World Cup Qualifying News - USA Gets Valuable Points

The USMNT Win at Home, Get Draw on the Road

The US Men's National Team gained four valuable points in their last two games of World Cup Qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico.

The qualification process in the Caribbean and North/Central American region consists of one group of six teams, where the top three advance to the world cup after a series of games between every team.

USA played Costa Rica on March 22nd 2013, at home in Denver and won 1-0 in blizzard conditions. Grounds people worked throughout the entire game at keeping lines clear so the game could go on. At every stoppage of play, workers ran onto the field with snow shovels to clear the important lines. It was a game to remember because of the incredible conditions.

If you missed that game, you can still watch the highlights of America's snowy win over Costa Rica on YouTube.

After that crucial home win over Costa Rica, The Americans had the difficult task of going to Mexico and trying to get points against the very good Mexican national team. To put it into perspective, in all the World Cup qualifying matches USA had played in Mexico, they had never won, and only even tied Mexico once!

But in that now historic game played on March 26th, 2013, the US Men's National Team got a wonderful 0-0 tie, grabbing a valuable road point.

Current Standings for the USA and others after Three Games

This puts the USMNT in 3rd place in a very tight table. But four points in three games is not bad as long as they continue to win at home, and get points here and there on the road. The US will play next in June, so look forward to those games in the future on the road to World Cup 2014!

New Women's League to Start in US

A New Women's League will Start in March or April of this Year

After a year with no women's league in the USA, it is coming back stronger than ever.

Many people are concerned that a women's soccer league will fail yet again, this is the third attempt after all. But changes in the new league lead me to believe it will gain a foothold in a burgeoning US soccer market and fill a niche for young female athletes.

The MLS is showing signs of slow, but powerful growth in its fan-base and attendance to games. And with the popularity of US Women's national team, it is probable that fans will attend the games and support the league.

But the new women's league will also serve a much higher purpose.

A Domestic Soccer League is Vital for National Team Success

Impressively, the US Women's soccer team has won many of their games and major tournaments over the last few years despite the loss of the domestic league in 2011.

The countries that have seen the biggest improvement in the their female soccer teams are countries with domestic women's soccer leagues. Japan, Sweden and Germany are three great examples of teams that are, and will, challenge the US Women.

In order for the US Women to continue to dominate their sport, they must have a developmental domestic league to bring up new talent. And that is exactly what the new league will do for not only the US, but Mexico and Canada.

So with the US, Mexican, and Canadian soccer organizations invested in the new women's league, it appears to have the best chance to become a strong, self supporting league for the future.

I shall certainly be supporting them in the coming season, and especially when Philadelphia gets a team.

MLS News for 2013 Season

Transfers News and Schedule for 2013 Season

As most players enjoy a break from soccer, the coaches are still hard at work negotiating and navigating the tricky transfer market.

One of the biggest news stories this off season is the return of Sébastien Le Toux to the Philadelphia Union. In an odd situation last year Le Toux was traded away from the Union despite being the teams highest scorer over the last two season.

After a season playing for Vancouver and then New York, the Union fired their head coach Peter Novak, and brought in John Hackworth who started the wheels turning to get Le Toux back.

The Union had a rather dismal 2012 season which saw them add several good players, but lack a center forward. Bringing Sébastien Le Toux back to the team not only makes the fans happy, it also gives the Union a target center forward with a goal scoring track record.

Home Game Openers for 2013 Announced

The schedule, and more importantly the home game openers for next season, have been announced by the MLS.

All teams will play at home no later than week 4, with most teams getting their home opener in the first or second week.

The Philadelphia Union will have their home opener on March 2nd, one of the first games of the 2013 season. They will face Sporting KC in what will certainly be a test to see if the Union have made improvements since last year.

While waiting for the 2013 season to get underway, many may be interested in the Preseason schedule

More MLS News coming soon!.