11.09. (Wed) 02:00 USA - Mexico

Mexico begin life without Jose Manuel De La Torre when they take on the USA on Tuesday.



The coach was sacked following his side's shock 2-1 home defeat to Honduras on Friday, a result that left the Central American outfit in fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying section for Brazil 2014.



Luis Fernando Tena will take charge for the clash with Jurgen Klinsmann's side, who will be out to bounce back after being knocked off top spot following a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica.



Clint Dempsey scored a first-half penalty for the US in San Jose on Friday, but the hosts seized the initiative in the group thanks to goals from Jhonny Acosta, Celso Borges and Joel Campbell.



And Klinsmann will have to try and inspire his players to respond to this disappointment without a number of his key men.



Jozy Altidore, Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron are all suspended, while Roma midfielder Michael Bradley also misses out after picking up an ankle injury while warming-up for the game against Costa Rica.



Still, the US - who reached the last 16 of the World Cup in 2010 - will be confident of taking maximum points in Columbus, with Mexico winless in the last three meetings between the teams.

Read More

11.09. (Wed) 02:00 Venezuela - Peru

Venezuela and Peru will both be aiming to keep their hopes of World Cup 2014 qualification alive when they meet on Tuesday.



Cesar Farias' men sit sixth in the South American qualification section, just three points behind Uruguay, who currently occupy the all-important fifth spot that will earn a play-off against either Jordan or Uzbekistan.



Meanwhile, Peru travel to Puerto La Cruz just two points behind Venezuela, although their chances of finishing fifth took a severe blow when a Luis Suarez double condemned them to a 2-1 home defeat to Uruguay on Friday.



Sergio Markarian's side have now lost their last two qualifiers, but will be buoyed by the fact they came from behind to beat Venezuela 2-1 in the reverse qualifying fixture in Lima last September.



Jefferson Farfan netted twice on that occasion after Juan Arango's opener for Farias' team and the Schalke forward - along with Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro - is again likely to be their main threat.



Venezuela go into the match in desperate need of a positive result to snap their sequence of four Conmebol qualification fixtures without a win.



They were beaten 3-0 by an in-form Chile in Santiago on Friday and slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay in their previous home qualifier in June.

Read More

10.09. (Tue) 20:30 FYR Macedonia - Scotland

Macedonia will have their sights set on third spot in Group A as they seek to end their home qualifying campaign with a win over Scotland.

Cedomir Janevski's men have three games left but Tuesday's visit of the group's bottom side signals their final match on home soil.



The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is already beyond their reach but third-placed Serbia are just one point ahead, having played a game more.



Macedonia are fresh from Friday's 2-1 victory over Wales, their fifth win in six games at their national stadium.

Ivan Trickovski and Aleksandar Trajkovski were on target as Gareth Bale, the world's most expensive player, remained on the bench for the visitors.



The result saw Scotland slip to the foot of Group A, as they were overcome 2-0 by a superior Belgium side at Hampden Park, with Macedonia moving up two places.



And Scotland manager Gordon Strachan admitted that the Belgians were simply too good a proposition for his side.



"That's the best team we've played since I took over," he said. "Belgium were magnificent.



"It was like a heavyweight boxer up against a flyweight. They've got speed, height, strength - and we don't."



Scotland come into this game having only won once during their campaign, and Strachan will be keen to rectify that in order to avoid finishing at the bottom of the group.



Macedonia are sure to pose a challenge, though, as they look for their third straight international victory.



The two sides played out a well-contested 1-1 draw when they met at Hampden Park last September, after Kenny Miller cancelled out Nikolce Noveski's early opener.

Read More

10.09. (Tue) 13:00 South Korea - Croatia

South Korea will go in search of revenge when they take on Croatia in a friendly on Tuesday.



Igor Stimac's side thumped the Taegeuk Warriors the last time the two sides clashed back in Februrary, powering to a 4-0 win at Craven Cottage thanks to goals from Mario Mandzukic, Darijo Srna, Nikica Jelavic and Mladen Petric.



However, South Korea have since qualified for World Cup 2014, with the 2002 semi-finalists progressing to the tournament in Brazil despite a 1-0 defeat to Iran in their final game in June.



Hong's side will also have home advantage on their side for the game at the Jeonju World Cup stadium and face a Croatia team that has struggled for consistency in recent times.



Stimac's charges are five points adrift of Belgium in their qualification group and appear set to face a play-off for a place in the finals after their 1-1 draw with Serbia on Friday.



That result made it just three wins from six for Croatia, with a defeat against Scotland - who have already been eliminated from the World Cup - in June underlining their current problems.

Read More

10.09. (Tue) 12:20 Japan - Ghana

Ghana travel to Japan for an international friendly on Tuesday following their crucial World Cup qualifying victory over Zambia.



Kwesi Appiah's side went into the crucial match in Kumasi one point ahead of their visitors knowing that anything other than a defeat would take them through to the third stage of the CAF qualifying section for Brazil 2014.



Ghana, whose only defeat in Group D came in the reverse fixture against the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations champions, secured a narrow 2-1 win as Abdul Waris and Kwadwo Asamoah gave them a two-goal lead before Emmanuel Mbola pulled one back for the visitors.



But while Ghana have another stage of qualifying to go through to seal their place in next year's showpiece, Japan were the first side to reach Brazil 2014 after their 1-1 draw with Australia on June 4.



Japan's latest fixture came in a friendly against Guatemala at Nagai Stadium on Friday and goals from Keisuke Honda, Masato Kudo and Yasuhito Endo swept aside Sergio Pardo's side.

And following his side's 3-0 win, coach Alberto Zaccheroni called on the team to keep up their level of intensity in their next matches.



"We put good pressure on our opponents, particularly in midfield, while keeping our backline high. Our forwards pressed their opponents well, too, which kept Guatemala from moving up-field," he said.



"I hope we can continue doing that against other, high-ranked opponents in our upcoming games."



His Ghanaian counterpart Appiah was also in a content mood after his team's vital victory over Zambia.



"We needed to either get a win or get a draw and the most important thing our aim was to try and get a win which I think the players did very well," he explained.



"Zambia have got a very good team and it was not going to be easy game and we saw that."



Since earning qualification for the World Cup, Japan have been inconsistent as they have beaten nations such as Korea Republic, Australia and Iraq, but succumbed to three losses at the FIFA Confederations Cup.



Ghana, on the other hand, have lost only twice in their last nine matches.

Read More