African Cup update! 1/31/12.

Well, Group B has wrapped up in sensational style as Ivory Coast maintained their perfect record and grabbed 1st officially with a 2-0 win over Angola while Sudan leapfrogged the Angolans on the last day of the group after a close 2-1 encounter with Burkina Faso to grab 2nd place. Angola thus finish 3rd on goal difference while Burkina Faso are left empty handed and in 4th. Group C also had an unbeatable winner in Gabon who edged Tunisia 1-0 in a tight group-stage ending match. Despite the result, Tunisia also qualified for the next round while Morocco earned some self-respect as they beat Niger 0-1 to take 3 points and 3rd position. Look for the Group D games tomorrow and stay tuned!

Africa Cup of Nations and Women's Soccer Update! 1/30/12

Well, going into the final set of games for Group B today, the tables have really started to align themselves. Group A has been captured by Zambia while Equatorial Guinea took 2nd. Zambia were undefeated in their games, drawing just once on their way to 7 points from 3 games and a spot in the next round. Equatorial Guinea on the other hand lost only to Zambia in a close 0-1 fight yesterday. Senegal leave the tournament quite embarrassed as they could not even manage one point and were edged 2-1 by a spirited Libyan side who managed 4 points in 3rd position. Group B is well on its way to being concluded as Ivory Coast and Angola look confident to progress. Angola may be challenged by Sudan in the table though, but that is only if Ivory Coast lets Angola win in their final game or Sudan loses. Make sure to watch! As far as Burkina Faso goes, Sudan should really take the 3 points.Group C meanwhile is done. This last set of games is only a formality as Gabon and Tunisia each have 6 points leaving 3rd and 4th place Morocco and Niger out in the cold with no way to fight back. Last but not least, Group D has essentially been won by Ghana while Guinea and Mali still battle for places in the next round. I'd tip Mali to make it through since they only have to beat win-less Botswana while Guinea have to force a result against powerhouses Ghana. Enjoy! In other news, the United States Women's team and Canada have booked their spots in the Women's Olympic Football Tournament in London. This was achieved after a tough 10-day battle which culminated in the U.S.A.'s defeat of Costa Rica and Canada upsetting Mexico. Canada thrashed their competition from the beginning with a 6-0 destruction of Haiti while whirling past Cuba and Costa Rica as well. Meanwhile, the U.S. also started off with a bang: obliterating the Dominican Republic 14-0! Guatemala was dealt with by 13 goals while rivals Mexico were beaten 4-0. The final results between the U.S. and Costa Rica and Canada and Mexico were 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. When the United States and Canada finally faced off, both sides knew they were going to the Olympics. That didn't stop the battle though as the U.S. defeated their northern neighbors 4-0. See you in the summer!

Israel's Top Team.

From a town of 23,000 comes this year's surprise Toto Cup winners Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona who also hold an 11 point lead over their competitors in the Israeli domestic league. While the side couldn't win outright in their cup final match against Hapoel Tel Aviv, they ended up claiming victory in the penalty kick shoot-off that served as the conclusion to the game. As a team built around a diverse set of players, Hapoel Ironi are certainly shaking up the top-flight of Israeli football. As a side that was wallowing in the 4th division not too long ago, the fact that they are now competing for a spot in the Champions League is simply breathtaking. Be sure to keep an eye out for this exciting team!

Africa Cup of Nations 2012 update! 1/22/2012.

Well in Group A we've already had action as Zambia took a surprise lead against Senegal in their first match and proceeded to fight to a 2-1 victory! Already up 2-0 by the half, all the Zambians had to do was hold on: they did just that as they only allowed Dame Ndoye to bring Senegal one back. The lead for Zambia was developed by Emmanuel Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba. Meanwhile, co-hosts Equatorial Guinea were able to get things off to the right start with a 1-0 edging of Libya in their opening match. Javier-Angel Balboa Osa was the man who grabbed victory from the very edge of a draw with a strike in the 86th minute that the crowd loved. With these results, Zambia take the top of the table by goal difference while Equatorial Guinea take 2nd. Libya are in 3rd position while Senegal are surprisingly in 4th! Expect a lot more action in this exciting group! Also happening today is Group B's opening round of matches with the Ivory Coast currently leading Sudan 1-0 while Burkina Faso and Angola play later. Enjoy the matches!

African Cup of Nations!

Well, despite the absence of recent powers Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa this is still expected to be quite an exciting tournament! With the likes of the Ivory Coast and Ghana still in the running, as well as Tunisia and a tough Sudan side there are still some surprises on the horizon. Group A features the likes of underdog-with-a-chance Senegal, Zambia who should be good enough to at least qualify for the next round, and Libya and Equatorial Guinea who will be happy to salvage a point from this group. Meanwhile, Group B will probably be held by the Ivory Coast. As far as 2nd position goes, Sudan or Burkina Faso seem to have the greatest chance off qualifying for the next round. Sudan made it a fierce fight through a qualifying group that included the likes of Ghana while Burkina Faso's talented side might just be able to do some solid work and get themselves into the next round. Last but certainly not least we have Angola who are admittedly holding quite solid in their Cup appearances: this is their 4th consecutive! On to Group C now where things are probably the most even: Morocco and Tunisia are technically regarded favorites though they meet in their first match of the tournament while Gabon and Niger will look for any opening to make a name for themselves. Gabon might just be able to do so as hosts. Finally, in Group D Ghana will probably lead this tough group which includes the talented Guinea side which ousted Nigeria in the qualifying round. Mali may be an unknown side in the group, but I would keep my eye on Botswana who have a pretty good defense and a talented striker in Jerome Ramatlhakwane. Enjoy!

The games to look forward to this weekend! 1/14/12.

Well, there is a weekend full of exciting match-ups coming up and I'd like to take a look at just a few! So, first up is the Italian Serie A and the game of the weekend is certainly the Milan derby between AC and Inter Milan. This Sunday match will display the attacking assault of tied for 1st place AC Milan and slow-starting 5th position Inter Milan. Meanwhile up in Scotland this weekend offers Celtic the opportunity to defend their top of the table position for the first time in a long time. The b'hoys of Glasgow will be facing 6th position Dundee United while their rivals and closest competition by 2 points Rangers of Glasgow have the chance to at the very least stay even with Celtic in their match against 5th place St. Johnstone. Back south now in Spain, the biggest game of the weekend will come on Sunday when Sevilla and Espanyol face off in a battle between 7th and 8th placed teams. Over in neighboring Portugal 3rd place Sporting Lisbon and 4th place Braga will clash in a match that will finally separate the two sides which are currently tied with 28 points each. However Saturday has matches of its own in England with Tottenham's match with Wolves topping the list. Since Spurs could join the big boys on top with a win and the right results elsewhere. Enjoy!

Looking forward to the weekend!

Well, first of all I hope the New Year is treating everyone nicely! We have quite a few games to look forward to with action in Portugal catching the eye on Saturday: there, Sporting Lisbon play host to table leaders Porto. While Sporting are in 3rd, the home field advantage and the hope of at least cutting the lead between the top 2 and themselves to 3 points makes this a must-see! Benfica, who are in 2nd, are tied on points with Porto and may actually be cheering their city rivals on! Meanwhile in Italy on Saturday Inter Milan who are currently in 5th will welcome 13th placed Parma to Milan for a match that many only see going one way: an Inter victory. The other Italian match will take place between Siena and Lazio with the hosts probably hoping for a draw as they are in 17th place compared to Lazio's 4th position. Nevertheless, every now and then a David does defeat Goliath so we'll have to see how this one ends up. In the last of the major leagues, Spanish top dogs Real Madrid will welcome mid-table Granada into a death-trap of a match before Malaga and Atletico Madrid play. Before these two games however, Real Sociedad and Osasuna will also be facing off at the same time as Racing and Zaragoza play. Levante v.s. Mallorca round out the day in Spain. There is also action in Greece, Turkey, and Israel so make sure you check those games out! Last but not least, the Sunday games! This time I would like to start in Spain where 2nd place Barcelona are guests at 8th position Espanyol. While Barca will be favored, nothing can really be taken for granted and the Catalan side are operating under a lot of pressure! Meanwhile, 17th place Villarreal must face 3rd place Valencia as the team above them, Rayo, face 6th position Sevilla. Getafe and Athletic also play Sunday with the likes of Betis and Sporting Gijon rounding out the list of ties. On to Portugal now where Sunday has a host of games - though the largest is sure to be Benfica's away game to 13th place Leiria. As long as the Lisbon side can take the 3 points, they will be ready no matter the result in the Sporting v.s. Porto game the day before. Gil Vicente and Nacional play before them as do Maritimo v.s. Olhanense and Rio Ave v.s. Pacos de Ferreira. Vitoria SC and Feirense is the last match-up of the day! Finally, In the Italian Serie A Atalanta and Milan play with the mid-table side looking for at best a draw against the joint-league-leaders AC Milan. Bologna and Catania play at the same time with the visitors marginal favorites to win despite their visitor status. Cagliari and Genoa are another match-up for Sunday with the visitors once more slightly favored. Lecce v.s. Juventus is another game that continues along this "visitors are favored" guideline with the chance to go outright to the top of the table so very close. Novara and Fiorentina play at the same time as the previously mentioned clashes while Palermo v.s. Napoli battle later in the day. Many see Napoli as the ones to claim the 3 points but you can never rule Palermo out at home. Udinese v.s. Cesena is another late game with the home side looking large favorites after such a great start to the season. Last but certainly not least is Roma's game against Chievo which is one of the earlier games. The Roman side will be favored to win this bout. Enjoy the weekend!

Happy New Year: England update.

Well, Sunderland and Manchester City faced off today in a match that many predicted the visitors would run away with. The reality, however, was that Sunderland managed to grasp a last-minute win through Ji Dong-Won's 3rd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half goal. 1-0 to the home side Sunderland! The other match of the day was between West Brom and Everton which ran its course 0-1 as well. Victor Anichebe  was the man who delivered Everton from their plight in the 87th minute with his wonder shot. Hope the new year treats you just as well!