Do, or die a painful death

One of the stories we'll be keeping a close eye on here is World Cup qualifying, in particular the Mexico-Honduras game as well as the US-Guatemala match.

Mexico, of course, is in a dire position... okay, well, maybe not dire in the sense that they can lose and still advance to the next round, but it's certainly not a desirable position. If Mexico comes out with guns blazing and wins in convincing fashion, then these last two games can easily be dismissed. But if Mexico struggles and ties or loses and still goes through, perhaps there will be some sort of lingering negative affects come the Hexagonal next year.

As for the US, there is no such emotion heading into tonight's game. It's all about auditions now as players will either try to secure their starting spot, try to show they should get more playing time or just try and get more call-ups. This will likely be the last US match until the annual end-of-January game at HDC, and for that matter likely the last activity until camp breaks in January at HDC.

Here's a story from Grahame Jones of the LA Times that touches on Mexico's fate as well as pieces on what else is going on in the world of international soccer today.