- 7,868
- 4,106
second place
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Back on track baby Who would've thought we'd be in good shape and Mexico would kinda be in dire straits goin into Tuesday
Back on track baby Who would've thought we'd be in good shape and Mexico would kinda be in dire straits goin into Tuesday
I'm jealous!!Imma need a few days to thaw out. But for now, back to the bar!
Report: Costa Rica to file protest on snow
Costa Rica plans to file an official protest with FIFA about Friday's 1-0 loss to the United States in a Rocky Mountain snowstorm, according to a Reuters report.
A Costa Rica soccer federation official told domestic media that the protest would be made Saturday, Reuters reported. Costa Rica has 24 hours to file a written protest with FIFA.
Byron Hetzler/USA TODAY SportsCosta Rica defender Juan Diego Madrigal falls in the snow as U.S. forward Herculez Gomez looks for the ball in the second half Friday night.
Plows and shovels were used to clear the penalty areas, center circle and midfield stripe as snow got heavier, and a yellow-and-purple ball was used.
Ten minutes into the second half, Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto wanted referee Joel Aguilar of El Salvador and match commissioner Victor Daniel of Grenada to suspend the game, but U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann made a case for playing on.
Play continued after some heated discussion. Pinto was angry during and after the game.
"I asked them to stop. They should suspend the ref," Pinto said. "It was an embarrassment. It was an insult to Costa Rica and people coming in here."
The Denver area was bracing for 6 to 12 inches of snow early Saturday morning and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning shortly before the game ended, according to the Denver Post. The service expected the heaviest snow to fall to the north and east of Denver, where ****'s Sporting Goods Park is located, the newspaper reported.
Pinto said the "legal conditions" for playing were not met, according to Reuters.
Visibility in the Denver area dropped from two miles at the end of the first half to a half-mile an hour later, according to the National Weather Service.
[h4]More from ESPNFC.com[/h4]Time to take your hand off the panic button, America. After a week in which we wondered which U.S. team would show up Friday, the U.S. beat a feisty Costa Rican side, albeit amidst farcical scenes, writes Roger Bennett. Blog
• Bennett: Unity on full display for U.S.
Clint Dempsey's goal gave the Americans some priceless momentum ahead of Tuesday's titanic clash against Mexico in the Estadio Azteca, writes Jeff Carlisle, who hands out his player grades.Blog
• Five Aside: U.S. up to 68.8 percent odds to qualify
After a vital 1-0 win over Costa Rica, Doug McIntyre explains how on a snowy night the depleted U.S. back line came up with a huge performance and what that means for the match against Mexico on Tuesday. Blog
• McIntyre : U.S. confident with pressure off
"You couldn't see the lines. You couldn't see the ball. You couldn't play," Costa Rica midfielder Michael Barrantes said.
Costa Rica players didn't complain much during the game, but expressed frustration afterward.
"Honestly, it was robbery, a disgrace, I've never played a game in these conditions," midfielder Cristian Bolanos told Reuters. "You couldn't see the ball ... if we had played without snow, we would have won, I am sure."
One other World Cup qualifying match, between Northern Ireland and Russia, was postponed Friday -- and again Saturday -- because of snow in Belfast.
U.S. federation president Sunil Gulati said the referee made the right decision to continue playing Friday.
"Frankly, (stopping) would not have been to the advantage of either of the two teams, since they both play on Tuesday," Gulati told reporters. "Obviously you worry about the safety of players and being able to see the ball. The referee and the match commissioner made the decision that the game could continue and I think it was the right decision."
Gulati said the U.S. chose to play the game in Colorado in preparation for the altitude in Tuesday's game in Mexico City, and not to put its Central American opponent at a disadvantage with uncomfortable weather.
Mexico City is about a half-mile higher above sea level than the mile-high conditions around Denver.
"If the thought is that we want to play Costa Rica in a situation where it could snow, then there are some places that maybe could have been better, like Boston or somewhere," Gulati said, according to Reuters.
That snow fro
Tab Ramos' side will have a treacherous road at this summer's competition, while regional champion Mexico will have to face Paraguay, Greece and a to-be-determined African side.
Bring on the Group of Death.
The U.S. Under-20 men's national team learned that it will face European powers Spain and France and an African qualifier in this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey after the draw was conducted Monday.
Mexico, which defeated the United States for the regional U-20 title, will play against Paraguay, Greece and an Afican qualifier in its group.
CONCACAF's other two entrants in the tournament were Cuba and El Salvador. The former was drawn with South Korea, Portugal and an African qualifier, while the latter drew host Turkey, Colombia and Australia.
The African U-20 teams, Egypt, Mali, Ghana and Nigeria will be distributed among the groups on March 30 following the conclusion of their U-20 tournament. The champion will not wind up in either the USA's group or Mexico's group. The Oceania entrant, which will be either Fiji or New Zealand, will be known when that qualifying tournament concludes March 29.
The 24-team World Cup will run from June 21 to July 13, with the final taking place at Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul.
Here is the U-20 World Cup draw in full, with the top two finishers in each group and the top four third-place finishers sealing a place in the knockout stage:
GROUP A
Spain
African qualifier
USA
France
GROUP B
South Korea
African qualifier
Cuba
Porgual
GROUP C
Colombia
Australia
El Salvador
Turkey
GROUP D
Mexico
African qualifier
Paraguay
Greece
GROUP E
African champion
Iraq
Chile
England
GROUP F
Fiji/New Zealand
Uzbekistan
Uruguay
Croatia
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