Oswaldo Ibarra. “This is the final instalment in our look at the peculiarities of Latin American championships, after an introduction, a tour through Peru, and on to Uruguay and Mexico. And so to Ecuador.” (Reuters)

Peseiro confident of salvaging Saudi campaign (ESPN)
“Saudi Arabia’s new coach Jose Peseiro is adamant he can revive the Gulf side’s flagging qualifying campaign to avoid the almost unthinkable prospect of missing out on a 2010 World Cup finals berth.”

Credit crunch hits Ireland (WorldSoccer)
“Failure to attract more fans to the domestic game is still a major problem.”

Iran edge Kenya (AFC)
“Iran’s preparations for their upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia got a shot in the arm when they edged past Kenya by a solitary goal in a friendly on Saturday.”