Australia captain, defensive midfielder and rugged bearded hero Mile Jedinak had the game of his life, scoring a hat trick to propel the Socceroos to the 2018 World Cup with a 3-1 defeat of Honduras on Wednesday in Sydney. Jedinak scored on a free kick and two penalty kicks before Honduras’ Alberth Elis scored a consolation goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The first leg of the intercontinental playoff was a 0-0 draw in Honduras.
While playing for a big team like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United or Chelsea is definitely the most common dream for young players, some analysis shows that moving to Spain or England may not be the best choice for CONCACAF players in Europe, at least not early on in their careers.
In this article, we will analyze what the best options are for CONCACAF players dreaming of having successful careers across the pond.
The USMNT was eliminated from World Cup qualification Tuesday in humiliating fashion, and folks have wasted no time dancing on the grave of the USA's World Cup hopes.
It has since been changed, but this was the state of the Trinidad & Tobago Wikipedia page last night:
Last night Panama officially reached the first World Cup finals in their history. Accordingly, Panama President Juan Carlos Varela has declared today a national holiday.
In a series of tweets, Varela gave public and private sector workers the day off, and canceled classes for students.
Here's Varela's full quote:
Maybe you’ve already heard, but the USMNT will not be going to the World Cup. They’ve been gazumped in the Hex by both Panama and Honduras following the most embarrassing defeat in the history of American sport. But America’s loss is another’s gain, primarily Panama’s, who’ve clinched automatic qualification to Russia.
This is not a goal. The ball did not go in the goal and therefore it cannot be a goal. The United States are out of the World Cup because this was called a goal. It was not a goal. The ball did not cross the line.
I need a drink. Goodnight.
It took Costa Rica all of 95 minutes to accomplish the feat, but in the end, Kendall Waston’s stoppage time equalizer secured the nation’s qualification to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. It was another surreal moment in Los Ticos’ qualifying campaign, one that’s seen them defeat the United States twice and finish second behind only Mexico in CONCACAF’s Hexagonal round.
October 6 and 10 could very well define our 2018 without having even celebrated the turning of the new year. Matches against Panama in Orlando and Trinidad & Tobago in Couva will decide the USMNT’s fate with regards to the world’s biggest sporting event. For those that like to measure the time between their birth and death with the probabilities of how many more World Cups they’ll be able to enjoy, failure to take anything less than four points could prove catastrophic.
With “El Tri” officially qualified to the World Cup, will we see a full-strength Mexican starting lineup facing Trinidad and Tobago and Honduras in October? Or will Osorio make the kind of wild, unexpected and at times outright illogical lineup changes he has gotten us used to?
With only two more matches to be played, Mexico aim at securing the first place in the qualifiers and don't have much to lose. For the rest of the teams, however, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Booby Wood, on as a 73rd minute substitute for Darlington Nagbe, salvaged a point for the USMNT against Honduras by scoring his nation’s lone goal in the 85th minute. It took a superbly struck Kellyn Acosta free kick to trouble the staunch Honduran defense, and Wood was on hand to keep the U.S. in the automatic qualifying places — at least for now.
A Panama victory over Trinidad and Tobago later tonight would see the U.S. drop to fourth in the Hex, the spot that necessitates a dreaded inter-confederation playoff with Asia to determine who advances to Russia.