Soccer World Cup
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:18 pm
Australia breathed a sigh of relief when our Socceroos beat Syria 2-1 in extra time to advance to intercontinental play-off for World Cup qualifying. Phew! We had not been playing well despite the home games.
The game was locked at 1-1 (and 2-2 on aggregate) since early in the first half and Australia was constantly frustrated throughout regular time. Also through much of extra time, before Tim Cahill rolled back the years (he's 37) with a headed winner to put the Socceroos through to a November play-off against North and Central America's fourth-best team.
Of course there is still a long way to go and a lot of great teams to play before winning the cup.
Sadly for Americans, the latest news is that the United States was sensationally eliminated from World Cup qualifying by minnows Trinidad and Tobago, leaving our Socceroos to face Honduras in next month's intercontinental play-off.
A draw against lowly Trinidad and Tobago would probably have been enough to see the United States through as North and Central America's third-best team for automatic qualification, leaving Panama and Honduras to slug it out for fourth spot to make the two-legged play-off against Australia. Instead, Honduras shocked Mexico 3-2, while Panama beat already-qualified Costa Rica 2-1.
The US lost 2-1, dooming it to fifth spot and dumping it from the World Cup equation altogether.
The game was locked at 1-1 (and 2-2 on aggregate) since early in the first half and Australia was constantly frustrated throughout regular time. Also through much of extra time, before Tim Cahill rolled back the years (he's 37) with a headed winner to put the Socceroos through to a November play-off against North and Central America's fourth-best team.
Of course there is still a long way to go and a lot of great teams to play before winning the cup.
Sadly for Americans, the latest news is that the United States was sensationally eliminated from World Cup qualifying by minnows Trinidad and Tobago, leaving our Socceroos to face Honduras in next month's intercontinental play-off.
A draw against lowly Trinidad and Tobago would probably have been enough to see the United States through as North and Central America's third-best team for automatic qualification, leaving Panama and Honduras to slug it out for fourth spot to make the two-legged play-off against Australia. Instead, Honduras shocked Mexico 3-2, while Panama beat already-qualified Costa Rica 2-1.
The US lost 2-1, dooming it to fifth spot and dumping it from the World Cup equation altogether.