Soccerwatch

The U.S. men's national team played Honduras Wednesday night, too late for our press time, in their last tune-up before opening World Cup qualifying against Grenada June 13 and 20.

Closer to home, World Cup qualifying will be coming to San Antonio on Saturday, June 19, with a 7pm game at the Alamodome between Mexico and Domenica. This'll be the first appearance ever by the Mexican national team in San Antonio – in fact, the first FIFA soccer game ever in the city, and organizers hope to establish the Alamodome as a viable venue for big-time games in the future. Tix are available through Ticketmaster.

WC qualifying is under way elsewhere around the world as well: Group play has kicked off in South America and Oceania, and Africa and Asia start up this week. Results will be on "Soccer Watch Online" as they happen; the shocker so far: Vanuatu, ranked 161st in the world, pushed New Zealand to the brink of elimination with a decisive 3-1 thumping.

Meanwhile, in the hiatus before the Euro2004 tournament starts June 12, the news in Europe revolves around coaching changes. As expected, England runner-up Chelsea fired embattled Claudio Ranieri on Monday; on Wednesday they brought in Jose Mourinho, who just guided Porto to the Portuguese and Champions League titles. Ranieri will land on his feet, though; he's returning to Valencia, who are coming off a double of their own, lifting both the Spanish championship and the UEFA Cup. South Africa has won the bid to host the 2010 World Cup, beating out Egypt and Morocco for the honor of being the first nation to host the games in Africa. The Austin Lightning dropped a pair of home games over the weekend, 4-2 to the DFW Tornados, and 2-0 to the Nashville Metros, to fall to 1-4-2 for the season. The Lightning now go on the road for the next three weeks; their next home game isn't until June 26.