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[www.sportepoch.com]FA Cup - Arsenal 0-1... by sportepoch_

Colin Kazim- Richards mishit goal encapsulates what has gone terribly wrong for the Gunners. It does not just take Arsenal's mistake to sink Arsenal, it can take your mistake to sink Arsenal. The result remains the same. At the other end, Tomas Rosicky's sweetly timed through pass met perfectly by a galloping Gervinho draws out Jake Kean and the Emirates rises in expectation. You've paid £10.5m for a striker who scored 17 goals in his last season at Lille and the expectations are he will score. That's all you can do. But Gervinho in his Arsenal phase defied the odds yet again.

What is more disheartening is that such losses now define Arsenal. Somehow there is never a learning curve in now what can only be called a double dip. At Bradford, now Blackburn. Arsene Wenger seems to be disconnected from inspiring this team or maybe this team is beyond inspiration because winning these competitions assume greater significance since Wenger's ambitions never go beyond finishing fourth in the league. The portal to the Champions League and bragging rights to a 15th season in elite competition. That is the mantra. Yet the simple truth is that winning less lauded laurels like the League and the FA Cup is the key to strengthening the psyche of this side, held together by duct tape. Any success, any, now need not be sneered at.

The Gunners have now been in umpteen situations where they have been invited to crack open the opposition. And Gervinho had the perfect opportunity but there was a feeling of inevitability with his miss, Rosicky's booming shot clanging of the crossbar, Diaby and Vermaelen's efforts saved by Kean that this would not be Arsenal's day. There was plenty of possession but somehow the personnel in the critical last third was missing. Olivier Giroud was stranded in the box while Alex Oxlade Chamberlain showed on quite a few occasions a lack of rudimentary crossing skills. The Ox man seems to be bent on performing something spectacular which may have to do with Theo Walcott back in his familiar position.

With time running down, Wenger went to Wilshere, Walcott, and Cazorla but before they could arrange their feet, Blackburn making a very rare foray through Martin Olsson, testing Wojciech Szczesny with a left footed shot which the Arsenal goalie managed to parry into the path of Kazim Richards, whose follow up was a shank into the ground. The ballistics report shows the ball not only looped over the prostrate Szczesny but also at an angle onto the upright and into goal. Which means that even had the Pole (a feeble pun, as feeble as Arsenal's efforts) been standing this would have been a goal. Karma for all the missed chances. Karma for being reactive. Karma for the disorienting changes in ambition. Karma for penny pinching. Karma for wasting the pennies not pinched on players that have proven a bust.

This is not a heartening preview to the Bayern match. Do you really have to scheme against Arsenal when it seems all you have to do is show up? Yet familiarly, Wenger was seeing past Bayern despite a history of bravado gone wrong. There should be a gag order on the quadruple and Abou Diaby being the next Patrick Vieira. Or whatever pronouncement which appear based in whimsy. Perhaps you should not fill your players minds with cloud puffs. For those who say the fans need to support their club come what may. How does one put pressure on a manager enjoying a life time appointment? The last thing he needs is unconditional love.

A moving tribute by the Toffees to remember the 96 fallen before the Newcastle game. To the Everton fans who made this day about fans no matter where and what stripe they support. And David Moyes showing that he's not just a manager but a class act through and through:

"I applaud the families who continued to fight for the ones they loved. The outcome was nothing short of disgraceful. We have all been brought up to believe and trust in authority. The authorities who were responsible for ensuring the safety of supporters that afternoon let themselves down, as have the government parties who have been in power since. Praise must go to Andy Burnham and the families for getting disclosure."

Adriano gets the Blaugranas started after Cesc Fabregas does all the brilliant spadework. Well into the second half, Pedro is brought down in the box and Messi who comes off the bench scores from the spot. The little maestro is at the right place at the right time to sweep into goal Montoya's cross for his brace.

Getafe get one back as their goal comes after a bizarre double deflection off Xavi and Javier Mascherano. The last laugh belongs to Barca as David Villa gets Barca's fourth and final goal.

Messi it is said was given a bit of a rest after a grueling schedule of internationals with Argentina which also included their bus getting pelted by stones in Peru for the World Cup qualifier.

Barca continue to be in first place and are now eight points ahead of 10th placed Real Madrid.

Piotr Trochowski's majestically swept in half volley following a corner in the 2nd minute was the game winner. "Sad" Ronaldo did not do much. It was a bad tempered match and after losing Real are in 10th position. Not exactly keeping up with Barca are they? Mourinho was quite blunt:

"I worry about my team. They did not play against Getafe, and today they played very little like they did Granada. More to the point, I am concerned that at this time I have no team."

This is what makes Mourinho so unlikeable. He's already throwing his team under the bus instead of analyzing why they are not doing well.

Peter Crouch must have committed about five handballs before scoring but the referee failed to spot even a single one. There was nothing dodgy however about Asimir Begovic's goalkeeping. He brought off at least three spectacular saves. However, he could not keep out Javi Garcia, who made his City debut as did Maicon and Scott Sinclair. The last 20 minutes were a Toure de force, as Yaya kept coming at Stoke but luck and Begovic kept their unbeaten streak alive.

Stoke also avoided a stoppage time heart breaker after Edin Dzeko beat an onrushing Begovic to spoon a shot towards goal but Ryan Shawcross sprinting back managed to keep the ball out throwing his left leg out just before it crossed the line.

Michael Owen came on for Crouch but he did not do much. Was he supposed to?

Not exactly Chelsea's best match. There was no Juan Mata but there was plenty of Frank Lampard which does not make for pretty viewing. There were two close penalty calls, the first when John Terry seemed to be gang tackled by Ryan Nelsen and then Eden Hazard was brought down by Shaun Wright- Phillips. The first one looked pretty clear cut but the second one seemed more incidental and Hazard seemed to milk it. Victor Moses had a very good debut and

QPR looked more and more composed as the match went on and they had their best chance when Park Ji Sung with the whole goal at his mercy headed straight to Petr Cech. A bit more angle and that would have been QPR celebrating. By the way, Esteban Granero is quite an acquisition. The Real Madrid player was the midfield cog.

He won in court and now he wants his handshake too? Anton Ferdinand snubbed John Terry and a bit later Ashley Cole, his co-conspirator declining to shake their hands. Lip reading Terry, he appears to say, "My handshake is better than yours, damn right!"

Danny Welbeck is a diver. His acting abilities earned Utd an penalty. So it was justice served when Chicharito Hernandez's soft spot kick was saved. Sir Alex Ferguson started Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who was making his 700th appearance. The most intriguing change was 23 year old Alexander Buttner's appearance in place of Patrice Evra. Apart from that bit of first half Welbeckian drama there was no premonition of the number of goals that were going to erupt in the second half.

It was fitting that Scholes got the ball rolling as the ginger haired assassin was at hand to put back Al Habsi's spill. Scholes scores goals and he amasses passes. Chicharito or Chickarito as the commentator insisted on calling him, deflected in Buttner's shot past Al Habsi as Utd added to their tally.

The Vitesse Arnhem left half easily the most eye catching player on the pitch with his work rate and skill continued his spectacular debut scoring after an unstoppable run a la Emmett Smith. Gathering the ball after falling, he drove past a maze of defenders and then unleashed a shot from the tightest of angles which Al Habsi once again was not able to hold onto. Plenty of luck but plenty of skill. A pensive Evra appeared to contemplate his future in the club. Sir Alex's next debutante Nick Powell also crashed the party with a spanking shot which left Al Habsi a bystander. As it were, Utd did not need RVP or Shinji Kagawa. They were helped too by a disorganized Wigan's defense and Al-Habsi's forgettable day between the sticks.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Southampton 6:1 MOTD

The only imperfection in an otherwise perfect outing for the Gunners was the display of Wojciech Szczesny who could not preserve a clean sheet. A minor detail it would appear but an irritating one nevertheless. The rest was quite stellar.

Arsene Wenger did not start any frontline striker opting to go for Podolski, Gervinho, and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. In place of Abou Diaby, Frances Coquelin got his start. And Vito Mannone made way for Szczesny. It was on the front foot for the Gunners right from the start with Santi Cazorla ably backed up by Mikel Arteta as the two Spaniards began to run the show. Lovely touch football in the tightest of spaces as players interchanged positions fluidly and freely.

Dare we say it? In the four matches played so far Cazorla has shown himself to be a notch above Fabregas as a creator. He is so compact with the ball showing an incomparable ability to diagram plays and execute them with nary an extraneous pass. Podolski showed great tenacity and determination to claim the ball back and drive past defenders to feed Kieran Gibbs whose shot was turned into an own goal. His free kick was even better. Lacing the ball with plenty of power and movement to fool Kelvin Davis. Cazorla and Arteta linked up and the latter scooped the ball over to find Gervinho running hard and finishing superbly. The pair connected again a few minutes later as Cazorla put Gervinho through for the Cote D'Ivoirian to find Gibbs steaming from the left to slam his shot which once again deflected into goal.

A merry band of Gunners running riot over the hapless Saints and looking for more. However, the first half ended on a bit of a sour note as Szczesny could not hold onto a routine cross by Jason Puncheon and dropped the ball right in the doorstep of Danny Fox. The Polish goalie looked out of sorts with his goal kicks and throws proving nightmarish ventures. With the side playing solid and mistake free team defense, the last thing one needs is the last line looking shaky and conceding silly goals. You have to love the sight of the Gunners regrouping to run back in numbers and maintain that defensive shape. The Saints counterattack was going nowhere with all the gaps and players covered till Szczesny had that brain freeze.

The second half saw the Saints rustling up a bit more ambition pushing forward and seeing more of the ball. But the Gunners after a lull answered through Aaron Ramsey who had an excellent game. His first touch after receiving the ball from Cazorla was impeccable and set up a sequence of movements with his shot flicked through hitting the upright. Gervinho was at hand to clean up. Oliver Giroud came on and one thought his goal drought would end when Theo Walcott broke through with pace to created a two on one situation. But in a familiar routine, wisdom was jettisoned, and he decided to over elaborate allowing the defense to recover and then twisted and turned into a cul de sac. Walcott did get Arsenal's final goal when Cazorla dinked a rebound into the path of the former Saints player and he crashed the ball into the net. Muted celebrations followed. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, the other Saint in the midst was a constant threat down the right and came close a couple of times to scoring a goal.

One note. Per Mertesacker. The tall, lanky German had a superb game. He often looks slow but makes up for it with great positional sense. Today, we saw an aggressive Mertesacker imposing himself on set pieces. Usually, it is Vermaelen who takes the lead.

With this result, we go to Montpellier to begin the CL campaign with a good head of steam. Then back to the league to face City and a far more severe test. The scoring seems to be coming by committee which is probably the best way to plug RVP's loss. However, we really don't need a goalkeeping controversy because the last time we had one, there were three choices. Worse, much worse, the worst.

It took Thierry Henry eight matches to open his scoring account for Arsenal, a period so fraught with self doubt that the winger turned striker admitted he had to be "re-taught everything about the art of striking." The drought ended on 18 September 1999 against Southampton, as Henry losing his marker, finds a sliver of space and curls his shot without any further elaboration. The rest they say is history. Arsenal's topscorer finished with 228 goals (and possibly counting) breaking Ian Wright's previous record by 43 goals.

Wright did not have to wait that long. His first league appearance was against Southampton on 28 September 1991, and it turned out to be a stunning debut as Arsenal scorched the Saints, 4-0 with Wright scoring a hat trick on his way to winning the Golden Boot. Three years later, Southampton were at the receiving end of another Wright hat trick losing by an identical margin. The former Crystal Palace striker ended his Arsenal career with five hat tricks and lead the club goalscoring six of his seven years.

The highly anticipated arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, a rising star on a record fee of £7.5 million from Inter was expected to pay immediate dividends. Instead, Bruce Rioch's signing struggled to adapt to the Premier League. On 23 September 1995, Southampton came knocking and Bergkamp, the butt of merciless ridicule by the press, scored a brace in his fifth appearance. He went on to score 11 goals that season helping Arsenal to fifth place in the league. Bergkamp ended his Arsenal career giving the English language, "sublime." .

Robin Van Persie, his career blighted with injury till last season, lived up to his full throated promise when he showed what he was capable of if healthy. Arsenal shot to third place after their worst start in fifty eight years as the Dutchman top scored with 30 league goals. RVP came to Arsenal from Ajax in 2004 and his first brush with the Premier League was marred by competition from Antonio Reyes, immature outbursts, and injuries. He was a sparingly used sub coming in late for either Reyes or Pires and it was his fifth match coming off the bench as Arsenal trailed Southampton, 1-2. With a few minutes left on the clock, RVP drew Arsenal level with a left footed curler for his first Premiership goal on 30th October. The Saints turned out to be a familiar target once again on their Premiership return, as RVP scored a first hat trick for his new club, Man Utd.

Oliver Giroud should take heart. His movement has been good and he's been getting chances in front of goal. He doesn't have to overthink things. Admittedly, all four players who scored against the Saints were not exactly centerforwards but were either wingers turned strikers or were comfortable playing in the hole. Giroud's best bet still remains positioning himself out on the posts for set piece service or second attempts. He has to use his height and physicality to create chances for him and for others in and around the box. Tomorrow might be the day to end his scoring frustrations. If he does, he's in excellent company.

Being: Liverpool is a FSC documentary with the first episode to be aired this Sunday, the 16th. There are enough examples to show Brendan Rodgers channels David Brent in his interviews. He also has a self portrait hanging on a wall in his living room. So without further ado, above a clip of Brent on football management.

" Do you think that Alan Hansen or Mark Lawrenson would have had the careers they had if they'd have had the skills, but without the discipline? Without the concentration? It's not easy passing the ball back to the goalkeeper every single time you get it for ninety minutes. Yeah, they got out the game before they changed the back-pass rule. One step ahead, you know. "

Priceless. Arsenal's goalie, David Seaman gets some comical boosting from Brent.

Arsene Wenger has opted for caution following Abou Diaby's niggling hip injury sustained against Finland last Friday. He most likely will not feature in Arsenal's home game this Saturday against the Saints as a precautionary measure. Which given Diaby's extensive history of being crocked is probably a wise thing to do.

The French midfielder's early performances have received rave reviews but keeping him fit for a whole season will be a monumental undertaking. Guy Roux said Diaby "is mounted on two matches with a spot of glue in the middle." Wenger might rue rushing him out before recovering fully.

Diaby, however hopes to be back for their Champions League opener facing Montpellier this coming Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Bacary Sagna has been given some face time with Wenger after his statements in an interview questioning why Arsenal chose to sell of two of their best players in Robin Van Persie and Alex Song. He also claimed no contact from Arsenal on offering an extension deal with his contract entering its final year after this season. Wenger was quite blunt saying his attitude was anyone who felt dissatisfied was free to leave. But he felt Sagna was not unhappy and only his negative comments were highlighted. The Arsenal manager was quite confident Sagna would be offered an extension but it would not be a five year one with the full back hitting 30 years of age next February.

"I expect him to stay and I want him to stay," Wenger said. "The interview does not really reflect what he thinks about the club and the love he has for the club."

On a more positive note, Sagna might be back in two or three weeks. Jack Wilshere's rehab is going well and the midfielder should be joining training soon. Wojciech Szczesny has recovered from a rib injury and should be available for the Southampton match.

The Bars of Aragon, part of the Catalonian flag will feature in the 2013-14 kit

Two days ago, a million and a half Catalonians demonstrated in Barcelona in an unmistakably fervent call for independence from Spain. The president of Barcelona, Sandro Rosell attended that demonstration with his family as a private citizen, not representing the club. And Pep Guardiola living it would appear in exile in New York sent a video in support of a Catalan nation with the message, "one more vote for independence." The former Barca manager also recently attended a NY event celebrating the national day of Catalonia.

Next season, the club is unveiling its new away kit with the Bars of Aragon emblazoned on its jerseys in solidarity with the Catalonian people. Rosell when asked what Barca's future would be if Catalonia indeed achieved independence was quick to add that they would not break ties with the Spanish league and would play El Clasico's.

Which brings us to what exactly are Guardiola's future aspirations? The conventional wisdom is that he's biding his time and will return to the sport. But what if he believes he has a future in politics in the nascent Catalonian state? It's not hard to see him garner widespread support. He is after all the lynchpin behind the homegrown project that nourishes Barcelona and continues to bring the club so much success.

There are many ways one can define success, especially in this football era which clearly divides the haves from the have nots. That is what one gets after reading Ivan Gazidis's Telegraph interview.

Gazidis is the CEO of Arsenal, and a marketing and PR man by profession who was hired to develop the commercial interests of the club. It is this part, unsurprisingly that comes off strongest in terms of defining success because looming in the horizon, a 2014 deadline which will see existing sponsorships expire and newer, far more lucrative ones negotiated which will increase the financial clout of a self sustaining model.

The present contracts were not the best value for money because Arsenal were desperately preoccupied with funding the move to the Emirates.

"In terms of the financial impact, it will be as significant a step forward as the stadium was in 2005," Gazidis said. "It does kick us into the top five clubs in the world with separation from the rest. The overall journey that the club embarked on was to make it one of the leading clubs in the world and to do it in a way that would be sustainable."

The sense one gets from these statements and others is Arsenal better positioned in the long haul to negotiate the bewildering twists and turns of an economic maze as compared to many of its rivals. This dovetails into the overwhelming referencing of DNA which pertains to Wenger and the club's thinking being inextricably linked and which will pass onto his successor when that time comes. If you look at it very narrowly, Gazidis is once again re-defining success.

"As a club, we have to make sure that all of the things that Arsène has brought to the club are enshrined in our DNA to make sure that, when Arsène decides it's time, we are in a position to take his ideas and work forward."

The other metric of success, silverware, which most fans care about, is given a boiler plate response. Gazidis, in a defensive crouch:

"We're very optimistic about this season. We're absolutely trying to win silverware and we're trying desperately hard to do it this year."

Although Gazidis strenuously emphasizes that the board's ambitions are much higher than fourth position, the arrival of Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, and Oliver Giroud can only be looked through the prism of the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, and Alex Song. This looks more like a holding pattern. A cup half empty but also half full.

One cannot expect Arsenal to score more than they did last season but they can bring down the number of goals conceded. Where they are already showing signs of success. Steve Bould is already having an impact with zonal marking bolstered by the repositioning of Mikel Arteta in the backfield. There is reason for optimism but one really can't say whether this will be enough to bring back a trophy. But what Gazidis is preparing for us as does Wenger on many an occasion is a season should be examined in many different ways.

"When you look at what Arsene has done, within the overall constraints, he has outperformed our spending every single year he has been manager. It is extraordinary."

Which does not answer that million dollar question. These "overall constraints" are now written into Arsenal's DNA. But are they real or self imposed? Arseblog is of the view that there is money sitting around but Arsenal fail to use it to improve the squad or to give better wages to their top players.

The editor of The Sun, Dominic Mohan says, "we're deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry". At the background you can read a banner with the self anointed, "THE GREATEST PAPER IN THE WORLD." You can't get more alternate reality.

• The panel finds that a total of 41 people out of 96 "had the potential to be saved" beyond the 1515 time determined by the original inquest.

There is a now a move on for a new inquest and possible prosecutions for those involved in the cover up. A total of 116 police statements out of 164 were altered by the South Yorkshire Constabulary reflecting a deep and well orchestrated effort to shift the blame onto the fans. A group of four officers, a police spokesperson, and a local MP, fed untrue claims to a news agency of disruptive, drunken, and violent fans causing the tragedy. That narrative was picked up by The Sun who then ran that infamous article, ironically titled "The Truth."

Mexico at the Azteca Stadium beat Costa Rica through a Javier Hernandez header in the 60th minute. With a flawless record, a full nine points from three matches, El Tri coast to the hexagonal part of the CONCACAF qualifying round.

Five other countries will join them in this last round to decide the first three World Cup spots with a fourth that could be added potentially if they beat the top team of the Oceania Football Confederation which in this case is most likely to be New Zealand.

The giddy highs of Andy Murray winning yesterday at the US Open gave way to the more familiar struggle of Scotland trying to qualify for a World Cup now going on its 14th year.

This time against an enterprising Macedonian side which was fortunate to get on the scoreboard through what looked like an offside goal scored by Nikolche Noveski. The hero for Scotland was goalie Allan McGregor who stopped at least four other good chances. Craig Levein's side were able to equalize through Kenny Miller with Jamie Mackie providing the assist.

The hard to please Tartan Army kept up their disapproval of Levein throughout the match. The manager is under tremendous pressure to produce results but when Charlie Adam is your go to guy then the problems lie elsewhere. How about a talent gap?

World Cup champions Spain had to eke out an 85th minute goal by Roberto Soldado to get past Georgia who elected to park the bus. It almost worked.

The first half was a virtual lockdown of Jamaica in their own half as the USA created a blistering barrage of scoring chances that met either structural failure (upright, crossbar), Dwayne Millers's spectacular saves, or Nyron Nosworthy's blocks. In all, the USA could have easily gone up at least three up and made this a no contest.

The goal came from an almost anti-climactic goalkeeping error in the second half as Miller's late reaction to Hercules Gomez's free kick wasn't enough to keep the ball from deflecting into goal. All that brilliance undone in a moment of ineptitude. Unfortunately for the US, it also seemed to signal a loss of ambition as suddenly they took the foot of the accelerator and allowed the Jamaicans to creep back into the game. The next 20 minutes were quite nervy but fortunately for them Jamaicans also lacked ideas once they got into the scoring third.

Klinsmann made five changes. Graham Zusi had a phenomenal start and the Kansas City winger settled in with Steve Cherundolo also back from injury as both created havoc with their off ball movement and service down the right channel. Zusi's rasping shot which hit the crossbar set the tone for the first half. Klinsi also introduced Danny Williams ahead of Maurice Edu and the US capitalized on his added injection of speed which was lacking in the Friday game. Captain Carlos Bocanegra also got the nod partnering Geoff Cameron in the heart of defense.

Williams also had a chance which if it had gone in would have provided a highlight reel on a busy day of international soccer. A blast from 30 yards out that had both tremendous pace and movement and beat Miller comprehensively clanged right into the upright. Up front, Hercules Gomez was a hard working presence and his darting runs behind defenders proved problematic.

A note on Jose Francisco Torres. He got his start and although he did not do anything exceptional, he does bring an organizational aspect to the midfield with his passing which till he was there was slick and one or two touches. When he left and Brek Shea and Maurice Edu was introduced was when USA began to look disjointed and errant in their possession.

Today's results leave the USA, Guatemala, and Jamaica tied on seven points but in a descending order which means goal differences and goals scored could play a very crucial part in qualifying. The USA won which was a great relief but they should have gone all out to add to their tally to ensure a safety net.

Yevhen Konoplianka at 22 years of age is a marked man. Marked by bigger clubs who sat up and took note of the winger who had his way with Glen Johnson at will and scored Ukraine's goal with a beautifully curling shot from 20 yards out. A little bit of yevhen.

He was a notch above his better known team mate Andriy Yarmalenko whose biggest contribution was two bits of play acting that resulted in Jermain Defoe's goal being annulled as well inadvertently creating the break away that resulted in Konoplianka's strike. Ukraine looked good going forward and they were very composed when defending with Anatoli Tymoschuk playing a major part in keeping that shape.

England on the other hand looked disorganized and disjointed having problems getting the ball out of the backfield. Despite that they had a number of chances with Tom Cleverley cutting a particularly villainous figure for not finishing three very good chances. Richard Williams's anointed no 10 looked like he had two left feet in front of goal.

With time running out Roy Hodgson introduced Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge and their speed made a lot of difference to an increasingly desperate English side. Welbeck indulged in share of histrionics when he went down like a pole axed steer after trying to get by Denys Garmash. Luckily for him he wasn't booked for diving. He also had the best chance in the second half after the ball pinged between Gerard and Sturridge to fall at his feet but his shot hit the upright. Minutes later Welbeck's dink into the box caught Yevhen Kacheridi on the arm and England had their spot kick and Frank Lampard to take it.

Stevie Gerrard was sent off after collecting two cards and he will miss the next match against San Marino at home which shouldn't be all that dire.

Clint Dempsey once again will lead the attacking

The USA sit behind Jamaica in Group A, tied for second with Guatemala. The Americans meet Jamaica today, for the second time in four days after their first match resulted in a historic victory for the Reggae Boyz. The Guatemalans travel to Antigua and Barbuda where they hope Carlos Ruiz and Dwight Pezzarossi, their in form strikers will continue to find their goalscoring touch.

Jamaica will advance to the fourth and final stage of World Cup qualifying if they win at Columbus today and Guatemala draw Antigua. Which will leave the USA in contention with Guatemala for the second spot to keep their World Cup hopes alive. The Guatemalans should they win today, will be firmly in second place and meet Jamaica at home in the tough climes of Estadio Mateo Flores while the USA travel to Antigua for their next series of encounters.

The final deciding spot may come down to the wire with USA vs Guatemala meeting in the final group stage match on October 16th at Livestrong Sporting Park. The USA can make thing easier for them if they win today's match. Columbus is a tough destination for any visiting team and it is a sold out match, so the home advantage works heavily in favour of the hosts. However, the USA is still without Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley who needless to say, missed in that loss. In addition, they do not have Clarence Goodson who can be a force on set pieces having picked up his second booking. Donovan is getting back to match fitness levels training and playing with the Galaxy's reserve team.

So what about that midfield connectivity that seemed to be missing in the Jamaica game? Klinsmann lost a lot of speed and transitional play starting Kyle Beckerman, Maurice Edu, and Jermaine Jones, three holding midfielders, who create a certain amount of redundancy. This time around Jose Francisco Torres who is not exactly a speed merchant either but at least can distribute the ball better upfield than Beckerman, Edu, or Jones can should get the nod. Klinsi can call on Graham Zusi to give more a of a creative spark in an advanced role.

The Americans will go against the centre back pairing of Adrian Mariappa and Nyron Nosworthy. The former is a hot prospect for Reading and the latter is a Watford veteran. It won't be easy scoring goals against this back four. The last time Dempsey pounced on a rebound off Nosworthy to score the first goal but only after the Jamaican defense had rebuffed Hercules Gomez twice.

Another concerning factor was the USA's inability to stop the Jamaicans scoring from those set pieces. This is a well coached Jamaican side which does not just resort to speed down the flanks through Dane Richards and Tremaine Stewart to create chances for Ryan Johnson but has shown they possess other scoring options.

USA probable starting XI: Tim Howard- Carlos Bocanegra- Geoff Cameron- Michael Parkhurst- Fabian Johnson- Maurice Edu- Jermaine Jones- Jose Francisco Torres- Clint Dempsey- Hercules Gomez- Josy Altidore