A Tale of Two Halves, England 5-1 Kazakhstan

Well, isn't that just the wonders of Football. One moment can change everything. In this instance, it was one half.

After a horrendous first 45 minutes, England responded with five goals in the second half. The score-fest began on a corner in the 52nd minute, when Rio Ferdinand headed the ball into an open net following the mistimed read of the ball by goalkeeper Alexandr Mokin.

Thirteen minutes later, England made it 2-0 as Frank Lampard curled a free kick into the area that slid off of defender Aleksandr Kuchma's head and into his own net.

But things got interesting as left back Ashley Cole, made a disastrous decision just three minutes after. Cole attempted to bounce a ball back to goalkeeper David James, but the ball lacked pace and Zhambyl Kukeyev alertly pounced on it and struck well-hit ball passed a helpless James.

It appeared that Kazakhstan was poised for a comeback but any thought of that was crushed when in the 77th minute, Wayne Rooney made it 3-1 with a clinical header as he was left unmarked on a cross from Wes Brown.

England just added to the scoreline as David Beckham, who had come on as a sub for Theo Walcott a minute after Rooney's goal, put in picture-perfect cross after picture-perfect cross.

Becks was cheered every time he touched the ball, and in the 86th, the fans were rewarded. The L.A. Galaxy Captain put in one of his trademark crosses that bounced off of a falling Frank Lampard's thigh and into the path of Rooney who hit home his second of the night.

The scoring wasn't finished however as in the 90th minute Jermaine Defoe, who had come on for Rooney, was sent clear by a clever header from Emile Heskey. Defoe went 1v1 with Mokin and he calmly curled the ball around the Kazakhstan keeper.

It wasn't all pretty though as the Lampard and Steven Gerrard duo struggled to play well together and the Ashley Cole give-away could be a cause for concern. The game wasn't nearly as easy as the scoreline indicates, but the Three Lions fans can rest assure that their team is in a good position thus far in qualifying with three wins in as many games. Up next for England, Belarus on Wednesday.

What did you think of the game? How about Wayne Rooney's second half performance? What about Ashley Cole's give-away? Should the Gerrard and Lampard duo be split once and for all? Share your thoughts below.

Halftime Report: England 0-0 Kazakhstan

It's truly remarkable. 45 minutes of the game have passed by and England has yet to score, much less create a real dangerous opportunity on Kazakhstan's goal.

Fabio Capello's men were booed off the pitch as the first half concluded. The team has yet to look very threatening, and the theorists that say Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can't play well together continue to have more ammunition for their viewpoint as both players have struggled to get much of anything going. Wayne Rooney has also been out of sorts thus far with a lackluster performance.

Credit must go to Kazakhstan though for defending as a unit, and not getting caught out of position against the world class talent that England possesses. Lets see Bernd Storck's men can hang on for another 45 minutes, or if the fans at Wembley will finally have something to celebrate.


Are you watching the game? Surprised by the performances shown by each side? Will England win? Who will be England's three subs? Beckham to the rescue? Share your thoughts below.

United States v Cuba Preview

Well, we're hours away from kickoff between the United States and Cuba at RFK Stadium in our nation's capital. The Americans are not only looking for a victory, which would secure their qualification to the Hexagonal in 2009, but also an impressive (if not dominant) performance.

However, the guys are aware that Cuba has all to play for and is in a desperate situation.

"They have nothing to lose..." said Oguchi Onyewu "So you know, I'm expecting them to go out on all cylinders and go out flying, you know and hopefully try and get a result over here against us."

Regardless of the fact that the Leones del Caribe will be attempting to keep their World Cup dreams alive, to win their first game of this qualifying round as visitors against a stacked American team seems like a pretty tall order. The Cubans have only scored twice thus far, both goals coming in drubbing defeats, 4-1 away at Guatemala last month and the dissapointing 3-1 loss at home against Trinidad and Tobago.

Kickoff is at 7:oo PM ET.

World Cup Qualifiers Galore

Nothing is as refreshing as waking up on a Saturday morning (or afternoon) and getting to watch nothing but footy all day. We have a plethora of games today from all over the globe, as World Cup Qualifying recommences.

Here is just a list of games to keep a watchful eye on this weekend:

• England v Kazakhstan


• Sweden v Portugal


• Poland v Czech Republic


• Germany v Russia


• Estonia v Spain


• Ukraine v Croatia


• Romania v France


• Colombia v Paraguay


• Argentina v Uruguay


• United States v Cuba


• Jamaica v Mexico


• Nigeria v Sierra Leone


• Senegal v Ghambia


• Ivory Coast v Madagascar

What a day we have in store for us today. And to boot, there will be plenty of other games to choose from as well. It should be a great day!

Which games are you looking most forward to today? Is Ronaldo's Portugal v Ibrahimovic's Sweden on your list? How do you think the Terry-less English will fair? Who do you have winning between Argentina and Uruguay? Can the African heavyweights avoid upsets? Share your thoughts below.

Terry Ruled Out

England Captain, John Terry will be watching Saturday's World Cup clash against Kazakhstan as opposed to playing in it, after he was ruled out with a back injury. Terry suffered the injury last week in Chelsea's Champions League bout against CFR Cluj.

The Chelsea skipper has suffered back problems in the past. In late 2006, Terry had surgery on his back which caused him to miss two months of action. It appears however, that his current injury could've been prevented.

Terry suffered the injury due to the hard surface last week at Cluj's home, Gruia stadium. Even with the discomfort in his back, the 27-year-old opted to play in Chelsea's league match against Aston Villa over the weekend. Terry showed toughness as he played through the pain, and went the full 90, but that decision has proven to be costly.

The world class defender will miss tomorrow's match and is most likely not going to partake in next Wednesday's World Cup Qualifier against Belarus either. It appears that England manager, Fabio Capello will hand the captain's armband to fellow defender Rio Ferdinand during Terry's hiatus.


What do you think of Terry's injury? Was it just bad luck? Or wrong decision making? Should Ferdinand be England's Captain from here on out? Share your thoughts below.

The Starting XI?

Here's what I think Bob Bradley will put out on the pitch come Saturday night...

-----------------------Howard-----------------------

--Cherundolo----Onyewu---Bocangera----Pearce--

----------------Bradley-------Kljestan-------------

----Dempsey---------Donovan---------Beasley----

-----------------------Ching-----------------------

It seems abundantly clear that Bob Bradley is going to go with a veteran line-up very similar, if not identical, to last month's team that earned an impressive victory against Trinidad & Tobago. We all know Tim Howard and the back four will remain untouched, while the Michael Bradley-Sacha Kljestan pairing will probably get another look in the center of the pitch to see if they can build on the strong performance put forth by both players in the 3-0 victory in September. As for attacking options, I see the trio of Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and DaMarcus Beasley playing as the attacking midfielders behind lone striker, Brian Ching.

I wouldn't be surprised if Maurice Edu got the nod over Kljestan, but with the way the Chivas USA midfielder hustled and the manner in which he linked up with Michael Bradley last month in Chicago, it appears Sacha starting is a foregone conclusion.

I could also see Josmer Altidore starting as the lone striker instead of Brian Ching, but there's little to no chance that Bob Bradley will leave the Houston Dynamo forward on the bench when the game kicks off. With that being said, if all goes according to plan, I see Altidore, Freddy Adu , and Jose Francisco Torres coming off the bench.

What Starting XI do you think Bob Bradley will go with? What would you like to see? Will Bob Bradley throw some of the youngsters onto the pitch? Edu or Sacha? Share your comments below.

FIFA Rankings Released

The FIFA Rankings for October were released this morning and with no real surprise, Spain remained at the top. The top three went untouched as the second and third place teams were Italy, and Germany.

We finally saw movement as Brazil rose up two spots to No. 4 ahead of the Netherlands and Croatia, who each dropped a position. The other South American heavyweight, Argentina, remained in the 7th spot.

Elsewhere, the United States leap frogged seven positions, to climb to No. 21. The Americans arch-rival, Mexico, made no change as they stayed at 24th, one position ahead of Ghana, who dropped five places.

You can view all the October 2008 rankings here.

How did your team do? Upset that Brazil managed to move up two spots despite a scoreless draw against a 10-man Bolivian squad? What do you think about the positions of Mexico and the United States? Share your comments below.

UEFA Cup Draw

The UEFA Cup Draw was held on early Tuesday morning, and there are two to three really challenging groups. I think the most difficult group has to be Group A, which is made up of German side Schalke 04, Paris Saint-Germain from France, Robinho's Manchester City, Racing Santander of La Liga, and rounding things off are Eredivisie's FC Twente.

That entire group should be full of interesting matches, but here are some other matches to look forward to. Group C's Sevilla v Stuttgart clash should be fun to watch, as well as
the Ajax, Hamburg and Aston Villa games in Group F.

Here are the groups in their entirety:


Group A

Schalke 04
Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester City
Racing Santander
FC Twente

Group B

Benfica
Olympiacos
Galatasaray
Hertha Berlin
FC Metalist Kharkiv

Group C

Sevilla
VfB Stuttgart
Sampdoria
Partizan Belgrade
Standard Liege

Group D

Tottenham Hotspur
Spartak Moscow
Udinese
Dinamo Zagreb
NEC Nijmegen

Group E

AC Milan
SC Heerenveen
SC Braga
Portsmouth
VfL Wolfsburg

Group F

Hamburg
Ajax
Slavia Prague
Aston Villa
MSK Zilina

Group G

Valencia
Club Brugge
Rosenborg
FC Copenhagen
Saint-Etienne

Group H

CSKA Moscow
Deportivo La Coruna
Feyenoord
AS Nancy
Lech Poznan

Which group do you think is the toughest? Which matches are you most looking forward to? Who do you think will make it out of the group stage? Who will be the ultimate winner? Share your comments below.

Euro Weekend Round-up

Here are the scores from some of this weekend's endless list of games:


English Premier League

Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal
West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Fulham
Wigan Athletic 0-1 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Manchester United
West Ham 1-3 Bolton Wanderers
Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa
Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Hull City
Portsmouth 2-1 Stoke City
Everton 2-2 Newcastle


La Liga

Villareal 2-1 Real Betis
Barcelona 6-1 Atletico Madrid
Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 Numancia
Mallorca 0-2 Real Sporting de Gijon
Osasuna 0-1 Racing Santander
Sevilla 4-0 Athletic Bilbao
Recreativo de Huelva 0-4 Malaga
Getafe 2-2 Almeria
Valladolid 0-1 Valencia
Real Madrid 2-2 Espanyol


Serie A

Lazio 1-1 Lecce
Inter Milan 2-1 Bologna
Atalanta 4-2 Sampdoria
Juventus 1-2 Palermo
Reggina 1-1 Catania
Udinese 2-0 Torino
Chievo 0-2 Fiorentina
Genoa 3-2 Napoli
Siena 1-0 AS Roma
Cagliari 0-0 AC Milan


Bundesliga

Arminia Bielefeld 1-2 Karlsruhe
Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Hertha Berlin
Bayern Munich 3-3 VfL Bochum
VfB Stuttgart 4-1 Werder Bremen
Monchengladbach 1-2 FC Koln
1899 Hoffenheim 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Energie Cottbus 1-2 Hamburger SV
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Hannover 96
Schalke 04 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg


Ligue 1

Marseille 2-1 Caen
Lorient 1-2 Bordeaux
Nice 1-1 Sochaux
Le Havre 1-2 Le Mans
Toulouse 1-0 Auxerre
Grenoble 0-1 Nantes
Lille 1-0 Valenciennes
Rennes 3-0 Lyon
St. Etienne 2-0 Monaco
Nancy 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain


Eredivisie

AZ Alkmaar 6-0 Sparta Rotterdam
Vitesse Arnhem 2-2 Willem II
PSV Eindhoven 3-0 De Graafschap
Heracles Almelo 2-0 Roda JC
Groningen 3-0 ADO Den Haag
Feyenoord 0-2 NEC Nijmegen
Utrecht 3-0 Twente Enschede
Volendam 2-4 NAC Breda
Heerenveen 5-2 Ajax


Which games did you see? Witness Ibrahimovic's clever backheel? What did you think of the finishing clinic Barca put on Atletico? Did you catch Bayern Munich's 3-3 tie? Share below.

Owen Omitted for England Qualifiers

Michael Owen has once again been left off the England roster by manager Fabio Capello. The team will continue its qualifying campaign on October 11th at Wembley Stadium against Kazakhstan, and will then travel to Belarus for a match on the 15th in Minsk.

Owen, who has 89 Caps for England, did not get called up for either of their qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia last month as Capello claimed that Owen was not fit enough. That may have served as motivation for Owen as he's managed to find the back of the net for the abysmal Newcastle United during their most recent matches.

Capello has opted to go with five forwards for England's next two matches, including the surprise call-up of Portsmouth striker, Peter Crouch who also missed out on last month's qualifiers. Midfielder, Joe Cole is ruled out with a foot injury as is goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who is suffering from a calf strain.


The Squad:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham United), Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Matthew Upson (West Ham United)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), David Beckham (LA Galaxy)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermaine Defoe (Portsmouth), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic), Peter Crouch (Portsmouth)


What do you think of the roster? Should England have called up Michael Owen? How do you think this will affect the Newcastle striker? Leave your comments below.