Mark your calendars
1. Winter MNT camp vs Sweden is January 24th in LA. I've gone the last two years and had a blast, but this year I won't be able to make it, for various reasons, namely...
2. The dates and opponents for the final WCQ round have been announced. Locations are still TBD, but:
Wednesday 11 February
Costa Rica-Honduras
El Salvador-Trinidad and Tobago
USA-Mexico
Saturday 28 March
Mexico-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-Honduras
El Salvador-USA
Wednesday 1 April
Costa Rica-El Salvador
USA-Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras-Mexico
Wednesday 3 June
Costa Rica-USA
Saturday 6 June
Trinidad and Tobago-Costa Rica
El Salvador-Mexico
USA-Honduras
Wednesday 10 June
Mexico-Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras-El Salvador
Wednesday 12 August
Honduras-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-El Salvador
Mexico-USA
Saturday 5 September
Costa Rica-Mexico
Honduras-Trinidad and Tobago
USA-El Salvador
Wednesday 9 September
El Salvador-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-USA
Mexico-Honduras
Saturday 10 October (*)
Costa Rica-Trinidad and Tobago
Mexico-El Salvador
Honduras-USA
Wednesday 14 October (*)
USA-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-Mexico
El Salvador-Honduras
(*) simultaneous kick-off
All home teams listed first. Yep, we're playing Mexico in the US first game outta the gate. That kind of takes some of the fun out of it, but note that the September 5th date does allow for a similar WOOOOO WE'RE GOIN' BACK party weekend as 2005. Provided, of course, that the qualifier results stack up in a similar manner--that's a big assumption but you might as well hope.
3. Hey, remember how we're the current CONCACAF title holders? That gets us into the Confederations Cup next year in South Africa. Remember how the last World Cup and Copa America put us into the groups of death? Yeah, it just gets worse:
Group A
South Africa
Iraq
New Zealand
Spain
Group B
USA
Italy
Brazil
Egypt
Brutal. At best, it's a dress rehearsal for the following year, and one more chance to take on tough opponents, even if it means getting trashed like a rented sports car. I'm not really losing sleep over it, however.
2. The dates and opponents for the final WCQ round have been announced. Locations are still TBD, but:
Wednesday 11 February
Costa Rica-Honduras
El Salvador-Trinidad and Tobago
USA-Mexico
Saturday 28 March
Mexico-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-Honduras
El Salvador-USA
Wednesday 1 April
Costa Rica-El Salvador
USA-Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras-Mexico
Wednesday 3 June
Costa Rica-USA
Saturday 6 June
Trinidad and Tobago-Costa Rica
El Salvador-Mexico
USA-Honduras
Wednesday 10 June
Mexico-Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras-El Salvador
Wednesday 12 August
Honduras-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-El Salvador
Mexico-USA
Saturday 5 September
Costa Rica-Mexico
Honduras-Trinidad and Tobago
USA-El Salvador
Wednesday 9 September
El Salvador-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-USA
Mexico-Honduras
Saturday 10 October (*)
Costa Rica-Trinidad and Tobago
Mexico-El Salvador
Honduras-USA
Wednesday 14 October (*)
USA-Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago-Mexico
El Salvador-Honduras
(*) simultaneous kick-off
All home teams listed first. Yep, we're playing Mexico in the US first game outta the gate. That kind of takes some of the fun out of it, but note that the September 5th date does allow for a similar WOOOOO WE'RE GOIN' BACK party weekend as 2005. Provided, of course, that the qualifier results stack up in a similar manner--that's a big assumption but you might as well hope.
3. Hey, remember how we're the current CONCACAF title holders? That gets us into the Confederations Cup next year in South Africa. Remember how the last World Cup and Copa America put us into the groups of death? Yeah, it just gets worse:
Group A
South Africa
Iraq
New Zealand
Spain
Group B
USA
Italy
Brazil
Egypt
Brutal. At best, it's a dress rehearsal for the following year, and one more chance to take on tough opponents, even if it means getting trashed like a rented sports car. I'm not really losing sleep over it, however.