USA Women Are The Four Time FIFA World Champs

Looks like Dolt 45 has a decision to make after the USA women handled their soccer business and completed their run to back to back titles for the first time in program history by defeating the Netherlands 2-0.

This was Team USA's fourth FIFA world championship, and they left no doubts about the fact they are the world's best team despite a stiff challenge from the Netherlands, the reigning European champions who were playing in their first FIFA women's World Cup final. 

The Netherlands was riding the hot goalkeeping of eventual Golden Glove winner Sari van Veenendaal, who kept the USA scoreless until  Alex Morgan drew a penalty in the 61 minute that led to Megan Rapinoe's sixth goal of the tournament.   That snapped van Veennedaal's scoreless streak at 314 minutes, and seven minutes later Rose Lavelle sent a scorching shot from 18 yards out past van Veenendaal to make it 2-0 and start the party in Lyon for te American fans there and back in the USA. 

Rapinoe not only captured the Golden Boot  award for the tournament's top scorer, she also snached the Golden Ball (MVP) trophy as the tournament's best player. 

Take that Donald Trump!

The Netherlands along with England and Sweden did walk away from this tournament knowing that they have qualified for the 2020 Olympics..    Sweden also won the Third Place game 2-1 against England.

But all hail the queens of the FIFA soccer pitch.    Will they threepeat in 2023?   We'll have to wait to find out the answer to this question.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Redemption!

After navigating and defeating a series of knockout round opponents that included FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia, China, and FIFA world number one ranked Germany in the semifinals,  Team USA not only reached the goal they set for themselves when this tournament started, they got the finals matchup they wanted in Vancouver with Japan.

And far from being the tight finals matchup that everyone expected, it turned into a surprising 5-2 rout as the USA scored four goals in a 16 minute onslaught that avenged the 2011 FIFA finals loss in Germany on penalty kicks to the Nadeshiko and sent them on cruise control to the FIFA women's world championship and first since 1999.

The Houston Dash's Carli Lloyd got things off to a fast and successful start when just 3 minutes into the match she scored the first of her three goals courtesy of a Megan Rapinoe corner kick to put Team USA up 1-0.

Two minutes later Lloyd was Janie on the spot as another corner kick from Lauren Holiday found its way through a maze of players to her foot and she tapped it in the net from short range for her second goal and fifth of the tournament which put the Red White and Blue up 2-0. 

Lauren Holiday would score in the 14th minute to put Team USA up 3-0, but the offensive fireworks in BC Place weren't done yet to the delight of the pro-American crowd. 

And if it wasn't enough for Carli Lloyd to score the two fastest goals in FIFA Women's World Cup finals history, she scored another one that will probably be talked about for decades that put the USA up 4-0

In what will rank up there as the goal of the tournament, in the 16th minute Lloyd capped off her finals hat trick by lobbing a ball from the midfield stripe 54 yards away from the Japanese goal that caught keeper Ayumi Kaihori way off her line.  Kaihori stumbled and fell on her back as she tried to get back in position to stop the ball that sailed past her desperately outstretched hands into the net.



Speaking of goalkeeping, Hope Solo was working on a record of her own.  When the match started she hadn't allowed a goal in 513 minutes, and for another 27 minutes Solo was handling her goalkeeping business until Yuki Ogimi fired a shot past her to cut the USA lead to 4-1.

She fell one agonizing minute short of breaking the Germans World Cup shutout streak record they set during their 2007 title run in which they didn't give up a single goal in the entire tournament.

In the second half Aya Miyama's free kick in the 52nd minute took a glancing blow off of Julie Johnston's head and unfortunately past Hope Solo for an own goal that cut the deficit to 4-2.

But just two minutes later Tobin Heath scored to push the lead back up to 5-2 to the delight of the 53,331 predominately American peeps in the stands as they began to party like it was 1999 and celebrate the Team USA women's third FIFA world championship and first in 16 years.

Hope Solo was deservedly awarded the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper. and Carli Lloyd the Golden Ball as best player.   She just missed out on the Golden Boot because although she and Germany's Celia Sasic had six goals, Sasic scored her six with less playing time than Lloyd.

It was also a long awaited celebratory moment for Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and Shannon Box, who have probably played in their final World Cups for the Red White and Blue (we have got to get a cooler nickname for our women and men's national teams) and probably won`t be on the Olympic squad in Rio as the seek their fourth straight gold medal.

But that's next year.  Congratulations to the now three time FIFA women's world champions.  Time to sew that third star on the US team jerseys.

And Carli, hope you have some more scoring magic left for the remainder of the Houston Dash season.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- Playing Colombia

FIFA number four ranked Team USA gets its first match in knockout round play later tonight against a familiar opponent in FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia.  

The last time these teams met, it was during group play in the 2012 London Games, and it resulted in a 3-0 USA victory.

It's also a match that Abby Wambach probably remembers well because of the not so ladylike sucker punch she received from Lady Andrade that earned her a two game suspension.

Here they are again, fighting to not only stay alive in the knockout rounds, but face China.

Should be a fun match, and go Team USA!

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- On To The Knockout Round

Group play at the 2015 Women's World Cup has been concluded, and we now know which 16 teams are still alive in the chase for the FIFA women's world championship trophy and which ones are packing to go home.

For the rest of the tournament. you play until somebody wins or loses.  If the score is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. you get 30 more minutes plus stoppage time to break the deadlock.  If it's still tied after that, a penalty kick shootout to determine who moves on.

The FIFA number four ranked USA is one of those sixteen teams.   They survived the 'Group Of Death' and advanced as the Group D winner.   By winning the group, they now reap the rewards of a less difficult road to the July 5 final in Vancouver.

But one of the burning questions in the inquiring minds of Team USA fans is are the struggles they've had generating offense lately over now that Alex Morgan is back in the lineup and getting her match fitness level back?

As long as they play defense the way they have been over the last three matches, all they need is to generate just enough offense to carry the day.   Hope Solo has been brilliant as usual in net, and is working on 243 minutes and counting in not allowing an opposing team's shot to pass her and enter the goal.

But first they will have to go through the Group F third place team in Colombia, who are making noise in this Women's World Cup tournament.   They were ranked 28th in the FIFA world rankings before it started, but after shocking FIFA number 3 ranked France 2-0 in Group F play, they have rocketed up to number 10 in the FIFA rankings.

So Team USA is acutely aware of the fact they can't fall asleep against this team.  Abby Wambach is probably more motivated than anyone else on Team USA to deliver some personal payback after she got sucker punched by Lady Andrade during the waning moments of a 3-0 USA win a 2012 Olympic tournament group match play.

Should they get past Colombia, the winner of the China-Cameroon match awaits in Ottawa on June 26.  Should they be successful in that match, they will play a semifinal match at Montreal's Olympic Stadium on June 30 with one of the teams in the other half of their bracket that include FIFA number one Germany, FIFA number 3 ranked France, a possible rematch with FIFA number 8 Sweden, and South Korea.

The knockout round starts June 20, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Escaping The 'Group Of Death'

Last night Team USA played their final group match in Vancouver against Nigeria with much on the  line. 

A Team USA win over the Super Falcons would clinch Group D, send them into the knockout round with a favorable draw that would allow them to avoid a clash with FIFA number one ranked Germany until at least the semis, and they wouldn't play until June 22 in Edmonton against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

While they were an unbeaten (4-0) against Nigeria coming into that match, there's always that chance the breakthrough win for the Super Falcons could come at any time, and with the team having come off a draw with Sweden and being dropped to number 4 in the FIFA world rankings, Team USA fans had a lot to be worried about.

But with Alex Morgan finally starting and being paired with her running buddy Abby Wambach, the team we were looking for offensively finally showed up.

They kept the pressure on Nigeria from the outset, and in the 8th minute finally broke through with a goal from Julie Johnston that was waved off due to a controversial offside call

But they kept attacking, and it was Abby Wambach to the rescue in stoppage time just before the half as she headed a corner kick from Megan Rapinoe into the back of the net for the only goal the USA would need.



It was Wambach's first of the tournament and 14th career World Cup goal, putting her at second all time behind Brazil's Marta. And to those of us in the US LGBT community, I loved the fact it was two of our LGBT family members teaming up to score against a Nigerian squad that bans gay players and sending them packing as a result.

Thanks to another clean sheet for Hope Solo, who has now gone 243 minutes without allowing a goal, the Red White and Blue have escaped the Group of Death and await their initial knockout round match against the third place team from either Group B, E or F

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Next Up Nigeria

The final group play match for now FIFA ranked number four Team USA is taking place in Vancouver against Nigeria with much at stake for the Red, White and Blue. (We have to come up with a cooler nickname for our team).

They also slipped two spots in the FIFA world rankings.

Thanks to Meghan Klingenberg's header that preserved the 0-0 draw against Sweden, a win by Team USA in tonight's match at BC Place Stadium will allow them to clinch the 'Group of Death', punch their ticket to the knockout round, have an easier bracket, and face off in Edmonton June 22 against the third place team from either Group B, E or F.

If the Nigerians do something they have never done in Women's World Cup  competition and either upset Team USA or draw with them, it could depending on the result of the Australia-Sweden match either have them facing the Germans in Ottawa on June 20 , finishing second with a less favorable knockout round draw or knock them completely out of the tournament well short of their goal of winning the World Cup.

The Super Falcons aren't going to roll over and let Team USA waltz into the knockout round, especially since they have a chance with a win for the ages to advance to the knockout round themselves. 

So Team USA better not fall asleep on the job tomorrow night because they have much riding on the outcome of this match.  While Team USA's defense has been improving, their offense is a concern for Team USA fans.   

Here's hoping that whatever is ailing Team USA on the offensive end will get rectified starting at 7 PM CDT and continue through the rest of the tournament.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Great Start In Winnipeg

The 2015 World Cup has completed its first week and Team USA is off to a great start in Group D play after getting positive results in their matches with two FIFA top ranked opponents.

They beat number 10 ranked Australia 3-1 and held number 5 ranked Sweden to a scoreless draw that has them atop the Group of Death with 4 points.  Australia has 3 points thanks to their win over Nigeria, and Sweden has just two after draws with Nigeria and the USA.

Now they head to Vancouver, where they wish to be playing on July 5 for their final group match against Nigeria Monday.   While the Nigerians are only ranked number 33 in the world, the Super Falcons have several players from their U-20 squad that finished as runner ups last year to Germany.

But after getting through their two toughest opponents in Group D, Team USA will be focused on getting the points they need to win the group and clinch their spot in the knockout round.

We'll see what happens at BC Place on Tuesday, but one thing that definitely needs to happen for Team USA is they need to score more goals while playing that defense they played in the second half against Australia and the entire game against Sweden.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup USA Watch-Starting Group Play Today Versus Australia

The FIFA world number 2 ranked USA women finally get the Group D party started with their opening round FIFA Women's World Cup match against Australia later tonight in Winnipeg.

Group D is considered this tournament's 'Group of Death', because in addition to the FIFA number 2 ranked USA and FIFA number 10 ranked Australia, has FIFA number 5 ranked Sweden and FIFA number 33 ranked African champs Nigeria in the mix in this competitive group.

Only three teams will advance to the knockout round, so one of these four teams will have their dreams dashed.   So getting off to a winning start and getting points in these three group stage matches (3 for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss) will be critical in surviving and advancing from Group D..

Once the Red, White & Blue (gotta come up with a cooler nickname than this) completes their match with the Matildas, they will face Sweden and their old coach Pia Sundhage on June 12  in Winnipeg and finish up in Vancouver on June 16 against the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

But the road to the July 5 title match starts today, and Team USA will hopefully be at BC Place in Vancouver as one of the two teams playing for the title.

But they have to get past Australia first.

2015 Women's World Cup Starts Today!

This is the month that women's soccer fans have been waiting for since the last World Cup in Germany ended with Japan taking the title home after winning the final over the USA in a shootout. 

The 2015 Women's World Cup will start today and run until July 5 north of the border with the host Canadians taking on China later today in Edmonton. 

This tournament has an expanded field of 24 nations, and the FIFA number two ranked Team USA will be seeking their third title and first since 1999.   Germany after the heartbreak of losing on their home soil to Japan in the quarterfinals, will not only come into this tournament ranked number one, but will also be seeking to take the trophy back home for a record third time as well.

The host Canadians after not winning a game in the group stage in 2011, not only want to get to the knockout round, but play in the final in Vancouver.

Speaking of Team USA, their first Group D match will be played June 8 in Winnipeg against Australia.  They will play Sweden on June 12 and finish up in Vancouver on June 16 against Nigeria.

Going to be fun to see how this month of women's soccer plays out, and it starts in a few hours.

Team USA Is In Group D In The FIFA Women's World Cup

One of the major sporting events we will get to look forward to in a few months is the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup which will be contested north of the border in Canada.

In addition to the expanded field of 24 teams, the prize money was increased to $15 million.
In addition goal line technology will also be in use during this tournament. 

One of the things the players also want in this tournament is to play on grass instead of artificial turf. an which the organizers and FIFA have been recalcitrant on for now.

But with the June 6 date for the World Cup rapidly approaching and the qualification round completed, it was time to find out the groups the 24 teams would play in for the initial round of the tournament.

The draw for the upcoming 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was held back on December 6 in Ottawa, with Team USA being placed in Group D as one of the tournament's top seeded teams. 

The other teams joining them in Group D when play kicks off June 8 in Winnipeg will be Australia, Sweden and Nigeria.   Sweden is now coached by Pia Sundhage, who coached Team USA to the 2011 Women's World Cup final in Germany and the 2012 Olympic gold medal in London.  She returned home to her native country to coach their national team after the Games.  

So that June 12 match should be an interesting one for FIFA world number one ranked Team USA, who is seeking to win their first world title since 1999 and they lost on penalty kicks to Japan in 2011.

The groups ended up as follows:

Group A: Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands
Group B: Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, Thailand
Group C: Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador
Group D: United States, Australia, Sweden, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Korea Republic, Spain, Costa Rica
Group F: France, England, Colombia, Mexico

Will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out this June.

Trinidad And Tobago Starts Their FIFA Playoff Leg Today

In the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup, a Caribbean based team has never played in the tournament. 

With CONCACAF tournament qualification play dominated by women's soccer powers the USA, Canada and Mexico and only 16 women's national teams around the world being involved in the tournament, that made it tough for a Caribbean based  women's team to break through a tough CONCACAF region and play on the big FIFA international women's stage.

Female players in Caribbean nations also had to contend with the sexist notion that soccer was a 'man's game'.  That resulted in little to no funding or corporate sponsorship for their teams.

;But with the FIFA women's tournament (finally) being expanded to 24 teams, and Canada hosting the 2015 edition, it created an opening for a Caribbean team to finally break through and qualify for the tournament.

The Reggae Girlz of Jamaica tried but were eliminated in the group stage after heartbreaking losses to Costa Rica and Mexico.

That left the Women Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago with a goldenGroup opportunity to grab that history for themselves

After holding the FIFA world number one ranked Americans to one goal in their initial group play loss, the rebounded to beat Haiti 1-0 and Guatemala 3-1 to finish second in their group.

They faced Group B winner Costa Rica in the semifinals with a berth on the line, but lost after a 1-1 draw on penalty kicks.   Trinidad and Tobago still had a shot to qualify with a win in the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament third place game, but they fell to Mexico 4-2 in extra time. 

That sent them to a two leg aggregate score playoff starting later today that has the Soca Warriors facing the daunting task of playing CONMEBOL rep Ecuador in the 9300 foot altitude of Quito's Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.   They will return to the friendly confines of Hasely Crawford Stadium on December 2 for the second leg with the last Women's World Cup berth on the line.

I'm paying attention to this playoff for multiple reasons.  I want to see the Soca Warriors make that history because it's their best shot to do so. With Trinidad and Tobago being a fellow CONCACAF member, I'd love to see another CONCACAF squad playing next June.

It also strikes a blow for women's sports in the region and will hopefully lead to better funding and corporate sponsorship if they pull it off.

There's a large cadre of Trinis that live here in Houston and I'd love to see the smiles on their faces if it happens.   Randy Waldrum,, the coach of the Houston Dash, is also the national coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women's squad

Will they do it?  We'll find out as the opening chapter of this sports story unfolds later today.

TransGriot Update:  Trinidad and Tobago 0-Ecuador 0  in a Leg 1 scoreless draw.  

The Reggae Girlz Fail To Qualify For 2015 Women's World Cup

After their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Costa Rica after fighting back to tie the match on a Shakira Duncan goal in the 77th minute, the Reggae Girlz found themselves in win or go home territory in their quest to qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup 


Since Costa Rica had already clinched Group B with 6 points and the wins over both Mexico and Jamaica, both teams were playing for the Group B runner up spot and a semifinal date with FIFA world number one ranked Team USA.

Mexico and Jamaica came into the game at RFK Stadium with a win and a loss in group play and 3 points.  Because Mexico scored 10 goals on Martinique in their October 18 match with them while Jamaica scored a 6-0 win with Martinique back on the 16th,  they entered this final group match with a +9 goal differential to Jamaica's +5.  That meant that if both teams finished the game with a draw, Mexico would advance.

The Reggae Girlz struck hard and struck first with Donna-Kay Henry's third goal of the tournament in the 14th minute.  It was a  rocket fired just under the crossbar inside the far post from the right side of the box to take the early 1-0 lead.   But Mexico struck back with a Sandra Mayor goal in the 29th minute to send to match to halftime drawn at 1-1.

Mexico broke Jamaica's hearts in the 59th minute with the first of Veronica Corral's two second half goals.   She added an insurance goal in the 79th minute for the 3-1 win that allowed Mexico to finish 2-1 in Group B play while the Reggae Girlz finished 1-2.  

Jamaica came close, but dropping that match with Costa Rica turned out to be the death blow to their effort to become the first Caribbean based women's team to qualify for the Women's World Cup.

Hopefully the Reggae Girlz will get a chance to do so again in 2019, and the Jamaican Football Federation and some corporate sponsors step up with the funding.  

Let's hope they get enough funding so they can play the friendly matches they need against the international women's soccer powers to strengthen their team and make that World Cup dream a reality.

Reggae Girlz Trying To Qualify For 2015 Women's World Cup

While much of the attention in this CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament has been focused on Group A and the FIFA world  number one ranked USA squad, there is an interesting story developing in Group B worthy of being turned into a movie. 

For various reasons, including the perception that soccer is a man's sport, the Jamaican Football Federation hasn't funded a women's soccer program since it was disbanded in 2008. 

The frustrating part about that decision for women footballers on the island is that the Reggae Girlz were one of the top ranked squads in the Caribbean region. 

Jamaican female players who wanted to pursue their passion to play did so in other nations, but never gave up the dream of one day playing for their national team in a Women's World Cup.

The Reggae Girlz are back, and thanks to raising $200,000 via two crowdfunding campaign, Cedella Marley's enthusiastic support and being the Reggae Girlz international ambassador, the team is on the verge of making its Women's World Cup qualification dream come true. 

If the do so, they would be, like their male counterparts were in 1998, the first ever Caribbean based team to make it to the World Cup and it would do wonders for women's soccer in Jamaica.

Despite not playing any international friendly matches prior to the CFA and CONCACAF tournaments, they opened Group B play with a resounding 6-0 win over Martinique in Kansas City, and have a critical match with Costa Rica today in Chicago before finishing Group B play on October 21 in Washington DC versus Mexico.

The Reggae Girlz will want to #StrikeHard and finish first in Group B so they get the Group A runner up in the knockout round.  That way Jamaica won't have to face a match with FIBA number one ranked Team USA until the CONCACAF title game.

The six goals they scored against Martinique will definitely help them out if it comes down to goal differential to sort out the Group B standings for the knockout round.

Top three squads punch their tickets to Canada for next year's World Cup, while the fourth place team in this CONCACAF qualifying tournament has to play the CONMEBOL third place squad Ecuador in a two leg playoff for another World Cup berth.
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Let's hope the Reggae Girlz make history for their nation, they get the funding and corporate backing they need, and we get to see them in Canada next summer at the Women's World Cup..

TransGriot Update: The road to World Cup qualification just got a little bumpier.  Costa Rica beat Jamaica 2-1.

Countdown To FIFA Women's World Cup 2015

If you thought that the World Cup wasn't going to happen until 2018 in Russia, think again.   There will be FIFA World Cup action happening next summer, and it'll be right next door to us in Canada.

The seventh edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup will happen June 6-July 5 with an expanded field of 24 nations for the first time playing in the cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Moncton, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.   The title game is set to be played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.   

The Women's World Cup Draw to set the groups will take place on December 6 in Ottawa and as of this writing, besides the host nation of Canada, six have qualified so far including defending world champions Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and first timers Thailand and Switzerland.

One team you won't see is North Korea, who is banned for this tournament for having several players test positive during the 2011 World Cup edition in Germany for banned substances.  

The official mascot for this upcoming Women's World Cup has already been unveiled, and she is the female great white owl named Shuéme

If you're wondering if FIFA world number one ranked and 2011 runners up Team USA has qualified yet, the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament to determine three of the World Cup spots assigned to our federation isn't happening until October 14-26 somewhere here in the USA.  The fourth place CONCACAF team will have to fight a CONMEBOL (South America) third place finisher in a playoff for another World Cup spot. 

Team USA has had a turbulent year.  It has been 15 years since they captured their last world championship with the dramatic Rose Bowl penalty kick shootout win over with China.   But Team USA finished a shocking seventh in the Algarve Cup tournament with zero wins.   After the worst ever finish in the Algarve Cup tournament, the Stars and Stripes (need to come up with a cooler nickname) knocked off China's Steel Roses, then fired coach Tom Sermanni and replaced him with assistant Jill Ellis. 

While Team USA is deep, the question remains whether Ellis will have enough time to fashion Team USA into the dominating unit we all know and love that rolled though CONCACAF Olympic qualification by a cumulative score of 38-0 in 2012 

And yes, the host Canadians will be looking for payback next summer after being knocked out of the Olympic semifinals (they assert they were robbed) by Team USA.  They are also pissed that striker Sydney Leroux, one of the best north of the border players since Christine Sinclair, decided to play for Team USA.

Hey Canada (and Renee), don't hate because we got it like that. I'm glad sistah Sydney (yep, she's Black) is playing for my team. 

But like Canada, the rest of the world is catching up to our FIFA world number one ranked USA squad . The Germans have won two titles.  The French are a threat along with defending champion Japan and Pia Sundhage coached Sweden. And the Brazilians with Marta are always dangerous.

As far as the rest of the women's football world is concerned, the race is on to punch their tickets to Canada.  The CAF (Africa) will determine their three spots at a qualifying tournament to be held in Namibia October 11-25 while the 2014 South American Women's Football Championship will be held in Ecuador September 11-28 to determine two of the CONMEBOL spots.   UEFA (Europe) is still sorting out who will represent them and take their remaining seven spots, while New Zealand barring a monumental upset is probably going to get Oceania's lone tournament slot. 

So we still have a few months left before we know which teams will be playing in Canada next summer and which groups they will be competing in with the ultimate goal of being in Vancouver to hoist that trophy.   The only team that does know their group are the host Canadians, and they will be per FIFA tradition in Group A.

The answers to the rest of the Women's World Cup related questions we'll discover by the end of the year..
 

2014 FIFA World Cup Starts Today

I'll have to set aside some time to do so while I'm in Philly, but the 2014 FIFA World Cup finally starts group stage play later this afternoon.

The host Brazilians will be kicking things off (pun intended) in Sao Paulo against Croatia 

The rest of the matches start tomorrow, and Team USA doesn't get to start Group G play until the 16th.   Team USA will face off in Natal against Ghana, who eliminated us in the knockout rounds of the last two World Cups in 2006 and 2010. 

As to how Team USA will fare in a 'Group of Death' that features the FIFA number 2 ranked Germans, FIFA number 3 ranked Portugal and all everythang Cristian Ronaldo and FIFA number 38 ranked USA killer Ghana remains to be seen for our Jurgen Klinsmann coached FIFA number 14 ranked squad. 

It'll be a miracle if we even get out of the group stage.   But if Team USA wants to be taken seriously instead of sneered at as a soccer nation, this is the perfect opportunity for them to prove they can handle their soccer business while the whole world is watching.

The USA Men's Soccer Team Will Play In...

One of the 'Groups of Death'.

Yours truly was tuned in along with much of the planet this morning to see how the 2014 FIFA World Cup draw was going to shake out for Team USA and their current head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Under Klinsmann the USA is 27-10-7.  They have been moving up the FIFA rankings and climbed to 14th.  They've had some historic firsts in their centennial year, had a best in program history 12 game winning streak and against FIFA Top 10 ranked clubs they are now 2-1-1 in the Klinsmann Era.

Klinsmann continues his commitment of not only building to team into an elite squad, but do so by having the US Men's team play the top European squads.   And surprise, surprise, as they get familiar with Klinsmann's system, increasingly they are beating them. 

Some of the European teams they beat this year were Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy on their way to a best ever total of 16 wins this year.  

In addition to winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the fifth time with six straight wins, the USA enroute to qualifying for the seventh straight time for the FIFA World Cup finals also finished at the top of the CONCACAF hexagonal qualifying for the second consecutive cycle.  They compiled a 7-1-2 record including a thrilling 3-2 extra time comeback win in Panama at the end of the campaign and the dos a cero clinching match against Mexico in Columbus,.OH that secured the ticket to Brazil

While this centennial year of USA soccer was a spectacular one on the men's side and we all know how awesome the women's team is, in order for the USA men to make that next leap into the elite echelons of the FIFA men's soccer ranks, you have to not only consistently beat the top teams, but shine on the World Cup stage.    

If Team USA was looking to prove to themselves and to the soccer world that 2013 wasn't a fluke and were looking for a challenge in World Cup group play, they just got their opportunity to do so.

They ended up in Group G, one of the 'Groups of Death' in which they will be playing against FIFA number 2 ranked Germany, FIFA number 5 ranked Portugal and FIFA number 24 ranked Ghana.

And unlike 2010's World Cup Final in South Africa, where they clocked 192 miles total of group stage bus travel from their training base in Pretoria to matches in Rustenburg, Johannesburg and a game in Pretoria, their travel script is flipped for this one.  From their training base in São Paulo, they'll be adding to their frequent flyer miles by going to Natal, Manaus and Recife for a total of 9,000 miles in the 5th largest country on our planet.  

"It couldn't get any more difficult or any bigger," said Klinsmann at the draw in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. "It's a real challenge. And we'll take it. We'll take it on, and hopefully we're going to surprise some people there."

“What’s exciting about this draw is that it’s time for us as a National Team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we worked hard to have. If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That’s making us a stronger National Team. When we face these European teams and bigger teams, [we are] pulling out results in the past three to four years like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in D.C. For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we’ve come, and we couldn’t ask for a better draw than Germany Portugal and Ghana.” - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/12/131206-mnt-player-quotes.aspx#sthash.kHJzSzSn.dpuf

“What’s exciting about this draw is that it’s time for us as a National Team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we worked hard to have. If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That’s making us a stronger National Team. When we face these European teams and bigger teams, [we are] pulling out results in the past three to four years like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in D.C. For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we’ve come, and we couldn’t ask for a better draw than Germany Portugal and Ghana.” - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/12/131206-mnt-player-quotes.aspx#sthash.kHJzSzSn.dpuf

Team USA opens their 2014 World Cup tournament group stage play in Natal on June 16 against Ghana, the team that has knocked them out of the 2006 and 2010 quarterfinals. 

After tangling with the Black Stars, they face Cristian Ronaldo and Portugal June 22.in what will probably be a critical group match in Manaus, and then Jurgen Klinsmann and Team USA close out group play on June 26 by facing in Recife the team he coached and played for in his homeboys from Germany.

While most international soccer pundits and fans consider the USA long 200-1 underdogs to take the trophy back to US soil, much less get out of their group to face whoever comes out of Group H, the Team USA members are looking forward to the challenge.

'What's exciting about this draw is that it is time for us as a national team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we have worked so hard to have." said forward Eddie Johnson. 

"If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That's making us a stronger National Team," he added.

"When we face these European teams and bigger teams, we are pulling out results in the past three to four tears like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in DC.  For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we have come and we couldn't ask for a better draw than Germany, Portugal and Ghana." 

Can the USA men shock the world and not only get results, but get out of Group G into the knockout round?   We'll find out in six months.
   
    

Upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Draw Friday

203 of FIFA's 208 member nations started playing matches on June 15, 2011 in order to earn one of the 32 spots in the 2014 World Cup tournament.  After two years of qualifying matches played around the globe that ended November 23, we now know the 32 nations that qualified to go to Brazil and play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 

For the seventh consecutive qualifying cycle the USA is amongst those 32 nations along with defending champion Spain.

What we don't know besides the host Brazilians are in Group A is which one of the eight groups they and the other 30 nations will be playing the opening round of games in from June 12-June 26.

On Friday the soccer world's millions of fans will turn their eyes toward Bahia as FIFA conducts the World Cup Final Draw at 1 PM local Bahia time (11 AM Houston time) to set up those eight groups as the world holds its breath to see the results, then pontificate on them once they are announced.

The 32 teams will be divided into four Pots, with Pot 1 containing the host Brazilians and the top seven seeded teams according to the October 2013 FIFA world rankings.   Those top seven teams in order are Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay and Switzerland.   The Pot 1 seeding carries a huge advantage in that you don't have to play the other seven seeded teams in the group stage. 

Pot 2 is comprised of the CONCACAF teams (USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras) plus the four AFC Asian qualifiers (Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia).

Pot 3 will be made up of the five CAF African teams (Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon), two from the South American CONMEBOL federation (Chile and Ecuador) and the lowest-ranked UEFA European country, France.

Pot 4 is comprised of the remaining eight UEFA European nations (Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Russia) 

The draw will be conducted based on a format to be decided upon no later than tomorrow. and as the groups are assembled not more than two European nations will be allowed in any of the eight groups.  

The draw is critical to your chances of advancing in the tournament final at Maracanã Stadium since only the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout rounds and the composition of teams in that four team group is determined by it. 

So we'll find out how the final group compositions and the paths of those teams to the July 13 final shake out on Friday.      

2015 Women's World Cup Details

I wrote a post back in 2011 discussing the FIFA announcement that the 2015 Women's World Cup would be held in the Great White North. 

And yeah Renee (and 'errbody' else in Canada), I can't wait for the USA women to beat Canada again like they did in the 2012 London Olympics women's semis and the June friendly in Toronto.

But for that to happen, the USA women not only have to qualify, we have to hope we don't end up in Group A with them or on the same side of the bracket.

More details have come out since that May 2011 post.   The dates for the FIFA Women's World Cup will be June 6 to July 5 with the cities hosting matches being Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton.  Toronto decided not to bid because they will be busy hosting the 2015 Pan American Games that summer and Halifax took itself out of the running for match hosting duties in March 2012.

The great thing about this upcoming FIFA women's tournament is that due to the increased interest in women's soccer around the world, the number of teams in this tournament has been expanded from 16 to 24.  

The only team is qualified right now are the host Canadians, and FIFA determined in a June 11 meeting last summer how the other 23 tournament qualifying berths will be allocated to the various confederations.

The AFC (Asia) gets 5 (up from 3), CAF (Africa) gets 3 (up from 2), CONCACAF (North/Central America, Caribbean) gets 3.5 plus the host slot  (up from 2.5), CONMEBOL (South America) gets 2.5 slots (up from 2) and Oceania keeps their single slot.  The big winner was UEFA (Europe) which got 8 slots, up from the 4.5+1 they had in 2011)

Qualification started in the AFC on May 21, the CAF on February 13 and in UEFA on April 4.  CONCACAF, Oceania and CONMEBOL have yet to get the qualification party started.

One of the teams we know won't be in Canada is North Korea, which has been banned for the 2015 Women's World Cup by FIFA.   Several North Korean players tested positive for performance enhancing drugs during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany to draw the ban.  

Once the qualification period ends, the draw to fill out the six tournament groups will take place.   Canada is already slotted into Group A, so it is at that time we'll discover the other three teams that will be in their group and how the other five groups will shake out.

The FIFA Women's World Cup Final will be held at BC Place in Vancouver on July 5, with the semifinals on June 30 and July 1 in Montreal and Edmonton.  The Third Place playoff match will take place July 4 in Edmonton.

So which teams will be the last ones standing in Vancouver two years from now? 

Will there be a heartwarming run to the 2015 title by an underdog nation like there was for the Nadeshiko Japan in 2011?  Will Sweden now that former USA coach Pia Sundhage has returned to her homeland to coach the national team make a title run?   Will the Canadians and Christine Sinclair be fired up enough to turn their bronze Olympic medal, home fan support and national pride into a home soil FIFA world championship run? 

Can Marta finally lead the Brazilians to their first world title?   Will the French women finally break through after frustrating semifinal losses in 2011 to the USA and the 2012 Olympics to Japan?  What will the Three Lionesses of England do now that after 15 years of running thangs Hope Powell is no longer patrolling their sidelines?  Will an African team finally get to the knockout round?

Will the power teams like the USA and Germany shake off their respective disappointing 2011 tournament results and resume their dominance of the international women's game? 

And how much Hateraid will Canada have for striker Sydney Leroux who grew up there but plays for Team USA?

It's going to be fun watching this dramatic feminine sporting story play out two summers from now.