Specs and Kovac wait

Jonathan Spector and Radoslav Kovac had a watching brief on World Cup duty for the United States and Czech Republic respectively this weekend.

The West Ham United duo were both unused substitutes although could yet figure in meaningful action with another round of qualifiers for the 2010 finals to be played this Wednesday. Lucas Neill will also be on view this midweek when Australia can take a major step towards South Africa next summer with a home win against Uzbekistan in the final stage of Asian zone qualifying.

Spector's US came back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 in El Salvador to stay on top of their final round qualifying group in the CONCACAF region ahead of the visit of Trinidad and Tobago to Nashville. Kovac's Czechs drew 0-0 in Slovenia to stay three points off the Group 3 summit in UEFA qualifying before a major meeting with Slovakia in Prague.