Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Dec. 6, 2013
The draw for the 2014 World Cup Final groups is on Friday, Dec. 6 (live at 10:30am on ESPN2). Under FIFA's "pot" system, the USA will be paired with one of the top-seeds, an unseeded European team (possibly Italy, Holland, England, or Portugal), and one from either Africa, South America, or possibly another European... In other WC news, a crane collapse damaged a section of a stadium in São Paulo and killed two workers, and organizers in Brazil announced that at least three of the stadiums won't be ready by deadline.
The MLS Cup final, Salt Lake City at Kansas City, is Saturday, Dec. 7, 3pm on ESPN. Temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-20s at kickoff... The Women's College Cup is on ESPNU at 2pm Sunday, Dec. 8... Euro Champions League group play concludes Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 10-11 (various games on Fox networks; 1:30pm each day).
The Austin Aztex have just launched their online store; order at store.austinaztex.com and it will ship from here in town in time for the holiday season. Limited edition 2013 USL PDL Championship gear, replica jerseys, scarves, photo prints, and more!
In Tuesday's State of the League address, MLS Commissioner Don Garber listed Austin as one of six cities in the nation that might be expansion targets in the league's plan to expand by three more teams by 2020. He also cited two keys to any plan: ownership and a downtown stadium.
