GROUP C TEAMS & HOW THEY QUALIFIED:
Guadeloupe - 3rd place in 2008 Caribbean Championship
Mexico - Automatic qualifier from North American zone
Nicaragua - 5th place in 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup
Panama - Champions of the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup

NICKNAMES:
Guadeloupe = Gwada Boyz
Mexico = El Tri
Nicaragua = Los Pinoleros or Albiazules
Panama = La Marea Roja or Los Canaleros

MATCH LOCATIONS:
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum - Oakland, California
Reliant Stadium - Houston, Texas
University of Phoenix Stadium - Glendale, Arizona

PLAYER TO WATCH:
Carlos Vela (MEX)

The Arsenal forward will be wearing the #9 for El Tri and could use this tournament to establish himself as Mexico’s best player. With no Cuauhtemoc Blanco and no Rafael Marquez, Carlos Vela is set up to become the new face of Mexican football. He’s has been quiet in World Cup qualifiers and the Gold Cup could be the stage for him to breakout.

OVERVIEW:
Mexico is the clear class of the group but their form in qualifying is worrying and they could be pushed for a quarterfinal spot. The other quarterfinal spot will come down to Panama & Guadeloupe. The Gwada Boyz will be without 2 main players from their surprise semifinal run in 2007. Jocelyn Angloma & David Sommeil are out so it will be much harder for Guadeloupe. Panama is an emerging power in Central America as they captured the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup. The strike force of Blas Perez & Luis Tejada will present problems to defenses.

PREDICTION:
Mexico will win the group with Panama qualifying in 2nd place. Guadeloupe’s experience will help them to one of the quarterfinal spots as a 3rd place finisher.

There it is the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup groups. Enjoy the tournament.

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GROUP B TEAMS & HOW THEY QUALIFIED:
Grenada - Runner-up in 2008 Caribbean Championship
Haiti - Won a draw to participate after Cuba withdrew
Honduras - 3rd place in 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup
United States - Host Nation & Defending Champion

NICKNAMES:
Grenada = Spice Boyz
Haiti = Les Grenadiers
Honduras = Los Catrachos
United States = Stars & Stripes

MATCH LOCATIONS:
Qwest Field - Seattle, Washington
RFK Memorial Stadium - Washington D.C.
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts

PLAYER TO WATCH:
Kenny Cooper (USA)

The big FC Dallas forward finally gets an opportunity to play for the United States in a big international tournament. His goal scoring exploits in the MLS are well-known but for whatever reason Cooper could not get a sniff of national team play. A product of the Manchester United youth system, Cooper has only 4 caps for the Stars & Stripes. A strong performance in the Gold Cup could see the 6′3″ forward finally make the move to Europe.

OVERVIEW:
The United States will carry the momentum of a surprising Confederations Cup run into a tournament they have won 3 of the last 4 times. The US will make the next round easily. Same could be said for Honduras, Los Catrachos will be missing some of their top players but they have enough talent to get to the quarters. Grenada stunned the Caribbean when they reached the final of the Caribbean Championship and could do this tournament what Guadeloupe did in 2007. Haiti is lucky to be in the Gold Cup after Cuba withdrew.

PREDICTION:
The U.S. and Honduras will advance as the top two teams in the group. Look out for Grenada as a team to fight for a quarterfinal spot as a 3rd place qualifier.

We will finish our 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup preview with Group C.

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GROUP A TEAMS & HOW THEY QUALIFIED:
Canada - Direct entry from North American zone
Costa Rica - Runner-up in 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup
El Salvador - 4th place in 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup
Jamaica - Champions of 2008 Caribbean Championship

NICKNAMES:
Canada = The Canucks
Costa Rica = Los Ticos
El Salvador = Cuscatlecos
Jamaica = The Reggae Boyz

MATCH LOCATIONS:
Home Depot Center - Carson, California
Columbus Crew Stadium - Columbus, Ohio
FIU Stadium - Miami, Florida

PLAYER TO WATCH:
Luton Shelton (JAM)

The striker for Norwegian club Vålerenga has quickly become the goal scoring beast for The Reggae Boyz. At 23-years old he is tied as Jamaica’s all-time leading goal scorer and his two PKs against Grenada in the ‘08 Caribbean Championship Final sealed Jamaica’s place in the Gold Cup. He has an excellent strike rate for Jamaica scoring 27 goals in 43 appearances. The Reggae Boyz will need him to be sharp if they want to advance out of the group.

OVERVIEW:
Costa Rica is the clear favorite to win the group and should do so. Los Ticos are the best candidate to break the US-Mexico stranglehold on the trophy. If Costa Rica can display the same form in the Gold Cup that they have in World Cup qualifying than they will be in the final.

2nd place in the group is where the drama will come from as Jamaica, El Salvador, and Canada will battle for a quarterfinal spot. The Jamaican coaching situation is now settled with Theodore Whitmore at helm. Under Whitmore, Jamaica was stellar going unbeaten in 6 matches and not allowing a goal. El Salvador is the big surprise in CONCACAF and have shown big heart in the hexagonal stage of World Cup qualifying. Canada is hurt by the absence of Dwayne De Rosario & Adrian Serioux of Toronto FC but ‘07 Gold Cup MVP Julian de Guzman is coming off an encouraging season with Deportivo La Coruna and is the key to The Canucks attempt to win a 2nd Gold Cup title.

PREDICTION:
Costa Rica will win the group with El Salvador taking 2nd place and Jamaica advancing as one of the best 3rd place teams.

Tomorrow we will breakdown Group B of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

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The winner is:

UNITED STATES NATIONAL TEAM

The United States national team made huge strides with their play in the 2009 Confederations Cup. On the 24th, the Americans stunned the world with their 2-0 semifinal win against Spain. Goals by Jozy Altidore & Clint Dempsey ended Spain’s record unbeaten & winning streak. It was the greatest win in US Soccer history. In the final against Brazil, the US seemed to have repeated the Spain result when they were ahead of Brazil, 2-0 at halftime. However a brilliant 2nd half Brazil comeback ended US hopes of their 1st FIFA non-CONCACAF title with a 3-2 loss. The fact that the US held their own against the best two teams in the world is enough to give the United States National Team the award as World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week.

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The U.S. did to Brazil what they did to Spain as the Americans jumped out to an early lead on Clint Dempsey’s fabulous twisting shot from a Jonathan Spector service into the box to shock the Brazilians and give the Americans the 1-0 lead in the 10th minute.

The carryover from the Spain game continued in the 27th minute when the gave the Brazilians a bit of their own medicine when the Americans quickly turned a bad pass to a counter attack with Landon Donovan giving a pass to Charlie Davies and then receiving it back just outside the box. The U.S. number 10’s 1st touch lost his marker and then Donovan slotted it past Julio Cesar for the eye-rubbing 2-0 lead.

Some excellent goal keeping from US keeper Tim Howard kept the 2-0 lead safe going into halftime as the world was 45 minutes away from witnessing a massive upset. However, Brazil is Brazil and in the 1st minute of the 2nd half Luis Fabiano woke up and scored on a twisting shot that went between Jay Demerit’s legs and got past Howard to cut the lead to 2-1.

A Kaká header in the 61st minute looked like it crossed the line but Howard knocked it out as the referee said to play on. Unfazed the Brazilians continued to dominate possession and attack the US goal. The equalizer finally came in the 74th minute when Kaká sped down the left side into the box and centered to Robinho who’s shot bounced under the crossbar and out to Luis Fabiano who headed in the rebound.

The dagger in the heart of the Americans came off the head of the Brazilian captain. With the final seemingly moving toward into extra time Lucio rose above the US defense to head in the trophy winning goal.

3-2 Final Score: Brazilian comeback complete, US heartbreak begins, Seleção solidifies its place as the world’s best footballing nation.

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La Furia Roja and Bafana Bafana played an extra time affair whose drama started in the 2nd half with some fire from a couple of subs. Neither team could establish their advantage until the 73rd minute when South African substitute Katlego Mphela scored from a Siphiwe Tshabalala centering pass to give South Africa the 1-0 lead.

Spain’s own super sub Daniel Güiza came on for Fernando Torres and scored a pair of goals a minute apart in the 87th & 88th minute. Güiza’s 2nd goal was a GOLAZO as the Turkish based striker buried a well-placed looping shot over South African keeper Itumeleng Khune.

The crowd in Rustenburg were headed for the exits when Mphela blasted a marvelous free kick 3 minutes into injury time as the GOLAZO sent the 3rd place match to extra time and breathed hope into the home side.

The match was eventually decided early in the 2nd extra time period when Xabi Alonso’s bending free kick bounced past Khune into the back of the net. Spain held on to claim 3rd place in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with a 3-2 win. South Africa’s performances against Spain & Brazil were excellent and gave South Africans justified hope for a memorable showing in 2010.

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I know what you’re thinking, what on Earth is a Vuvuzela? For those of you who have been watching the Confederations Cup in South Africa you will probably have heard some insanely annoying buzzing noise that sounds a bit like Satan playing a Kazoo – this is the Vuvuzela (see pic).

Some commentators, players, managers and fans have all complained about the noise and suggested banning them at the World Cup 2010. Indeed, FIFA actually did ban them until the South African Football Association (SAFA) made a presentation and suggested you would not get a true South African football experience without these horns.

Even though the noise is awful (horrifying really) I’m inclined to agree with the SAFA on this one. As much as the World Cup is about football it is also about the global football community and exploring new footballing cultures. If I’m starting to sound a bit like a hippy here I’m sorry, but it generally is the way I feel. Indeed the Vuvuzela is so important to South African fans it has come to ‘symbolise the sport in the country’ according to southafrica.info.

Basically, no matter how annoying the Vuvuzela simply can’t be banned. It would take away the whole point of holding the tournament in South Africa. I was watching the Confederations Cup with a friend of mine and I’ve got to be honest, we both thought it was a bit much. It turns out everyone else did as well and there has been quite a lot written about it on the internet already (search ‘Vuvuzela’ and you’ll see what I mean). However, I found this gem of a quote on the official FIFA website to back the unconventional instrument’s cause.

“When we started the vuvuzela, there was so much sadness in our country in those years and it brought so much joy,” said Mzion Mofokeng, deputy chairman of the South African team’s supporters’ association. “All of a sudden people would go to the stadiums because of this instrument that was able to get fans on their feet and start cheering. For few hours, they would forget about the reality in our society and enjoy the sound.”

So there you have it, everyone will moan a bit but it is a part of their football culture and the governing bodies can’t change that – nor do they want to. The English fans sing and have a very British brass band, the Brazilians use the samba drums and the South Africans have the Vuvuzela – it might not be the prettiest of sounds, but it is their sound. And if the noise does get too much for you to bear, you can always hit mute….

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However, Bob Bradley and his crew were the only ones who believed and with body sacrificing defending and timely finishing, the United States pulled off the greatest win in US Soccer history. A 2-0 victory against the “world’s best team” that had all kind of world record streaks was a result of American grit.

The Americans began the 1st half pressing the action and aggressively attacking the Spaniards, something the European champs were definitely uncomfortable with. That early aggression paid off when Jozy Altidore outmuscled defender Joan Capdevila, held off Carles Puyol and sent a shot on goal that caught captain Iker Casillas leaning the wrong way and found the back of the net even though the Real Madrid keeper got a palm on it.

After the 27th minute the US led 1-0 and had breached a Spanish defense that hadn’t allowed a goal all tournament. From that point on the Spaniards pressed hard to get the equalizer but every time it looked like they would score a US defender was going to ground deflecting a shot, sacrificing bruises for a historic clean sheet.

Fierce defending and superior keeping by Tim Howard kept Spain at bay and eventually put the US in a position to seal a place in the final. In the 74th minute that place in the championship game was finalized when Landon Donovan’s centering pass was lazily handled by Sergio Ramos allowing Clint Dempsey to slide from behind and put the ball past Casillas for the back breaking 2-0 lead and win.

After 90+ minutes it was over, Spain’s world record streaks: DONE, Spain-Brazil Dream Final: NOT GONNA HAPPEN, Future underestimation of US Soccer in non-CONCACAF international competitions (US is never underestimated in CONCACAF Competitions): NEVER AGAIN.

Spain must be hating US sports teams right now. This Confederations Cup semifinal loss and the loss in the gold medal basketball match to the US in the 2008 Beijing Olympics have left Spain devoid of some major titles.

This victory was not the final, its important that the US refocus on winning the Confederations Cup trophy and make this victory last in the minds of their detractors. When Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston he loudly boasted that he shook up the world, after the 2-0 win over Spain, US Soccer can make the same claim.

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The winner is:

SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA (BRA)

The team known as Timão had an eventful week beginning with their 2-0 home win in the 1st leg of the Copa Do Brazil final. Corinthians, appearing in the Copa final for the 2nd consecutive year, got goals by Jorge Henrique and O Fenômeno, Ronaldo. Corinthians will take the 2 goal edge into to Porto Alegre as their opponents Internacional look to deny Corinthians its 3rd Copa Do Brazil title. The Paulista State Champions finished the week with a 3-1 home victory over state rivals, São Paulo FC. 3 different goal scorers helped Corinthians to the victory and a 5th place position in the standings. Two wins against two of the top clubs in Brazil is quite a feat and worthy of the TOW. Therefore, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista wins the World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week.

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Basically, there had to be about a 6 goal shift between the US and Italy with Egypt having to lose to the U.S. Seemingly improbable events but sonofabitch it happened. Bob Bradley finally played Charlie Davies and it payed off with his 21st minute goal that was more persistence than skill but it was the kind of play that the Americans needed.

It was a massive confidence booster that lead to the US defeating Egypt 3-0, surprising the entire world who thought Egypt would terminate the Confederations Cup dreams of the Stars & Stripes.

Meanwhile, the Italians were getting run off the pitch by Brazil whose offensive talents, counter attacking prowess, and speed were too much for the World Champs who were spared a worse beating with a 3-0 loss.

Andrea Dossena’s own goal in the 45th minute proved to be the goal that gave the US a semifinal berth. Dual 3-0 results and the US get to play Spain in the semifinals. All Italy & Egypt needed to do was get 1 goal and one of them could be in the semis but they both failed. Every scenario fell into place for a US side that probably didn’t deserve to advance but neither did Egypt and Italy so the US did what they were supposed to do.

The Americans competed with more grit than The Pharaohs & The Azzurri and now they face the best team in the world, La Furia Roja - Spain. Everyone is predicting an a Spanish annihilation of the US but this last round of matches proves that anything is possible.

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