Some Soccer News for Feb 8, 2016

It's Day 39 of 2016.


USA Men's National Team Friendly:
-Fri Feb 5
USA 1-0 Canada - USA goal by Jozy Altidore.

• Good: Diskerud defense, Bradley passing, Altidore goal, Vincent poise, Finlay cross, Birnbaum adequate, Nagbe unpredictable

• Bad: Jones passing, Zardes touch, Altidore finishing

• Ethan Finlay only got into the game in the 88th minute, but on his only touch whipped in a perfect cross for Altidore to head home. How many times last year did Finlay and Kei Kamara combine on that exact same play for Columbus Crew. Well done guys.

• Canada was abysmal. (Except for the young goalkeeper - Maxime Crepeau of Montreal.) No shots on goal even. It was a sad sight. Keep hoping for better, but it never seems to change.

• The Jermaine-Jones-At-Centerback situation has to end for good. It does not work. A team with any sense of offense would have punished the USA.

• The defensive effort by Mix Diskerud, especially in the 2nd half, was a thing of beauty. Would love to see that from him every game.

• Brandon Vincent made his debut at left fullback late in the game. He did not have to play hardly any defense, so its hard to judge him on that, but his skills going forward were solid and more importantly fearless.

• Darlington Nagbe had his best game for the USA. I have stated several times that I don't think he will ever make an impact at the international level. But I am always happy to eat my words. We shall see. This was a positive.

• Jozy got to 33 goals in a USA uniform in fewer games then anyone else ever. 91 games.

Oft-criticized Jozy the fastest to 33 #usmnt goals: Altidore (91 caps), Donovan (93), Dempsey (95), Wynalda (102)

— Doug McIntyre (@DougMacESPN) February 7, 2016

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Up next for the USMNT - World Cup Qualifying:
-Fri Mar 25
Guatemala v USA - Time TBD in Guatemala City on beIN Sport
-Tue Mar 29
USA v Guatemala - 6PM CT in Columbus OH on ESPN2

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Scores from 4 big games over the weekend:
-Sat Feb 6
Man City 1-3 Leicester
Hertha 0-0 Dortmund
Leverkusen 0-0 Bayern
-Sun Feb 7
Pumas 1-1 Pachuca

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Omar Gonalez did what he does best for Pachuca - score with his head on a set piece. It tied the game late. Terrible marking - Pumas apparently has no idea who Omar Gonzalez is. See it here.

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Bobby Wood scored a great goal for Union Berlin with superb individual effort where he dribbled through 2 sets of 2 defenders and buried his shot to the near post to tie the game late. See it here.

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Sporting Kansas City ran a Superbowl ad for the club. From Total MLS.

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A look at the dream season for Leicester City. At the top by 5 points (over Tottenham + Arsenal) with 13 games to play. By Rob Hughes of the New York Times. Unreal.

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Premier League: 10 talking points from this weekend’s action. From the Guardian.

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Bundesliga Matchday 20 in 60 seconds. (video) From Duetsche Welle.

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The German football federation has sued Franz Beckenbauer, 5 other former German football officials, and FIFA over how money was spent for the bidding and execution of the 2006 World Cup that Germany hosted. By Ciaran Fahey of the Associated Press.

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UEFA Champions League returns on Tue Feb 16 with the Round of 16.

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"A Chinese football revolution that is only just beginning and has an uncertain destination." By Owen Gisbon of the Guardian.

• How will China change the balance of the world soccer market? By Jonathan Wilson, a great soccer mind, of Sports Illustrated.

The Bird Is The Word