States rise to No. 12 in latest FIFA Rankings

The United States unlikely run in the Confederations Cup has lifted its star to No. 12 in July's FIFA rankings, their highest showing since dropping from No. 5 to 16 between June and July of 2006, due to an abysmal showing in the World Cup.

The world rankings show a lot of volatility. The biggest winner is the Ivory Coast, which rose 20 spots up to No. 18 in the world. Denmark, Serbia and Australia made notable runs into the Top 20 as well.

The biggest loser? Turkey dropped from No. 12 to No. 28 after a loss to France and a win over Azerbaijan. Iraq and New Zealand also lost a lot of ground after bowing out in the first round of the Confederations Cup.

Brazil is the new No. 1, with Spain and Holland each dropping a spot, to 2 and 3, respectively.

More analysis after work, but here's a nice nugget from FIFA: Australia (16), Gabon (30), Grenada (88), Montenegro (98) and Antigua and Barbuda (105) have ascended to their highest spots since FIFA starting the ranking system in 1993.

Soccer gets in the way of soccer

Give a moment of angst-explanation before I preview this afternoon's contest, please.

I have had zero complaints up to this point about my appointment as play-by-play voice of the Buffalo Flash, the local womens professional soccer club. They generally win, and I have a tremendous time calling the game with former Rutgers player Oliver Petersen, an Arsenal supporter and Brit by birth.

That was until today, when America's lack of true love for soccer has kicked me square in "The Family Matters." In many nations, the 3 p.m. kickoff for the Flash and Hamilton Avalanche (televised Monday and Tuesday on TW-13 in WNY) would be move so the soccer-adoring public could watch their national team battle traditional power Brazil.

In this case, however, the Flash have no true reason to touch the start time -- their 300-500 fans are more folks that come out for local soccer than anything since the Buffalo Blizzard played their brand of indoor madness at the Aud years ago, and these casual red, white and blue supporters can DVR their little hearts out.

My British cohort will be doing the same, but I can't wait that long. I will need to get text updates from my teammates, who will be watching the game together while I broadcast. Then, I'll have to hear about the game for a couple more hours while my mens team, Baker's City FC, tries to score a second major upset in a row. Finally, after a beer or two, at 9 p.m., I can sit down to watch what could be up for debate as the greatest moment in the history of American soccer.

In no way am I complaining about being paid money to watch soccer. C'est la vie. Go States!

--- As for the FINAL... ---

As for this afternoon's Confederations Cup final, I'm going to take the easy way out and say that while I generally do believe in miracles, losing Michael Bradley to a wrongly-given red card is going to give the US even more fits than usual when it comes to the 2 p.m. kickoff. Kaka and Luis Fabiano have a certain chance to give the US defense fits, and Bradley's absence will help nothing.

For the States to win, they will need more superior marking from Carlos Bocanegra, and another fabulous game from Oguchi Onyewu. Expecting Tim Howard to play mistake-free has become a near-certainty. You never say never after Wednesday, but I'd prefer to see the Yanks refuse to run with Brazil early, and attempt to dictate some of the pace, which would be a more-than-minor victory in itself.

Then again, if the US put up a performance like no other they've done offensively, and Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan both played unparalleled in ball movement, this could be a high-numbered classic. If you forced me to select an outcome, it'd look something like this:

Brazil strikes about 25 minutes in after a decent "feeling-out" period, with the world's No. 5 team surprised to see a different States team than they faced a week ago. They strike again 10 minutes later, but the US answers just after half. Trailing 2-1, the Americans have a handful of second half chances, but Brazil pokes one home with under 10 to go to claim the hardware with a 3-1 victory.

Needless to say, I hope I'm horribly incorrect.

--- Third place game thoughts ---

Barring late dramatics, you can't say enough for the South African performance, mostly of their team, but also of their supporters. I am firmly committed to trying to find the economic means to send my wife and me to next summer's World Cup, to see at least one States game and one other match.

On the winner... Xabi Alonso's shot was good, but it would not have scored had South African keeper Khune not had to account for Llorente's attempted elbow deflection. There's nothing you could do to legislate this without getting an official killed, but it's unfortunate for the hosts. Still, fourth place sounds like a coup for them, even if it simply means they outclassed Iraq and New Zealand. As I pointed out in the Cup preview post, I felt RSA would be able to use the home field to their advantage, and their No. 72 FIFA world ranking was slightly better than Iraq and NZ.

Comment away!

On To The Finals!

Four pints of Guinness were totally expected for Wednesday afternoon's Confederations Cup clash between No. 1 Spain and No. 14 USA. I just expected them to come in misery, not to stave off nerves as myself and several friends bounced up and down at a local establishment (Coles) in anticipation of one of the greatest upsets in US Soccer history.

Yes, the Yanks knocked up Spain, 2-0, to reach the Confederations Cup Final, but it's so much more than that. The States ended a 35-game Spanish unbeaten streak. The Spaniards had won each of their last 15 matches. They had been ranked No. 1 in the world for over a year.

The States? Not-so-much. They needed a miracle to reach the semi-final, but everything worked their way, beginning with Jozy Altidore hammering a ball right at Iker Casillas that hit the Spanish keeper's hand before going in to make it 1-0 less than a third of the way in. Clint Dempsey's 74th minute made it all but certain the States would become the first team since the 2006 Romania squad to top Spain (by the way, huge thanks to Sergio Ramos for trapping a ball in his own six).

But, it was what happened in between and after those tallies that mattered. The States sold their selves for the ball. They draped themselves on Fernando Torres, and made sure any ball that got to unbeatable Tim Howard was saveable. Pick a player, and they made an outstanding play: Landon Donovan, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley, etc. Even Bob Bradley's sub choices were outstanding, particularly in the face of a "red for red's sake" from the officials late in the goings.

They played with panache -- Charlie Davies almost opened the scoring with an absurd attempted bicycle. They played with guts. They played with everything you want in an American side. Every Yank fan can be proud of their boys today, regardless of what happens Sunday.

And to make the day complete... fat babies on Maury!

So much for moral victories! States to Semis!

Sound the Vuvuzela, as the buzzing will continue for American soccer in the face of everything improbable. The States needed to win by three and have Brazil win by three, which is stupid enough before you consider that the Amerks have looked nothing shy of crap for the first two games of group play in the Confederations Cup.

Leaving my house for men's league's pitch at 3:30 p.m., I planned to write the somewhat moral victory post around, well, now. The US was up 1-0 at half, and Brazil was demoralizing Italy by a 3-0 score. Yet texts began to roll into our team during the game, and as we topped our opponents, 3-0, the United States did the same.

I'm watching it now, knowing what's coming, and I'm buzzing. As previously posted, Charlie Davies' first goal, digging deep in the six and wresting a ball off of Egypt's keeper, was the sort of goals the States have to score, blue collar and no bull----.

The next two goals were also things the US needed. Seeing Michael Bradley rewarded for a stellar tournament despite nothing from his fellow midfielders is fantastic, and, yes, full marks for PK Lando on a wonderful low-pass. As much as I can't stand Bob Bradley lately, the look on his face when his son put in No. 2 was downright stars and stripes. It was Michael Bradley's second-straight goal on Father's Day, with his father behind the lines.

The third and final tally was needed, too, as Fulham's Clint Dempsey had been anything but stellar in the first two contests before turning it on the first half. His strong heading finish of a Jonathan Spector cross sent the Yanks into ecstasy, and they held on for an unlikely trip to the semi-finals to meet Spain.

How unlikely is this? Borderline impossible... and it comes on a day I actually scored in our team's game, which truly shows you how the stars were aligned.

Full marks to Brad Guzan for the clean sheet, but this was without Tim Howard and Carlos "Charlie Blackmouth" Bocanegra.

This is a fine day for US soccer, a day that no one can take away from us, regardless of what happens against Spain in Wednesday afternoon's Stage Two. We'll be at a bar. If you're near Buffalo, come find us (or just email).

And it wouldn't be fun if we didn't ask Giuseppe Rossi how he feels about the whole thing.

Confederations Cup preview

(Note: All games of the tournament will be available live in HD on ESPN or ESPN2 thanks to the timing of the contests. The U.S. games are :

(Monday, June 15 vs. Italy, 2:25 p.m. EST -- ESPN)
(Thursday, June 18 vs. Brazil, 10 a.m. EST -- ESPN2)
(Sunday, June 21 vs. Egypt, 2;25 p.m. EST -- ESPN2)

You're all welcome at my house for the first and third games. HD and everything.

On to the preview...

It's not exactly a group of death, but it shouldn't be a ton of fun for the United States in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

The Confederations Cup draw consists of the winners of each of FIFA's six confederations tournaments, together with the previous World Cup winner and the host country.

One group is, let's say, remarkably easier than the other, as World Cup winner Spain gets to take on Iraq, South Africa and New Zealand. For what their worth, the FIFA World Rankings place the world's No.1 team against its 72, 77 and 82 (SA, Iraq, NZ).

Compare that combined number of 272 to 63, the combined rankings of Group B, with No. 14 United States competing against Italy (4), Brazil (5) and Egypt (40).

Italy is atop Group 8 of UEFA with 14 points. Two draws are the only smudges on their record, and both came against their toughest opponents, Northern Ireland and Bulgaria (There is no word whether Bulgarian captain -- can you believe that? -- Dimitar Berbatov actually tried in the contest).

The reigning champions, Brazil sits atop CONMEBOL, but it hasn't been with traditional dominance or flair. At 7-6-1, two of their draws have come at Peru and home to Bolivia. Brazil is 11-1-1 all-time against the States, 6-2-5 against Italy and 4-0 versus Egypt.

The Egyptians are at the bottom of CAF's third group, but have only played two games, drawing at home to Zambia and dropping a 3-1 decision at Algeria. With Zaki, most recently of Wigan, and Mohammad Zidan (Borussia Dortmund) up-top, they could give fits to at least two of the group, but more on that when we talk U.S. chances.

It would be shocking if anyone other than Spain came out of Group A. Writing this after Iraq and South Africa played to a scoreless draw in the first game of the tournament, it is clear that the guffaws regarding Iraq being in this tournament are well-earned. South Africa will be the Spaniards greatest threat in terms of offense, but Fernando Torres and company should be able to wreak havoc on the South African back four... though we cshouldn't count out home-field advantage (I guess).

While the New Zealand did have a successful last friendly, in a sense, losing to Italy 4-3, they do not pose a significant threat to Spain. I was going to risk my "Streak for the Cash" on Sunday's Spain/NZ match producing three goals or less, but I was more confident that the Pirates could top the Tigers in MLB (as if that should mean anything to anyone).

As for the States' chances, "our" best chance would be to score first against Italy, or keep the game scoreless for as long as possible. You'd think America could top Egypt, but the Yanks have had more than their fair share of issues with top-class forwards, and I'd put Zaki down for at least one in their match. If that one comes early, look out.

Oddly enough, I like the U.S. more than usual against Brazil, if the midfield can play patient enough to take advantage of a sometimes overly-active yellow and green team.

How the States can make it to the semi-finals:
Best-case-realistic scenario: Monday's opener with Italy produces a scoreless or 1-1 draw as relentless wing play limits Italy offensively. The 2006 World Cup draw likely won't happen, as the States salvaged a point thanks to a Cristian Zaccardo own goal. You may remember that as the only goal the Azzurri surrendered in the tournament until the final against France. The U.S. would then beat Egypt and hope Brazil beats the Italians. Of course the same scenario could work in reverse, but seems less likely.

Worst-case for the States:
Italy strikes first against the States, and then uses their potent counter-attack to seal the game. Giuseppe Rossi scores both goals and does the "crying" celebration right to the ESPN cameras. Off a shocking draw with Egypt, Brazil goes all-out offensively, swarming the States in a 4-2 decision. Finally, Egypt uses Zaki and company to torture the shaky-at-best States backline en route to another two-goal win.

Predictions:

Group A (June 14, 17, 20):
South Africa v Iraq ** Already completed, D, 0-0
New Zealand v Spain (Spain, 3-0)
Spain v Iraq (Spain, 5-0)
South Africa v New Zealand (South Africa, 2-1)
Iraq v New Zealand (Draw, 1-1)
Spain v South Africa (Spain, 3-1)

Group B (June 15, 18, 21):
Brazil v Egypt (Brazil, 4-2)
USA v Italy (Draw, 1-1)
USA v Brazil (Brazil, 2-1)
Egypt v Italy (Italy, 2-0)
Italy v Brazil (Italy, 1-0)
Egypt v USA (US, 2-1)

Semi-finals (June 24 & 25):
Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B (Italy 1 v. South Africa 0)
Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A (Spain 3 v. Brazil 2)

Third-placed play-off (June 28):
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg (Brazil 3 v. South Africa 1)

Confederations Cup final (June 28):
Ellis Park, Johannesburg (Spain 3 v. Italy 2 (pk))