Sorry for the lack of updates, but the Project has continued on. Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on since then (most of these will just direct you to the links, so sorry for the lack of write-ups):
UEFA European Championship Qualifying continues (Link)
Qualifying continues, with matchdays 7 & 8 going on as we speak (so you'll see some updates for some groups but not for others right now). Groups are starting to shape up, and even though the field has expanded to 24, the fight for qualification stays strong.
CONCACAF Gold Cup - USA takes the win! (Link)
In the end, it had to be USA vs Mexico, didn't it? After trouncing opponents in the knockout round (USA 4-0 vs Haiti, 2-0 vs Panama; Mexico 5-0 vs El Salvador, 8-0 vs Honduras), it had to be the two talisman teams of the region meeting in the finals. However, Mexico, who looked unstoppable in scoring, were blanked by the Americans, with Michael Bradley netting twice and Clint Dempsey scoring once in the final for a 3-0 win. The Americans won the tournament, but the leading scorer went to Giovanni Dos Santos with 9 goals in the whole tournament.
Copa America - Chile's glory as heavyweights falter (Link)
Argentina and Brazil were forced to watch from their hotel rooms as the up-and-coming South American teams shined in the Copa America. Both Brazil and Argentina were eliminated from the quarterfinals by Colombia and the USA, respectively. The US took out Uruguay in the third-place game, which was a whirlwind tour for the invitees. The US notched wins over Colombia (in group play), Argentina, and Uruguay. However, it was Chile who took the crown in a wild affair, beating Colombia 6-2, where tournament leading scorer James Rodriguez was blanked. Brazil's major problem was scoring, only netting 4 goals in the entire tournament. Chile, however, couldn't miss the net, scoring 6, 5, and 6 in their three knockout stage wins. This team looks to be scary when World Cup Qualifying starts up.
AFC Regional Tournaments (Link)
These little minor tournaments take place among the sub-regions of AFC. Not much to report, so I'll just leave the link and list winners:
-India won the SAFF Championship by defeating surprise team Maldives in the final 1-0.
-South Korea won the EAFF Championship after final-game drama robbed Japan of the title. Japan needed only a draw against China to secure the victory, but after South Korea beat North Korea 3-0, China's upset 3-1 over Japan put South Korea & Japan tied on points. South Korea's superior goal differential made them unexpected champions!
-The CAFF Championship doesn't exist in real life, since the region just formed, but it's modeled after SAFF with its 6 members. The big surprise was Iran failing to make it to the final, let alone win it, after being heavily favored. Turkmenistan, who beat Iran in group play, lost in the finals to winners Tajikistan.
-The WAFF Championship takes place later this year.
World Cup Qualifying (AFC Link) (CONCACAF Link)
The World Cup qualifying draw took place, and the pages will be created as they start up. The AFC narrowed down from 43 to 40, with Cambodia, Timor-Leste, and Mongolia being the first 3 teams to be eliminated from the Cycle 1 World Cup. The 40 teams are now in 8 groups of 5, with 12 teams emerging for Asia's 4.5 spots.
CONCACAF also began their qualifying, and 5 teams were eliminated as well: Anguilla, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, and Turks & Caicos Islands. No heavyweights at this point, but the route for CONCACAF has been determined, and 24 teams are about to whittle down to 6, who will join the top 6 teams in the late stages of qualifying.
I'll recap the draw results in the next post.
08-22-2014, 08:42 PM
