Right now, they both seem to be in a "how can we make this any worse" mode. First off, with just 2 days until the World Cup draw, let's take a look at some international tidbits...
FIFA has recognized that Thierry Henry's handball led to an unjust result of the 2nd leg of the Ireland-France playoff. That said, they've rejected Ireland's requests for a replay or to be allowed in "under special circumstances" as the 33rd team in the tournament. Instead, they've opened a Discipline Committee investigation into Henry's "unsporting actions in not accepting his actions during play" that could result in the striker being suspended for France's first match of the Finals. As for punishment against France?...
FIFA announced the Pots for Friday's group draw in Cape Town, and have once again changed the method to determine which team goes in which pot. Pot #1, which includes 7 "seeded" teams and the hosts, is now done based on seeding...sort of. As a punishment to France, they've been dropped from the seeded pot, despite being ranked 7th. To justify it, they've also dropped Portugal from the seeded pot (Portugal is ranked 5th), saying seeded teams can not have used a playoff to win qualification. For the rest of the pots, they've thrown out ranking entirely, and placed the teams based on region (with Pot #2 holding CONCACAF, Asia and Oceania; Pot #3 holds unseeded CONMEBOL and Africa; Pot #4 holds unseeded UEFA). The idea behind this is to prevent any group from containing 2 teams from the same region, with the exception of seeded teams (5 groups will feature 2 European teams, while anywhere from 0-2 groups can have 2 South American teams). This system is entirely unfair to mid-ranked teams, as the World Cup doesn't feature the teams ranked 1-32 in the world---the lowest ranked team (which is oddly in the "seeded" Pot #1) is the hosts, South Africa, ranked 86th, while North Korea isn't far behind at 84th---and also leaves strong CONCACAF teams like the US and Mexico with a great risk of being drawn into a "Group of Death."
The pots for Friday's draw are (with FIFA rank):
POT #1: Brazil (2), Argentina (8), Spain (1), Netherlands (3), Italy (4), Germany (6), England (8), South Africa (86)
POT #2: USA (14), Mexico (15), Honduras (38), Australia (21), Japan (43), South Korea (52), North Korea (84)
POT #3: Chile (17), Uruguay (19), Paraguay (30), Cameroon (11), Ivory Coast (16), Nigeria (22), Algeria (28), Ghana (37)
POT#4: Portugal (5), France (7), Greece (12), Switzerland (18), Serbia (20), Denmark (26), Slovenia (33), Slovakia (34)
As there are teams from outside the top 32 in the field, surely there are some from inside the top 32 left out... They include:
Croatia (10)
Russia (13)
Czech Republic (23)
Ukraine (24)
Israel (25)
Bulgaria (27)
Egypt (29)
Norway (31)
Just for fun, SoccerJunkie has decided to do a mock World Cup draw, though far less official (using ripped up Post-Its and a faded navy Adidas baseball cap... Here's the results...
Group A- South Africa, Honduras, Nigeria, Greece
Group B- Argentina, South Korea, Uruguay, Portugal
Group C- Netherlands, North Korea, Paraguay, Serbia
Group D- Brazil, Australia, Algeria, France
Group E- Spain, USA, Ivory Coast, Slovakia
Group F- Italy, Japan, Cameroon, Slovenia
Group G- Germany, Mexico, Ghana, Denmark
Group H- England, New Zealand, Chile, Switzerland
England get a great group, while the US could be in trouble with a good Ivory Coast team to go with Spain and Slovakia...
Let's hope SoccerJunkie doesn't see into the future very well...
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In a bit of US National Team news...
...Jermaine Jones returned to training with Schalke, his club team in Germany. Jones has taken advantage of a new FIFA mandate that allows players to transfer their international allegiance under certain conditions (having not played with the Senior national team in their home country in a recognized competition (a non-friendly), and fitting the FIFA nationality requirements of their "new" country), moving from the German National Team (where he was born and grew up) to the US (thanks to his American father). Though he has yet to appear with the Yanks (due to a shin injury that's plagued him since his transfer of allegiance was finalized), he's a definite midfield candidate for the US in South Africa.
...Charlie Davies has given his first interview since the tragic wreck that claimed one woman's life---and left Davies seriously injured---just before the US/Costa Rica qualifier in DC in October. Davies told ESPN that he's still struggling with the psychological aspects of surviving such a devastating accident, but that he expects to make a full recover BY THE WORLD CUP. The President of Davies' club team, France's FC Sochaux, has said he expects Davies to leave Delaware and return to France by the end of this month, and that he's been told Davies could begin jogging by the beginning of February.
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There are reports out that the New York Red Bulls will introduce Erik Soler as their new GM by the end of the week. Soler's apparent favorite for the head coaching position is out, as fellow Norwegian Age Hareide has accepted a club coaching position in Norway. The new name being thrown around as a coaching candidate?? Tony Adams. Adams, who has no MLS experience whatsoever, was fired this season by Premiership side Portsmouth after producing worse results than the Red Bulls did last year...but he is a close friend and former teammate of Red Bull target Thierry Henry. To top off the "how stupid can we possibly get" side of this...IF the Red Bulls hire Adams, they will likely keep Jeff Agoos aboard as an "advisor" who will help Soler and Adams with the intricacies that are the MLS roster system and salary cap.
Exactly what the Red Bulls need...people in charge who don't understand the American game, and the chief architect of last season's debacle there to hold their hand and guide the way...
Again, let's hope SoccerJunkie doesn't see into the future very well...
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In other MLS news...
The Philadelphia Union have completed their Expansion Draft, and can begin trading and signing players. Those taken in last week's draft are:
Jordan Harvey (D), Colorado Rapids
Andrew Jacobsen (M), D.C. United
Brad Knighton (G), New England Revolution
Sebastien Le Toux (F), Seattle Sounders FC
Stefani Miglioranzi (M), L.A. Galaxy
Alejandro Moreno (F), Columbus Crew
Dave Myrie (D), Chicago Fire
Shea Salinas (M), San Jose Earthquakes
Shavar Thomas (D, Chivas USA
Nick Zimmerman (M), New York Red Bulls
These selections were a bit of a surprise, as Union coach Peter Nowak decided to take only one proven starter (Moreno), and one semi-proven player (Le Toux)...the rest of the selections came off the bench (if at all) for their teams. To start building a real core to the team, the Union are expected to acquire two players in the near future:
Jeremiah White is a Wake Forest product (and Philly native) who chose to play overseas instead of the MLS. Currently a teammate of Benny Feilhaber at Aarhus in Denmark, it's widely expected he'll leave the team (where he's fallen out of favor, averaging just 10 minutes/game over the last 2 months) to play in his home town.
Chris Seitz is currently Real Salt Lake's backup 'keeper, but is considered the highest rated goalkeeping prospect in the country. Philly has made no secret of their desire to acquire the US Youth National Teamer, and a deal is expected before the draft next month. Seitz, who left the University of Maryland after his freshman year to turn pro, is expected to step in immediately as the starting 'keeper.
The Chicago Fire are apparently trying to get former Fire and USA midfielder Chris Armas to change his mind. Armas is reported to be the club's leading candidate to replace head coach Dennis Hamlett, who was let go at the end of the playoffs, but is said to not be interested in a coaching position right now.
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