International Break Finally Over

International breaks are like the plot of a Steven Segal movie, they’re necessary and provide a little something but you really just want to hurry through it and get to the action. Players can get injured and most of the time they’re just pointless friendlies. However, this international break did provide more intrigue than most. With World Cup qualifying reaching its final fixtures there are some intriguing story lines.


`With each match Argentina looks less and less like it’s going to qualify for South Africa. Maradona has guided La Seleccion to fifth place in South America with only the top four getting automatic berths to the World Cup. With one away match and one home match remaining it looks like Argentina is going to have to play the fourth place CONCACAF team for the right to go to South Africa. While it appears less and less likely that this would pit them against Mexico, they would still have to face Costa Rica and Honduras, teams that should not be taken lightly, especially considering Argentina’s form.
The 96 million Euro man also appears set to miss the World Cup. Even with Portugal’s defeat of Hungary yesterday, it appears unlikely that they are going to make it to South Africa. I’m sure not going to miss the diving pretty boy next summer.
The US took important steps towards qualification this past week. By taking all six points from cellar dwellers El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago the US just needs 3 points against Honduras to secure qualification to South Africa. While the US didn’t really impress in either match they got the job done and took the points which is really what is most important.