Nice to see a defender get some props. Kids doing a great job, but obviously will improve with time. GO FIRE!!

Modibo beat me to it, but as another Fire fan I am glad the FO is making the effort to accomplish the most this season. After some poor results the past 2 years, it is vital that the team make the playoffs and Pappa will be a big help to accomplish that. How far they go in the playoffs is, of course, impossible to tell ahead of time as it so often comes down to key injuries or just sheer luck.

Gang, while the rankings have real challenges (i.e. are not that good), don't dwell on Brazil being ranked so low. FIFA's Valcke came out yesterday and noted that Brazil's "low" ranking was primarily due to the fact that they are the hosts for 2014 and so are not playing any qualifiers. Since you gain more points for quals than for friendlies, this accounts for Brazil's low points and therefore ranking. England being #3 however, is an absolute joke and FIFA has NO explanation for how that happened. Unfortunately, these rankings WILL BE used to seed the groups for the WC2014. Scary!

To help with the cultural awareness of this group, Wien is how Austrians spell the name of their capital (which we call Vienna). Anything from Wien is Wiener. So, Wiener Wacker is Wacker (club) from Vienna. That's why a Frankfurter in Germany is someone from Frankfurt.

You seem to be forgetting MB at Roma, Sascha in Belgium, the German contingent, etc. However, England is the "easiest" place to go in terms of cultural change, that is, they speak English (even if can be VERY different). Most of the guys that go to Scandinavia do so because those teams are more open to Americans and are less demanding in terms of talent. The BPL, even the Championship, are well above the skill levels of most of the other leagues in Europe (not considering La Liga and the Bundesliga).

You've got to be kidding! No, Stoke are not one of the top teams in the BPL, but they are IN the BPL and get to play against some of the best players in the world. Getting paid well is just a bonus to the level of competition. This is definitely a major step up from MLS.

Hard to believe Guzan couldn't get a gig from one of the newer or lower ranked teams in the EPL since he was on a Bosman. If I were him I would even have gone to the Championship in order to get a job where I was more sure of playing time, preferably for a team with a good chance of getting to the EPL next year. If he can't beat Given out as the starter this will likely turn out to be a bad move for his career.

It would be great to see Giggs come home with a medal. After playing for Wales and not really being able to compete internationally, this would be a nice way to end his international career. It will be interesting to see if Deschamps can do more with this team than Blanc did. I am curious to see where Blanc will turn up next, or has he already taken a position?

This is really too simplistic because there could easily be a defender or the goalie blocking the view. It really is a more complicated issue than it initially seems to be. For example, I'm still not sure the goal fully crossed the line in the England - Ukraine game even though I've seen lots of replays. I could never see any space between the ball and the goal post. Of course, the goal line is not as wide as the post, so that creates a bit of a challenge.

Edu should have better options that 2.Bundesliga. Let's hope he finds a spot in France or the 1.Bundesliga. Even the Championship would be better competition, but we'll see what happens. The MAIN thing is he needs to be somewhere that he gets playing time and better still, is under a coach that can help him develop more.

Sorry vic, but this really wasn't about Roy. This is really an indictment of the level of talent available in England currently. This is why the best teams in the EPL have primarily foreign talent. If England had continued to play through this match like they started, perhaps there would have been a different outcome. But for some reason, they just stopped attacking except for rare counters when they were too slow to gain any real advantage. That's on the players in my mind, not the coach.

Sorry, but the US WILL dominate at least A&B (including goals) and possibly Guat and Jamaica at home (possession). The question is, will the scoreline reflect that possession? Both Jamaica and Guat are potential spoilers, but we should do fine and win this group, even if we struggle some on the road.

Should have said this before, but this question needs a poll!

Yeah, this is the same kind of OG that Clint got denied an extra goal on in the EPL on a great shot and good attempted save. I "understand" the logic of it being an OG, but it doesn't really seem fair. I say, don't give the initial "save" and simply credit the goal.

I agree with the possible exception of Edu. I don't think we have seen enough of him in the right position, right in front of the defense, to say he isn't cutting it. Torres just hasn't played well these 3 games. He slows down the offense and then does nothing helpful. Castillo isn't bad, but he has to learn when to make a pass instead of trying to drible through everyone. Of course, he is obviously behind Fabian for LB. I strongly agree Lichaj should have been in this group. I really wonder why Klinsi left him out. Parkhust is obviously not as strong.

Perhpas, but do you know how they worked their players in between. If we ran 2-a-days each day, that wears you down pretty good and you don't rebound for the next match the way you would with lighter workouts. ALSO, if the point was to simulate a 3-game group you would NOT run the players so hard in the practices in between matches. So, the comparison is likely not as clear as you make out.

Would anyone know ANY of their players names if they did?

Although City's form is a bit better of late, this could come down to the difference between the managers, and we all know who that favors - Man U. Should be a good game if no one does anything too stupid, yes I'm referring to you Balotelli (if he gets in).

Using the Android Ap FotMob you can get this infor pretty quickly. Van Persie has 27 goals w/ 2 being PKs, Rooney 26 (6), Aguero 22 (3), Dempsey 16 (0), Yakubu 16 (4), Ba 16 (2), Dzeko 13 (0), Adebayor 13 (2), etc.

Loved Frankie's attitude - NEVER say die and always hustle. Oddly, my favorite memory was of him in the stands at the 2006 match against Czech. Even though he was hurt and couldn't play, he was getting us all pumped up to root for the team! Quite a leader.

Typically the 3rd goalkeeper is not even on the bench in a big tourney unless keeper #1 or #2 are injured during the tourney. That's why you typically see really young #3 keepers.

Sorry, but I don't think racism is the issue here. I really enjoyed Blanco's time with the Fire and there have been other Mexican players that I have enjoyed in MLS and other places, e.g. Chicharito. HOWEVER, Rafa has shown a pattern of committing fouls that, if not meant to injure, have the great potential to injure. To pull off a football tackle like this is without excuse, regardless of race. There are plenty of Gringo hacks in the league too. Its just right now we're talking about Rafa.

OBVIOUSLY Rafa deserves a ban for this. A second and perhaps equally important question is why a foul was not called. Referees have to man up and make these calls. We all KNOW it is against the rules, but people keep saying "it happens all the time". Well, the only way to stop it is to call the foul and give a PK. Its time to enforce the rules. By the way, I am a long-time defender not a forward so I think I am being pretty objective here.

So what is the current allocation order?

Hard to tell how this will affect his development. Would love for him to have more time with Henry, but I guess he is getting some good opportunities with the U23 and full USMNT. There are some good guys there to grow with as well, esp. the full USMNT. We'll just have to wait and see how the kid develops.