Round two of Concacaf World Cup qualifying wrapped up on Tuesday and featured one of the worst own goals you'll ever see at the professional level. This Haiti own goal will leave you lost for words.
An own goal from Josue Duverger gives @CanadaSoccerEN the lead pic.twitter.com/qHEWFcmcc0
The first round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying is in the books. In March a total of 30 nations —29 if you account for Saint Lucia withdrawing — battled for six precious spots. On Tuesday, the final qualifying games were played as six nations punched their tickets for round two of Concacaf World Cup qualifying.
If you need a refresher on Concacaf’s World Cup qualifying format, then I recommend the video below. The dates aren’t accurate — you can thank Covid for that — but the format remains the same.
Argentina drew 2-2 with Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday night at El Metro in Barranquilla after Los Cafeteros were able to snatch an equalizer with the game’s final attack.
The detective work done by all neutrals when watching this Albiceleste side is to determine how much progress has been made since the nervy, need-a-Messi-hat-trick-on-the-final-day 2018 qualifying cycle, but it remains difficult to say.
The difference between the two cycles after six games is just one point (although it’s a positive point).
The past weekend was about as good as it gets for USMNT fans. The result top of mind will be the exhilarating, tumultuous triumph against Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League final. But there was another interesting result that happened in the Caribbean that American fans might have missed.
Trinidad and Tobago has been eliminated from World Cup contention.
Last Thursday, the world’s second-most populated country once again failed to qualify for the World Cup. India had never managed the feat before, and a 1-0 defeat to Qatar confirmed that 2022 wouldn’t mark a maiden voyage for the Blue Tigers.
But there’s one contest that India might yet win, and that’s the personal battle between 36-year-old captain Sunil Chhetri and six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
It’s easy to forget given the pathetic showing that followed, but the U.S. men’s national team entered the 2006 World Cup as one of the top-ranked teams in the world. The USMNT reached a No. 4 FIFA ranking in April 2006, though that fell slightly to No. 5 by the time the World Cup rolled around in Germany.
To this day, the No. 4 ranking remains the highest the USMNT has ever reached. After the 2006 World Cup, which included two defeats and a draw, the U.S. plummeted to No. 31 and has been stuck around No. 20 (plus or minus 10) in the decade-and-a-half since.
Neymar had a pretty good game in World Cup qualifying on Friday night, leading Brazil to a 2-0 win over Ecuador with a goal and an assist. But watching that Neymar penalty vs Ecuador, I found myself feeling like a crotchety old man, yelling at the TV for a youngster doing something stupid.
Brazil has a perfect 15 points from five matches to top CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying table. Neymar is a big reason why, with four goals to go with three assists. He added to both tallies on Friday and now only trails Pelé by eight as the top scorer in Seleção history.
Todo futbolista sueña con hacer un gol al ángulo. Bueno, todo futbolista que no sea un arquero. Esa casta, en realidad, sueña con un vuelo al rincón que se vea espectacular en la tele y en las portadas de los diarios. Claudio Bravo, portero chileno, tiene un par de esas en su extensa carrera y esta noche agregó una más a la colección, al ahogar un magnífico tiro libre de Lionel Messi, en el 1-1 entre Argentina y La Roja en las Clasificatorias Sudamericanas a Catar 2022.
Miren, por favor.
Cuando comenzaron las Eliminatorias Sudamericanas a Catar 2022, a varios latinos viviendo en Estados Unidos casi les da un infarto. Esto, porque la única posibilidad de ver a las selecciones que aman era a través del nefasto sistema pay-per-view y con un precio sencillamente descabellado y hasta inmoral de ¡30 DÓLARES POR PARTIDO! Por suerte hoy existen alternativas. No son gratis, pero son parte de una suscripción que quizás ya tengas.
Hablamos de fuboTV.
Arturo Vidal no jugará los próximos partidos de Chile ante Argentina y Bolivia por las Clasificatorias Catar 2022. El King quedó fuera de la convocatoria, luego de ser hospitalizado por Covid-19, en una situación que sin dudas es desafortunada, pero que vuelve a poner en foco el comportamiento del futbolista fuera del campo.