Costa Rica se propone concluir la próxima semana con doce puntos

Costa Rica vivirá una semana clave en la ruta al Mundial de 2010

La selección de Costa Rica vivirá una semana clave, con seis puntos en juego por una plaza en el Mundial de Sudáfrica a partir del miércoles, cuando recibirá a Estados Unidos, y después el sábado, en su visita a Trinidad y Tobago.

Con seis puntos acumulados en las tres jornadas disputados del hexagonal final de las eliminatorias de la Concacaf, Costa Rica se propone concluir la próxima semana con doce puntos y en la cima de la clasificación, que lidera Estados Unidos, con siete.

Precisamente su primer escollo será Estados Unidos, que aunque nunca ha ganado un partido de eliminatorias en Costa Rica, es considerado como el equipo más fuerte del área, y por lo tanto un rival de mucho cuidado.

"Estados Unidos es muy bueno en la transición de defensa a ataque y en bola muerta", alertó el seleccionador 'tico', Rodrigo Kenton, en la página de internet de la Federación de Fútbol.

Este partido es un adelanto de la quinta jornada programada para el 10 de junio, pues los norteamericanos jugarán en Sudáfrica la Copa Confederaciones a partir del 14 de ese mes.

De vencer Costa Rica, el sábado próximo tendrá la misión de consolidar su liderato en la visita en Puerto España a Trinidad y Tobago, actual colista, con dos enteros.

Las dos últimas visitas de Costa Rica a Trinidad y Tobago en partidos de eliminatorias terminaron con victoria centroamericana por 0-2 en 2001 y empate 0-0 en 2005, mientras los dos últimos choques con Estados Unidos en el estadio Saprissa fueron victorias locales por 2-1 (2001) y por 3-0 (2005).

Si Costa Rica consigue los seis puntos dejaría casi fuera de combate a Trinidad y Tobago, se ubicaría en el primer lugar de la clasificación tras la mitad de los partidos del hexagonal final, y con dos partidos en casa pendientes ante México en septiembre y contra los trinitarios en octubre.

Kenton dijo a la prensa local que la idea es ganar los dos partidos de la próxima semana, pero que estará satisfecho sólo hasta que se asegure el boleto al Mundial.

"Buscaremos estar bien parados atrás y llegar arriba mínimo con cuatro o cinco jugadores", dijo Kenton esta semana tras subrayar que "este es un grupo que se ha caracterizado por un estilo", que no cambiará sea cual sea el rival.

Después de estos dos partidos el siguiente compromiso de Costa Rica será a domicilio con Honduras, el 12 de agosto.

Después de Estados Unidos (7 puntos) y Costa Rica (6), siguen en la clasificación Honduras (4), México (3), Trinidad y Tobago (2) y El Salvador (2).

Los tres primeros del hexagonal final de la zona Concacaf se clasifican directamente al Mundial de Sudáfrica, mientras que el cuarto disputará una repesca con el quinto de las eliminatorias sudamericanas.

SI.com

Costa Rica calls Fire's Segares for U.S. qualifier

By Paul Kennedy, Special to SI.com, Soccer America

Gonzalo Segares of the Chicago Fire and former MLS players Andy Herron and Michael Umana are among the players who have called up for Costa Rica's World Cup 2010 qualifier against the U.S. on June 3 at Saprissa Stadium in San Jose.

Herron and Umana faced off Tuesday in the deciding game of Costa Rica's playoffs. Umana's Liberia beat Herediano 3-0 to win its first championship and the first for a team from the province of Guanacaste.

The only starters from Costa Rica's most recent qualifier, a 1-0 win over El Salvador in San Jose, who weren't called up are Roy Myrie and Michael Barrantes, who are injured.

Costa Rica, one point behind the leader U.S. in the Hexagonal standings after three games, also called up players based in Australia, Belgium, Norway, Poland and Switzerland.

The Ticos face Trinidad & Tobago three days after they host the U.S..

Roster:

Goalkeepers: Daniel Cambronero (Puntarenas), Ricardo Gonzalez (Herediano), Keilor Navas (Saprissa).

Defenders: Dario Delgado (Puntarenas), Junior Diaz (Wisla Krakow, Poland), Freddy Fernandez (Perez Zeledon), Dennis Marshall (Herediano), Gonzalo Segares (Chicago Fire), Esteban Sirias (Liberia), Michael Umana (Liberia), Harold Wallace (Liberia).

Midfielders: Armando Alonso (Saprissa), Cristian Bolanos (Start, Norway), Celso Borges (Fredrikstad, Norway), Pablo Brenes (Brujas), Walter Centeno (Saprissa), Esteban Granados (Cartagines), Warren Granados (Ramonense), Carlos Hernandez (Melbourne, Australia), Pablo Herrera (Alajuelense), Cristian Oviedo (Alajuelense).

Forwards: Andy Furtado (Herediano), Andy Herron (Herediano), Bryan Ruiz (Gent, Belgium), Alvaro Saborio (Sion, Switzerland).

Forced to run practices without such key players as Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra and DaMarcus Beasley because of their commitments to their MLS

US finishes preparations for WCup qualifiers

3 hours ago

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. soccer team concluded five days of training on Sunday and was looking forward to the arrival of members who couldn't participate in preparations for the team's World Cup qualifying matches this week.

Forced to run practices without such key players as Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra and DaMarcus Beasley because of their commitments to their MLS teams or European clubs, coach Bob Bradley was also in the dark about the availability of veteran defender Frankie Hejduk.

After sitting out the last two games for the Columbus Crew with a groin injury, Hejduk was set to arrive in Miami on Sunday afternoon to be evaluated by Bradley and the training staff.

"We'll evaluate him over the next few days and make some decisions, and the first decision is just is he going to be ready for Wednesday," Bradley said. "He's obviously missed two games so that I think tells you there's some concern, but now we just have to try to make good decisions not only for one game but for the fact that we've got some heavy activity coming up."

First up is a match Wednesday in San Jose, Costa Rica, where the U.S. has never beaten or tied the home team in five visits. After that the Americans will host Honduras in Chicago in another qualifier on Saturday, and then it's off to South Africa to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Should the 34-year-old Hejduk not be able to play, Bradley will likely turn to one of two 23-year-olds on his roster, Jonathan Spector or Marvell Wynne.

In addition to Hejduk, Bocanegra, Beasley, Donovan, Wynne, Pablo Mastroeni and Brian Chink were expected to join the team on Sunday. Goalkeeper Tim Howard, Benny Feilhaber and Jose Torres were slated to arrive Monday in time to board the team's charter flight to Costa Rica.

Danny Califf, who plays in Denmark, is flying directly to Costa Rica.

Those 11 players missed out on the last two days of training on the artificial turf at FIU's football stadium on Saturday and the soccer pitch on Sunday, which served as a bit of preparation for the artificial turf awaiting them in Costa Rica's Saprissa Stadium.

"Obviously, the majority of us aren't used to playing on turf, so I think a couple of days here and training over there should help us become more acclimated to their surface come Wednesday," said defender Oguchi Onyewu, the only player on the field for the U.S. the last time the two teams met in San Jose — a 3-0 loss in October 2005.

"You feel the heat a lot more on turf, the ball rolls differently, your touches have got to be a lot more different and you've got to concentrate more when you have the ball at your feet," Onyewu said. "But that's what being a pro's all about and I think we have the players in camp that can handle that."

The U.S. (2-0-1) currently leads its six-team group with seven points through three of 10 qualifiers, with Costa Rica (2-1-0) just one point back followed by Honduras (1-1-1) with four points and Mexico (1-2-0) with three points. El Salvador (0-1-2) and Trinidad & Tobago (0-1-2) are bringing up the rear with two points.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

June 6 Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica

Tobago tickets sold out for T&T vs Costa Rica

Tuesday, May 26th 2009

Tickets for the June 6 CONCACAF World Cup qualifier between Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, were a hot commodity yesterday.

The 2,000 tickets allocated strictly to fans from the sister isle were quickly sold out yesterday, with those for the uncovered stands disappearing by 2.15 p.m., according to CCN TV6.

Little more than an hour and a half later, the covered stand tickets had also been sold.

The Tobago ticket hotline--635-2255 (635-BALL)--was busy for most of the day, from the moment they opened at 8 a.m.

Those who were successful in reaching the ticket office will collect their tickets tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the match venue. Those purchasing tickets must walk with cash to complete payment.

The Dwight Yorke Stadium seats a maximum 7,500, a far cry from the 24,000 of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, which is currently under major renovations ahead of the inaugural Caribbean Games in July.

On Sunday afternoon, Trinidad and Tobago head coach Russell Latapy arrived in the sister isle with 23 players in his provisional squad to begin a live-in training camp ahead of the World Cup qualifier.

Following check-in at Le Grand Courlan Hotel, Latapy conducted an evening training session at the Dwight Yorke Stadium and they will continue preparations before Latapy announces a final squad a week before the all-important qualifier.

The only new addition to the squad which trained in Trinidad over the last two weeks is English-born midfielder Chris Birchall.

"As I've said before, I'm quite happy with the way things have gone so far. One of the things I wanted to achieve was getting us to a fitness level that is conducive to playing international football and we're getting there and getting enough time to get them to understand the way I want them to play as a nation. We will spend the remaining days focusing more on how we want to play the upcoming games," Latapy told TTFF media officer Shaun Fuentes.

"The professional league (Digicel Pro League) has started here and we're asking a lot of these boys to play and prepare with us, but the national team must always be a priority and we expect no less of players when it comes to them representing the country AT the international level."

On the introduction of some of the players, Latapy said he will continue to monitor their progress.

"My job is to get the best team so I have to look at everybody. I have not finalised my squad as yet but it's important that we have the best possible players involved in the preparations that would lead to us getting the best squad to play on the day," he added.

The Sunderland FC trio of Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards are scheduled to join the training camp later this week following their final Premiership fixture against Chelsea on Sunday.

T&T provisional squad in Tobago:

1. Clayton Ince; 2. Marvin Phillip; 3. Keyeno Thomas; 4. Stern John; 5. Jan Michael Williams; 6. Dennis Lawrence; 7. Marvin Andrews; 8. Hayden Tinto; 9. Nicholson Thomas; 10. Khaleem Hyland; 11. Chris Birchall; 12. Densil Theobald; 13. Trent Noel; 14. Silvio Spann; 15. Makan Hislop; 16. Radanfah Abu Bakr; 17. Keon Daniel; 18. Collin Samuel; 19. Hughton Hector; 20. Jason Scotland; 21. Kerry Baptiste; 22. Devon Jorsling; 23. Atulla Guerra.

Bradley

U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM NEWS

Bradley names 24-man roster to train for qualifiers

ESPNsoccernet news services

May 24, 2009

U.S. men's national team coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 24 players that will train in advance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. The U.S. will be seeking its first-ever victory away to Costa Rica when they meet at Estadio Saprissa on June 3.

Three days later, the city of Chicago will host its first World Cup qualifier when the U.S. welcomes Honduras to Soldier Field. The match will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Classic.

The U.S. is in first place in the final round hexagonal with an undefeated 2-0-1 record. Costa Rica sits one point behind, while Honduras holds the third position. The top three teams will automatically qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

"Clearly these next matches are very important in our efforts to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," said Bradley in a press release. "Both teams have been very good throughout the qualifying process. We are certainly aware of the challenges of playing in Costa Rica, and Honduras has produced some great results, including two wins against Mexico. We are excited for the start of a very competitive summer for our team."

The U.S. team will gather in Miami on May 26 and departs on June 1 for San Jose.

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Freddy Adu (Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)