In case you missed it

This is what a 5-0 ass-kicking looks like:



Still, the game could have gone in Pachuca's favor early on had their chances been a bit more on target. But it wasn't meant to be.

Pachuca's out

No Copa Libertadores for Pachuca.

Universidad de Chile lost in Pachuca 2-1 on Wednesday but the Chileans got the road goal they needed and won on the tiebreaker as the aggregate series finished tied at 2-2.

The following statistic would take some actual research but it's been a while since Mexico did not get three teams into Copa Libertadores. Not sure how many years but it seems each year three Mexican teams are in the tournament and most of the time they all get past the first round.

Here are the highlights:

Catching up

Several items of note came down over the last couple of days but I was squeezed out of time from posting them. Here are some of the more notable things that happened over the last couple of days.

* The U.S. will formally announce their intentions of launching a simultaneous bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. On Monday, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati will host a conference call and will announce the executive director of the bids and will provide more details on the United States' plans. Apparently, Monday is FIFA's application deadline for both World Cups, and the only stipulation at this point is that the applicant nation has the means to host such an event. It's safe to say the U.S. has the means and wherewithal to host the World Cup.

* U.S. coach Bob Bradley has a squad of 20 players in camp to continue preparations for the opening Hexagonal match against Mexico on Feb. 11. This team features all MLS-based players - save for Charlie Davies - but it doesn't mean it lacks experience. Brian Ching, Frankie Hejduk, Jonathan Bornstein and Ricardo Clark are in camp and all have played in meaningful games against Mexico and have all stood out against El Tri.

Here's the full roster:

GK: Jon Busch (Chicago), William Hesmer (Columbus), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids).
Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Ugo Ihemelu (Colorado), Chris Wingert (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).
Midfielders: Brian Carroll (Columbus), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Eddie Gaven (Columbus), Stuart Holden (Houston), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), John Thorrington (Chicago).
Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Chris Rolfe (Chicago)

* Pachuca lost to Chilean side Universidad Catolica 1-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores play-in series. Pachuca needs a victory next week in order to qualify for the tournament.

* David Beckham scored another goal for Milan, this one off a free kick. Becks now has two goals in two consecutive games for Milan but suffered an injury that may keep him out of this weekend's match against Lazio. Still, the goal fueled speculation that Becks will stay with Milan as the Italian club continues their pursuit of landing the Galaxy's midfielder on a full-time basis.

Pachuca's opponent: U de Chile

San Luis and Chivas are already in Copa Libertadores but Pachuca could add to the number of Mexican teams in South America's top international tournament. Pachuca will face Universidad de Chile on Wednesday in the first of two legs that will determine a spot in the tournament proper.

Most of us are familiar with Pachuca, as they've done well in Mexican league play and have met MLS clubs in various competitions in recent years. But what's the deal with their opponents? The Touchline's Sean Grybos took a look at U de Chile ahead of the clubs' play-in series:

Copa Libertadores Preview: Universidad de Chile

In the Preliminary Round, Pachuca will play in a home-and-away series against Universidad de Chile. Pachuca travels to Chile on January 28 and hosts Universidad on February 4. The away goals rule will be utilized if needed. The winner will advance to the Group Stage.

The side qualified for South America’s most prestigious tournament by winning the Group Stage of Chile’s Clausura 2008. In the stage, the club scored 38 points on a 12-2-4 record. Since 2004, a domestic title has eluded La U.

Stadium: Estadio Nacional: With a capacity for over 77,000 supporters, the Santiago-based stadium is also used by the Chilean national team.

Manager: Sergio Markarián: After his successful 2008 run at Mexico’s Cruz Azul where he lead the side to the finals of both the 2008 Clausura and 2008 Apertura, the Uruguayan manager moved to Universidad. Will he find the same amount of success in Chile?

Key Squad Members

Manuel Villalobos: The 28-year-old forward is a capable scorer. He came up through the youth ranks of rivals Colo-Colo but now calls La U home.

Rafael Olarra: This is the defender’s third stint with the club after several forays in Europe. Will the 30-year-old captain be able to organize the back against an efficient Pachuca attack?

Miguel Pinto: The 25-year-old goalkeeper has spent his entire career at the U starting over 100 league games since 2004.

Adios Tuzos

Pachuca's hopes of reaching the FIFA Club World Cup final ended in disaster as los Tuzos crashed out with a 2-0 loss to Liga de Quito earlier this morning.

The first goal was a nightmare as it took a strange deflection off a defender and went right into the path of a Quito player. The second goal was a well-taken free kick. Pachuca, though, used their magic to come from behind against Al-Ahly and had little left in the tank to mount another such comeback.

Here are the goals, and I'm not sure Miguel Calero could have done much more to stop either goal:

First, the deflection.



Here's the free kick goal:

Arriba los Tuzos

Pachuca beat Al-Ahly of Egypt 4-2 in the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this morning. The Egyptians went up 2-0 at halftime but Pachuca did well to get back in the game. Los Tuzos tied it up on set piece goals from Luis Montes and Christian Gimenez and won it in extra time on goals by Damian Alvarez and Gimenez.

Pachuca plays Liga de Quito in Wednesday's semifinal.

Here are the highlights. You could probably skip the first two minutes and be okay.