Recently in World Cup 2014 Category

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

Leo Messi continues his incandescent national form which can only be good for Argentina's World Cup chances. The little maestro unleashed a free kick that swerved past the wall and lodged into goal. The Albiceleste's Real Madrid contingent also contributed with Angel Di Maria opening his country's account and Gonzalo Higuain adding to that tally.

Paraguay got their goal from a spot kick after Rodrigo Brana handled the ball in the box trying to head away danger. Jonathan Fabbro had no difficulties converting.

The disparity between Messi's Barca and national team performances was always attributed to the club system he played where the likes of Xavi and Iniesta made goalscoring easy. But Argentina under Sabella look like a more complete side with Di Maria and Higuain taking over the goalscoring responsibilities as well as dropping back to assist Messi's forays forward. With Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago back in the squad, the midfield connectivity has been taken care of. Giving Messi the captaincy seems to have also ended the remote relationship he was frequently criticized for with his own country.

Argentina now lead the CONMEBOL zone in World Cup qualifying with 13 points, followed by Chile and Ecuador with 12 points each, Uruguay in fourth with 11, and Colombia jockeying for the final spot with 10 points. The Albiceleste have a commanding goal differential which could prove to be a crucial tie breaker.

Vincent Kompany's inch perfect header and Jan Vertonghen's sizzling free kick provided the scoring highlights.

This might be the best Belgian side since the Enzo Scifo- Jan Cuelemans- Nico Claesen- Eric Gerets era. The present squad can choose between the goalkeeping abilities of Simone Mignolet and Thibaut Courtois. In midfield the skillful likes of Eden Hazard, Maoruane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele, Alex Witsel, and Dries Mertens run the show. On top they have Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas.

Wales were also done in by a rash challenge by James Collins on Guillaume Gillet which earned him a red card. Keeping up against a Belgian side of this calibre was going to be tough even with a full XI. Playing with a man down for more than an hour made it impossible.

Veteran Carlos Salcido and Jesus Zavala take advantage of some shoddy defending on set pieces to send the Ticos to a two nothing defeat.

Frank Lampard collects a brace from a spot kick and a header. Jermain Defoe combines with Alex Oxlade - Chamberlain in an Arsenal- Spurs hook up to score a third. James Milner collects a fourth after a clever interchange involving Tom Cleverley and Theo Walcott. And Leighton Baines finishes off hapless Moldova with a deflected free kick.

Cleverley and Oxlade Chamberlain caught the eye. And Frank Lampard spoke glowingly of the Arsenal youngster.

"And Alex was brilliant. He lit up the first half with his injection of pace and running with the ball. It's great to see exciting young players like that playing for England. "

Roy Hodgson starts his 2014 World Cup campaign swimmingly. David Beckham started his international career at Kishinev sixteen years ago as England won 3-0 win in their 1998 World Cup qualifiers. Pretty historical milestones, wouldn't you say?

No Landon Donovan or Michael Bradley

The USA return to World Cup qualifications today with their match against Jamaica at Kingston. They are without Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley who are out with injuries. Amongst the midfielders, Bradley has an established reputation for his box to box contribution and link up with the strikers up top.

The others like Maurice Edu and Kyle Beckerman are more traditional holding midfielders with Jermaine Jones occasionally roving up. Klinsmann can call upon Jose Francisco Torres but he's played in a number of different positions including out on the flank without imposing himself. Without Bradley, the midfield is missing speed and counterattacking strength through the centre but with Fabian Johnson and Brek Shea on the wings the US can get the ball to the box rapidly.

A more conservative 4-4-2 might be favoured with Jozy Altidore using his strength and aerial ability to knock the ball down to Hercules Gomez.

A rapidly improving Jamaican team is sure to sniff out some opportunities here. The Reggae Boyz have never defeated the USA but they have managed to fight them to a number of stalemates and the World Cup qualifiers have been no exception. All four matches played in Jamaica have resulted in draws.

Clint Dempsey is back and this will be his first match since joining Spurs from Fulham. However, his minutes maybe limited because of match fitness concerns. The USA will also feature Carlos Bocanegra having moved from Rangers to new club Racing Santander, fellow Ranger Edu leaving for Stoke to join Geoff Cameron.

Michael Orozco Fiscal also returns to the squad for his first World Cup qualifier since 2008 and his goal was the one that made history as the USA won against Mexico in Mexico for the first time back in August. Also included Graham Zusi who has been outstanding topping MLS with 12 assists.

Seems like just yesterday we were talking about Timothy Chandler, Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, Eric Lichaj, Sacha Kljestan, Alejandro Bedoya, and Freddy Adu. But they have disappeared for one reason or the other. Klinsmann has reposed faith in wingback Johnson, Shea and striker Terrence Boyd as part of his revamped squad.

Leo Messi's recent national goalscoring is well ahead of his Barca output. He scored his 9th goal in five matches. Unleash the kracken as they say. Sami Khedira got the ball rolling for Argentina with an own goal, Messi followed suit, and then it was the goal of the day when Angel Di Maria absolutely belted the ball from 30 yards out.

Things could have gotten worse but Messi was unable to convert a penalty kick after Angel Di Maria was brought down by first goalie Ron-Robert Zieler who also received his marching orders. Benedikt Howedes scored a consolation for Germany.

It is official. FIFA finally ended the goal line technology debate that began seven years ago after Pedro Mendes's ghost goal against Man Utd was missed by the referee and the linesman. IFAB, the body that governs the game's rules and laws, approved goal line technology in Zurich yesterday. In addition, two goal line officials will be included as part of the refereeing crew.

The journey was long and littered with misconceptions and technology missteps. Amongst the misconceptions was this technology would take away the "human element" of the game. But human nature also reacts to injustices and there were far too many "one person's mistake is another person's gain" as the sport became too quick for the human eye.

Technology or the lack of, took center stage at the 2010 World Cup and if Germany had not outplayed England so comprehensively, Frank Lampard's denied ghost goal would have been responsible for a nation's collective amnesia or delusions or both. A missing Wayne Rooney would have had a perfect accomplice.

Still it wasn't easy. The Luddites led by Michel Platini were vocal in their opposition till last week but Sepp Blatter keen on changing a legacy pockmarked by corruption and nepotism gave the green signal. Blatter personally thanked Lampard for helping change his mind.

" I have to say 'thank you, Lampard'. I was completely down in South Africa when I saw that it really shocked me, it took me a day to react. It happened again in Ukraine, and Ukraine can still not believe it now."

Blatter was referring to the Marko Devic goal for Ukraine that the fifth official missed completely in the recently concluded Euro. Ukraine, the co-hosts were eliminated.

Goal line technology could be in place by mid season of the Premiership as well as in the FA Cup semi-finals and finals. Hawk Eye and Goal Ref, the two types of technology will also be installed in this year's Club World Cup in Japan and the 2013 Confederations Cup, before moving to the world's biggest stage, the 2014 World Cup.

Guatemala, always tough competitors on the road did no damage to that reputation as the USA could not hold onto their lead and had to settle for a draw when Marco Pappa lasered his free kick past Timmy Howard. The USA maintained an 18 match unbeaten streak against Guatemala while Deuce scored his 27th international goal leading him past Joe Max Moore to fourth all time in US history in points scored.

Fabian Johnson's return proved crucial, assisting in Dempsey's goal when he fed the ball square to the Fulham striker who eluded two defenders to score the opener. However, Johnson also fouled Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala's captain and the resulting free kick was converted by Marco Pappa, one of the hardest working MLS players and a Chicago Fire standout.

"I think we saw quite an exciting game," said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "I think the game was open for most of the stretch of it. Obviously, with the lead one-nil, you want to win it, you want to bring the three points home. We came for three points but I think at the end of the day, the tie, based on all the chances on both sides, is OK."

Klinsi obviously felt the team could have done better but he was sanguine enough with the result. The USA maintained top position in Group A, in good shape to resume World Cup qualifying in September against Jamaica.

Mexico started like a house on fire as Carlos Salcido smashed in a volley from 25 yards out and then Chicharito Hernandez linked up with Gio Dos Santos for a goal within minutes of the first one. It looked like it was going to rain goals on the Golden Jaguars.

El Tri had to wait till after the second half to add another entirely through the mistakes of the dithering Guyana defense as John Rodriguez scored an own goal. El Tri then took a hit of their own as Hector Moreno scored an own goal to narrow the margin.

Three points on the board as USA starts its 2014 qualifying. How those three points were achieved is debatable. For those who see the cup as half full, the USA created chances at a phenomenal rate. For those more pessimistic, they just could not score and the scoreline should have been doubled.

Hercules Gomez played his socks off and his header from Donovan's corner set up Carlos Bocanegra's strike. The USA added to that tally when Donovan was brought down in the box and Clint Dempsey executed perfectly from the spot. Antigua ranked 105th in FIFA then reminded the USA of its fragility at the back when Oguchi Onyewu was taken to the cleaners by Peter Byers whose shot was deflected into goal past Tim Howard. If looks could incinerate, Gooch would have been charred to a crisp. It's been a rough return to the hurly burly of the sport for the one time AC Milan prospect. The USA managed to put away the game after a melee saw the ball break to Gomez in front of an empty net.

Antigua's goalie Molvin James had a phenomenal game stopping pretty much everything. The USA really had to earn those goals. Antigua's most famous sportsman is cricketer Vivian Richards, in his prime, the most ruthless batsman in the world. But they are earning plaudits for their football team, many of them who play for the Championship and division II in the English league.

The USA now face a much tougher test away to Guatemala on Tuesday. They have to be more clinical in their finishing, make less mistakes at the back, and figure out how to separate out Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, and Jermaine Jones to maximize their roles. There were a number of times Donovan just dallied and was closed down by the defense or came up with a weak effort that was saved easily by James.

The heart of defense poses problems as Klinsi with an injury to Fabian Johnson was forced to start Jose Francisco Torres at left back. Torres had to himself leave with an ankle injury necessitating a shift by Bocanegra to his position with Gooch coming onto partner Clarence Goodson which is when it fell apart. With Gooch proving to be a liability, Klinsi will have to give a relatively untested Geoff Cameron his chance, if Johnson is not declared fit by Tuesday.

Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Leo Messi, and Angel Di Maria make it look easy against Ecuador. Argentina sit on top of the CONMEBOL table with their fifth win in football's most arduous and fiercely contested campaigns for qualification to the World Cup.