole lot to set the pulse racing, but hey, it's for a good cause.

A few things to mention briefly:
*FIFA announced today that the draw for the teams in the CONCACAF final qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup takes place Nov. 22. Teams will learn their opponents as well as home and away dates for all 10 qualifiers that will determine the three automatic berths for the region in South Africa. The United States, Costa Rica and El Salvador have already advanced to the final round, with the remaining three teams to be determined.

FIFA will also conduct the draw that day for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup scheduled for June 14-28 in South Africa. Participants are the United States, hosts South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, New Zealand and Spain.

*Mexico announced the roster today for Wednesday's game against Ecuador in Arizona, which includes American Edgar Castillo and Manchester City's emerging star Nery Castillo. Here's the complete squad.

Lastly, the No. 4-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills men opened the defense of its two consecutive CCAA titles, advancing 5-3 on penalty kicks in the semifinal over Chico State today, after a 1-1 double-overtime tie in regulation. The 16-2-3 Toros meet the winner of the Sonoma State- Cal State L.A. semifinal on Sunday.

Lots to talk about this morning including Chivas USA's playoff hopes, Brad Guzan, history for Long Beach State, joy for CD Guadalajara and more.

Let's get to it:
*An undermanned New England Revolution predictably succumbed to the Chicago Fire Thursday and now it's Chivas USA - in a similar situation in terms of personnel and facing a must-win game in Carson - that's feeling the pressure.

*Not surprisingly, RSL are preaching defense to preserve their slender one goal advantage.

*I'll be back later today with a Q & A with Chivas USA striker Justin Braun, who could have a key role to play Saturday. And yes, tickets starting at $14 are still available for the 7:30 p.m. game that's also live on Fox Soccer Channel. The first 10,000 fans get a free T-shirt. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

*Meanwhile, former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned a shutout Thursday in only his second senior appearance for England's Aston Villa. Coach Martin O'Neill calls his performance "briliiant."

*Also brilliant: CD Guadalajara Thursday, who dealt shock Argentine bottom feeders River Plate yet another blow.

*Long Beach State won its first post-season game in program history Thursday and now has a chance Sunday at an even bigger prize: a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

*Other college action in Southern California this weekend includes Pac-10 champion UCLA (8-4-6 overall, 6-1-2 Pac-10) hosting Big West leader Cal Poly (10-4-4) in its home finale. Game time is 7 p.m. Saturday at Drake Stadium.

*The pick of the televised games this weekend:
7 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer Channel Sunderland-Portsmouth
9:30 a.m. Saturday FSC Liverpool-West Bromwich Albion
8 a.m. Sunday FSC Fulham-Newcastle United
10 a.m. Sunday KAZA Puebla-Guadalajara
11:30 a.m. Sunday FSC Lecce-Inter Milan
Noon Sunday Telefutura Houston Dynamo-New York Red Bulls

Gene Maddaus is a Daily Breeze staff writer. He covers politics. He tunes into soccer about once every four years, which makes him an extremely casual fan, although he has been to a few Galaxy games. He just returned from Argentina where he took in a soccer game on his honeymoon.

Being journalists, the first thing my wife and I did when we arrived for our honeymoon in Buenos Aires was to turn on the news. As we learned, the country was in the grips of two major crises. The first was economic: the government was about to take over the nation's private pension system. The second was soccer-related: River Plate was headed for the bottom of the standings.

If anything, people seemed more worried about "La Crisis de River." Economic disruptions were routine enough to be taken in stride, but how often was one of the country's two great club teams so awful? We decided to see a match in an effort to plumb the Argentine psyche.

We found ourselves at "La Bombonera," the home of Argentina's other major club, Boca Juniors. The guidebooks recommended getting tickets for the "platea," where seats are assigned. But on the day of the match, they were mysteriously unavailable, and no amount of inquiry in my beginner's Spanish could make them appear. That left us to fend for ourselves in the "general" area, where fans squeeze in shoulder-to-shoulder and where, if there is to be trouble, it is most likely to start.

On the way in, I was given a pat-down search. Once inside, we found that there was literally no place to stand. Our section was surrounded by aging concrete walls and high fencing -- the sort you see on international news coverage of crushing deaths during soccer riots. Many younger fans were already hanging from the metal fences to get a better view of the action. There were none of the amenities of an American sports stadium -- concessions, souvenir shops, bathrooms -- just a mass of Argentine soccer fans sandwiched together in the hot sun, a dense mass of blue and gold.

We squeezed into a spot near the top of the section. There were only a few inches separating us from the surrounding fans, some of whom had no inhibitions about leaning on their neighbors for support. As the match began, the crowd launched into the first of many songs of tribute to Boca, punching the air in unison. The density of the crowd amplified its fervor, and we had no choice but to be swept up in it.

Having been exposed to professional soccer mostly via the MLS, we were awed by the level of play. The players had such a fluidity with the ball and awareness of the field that scoring chances developed almost instantly, and from nothing. When Boca missed a chance, the crowd grunted "uh" in unison. At eight minutes in, Boca scored and our section exploded.

We were amazed to see a vendor parting the crowd in front of him, weaving his way with a tray of watery Cokes aloft in his right hand. Then, from behind, a man who smelled strongly of alcohol forced his way forward. Fans allowed him to pass only because he was carrying a toddler on his shoulders who might have fallen if the man's momentum had been stopped. He plunged down into the crowd and out of sight.

At the half the section sat down, en masse, for the first time. When play resumed, they stood again and remained on their feet for the rest of the game. The opposing club, Rosario Central, scored an equalizer early in the second half. The crowd did not boo or whistle, but seemed to redouble their intensity during the songs. When the Boca star Juan Roman Riquelme made a dazzling run and nearly scored, the crowd chanted "RI-QUEL-ME."

Boca went on to win on a goal in the 87th minute, and moved closer to first in the standings. Our taxi driver explained that with a San Lorenzo loss, Boca now had a real chance, something that seemed unthinkable a few weeks before.

River Plate, meanwhile, continued to lose, and is now dead last in the race for the Apertura championship. Like the global economic crisis, there is no end in sight.

L.A. Sol holding midfielder Shannon Boxx, a former South (Torrance) High star, was today named one of the 10 finalists for the annual FIFA honor. The U.S. Women's National Team player finished third in balloting for the award in 2005.

Also named to the list: her (hopefully) soon to be Sol teammate Marta.

The full list: Nadine Angerer (Germany), Shannon Boxx (USA), Cristiane (Brazil), Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (USA) and Ingvild Stensland (Norway).

Boxxy stopped by the Home Depot Center Sunday to chat about the new Sol franchise, before the nominees were announced.

Here's some excerpts of what she had to say:

*On the new Women's Professional Soccer league and having a team in L.A.:

"It's very exciting to finally say that to be close to home we have a league, obviously I'm a product of the last league, so to be close to home - I've always wanted an L.A. team - to stay close to home and play in front of my friends and family, I'm very excited."

On how the team is coming together:

"I think we have a great team. ... (Coach) Abner (Rogers) is going to be playing possession style, I love that, so it's fitting for me as well ... We want to play style that's fun to watch."

BTW, here are the 23 nominees for the male award: Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Deco (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Côte d'Ivoire), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Steven Gerrard (England), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Kaká (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Franck Ribéry (France), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).

Winners are scheduled to be announced in January.

A few items this morning:
*The impending David Beckham loan deal to AC Milan has prompted the Galaxy to postpone its scheduled Dec. 11 game against the Queensland Roar due to the uncertainty of his availability, according to the BBC. Hmmm, it's the Beckham tail clearly wagging the Galaxy dog. Until now, he had supposedly not been leaving for Italy until the New Year.

*MLS officials announced today they have named a new MLS Cup trophy after Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz:

"Phil Anschutz has transformed the face of soccer in America," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "Through his commitment and support, Major League Soccer has become an important part of the American sports landscape and an emerging player in the global soccer scene. Phil's vision and deep love of the game have helped establish a vibrant 'Soccer Nation' in America. We are honored to name the MLS championship trophy the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy."

*The new sterling silver trophy was created by Tiffany & Co., and unveiled at a morning ceremony at the jeweler's New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue. From the MLS press release:

The Philip F. Anschutz championship trophy is 24" tall with an additional seamless base of 4 5/8". The trophy features fluid and dynamic handles that include 11 facets on the front and back, symbolizing the 22 players that participate in a soccer match. The gold star represents the championship club, which often incorporates a star into its team crest for each MLS Cup title it wins. The new trophy inherits select design elements from the previous two trophies, thereby honoring the League's history while moving forward. The bottom of the Philip F. Anschutz trophy features a map of North America, with a star identifying the location of each MLS market.

*The Galaxy's Tristan Bowen and Chivas USA's Jorge Flores were named to a U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team squad that will train in Spain later this month. The most interesting thing about the roster is the number of young Americans with foreign teams. Here's the full squad:

goalkeepers Earl Edwards (San Diego, Calif.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas); defenders Gale Agbossoumonde (Syracuse, N.Y.), Anthony Arena (Kenmore, Wash.), Kyle Davies (Southampton FC), Zarek Valentin (Lancaster, Pa.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas); midfielders Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA), Gregory Garza (Sporting Lisbon), Josh Hernandez (Dallas, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Giuseppe Nazzani (Reggio Emilia, Italy); forwards Vincenzo Bernardo (SSC Napoli), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles Galaxy), Abdusalam Ibrahim (Toronto FC), Jose Torres (Loros de Colima).

*Meanwhile, the Galaxy have knocked someone out of the MLS playoffs - Revolution striker Taylor Twellman. The club announced Tuesday he is out indefinitely after continuing to suffer from concussion-related issues in the wake of Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin punching him on the head Aug. 30. Cronin suffered a broken finger on the play. Twellman missed 14 games through injury this year and his latest set-back couldn't come at a worse time.

*UCLA senior defender Brad Rusin has been named the Pac-10 Player of the Week. He scored his third goal of the year over the weekend in UCLA's 1-0 win over Oregon State.

*Finally, want to win four L.A. Sol season tickets? Click here.

Although a small media horde has gathered in Carson this morning, I understand from David Beckham's publicist on this side of the Atlantic that Becks will not speak after the Galaxy's practice.

But Glenn Lehrman confirmed that talks are on-going for a two-month loan deal and released this statement:

"At this moment discussions are going on with AC Milan - nothing has been confirmed at the moment. He's considering a proposal from them to go on loan for the start of the year to maintain his level of fitness and make himself available for England selection. He remains an L.A. Galaxy player and would report as normal to the start of the 2009 MLS season."

England coach Fabio Capello had reportedly told English media that Beckham would be axed from England's next World Cup qualifying squad in February if he were not playing regularly.

Updated: Beckham did not, as previously reported, talk to reporters today after practice, although Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena and other players did.

There will be a complete story in Thursday's Daily News, Daily Breeze, Long Beach Press-Telegram and other MediaNews newspapers.

I was told by reporter Phil Collin, who was out at practice today, that Arena made a reference to a six-month loan deal, although he did not cite a source or rule for that length of time, which contradicts what we've heard so far.

Beckham will apparently wait until Saturday before addressing the media, his publicist said. Presumably by then the A.C. Milan deal will be confirmed.