Here are the hands that were dealt:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
South Africa	Argentina	England	Germany
Mexico	Nigeria	United States	Australia
Uruguay	South Korea	Algeria	Serbia
France	Greece	Slovenia	Ghana
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Netherlands	Italy	Brazil	Spain
Denmark	Paraguay	North Korea	Switzerland
Japan	New Zealand	Ivory Coast	Honduras
Cameroon	Slovakia	Portugal	Chile

My predictions:

Group Stage:
Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Mexico	Argentina	England	Germany
France	Nigeria	United States	Serbia
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Netherlands	Paraguay	Brazil	Spain
Denmark	Italy	Ivory Coast	Honduras

Round of Sixteen:
Nigeria > Mexico	Argentina > France
England > Serbia	USA > Germany
Netherlands > Italy	Denmark > Paraguay
Brazil > Honduras	Spain > Ivory Coast

Quarterfinals:
England > Nigeria	USA > Argentina
Brazil > Netherlands	Spain > Denmark

Semi-finals:
England > Brazil	USA > Spain

3rd Place:
Spain > Brazil

Final:
USA > England

A statement on the United website confirmed that a deal for the 24-year-old should be completed by the end of the month.

Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

At Cristiano’s request – who has again expressed his desire to leave – and after discussion with the player’s representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice.

Ronaldo has long been a target for the Spanish giants, whose president Florentino Perez vowed earlier this week to do “everything possible” to take the 24-year-old to the Bernabeu.

Via ESPN Soccernet

Football Manager Live is a brand new game from Sports Interactive, the creators of the hugely popular Football Manager series. It is a combination of Fantasy Football, Auction sites, Social Networking and the Football Manager concept all rolled into one. Buy now for these great benefits…

• Create and manage YOUR very own football club
• YOU create your team name, colours, badge & home ground and YOU decide which players to sign.

• Choose your own dream team
• Take your pick from Sports Interactive’s world famous database of over 330,000 footballers, tailored to your part of the globe.

• Show the world how good you are
• Play against your mates or other managers from around the globe in a gameworld that’s LIVE and online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Choose from over 10 official associations
• Choose the league that suits both your play time and style and work your way to the top.

• Develop your club
• Use the innovative skill system to develop and improve your managerial style; unlock bonuses that will give you the edge.

• Exchange banter with other managers via the in-game chat facility
• Will their mind games affect you?

• Play the game your way
• The AI/Stand in manager takes control of your matches when you’re not online.

• Wheel and deal on the transfer market
• Buy, sell, loan and exchange players in the lively transfer market, or snap up some talent with the exciting new auction system.

• Create and run your own mini-leagues and cup competitions
• Take on the best or compete for bragging rights against your mates.

• Balance the books
• YOU have control over the financial running of your club. Will you sign your favourite superstar footballer or invest in a youth system for long term stability?

• Manage matches live
• If a game’s not going your way, change tactics on-the-fly from the virtual dugout. Will YOU take the glory?

van Persie should be fit again and Silvestre is a possibility, hopefully we play a 4-4-2 instead of 4-2-3-1. What I’d like to see tomorrow:

	v Persie 11	Adebayor 25
Nasri 8	Fabregas 4	Song 17	Walcott 14
Gibbs 40	Djourou 20	Toure 5	Sagna 3
Almunia 1

If Gibbs isn’t fit Eboue could play left back, he played well against Portsmouth this weekend; Denilson could also start instead of Song.

U.S. Soccer SC members will receive numerous benefits, highlighted by priority status to secure tickets to the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. U.S. Soccer will distribute its ticket allotment from FIFA to those dedicated members of USSSC before holding a general lottery, providing members the best chance to see the U.S. play in biggest sporting event in the world.

Upon enrollment into U.S. Soccer SC this year, members will also receive a U.S. Soccer SC membership card complete with name and a unique ID number, access to exclusive pre-sales for select home U.S. National Team matches, chances to win special behind-the-scenes experiences, a National Team Yearbook, and a limited-edition scarf.

Those fans that join in 2009 will have the opportunity to provide a unique voice to U.S. Soccer SC, serving as Founding Fans in the institution. Founding Fans will be the dominant voice of U.S. Soccer supporters around the world, defining what it means to be a part of U.S. Soccer SC.

Benifits include:

FOUNDING FAN OFFER:

• Fans joining in 2009 will earn special recognition as Founding Fans with the opportunity to help build U.S. Soccer SC from the ground up, providing a collective voice of U.S. Soccer supporters around the world. These members will receive a special-edition scarf, the annual gift for 2009, so they can proudly display their status as U.S. Soccer SC Founding Fans. Founding Fans will have the opportunity to further influence the ethos of U.S. Soccer SC by helping draft a Fan Constitution.

FIFA WORLD CUP TICKETS:

• U.S. Soccer SC members will have priority status to purchase 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup tickets through U.S. Soccer, with access ahead of the general public.

OTHER BENEFITS INCLUDE:

• U.S. Soccer Supporters Club Membership Card
• Access to exclusive ticket pre-sales for select home U.S. Soccer National Team matches
• A chance to win behind-the-scenes experiences
• Annual Gift
• Men’s or Women’s National Team Yearbook
• Exclusive members-only discount at ussoccerstore.com
• E-mail communications from ussoccer.com

Source: U.S. Soccer

Spain, Germany and the Netherlands remained 1-2-3. Spain is unbeaten in 31 games and has been No. 1 for 10 straight months. The European champions defeated Turkey at home and away in the past month to extend their lead over Germany to 367 points, the most enjoyed by any team since the rankings started in 1993.

Below is the Top 25, for the full rankings visit the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking site.

Ranking	Team	Pts Apr 09	+/- Ranking Mar 09		+/- Pts Mar 09
1	Spain	1729	0		63
2	Germany	1362	0		-4
3	Netherlands	1360	0		43
4	Brazil	1275	1		15
5	Italy	1271	-1		-13
6	Argentina	1201	0		-18
7	England	1173	2		90
8	Croatia	1151	-1		-18
9	Russia	1117	-1		-11
10	France	1074	2		70
11	Portugal	1013	-1		-12
12	Czech Republic	968	1		-30
13	Greece	927	6		64
14	Turkey	925	-3		-84
15	USA	919	2		23
16	Uruguay	909	5		73
17	Paraguay	896	-2		-12
18	Switzerland	883	4		52
19	Cameroon	871	-3		-29
20	Bulgaria	840	7		84
21	Israel	836	-3		-52
22	Ukraine	832	-8		-95
23	Serbia	819	13		111
24	Scotland	815	4		60
25	Mexico	808	-2		24

All-American Alex Hildebrandt (SR, St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) will be one of seven starters back from last year’s squad, which will also see the return of injured Matt Bowman (SO, Maple Grove, Minn.) and Joe Keller (JR, Wayzata, Minn.). With their sights on the ‘double,’ the Auggies have recently named their captains for 2009 — senior defenders Lucas Ingram (SR, Woodbury, Minn.) and Hildebrandt. They lead a senior class that carries an 18-10-5 MIAC record into 2009.

Augsburg’s fall schedule will open with the team traveling to Morris, Minn. for a non-conference tilt against 2008 UMAC tournament champion Minnesota-Morris (18-4-0). The Cougars will be looking to avenge last season’s 2-1 loss in Minneapolis.

You can read the full season preview on the new Augsburg Athletics site. Below is the season schedule.

Each of the 15 MLS teams will play 30 regular season games for a total of 225 games. Each team will meet twice for a base of 28 games and the two remaining games will be against conference opponents, with a priority on rivalries.

This year, 90 percent of the games will be played on the weekend (Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday), compared to 84 percent last season and 80 percent in 2007. The league also reduced the volume of games on World Cup qualifying dates Aug. 12, Sept. 5 and Oct. 10.

All MLS games on ESPN2 will be broadcast simultaneously on ESPN Deportes. In the third year of their eight-year agreement, MLS and ESPN decided together to look for opportunities to schedule ESPN2 matches on weekends, with 13 games airing on Friday nights, Saturday or Sunday.

TeleFutura will maintain its traditional Sunday afternoon timeslot for the Spanish-language network’s 24 regular season games. Fox Soccer Channel will again have a three-hour programming window called “MLS Saturday on FSC,” with 30-minute pre-game and post-game coverage for its 33 regular-season games.

In addition to the previously released First Kick lineup, there are plenty of intriguing matchups throughout the regular season schedule.

The battle for the Trillium Cup begins in Week 2 with Toronto FC heading to Columbus to meet the defending MLS Cup champion Crew for a Saturday night matchup. The Red Bulls will open their home slate against their heated rival, the New England Revolution, the same night in a game broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.

The first leg of the SuperClasico will kick off in Week 4 with the Los Angeles Galaxy playing host to Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes on April 11. The two teams meet again on July 11 on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Espanol,this time with Chivas USA hosting, and then for a third time in a Galaxy home game on Aug. 29 on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Revenge will be on the mind of the Houston Dynamo when they play host to the New York Red Bulls in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinal Series upset on April 11 in a game broadcast on FSC and Fox Sports Espanol.

Week 5 begins with an always-spirited meeting between the New England Revolution and D.C. United on April 17 at 7 p.m. at RFK Stadium on ESPN2/ESPN Deportes while Real Salt Lake travels to Giants Stadium to face the New York Red Bulls in a rematch of last year’s memorable Western Conference Championship on April 18. The often-heated rivalry between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes will also reignite on April 18 at Buck Shaw Stadium.

The New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy have played some memorable shootouts in the last two seasons and those two teams meet for the first time on May 2 at The Home Depot Center with the return leg set for July 18 at Giants Stadium in a game broadcast on FSC and Fox Sports Espanol.

The Red Bulls and Columbus Crew meet for the first time since MLS Cup 2008 on June 27 at Crew Stadium on FSC and Fox Sports Espanol.

If recent history is any indication, the final week of the regular season will be drama filled as teams vie for the final of eight playoff berths. The MLS regular season concludes on Oct. 25 with the Houston Dynamo facing Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center in a game broadcast on TeleFutura and the Columbus Crew hosting the New England Revolution.

The MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Oct. 29 and culminate in MLS Cup 2009 on the weekend of Nov. 21-22 at a site to be announced at a later date.