06/11/13 - Match Topic - Football - Basketball

USA vs Panama June 11, 2013

The USA takes on Panama on Tuesday night June 11, 2013 on U.S. soil with wishes to increase firepower to its World Cup qualifying bid. Last time out the Americans won an extra-time thriller in Kingston, to give the nation its first World Cup qualifying win ever on Jamaican land. After taking points from 2 direct road Hexagonal qualifiers, the US Mens team turns back to familiar coasts to struggle Panama at Seattle's CenturyLink Field, the first of 2 significant home games that can put the USA in the driver's seat heading into the final stages of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

That 2 perfect wins gained the team 6 of the 7 points they accumulated over the past 3 games after dropping their first qualifying competition to Honduras back in February.

Therewithal unlike most international team sports, the U.S. sustains a decided aggrieved team once it steps outside the fordable waters of CONCACAF, creating a bit of a paradox.

When: June 11 at 22:00 (ET), Tuesday

Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Mexico vs Costa Rica June 11, 2013

Following two straight games this summer in which his site struggled to create chances -- not to mention the spring 0-0 draw against the United States -- Jose Manuel de la Torre has made sweeping changes to his Mexico side. Hector Herrera and Gerardo Flores have been brought into the side while Giovani dos Santos has been moved back to the bench. Flores has been an impact sub on the right wing, but will start at right back.

Costa Rica look set to start Joel Campbell up top after dropping Jairo Arrieta. Alvaro Saborio is recovering from an injury and is on the bench. They've made a number of changes and their formation is anyone's guess, but it looks like they're packing the center of midfield.

Mexico lineup (4-4-2): Jose Corona; Carlos Salcido, Hector Moreno, 'Maza' Francisco Rodriguez, Gerardo Flores; Andres Guardado, Hector Herrera, Jesus Zavala, Pablo Barrera; Aldo de Nigris, 'Chicharito' Javier Hernandez

Costa Rica lineup (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Jhonny Acosta, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umaña, Cristian Gamboa; Michael Barrantes, Junior Diaz, Yeltsin Tejada, Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, Cristian Bolaños

Kickoff is at 8:10 p.m. ET, delayed 10 minutes due to Costa Rica arriving late at the Azteca. You can catch the game on ESPN or Univision Deportes in the United States.

Chile vs Bolivia June 11, 2013

Chile will look to solidify its position amongst the top four in the CONMEBOL when its takes on Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.

Chile currently sits in fourth place with 18 points in 12 matches; the team trails second place Colombia by only two points and leads fifth place Venezuela by two points. The top four teams in the standings earn automatic passage to the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil next summer.
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La Roja is coming off a huge 2-1 win against Paraguay. The win was the team's second win after a four-game losing streak against Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru.

Chile will take on a Bolivian side that is slowly dropping out of the race. With 10 points in 12 games, La Verde can earn a maximum of 28 points if it manages to win its final six games. 25 points have been needed to qualify for the World Cup in the last two tournaments; if this year's format follows the last two years than 22 points might be the magic number. That would mean that Bolivia would need to win four of its final six games; the team would only be able to lose two games to keep its qualifying hopes alive. Bolivia has only earned two victories up to this point. Marcelo Moreno Martins and Carlos Saucedo lead the team with three goals in the qualifiers.

Prediction: Chile will dominate Bolivia at home in a 3-1 victory.
Start Time: 8:30 PM EST

Venezuela vs Uruguay June 11, 2013

Venezuala is just one win away from having a real good shot at making their first World Cup appearance. Currently, they sit in fifth place which would earn them a playoff berth, but they host a Uruguay squad that has not been able to come in to Puerto Ordaz and notch a win since the mid-1990s. With history on their side, Venezuala has a real shot to take over this game and take one step closer towards accomplishing something they have never done.

For Uruguay, a loss would be a huge setback, while a win puts them back in the mix. Don’t be surprised to see this team approach the game with a do or die mentality.

This should be a fun one.

Here is all of the information you will need to know about the Venezuela vs. Uruguay World Cup qualifier, including where to catch it online and the official start time:

Date: Tuesday, June 11
Start Time: 7:50pm EST
Location: Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar State, Venezuela
Venue: Polideportivo Cachamay

Spain vs Ireland June 11, 2013

In a match that will be just as much a show for the fans as it is a useful match for both teams, Spain will take on Ireland in Yankee Stadium.

This will be Spain's second match in a row in the United States after defeating Haiti 2-1 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida on Saturday. This friendly will be the final tune-up before beginning the Confederations Cup.

Ireland has no scheduled matches for the next few months after winning its only World Cup qualifying match in June by a score of 3-0 over Faroe Islands. Still, this would be a great opportunity for the squad to test itself against one of the best teams in the world.

However, the match will also serve as a way to generate interest in the sport for New York fans. Major League Soccer recently announced that it will add a second professional team in the city, and these types of contests are certain to get people excited.

Chelsea and Manchester City played at Yankee Stadium in a friendly following the EPL season last month.

Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

When: Tuesday, June 11

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Ecuador vs Argentina June 11, 2013

Argentina comes in to this afternoon’s game as the favorite to win the World Cup qualifier and punch their ticket to Brazil, but it has been a 12 year drought in Quito against Ecuador since they have come away with a win. Argentina does have the star power of Lionel Messi, but he will likely be serving a reserve role.

Conventional wisdom wants you to believe that the better squad should come away with the win, but you can never underestimate the struggle it is to play in front of the Ecuadorian crowd at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.

This game will likely be much closer than we all believe, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Ecuador at least come away with a point.

Here is all of the information you will need to know about the Ecuador vs. Argentina World Cup qualifier, including where to catch it online and the official start time:

Date: Tuesday, June 11
Start Time: 4:50pm EST
Location: Quito Canton, Ecuador
Venue: Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa

Colombia vs Peru June 11, 2013

Colombia vs Peru takes place in a World Cup 2014 qualifier on Tuesday night, with both teams looking to respond to the increasing pressure as the qualifying campaign moves towards its climax. Tonight's match kicks off at 4.30 p.m. ET and can be watched online through free live stream (details below).

Colombia currently lies second in the South American qualifying positions after their important away draw to Argentina last week. They will realize that if they get anything other than a home win tonight against Peru then it will completely undermine the good work they achieved last week.

Expect Colombia to come out fiercely and with intensity as they look to build on last week's good result and claim maximum points tonight.

The Colombia team has been efficient both in attack and defense and is currently the second highest scoring team of the nine nations in their qualifying group. Defensively they have also only conceded seven goals in their 11 games to date, which is the most efficient out of all the teams they are competing against.
Their home record is enough to frighten Peru too – they have won their last three games by a cumulative score of 11-0. Peru will also remember losing to Colombia in the fall 1-0 in Lima.

Peru meanwhile are coming into this game off the back of a solid 1-0 win against Ecuador on Friday. But Peru are yet to win on the road in this qualifying campaign and are amazingly winless in their last 20 away qualifiers. They must change that record – preferably starting today – if they are to move up the table.

Colombia vs Peru is scheduled to kick off at 4.30 p.m. ET

Denmark vs Armenia June 11, 2013

Denmark will look to solidify its position in Group B of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers when it takes on Armenia on Tuesday.
Denmark currently sits in fourth place with six points in five games; all of the other clubs above them have played six matches. The Danish are currently three points behind third place Czech Republic and four behind second place Bulgaria. First place Italy has 14 points and is curently out of reach for Denmark.

The first place club automatically books passage to the World Cup finals in Brazil next summer. The second place team gets a chance to play against other runner-ups in a two legged matchup. The winner heads to the World Cup next summer.

Denmark started its tournament with a 0-0 draw against Czech Republic. In its second game, the team tied 1-1 against Bulgaria. The Danish then lost 3-1 against Italy but garnered three points with a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic. In its most recent game, Denmark drew 1-1 against Bulgaria.

The Danes will host an Armenian side that can only garner a total of 18 points if it manages to win its final five matches. Unfortunately, the Armenians have had a poor showing throughout the tournament with one win and four losses. The team won its first and only match in the opener against Malta. Since then, Armenia has lost every single game it has played by a combined score of 8-1.

Prediction: Look for the Danes to pull off a 2-1 win at home and grab third place in the group.
Start Time: 2:15 PM EST

Haiti vs Italy June 11, 2013

Italy takes on Haiti in the team's final tune-up match before the Confederations Cup. The Azzurri are currently on track to earn a spot in next year's World Cup, so the extra matches in Brazil will help the squad get accustomed to the surroundings.

They are coming off an acceptable, albeit frustrating, draw with the Czech Republic in qualifying. Italy remains atop UEFA Group B with four matches left to play. They can't afford to overlook Haiti as Spain appeared to do over the weekend.

The defending World Cup champions were expected to cruise past the Grenadiers. Instead, Haiti held tough against a very strong Spanish squad and lost by just a single goal, 2-1. Italy should be seeking a far more comfortable result.

Where: Estadio Sao Januario in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When: Tuesday, June 11 at 2:45 p.m. ET

Estonia vs Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2013

Estonia will be ending there three match international friendlies after playing against Kyrgyzstan this evening. They lost 2-0 to Belarus and won narrow 1-0 against Trinidad and Tobacco. They want to finish there series in high note as they will be playing against the comparatively weak team.

National team of Estonia who are ranked 89th by FIFA will be playing international friendly match against Kyrgyzstan who are currently located in 143rd position.

Full line up of

Estonia: Pavel Londak, Dmitriy Kruglov, Enar Jaager, Igor Morozov, Taavi Rahn, Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Konstantin Vassiljev, Sim Luts, Sander Puri, Henri Anier, Kristen Viikmae, Rimo Hunt, Andrei Sidorenkov, Martin Vunk, Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Tihhon Sisov, Alo Barengrub

Sweden vs Faroe Islands June 11, 2013

Sweden will look to jump back into second place when it takes on the Faroe Islands in the UEFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers.
The Swedes are currently locked in a three-way battle with the Republic of Ireland and Austria for the second spot in the group. Ireland and Austria both have 11 points while Sweden only has eight; the Swedes have played one game less than their immediate rivals and could jump ahead with a huge victory.

The first place team in the group earns an automatic passage to the World Cup next summer. The second place team moves on to a second round where it will take on another group runner-up. The winner of the two-legged matchup moves on to the World Cup finals.
Sweden started its tournament with a 2-0 win over Kazakhstan and another 2-1 victory over the Faroe Islands. In its third match, the Swedish side showcased its weaknesses and strengths in a 4-4 draw against the mighty Germans. The team fell behind 4-0 55 minutes into the contest but managed to make a heroic comeback with the final goal coming in the third minute of stoppage time. After that the Swedes drew 0-0 against Ireland and fell 2-1 against Austria on Friday.

The team needs to not only defeat Faroe Islands but blow them out. Austria sits comfortably in second place with a +10 goal differential; Sweden only has a +2 goal difference. The Austrians managed 6-0 win against Faroe Islands and a 4-0 drubbing of Kazakhstan. The feat is not insurmountable for the Swedes. Aside from the 6-0 loss to Austria, Faroe Islands has also been victim to 4-1 and 3-0 losses against Ireland and a 3-0 defeat against Germany.
Prediction: Sweden pulls off a 5-0 win at home.

Start Time: 1:15 PM EST

Belarus vs Finland June 11, 2013

Belarus will look to stave off elimination when it takes on Finland for the second time in four days in the UEFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers.

Belarus currently sits in last place in Group I with three games remaining. The team will be eliminated from World Cup contention if it loses to Finland. If Belarus fails to win the game and only manages a draw, then the team will be unable to qualify directly. The first place team in the group automatically books passage to the competition in Brazil next summer. The runner-up will have to take on another second place team in a two-legged playoff to determine which side competes for the top prize. With a tie, Belarus would have to settle for the second option.

The team lost its opening game 1-0 against Georgia before being dominated 3-1 by France. However, the Belarusians suffered their greatest embarrassment in a 4-0 loss against Spain in Minsk. The squad eventually earned its only three points by defeating Georgia 3-0 at home but lost 1-0 on Friday against Finland thanks to an own goal by Igor Shitov.
Finland has five points and sits in third place. The team has played fewer matches than any other squad in the competition, but faces a tough road to qualification. The Finns lost 1-0 to France in their opening match and drew 1-1 with Georgia in the follow up. The team's greatest moment came in a 1-1 draw against Spain. Finland then defeated Belarus on Friday in its most recent game.

Prediction: Look for Belarus to pay Finland back for the loss on Friday. Belarus wins 2-1.
Start Time: 1 PM EST

Norway vs Macedonia June 11, 2013

Macedonia look to bounce back from their poor run followed by almost ended up their world cup journey. Macedonia lie beneath in their group in world cup qualifiers however they look to enhance the team morale with a friendly match.

Norway has 8 points in their group with 8 points which is two points sort of second placed Albania which means they are trying hard to proceed to the next round.

Norway ranks 29th in World rank while Macedonia are 78th.

With the absence of some key Macedonian players, manager is set to experiment with couple of new players on this friendly match.

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