When the United States dropped its bid for the 2018 World Cup, it was seen as a move to placate FIFA’s desire to have the World Cup held that year in soccer’s birthplace (literally, if England wins the bid).  By doing so, it also allowed the U.S. to be seen as the prohibitive favorite to win the 2022 bid when the vote is held December 2, in part due to a weak pool that includes Australia, Japan, Qatar, and South Korea.  However, FIFA’s bribery scandal may alter the playing field just enough that it could potentially endanger the U.S.’s front runner status.

To recap, two members of the FIFA executive committee were caught on tape by British journalists asking for outright bribes to support certain countries’ World Cup bids.  As of right now, these are the only two who have been caught, but reports by the The Guardian have FIFA’s executive committee unsure of what this week’s vote on the selection process will look like.  While the British press loves sensational journalism, I think it is safe to say that FIFA is a bit of a mess right now.  There have been no public reports that FIFA will definitely postpone its December 2 vote to select the 2018 and 2022 sites, but the possibility exists if the bribery scandal reaches further than currently known.  The final site vote could be delayed a few weeks, or just one site vote could be delayed while the other proceeds.

What does this mean for the U.S. bid?  As I said, right now the U.S. bid is allegedly far and away the front runner for the World Cup in 2022.  We have the money, infrastructure, and media attention to make another United States World Cup very lucrative for FIFA.  But what if the vote is delayed due to this scandal?  Would an extra few weeks seed doubts in the minds of the executive committee, especially if there are other guilty committee members?  The 2018 World Cup has a good chance of also being a lucrative and guaranteed financial success, especially if it takes place in England or Spain/Portugal.  Maybe this puts into the committee’s mind that the 2022 World Cup doesn’t need to be a slam-dunk site, and the U.S. can wait four more years.  Or maybe there is some other unforeseen situation that could pop up in December that could make the committee pause about awarding the World Cup to the U.S.

I am not saying it is a likely scenario that the U.S. loses the 2022 bid, even if they delay the vote.  But it’s like a soccer match, when the winning manager is constantly eying the clock even when ahead by a good margin.  All managers know crazy things can happen towards the end and it’s is better to quit while ahead.  So let’s hope FIFA votes on December 2 and this country can begin to gear up for the World Cup in 12 years.

Agree?  Disagree?  Share your thoughts below or on Twitter @roberthayjr.

What’s one of the best things about the United States beating Algeria yesterday to qualify for the second round of the World Cup? It’s the media reaction across television, radio and in the newspapers to the massive victory.

And who better than soccer fan Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, along with correspondent John Oliver, to focus on the incredible victory.

Watch the video. It’s very amusing – especially the England jokes.

If you live in South Florida, there’s only one place to be this weekend to watch your World Cup games and that’s Wowies Sports Grill in Boca Raton, Florida. EPL Talk is hosting all of its official World Cup Viewing Parties at Wowies, a modern sports bar featuring 31 big screen TVs, three full-liquor bars, excellent food and the lovely Wowies Girls. And this weekend is going to be absolutely huge in terms of everything we have planned for you.

Some of the features include three chances to win a FLO TV Personal Television (valued at $199), several chances to win World Cup mural posters and the 2010 FIFA World Cup video game, and a chance for you to win an England home jersey autographed by John Terry,

Plus, on top of all that, we’ll have professional soccer players from Miami FC making an appearance during the USA game Saturday to meet the soccer fans in South Florida.

Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s games including what prizes you can win:

• URUGUAY v SOUTH KOREA (Saturday, 9.30am) - Win the 2010 FIFA World Cup video game for the X360 or PS3 (courtesy of EA Sports). The videogame is in stores now and it enables you to take your favorite nation to World Cup glory. It is available on Wii, PS3, x360 and PSP.
• USA v GHANA (Saturday, 2pm) - Win a FLO TV Personal Television (valued at $199, courtesy of FLO TV) or a USA mural poster (courtesy of ESPN). PLUS, professional soccer players from Miami FC will be making an appearance during the game to sign autographs, meet with soccer fans and have your picture taken with them.
• ENGLAND v GERMANY (Sunday, 9.30am) - Win an England World Cup home jersey autographed by John Terry (courtesy of Umbro), or an England mural poster (courtesy of ESPN), or a Germany mural poster (courtesy of ESPN), or a FLO TV Personal Television (valued at $199, courtesy of FLO TV).
• ARGENTINA v MEXICO (Sunday, 2pm) - Win a FLO TV Personal Television (valued at $199, courtesy of FLO TV) or a Mexico mural poster (courtesy of ESPN)

Before each game, we’ll hand out free raffle tickets. And then, at the end of the game, we’ll call the winning raffle ticket numbers.

Happy hour is every day at Wowies from 12-7pm. Plus, they offer a special lunch-menu for $7.95. On top of all of that, you can get a free Red Stripe or Sierra Nevada beer (courtesy of MLS Talk and Wowies) by printing the flyer from our sister site World Cup Buzz and giving it to your waitress or bartender during World Cup games.

This is the perfect weekend to get out of the house and go watch World Cup games with passionate soccer fans. Nothing beats being with a big crowd of fans cheering for their team and the uncontrolled passion when your country scores a goal.

And Wowies opens at 9:30am for all of the World Cup games between now and the World Cup Final on July 11.

In addition to that, I’ll be at all of the games this weekend and I’ll be interviewing many soccer fans to get your thoughts about the game. The best clips will be published on MLS Talk and other sites in the EPL Talk Network.

I hope to see you there. But if you don’t live in the area, no worries. We’ll be live streaming from many of the games this weekend so you can see where the diehard soccer fans in South Florida are going to watch their World Cup games.

Wowies is located at 7036 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33433. More information about Wowies (including directions) can be found at our sister site at http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/wowies

After defeating Algeria, the United States will now play Ghana in the second round of the World Cup this Saturday at 2:30pm ET.

Ghana last played the United States in a competitive tournament four years ago in the last game of the first round where the States played a very disappointing game against a strong African side.

But, due to finishing in first place, the US now finds themselves with an easier route to the latter stages of the tournament than England, who finished in second place. England must play Germany. If the United States beats Ghana, they’ll play the winner of Uruguay and South Korea.

But who will win this Saturday?

If you want to relive the highlights of the USA v England match in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, check out this incredible video (see above).

The video recreates the highlights of the game as played by Lego characters. The attention to detail is unbelievable down to the spectators in the crowd. Plus you can hear how the English commentator called the game.

If you enjoyed this video, review the entire collection of Lego football recreations at http://www.legofussball.eu/

The Sun newspaper is the type of tabloid filth that upsets people both in England and now, thanks to two condescending covers, people in the States.

You may remember that back in December, The Sun newspaper ran a headline on its cover which declared “E-A-S-Y” in reaction to the news of the 2010 World Cup draw which put England in the same group as the United States, Algeria and Slovenia.

Not only was the cover condescending but it was also disrespectful to a US team and nation.

Earlier today The Sun got up to it’s old tricks with a headline on its newspaper, which was a bit tongue in cheek, which read: “Here’s hopin’ that England United Shoot Some Totally Awesome Strikes Past The Goaltender In The Soccerball World Series Today.”

Yes, it was their attempt at humor but yet again it was condescending behavior from the paper’s editors. It’s another example of England’s feeling of superiority not only on the field but off it too where they think that Americans are uneducated when it comes to soccer. Nothing could be further from the truth especially considering the fact that more Americans visit The Guardian’s football site than the UK public does.

Just as there are still soccer haters in the United States press who are stil perpetuating their inane comments, members of the British press still show that they’re living in the stone age.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show featuring Jon Stewart had a segment on last night that focused on the World Cup and specifically the game between the United States and England.

Not surprisingly, there are quite a few humorous moments.

Watch and enjoy.

Going into this World Cup many people are expecting big things from the England squad, and why not?  All play in what’s considered the best league in the world, they have one of the top three strikers in the world in Wayne Rooney, a top 5 defender in John Terry, and manager Fabio Capello comes second only to Jose Mourinho. But for every positive you find, their seems to be glaring negatives, and it forces you to ask, “Which England squad will show up in South Africa?”

One can point to their World Cup qualifying and how they blazed through their group, scoring the most goals in the qualifying round with 34 and a goal differential of 28. Impressive right, but lets look at the competition; Ukraine, Croatia, Belarus, Kazakstan and Andorra.  Ukraine and Croatia are both respectively ranked in the top 25 in the deceptive FIFA Coca-Cola World Rankings.  Croatia got a case of Billy Big Boots due to their knocking England our of qualifying for Euro 2008 and their impressive run in that tournament, and no disrespect, but Ukraine along with the rest are not quality opponents. How did England do against the elite? Loss to Brazil, loss to Spain, loss to France.  Now they were able to manage a draw with Holland and a win against Germany, but are these fixtures enough of a test for team that wants to raise the World Cup.  What we haven’t seen from England is how they are going to respond when they get punched in the mouth. What will they do when their lip gets bloodied?  We’ve seen it from the World Cup favorites. We’ve seen Brazil go 2-0 down to the US in the Confederations Cup final. They battled through a marathon qualify campaign. A campaign that saw surprising home draws to Colombia and Ecuador, and an unacceptable home draw and loss to lowly Bolivia. The result? They came out winners of the Confederations Cup and top of the group. Even Spain after having their 35 game win streak broken by the US they went undefeated in WC qualifying.

While nations are cutting players like Patrik Viera, Marco Borriello,  Guiseppe Rossi, and Benni McCarthy. England is reaching out to an ailing Owen Hargreaves, and retirees Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher.  England can be a very good team but it looks like this team will get its baptism by fire.  How it responds to the heat from opposing sides and their home media will show us how strong and courageous these Three Lions really are.

Soccer in the United States is poised for a major breakthrough. A win against England would likely bring interest in the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) to an all time high. However, while it may seem counterintuitive, the England v. US game is likely the most overhyped match of the 2010 World Cup group stage.

The cultural connection and the English Premier League being the most popular foreign league in the English speaking United States have led ESPN to hype the game non-stop, both on TV and the Internet. What this hype ignores is the fact that the US’s chances at advancing will be decided primarily by its other two group games. Yes, three points against England would be nice, but if we cannot beat both Slovenia and Algeria, the USMNT will likely be heading home from South Africa early. If the team does beat England on Saturday, it’ll still need at least two draws, if not one win, to have a reasonable expectation of moving on to the Round of 16. If the US wins against England and performs as it has in the past, not only will the hopes of US supporters be crushed, so will soccer’s prospects of finally taking center stage in the United States.

The History

There has been a great deal of attention paid to the USMNT’s 1-0 defeat of England in the 1950 World Cup. While this was certainly a historic upset, what seems to be forgotten every time this win is mentioned is that the United States lost its other two group games in horrendous fashion and was bounced from the World Cup without getting out of group play- not to return for another 40 years. Instead of being celebrated as a shining moment, this should mark the beginning of US Soccer’s Dark Age.

In the past two World Cups, when the US has found itself in a position of upsetting a favorite in a group stage match, it has had a very difficult time winning its other group games. The US team seems to thrive as underdogs, and an early good result against a favored opponent has been accompanied by lackluster results in other group stage games. In 2002, remembered by many as the US’s breakout World Cup, the team was lucky to qualify for the Round of 16 despite a stunning 3-2 win over heavy favorites Portugal. It may be a game that many of us remember for the rest of our lives, but it was followed by a dismal 1-1 draw against the talented South Koreans and an even worse 3-1 loss against a Poland team that was beaten 4-0 by Portugal and 2-0 by South Korea. It was only a 70th minute goal by South Korean star Park Ji-Sung against Portugal in the group’s final game that allowed the US to progress out of the Group Stage. Because of these poor performances, the US went into the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals as the underdog and benefited from strong performances as a result.

In 2006, the USMNT was handed a very tough draw, with a group that included Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana. Riding the wave of hype created by the US’s unexpected Quarterfinals finish in the 2002 World Cup and a 2005 Gold Cup win, the US were expected to draw, if not narrowly beat a solid Czech side. Instead, the Czech team took control a mere five minutes into the match with an easy goal off a header and finished the US side with two more goals despite having less possession. With very few people expecting the team to win against Italy, the US put in a Herculean effort, finishing the game with 9 men against 10 and holding Italy to a 1-1 tie. Without the help of some creative reffing, the US would likely have won the match. The US had one point, Ghana and the Czech Republic both had three and Italy had four going into the final match of the Group Stage. As long as Italy fulfilled expectations and won against the Czech Republic, the US could advance with a win over Ghana. Italy performed as expected and the US fell flat. The youngest team in the tournament had help from the referee and an injury to Claudio Reyna, but ultimately it was the United States’ lack of cohesion and creative play that led to its downfall. The overhyped United States had only 3 shots on goal the entire game. Somehow the team managed to play well against the heavily favored side and have two abysmal games against opponents that it should have beaten.

The Hype

The last thing the American team needs is to go into the 2010 World Cup overhyped. Much of these expectations are based on an improbable upset of Spain, one of the two best teams in the world and Euro 2008 winners, in the 2009 Confederations Cup. A dismal display in the first two games of the Cup led to an improbable 3-0 win over Egypt that coincided with Brazil’s 3-0 win over Italy, allowing the United States to advance instead of Italy based on goal difference. It was a fantastic turn of events that led a US team, which had no real expectation of staying in South Africa after the group stage, to face off against a heavily favored Spanish team that had not lost in 35 games. Boosted by an amazing performance from Tim Howard and goals from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, the US pulled off its greatest upset in the team’s modern era, beating Spain 2-0 in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. This was surely an achievement, but it follows the US’s familiar pattern of a great performance on the heels of some serious underachievement.

As in 2006, the team is favored to make it out of their group and the mainstream media is finally paying attention. Skip Bayless and Jim Rome are busy mispronouncing common soccer names on ESPN and Americans are starting to take serious notice of the sport. Unfortunately, when Americans tune in to watch matches, they’re treated to the inane and idiotic analysis of John Harkes and Alexi Lalas. Both of these former USMNT players are quick to turn on the team after the slightest mistake and you can be sure they will hyperbolize about a win or a loss against England. The commentary following a US win over England would be grossly out of proportion compared to what the result means and will combine with the win against Spain in 2009 to create a line of drivel from know-nothing American sports commentators claiming the US have the potential to lift the Cup this year. The attention would be sudden and full of expectation, just like during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. If the team then fails to perform, the media will quickly turn against it (as it did in the aftermath of the Czech defeat in 2006) and US Soccer will again miss out on the opportunity to advance the game on its home soil.

The World Cup is about consistency, something the team has struggled to find. The build up to the England game is worrying because it’s no different than the hype in 2006. This lack of consistency coupled with our continued poor play in matches where we are not the underdogs should be worrying to US supporters. New fans need to recognize that it’s a recipe for disaster to ignore the fact that good results against lower ranked sides are what will get the US team into the knockout stage. The last thing the United States needs is an upset against England that leads to a characteristic fizzle against Slovenia and Algeria. Don’t take this the wrong way: I’ll be screaming my head off for the red, white, and blue this Saturday. The US has the potential to show the gains the program has made in the last four years by beating the sides it’s favored to beat and not by upsetting England. American fans would do well to remember that a win on Saturday doesn’t make us world-beaters, just as a loss doesn’t mean we’re back to square one.

During the last several weeks I have noticed that several pro England articles have appeared on EPL Talk and other sites especially concerning the USA vs. England match, and the articles seem to imply a feeling of arrogance, and nonchalance.

Many people are already handing out the spots to make it to the group stage, England first and the USA second, like we are getting the table scraps. But I believe that this game is of much more importance to the English fans than they are giving us credit for. I do believe, however, that England fans at this point will be the most disappointed with a negative result for the Three Lions. England had an incredible qualifying run but still need to get one monkey off their backs. That monkey is the fact that England traditionally crash and burn at the World Cup.

The truth of the matter is that a USA victory would be catastrophic to England. The Three Lions are being tipped to win the World Cup (by their own fans). How are they going to do that if the lowly Yanks beat them? Team USA is more than capable of giving England a good run for their money, and it is very possible that they can win. As evident by the latest round of World Cup friendlies, England was not able to score their goals alone, while the USA played a very good game against Turkey. The England vs. Japan game reminded me of Manchester United’s season (I am an avid Man United fan; n fact, I went to England for one day just to see the Red Devils at Old Trafford).

It would behoove English fans to stop handing out the top places in their group and acting like the match has already been won. Karma is a beautiful thing and it would be a shame if the Three Lions finished second or worse in their group, wouldn’t it?

Respect should be given to any and all opponents because anyone can win at the end of the day.