International Wednesday

Today, nations around the world compete in international friendlies, some carrying weight, some not. There are also international qualifier matches in Concacaf as well as Oceania/Asia, where I hear that Australia has passed their first test on their way to securing a place in South Africa, 2010. The Socceroos defeated Qatar 3-0.

But while the Asia region puts on games with actual meaning, much of the focus today is on matches that have no technical meaning, and most attention is on England's friendly against Switzerland at Wembley Stadium. It is the dawn of a new era for the England national team, as "Don" Fabio Capello makes his debut as England manager. Already the national scutiny is at fever pitch, with constant speculation and anxiety over who will start today. Will Michael Owen play? Will David James be in goal? What formation will be run? Where will Joe Cole be positioned? Despite the media frenzy, the prevailing mood is that Capello's buttoned-up, no-nonsense approach will be a welcome change in atmosphere for both players and fans. Expect a gradually instilled discipline to influence this team positively, with gradually improving results to follow in parallel. The shift won't happen overnight, but England will be strong by the start of real World Cup qualifiers (can Andorra be considered "real"?) and there will be a genuine difference in their displays on the pitch, one that will have the media and populace of the UK uproarious and spastic about the best England team in several decades. It's too early to even begin to think about such projections, but a semi-final birth in South Africa seems attainable with Capello at the helm. Today? 2-1 to England, in an ugly affair. It will take time.

Other European friendlies of interest today: Brazil visits Ireland, Netherlands visits Croatia, France visits Spain, and Portugal visits Italy.

Mexico faces U.S.A. in Houston in a match that is "friendly" in name only. The two fierce rivals and Concacaf powers meet in yet another volatile bout for bragging rights. Mexico has not defeated the U.S. on American soil in their last 10 attempts, despite carrying majority support in nearly all of those matches, as they were contested in southwest destinations such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston and Dallas where large immigrant populations have made their Mexican loyalties heard. Mexico is fielding a much stronger starting 11 than is the United States, which signals their clear intent of winning this match and ending the drought. Still bitter over their 2-1 finals defeat in the Gold Cup last June, when they had gone a goal up only to see chance after chance denied in the 2nd half after Benny Feilhaber's miraculous go ahead volley put them in a hole, the Mexican players are fired up for this one, but so too are the Americans. Landon Donovan expressed his candid assessment of the rivalry when he said something to the effect of "the teams just don't like each other." He relishes the underdog role, even in his own country, speaking of the minority voice the U.S. fans will hold in Reliant stadium. However, as well as the Americans have fared against them, I have a feeling Mexico finally breaks through today, 3-1, behind their fierce support, formidable lineup, and sheer will to end this run of American dominance in America.

Should be an interesting day. I will have a first hand account of Argentina-Guatemala tomorrow, as I will be in attendance tonight in Los Angeles at the Colisseum.

back later in the week with much more on the Premiership, Serie A, Bundesliga, and La Liga, as well as a preview of the Argentine Clausura.