Recently in World Cup Category

First, the flameout:

From the press releases pile-up department:
*Simi Valley-based Los Angeles Futbol Club has become the third youth team in the U.S. to partner with EPL team Chelsea.

What does that mean?

From the (edited) press release:

LAFC will now be LAFC Chelsea and host Chelsea tournaments, training sessions and a player and coach exchange program. As a result of the partnership, LAFC Chelsea will offer more scholarships for young athletes with financial hardship. LAFC provides kids across Southern California and throughout the country the opportunity to play competitive soccer regardless of ability to pay club membership costs.

Chelsea FC Chief Executive Peter Kenyon said: "Our youth super club network is designed to support soccer development in the US. LAFC shares the same goal and has demonstrated rapid growth of their club and talent.

"Since its inception, LAFC has provided young athletes the opportunity to play competitive soccer through financial support. With our new partnership, we hope that the association with Chelsea can attract and leverage additional funding scholarships, helping to further develop the academy and club.

"Providing elite training for young talent is critical to the long-term development of the sport in America."

The club will make its debut under the new LAFC Chelsea nameplate Saturday when its Under-16 and Under-18 teams take on the U.S. Youth National Teams.

LAFC President Don Sheppard said: "LAFC was created to provide an affordable option for skilled players to play top-tier club soccer. We've been able to reach out to economically disadvantaged communities to recruit some of the best talent in the US.

"For a world-renowned club like Chelsea to recognize our mission and be a part of it shows the caliber and quality of their organization and their commitment to develop US soccer.

"We are a young program and a partnership like this allows us to reach the next level on skill development, player participation and overall club exposure. We have a top-tier coaching staff and now with Chelsea our players will receive an international view of the game - something they may not have received otherwise."

LAFC includes over 50 boys and girls teams with 800 players from ages eight to eighteen. Throughout the last year, the academy has placed seven players on US national team rosters.

LAFC is just three years old. Excellent article on the club by Sports Illustrated here.

The details on Saturday's event here.

*Staying in Simi Valley for the moment, Chivas USA will host tryouts there Dec. 12 for its pro and youth teams.

*The Ventura County Fusion also has tryouts Dec. 13-14.

*And for those already pining for summer, registration for the Southern California Beach Soccer Championships in May in Oceanside is open.

By the way, if you're home for the holidays and need a soccer jolt, check out the Women's Under-20 World Cup: at 1 p.m. it's Norway-Brazil on ESPNU and Mexico-North Korea at 2 p.m. on Galavision.

The U.S.lost Wednesday 2-0 to China, BTW, although the team had already qualified for the quarterfinals. Next is England on Sunday.

Finally, here's your gratuitous David Beckham mention of the day.

And here's a gratuitous new David Beckham commercial (he doesn't speak, much less rap and that's really something to be thankful for.) Happy Thanksgiving.

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.

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.

It isn't, at least not yet, as this Associated Press story points out.

As soccer's popularity grows in the U.S. we'll see a similar situation here - the would-be owners of MLS clubs willing to plunk down a $40 million expansion fee are counting on it. And of course, this story doesn't mention it, but ESPN has long been rumored to be interested in securing the rights to EPL games in the U.S.

GENEVA (AP) If one sport can survive the global financial crisis, it's the world's favorite game: soccer.

Yes, individual clubs will certainly suffer - some losing sponsors or investors and perhaps players who become too pricey. But cash flowing into the top end of the market, from television deals and multinational backers, is unlikely to dry up.

If anything, soccer at its highest level is poised to become an even stronger TV draw in
hard times when people want cheap entertainment.

Look at the numbers.

The 2010 World Cup is already sold, and FIFA expects to bank $3.2 billion before
kickoff.

UEFA earned a net profit approaching $400 million from this year's European
Championship, and the Champions League will pull in $1.115 billion this season.

Also, television deals for the 2009-12 Champions League seasons are already done in
the main markets, where prices are reportedly up 10 percent, and rights to show the
English Premier League - where huge revenues help explain overseas interest in clubs
- will soon be sold for the 2010-13 seasons.

Industry experts believe the domestic deal for Britain will beat the current 3-year cost of
$2.94 billion paid by subscription broadcasters Sky and Setanta. Global television and
new media rights will earn English league clubs another $1.73 billion in that time.

Philipp Grothe has traded football media rights for two decades. Last week, his
Swiss-based Kentaro agency struck a six-year deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation to
distribute national team matches.

He believes that when money is tight, football is a reliable commodity.

"Only the big live events in sport, i.e. football, generate the mass audience," Grothe said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "They are the ones delivering to
sponsors and broadcasters the big audience numbers."

The World Cup is one of the globe's most-watched sporting events, and FIFA claims the
2006 tournament in Germany had an accumulated television audience of 26.3 billion
viewers on 376 different channels.

FIFA, which relies on the World Cup for 90 percent of its revenue, has budgeted to get
$3.2 billion from television and marketing rights to the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

"FIFA believes that this is a realistic forecast," FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola said in
an e-mail. "Certain contracts are secured with bank guarantees. All TV partners have
fulfilled their contractual obligations."

The Zurich-based body has six commercial partners for the World Cup.

One, Coca-Cola, is signed until 2022. The Emirates airline paid $195 million to sign through the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

UEFA, which declined to discuss marketing strategy, had revenue of roughly $2 billion for its three-week tournament in Austria and Switzerland, but has not started selling Euro 2012, scheduled for Poland and Ukraine.

UEFA's club football commitments seem solidly grounded. It has signed four commercial partners - Ford, Heineken, MasterCard and Sony - out of six intended for the 2009-12 Champions League seasons.

The competition's playing format has been copied around the world, though not its riches.

European champion Manchester United earned $67 million in prize money and television shares last season.

Critics say the Champions League has created a self-perpetuating elite, leaving other
clubs unable to bridge the gap. UEFA president Michel Platini, however, wants the power to ban indebted clubs from the competition.

His words were widely interpreted as an attack on the English teams that now dominate
the Champions League.

Chelsea, last season's runner-up, owes more than $1 billion, though its interest-free loans from Russian owner Roman Abramovich are not yet vulnerable.

Manchester United, valued at $1.8 billion by Forbes Magazine, has big debts, but it also
has a global brand.

When shirt sponsor AIG received a bailout from the U.S. government last month, there
was speculation the insurance firm might pull out of its 4-year, nearly $100 million deal.

That might seem like a financial nightmare, but Grothe said it would be a win-win scenario for the club.

"Man United would get a hefty signoff fee to release (AIG) and the day after they could
close a deal which is even bigger," he said.

An important test of soccer's prospects will come next month, when domestic television
rights are offered in Germany to broadcast the Bundesliga.

Public broadcaster ARD and subscription service Premiere are favored to win the deal,
with the price is expected to be more than $544 million a season.

A young U.S. team lost 2-1 to Trinidad & Tobago in World Cup qualifying on a penalty scored by an experienced Dwight Yorke, Mexico tied Canada 2-2 meaning qualifying for the next round for El Tri goes down to the final game and Croatia and England won.

Meanwhile, Frank Yallop's chances of returning to MLS Cup at Home Depot Center are all but gone after the San Jose Earthquakes tied 1-1 lost 2-1 Wednesday to a 10-man Houston Dynamo (Lawndale's Kei Kamara was sent off early in the affair).

The Galaxy have officially announced as expected that they will return Down Under in the post-season and play two games, including one Dec. 11 against the Queensland Roar. They also play an all-star team in New Zealand Dec. 6.

And in case you're wondering why the Anschutz Entertainment Group-owned Galaxy decided to play this particular team - why, because they just happen to play in an AEG-owned stadium that needs a bit of a boost. Shocker, huh?

Luckily the Roar aren't much better than the Galaxy. They currently sit fifth in the eight-team A-League with a record of 2-2-3.

Finally, the Cal State Northridge men drew 0-0 with UC Irvine Wednesday and the Cal State Dominguez Hills men beat UC San Diego 2-0, while their female counterparts lost 2-1 to the same school.

Yup, Becks is on the cover of this month's FourFourTwo wearing a Galaxy jersey and a smug grin.

It's not exactly a penetrating interview though - in fact, vapid is the word that springs to mind.

Nothing much in the interview about the Galaxy's woes this season, so who knows how long ago this was written.

Excerpts:

"There are teams in (MLS) that could give some Premiership teams a good game. I'm not saying that they are up there with the top teams, but they could definitely compete with some of the Premiership's teams and give them a hard time."

"I don't regret moving here, I don't think it was too early because I wanted to come to America and the MLS while I was still fit enough to get around the field and play at the top level: at my level."

"I can't see myself playing football anywhere else now, apart from here. I've got a contract for another four years, I'm 33-years-old, so I can't see myself playing in Europe again."

And that's the best stuff.

Moving on to the news of the day:
*It's deadline day in MLS for potential expansion cities to submit bids. Among the suspects: Las Vegas, Atlanta, Portland, Miami, St. Louis, Vancouver B.C., Montreal, and Ottawa. We'll see how it shakes out by day's end.

*It's also World Cup qualifying fixture day around the world, of course, although Becks and England are not on the box (or at least free TV). The pick of the many televised games include U.S.-Trinidad & Tobago at 5 p.m. on ESPN2, Canada-Mexico at 7 p.m. on Telemundo and Germany-Wales at 11:45 a.m. on GOLTV.

*There's also an MLS make-up game postponed because of Hurricane Ike between Frank Yallop's Earthquakes and the Dynamo in Houston at 6 p.m. on Direct Kick. While it's looking increasingly unlikely San Jose will make the playoffs, am I the only one dreaming of a Yallop-Sigi Schmid (sorry, Earthquakes-Crew) MLS Cup in the home of the Galaxy next month? Now that would sum up all that's been wrong with the Galaxy for the last few seasons.

A knee injury and a sore back respectively forced Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and Columbus Crew forward Robbie Rogers of Rolling Hills Estates off the U.S. roster for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.

The revised roster.

I'll have more on the emergence of young Mexican-Americans Jose Francisco Torres of Pachuca and Michael Orozco of San Luis and the implications for the U.S. in Tuesday's column.

Catching up on Sunday's local college games:
Stanford men 2 (3-6-2) UCLA 1 (3-4-5)
The loss snapped UCLA's six-game unbeaten streak.

No. 3 UCLA 4 (11-0-2) Washington 0 (9-4-0)
Kristina Larsen scored a hat-trick.

No. 5 USC 0 (11-1-1) No. 25 Washington State 0 (6-3-4)
The Trojans' unbeaten streak hits 19 consecutive games.

LMU men 2 (4-3-4) Gonzaga 1 (5-6-1)
Junior defender Wilkie Johnson's OT winner gives LMU back-to-back victories for the first time in two seasons. The former Peninsula High star was named WCC Player of the Week today.

Cal Poly women 1 (8-6) Cal State Northridge 0 (5-7-1)
Cal Poly scored with five seconds left in the game.

With the U.S. wrapping up a place in the final round of World Cup qualifying in Saturday's 6-1 win over Cuba, Coach Bob Bradley released nine players from that squad - including the Galaxy's Landon Donovan - ahead of Wednesday's meaningless clash against Trinidad & Tobago.

Among those added to the roster were Chivas USA left back Jonathan Bornstein, who has struggled this year to recapture the form he showed last season, and Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew, who looks likely to make his U.S. debut.

Rogers, who had an inch-perfect cross to set up one of the Crew's two goals in its 2-2 draw today with Chicago, has made several eye-catching displays this season and calls have increased for Bradley to give him a chance.

Also released by Bradley were: Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, Brian Ching, Jay DeMerit, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu.

Here's the full roster -

goalkeepers Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0).

Defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA: 0/0), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 6/0), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC: 0/0).

Midfielders Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 3/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 20/6), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 4/0), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids: 11/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia: 1/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 1/0).

Forwards Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 1/1), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew: 0/0).
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

The U.S. thrashed Cuba 6-1, Jamaica beat Mexico and Croatia shot blanks.

First off, why did Fox Soccer Channel inflict the overly chatty and not particularly insightful Nick Webster and Warren Barton on viewers from an L.A. studio rather than on-site English commentators during the England-Kazakhstan game this morning? (Which also has the effect of lowering the crowd noise from the almost 90,000 in attendance, further detracting from the game).

David Beckham came on for the last 10 minutes of the 5-1 England win, creating the fourth and final goal from (what else) a free kick. (An incredibly horrible Ashley Cole howler led to the Kazakhstan goal).

Sticking with World Cup qualifying for the moment, it seems the Cubans forgot to ensure they had a hall monitor and players are again making a dash for the exits ahead of the U.S. game today. A reported 18,000 tickets were sold for the game by Friday. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Noted: Bob Bradley has started the defensive quartet of Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and Heath Pearce six times, with England and Spain the only
teams to score against them. This group has recorded four of the USA's eight shutouts this year.

Classic comment on Goff's blog, BTW:

MLS really should hold an allocation each time the Cuban team plays here. It would streamline the process.
Posted by: Alejandro Ruiz | October 11, 2008 12:28 AM

Here's a breakdown of the playoff implications in MLS this weekend:
*Chivas USA can qualify for the playoffs with a win over the San Jose Earthquakes today if Colorado fails to win against the Galaxy Sunday and FC Dallas doesn't beat Toronto this afternoon. But as Chivas USA press types point out:

"At this stage (of the season), four points (a win and a draw) from (the club's) remaining three games will be enough to guarantee Chivas USA a third straight spot in the playoffs, regardless of other results."

Chivas USA-Earthquakes preview here. The game is on at 7 p.m. on KAZA and delayed at 10 p.m. on Prime.

Friday College scores:
No. 5 USC 3 (11-1) No. 16 Washington 2 (9-3)
USC came from behind twice to win the game in double overtime with Amy Rodriguez scoring twice including the winner. The Trojans have now won nine straight games.

LMU men 1 (3-3-4) Portland 0 (4-5-2)
Freshman Artur Jozkowicz got the winner to even the Lions' West Coast Conference record at 1-1.

UCLA 3 men (3-3-5) No. 6 California 2 (6-2-3)
Junior midfielder Michael Stephens scored the game-winning goal from a penalty pick in the 93rd minute.

No. 3 UCLA women 2 (10-0-2) No. 25 Washington State 1 (6-3-3)
UCLA wins in double overtime

UC Santa Barbara women 3 (9-5) Cal State Northridge 2 (5-6-1)
CSUN had just one shot on target as they lose their Big West Conference season opener.

I don't know about you, but the weekend can't quick enough for me after the less than cheery news this week about what one newsroom wit described as our 301.K plans.

And there's plenty of soccer on TV and live locally to distract us.

I'll be back with a Chivas USA preview Saturday and a Galaxy one Sunday, but the bottom line is although the 1-1 draw last night between Real Salt Lake and the Red Bulls did little to clarify the playoff picture Chivas USA can still qualify for the playoffs while the Galaxy can put themselves (and us) out of their misery and be eliminated from the post-season.

Oh, and the U.S. can make the next round of WCQ by defeating Cuba Saturday.

For now here's your basic list of games just so you don't forget to set up the TiVo.

World Cup qualifying games on TV Saturday include:
9 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel England-Kazakhstan
11:30 a.m. FSC Spain-Estonia
4 p.m. ESPN Classic Cuba-U.S.
5 p.m. KVEA Mexico-Jamaica

MLS games on TV this weekend include:
5:30 p.m. Saturday FSC Toronto FC-FC Dallas
7 p.m. Saturday KAZA Chivas USA-San Jose Earthquakes (or delayed at 9:30 p.m. on FSN)
Noon Sunday KFTR Columbus Crew-Chicago Fire
9 p.m. Sunday Prime (delayed) Galaxy-Colorado Rapids

Mexican league games on TV include:
3 p.m. Saturday KMEX CD Guadalajara-San Luis
5 p.m. Saturday KAZA Santos Laguna-Pachuca
2 p.m. Sunday KMEX Puebla-Club America

Local college games this weekend include:
3 p.m. today at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 16 Washington
1 p.m. Sunday at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 25 Washington State
7 tonight at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington State
1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington
4 p.m. today at Sullivan Field LMU men-Portland
2 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Field LMU men-Gonzaga
1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Field LMU-Pepperdine

The new Women's Professional Soccer league conducted its third draft Monday, this one for American players not allocated when U.S. Women's National Team players were divvied up or international players not previously allocated.

Here are the complete draft results.

The as yet unnamed L.A. franchise (its nick name and colors will be announced later this month) chose Canadian National Team goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, defender Kendall Fletcher, U.S. Women's National Team forward Christie Welsh and former Pac-10 Player of the Year Manya Makoski.

They join such players as Marta, Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, Aly Wagner, Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama and and Chinese striker Han Duan who were allocated previously.

"The goal was to have a team that could keep the ball, play a poss style, but have a little bit of flair to them and I feel we've definitely gone in the right direction," said Coach Abner Rogers.

Also today, the WPS announced a broadcast agreement with Fox Soccer Channel that covers 20 regular-season games and the all-star game, as well as the two semifinals and the final on Fox Sports Net.

I'll have more on the WPS and the L.A. team in Tuesday's column, which I had better get on with writing.

A couple of quick notes:
*David Beckham may be out of form for the Galaxy, but he was still picked for England's next two World Cup qualifiers. Consequently, he'll miss Sunday's Galaxy game against Colorado.

*Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas was also called up by Jamaica for WCQ.

In Sunday's college games it was:
UCLA men 3 (2-3-5) SDSU 3 (2-5-1)
UCLA women 3 SDSU 0
USC 2 (10-1) Cal State Northridge 1 (5-5-1)
CSUDH men 1 (11-1-1) Sonoma State 0
CSUDH women 6 (8-5) Sonoma State 2
LMU women 0 (5-4-3) San Diego State 0 (4-6-2)
St. Mary's 2 (2-6-1) LMU men 1 (2-3-4)
Cal State Northridge men 1 (5-4-1) UC Riverside 0

Finally, Cal State Dominguez Hills junior defender Kevin Gallaugher was named the Brine California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer Player of the Week after the Toros posted a pair of shutouts over the weekend, limiting opponents to a combined seven shots on target.