Sunday’s 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final live on ESPN from Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, - a 3-2 victory for Brazil over the United States - was the most-watched non-FIFA World Cup match featuring the U.S. Men’s Soccer National Team on the network, with an average of 3.945 million viewers.  The telecast, aired Sunday, June 28, at 2 p.m. ET, was seen by an average of 2.556 million television homes, based on a 2.6 rating.

The match, in which Brazil, No. 5 in the FIFA World Rankings, overcame a 2-0 deficit in the first half to defeat the 14th ranked U.S. Team, also delivered the third largest audience for a U.S. Men’s National Team match on ESPN, trailing two World Cup matches - June 21, 2002, Germany vs. U.S., seen by 5.335 million viewers, and June 22, 1994, U.S. vs. Colombia, seen by 4.810 million viewers.

The five most-viewed U.S. Men’s Team matches:

June 21, 2002
2002 World Cup-Qtr-final
Germany vs. U.S.
5,335,000

June 22, 1994
1994 World Cup-1st RD
U.S. vs. Colombia
4,810,000

June 28, 2009
FIFA Confed Cup-Final
U.S. vs. Brazil
3,945,000

June 22, 2006
2006 World Cup-1st RD
Ghana vs. U.S.
3,819,000

June 16, 2002
2002 World Cup-2nd RD
Mexico vs. U.S.
2,935,000

June 28, 2009
Miami, USA

The US men’s national soccer team are on killer roll and Brazil is next on their menu.

After eliminating Spain in the Semi-finals  - FIFA’s #1 ranked World Soccer Nation with a convincing 0-2 defeat - the US now turn to another giant with a score to settle - Brazil.

Os Brasileiros beat the US in the opening group match with a respectful 3-0 scoreline.  The US can point to a poor red card decision which left them with 10 men for a good part of the game, but regardless of the bad call there was no doubt that Brazil toyed with the US ambitions of securing any positive results.. The US played too cautious and with too much respect and with a lack of evident strategy for this match. But how things have changed.

Fastforward 1 week and we’ve seen a US squad that have found their form, hunger and belief which can be compared to the Euro 2004 Champion’s Greece. Can the USA upset the Samba boys in the similar fashion as the Greeks did the Portuguese? Will Brazil learn from Spain’s mistakes? Can the US overcome a determined 5 time World Cup Champion? As the USA look towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition in a weeks’ time their minds are strictly on the football. The same can not be said about the Brazilians who have mostly returned from long seasons in Europe and will be looking forward to a month off with their rodizio and buffet of model girlfriends, sandy beaches, caipirinhas and superhero homecoming to their beloved Brazil.

The bookies will be favoring Brazil with near 7-1 odds to win the Confederations Cup but the Americans have never been so close to such glory.  A win over Brazil is achievable. Afterall it’s only 90 minutes of football and anything can happen. A win will give the US  their first recognized global achievement and boost the sport of soccer to unseen levels, something the sport can definetely use in these times. After seeing Egypt go down and later Spain.. i say.. why not? wierder things have happened.   Viva USA.. For the love of this sport in North America i say go for it!  Viva the Beautiful game.

U.S. National Team’s 2-0 Upset Victory Over No. 1-Ranked Spain an “Instant Classic” on ESPN2 at 11 p.m. ET

ESPN2 will present an “Instant Classic” re-air of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team’s 2-0 FIFA Confederations Cup semifinal victory over Spain tonight at 11 p.m. ET.  The match, played in Bloemfontein, South Africa, ranks as one of the biggest upsets in U.S. Soccer history - rivaling previous victories versus Columbia in the 1994 World Cup, Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup and Portugal in the 2002 World Cup

With the victory, the U.S. Team, No. 15 in FIFA World Rankings, ended No. 1 Spain’s world-record winning streak at 15 and its 2 1/2-year unbeaten run at 35.  The U.S. Team will play the winner of Thursday’s Brazil vs. South Africa semifinal match (2:25 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV) in Sunday’s title match in Johannesburg.  Sunday’s match (2:25 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV) will be the first appearance for a U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team in the title match of a major FIFA event.

Thursday June 25th at 14:30 EST - Watch Brazil vs South Africa Live Semi-final for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Brazil have been grooving through all their games having won all 3 games and secured all 9 points all in gaining confidence and with the flair that has defined Brazil as a soccer nation over the past 50 years. Their dismantling of Italy was textbook  Brazil as they gained confidence as each minute went on. Playmaker Kaka is looking amazing with speed, quick passing and smart give and gos. Dunga’s decision to keep Robinho in the squad has paid off big time as the forward bring cockiness into a samba like fluid attack. What you can’t hear behind the load noise of the swarming bee horns is the beats of Samba. Perhaps the South Africa fans will drown out the drum beats on Thursday but expect Brazil to bring the beat back on the pitch.

South Africa as the hosting nation has deservedly booked a place in the Confederation’s Cup semi-final.. and with the spirit of Africa behind them feel they have a chance in advancing to the finals.. however they have a massive hurdle ahead of them in the name of the Seleccao Canarinha AKA Brazil. Bafana Bafana or Samba Samba.. whatever the result the music will be sweet.

Watch Brazil vs South Africa Live on June 24th, 2009 at 14:30 EST

On Sunday June 21st -  The USA were facing sure elmination unless they beat Egypt and would need Brazil to beat Italy. On top of that.. they would need a 6 goal swing in their favor to edge Italy for 2nd place. it would be an understatement but the odds were surely against them. It all happened.. amazing sport this football is.  Italy got treated some humble pie by the confident Brazilians as they took one of their biggest losses - going down 3-0 by half time.. The scoreline remained the same by end of regulation time. The USA unaware of the results in the Brazil vs Italy game decided to take things into their own hands and played Egypt off the park. Egypt looked defeated and frustrated while the US were playing with hunger and confidence. Perhaps it was the loss of the prolific Egyptian Zidan or perhaps the goalie was shook up with that gash to his head.. but by the end of the 90 Minutes.. the USA were up 3-0 against Egypt and Brazil were up 3-0 against Italy.  3 crucial points for USA and 6 swing goals in their favor. Qualification to the semi-finals secured.  A match scheduled with Spain on June 24th for a chance to knock the top World team out of the tournament.

Again the odds will be against the USA as they play on Wednesday June 24th Spain vs USA Live at 14:30 EST

Spain have just set a world record by going on a 15 game winning streak and have not lost a game since November of 2006. Boosted by the confidence of winning the Euro 2008 cup, having Barcelona winning the Champions League, a return of champion coach Del Bosque to the squad and massive amounts of confidence - it is no wonder the bookies will be favoring Spain on all fronts. But this is football my friends.. Watch USA vs Spain Live on June 24th, 2009.

Each Network Will Offer Exclusive Spanish and English-language Multiplatform Coverage of Spain’s La Liga

New York City – June 22,  2009 — GolTV, the only live bilingual channel delivering 24/7 international soccer,  which holds exclusive TV rights to Spain’s La Liga and ESPN have reached an agreement  for Spanish and English-language multimedia rights to Spain’s La Liga in the U.S. through 2012.  The two multimedia companies will now share coverage of one of the world’s most popular and most watched football leagues — Spain’s La Liga.

With this deal, GolTV and ESPN will give La Liga fans in the U.S. the ability to see an unprecedented number of games.  Under the terms of the agreement, in addition to the 120 live games in English and Spanish that will be televised on GolTV, ESPN Deportes will provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of more than 95 La Liga regular-season matches live and ESPN Deportes Radio will broadcast select matches live.  ESPN360.com – ESPN’s live sports broadband network – will stream at least 114 matches, including simulcast of all 95 ESPN Deportes matches live in English.  ESPN2 will televise select matches and ESPN Mobile TV (on FLO TV and MobiTV) will also stream select games live to mobile devices.  Additional coverage will include a highlights show on match days on ESPN Deportes, as well as re-air rights across ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.

ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com will also have rights to Copa del Rey, Spain’s domestic cup tournament.

ESPNdeportes.com – the company’s Spanish-language Web site, and ESPNSoccernet – the leading soccer news and information site, will deliver complete coverage including highlights and news video,  original reporting, columns, match previews, player profiles and real-time scores and data.

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ESPN will Show Live 46 matches until 2010 and  23 a Season From 2010-2013

22 June, 2009

The Premier League today awarded ESPN two exclusive live media packages for the 2009/2010 season, and one package from August 2010 for the following three seasons. The agreement means ESPN will deliver fans in the UK 46 Barclays Premier League matches this coming season and 23 matches each season after that until May 2013.

“We are clearly delighted that our bid for exclusive media rights to the Barclays Premier League matches in the UK has been successful,” said Lynne Frank, ESPN Managing Director in Europe, Middle East and Africa.  “This is a huge step for our business, and we look forward to working with the Premier League, football clubs and distributors to bring UK sports fans all the excitement they expect in Premier League football.”
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Group A of the Confederation’s Cup has concluded it’s games leaving it’s first 2 victims in Iraq and New Zealand.  Hosts South African advance and so does the record breaking Spanish team (now with 15 straight wins).

The final standing like this for Group A Confederations Cup:

FIFA Confederations Cup - Groups & Standings

Group A Table Standings

            Team    MP W D L GF GA Pts

* 1. Spain        3  3  0  0  7  0  9

* 2. South Africa 2  1  1  1  2  1  4

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 3. Iraq         3  0  2  1  0  1  2

 4. New Zealand  2  0  1  2  0  7  1

These teams await today’s exciting matches between Brazil v Italy and USA v Egypt both scheduled for 2:30 pm this afternoon and available on ESPN & ESPN2 respectively.

The semi-finals are scheduled for June 24th (wednesday) at 2:30 pm. Spain won the group and will face the 2nd place team of Group B. South Africa will face the first place team in Group B.

Semi-final #1 - FIFA Confederations Cup Live:

Spain vs Group B - 2nd Place

Semi-final #2 - FIFA Confederations Cup Live:

Groub B - 1st Place vs South Africa

Here are the likely Scenarios for the Semi-Final teams based on todays possible results:

Likely Scenario 1 - If Brazil win and Egypt win:

Group B Table Standings

            Team               W D L Pts

* 1. Brazil       3  0  0  9

* 2. Egypt        2  0  1  6

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 3. Italy         1  0  2  3

 3. USA           0  0  3  3

We’d then have the following Semi-Final matches ups

Spain vs Egypt

Brazil vs South Africa

Likely Scenario 2 - If Italy win and Egypt win:

Group B Table Standings

            Team               W D L Pts

 1. Brazil       2  0  1  9

 2. Egypt        2  0  1  6

 3. Italy        2  0  1  6

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 3. USA           0  0  3  3

We’d then have a situation where goal differential for each nation would determine who advances.

Brazil will get eliminated from the FIFA Confederations Cup if they lose to italy by two or more goals and an Egypt win by three goals against the United States.

Egypt will get eliminated form the FIFA Confederations cup if Brazil beats Italy by a goal and if USA beats Egypt,

Italy can get eliminated even if they win Brazil.. this scenario would take place if Italy beat Brazil by one goal and Egypt wins the USA by 3 goals, creating the 3 way tie as per above table. Goal differential in this situation would be Brasil 3, Egypt 3, Italy 2.

USA will most likely be eliminated unless the following happens. They must win Egypt on Sunday. And Italy must lose to Brazil.  As well the USA will need to beef up their goal differential which currently stands at -5.

Likely Scenario 3 - If Brazil & Italy Tie and Egypt Win:

Group B Table Standings

            Team               W D L Pts

* 1. Brazil       2  1  0  7

* 2. Egypt        2  0  1  6

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 3. Italy         1  1  1  4

 3. USA           0  0  3  3

We’d then have an Italy elimination from the FIFA Confederation Cup and the following Semi-Final matches ups

Spain vs Egypt

Brazil vs South Africa

This is football.. with numerous outcomes and a wave of emotions that occur inside the 90 minute match. Today’s group B matches will bring millions of football fans around the world excitement and nail biting action right up to the last minute of extra time. It’s quite possible that we could have one of the following scenarios for the FIFA Confederations Cup Semi-final

• Spain vs Egypt
  Spain vs Brazil
  Spain vs Italy
  Spain vs USA
• Brazil vs South Africa
  Egypt vs South Africa
  Italy vs South Africa

So if you have nothing planned for this Sunday afternoon.. get ready to watch some exciting international football. If you do have something else planned.. then as a football fan i urge you to tune into one of the following matches and get stuck in mate!

Watch Italy vs Brazil Live at 2:00 PM (est) on ESPN BBC3, CBC, ESPN 360,  Univision and online… June 21, 2009

Watch US vs Egypt Live at 2:30 PM on Telefutura, ESPN2, ESPN 360, GolTV-Canada… June 21, 2009

Many Italians and Brazilians will be tuning in Sunday June 21st at 2:30 PM EST to watch a massive match taking place in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa.

This is the 3rd match in the qualifying group which contains Brazil, Italy, USA and Egypt. The funny thing is that with 2 games played there is a possbility that each team can still qualify or get eliminated.

The standings at this point are: Brazil 6 pts, Italy 3 pts, Egypt 3 pts, USA 0 pts.

Outcome Scenarios:

Brazil v Italy Match - June 21st at 2:30 pm

If Brazil wins Italy - Brazil will have 9 pts and Italy will remain with 3 pts.  Brazil will win the group and most likely avoid Spain in the Semi-Final. Italy will be eliminated.

If Brazil vs Italy results in a Tie - then Brazil will win the group and Italy will remain on 4 pts. If Egypt win their game with the USA then Italy will be eliminated and Egypt will secure second place and be rewarded with a semi-final encounter with Spain.

It Brazil vs Italy results in an Italian victory, then, Italy and Brazil will both have 6 pts.. And goal differential and head to head results will be used to determine who advances.. If Egypt win and also secure 6 pts.  There will be a 3 way tie.. and it will come down to goal differential between these 3 teams.

USA vs Egypt Live Match at June 21, 2:30 pm EST

USA still has a remote mathematical chance of qualifying.. for this to occur, the US Soccer team will need to win the USA vs Egypt match. and will need Brazil to beat Italy. This scenario would leave the group looking like this: Brazil 9 pts, Italy 3 pts, Egypt 3 pts, USA 3 pts. And it will come down to the goal differential of these teams. USA will need to score a massive amount of goals in order to pull out of their negative differential.. right now current with 1 goal scored and 6 suffered leaving them with a -5 goal differential.  Egypt have scored 4 and suffered 4 with a 0 goal differential. The Italians have scored 3 and suffered 2 with a +1 goal differential. So if the USA score 5 goals and italy lose by more than 2 goals.. then they have a chance.. however the way Egypt have been playing i think this will be an unlikely scenario.

This will be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.. and the reward for 2nd place will be to face a killer Spain team that has now gone undefeated since Nov of 2006.

Do yourself a favor and tune into these matches on Sunday June 21st for a great afternoon of international footbal.

Watch Brazil v Italy live at 2:30pm June 21st.

Watch USA vs Egypt live at 2:30pm June 21st.

Please Visit http://www.livesoccertv.com/livefooty.html for the Live Soccer Schedule published weekly including the FIFA Confederation Cup 2009, Copa Libertadores & Euro 2009 TV Schedule