The Premier League has decided it’s time for a break. Literally, they took a break and shut down games for two weeks in the middle of the season. This was the first time in league history and a welcome break for clubs and players during a grueling season….but a bummer for fans. I need me some soccer! It will be curious to see the quality of games coming up in another week. Will the rest and relaxation pay off and games will be fast paced and exciting. Will injuries be down as players had a chance to recover and heal their bodies. We shall see, but in the meantime, let’s see what else is going on in the world of soccer.
Women’s Olympic Qualifying
The US Women’s National Team is in the midst of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics this summer. Their region CONCACAF, is deep into the qualifying tournament and this past Friday the semi-finals were held. Good news for the US team.
In Semi-Final play the US beat Mexico 4-0 and Canada beat Costa Rica 1-0, earning both the US and Canada a berth in the Olympic Games. The two teams will play in the finals on Sunday, already assured a spot, the game should be fun and free flowing. The two teams have met in the finals the past three qualifying tournaments.
USA 4 Mexico 0. Samantha Mewis scored two goals while Rose Lavelle and Christen Press scored the other two goals. It was the US teams 27th consecutive victory. Wow! Impressive. The US has made every Olympic tournament since the sport was added in 1996 and the US has quite a history in the tournament.
Champions: 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012
Runner Up: 2000
Their only tournament not making the finals was in 2016, when they were knocked out in the quarter finals by Sweden, and Germany was the eventual Champion. In 2000, Norway beat the US in the finals. The US, ranked #1 in the world, will be favorites for their 5th Olympic title this summer in Tokyo Japan. Let’s see some highlights from the Mexico match.
Watching the USWNT is such a treat, the quality of play across the field and the quality players in every position is remarkable. In this game, the dominance of the US midfield was apparent. 3 of the 4 goals were from the midfield in Mewis and Lavelle, During the World Cup, Rose Lavelle (UW-Madison player) became a star and now her midfield teammate Mewis is beginning to make a name for herself as well. It is sort of a thunder and lightning due. Lavelle quick and wiry and can strike fast for goals, Mewis is a beast who can dominate the midfield and use her strength to overpower players. It’s a great combination.
USA vs. Canada goes off at 5:00 CST on Sunday on FS2 (FoxSports). I found it on our local Spectrum cable and would encourage everyone to take a few hours and check it out.
Men’s Olympic Qualifying
The Men’s National team is not quite in the same place as the Women’s team. The US team is currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings. There are eight teams in CONCACAF playing for two qualifying spots in the Olympic tournament. USA and Mexico are rated as the top 2 going into the tournament, but we have found with the men’s team, anything is possible….both good and bad. Their 4 team group in Round 1 of the tournament includes Mexico, United States, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The top 2 teams advance after round robin play in late March, first game is March 20.
One interesting note for the Olympic Men’s tournament is that they only allow countries U-23 teams to be involved. So you will not see our normal Men’s National team….they do make 3 overage exceptions and some of the younger players are also on the main team, but all the “old guys” will only be watching. This is all about the young guns! Can our developing and younger players find a way to advance to the Olympics. The next generation needs to step up. Who will be the break out stars, who will step up and carry us to glory! The men’s program could use a boost and something to build on for the future!
FA Cup Update
Round 5 is coming soon and there are now 16 teams remaining in the Cup. Here is a breakdown of the next round…a few surprise teams are still involved as well as some traditional powers facing off.
- Portsmouth vs. Arsenal
- Chelsea vs. Liverpool
- West Brom vs. Newcastle
- Reading vs. Sheffield United
- Tottenham vs. Norwich City
- Leicester City vs. Birmingham City
- Sheffield Wednesday vs. Manchester City
- Derby County vs. Manchester United
A few interesting notes.
Biggest Underdog. Portsmouth is 5th in League 1, that’s two levels below Premier league team Arsenal. This will be the Davids vs. Goliath match up from this round.
Championship League teams remaining. 5 teams from the Championship League still remain and all would be huge wins to take down a Premier League team and advance to the Quarter Finals round. West Brom is 1st, Sheffield Wednesday 11th, Derby County 13th, Birmingham City 15th and Reading 16th in the Championship league.
Wayne Rooney vs. Manchester United. One of the most interesting match ups will pit Manchester United versus one of their all time legends Wayne Rooney. Rooney left the club a few years back and moved to the MLS. He was picked up recently by Championship level Derby County and has helped them thru a few rounds of play in the past month. And now, what a match up. Is it possible that Rooney could find a way to lead Derby past the club where he became a legend. Must see TV for sure. What a match up!
UEFA Champions League
The first leg of the Round of 16 will be played February 18th thru February 25th. Get ready for some great match ups.
- PSG (France) vs. Dortmund (Germany)
- Bayern Munich (Germany) vs. Chelsea (England )
- Manchester City (England) vs. Real Madrid (Spain)
- Juventus (Italy) vs. Lyon (France)
- Liverpool (England) vs. Athletico (Spain)
- Barcelona (Spain) vs. Napoli (Italy)
- RB Leipzig (Germany) vs. Tottenham (England)
- Atalanta (Italy) vs. Valencia (Spain)
League Tables around Europe
- Bundesliga first place is Bayern Munich
- LaLiga first place is Real Madrid
- Serie A first place is Juventus
- League 1 first place is PSG
Top Goals Highlights
In honor of the women’s Olympic qualifying for the US team, lets take a look at some of the top goals from this past years World Cup tournament.