By FRANCO PANIZO
If you did not fake being sick from work or school today, you will probably regret it later.
Tuesday will serve as the final full date for international fixtures in 2013 and the slate of matches is jam-packed with intriguing contests. From a surely intense clash between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden to Bob Bradley and Egypt’s wish for a miracle against Ghana, there is no shortage of games worth watching on a day in which all but two of the final berths for next summer’s World Cup will be clinched (Mexico-New Zealand and Uruguay-Jordan are scheduled for Wednesday).
There’s more than just World Cup qualifiers on tap, too. The Netherlands is set to take on Colombia, Germany will square off with England, and Brazil is set to play Chile in some of the day’s more mouth-watering friendlies.
If you will be watching today’s matches, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (schedule is after the jump).
11am – Egypt vs. Ghana – BeIN Sport/BeIN Sport en Espanol
12pm – Slovenia vs. Canada – Sportsnet One/Sportsnet World Online
1:15pm – Algeria vs. Burkina Faso – BeIN Sport/BeIN Sport en Espanol
2pm – South Africa vs. Spain – ESPN3
2:15pm – Croatia vs. Iceland – ESPN3
2:30pm – Netherlands vs. Colombia – ESPN3
2:45pm – United States vs. Austria – NBCSN/UniMas
2:45pm – Sweden vs. Portugal – ESPN2/ESPN Deportes
3pm – France vs. Ukraine – ESPN3/Univision Deportes
3pm – Romania vs. Greece – ESPN3
3pm – England vs. Germany – FoxSoccer2Go/Fox Deportes
8pm – Brazil vs. Chile – BeIN Sport/BeIN Sport en Espanol
9pm – Honduras vs. Ecuador – BeIN Sport/ BeIN Sport en Espanol
1am (Wed) – New Zealand vs. Mexico – ESPN/UniMas/Univision Deportes
I feel for Iceland. Wanted to see them qualify.
Iceland 1-0 down. Mandzukic scores and gets Mandzukic sent off.
All Iceland needs is to scratch out a goal against ten men in the second half. C’mon, boys!
WTF? Where’s the Portugal/Seeden game? ESPN2 has Iceland/Croatia.
No Matchday Commentary? Stuck at work, was looking forward to following that.
Ah, there it is
What was up with gonzo’s “4” fingers during the anthem?
Algeria goes up 1-0 on Burkina Faso.
Greece scores to go up 4-1 on aggregate.
So we’re not getting a single upset?
C’mon Iceland, minnows around the world turn their lonely eyes on you
oh man, the world cup simulator added simulation for the group stage as well. so you can do your simulated draw, then sim all group games, to see what the Round of 16 looks like.
http://ultra-zone.net/2014-FIFA-World-Cup-Group-Stage-Draws
I just did that and got:
Brasil
USA
Ghana
Netherlands
Thanks for ruining my day.
hahaha yeah, it gets brutal. i’m constantly landing Spain and Portugal. but when i simulate the group stage, we always finish on top of Portugal.
Am I the only one that actually wants to see us play the best teams? I know we all want the US to advance, but I’d like to see us take some scalps before we get thrown into the “anything can happen” single-elimination rounds.
Switzerland
United States
Burkina Faso
Greece
Sign me up now!
I just got
-Switz
-US
-Equador
-Croatia
I think we’d take that and run, wouldnt we?
i got something similar, did you simulate the group to see how we finished?
I got Swtiz, US, England, Chile.
It’s not going to be pretty. Our group will be worse than 2006 before its even close to as good as 2010.
yeah, this World Cup will be absolutely brutal. say we make it out of the group, which WILL be hard, the Round of 16 games are brutal too. it’s going to be an intense World Cup.
USA 7 3 2 1 0 6 2 4
Brazil 6 3 2 0 1 4 5 -1
Portugal* 3 3 1 0 2 1 2 -1
Burkina Faso* 1 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2
We won our group that would rock the world
i just got:
Colombia
USA
Russia
Ukraine
when i simulate the group stage, i get:
Ukraine* 7 3 2 1 0 4 1 3
USA 4 3 1 1 1 6 3 3
Colombia 3 3 0 3 0 6 6 0
Russia 1 3 0 1 2 5 11 -6
which puts us in a Round of 16 game against Australia. sadly, if we did win that game, we would face the winner of Brazil/Spain in this simulation.
Spain
USA
Ecuador
Portugal
US Line-up out
Jozy
Shea AJ Bedoya
Jones Bradley
Beas Brooks Gonzo Cameron
Howard
i support that. curious to see how Cam does against Alaba.
Agreed. This could be the match that sets Cameron as the RB going forward. Alaba is a very talented player. I am expecting Lichaj to get subbed on at half though. Along with Boyd.
yeah, i think he will stay home so he doesn’t get burned by Alaba’s speed. i don’t think we’ll see a ton of attacking up the right.
and i agree about Boyd. JK said to the Austrian press Boyd will play a good amount.
I am excited to see Boyd today, more so than Lichaj. I have watched him play with Rapid and he has really improved his hold up play and passing and he has been a handful on headers etc. He is always so excited when he gets on for the US so I hope he can harness that a bit today.
Klinsmann playing guys in there position? this is maddness
Nice to see Brooks, Iceman, and Shea get a run out to see what they can do.
Also nice to see a right back who actually plays right back for his club! What a concept!
The usmnt is 6-1-1 with evans at right back.
hope we play those teams next summer…
Has Canada only scored one goal this year? If true, that is utterly depressing.
Well, vs the Czechs, DeRo did score that penalt—oh, wait…
Ghana has qualified. Somewhere in Southern California, Boca is shaking in his boots…
Why…..he’s not going to have to face them.
I know, Lost. PTSD.
My vote goes for Brad Evans being the one who either:
1) Hauls down Asamoah Gyan (oh yeah, it has to be him) for a penalty that puts the US out
2) Gets spun around like a top and falls awkwardly, while a Ghana player blows by him to put by the goal
3) Hoofs a ball back into his own penalty area where it is promptly put in for the go ahead Ghana goal
Call #2 the Ricardo Clark Special. I’ll order a #2 with a Pepsi on this one.
Yeah, I also vote for #2.
SBI and shinguardian should combine!! Would be the best soccer site ever.
This is a great idea. SBI for the reporting. TSG for the analysis. I’m in.
SBI for the editing as well.
So true. I once had a piece on TSG, by the time he had “edited” it you could no longer make any sense of it. I think English is his second language and it shows when he is in a rush.
This would be the best thing
Egypt 1-0 in the 40th.
Only 4 unanswered to go!!
They’re going to need a pause in the game and 10 water bottles full of 5-Hour Energy Halal Flavor
3 more with 6 mins left! More Halal flavored energy drinks!!
Make it 4 and a burlap sack full of road flares
Shikabala = Egyptian for “Findley”
Here’s hoping we find out Ghana played an ineligible player.
Oh well, at least they won their home tie. Not bad considering Ghana’s stacked squad.