International Football

Random thoughts on matches from Europe, South America and Africa.  I won't represent it as comprehensive review, just a survey based the smattering of matches I saw.


Keep Your Pants On

That proved to be difficult in Colombia as monsoon rains turned the pitch into a quagmire. Check out Yerry Mina after scoring the tying goal in the 2-2 thriller with Uruguay.  Great match to watch, and not just because Ray Hudson was doing color.  Colombia was up 1-0, then down 1-2 before Mina's tally.

Chile did themselves no favors with a 0-3 loss to Ecuador.  Then they struggled against Peru, pulling out a narrow 2-1 win with a late goal from Arturo Vidal.  They are certainly not out of the picture but have left themselves plenty to do in the last eight games of qualifying.  Argentina, without Messi, didn't have a great break with a draw at Peru and a loss at home to Paraguay and now sit in the fifth spot.

Still eight matches to go but the play of Uruguay and Ecuador so far suggest that one of Argentina, Chile or Colombia might find themselves in that fifth spot which means a playoff series instead of an automatic ticket to Moscow.


Can't Anybody Here Spell?

As players exited the tunnel in Reykjavik, did you notice their warmups - Island and Turkye? Hopefully they didn't pay for those.  A very good international break for "Our Boys" always a favorite here at BFS.  First they put in two stoppage time goals to turn a potential 1-2 loss into a 3-2 win over Finland.  Then, they disposed of Turkey (or Turkye or however you're supposed to spell it) 2-0 to move into second place in the group, behind Croatia on the tiebreaker.  This is a competitive group but Iceland should be in the mix, along with Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Several of us gathered at Michael B's new pad to watch but Spain-Italy was hardly an advertisement for the beautiful game.  Keeper Buffon absolutely butchered a clearance, missing the ball completely and giving Spain the opening goal.  Italy gave little indication that they would tie the match but amazingly they did.  Overall, not enough attacking football to make the match enjoyable and the takeout food from the Co-op was the highlight of the evening.  France-Netherlands was only 1-0 but it was much more watchable as the Dutch made a match of it in the second half.  Belgium defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-0 then Gibraltar 6-0 to stay atop their group.


Didn't You Used to Play for the Union?

Checked in on the Algeria-Cameroon match as it looked to be the most competitive of the offerings from African qualifying.  And there was Rais M'Bolhi in goal.  He was perhaps Exhibit A in the clusterf*** [Ed Note: Although the NY Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer both broke historical precedent in the last week by fully spelling out the f-bomb, we at BFS will not follow their leads.  We note that Donald Trump and Chris Christie were the subjects of  the articles in which the word appeared.  Probably just coincidence right?] that was Union management prior to the arrival of Earnie Stewart.  It wasn't that he was awful - which he was - it was we already had two potential number one keepers and his arrival made no sense.  Anyway, he wasn't terrible in this match, though he did let the tying goal through the five hole and made me happy that Blake is our keeper.  Cameroon was more than happy to leave with a 1-1 draw.


Chester Scoring Drought

The Blues are having trouble putting their shots on frame but haven't paid a disastrous price yet.  We beat Atletico 1-0 in Champions League group play but followed that up with a lackluster 1-1 draw at Newcastle. Chester sit third in the table, behind Aston Villa and Tottenham, but we better sort out the offense before we face the heavies.  The manager probably needs to adjust the training regimen.


Back to Work

MLS league play resumes with four teams competing for three playoff spots open in the East. The Union can clinch one of those with with a win at home against Orlando this Sunday.  And really, if you can't beat this team at home, do you deserve a playoff spot?  I believe the Union could also back into a spot if Chicago can beat New England on Sunday.  And the Red Bulls still have a legitimate chance to win the East, especially with home match vs Columbus and a road game with the Union to conclude their season.

In the Championship division, Newcastle are a huge favorite at home against Brentford; anything less than three points here is a disappointment.  Huddersfield Town (vs Sheffield Wednesday) and Norwich (vs Rotherham) are also favorites so the Magpies likely stay in third through the weekend.

In the "really big shew" (as Philip S calls it), we have another mostly underwhelming card.  Chelsea Leicester at 7:30 Saturday morning (NBCSN) is probably worth a look.  NBCSN agrees that Man City Everton is the best of the 10 am games, though you can check out Bob Bradley's debut as Swansea manager (first American in the Premier League managerial ranks) against Arsenal on CNBC.  Tottenham fans can only live stream their beloved Spurs as they travel to the Midlands to face West Brom.  Monday's Liverpool-Man United match looks like a good dvr game for those with full-time jobs.

Now get out there and watch.