Roma Set Record, Cardiff City v Swansea City, Arsenal v Liverpool, Podcast, MLS, Derbi Barceloní

The end of the week has arrived. And with it, November. We're going to need a podcast to handle all that weight. This is what's on tap: On today's Football Weekly Extra, we're Capital One Cup crazy. Well, not quite crazy, but certainly captivated. Anyway, AC Jimbo's joined once more by Barry Glendenning and the dulcet twin tones of Amy Lawrence and Simon Burnton as they look back on the all the midweek League Cup action. We start with Arsenal, whose trophyless run is no nearer to coming to an end after they were beaten by Chelsea. It doesn't get any easier for the Gunners, with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund to visit in the next few days (albeit not at the same time; that wouldn't be fair). Can Arsène Wenger get his young side back on track? There was happier news on the other side of North London after Tottenham saw off tigerish Hull for the second time in three days, even if it did take them a penalty shoot out to get the victory. How far can AVB's lot go in the competition? Next, we hear from Sid Lowe about Gareth Bale's role in Real Madrid's ridiculous 7-3 victory over Sevilla before turning our attention to the big games in the Premier League this weekend, not least the South Wales derby.

Now that that's sorted, we can move on. Where? To Gareth Bale, of course. He's now under fire for an "attempted dive." Hmmmm.

There were matches in La Liga yesterday, most notably involving Atletico Madrid and their attempt to maintain the pressure on league leaders Barcelona. They succeeded thanks to penalties from stars Diego Costa and David Villa. They are now a point behind Barca and five ahead of city rivals Real. Barcelona are in action this afternoon (4pm EDT on beIN Sport USA) against their city rivals Espanyol.

There was a match in Serie A yesterday featuring the table toppers known as AS Roma. They defeated Chievo 1-0 to extend their lead to five points and become the first team in the history of Serie A to begin the season with 10 wins on the trot.

Is Daffyd a Swansea supporter or a Cardiff man...?

There was a match in Major League Soccer yesterday. It was an Eastern Conference knockout round game featuring Houston and Montreal. Houston won with ease. Looking ahead to the playoffs, Sport Illustrated asked their scribes to provide some thoughts and predictions. They did just that.

Right. On to things that have yet to occur. In the BPL, there are two biggies that stick out from the menu. Arsenal vs. Liverpool (1:30pm EDT on NBC) certainly attracts while Wales gets crazy with Cardiff vs. Swansea on Sunday. Elsewhere, there are some solid matchups as Tottenham go to Everton, Chelsea head up to Newcastle, and West Ham host Villa. Here's your lot:

Liverpool's John Barnes

Statistical Preview To This Weekend's Matches

10 things to look out for this weekend

Paul Merson's Predictions

Lawro's Predictions

Gambling Guide to the Weekend

Speaking of Liverpool, The Big Interview is John Barnes. He thinks Liverpool's Suárez-Sturridge attack is as good as '88. Well, then. 

We've more to discuss. We mentioned above that Barcelona and Espanyol clash this afternoon. Here's a gander at the complete La Liga weekend slate. We mentioned above that Roma was setting records in Italy. Here's a gander at the complete Serie A weekend slate which includes Parma/Juventus, Milan/Fiorentina, and Udinese/Inter.

We'll conclude the week on a high note (cough) with a look at Ronaldo's new line of underwear. His tweet was quite funny last week, and he's now unveiled his CR7 line. Oh, dear...

Onward!!

-SSN

No comment.

Bale Breaks Duck, League Cup, Golden Balls in Miami

Whoa Nellie! Let's start in Spain where the midweek action provided quite the fun. Gareth Bale got off the mark with two goals (yes, he did the stupid "heart" thing with his hands), Ronny had three, and Real Madrid whupped Sevilla 7-3. Don't you know Sid Lowe was there and had this to say. Not pleased with just a match report, El Sid also filed a complete roundup. Tite!

There was action in Serie A, too. Napoli won at Fiorentina to cut the gap at the top to two (Roma in action tonight) and Milan and Lazio drew at the San Siro. Here's a recap of the Wednesday action.

All set to support Beckham FC

Stateside we've got a few issues to tackle. David Beckham made a move down in Miami. Golden Balls is going to set up an MLS team and he wants to do it in the Sunshine State. And he wants Brooklyn to play for his team.

Elsewhere in MLS, the playoffs are set after Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson led Seattle to a wildcard win over Colorado. Their next opponent? Portland. Look out! Lattes and espresso for the first 10,000 fans.

In League Cup action in England, Elderly Yank Abroad Brad Friedel went from villain to hero as Tottenham ousted Hull City on penalties. In the evening's other match, Manchester City needed extra time to see off Newcastle.

Here's your draw for the Quarterfinal Round:
Leicester v Manchester City
Stoke v Manchester United
Sunderland/Southampton v Chelsea
Tottenham v West Ham

Speaking of Spurs, they're planning a new stadium. And some of their neighbors aren't terribly pleased with the plans.

From Tottenham to Arsenal, now, and Dennis Bergkamp has a book out. Tom Sweetman quite likes it, apparently. Read.

Have at it.

Onward!!

-SSN

Gas Leak At SSN Headquarters = Day Off

Luckily, there were only a few of us in the office when we were forced to vacate. Buonjourno is still in Europe (Chelsea beat Arsenal), Davide is still on assignment in Argentina (brawl), Luca remains in Africa researching for his upcoming book on that continent's football, and Erica is either in Sweden or Norway preparing to post on the ultra culture up there. More tomorrow. -Ed.

FIFA Madness, What's In Your Wallet? Cup, Scribes, Petit

We'll begin this Tuesday with FIFA. The idiots running the asylum want more teams involved in the World Cup. More teams = more cash. More teams = shittier matches. More teams = more power for the powerful. Assholes. Enough of that nonsense.

Might Zaha actually start?!

Karbassiyoon, Larsson, Cygan...

We hope you enjoyed the match report from Signor Buonjourno. Headquarters is terribly quiet without him but it would appear he's having fun across the pond.

We've got the League Cup today and there is a good one as Chelsea head across London to face Arsenal. Mourinho threatened to play his youth side but recanted and we all know the League Cup is where Arsène Wenger tests young Gunners' mettle under fire, so expect to see some fresh faces. Speaking of young Gunners, here's a complete list. Where are they now?

The clocks have already changed over there so matches today kick off at 3:45pm EDT. The London Derby is on beIN Sport USA. Elsewhere, Manchester United host Norwich, Birmingham welcome Stoke, Leicester City host Fulham, and West Ham are at Burnley.

Scribe Time!

Location: Spain
Headline: Madrid experiment fails to blunt Barca
Scribe: Phil Ball

Location: Brazil
Headline: Extraordinary Diego Costa saga set for finale
Scribe: Tim Vickery

Location: Spain
Headline: Barcelona's clásico win over Madrid leaves more questions than answers
Scribe: Sid Lowe

Location: Germany
Headline: Borussia Dortmund's derby flair marred by flare-up with their fans
Scribe: Raphael Honigstein

Location: Brazil
Headline: Flamengo, Botofogo and the fickle nature of Brazilian football fans
Scribe: Tim Vickery (again!)

Location: Italy
Headline: Roma close on record as Bradley counters charge of squad's lack of depth
Scribe: Paolo Bandini

It's still early days in the Premier League, but it's worth taking a look at the State of Things.

"He's blond, he's slick, his name's a porno flick." Emmanuel Petit talks about his career here.

We mentioned yesterday that the MLS regular season has come to a close. Avi Creditor says the pressure's on Red Bulls, Dempsey as MLS playoffs get underway.

We'll conclude today's dribble with a return to Italia. As you Roma have busted out of the gates. One of the main reasons why is  Mehdi Benatia. Have at it.

Onward!!

-SSN

SSN Special Report: Alessandro Buonjourno in Milan

SSN's Serie A Expert Alessandro Buonjourno recently departed SSN Headquarters for a brief jaunt to Europe. He took in Inter's match against Hellas Verona on Saturday and filed this report. Next up for Alessandro is Arsenal vs. Liverpool. Stay tuned...     -The Editor

San Siro Sunset

Inter Milan 4 – 2 Hellas Verona

Match Report

10/26/2013

Four gol di culo were enough to see Inter reclaim fourth from surprise package Verona on a perfect fall evening at the San Siro Saturday. Whether or not Inter’s sloppy concession after two early goals was due in part to the distracting and awkward choreography of the Curva Nord’s statement against recent FIGC sanctions, Walter Mazzarri’s men were ultimately little troubled by a Verona side unable to respond adequately to Inter’s scrappy assortment of goals poached  exclusively inside the six-yard box.

Things got going early for Inter, albeit with Jonathan likely knowing little about turning in Cambiasso’s redirected corner kick on ten minutes, with Wilson Palacios  following up two minutes later with a more purposeful  cross-goal effort from similar range. The defensive frailties that undid Inter last season returned however when the oncoming Martinho did well to chest down a return pass on the edge of the area and find the space and composure to slot past  Juan Carrizo, (deputizing for the suspended Hamdanovic), sending an already boisterous away crowd into head-rattling rapture. This was in stark contrast to the home support opposite them, who had spent the previous two goals un-and refurling a series of protest banners. Cambiasso added Inter’s third in the 38^th minute, stabbing in from close range after Nagatomo’s well-struck shot rebounded of the far post.

The withdrawal of Cambiasso and Palacios in the second half noticeably blunted Inter’s attacking threat, but an own goal bundled across the line from an Alvarez corner sealed things for the home side, putting them up 4-1 in the 61^st minute. Verona did manage to pull one back following some classic back-to-goal holdup work from former Azzurri talisman and eternal journeyman (15 clubs and counting) Luca Toni, who passed neatly along the edge of the box in the 71^st minute for Romulo to shoot into the bottom corner. Both sides went down to ten men in the 90^th minute for afters between Moras and Belfodil, but the scoreline held, sending satisfied home fans back into Milan amidst droning columns of departing mopeds and the distant echo of Verona supporters, still in full song.

-Alessandro Buonjourno

El Clásico, Hart Howler, Howard Heroics, Red Bulls, Michael Bradley's Back, Pato?

Monday Morning. Let's do this. We went into the weekend talking Clásico, so that's how we'll exit the weekend. Barcelona won the thing 2-1, albeit not without controversy. What a surprise. There are Three Thoughts here, along with some nice gifs of the Ronaldo no-call and Sanchez's dirty chip. La Liga expert Guillem Balague takes a detailed look at the match here. And we are honored to present you with Player Ratings. Ten keys to the win for Barcelona? Right.

But who won the Clash of the WAGs?

Over in England, Joe Hart goofed yet again to gift The Special One and his Blues a win over The Blues. The other Blues. Torres continued to improve, Aguero continued to score, and Mourinho continued to try to hog the spotlight, this time by hopping into the stands and kissing some dude. Here's the howler followed by the celebration. Meanwhile, according to John Crace, Tottenham fans had every right to boo another no-show at White Hart Lane, although their side did get all three points in the end. Arsenal stayed top despite playing with 10 men, Sunderland and a strong Yank Abroad Jozy Altidore defeated Newcastle, Yank Abroad Tim Howard saved a penalty and Everton won at Villa, Manchester United came back to win a thriller over Stoke, and Suarez scored three to lead Liverpool. Hit these, yo:

Weekend Review

10 Talking Points

Garth Crooks's Team of the Week

Five Thoughts

Check out this pretty great little vid from the traveling fans at Villa Park as Yank Abroad Timmy Howard saved Benteke's penalty:

There were some of us here at SSN Headquarters who were concerned about Michael Bradley. Dude got hurt and his absence from the Roma squad coincided with the surge to the top of the table by i Giallorossi. Not to worry! Bradley got a chance yesterday and took it well, netting the winning goal for Roma against Udinese. Here's everything you need to know. And this is good, too. More from Paolo domani.

Goal For Roma. Number 4. Michael Bradley.

This weekend was the final in Major League Soccer's regular season. The New York Red Bulls defeated the Chicago Fire and claimed the Supporters' Shield with the best record. Here's how the weekend went down.

Remember Alex Pato? He was supposed to be Brazil's next big thing. He was not. He's still only 24 but his Milan days seem years away. He had a weekend to forget.

'Til Tuesday.

-SSN

El Clásico, Let's Talk About Cesc, Kuwait Kickboxing Ref, Lawro vs. Joe Montana, Ronaldo's Boys Underwear Competition

Err...

El Clásico! El Clásico! El Clásico! Why is it such a big deal? Amy Lawrence, could you please ask Sid Lowe and get some answers? Yes? Cheers. The match can be viewed mañana in the USA on BeIN Sport at 12pm EDT. Here's Sid's preview of the Clash of Titans. And let's toss in a Top Ten Clásico Moments while we're at it. There will be other matches in La Liga this weekend. Hard to imagine, we know, but it's true. Here's a bit more on that.

SSN pal Ryan T. is over in Barcelona for the match and took this lovely shot earlier today. Wanker...

Back in England the big ones are on Sunday. The Tyne-Wear Derby takes place at the Stadium of Light and Manchester City travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Here's all you need to know:

Weekend Preview

Weekend Preview II

10 Things To Look Out For

Lawro & Joe Montana's Predictions

Paul Merson's Predictions

Classic Tyne-Wear Derby Moments

The Big Interview is Cesc Fábregas and Sid Lowe is asking the questions. Outstanding. Let's talk about Cesc.

Good times in Kuwait!


Football Weekly Extra? Yes, please! Plump up a cushion, because we've got another cracker in store as Barry Glendenning, Simon Burnton and Iain Macintosh join AC Jimbo for the latest Football Weekly Extraaaa. We start with all the action in the Champions League, where Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four for PSG and Cristiano Ronaldo bagged another brace for Real against Juventus. Now, if only these two supreme players and their egos could go head-to-head with a place at the World Cup up for grabs...Next we look forward to a big weekend in the Premier League, including the Tyne-Wear derby and Manchester City's trip to Chelsea, and manager-less Crystal Palace's game with Arsenal. Plus, there's our friend Sid Lowe looking ahead to El Clásico, a bit of Scottish football, and a magnificent discussion about swashbuckling.

Just because...

No real biggies in Italy, we're afraid. Here are some briefs of all the fixtures, nonetheless. You need to stay informed, after all.

We'll finish this week with one last look at Fergie's book. The Dirty Tackle has assembled a list of Who Hates Sir Alex The Most Right Now.

Go Forth And Conquer.

-SSN

Russian Racists, The Zlatan Strikes, Holloway Sacked

Good grief. Man City's win in Moscow was overshadowed by racist chants from CSKA fans. Of course, the club say "nothing special happened." What does that mean, exactly? Assholes. At least City won the match. Elsewhere, their Manchester rivals United won at Old Trafford. Richard Jolly was there.

We've been treated to loads of extraordinary goals already this season. Over in Belgium last night, The Zlatan scored four against Yank Abroad Sacha Kljestan and his hapless Anderlecht. The Zlatan's second and third are, frankly, absurd. Enjoy:


Back at the Bernabéu, Ronaldo did his best to keep up with the Swede's heroics by scoring two himself as Real Madrid downed Juventus. Sid Lowe was there and filed this report. Thanks, Sid!

This is a wrap of all of yesterday's Champions League activity. Let's talk about ten things of note from this latest round of the top European club competition, shall we? Excellent. Cheers.

Sorry, Ian, but you're fired.

As we assumed on Tuesday, Ian Holloway's bald dome was the first head to roll in the EPL this campaign. Dominic Fifield says he leaves dispirited Crystal Palace a tired and resigned man. No arguments from anyone here at SSN Headquarters. Rumors have it that Palace want Tony Pubis. Oh, dear...

Right. What else? Yes. There's another Champions League going on at the moment. CONCACAF has it's own little affair featuring the top clubs in the region. It allows teams like L.A. Galaxy to clash with El Salvador’s Isidro Metapán. So...cool. Brian Straus is interested. Hit the link if you are as well.

Sticking with the United States, there is a new book and a new film that illustrate the passion surrounding the Seattle Sounders. Grant Wahl saw the film and says it's got some damn fine moments.

Since we've had so many great goals to enjoy of late, we'll conclude today with a collection of misses. Benzema had a nice one last night against Juve, and he gets things rolling. Enjoy.

-SSN

Chelsea Cruise, Arsenal Lose, Milan & Barca Draw, Today's Action, Gooch to QPR

Simply disgusted with his team's effort against Chelsea...

And a lovely Wednesday to you! Diving right into yesterday's Champions League action, we'll begin in Gelsenkirchen, where a professional display from The Special One's side provided a 3-0 away win over Schalke and the excuse for us to use that photo. Ahem. Poor lad. Anyway, Torres scored and Chelsea now sit atop their group.

Back in London, it was 1-1 and Arsenal were pressing for a win but Dortmund and Lewandowski had other ideas and nicked the three points with a late goal.

Jonathan Wilson says the loss revealed Arsenal's weaknesses.

Barney Ronay is more optimistic and says Olivier Giroud took center stage.

Phil McNulty wonders how Arsenal can learn from the defeat.

This is interesting.

Back at the San Siro, it was Turn Back the Clock Day as Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (aka Kaká) and Robson de Souza (aka Robinho) combined for Milan's goal. Barcelona's came via (who else?) a fine finish from one Lionel Messi. 1-1 was your final score.

Here's a wrap of all of Tuesday's Champions League action.

Today we've got more matches (yay!) including Real Madrid vs. Juventus, Manchester United vs. Real Sociedad, Bayern Munich vs. Viktoria Plzen, and CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester City (they're painting the pitch green!).

Sid Lowe is on hand to let us know that it might be the ideal time for a nervy United to face a sinking Sociedad. And hey, just where has it gone wrong for Manchester United and David Moyes?

Gooch is back! He signed with QPR. Have fun with 'Arry, friend.

We'll conclude this Hump Day with more on Sir Alex. Jon Snow interviewed him. Check it.

-SSN

Champions League, Podcast, Fulham Goals, Scribes, Fergie Book

Mega Tuesday!

Good grief, there's loads on the plate today. Let's kick off with a look at last night's action in South London. Palace are in big trouble after Fulham hit them for four last night at Selhurst Park. Everyone at SSN Headquarters has money on Ian's head being the first to roll this season. Sachin Nakrani was there and filed this report. For video of the latest Goal of the Season contenders, hit the link below.

The Podcast. One of the things they discuss this week is the amazing goals we saw. Wilshere, Ibra, et al. But the piece was recorded prior to Kasami's ridiculous van Basten imitation and Sidwell's sick volley. This bit in The Guardian has all of the best, including the two from Fulham last night.

'Ol Red Nose is a writer.

Sir Alex Ferguson's novel is being released today. Here's the story: basically, when literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons...Wait! No! It's about Fergie's time in football. Non-fiction. Sorry. Here are 10 Things We Learned from the book. And 4 Revelations. And Best Bits.

Scribe Time!

Location: Germany
Headline: Bayer Leverkusen 'ghost goal' could prompt Germany to draw the line
Scribe: Raphael Honigstein

Location: Spain
Headline: Barcelona's stutter, Atletico's loss and Real Madrid's win mean the Liga title race feels unusually open
Scribe: Phil Ball

Location: Italy
Headline: Giuseppe Rossi guns down Juventus as Fiorentina party likes it's 1998
Scribe: Paolo Bandini

Location: Spain
Headline: Getafe's Pedro León on the way back to being Pedro León again
Scribe: Sid Lowe

Location: Brazil
Headline: Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa could be 'one who got away' for Brazil
Scribe: Tim Vickery

Location: United States
Headline: Roma’s hot start leaves Michael Bradley behind; MLS expansion takes shape
Scribe: Grant Wahl

Kahn = Happy

There are some matches this afternoon. Mainly, AC Milan vs. Barcelona, Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund, and Schalke vs. Chelsea.

Here's a complete preview of today's action.

And here is what to watch during Matchday Three.

More? That's fine.

Major League Soccer just complete Week 34. It's almost over, folks. This right here is a recap of the weekend activity, along with some Power Rankings. Who is the most powerful, you ask? New York Red Bulls.

Ok. We're spent. Enjoy your Super Mega Grande Tuesday.

-SSN

Fiorentina, Roma, Arsenal, Bale, UEFA Playoffs, Monday Night Football

Well, Good Morning, Friends!

It's good to have club football back, is it not? Come on. It's so superior. We were treated to many a match of big fun this weekend. On Friday morning we were excited about Roma vs. Napoli. Our excitement was justified. Roma put a big-ass-twins-sucking-wolf-teets-stamp on the Serie A race with a strong win over Rafa's side at Stadio Olympico. They are now five points clear. You'd think that would be the story of the fixture date. If so, you'd be wrong. Everyone wants to talk Fiorentina instead. La Viola rocked Juventus 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Jersey Boy Giuseppi Rossi. Check the full Serie A weekend breakdown qui.

WTF!!?? Barcelona did not score a goal against Osasuna. Nil-Nil, it was. Elsewhere, Real Madrid ground out a win and welcomed Gareth back into the fold. Hit this.

Spurs fan rejoice..and the linesman pays the price.

In England, everyone is raving about Arsenal's goal-glut at the Emirates against Norwich City. While each of the four goals from the home side were crafted with deft skill, the first of the match is one that will be replayed over and over for years to come. Watch carefully, because you won't see this again for a long time. Or ever. Why? Because it's two back-heels, three one-twos, four first-time passes...and a volleyed finish. Elsewhere, 10-man Newcastle managed a draw with Liverpool, United allowed a late Southampton goal and drew 1-1, City had little trouble with West Ham, Chelsea courted controversy in their win over Cardiff City, and Tottenham cruised past Aston Villa. Here's your required reading:

Premier League Review

10 Talking Points

5 Thoughts
Best of the Weekend
Tactics Board

Garth Crooks's Team of the Week

Andros Townsend led Tottenham to a win at Villa as noted above. He's English. He's creative. He's quick. He's playing quite well. Phil McNulty looks at the burgeoning bandwagon.

In Major League Soccer, former Everton boxing legend Tim Cahill scored the fastest goal in the history of the league whilst standing in the shadows. Baby. It took seven seconds for the New York Energy Drink player to find the net against Houston. Here are Five Things We Learned from the weekend.




There is Monday Night Football tonight. And it's a London Derby! What? Oh, it's Palace vs. Fulham. Well, could be worse.

Finally, we'll finish with a brief return to the international side of the game. The draw for the UEFA playoff took place and either Ronaldo or The Zlatan will not be attending the festivities next summer in Brazil. It is: Sweden vs. Portugal, Iceland vs. Croatia, Ukraine vs. France, and Romania vs. Greece. The first legs will be played on November 15 and the return on November 19.

Do everyone a favor and make this week your best buddy, um kay?

-SSN

Weekend Club Love, More Ince, Asprilla Porn Star Offer

Friday, Peeps! 

There will be football tomorrow (and today!) played on pitches between clubs. Clubs are associations or organizations dedicated to a particular interest or activity. And we love them here at SSN. Nations? Not so much. As such, we are quite excited about the upcoming program. And what a way to kick things off -- we've got an extremely attractive fixture thanks to the Italians. Napoli are in Rome this afternoon if you can manage to get away from the office or grab a stream and wish to partake in what should be a good one between the current Serie A leaders and the current Serie A second-placers. Check it at 2:45pm EDT on beIN Sport en Español. Or your stream. Elsewhere in Italy, Fiorentina host Juventus on Sunday and Inter go to Turin to face Torino. Here's a preview of all the weekend fun.

Since we're on the Continent, we might as well shuffle west and see what's up in Spain. What's up is all eyes are on Real Madrid because they're already five points adrift of their two biggest rivals: neighbors Atlético and Barcelona. Here's a preview of all the weekend fun.

As is customary, we'll continue our trek west, curve to the north, and check out the weekend menu for the Premier League. Things get going early tomorrow when Newcastle host Liverpool. There could a lot of goals in that one. The Joy of Six looks at the history of the fixture. Other intriguing matches include Aston Villa vs. Tottenham and West Ham vs. Manchester City. Here's the lovely list of links to get you pumped up:

Premier League Preview
Premier League Spotlight
Weekend Watch
10 Things To Look Out For
Lawro's Predictions
Paul Merson's Predictions

Is Asprilla ready to spread his...wings?

We linked to Paul Ince's diatribe yesterday. Today, Barney Ronay takes a welcome stab at the nature of the beast that is profanity.

Manchester United? Richard Jolly takes a close look at the players at the club and who should be worried for their future.

Major League Soccer? The regular season is nearing its conclusion. The first trophy awarded will be the Supporters Shield. Who will win it? And, just because we love you, Reviews & Previews.

Santa Latina want Faustino Asprilla to be a porn star for a week. If anyone would do it, he would. A different kind of scoring? Oh!

Hey! You have fun out there.

-SSN

Deep Breath. Catch Up.

Celebrating in Sarajevo

Holy Moses. So much went down on Tuesday that we couldn't even get out of bed yesterday morning. It was all too much to handle. We felt like these guys who totally lost it when the U.S. gave Mexico a lifeline. Right, so the U.S. won in Panama (quite impressive) which means Mexico can still make the World Cup even though they lost in Costa Rica. Which is rather absurd, actually. Here are more images, videos, and words from all the CONCACAF craziness. And, as is customary, Grant Wahl has Three Thoughts.

Further south, Chile and Ecuador joined Colombia and Argentina on the bus/train/car/flight to Brazil while Uruguay earned the right to clash with Jordan. Yes, Jordan. Sam Kelly reviews the entire CONMEBOL qualifying saga here.

Bosnia are in! They will go to their first-ever World Cup. Dzeko is overjoyed.

England managed to qualify thanks to a win against Poland, but they won't be seeded. Neither will Italy. But Switzerland will. Go figure. Here's the breakdown. Iceland made the playoffs, too! Here's all the UEFA action.

Going to Brazil? The BBC World Service has this helpful post. Find out how much the meal at McDonald's will cost.

Things did not go so well for our old pal Bob Bradley. His Egypt side got walloped by Ghana 6-1. Ouch.

Moving away from the international game for a moment -- Arsene Wenger is doing his best Captain Obvious imitation with the admission that selling RVP caused unrest at the Emirates. Brilliant.

Paul Ince is in the news, too. He said "cunt" 15 times back in September during a nice little tirade.

We should spare a thought for Luis Suarez. He just keeps rocking -- gotta love him!


-SSN

Bob Bradley, World Cup Scenarios, Iceland?, Panama!, Edgar Davids

Thank God, this is the end. Except for playoffs...

Right! Let's jump on in. We're going to begin with our old friend Bob Bradley. Since leaving the the U.S., he's had quite the time in Egypt dealing with minor issues such as a stadium massacre and a revolution. Even the wisest sages at SSN Headquarters could not have predicted the insanity that has been Egypt over the last year or so. The Guardian has The Big Interview with Bob today ahead of his country's clash with Ghana. Not to be outdone, Grant Wahl has a big piece on Bob as well. The match begins soon: 12pm EDT on BeIN Sport.

This is the end of the road to Brazil (almost), so without further ado, we give you
Ten, Five, Six, and Scenarios.

Ten Things To Look Out For

Five Storylines
Six Crunch Qualifiers

Standings and Scenarios

Iceland think they can make their first World Cup. Norway stand in their nor...way. Sachin Nakrani takes a gander.

England host Poland at Wembley (3pm EDT on Fox Sports 1). English people who care about their national team are wigging out. Poland kept us from reaching the 1974 World Cup! That crazy goalkeeper is back! All those Poles who live in London will be at the match! Croatia! Phil McNulty sums it all up quite well.

The United States hope to rock in Panama tonight. There's not much to play for. Chances of the Yanks getting a top seed are slim at best. Here's a preview. View the fun tonight at 9:30pm EDT on BeIN Sport.

Yikes! There is a Football Weekly. How nice. As you might expect, Jimbo and Co. are talking World Cup qualifying. As you might NOT expect, they're talking Edgar Davids. Have a listen. Go on.

Tim Vickery is down in Rio and he's been so kind as to provide us with an update on the World Cup qualifying situation in South America. Apparently, Uruguay are scrambling. Cheers, Tim.

Meanwhile, Major League Soccer might might might switch to a "normal" schedule. Might. Check it out.

That's it. Go watch some internationals while you can. Club football returns this weekend!!

-SSN

Who's Going to Brazil?

Hello Monday!

Brazil 2014. Who's going? So far we've got:

Brazil (Host With The Most), Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, United States of America, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Iran, Colombia, South Korea, Australia.

Tomorrow is another round of qualifying. We'll deal with that...tomorrow. For now, let's take a look back at the shit that that went down over the weekend and Friday.

Mexico busted out a massive sigh of relief Friday night when Raul Jimenez's insane bicycle kick gave them a late win at home against Panama. It kept El Tri in the hunt for a ticket to Brazil. Check it:



Is Mexico better off without its European-based players?

Meanwhile, up north in Kansas City, the U.S. didn't really impress too much but still cruised to a 2-0 win over The Reggae Boys. Local hero and K.C. Wizard (we don't like change) Graham Zusi came on for Donovan at the half and helped the Yank cause quite a bit. As is customary after such events, Grant Wahl has Three Thoughts. And Jeff Carlisle looks into Lando's half-time benching.

Roy Hodgson was another who was massively relieved on Friday night. England won at Wembley and boosted their hopes of a trip to South America. Dominic Fifield was on hand to see Andros Townsend make his mark. Here's a wrap of all the UEFA action.

As noted earlier in this post, Colombia will be in Brazil next summer. How? Falcao! He grabbed a brace in Colombia's draw with Chile. Here's a wrap of all the CONMEBOL action.

Colombians are quite pleased...

Spain have yet to qualify for Brazil. We're certain they will, but Sid Lowe has an interesting piece on the lack of a national stadium for the Spaniards and how that is such a disadvantage when it comes to any sort of home field advantage for qualifiers.

Africa! There are rains. We have blessed them. Nigeria has defeated Ethiopia and Tunisia and Cameroon have drawn. Those were some of the results of the first legs of the playoffs. Other results? Ivory Coast managed to cruise while Algeria managed to lose.

We'll finish back here. Major League Soccer. Still no breakdown, sadly, but there is a wrap. Portland beat Seattle, among other things...

The week is off and running.

-SSN

Internationals...Yeah...That's Pretty Much It

Hah!

Well, those were a couple of quiet days, eh? The mood at SSN Headquarters gets awfully gloomy during international breaks. Let's just say that the club game is more our thing, OK? Now that we've said that (that said), at least there will be some matches today. We can see how badly Germany will clobber Ireland, hope Mexico lose to Panama, see what sort of experimenting Juergen will do with the U.S., chuckle whilst England try to handle the pressure against Montenegro, check out Bendtner's underpants when Denmark host Italy, and much more! So...it could be worse.

The obvious place to start is with The Podcast: It's Football Weekly Extra, and it's international week. Yay. AC Jimbo, Barry Glendenning and Jacob Steinberg aren't that fussed but Jonathan Wilson's getting all hot and bothered by all that can happen in Europe and elsewhere in the forthcoming round of World Cup qualifiers. If that doesn't make you go woof, we've also got Sid Lowe telling us about Spain's attempts at signing up Brazilian international Diego Costa to their national side – something which Jack Wilshere would doubtless have an opinion. Plus, there's reaction to Gus Poyet's appointment as Sunderland's latest manager, some crazy shenanigans in Cardiff, and more turtle/tortoise/terrapin news.

We know it's crunch time for England. But it's a big match for Montenegro as well. Jonathan Wilson takes a look. He also takes a look at three other countries that could possibly seal their first WC births. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso are all in with a shout.

Meanwhile, back across the pond, it's not crunch time for the Yanks because they've already booked their tickets to Brazil. The game still has meaning, though, as the U.S. will want to win the group. Here's a preview of tonight's match out in K.C. (6:30pm EDT on ESPN).

Hah!

World Cup 2014 qualifiers? Yes. 10 things to look out for?
OK. 

UEFA? England, Russia, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland could all qualify today.
Here's everything you need to know.

CONMEBOL? Colombia and Chile could also advance today.
Here's everything you need to know.

CAF? Playoffs. Yes, playoffs.
Here's everything you need to know.

This is rather fun: International Misfits XI: would this team qualify for the World Cup?

Paul Doyle's into the rains down in Africa and wants to talk Cameroon and Tunisia. Tunisia gets a second chance because of Cape Verde's suspended player usage (tsk-tsk) and although Eto'o retired, he's decided to come back.

Nice one, Vegas...

Mexico is in trouble! Only one win in their group and they've got Panama at Estadio Azteca tonight. Barry Glendenning looks at the El Tri mayhem.

William Zaha. Remember that guy? Tore shit up at Palace, Manchester United paid £15million for him, now he sits on the bench. For United and for England's Under-21s against San Marino. Ouch.

Unlike almost every other league on the planet, the United States' top division does not take a break when there are international fixtures. American exceptionalism, you see.

And finally, we'll believe this when we see it.

Enjoy that weekend, peeps!

-SSN