On the eve of an important World Cup qualifier for the United States against Costa Rica, USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann is not pleased with CONCACAF’s choice of Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez as the official in charge of the match.
Klinsmann said:
“I don’t doubt that Marco Antonio Rodriguez is a great referee. But at the same time there is something I can’t get out of my head. I have eight players with a yellow card and four days later we face Mexico. Truthfully, I don’t like this.”
The eight US players who are one yellow card away from a match suspension are Jozy Altidore, Matt Besler, Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones.
When he’s not refereeing, Antonio Rodriguez — whose nickname is “El Chiqui Dracula” — is a priest. For US soccer fans, let’s hope the referee is fair.
For viewers in the United States, the match between Costa Rica and USA will be shown live on beIN SPORT Friday night beginning at 9:30pm ET.
Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:
International soccer
- Klinsmann not happy with choice of Mexican ref Marco Antonio Rodriguez vs. Costa Rica — MLS
- England haven’t a hope of winning the World Cup again. Not in 2022. Not ever — The Guardian
- Daniel Sturridge out of England’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova — The Guardian
- Rickie Lambert to start against Moldova — BBC Sport
- Wales embarrassed as lost passport grounds coach Chris Coleman ahead of Macedonia trip — Wales Online
- Azteca stadium sold out at 105,000 tickets for Mexico vs Honduras — Record
- Gareth Bale could feature for Wales in Macedonia — Sky Sports
- Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar could miss 2014 World Cup after being frozen out by QPR — Telegraph
- Hungary vs Romania: A World Cup qualifier is a hostage to history — New York Times
- Jozy Altidore healthy, but U.S. taking his situation ‘day by day’ — Pro Soccer Talk
Premier League
- Martin Demichelis out for six weeks after knee ligament injury in Man City training session — MEN
- Kolo Toure offers to change his name for Liverpool fan who got wrong tattoo — Metro
- Tottenham failed in late Pato bid — Haringey Independent
- West Ham’s attempts to re-sign Carlton Cole over as striker fails to prove fitness — Metro
- Football fans hunt for all Southampton signatures — BBC Sport
- Yeovil loanee Alan Tate has returned to parent club Swansea — Sky Sports
- Tactical analysis of how David Moyes can use Marouane Fellaini — Sportskeeda
US soccer
- Party in Portland as thorns bring home crown — Prost Amerika
- Portland Timbers acquire Brad Ring, announce Ryan Miller’s season over — Pro Soccer Talk
South American soccer
- 4 minutes of sublime Juan Roman Riquelme footwork in slow motion — Who Ate All The Pies
- Carlos Valderrama dyed his iconic hair pink for breast cancer awareness — Dirty Tackle
Serie A
The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
