<p>Anyone else a US soccer fan? </p>
<p>If I wasn’t concerned about my car getting vandalized (I’m in the LA area) I would have a window decal of Dos a Cero made. </p>
<p>The only thing we have left to do is to beat them in Azteca. Which is much easier said than done.</p>
<p>I had to teach last night, so I set the DVR before I left. When I got home, my husband did a great job of keeping mum–he was actually so solemn that I was afraid we’d lost–horrors! I was exhausted by 10:45 as the half was winding down and figured I’d only stay awake until the half was over. But I was rewarded with Bradley’s goal! Would you believe I’d only set the DVR for 2 hours, so I missed his second goal late in the game–good thing I could watch it on soccernet.</p>
<p>I won’t count on us beating them in Azteca–but it won’t matter for qualifying (I hope). I am unhappy about Tim Howard’s yellow, though–what was it for? So he’ll miss the next qualifier. Was delighted the ref sent of Rafa Marquez, though–dirty player, indeed.</p>
<p>The games against Mexico are always interesting, but one has to recognize that the WC qualifiers are far from being a nervw-wracking experience. With te top three teams advancing to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa … out of six teams, they might as well exclude the USA and Mexico from the debates. In addition, offering the fourth-place team will have a playoff against the fifth-place team from South America for another berth in the Cup showcases how ridiculous the WC qualifiers have become when comparing the Concacaf with the European qualifiers. </p>
<p>It’s about time that only TWO teams from the Concacaf could qualify and the renaining spots decided by direct elimination against other South American teams and then against European teams that also missed the direct qualifying spots. </p>
<p>Here’s what left in the round-robin: </p>
<p>March 28: at El Salvador, San Salvador
April 1: vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Nashville (7:45, ESPN2, Galavision)
June 3: at Costa Rica
June 6: vs. Honduras
Aug. 12: at Mexico
Sept. 5: vs. El Salvador
Sept. 9: at Trinidad and Tobago
Oct. 10: at Honduras
Oct. 14: vs. Costa Rica</p>
<p>I don’t consider games in the hex to be totally nerve-wracking, but it is a sport and things can always go wrong. </p>
<p>I didn’t get Howard’s yellow either. It means that he will miss the next qualifier, I believe, which should give Brad Guzan a chance to prove himself.</p>