Count me in as another person to talk about this bit of news today. According to a Honduran paper (via USSoccerPlayers.com), CONCACAF is considering changing up how teams qualify for the next World Cup. In their eyes they want to give some of the smaller sides a bit of a chance against some of the big boys earlier in qualifying.

The biggest change according to this article is the final round of qualifying or what is now known as the Hexagonal.

The way this new form of qualifying is drawn up goes like this:

- 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four, top two of those group advance.

- Those 16 are drawn into four groups of four, and the top to move on from that.

- The final eight teams are put into two groups of four with the top two advancing to the World Cup. Should CONCACAF get 4 bids in the next World Cup then the top two advance with the group winners, if CONCACAF only gets three then the group runner-ups compete in a playoff. I’d assume the loser of that series would likely go to another playoff with another region’s team should CONCACAF get that lovely 1/2 bid that they’ve received the last couple World Cups.

Now the number of games doesn’t change in qualifying, it remains at 18 games for the entire show. But the interesting thing will be to see if and how CONCACAF uses seeding for this. You’d think if they base the groups off of seeding that Mexico and the US would end up in separate groups throughout the entire thing and could end up not having to face one another in qualifying. How weird would that be though?

I’m not sure if I am a fan of this sort of qualifying. In honesty I’d love to see the final group just be eight teams, and you play everyone twice like you normally would with the top three moving on. I guess CONCACAF is trying to get something fresh into qualifying to spice things up a bit which is okay. But the possibility of not having to face a Mexico or a Costa Rica in qualifying seems odd.

Anyways, I don’t have a whole lot to say about the game. I thought the crowd was much better than expected. Nashville proved to me that it was a decent location for a game like this. The more I thought about it last night the more I totally got why the USSF placed the game there. Sure the venue was too big but it worked out fine I think.

As for the game itself, Landon Donovan tore up the pitch and Jozy Altidore proved that he should be getting more playing time with his club in Europe.

The US is in the drivers seat folks but some big games are coming up this summer.

I’m excited because the tournament will come to Dallas (okay, Arlington,TX) at the new Cowboys Stadium (which is massive by the way).

First Round

3 July – The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles)

4 July – Qwest Field (Seattle)

5 July – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)

7 July – Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)

8 July – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (Washington)

9 July – Reliant Stadium (Houston)

10 July – Florida International University Stadium (Miami)

11 July – Gillette Stadium (Boston)

12 July – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix)

Quarterfinals

18 July – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)

19 July – Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Dallas)

Semifinals

23 July – Soldier Field (Chicago)

Final

26 July – Giants Stadium (New York)

Groups and match schedules have yet to be released.

It all starts and ends with Mexico. Getting on the right foot tonight is huge for both sides. I like the US in a close, physical battle that may be a bit sloppy due to the nasty weather that is in the Columbus area right now.

What are your predictions for tonight? Let’s hear them.

WVH Prediction: US 1, Mexico 0

We finally get to see Kenny Cooper…at least on the bench.

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins, Matt Pickens

DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein, Sean Franklin, Cory Gibbs, Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Michael Parkhurst

MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu, Davy Arnaud, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, John Thorrington

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Brian Ching, Kenny Cooper, Chris Rolfe

A lot of Colorado Rapids players called in for this one as it is played in their home stadium. Not a real shocker there if you ask me. Sure it is a B or even C squad by some people’s standards but it was much needed for most of these guys to get called in for this game.

Any thoughts on who will start?

Goalkeepers: Troy Perkins, Brad Guzan.

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Michael Orozco, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne.

Midfielders: Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, Danny Szetela, Jose Francisco Torres.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Robbie Rogers.

Players that were released include: Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Steve Cherundolo, Brian Ching, Jay DeMerit, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu.

The bigger news however isn’t the fact that Bradley called in more players now that the US is through to the final round of qualifying. Its the fact that typically not-called-up striker Kenny Cooper rejected the call-up from Bradley and the National team.

Over at the FCD Blog Cooper released this comment over turning down the call-up:

“I feel so fortunate and honored to have been invited to join up with the U.S. Men’s National team in Trinidad and Tobago. I made the difficult decision to pass on this opportunity because I had picked up a virus and have been playing with a sprained ankle. Considering the importance of my club’s game versus Real Salt Lake this week, and that the National Team has already clinched a berth in the next round of qualifying, I felt it was the right thing to do to stay in Dallas and make sure I get well, and hopefully there will be other opportunities down the line.”

Interesting, all this time that people have complained about him not getting called into camp he actually turns down the chance when he finally does. He takes his club over his country here. Maybe all this time that he hasn’t been called up finally got to him and he decided he just didn’t want to do it right now. I think had the US not clinched a birth into the next round he would have considered it a bit more.

What do you all make of this? Is it bitter-sweet that Cooper finally got called up though he turned it down?

Here’s the roster, go ahead, complain about no Kenny Cooper.

The roster:
Keepers:
Brad Guzan – Aston Villa
Tim Howard – Everton
Troy Perkins – Valerenga

Defenders:
Carlos Bocanegra – Rennes
Dan Califf – Midtjylland
Steve Cherundolo – Hannover
Jay DeMerit – Watford
Frankie Hejduk – Columbus Crew
Oguchi Onyewu – Standard Liege
Michael Orozco – San Luis
Heath Pearce – Hansa Rostock

Midfielders:
Freddy Adu – Monaco
DaMarcus Beasley – Rangers
Michael Bradley – Monchengladbach
Maurice Edu – Rangers
Sacha Kljestan – Chivas USA
Danny Szetela – Brescia
Jose Francisco Torres – Pachuca

Fowards:
Jozy Altidore – Villarreal
Brian Ching – Houston Dynamo
Charlie Davies – Hammarby
Clint Dempsey – Fulham
Landon Donovan – Los Angeles Galaxy

I like the additions of Davies and Altidore. Yes Brian Ching is getting a bit old but I will take that over Bradley calling in Eddie Johnson for the 100th time. Big news is also surrounding the call-up of Jose Francisco Torres. Some felt Torres would end up calling Mexico as his home instead of the US (he holds a duel citizenship). I like that Bradley is giving him a chance to show his stuff and it’s great he decided on the US instead of Mexico too!

What do you all make of this roster? Predictable? Better than before?

Aside from the CONCACAF fun there are some great matches across the pond, particularly one in Croatia. That’s right its England-Croatia, round two. England surely hasn’t forgotten how the Croats eliminated them from Euro 2008 qualifying and now the Croatians stand between them and an automatic berth in the World Cup.

So if you got the day off, look at this menu of games that you may be able to see if your TV package has these channels.

• 8 a.m.- FSC- North Korea vs. South Korea (in Shanghai)
• 11a.m.- FSC- Russia vs. Wales
• 2 p.m.- Setanta USA- Turkey vs. Belgium
• 2:30 p.m.- FSC- Macedonia vs. Holland
• 2:45 p.m.- GolTV- Italy vs. Georgia
• 4 p.m.- Setanta USA- Portugal vs. Denmark
• 4:50 p.m.- GolTV- Spain vs. Armenia
• 5 p.m.- FSC- Slovenia vs. Slovakia
• 6:45 p.m.- Setanta USA- France vs. Serbia
• 8 p.m.- ESPN2/Galavision- USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago
• 8 p.m.- FSC- Uzbekistan vs. Australia
• 8:45 p.m.- Setanta USA- Finland vs. Germany
• 9 p.m.- Telemundo- Mexico vs. Canada

Some games to keep an eye out for:

• Croatia vs. England -  England will look for revenge after Croatia kept them out of Euro 2008.
• Mexico vs. Canada – Mexico is nearly impossible to beat at home and Canada is probably already in desperation mode.
• North Korea vs. South Korea -  Could this one be any bigger due to the  politically-charged background? This one is being played at a neutral site (Shanghai).
• Uruguay vs Ecuador -  Ecuador needs a win to pull back in serious contention in CONMEBOL.
• Honduras vs. Jamaica -  Honduras can start to pull away from the pack in its group with a win here. Jamaica needs a win here, just simple as that.
• USA vs. Trinidad and Tobago – Oh yeah the US plays tonight. Better believe that Toyota Park is going to be a great venue for it too!

Two teams we thought would do better this time around in qualifying have a combine two points. Those two I’m talking about are Guatemala and Canada. I figured both to be in the mix for moving on into the final group stage of qualifying this time around but it turns out neither are quite on par with the Big Three of Mexico, Costa Rica and the US as we thought they could be by now.

I thought they may put up a battle but I was wrong.

I wish there was more to talk about other than the US rosters or Canada not playing well at the moment but the qualifying so far hasn’t been all that impressive. Now you have Canada on the ropes as they have to travel to Mexico City this week. Ouch.

Here is how the CONCACAF Qualifying standings look:

Group A

1. USA (2-0)………………………6 pts
2. Trinidad & Tobago (1-0-1)……..4 pts
3. Guatemala (0-1-1)……………..1 pt
4. Cuba (0-2)……………………..0 pts

Wednesday’s matches: Trinidad & Tobago at USA, Cuba at Guatemala

Group B

1. Mexico (2-0)……………………6 pts
2. Honduras (1-1)…………………3 pts
3. Jamaica (0-1-1)………………..1 pt
4. Canada (0-1-1)…………………1 pt

Wednesday’s matches: Jamaica at Honduras, Canada at Mexico

Group C

1. Costa Rica (2-0)………………..6 pts
2. El Salvador (1-1)……………….3 pts
3. Haiti (0-1-1)……………………1 pt
4. Suriname (0-1-1)……………….1 pt

Wednesday’s matches: El Salvador at Suriname, Costa Rica at Haiti

What do you think of the CONCACAF qualifiers so far? Think the Canadians are completely out of things after two home games? Think any of the Big Three will drop a game before its all finished? Let’s hear it.

New England lost on aggregate to Trinidad side Joe Public 6-1. OUCH.

Chivas lost on aggregate to Panamanian side Tauro 3-1. Double ouch.

What went wrong? A few things came to mind like the vast amount of injuries that both sides were plagued with going into the tournament. Or the fact that neither club had a break in their schedule to really get ready for this event. Or the fact that the MLS club aren’t deep enough in terms of roster sizes to compete in these kind of events.

I think these results should be an eye opener to the league that MLS clubs just aren’t on par as much as we thought they were with clubs like Tauro and Joe Public. Now the MLS clubs have better talent but when it comes to depth we are still getting beat all over the park by other clubs.

Also, this should be an eye opener that the league needs to refocus its priorities for this tournament and NOT SuperLiga. The league gave the four MLS clubs a schedule break in July for SuperLiga and not for the CCL. Its a shame too, even though the MLS clubs did very well in SuperLiga.

We still have two clubs left in this tournament but they start group play towards the end of the MLS season. Again, no break for them at that time.

So where and what went wrong for the MLS clubs in CCL? Will DC and Houston fair any better in the group stages?