The road to Rio resumes Tuesday following a three-day hiatus and provides a collection of high profile World Cup qualifying games.
These are the top five matches that are worth planning your day around.
Tuesday programming alert: USA v Mexico live on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World Online. Coverage begins at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT. | TV schedule
USA vs. Mexico
The region’s two powerhouses both suffered humiliating defeats on Friday. The panic button was inevitably pushed by Mexico following the 2-1 defeat to Honduras on a rain drenched pitch at the Azteca Stadium, the weather perfectly describing the mood in the country following the final whistle. Jose Manuel de la Torre was finally relieved of his managerial duties three hours after the embarrassing result, with his assistant Luis Fernando Tena taking over on a temporary basis. The disastrous Hex campaign under de la Torre has garnered only a single victory and a total of eight points from seven matches, with a solitary goal in qualifying and absent of a win at the Azteca in 2013.
Mexico sits fourth in the group, two points outside an automatic qualification places, and six points back of table-toppers Costa Rica. If results don’t improve in El Tri’s remaining three matches, the best case scenario is a two-legged playoff against New Zealand for a spot in Brazil next summer.
The Americans’ 12-match win streak was ended by Costa Rica with a 3-1 loss, effectively surrendering top spot in the group. The rivalry will be magnified based on the importance of maximum points for both nations, more so for the Mexicans. A win for the U.S., coupled with anything but a loss by Honduras against Panama, would clinch a seventh-straight World Cup berth. However, manager Jurgen Klinsmann will likely be missing four starters (Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler) for the game in Columbus.
Ukraine vs. England
Wayne Rooney wasn’t missed on Friday, as Steven Gerrard scored his first international goal in more than three years and Rickie Lambert notching his second England goal in as many matches at Wembley Stadium in the 4-0 victory over Moldova. Danny Welbeck netted a brace, but picked up a controversial and rather harsh booking — cautioned for kicking the ball after the whistle — that will keep him out of the crucial trip to Kiev. It has left manager Roy Hodgson with a severely depleted forward line, as Daniel Sturridge is the latest casualty. He joins the growing list of strikers (Welbeck, Rooney and Andy Carroll) unable to participate in this pivotal match-up. All the responsibility now falls onto the shoulders of Lambert to lead the attack, and judging by his performances, the lack of international experience not be an issue for Hodgson.
The Ukrainians are coming into the match on a tremendous high, smashing nine goals past bottom-feeders San Marino in Lviv, with eight players getting on the score sheet. Ukraine’s victory, coupled with Montenegro’s 1-1 draw in Poland on Friday, has made qualification a three-horse race. England sits atop of the group with a game in hand on Montenegro, but tied on points (15). Similar to their opponents this week, Ukraine hold the advantage of having to an extra match to play, with only a single point separating them from the pack leaders. However, the road ahead for Ukraine manager Mykhaylo Fomenko is not as treacherous as his counterpart’s in the England dugout. After hosting England and Poland, maximum points are the likely outcome when Ukraine travels to San Marino for their final group game. Hodgson must first manoeuvre past the Ukrainians, before hosting the Montenegrins and the Poles.
Italy vs. Czech Republic
The Czechs’ shocking 2-1 loss to Armenia on Friday could very well be the knockout blow to their World Cup aspirations. The 17,628 in attendance at Slavia Prague’s Eden Arena were left stunned through Karlen Mrtchyan’s 30-yard rocket that opened the scoring, and were in a state of disbelief following Gevorg Ghazaryan’s injury-time winner which gave the visitors a memorable victory.
With Italy beating Bulgaria 1-0 in Palermo, and Denmark’s 2-1 victory in Malta, four teams are separated by one point for the final qualifying playoff place. The Azzurri all but assured themselves top spot, sitting on 17 points with three matches left to play.
Czech manager Michal Bilek is under a tremendous amount of pressure to secure maximum points at Juventus Stadium, or face the prospect of falling further off the pace. Bulgaria is expected to take all three points in Malta, while the result between Denmark and Armenia in Yerevan is not as easy to predict. Italy has yet to mathematically book their place and will be determined to clinch with two matches to spare. Low on confidence and morale, the Czechs are in a tough spot and have zero room for any other slip ups. It’s a must-win at this point.
Uruguay vs. Colombia
A lengthy suspension at club level hasn’t slowed down Luis Suarez’s proficiency in front of goal. The forward scored a brace on Friday to almost single-handedly defeat Peru 2-1 in Lima, giving Uruguay back-to-back wins and breathing life into what looked like a doomed qualifying campaign. The Liverpool star has scored seven goals in eight games for la Celeste since receiving a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. Suarez leads all CONMEBOL scorers with 10 goals in qualifying.
Heading into this match in Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario, the hosts are two points adrift of the final automatic qualification place (fourth), currently occupied by Ecuador (21 points), who travel to Bolivia. Manager Oscar Tabarez must maximize Uruguay’s undefeated record on home soil (three wins and one draw), and cannot risk falling further behind by throwing away valuable points. Colombia poses a very serious threat, having convincingly beaten the Uruguayans 4-0 last year in the reverse fixture.
The Colombians are tied on points with Argentina (26 points) in the group, but sit in second spot on goal difference, and look all but certain to make their first World Cup appearance in 16 years. Of the top five teams in South America, Uruguay has conceded the most goals (22), and will be put to the test against a high octane offence lead by Radamel Falcao (seven goals) and Teofilo Gutierrez (five).
Russia vs. Israel
A poor result against Azerbaijan (1-1) at their Ramat Gan Stadium has put a serious dent into Israel’s qualification hopes. A victory would have put real pressure on the Russians ahead of their encounter on Tuesday. Instead, Israel squandered the chance of moving within a point of their hosts. Instead, the Israelis sit three points behind Russia for second heading into St. Petersburg, and five points back of Portugal for top spot with a game in hand. The situation looks grim, especially when glancing at the remaining schedule. Israel must win in Russia to draw level on points for a decent chance at the final playoff place in the group, as they’ll travel to Portugal next and host Northern Ireland on the final match-day.
Fabio Capello ideally only needs a split of the points at the Petrovsky Stadium, as Russia’s final two matches are away to Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, who are both without a win in qualifying. But a victory would put them top of the group with 18 points, one ahead of Portugal. Confidence is high following a 4-1 victory in Kazan against Luxembourg, and if past results are anything to go by (Russia won 4-0 in Israel), the visitors might have missed their opportunity to clinch only their second World Cup birth. Maximum points would put Russia in the driver’s seat and in complete control of their destiny.