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Bradley Announces 30-Man Roster U.S. Men’s National Coach Bob Bradley
announced his 30-player preliminary World Cup roster, and it did not include
forward Charlie Davies. U.S. Men’s National Team 30-Man Roster GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard (Everton, England),
Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England). The injuries to the U.S. Men’s National Team continue
to happen. The latest is the broken leg suffered by midfielder Stuart
Holden in the USA’s 2-1 loss to The Netherlands. U.S. MNT Falls Hard 2-1 To Dutch AMSTERDAM (March 3, 2010) – The U.S. pressured the Netherlands late with three chances to tie the game in the closing minutes, but could not get the equalizer, falling 2-1 at Amsterdam ArenA in the final match before Bob Bradley selects his roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. After falling behind 2-0 in the 73rd minute, Carlos Bocanegra’s 12th career goal in the 88th minute provided the U.S. with its first-ever score against the Dutch, who had shut out the U.S. in three previous meetings. DaMarcus Beasley, who came on in the 34th minute for an injured Stuart Holden, assisted on the set piece goal after drawing the foul. After cutting the deficit to one, the U.S. had three chances to equalize. Alejandro Bedoya drew a free kick just outside of the penalty area, and Beasley’s 18-yard free kick beat the wall but found the goalkeeper’s hands in the 90th minute. In the first minute of stoppage time, Clarence Goodson overshot a difficult side-volley from six yards out, and in the fourth minute of stoppage time Jozy Altidore cut inside to get shot off from 22 yards that Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg dived right to save. The Netherlands took the lead on a 40th-minute penalty kick by Dirk Kuyt after Wesley Sneijder was tugged down by Jonathan Bornstein in the penalty area. The lead was doubled in the 73rd minute as Sneijder orchestrated a Dutch attack that resulted in a goal by Klaas Jan Huntelaar that deflected off Bornstein at the top of the penalty area. "Certainly it was a good test for us, and I think overall
the team played well,” Bradley said. “The collective effort
was pretty solid. There were moments where it needed to be sharper, quicker
and better and we still need to raise the bar. Late in the game it was
nice to see a good push. We had the ability to move the ball forward get
people running off it and we created some good opportunities. We take
a lot from the game.” Following a training camp that begins in mid May, the U.S.
will play a two-match Send-Off Series in late May before departing for
South Africa. First, on May 25 the U.S. will play host to the Czech Republic
at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., with an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.
Four days later, the U.S. will kick off Memorial Day weekend against Turkey
in Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, May 29, at
2 p.m. ET. Tickets for the match in Connecticut go on sale March 11, and
more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the match in Philadelphia. Match: U.S. vs. Netherlands Scoring Summary: 1 2 F NED – Dirk Kuyt (penalty kick) 40th minute Lineups: NED: 1-Maarten Stekelenburg; 2-Gregory
van der Wiel, 3-John Heitinga, 4-Joris Mathijsen (20-Ron Vlaar, 46), 5-Giovanni
van Bronckhorst (capt.) (15-Edson Braafheid, 67); 7-Arjen Robben (19-Klaas
jan Huntelaar, 46), 8-Nigel de Jong (23-Rafael van der Vaart, 60), 10-Wesley
Sneijder, 6-Mark van Bommel (17-Ibrahim Afellay, 74); 11-Eljero Elia,
9-Dirk Kuyt (21-Ryan Babel, 81) Stats Summary: USA / NED Misconduct Summary: Bradley Announces Roster To Face The Netherlands CHICAGO (Feb. 25, 2010) — U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a 20 player roster to face the Netherlands on March 5. Kickoff for the match is set for 2:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN2 and Galavision. Fans can also follow the game on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer. The team, which includes sixteen European-based, three domestic-based players and one player based in Mexico, will begin gathering on Sunday, Feb. 28 in Amsterdam. The U.S. will train have two days of training before facing the Netherlands. The match will also be the on-field debut of the 2010 Men's National Team Away kit which the team will wear during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. “This is a great opportunity for us to bring many of our European-based players together as we continue to finalize our plans for the World Cup roster,” Bradley said. “This is the final match before we bring the team together for the World Cup, so to have a match against one of the top teams in the world like the Netherlands is a big benefit and a good challenge for our group. They are expecting a large crowd to turn out for the game, and we are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere in Amsterdam.” Many of the players based abroad will be looking to make their first appearances since the team’s final match of 2009 on Nov. 18 against Denmark. U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra leads the list of names while goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was unavailable during last November's friendlies, could make his first start for the U.S. since the memorable conclusion to World Cup qualifying against Costa Rica on Oct. 14, 2009. The goalkeeper contingent is rounded out by fellow Premier League goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann. Midfielder Landon Donovan is the team's leading capwinner and goalscorer. The Everton winger has been enjoying a prosperous spell with his club in the Premier League, having joined the team on a 10-week loan at the start of the new year. There is a return to the Netherlands for midfielder Michael Bradley, who spent two and a half seasons with Heerenveen of the Dutch Eredivisie. After moving to the Eredivisie in early 2006, Bradley established himself as an important part of the Friesland club before moving to his current team, Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga, in 2008. Longtime U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley will also make the trip to Holland, where he formerly played for PSV Eindhoven before eventually landing at Rangers. Nine of the players in Bradley's squad are currently playing in England, with Watford's Jay DeMerit among those included. DeMerit has not featured for the U.S. since the Aug. 12, 2009, game against Mexico in Mexico City, but has returned from injury to feature for his team in the English Championship. Midfielder Stuart Holden is called into his first U.S. squad since signing with Premier League side Bolton Wanderers following the conclusion of the 2009 MLS season. Also returning to the fold is defender Frank Simek, who last appeared for the U.S. on June 24, 2007, in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, a 2-1 win against Mexico at Soldier Field. Maurice Edu, a teammate of Beasley’s at Rangers, rejoins the U.S., having last appeared for the U.S. in the semifinal round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying in a 2-1 win against Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 15, 2008, in Port of Spain. Rounding out the European contingent are Jonathan Spector, Jozy Altidore, Clarence Goodson and Eddie Johnson, who recently joined Greek club Aris Thessaloniki on loan from Fulham, as well as Alejandro Bedoya, who earned his first U.S. MNT cap against Honduras in January. The only player who does not ply his trade in MLS or in Europe is José Torres, who has been a consistent performer for Pachuca in Mexico. Four members of the roster featured in the USA's recent 2-1 defeat of El Salvador. Defenders Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce and Goodson all played 90 minutes on the backline. Bornstein captained the U.S. for the first time while Pearce provided an assist during the victory in Tampa. Robbie Findley, along with Bornstein and Pearce, rounds out the trio of domestic-based players traveling to the Netherlands. The U.S. will be facing the Netherlands for the fourth time in history, the hosts holding a 3-0-0 record. The teams last met Feb. 18, 2004, at the same venue, with Holland walking out 1-0 winners. The U.S. has previously met the Netherlands in a World Cup year, falling 2-0 on May 29, 2002, in Foxborough in the final Send-Off match before the USA went on the historic run to the quarterfinals of Korea/Japan. The U.S. Men's National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria. U.S. Men's National Team Roster by Position
U.S. Beats El Salvador In Stoppage Time TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 24, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s National Team came from behind against El Salvador for the third consecutive time with a 2-1 victory in front of a crowd of 21,737 fans this at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. El Salvador took the lead in the 59th minute on a Rudi Corrales goal, but halftime substitute Brian Ching equalized in the 75th minute with a well-struck header. Ching then turned provider in stoppage time as he played a one-two with Sacha Kljestan to put the midfielder through on goal and snatch the win with a clinical finish. The U.S. also came from behind to win or tie against El Salvador in their last two meetings during the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, drawing 2-2 last March in San Salvador after falling behind by two goals and then bouncing back after allowing an early first half goal to win 2-1 on Sept. 5, 2009 in Sandy, Utah. The U.S. will next travel to Amsterdam where they will take
on the third-ranked Netherlands at Amsterdam ArenA on March 3 at 2:30
p.m. ET. The match will be televised live on ESPN2 and Galavision and
fans can follow via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. As the match entered stoppage time, a draw seemed certain even though the U.S. still looked for a way to unlock the El Salvador defense. Kljestan provided the heroics in the second minute of stoppage time when he dispossessed Marvin González after a rather nonchalant pass from goalkeeper Meguel Montes. Kljestan picked up the ball in the center of the field 25 yards from goal and played a ball ahead to Ching. The forward returned the ball with a neat pass right into the path of Kljestan who slotted the ball behind Montes from eight yards to seal the win. It was Kljestan’s fourth international goal and his
first since his debut hat trick against Sweden on Jan. 24, 2009, at The
Home Depot Center. Match: U.S. vs. El Salvador Scoring Summary: 1 2 F SLV – Rudis Corrales 59th minute Lineups: SLV: 1-Miguel Montes; 2-Alexander Escobar,
3-Marvin González, 5-Ramón Flores (20-Odir Flores, ), 12-Manuel
Salazar, 13-Deris Umanzor; 7-Ramón Sánchez (capt.), 8-Osael
Romero (14-Dennis Alas, 71), 17-Juan Carlos Moscoso; 9-Rudis Corrales,
16-Arturo Álvarez
Misconduct Summary: Bradley Names Team For El Salvador Game U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley named the 20 players he will take to Tampa for Wednesday's friendly against El Salvador at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Bradley dropped four players from the national team training camp at the Home Depot Center that led up to the exhibition game: goalkeepers Kevin Hartman and Zach Thornton and defenders Omar Gonzalez and Michael Orozco. The U.S. is coming off a 3-1 January loss to Honduras. Next up is a game in The Netherlands on March 3 against the #3 ranked Dutch. Bradley is expected to use his European-based players in that game. The roster for that game has yet to be announced. USA vs. El Salvador Roster U.S. hopes for the 2010 World Cup may have taken a bit hit
over the weekend when U.S. MNT veteran midfielder Clint Dempsey
went down with a knee injury in his club team’s 2-0 loss to Blackburn. The Americans open World Cup play against England in Rustenburg, South Africa June 11. AARHUS, Denmark — The United States finished its 2009
schedule with a 3-1 loss to Denmark, losing its second straight match
on a quick tour that was the last time Europe-based players will gather
before March. USA To Face Slovakia For First Time The U.S. men’s national team has added a second game to their November trip to Europe where they will play, Slovakia and Denmark. Both have also qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The Nov. 14 game against Slovakia in Bratislava, will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. It comes four days before the U.S. is scheduled to play Denmark in Aarhus. The two games gives U.S. coach Bob Bradley an opportunity to test his European-based players against World Cup 2010 finalists. "We are very pleased about the opportunity to face
another quality opponent on European soil," said Bradley, after Slovakia
was announced as the second opponent. "Slovakia finished on top of
a very competitive group in UEFA qualifying, and has demonstrated their
capabilities throughout the process. With so few available dates for international
matches between now and the World Cup, having the chance to play two fellow
World Cup finalists is a big plus in terms of our preparations." Denmark finished first in Group 1 of UEFA Qualifying for South Africa with a 1-0 win over Sweden. The U.S. and Denmark have met five times in their history, never on Danish soil, and the teams have split the games with an even 1-1-3 record. The last meeting was Jan. 20, 2007, at The Home Depot Center when Jonathan Bornstein and Kenny Cooper scored in their national debuts in helping the U.S. to a 3-1 victory. Dramatic Draw Gives U.S. First In CONCACAF After the way the game ended in Honduras, a 3-2 road victory that earned a berth in the 2010 FIFA World Cup next summer in South Africa, everyone expected the final CONCACAF qualifying game at RFK Stadium to be rather routine. The U.S. was hosting Costa Rica, which needed to win in order to earn one of CONCACAF’s automatic World Cup berths, but Costa Rica hadn’t beaten the U.S. on American soil since 1985. As it turned out, it was almost as dramatic as the Honduras victory. What was at stake was first place in the final regional standings, as the U.S. began the game atop the standings by one point overe rival Mexico, which was playing a road game against last-place Trinidad & Tobago. The U.S. was shocked early as Bryan Ruiz scored back-to-back goals within three minutes of each othere to give Costa Rica a 2-0 lead 24 minutes into the game. The U.S. had plenty of opportunities to score, but misfired time after time. Michael Bradley finally trimmed the margin to 2-1 when he knocked back a rebound of Landon Donovan’s shot in the 72nd minute. The U.S. continued to pump ball after ball into Costa Rica’s penalty box, but could not get the equalizer. In the 83rd minute things went from bad to worse, as Oguchi Onyewu, the veteran central defender, went down with a torn patella tendon in his left knee. Having already used its three substitutions, the U.S. was forced to play the rest of the game with 10 players. Five minutes into stoppage time, and with only seconds remaining to play, the U.S. got a final corner kick, which reserve midfielder Robbie Rogers played in front of the goal where defender Jonathan Bornstein, wide open, headed it past Coasta Rica keeper Keilor Navas. The 2-2 draw, which looked like a 2-1 win for Costa Rica until the final 20 seconds, denied the Ticos of the automatic berth, which went to Honduras, a 1-0 winner over El Salvador. The difference was goal differential. It also gave the U.S. first place in the final standing, as Mexico had to settle for an unexpected 2-2 draw with Trinidad & Tobago.. Costa Rica now goes into a two-game series with the #5 team from South America, Uruguay, for the final spot in the World Cup. The injury to Onyewu was a costly one. That injury typically takes 3-4 months of recovery and rehab following surgery. The injury also came a day after a car crash severely injured U.S. forward Charlie Davies, which likely will take him out of the World Cup. “We’ve had two days of tough news,” said U.S. coach Bob Bradley. “It’s another setback for us. Gooch has been such as important part of our team. He’s young. He’s healthy. He has good doctors. He’s someone we’re sure is going to get back. SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (Oct. 10, 2009) — The U.S.
Men’s National Team qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South
Africa in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 win against Honduras with five goals
scored and a penalty missed by Honduras in a heart-stopping second half.
After Honduras got things started with a handful of shots
in the first few minutes of the game, the U.S. had the first dangerous
opportunity in the 18th minute on a second consecutive corner kick by
Donovan. His in-swinger from the left side bounced once in the middle
of the penalty area and skipped to an unmarked Carlos Bocanegra.
The bounce was too high for Bocanegra to get on top of and he headed the
chance over the crossbar. After a scoreless first half, the complexion of the game
changed completely just 20 seconds into the second half. U.S. defender
Oguchi Onyewu fell and made a clumsy foul that set up
a Honduras freekick just a yard outside of the U.S. penalty area. Julio
Cesar de Leon took a one-step approach on his right-footed shot
that curled over the U.S. wall and under the cross bar, just out of the
reach of Howard in the 47th minute. HON: 18-Noel Valladares; 16-Mauricio Sabillon, 2-Osman Chavez,
3-Maynor Figueroa, 12-Emilio Izaguirre; 17-Edgard Alvarez (11-David Suazo,
64), 6-Hendry Thomas (7-Ramon Nunez, 75), 8-Wilson Palacios, 10-Julio
Cesar de Leon (15-Walter Martinez, 80); 13-Carlo Costly, 9-Carlos Pavon Stats Summary: USA / HON Davies Injured In Fatal Car Accident U.S. Men’s National Team forward Charlie Davies underwent six-hours of surgery at Washington Hospital Center Medstar after suffering several broken bones and a lacerated bladder in a one-car accident early Tuesday morning. One person was killed in the accident. Davies, who was a passenger in the car, survived along with another passenger. He was the only member of the U.S. team the automobile. The accident occurred in Northern Virginia at approximately 3:00 in the morning on the Southbound lane of the Washington Memorial Parkway. According to U.S. Park police, Ashley J. Roberta, 22, of Phoenix, Md., was killed in the crash. The name of the third person in the car, nor the name of the driver, has not been released. However, it was released that Davies was not the driver. Davies underwent surgery to repair the ruptured bladder, and then had titanium rods inserted in both broken leg bones. The tibia and femur in Daviews’ right leg were broken. He also had some broken facial bones as well as facial lacerations, as well as a broken left elbow. It is expected that he will remain in the hospital for about a week. He will need further surgery at a later time, and recover for these types of injuries is 6-12 months. That is expected to eliminate him from participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup next June and July in South Africa. The U.S. MNT was in Washington, DC, preparing for the final
CONCACAF World Cup qualifying game, Oct. 14, at RFK Stadium against Costa
Rica. It was reported that the players were subject to a team curfew on
Monday night, and Davies had violated that curfew. Bradley Names Roster For Final Qualifiers CHICAGO (Oct. 1, 2009) — U.S. Men's National Team
head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 22 players
that will train in advance of the crucial FIFA World Cup qualifiers against
Honduras and Costa Rica that will determine if the United States automatically
qualifies for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton: 14/8 SO) DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 24/3), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA, 4/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover: 19/0), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards: 1/0), Clarence Goodson (IK Start: 1/0), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan: 18/1), Jonathan Spector (West Ham: 3/0) MIDFIELDERS (7): Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 13/4), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo: 7/1), Clint Dempsey (Fulham: 20/5), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus: 4/0), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo: 3/0), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 6/0) FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Hull City: 11/6), Conor Casey
(Colorado Rapids: 5/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 16/6), Kenny Cooper
(1860 Munich: 1/1), Charlie Davies (FC Sochaux: 5/2), Landon Donovan (Los
Angeles Galaxy: 33/11) *numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying
caps/goals U.S. Men Prepare For Key Qualifiers U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 24 players that will train in advance of the critical FIFA World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. The U.S. first hosts El Salvador on Sept. 5 in Sandy, Utah. Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is set for 6 p.m. MT., and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and TeleFutura. Four days later, the U.S. returns to Hasley Crawford Stadium
to take on Trinidad & Tobago. The match kicks off in Port-of-Spain
at 7 p.m. ET, with live coverage on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans
can follow both matches live online via ussoccer.com’s newly upgraded
MatchTracker. The U.S. currently sits in third place in the final round
hexagonal, collecting 10 points and a 3-2-1 record through six games.
Costa Rica leads the pack with 12 points, while Honduras holds second
place based on a superior goal differential to the United States. The
top three teams automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while
the fourth place team will participate in a two-leg playoff against the
fifth place team from South America. Clint Dempsey, honored with the Bronze
Ball as the third best player in the Confederations Cup, tallied three
times in South Africa, including goals against Spain and Brazil. Dempsey
is tied for second place in scoring for the U.S. in this qualifying cycle,
netting four goals along with Michael Bradley, Brian Ching and
Landon Donovan. Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman
and forward Robbie Findley are making their first appearance
on a World Cup qualifying roster. Along with Robbie Rogers,
they are only players on the roster without a cap in qualifying. Stuart
Holden earned his first World Cup qualifying cap against Mexico.
With his goal at Estadio Azteca, Charlie Davies now has
recorded two goals in qualifying in three appearances. MEXICO CITY (Aug. 12, 2009) — The U.S. Men’s
National Team took its first-ever lead at Estadio Azteca in the ninth
minute, but Mexico quickly tied the game before striking for the game-winner
in the 82nd minute in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 100,000. “It was a tight game and a fair score,” U.S.
head coach Bob Bradley said. “It's a tough loss
to have so many guys work so hard and then give up a late goal. The feeling
inside is one of great disappointment, because the idea that you could
still walk away today with a point after everyone gave everything they
had is important for any team. Mexico got the action started in the second minute when Andrés Guardado let a 23-yard shot fly at Tim Howard in the first of seven shots on goal on the day for Mexico. The only U.S. shot on goal on the day was the Davies tally
in the ninth minute, and with the strike he joined Willie Roy,
Rick Davis and Eddie Lewis as the only U.S.
players to score against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. Bradley Names Roster For Mexico Qualifier ESPN To Air Unprecedented Pre-Game and Post-Game Shows Beginning
at 2:30 p.m. CT The U.S. team will begin gathering Aug. 9 in Miami, and will depart for Mexico on Tuesday. With a lifetime record of 0-22-1 in Mexico and currently in second place of final round qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. looks to pick up points on the road to start the second half of the hexagonal after posting a 3-1-1 record through five games. Mexico sits in fourth place in the group with a 2-3-0 record. The top three teams automatically advance to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth place team will participate in a two-leg playoff against the fifth place team from South America. “We are excited about the challenge and the opportunity,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, who guided the U.S. to a second-place finish in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. “Mexico is a very good team, and we are all aware of their great success playing in Mexico City. Every game in qualifying is important, and this is a chance to gain further ground in the group. Our team continually tries to raise the bar, and certainly the chance to win for the first time in Mexico is a welcome opportunity.” Seventeen players on the roster return from the group that defeated #1-ranked Spain and finished runners up to Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup in June. Tim Howard, who earned the Golden Glove award in South Africa as the tournament’s best goalkeeper, is unbeaten in five matches against Mexico and has posted an impressive five shutouts in seven all-time World Cup qualifying appearances. Clint Dempsey, honored with the Bronze Ball as the third best player in the Confederations Cup, tallied three times in South Africa, including goals against Spain and Brazil. Oguchi Onyewu turned in one of the stand out performances for the U.S. team, his efforts helping ignite a transfer to AC Milan of the Italian Serie A. Nine players in this group appeared in the USA’s comprehensive 2-0 victory against Mexico on Feb. 11 in Columbus to start final round qualifying, including ussoccer.com Man of the Match Michael Bradley, who scored both goals that day. Led by team captain Carlos Bocanegra, four players have appeared in all five of the USA’s final round qualifiers thus far. Landon Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster with 115 international appearances. Long the USA’s all-time leading scorer in both goals and assists, his strike in the 2-1 qualifying win against Honduras on June 6 in Chicago lifted Donovan to the top of the team’s all-time scoring list in World Cup qualifying with 11 career goals. Donovan has been a particular nemesis to El Tri, having scored four times in his career against Mexico, highlighted by the second goal in a 2-0 win in the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Jozy Altidore, who is set to go on loan to Hull City of the English Premier League pending work permit approval, leads all U.S. scorers in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, including a record-setting hat trick performance in the 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago. With the three goals, the 19-year-old Altidore became the youngest player in U.S. history to record a hat trick. Chad Marshall and Stuart Holden are making their first appearance on a World Cup qualifying roster, both coming off solid performances during the USA’s run in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Also returning from the Gold Cup roster is forward Brian Ching, who is tied with Bradley, Dempsey and Donovan with four goals each in the current qualifying campaign. Veteran defender Steve Cherundolo returns to the fold for the first time in the final round after being sidelined by injury through the first half of the hexagonal. The U.S. has never won in Mexico, and has only earned one draw. Down a man for nearly an hour, the U.S. earned a 0-0 draw on Nov. 2, 1997, in World Cup qualifying at Estadio Azteca. It has been a much different story on U.S. soil, with Mexico finally putting the brakes on the USA’s decade of dominance at home with their victory in the Gold Cup final. Prior to that match, the U.S. had posted an unbeaten 9-0-2 home record against El Tri dating back to 1999. Costa Rica currently leads the group on 12 points, followed by the United States with 10 points. In other CONCACAF qualifying action Aug. 12, third place Honduras hosts Costa Rica while winless Trinidad & Tobago welcome El Salvador. Following this single fixture date, the U.S. will host El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah, before traveling to face Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 9 in Port-of-Spain. U.S. Men’s National Team Roster vs. Mexico
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (July 26, 2009) — Playing in its second final of a major international tournament in two months, the U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Mexico this afternoon in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup in front of a sell out pro-Mexico crowd of 79,156 at Giants Stadium. Playing their 13th game in 54 days, the U.S. had the better of play in the first half against Mexico, but in the 55th minute Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell awarded Mexico a penalty kick that shifted the momentum. A foul was called on defender Jay Heaps in the penalty box as he pulled down Giovani Dos Santos, after being struck in the side of the head by the Mexican forward’s elbow. Heaps would pick up his second yellow in the final minutes of play and was ejected. After Gerardo Torrado’s conversion, the U.S. pushed forward in hopes of the equalizer and Mexico was able to capitalize with four more goals in for a 5-0 victory. The loss to Mexico ended the USA’s 11-game unbeaten streak on U.S. soil against their archrival dating back to 1999, and was the team’s first loss to a CONCACAF opponent at home in 58 matches. The defeat was the worst by the U.S. since a 5-0 loss to England in Los Angeles on June 16, 1985. Mexico’s win on U.S. soil was their first against the Americans since a 2-1 win on March 13, 1999. Between defeats, Mexico posted a 0-9-2 record. The match was the 46th meeting in the rivalry, and the largest margin of victory since a 7-2 by Mexico on April 28, 1957, in Long Beach, Calif., and the first time a team scored five goals against the United States since Czechoslovakia won by a 5-1 margin in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. used the same players in the final as had played in the quarterfinals and semifinals, despite having a number of first-level players approved to play. Only forward Bring Ching was from the full
first-team roster, with the rest being young, inexperienced players from
Major League Soccer. Midfielders Benny Failhaber and
Freddy Adu and forward Charlie Davis
were used in early group games, but released to return to Europe with
their professional teams. Defender Michael Parkhurst, on the original roster, was released to return to Europe after group play, but was called back to replace injured Jimmy Conrad, but was not used in the final. After the Torrado penalty, Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Israel Castro and Guillermo Franco put in four straight unanswered goals for the 5-0 result. Next up for both the U.S. and Mexico is the matchup in Mexico City’s Acteca Stadium on August 12, a place where the U.S. has never won a game. That game will be televised in Spanish on Telemundo, and can only be seen in English on Telemundo’s hardly-available cable network Mun2. Unless other arrangements will be made, it will not be televised on ESPN or Fox Soccer Channel. - U.S. Men's National Team Match Report - Match: United States vs. Mexico Scoring Summary: 1 2 F MEX – Gerardo Torrado (penalty) 57th minute Lineups: MEX: 1-Guillermo Ochoa; 15-Juan Antonio Castro, 21-Juan
Valenzuela, 2-Jonny Magallón, 5-Fausto Pinto; 6-Gerardo Torrado
(capt.), 22-Efrain Juarez, 8-Israel Castro (16-Carlos Esquivel, 89); 17-Giovani
Dos Santos, 14-Miguel Sabah (10-Guillermo Franco, 70), 7-Alberto Medina
(11-Carlos Vela, 46) Stats Summary: USA / MEX Misconduct Summary:
ussoccer.com Man of the Match: U.S. Men Beat Panama in OT To Reach Gold Cup Semifinals PHILADELPHIA (July 18 2009) — The U.S. Men’s National Team got a stunning strike from Kyle Beckerman and a penalty kick in overtime from Kenny Cooper to defeat Panama 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field and advance to the semifinals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. will face Honduras in the semifinals on Thursday, July 23 at 6 p.m. CT at Soldier Field in Chicago. The match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel, TeleFutura and the Futbol de Primera Radio Network. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and Twitter. The U.S. fell behind when Panama capitalized on a corner kick during injury time of the first half, but Beckerman struck back early in the second half for the equalizer. Cooper, who came on for Davy Arnaud in the 77th minute, was fouled inside the penalty area late in the first overtime. Cooper took the spot kick himself, placing it just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, off the post and in for the game-winner. “It was a challenge to the team to be in that spot at halftime and I still felt good that the response was strong,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “When we didn't finish the game in regulation, you still got a sense the mentality was "we're going to take care of this thing. The players deserve a lot of credit for that." The U.S. applied pressure from opening whistle, finding success through combination play, particularly down the left flank. In the eighth minute, forward Brian Ching nearly got the early goal for the U.S. with a header. Rising up to meet a Stuart Holden cross, the Hawaiian put the header towards the right side of the net with power, but agonizingly saw it hit the post. A frightening collision occurred just before halftime when defender Jimmy Conrad, wearing the captain’s band, went up for a header on a U.S. corner and knocked heads with a Panamanian defender. Clearly shaken, Conrad was helped to his feet and taken off the field, forcing Bradley to make an early substitution and bring on Clarence Goodson to replace him. Goodson was immediately thrown into the fire since Panama earned a corner kick as the first half came close to its end. The corner was sent into the middle of the box and flicked on towards the far post by Goodson’s mark, Felipe Beloy. Bouncing off Holden, who couldn’t control the ball or clear it from danger, the loose ball was blasted into the roof of the net by Blas Perez to give the Central American side the lead going into halftime. Coming out in the second half with aggression, the U.S. got right down to the business of tying the match. In the 49th minute, Robbie Rogers sent a floater to back post. With no clear shot on goal, Arnaud played the ball back seemingly looking for Holden but it was out of his reach but provided a perfect set-up for Beckerman just inside the penalty area and he unloaded a rocket to the upper right corner. The goal marked Beckerman’s first in seven appearances for the full team, making him the eighth different goal scorer for the U.S. in the 2009 Gold Cup. “The ball went out wide and was sent across. I gambled a little bit just thinking it may pop out to the top of the box,” said Beckerman. “Sometimes you gamble and sure enough the ball finds your foot.” The game remained tied at 1-1 through the rest of the second second half, forcing the first overtime in 2009 Gold Cup play. The U.S. got the game-winner from the foot of Cooper in the 105th minute. Looking for the towering forward, Holden struck a pass into the top of the box. Attempting to collect, Cooper was kicked high in his chest by defender Roman Torres. With a perfect view of the foul, referee Benito Archundia wasted no time in pointing to the spot and giving a yellow card to Torres. Stepping up to take his own penalty, Cooper hesitated on the run-up before placing the ball perfectly on the inside left post and into the goal. Penedo guessed correctly, but the bottom corner shot was just out of reach. It was Cooper’s third career goal for the U.S. and first penalty strike. “It’s fortunate any time you can get a penalty,” said Cooper. “It obviously came at a good time in overtime. Fortunately, it snuck in and the guys did great to hold on defensively.”
Match: United States vs. Panama Scoring Summary: PAN – Blas Perez 46+ minute Lineups: PAN: 1-Jaime Penedo; 5-Roman Torres, 23-Felipe Baloy (capt
), 14-Armando Gun; 3-Luis Moreno, 6-Gabriel Gomez, 16-Manuel Torres, 20-Rolando
Escobar (15-Ricardo Phillips, 78), 10-Nelson Barahona (11-Victor Herrera,
96); 9-Jose Luis Garces, 7-Blas Perez Stats Summary: USA / PAN Misconduct Summary: Officials: WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 8, 2009) — Second half goals by Santino Quaranta and Brian Ching four minutes apart fired the U.S. to a 2-0 victory against Honduras the top spot in Group B before an enthusiastic crowd of 26,079 at RFK Stadium. The U.S. currently sits in first place in Group B as the
only team with six points after two games. Honduras and Haiti each have
three points, while Grenada sits in last place with zero. A win or a tie
for the U.S. against Haiti in their final group match on Saturday, July
11, in Foxborough, Mass., would clinch the top spot in the group. For each of the goal scorers, the match marked a return to international action after a layoff – although Quaranta’s was by far the most notable and longest. The 24-year-old, who was a member of the U.S. Gold Cup champion team in 2005 and made his most recent appearance more than three years ago, provided a storybook return by netting the game-winner – and first career international goal – in his home stadium in front of family and friends. Quaranta broke the deadlock after a nice build-up that started on the right sideline when Chad Marshall reacted quickly to step around his man and win the ball just across the midfield line. The ball found the feet of Heath Pearce and he squared the ball for Benny Feilhaber, who entered the game only 10 minutes earlier. Feilhaber played a quick combination with Ching and then found his fellow substitute Charlie Davies with his back to goal about 16 yards out. Holding off his man, Davies smartly guided the ball to his right toward a charging Quaranta near the top of the box and the D.C. United midfielder directed a hard, first-time shot low and to the left of goalkeeper Donis Escobar. “It was a very special night for me, personally,” said Quaranta. “But to be back wearing the jersey was probably more special. Just to be back with the team and to listen to the anthem was very emotional for me because it's been such a fun and long road back. It was a special night.” The goal took the wind out of the Hondurans’ sails, and off a restart in the 79th-minute the U.S. doubled the lead. Ching, who hadn’t played for the U.S. since April 1 due to a hamstring strain, drew a foul trying to turn with the ball 40 yards from goal on the left side of midfield, and after Honduras brought on Georgie Welcome for Carlos Costly, Feilhaber quickly restarted play and switched the ball to Steve Cherundolo who had acres of space on the right side. Cherundolo served a cross into the six-yard box, where Ching out jumped his defender and headed the ball off Nery Medina’s shoulder and into the top of the net. The goal was Ching’s 10th of his career, becoming
the 18th player in U.S. history to tally double digits in his career.
It was also Ching’s second career Gold Cup goal, with the last coincidentally
coming in the second group match of the 2007 Gold Cup. Following the Honduras match, both Adu and Feilhaber were released to join their clubs in Europe to begin preseason training for the upcoming season. The U.S. improved to 12-3-3 at RFK Stadium, and closes out Group B play at against Haiti on July 11 in another familiar location, Foxborough, Mass., where the U.S. is 16-1-4 all time, including a 6-0-1 record in the Gold Cup at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff on Saturday is 7 p.m. ET live on Fox Soccer Channel, TeleFutura and the Futbol de Primera Radio Network. - U.S. Men's National Team Match Report - Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Santino Quaranta (Charlie Davies) 75 minute
Lineups: HON: 22-Donis Escober; 5-Erick Norales, 11-Mariano Acevedo,
2-Osman Chavez, 16-Nery Medina; 14-Carlos Palacios, 23-Roger Espinoza
(7-Rigoberto Padilla, 70), 18-Melvin Valladares, 13-Carlos Costly (24-Georgie
Welcome, 79); 10-Marvin Chavez (8-Allan Lalin, 65), 15-Walter Martínez
(capt.) Stats Summary: USA / HON Misconduct Summary: Team USA Drills Tiny Grenada, 4-0 The United States soccer team beat a small country in front
of a small crowd at Seattle’s Qwest Field, but there were smiles
all around. Match: United States vs. Grenada Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Freddy Adu (Robbie Rogers) 7th minute Lineups: GRN: 30-Desmond Noel; 4-Cassim Langainge, 5-Jason James,
6-Marc Marshall, 11-Anthony Modeste (capt.); 23-Patrick Modeste, 7-Byron
Bubb, 9-Ricky Charles, 25-Shane Rennie; 10-Kithson Bain (12-Denron Daniel,
56), 14-Marcus Julien (20-Jake Rennie, 56) Stats Summary: USA / GRN Misconduct Summary: Brazil Rallies To Edge USA 3-2 After taking a 2-0 halftime lead, the U.S. MNT saw its hopes of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup championship dashed as Brazil came back with three unanswered second-half goals for a 3-2 victory. The game marked the end of an amazing run for the U.S. in a tournament that had started badly with losses to Italy (3-1) and Brazil (3-1). The U.S. advanced out of the tournament’s most difficult group with a 3-0 win over Egypt, coupled with Egypt’s 1-0 win over Italy and Brazil’s 3-0 shutout of the defending World Cup champion Italians. The U.S. reached the championship game and a second meeting with Brazil, by beating Spain 2-0 in the semifinals. Spain, the #1 ranked team in the world, was on a 15-game win streak and had an unbeaten streak of 35 games broken. Clint Dempsey’s redirected goal in the 10th minute gave the U.S. a 1-0 first-half lead and snapped a streak of 315 scoreless minutes for Brazil. Landon Donovan combined with Charlie Davies on a long counter attack in the 27th minute, and finished a shot from 15 yards out to stretch the margin to 2-0. Brazil wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in the second half, as Luis Fabiano scored the first of his two goals one minute into the final period. He tied the game in the 74th minute. Lucio got the game-winner in the 84th minute. The last two goals came off set pieces. The game marked the first time the U.S. MNT had ever reached the final in a senior FIFA national championship. Brazil, the five-time World Cup champion, has now won the Confederations Cup title three times. Brazil 3, USA 2 Match: United States vs. Brazil Lineups: USA: 1-Tim Howard; 12-Jonathan Spector, 5-Oguchi
Onyewu, 15-Jay DeMerit, 3-Carlos Bocanegra; 10-Landon Donovan, 22-Benny
Feilhaber (2-Jonathan Bornstein, 75), 13 -Ricardo Clark (4-Conor Casey,
88), 8-Clint Dempsey; 9-Charlie Davies, 17-Jozy Altidore (16-Sacha Kljestan,
75) ?Subs not used: 6-Heath Pearce , 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 11-Marvell Wynne,
18-Brad Guzan, 19-Freddy Adu, 20-Jose Torres, 23-Luis Robles ?Not available:
12-Michael Bradley (suspension) Stats Summary: Misconduct Summary: Rewind the tape to 1980. Lake Placid on a cold and snowy day. The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, a team of amateurs, beat the #1 team in the world, the all-professional Soviet Union. “Do you believe in miracles,” screamed announcer Al Michaels. Fast forward to June 24, 2009 on a cold night in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The U.S. men’s national soccer team beat the #1 team in the world. They broke Spain’s 35-game unbeaten streak, and broke the Spainards’ hearts in a 2-0 decision that advanced the U.S. to the champ8onship game in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Say it again Al Michaels…..Do you believe in miracles?” The win came out of nowhere. The U.S. has been less than impressive in recent CONCACAF World Cup qualifying games. They had some positive moments in Confederations Cup losses to Italy (3-0) and Brazil (3-1). The U.S. finished both of those games with 10 players on the field, after red card ejections. Packed and ready to go home, they beat Egypt 3-0 to advance to the semifinals, but that was aided mightily by Brazil’s 3-0 win over Italy, which eliminated the defending world champions. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the U.S. came out with confidence and played Spain straight up. They played like a gambler playing the table with house money. Jozy Altidore’s goal in the 27th minute put the U.S. ahead. That was a chance of fortunes. It has been the U.S. recently that has given up an early goal. The second goal that clinched the win came in the 74th minute. Landon Donovan played a ball across the six-year box that was not cleared by Spain’s defenders. Clint Dempsey came back to poke the ball off the defender’s foot and into the goal. "For us it's a big night,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “The players all worked hard. We constantly talk about reaching higher and trying to accomplish new things. “Spain is a team that we have the greatest respect for. They are a super team. Their ability to play, pass and move. We knew it was a challenge, but we felt that we would have a chance and that we could win this game. The only true disappointment in the game was the red card to midfielder Michael Bradley in the 86th minute. But being down a man did not affect the U.S. team this time. It’s the next game that will be impacted. He’ll miss the championship game. It should be noted that the same referee, Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay), who was in the middle of the U.S. vs. Italy 1-1 draw in the 2006 World Cup, was in the middle of this game. In the World Cup match there were three red cards given, two to the U.S. The two goals against Spain gives the U.S. six in the Confederations Cup. Altidore, Bradley and Dempsey scored in that shutout. The win over Spain will probably quiet the calls for US Soccer to fire Bradley as the head coach, after the lackluster effort in a couple of qualifiers, and the lack of confidence and aggressiveness the team showed against Brazil and Italy. One New York Times reporter wrote that the paper had received over 200 emails from fans calling for Bradley to be replaced. Against Spain, Bradley’s team showed the heart that had not been obvious in recent games. “We had a real confidence that we could try to make it harder for them than some of the other teams they have play against, and we had the weapons that could cause them some trouble,” he said. “We have some speed up front. We have some guys that come out of the midfield. I think that those are all things that work for us.” The U.S. got a boost from the return of captain Carlos Bocanegra, who moved out to left back from his normal center back position. That slot has been taken over by Jay DeMerit as Bocanegra recovered from a hamstring injury. DeMerit has been rock solid in the center, along with Oguchi Onyewu. Jonathan Spector, who has played every minute of every game in the Confederations Cup, has probably earned the right to be a regular starter at right back. Veteran Frankie Hedjek was playing there before he went down with an injury. “We aren’t used to losing,” said Spain’s coach Vincente del Bosque. “We’ve given 100% and if we haven’t been able to win, it’s because we couldn’t win. “We did everything to win, we dominated, but we couldn’t finish. We are all responsible for this loss.” The U.S. will play the winner of the semifinal between host South Africa and Brazil. U.S. Soccer Announces Gold Cup Roster CHICAGO (June 25, 2009) - U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has announced the 23-player roster that will represent the U.S. at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 3 to July 26, 2009. Two days after Sunday’s final at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup live on ESPN2 and Univision, the U.S. will gather in Seattle where the U.S. team and staff will regroup to prepare for the opening game against Grenada on July 4 at 6 p.m. PT at Qwest Field. The team then crosses the country to face Honduras on July
8 at 9 p.m. ET at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., before rounding out
group play against Haiti on July 11 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough,
Mass., with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. ET. The roster, which carries over four players from the FIFA
Confederations Cup squad in Freddy Adu, Charlie Davies, Heath
Pearce and Luis Robles, also includes the return of regular starters
Steve Cherundolo and Brian Ching from injury. Overall, just six players on the roster have more than 10 caps, with Cherundolo leading the way at 51 international appearances. Seven players – including Robles – will be looking to make their U.S. National Team debut, while another nine have five or fewer caps. The 23-man roster averages just eight caps against the 27-cap average for the 2009 Confederations Cup roster as Bradley let most of the regular national team players either return to their clubs or have a brief break before starting training camp for the 2009-10 season. Only Ching and defender Michael Parkhurst
return from the 23-man squad that won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with
Ching responsible for drawing the foul in the final against Mexico that
led to the game-tying penalty kick by Landon Donovan.
Unbelievable….USA Wins 3-0 To Advance RUSTENBURG, South Africa (June 21, 2009) — Needing to score at least three goals and on the verge of elimination, the U.S. Men’s National Team overcame incredible odds and advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup this evening with a 3-0 victory against Egypt in their final Group B match at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa. Combined with Brazil’s 3-0 victory against Italy, the U.S. moved from last to second place in the group and will face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday, June 24. Playing in by far the most difficult group, the U.S. lost their first two games to world champions Italy (3-0) and Brazil (3-1), finishing tied with Italy on points (three) and goal differential (minus two), but advanced to the semifinals by virtue of more goals scored. Along with the goals against Egypt, Landon Donovan’s penalty kick against Italy provided the U.S. with four total goals. Italy only tallied three goals during the tournament, all against the U.S. Getting his first start since the USA’s 2009 opener on Jan. 24, forward Charlie Davies scored the opening goal of the match with a dogged determination during a scramble in front of the net. With Brazil leading Italy by three goals at halftime, the U.S. was in position to make what seemed improbable at the start of the day a reality. In the second half, the U.S. took full advantage with goals from Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey that put the U.S. into the semifinals. The U.S. will face Spain at Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein at 2:25 p.m. ET. The match will be live on ESPN and TeleFutura. Spain, ranked #1 in the FIFA World Rankings, won Group A with three victories against New Zealand, Iraq and South Africa. The reigning European champions are currently on a world record-setting run of 15 consecutive victories, while tying the record of most consecutive matches without a defeat (35), originally set by Brazil. “Without a doubt, we were focused on all three games knowing it was a tough group,” U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley said. “We knew that in the last game that we need to get after it in a way that would give us a chance. “We started the game with a lot of energy. Getting the first goal becomes important. At halftime, we felt that if we were smart, and we continued to press in a good way that there would be chances and that we would get two more goals. In that regard, credit to the players for the push they made throughout the game. We’re excited to move on.” A key to the win was being able to keep 11 players on the field for the entire game, after finishing against both Brazil and Italy, after red card ejections of Ricardo Clark and Sasha Kljestan, respective. Bradley called upon goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Davies for the first time in the tournament, while also plugging Clark back into his central midfield role with Michael Bradley after serving his one-game suspension for the red card in the opening match. Looking for the all-important third goal, Bob Bradley brought in Benny Feilhaber in to replace Jozy Altidore in the 69th minute and moved Clint Dempsey up to forward. The U.S. finally broke free two minutes later. Michael Bradley found defender Jonathan Spector who had found space along the right flank. Spector took a settling touch and looked up to see even numbers along Egypt’s backline, with four U.S. players converging towards the penalty area. He whipped in a curling service that found Dempsey, who held off Wael Gomaa and directed a perfectly-placed header just inside the left post. “We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Dempsey. “The odds were against us and the chances of us going through were slim. All we could control was ourselves. Credit to all the guys and the coaching staff. We worked hard this whole tournament so far and believed in ourselves. Now it’s time to refocus and get ready for Spain.” The three-goal performance marked the second most goals the U.S. has scored in a single FIFA Confederations Cup match since a 5-2 victory against Ivory Coast on Oct. 19, 1992, when the tournament was called the King Fahd Cup. This was the first time the U.S. had ever defeated Egypt, falling 3-1 to the African champions in their only other meeting in Seoul, South Korea, on June 8, 1987. With his start today, Donovan passed Claudio Reyna and moved into fourth all-time on the U.S. cap list with 113 appearances. Cobi Jones tops the list with 164 caps. In group A action on Saturday, Spain won their third straight
match with a 2-0 victory against South Africa. Despite the loss, the hosts
advanced to the semifinals along with Spain as Iraq and New Zealand played
to a scoreless draw. South Africa will face Brazil on Thursday, June 25
in the other semifinal live on ESPN and TeleFutura. Match: United States vs. Egypt Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Charlie Davies 21st minute Lineups: EGY: 1-Essam El Hadary (capt.); 7-Ahmed Fathi (4-Ahmed Said,
53), 6-Hani Said, 20-Wael Gomaa, 15-Ahmed Farag; 3-Ahmed Al Muhamadi,
11-Mohamed Shawky, 22-Mohamed Aboutrika, 8-Hosni Abd Rabbou; 10-Ahmed
Eid (17-Ahmed Hassan, 50), 18-Ahmed Abdelghani (19-Mohamed Abougrisha,
62) Stats Summary: USA / EGY Misconduct Summary: Officials: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: U.S. coach Bob Bradley took the U.S. MNT to South Africa for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup hoping to answer some questions about his team with the 2010 FIFA World Cup about a year away. The U.S. faced a challenge in the draw that placed the Americans in a group with five-time world champion Brazil and defending World Cup champion Italy. A 3-1 loss to Italy to open the tournament, and a 3-0 loss to Brazil probably answered some questions, but likely not the one’s Bradley had hoped for. He was probably looking for players who could step up and compete on the world soccer stage. Instead, he got some insight into some who are either not ready or whose time has passed them by. In both losses the U.S. went down to 10 players by having a player ejected with a straight red card for a reckless and unnecessary sliding tackle. Ricardo Clark was dismissed midway through the first half in the loss to Italy, and his replacement, Sasha Kljestan, was red-carded early in the second half against Brazil. Against Brazil the U.S. came out very tentative, and like
they had done in a couple of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, gave up a
goal inside of eight minutes in the first half. By halftime it was 2-0,
and then 3-0 before Benny Feilhaber and Connor
Casey knocked balls off the crossbar, inches higher than the
opening into the back of the net. Maicon scored the third, seven minutes after Kljestan was sent off. Brazil put 11 shots on goal. The U.S. only had two. “We had a very nervous and tentative start to the game,” said Bob Bradley. The two losses leaves the U.S. at the bottom of the standings with one game to go against Egypt on Sunday. Egypt, the defending Asian Nations Cup champion, lost 3-2 to Brazil to open the tournament. Landon Donovan, up front, played well, but was not as effective as he had been against Italy. Oguchi Onyewu at center back, had another strong game, as did Jonathan Spector at outside right back. For the most part, Tim Howard played well in goal, but probably could have done more on the first goal, which came on a bending free kick that was headed in from near the six-yard box. Jozy Altidore did not play with the same energy he showed against Italy, and when Colorado Rapids forward Connor Casey came on as a second half substitute, he hardly got out of a jog. Two of the USA’s most experienced players, Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley, had little impact on the game. In fact, Beasley would have had to play better just to get to the level of terrible. Much has been said about the U.S. players who have signed with European professional clubs, only to seldom find themselves in the lineup. They were good enough to be signed, but turns out not good enough to play. Injuries also play a part, but too many of the U.S. players from foreign clubs in this tournament are not making much of an impact with their club teams. It shows with the national team. The ejection situation has gotten past being something that came be blamed on poor officiating. Back in the 2006 World Cup in Germany the U.S. was forced to play a man down against Italy after Pablo Mastroeini’s ejection for a reckless tackle. Earlier this year, Michael Bradley, who was red-carded from a game in the ’08 Olympics, was sent off in a loss in Costa Rica. It would appear that when the pressure is on, some of the U.S. players lose their composure and allow emotion and frustration to take over. It no longer is good enough to say that the U.S. Men’s National Team played well and lost 3-1 to the current World Champions. That is exactly what they did, being beaten by Italy to open the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. The difference was not entirely a difference in talent levels.
The U.S. fell into a deep hole when midfielder Ricardo Clark
was ejected after a reckless and unnecessary foul near midfield only 33
minutes into the game. For the most part, the U.S. adjusted well and actually scored a goal on a penalty kick by Landon Donovan to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. What the ejection did was change the marking responsibilities, and remove a striker from the attack as Donovan moved back into the midfield. Eventually, the lack of pressure on the ball, and some defensive mistakes, led the three second-half goals by Italy. “Against a team like that, it’s really hard to play against them with 11 men, let alone 10,” said U.S. defender Jay DeMerit. “When the midfield opens up and guys get gree, it makes it really hard for us to make the right decisions.” The first goal came off the foot of American-born Guisseppe Rossi, a 57th minute substitute, who scored the equalizer two minutes after entering the game. The goal came from at least 30 yards out, a world class strike, that blew past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard. The game-winner was another goal from long range, as Daniele de Rossi, wide open, fired a shot that U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu waved a leg at as it past by him. He probably screened Howard from seeing the ball, which also went past him into the goal. The third came in injury time by Rossi, the New Jersey kid who rejected an opportunity to play for the U.S. MNT to play for Italy. U.S. coach Bob Bradley, who does not have Brian Ching or Frankie Hedjek on the trip because of injuries, was without central defender Carlos Bocanegra because of a hamstring injury. Jay DeMerit, playing in the middle next to Onyewu, played well, but ran out of gas with 15 minutes left to play. Jonathan Spector was exceptional at right back for the third straight game, and Donovan made himself a factor in the game by working tirelessly all over the field. However, one can’t escape the fact that Italy scored without much pressure on the ball, and the U.S. could not finish what few opportunities it had. Michael Bradley took the ball deep into the box, but almost whiffed a left-footed shot, and Jozy Altidore, who did well to draw the penalty kick that Donovan finished, drove in one-on-one with Italy’s goalkeeper only to pass the ball instead of shooting it. The ejection leaves Bradley with a decision to make at defensive midfield in the Wednesday match against Brazil. The U.S. will need at least a draw with Brazil to have any hopes of advancing from group play. They play Egypt in the third group game on Sunday, and would not advance even with a win there. - U.S. Men's National Team Match Report- Match: United States vs. Italy Scoring Summary: USA – Landon Donovan (penalty kick) 41st minute Lineups: ITA: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 19-Gianluca Zambrotta, 4-Girogio
Chiellini, 6-Nicola Legrottaglie, 3-Fabio Grosso; 8-Gennaro Gattuso (17-Giuseppe
Rossi, 57), 10-Daniele De Rossi, 21-Andrea Pirlo; 15-Vincenzo Iaquinta,
11-Alberto Gilardino (9-Luca Toni, 69), 16-Mauro Camoranesi (20-Riccardo
Montolivo, 57) Stats Summary: USA / ITA Misconduct Summary: Officials: U.S. Men Fall 3-1 To Costa Rica SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (June 3, 2009) – Everyone who
follows U.S. Men’s National Team Soccer knew the World Cup qualifier
in Estadio Ricardo Saprissa would be difficult. Few expected the way the
game turned out. "As a group tonight, we came up short in every way," said Bradley. "I don't think there was any area at all where we were good enough to win a game against a good team. We were under pressure from the start. We fell short. We recognize that, and we have a quick turnaround for the next game." With injuries to defender Frankie Hejduk
and forward Brian Ching, the U.S. was without two of
its most veteran players - both of whom have experience playing in the
unfriendly confines of Estadio Ricardo Saprissa. Bradley will be forced to make another change to his lineup against Honduras as he will be without the services of Michael Bradley, who picked up his second yellow card of the final round for a reckless foul from behind. The U.S. could once again be without the services of Hejduk and Ching for Saturday's contest as their status is still undetermined. Match: United States vs. Costa Rica Bradley Names Roster For Qualifiers CHICAGO (May 24, 2008) — U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 24 players that will train in advance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. The U.S. will be seeking its first-ever victory away to Costa Rica when they meet at Estadio Saprissa in the fourth match of the 10-game final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Kickoff on June 3 is set for 8 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on the ESPN Networks and Galavision. Three days later, the city of Chicago will host its first World Cup qualifier when the U.S. welcomes Honduras to Soldier Field. More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for the USA’s third home match of the final round, where the U.S. will face the team who delivered them their last home loss in World Cup qualifying, a 3-2 defeat on Sept. 1, 2001, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans can follow both matches live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The U.S. is in first place in the final round hexagonal with an undefeated 2-0-1 record. Costa Rica sits one point behind, while Honduras holds the third position. The top three teams will automatically qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. “Clearly these next matches are very important in our efforts to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, who is 9-1-1 overall in qualifying action. “Both teams have been very good throughout the qualifying process. We are certainly aware of the challenges of playing in Costa Rica, and Honduras has produced some great results, including two wins against Mexico. We are excited for the start of a very competitive summer for our team.” The U.S. team will begin assembling on May 26 in Miami, and depart June 1 for San Jose. Several players will join camp following weekend club competition, including 2008 U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year Tim Howard, who will lead Everton against Chelsea in the FA Cup final on May 30 at Wembley Stadium, and DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu, who can win the Scottish league title later today and will play in the Scottish FA Cup final against Falkirk next weekend. José Francicso Torres will arrive late if Pachuca reaches the finals of the Mexican league playoffs, and the MLS-based players will travel to Miami following their league matches this week. The roster boasts nine players who have appeared in all three of the USA’s final round qualifiers, including seven who have started every game. Three players: Michael Bradley – the ussoccer.com Man of the Match after scoring a pair of goals in the 2-0 win against Mexico – DaMarcus Beasley and Heath Pearce are tied with nine starts during the 2010 qualifying campaign. Following his record-setting hat trick in the 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago on April 1 in Nashville – he is the youngest U.S. player ever to put in three goals in a game – Jozy Altidore now leads all U.S. attackers with five goals in this World Cup qualifying cycle. Bradley, Brian Ching and Clint Dempsey all have four goals each. Dempsey is one game shy of his 50th appearance for the United States. Landon Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster with 108 international appearances, the USA’s all-time leader in goals and assists is one goal shy of tying Brian McBride for the most career goals in World Cup qualifying (10). He recorded assists on all three of Altidore’s goals against Trinidad & Tobago, improving his career tally to 36 assists. In addition to the 24-man roster, two players have been invited to participate in their first camp with the full team: Aston Villa defender Erich Lichaj and Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Luis Robles. Following the two qualifiers, the U.S. will depart June 8 for South Africa to begin preparations for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The final 23-man roster for the event will be announced June 7 in Chicago. The United States has been drawn into a powerful Group B along with reigning world champions Italy, five-time World Cup winners Brazil, and reigning African Cup of Nations winners Egypt for the tournament, which will be played from June 14-28. The U.S. kicks off action against Italy on June 15 at Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane/Pretoria, and then faces Brazil on June 18 in the same venue. The United States finishes group play on June 21 against Egypt at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION Head Coach: Bob Bradley (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) Mexico, following a 3-1 loss to Honduras in the first game of the CONCACAF Hexagonal, has fired coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. Erricksson, the Swede who is former national coach of England, coached his first game for Mexico last August, registered six losses in 13 games with Mexico, which is now fourth in the regional standings for World Cup 2010 qualification. It was an expensive firing! Eriksson reportedly had a contract
with the Mexican federation worth $4 million. Mexico did get a win over Costa Rica in he second game of the final round, but the loss to Honduras put the Mexican federation over the edge. Mexico failed to qualify for the 208 Olympics (U-23) and for the 2007 U-17 World Cup. They were also winless in the 2009 Under-20 World Cup qualifying tournament. There are no frontrunners to replace Eriksson, who had been hired to replace Hugo Sanchez as Mexico’s national coach. Among those mentioned are Jesus Ramirez, head coach of Club America, and Manuel “Chepo” De La Torre, head coach of Toluca. Jozy’s Hat Trick Leads U.S. Over T&T NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 1, 2009) — Forward Jozy Altidore became the youngest player in history to score a hat trick for the U.S. Men’s National Team, tallying all three goals tonight for the U.S. Men’s National Team in a dominating 3-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago in front of a raucous crowd of 27,959 at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. With the victory, the U.S. continued to hold their place at the top of the hexagonal in the final round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Altidore had midfielder Landon Donovan to thank for his record-setting performance, as the USA’s all-time leading scorer set up the 19-year-old forward for all three of his strikes while increasing his record-setting tally to 35 career assists. The first connection between the two occurred in the 13th minute, and the duo hooked up two more times in the second half as the U.S. continued their dominance against Trinidad & Tobago at home, now 7-0-1 overall in World Cup qualifying. With Mexico losing 3-1 to Honduras, and Costa Rica posting
a 1-0 win against El Salvador, the USA’s seven points from three
games provides them a one-point advantage over second place Costa Rica.
"Full credit to the players," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, who continued the team’s unblemished 6-0-0 home record in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. "After the last match we were certainly pleased with the push we made when we were behind, but there were things in that match that we felt were not indicative of what we're all about. The players felt strongly about that, and I think you could see the response from the team from the beginning tonight." Altidore’s goals marked the first time in his career in which he has scored goals in consecutive games, having scored the USA’s first goal against El Salvador in the 2-2 draw on Saturday, March 28, at Estadio Cuscatlán. It also marked the first time that the U.S. has produced multiple goal scorers in three consecutive home matches, with Sacha Kljestan notching a hat trick in the 3-2 win against Sweden on Jan. 24, 2009, and Michael Bradley scoring a brace in the 2-0 win against Mexico on Feb. 11 in Columbus. “When you have 11 guys on the field working hard and working together as a team, an individual can have a good night. That's just how it happens, “said Altidore, who increased his tally to five goals in 2010 World Cup qualifying. “When the team plays well, individuals will shine, but at the same time we have to keep the mentality that things aren't easy in CONCACAF. These are good teams to play against and sometimes they're tough to break down, as you saw tonight. I just want to keep going forward and keep working hard and hopefully good things will happen.” Bradley made a handful of changes from the lineup that started
the 2-2 draw against El Salvador four nights earlier, deploying DaMarcus
Beasley at left back behind Landon Donovan as a left-sided midfielder.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard returned to the starting lineup
after serving a one-match suspension for accumulation of yellow cards
to earn his seventh career shutout in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Three-time
World Cup veteran Pablo Mastroeni also returned to the
starting lineup, while Altidore earned his fourth start in qualifying.
Match: United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Jozy Altidore (Landon Donovan) 13th minute Lineups: TRI: 1-Clayton Ince; 3-Aklie Edwards, 8-Anthony Wolfe (4-Makan
Hislop, 46), 5-Keyeno Thomas, 6-Dennis Lawrence; 7-Christopher Birchall
(16-Khaleem Hyland, 56), 11-Carlos Edwards, 2-Clyde Leon, 17-Keon Daniel
(12-Jason Scotland, 71); 15-Kenwyne Jones, 14-Stern John Stats Summary: USA / TRI Misconduct Summary: Officials: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Late Goals Give U.S. Tie With El Salvador Second-half goals by Jozy Altidore and
Frankie Hejduk lifted the United States to a 2-2 tie
against El Salvador in World Cup qualifying action. • Khaleem Hyland scored in the 89th minute to pull
Trinidad & Tobago into a 1-1 tie with Honduras. The result left the
Soca Warriors with two points in their first two CONCACAF Hexagonal matches.
They drew 2-2 with El Salvador last month. Bradley Names Roster For Next Matches U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 22 players that will train in advance of the critical FIFA World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. The U.S. first travels to face El Salvador at Estadio Cuscatlán in the second match of the 10-game final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Kickoff on March 28 is set for 9 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Telefutura. Four days later, the state of Tennessee will host its first World Cup qualifier when the U.S. welcomes T&T to LP Field in Nashville. More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for the match, and tickets are still available through ussoccer.com and Ticketmaster. Coverage of USA-Trinidad &Tobago, presented by Dodge, begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and Galavision. Fans will also be able to follow live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The U.S. is tied for first place in the final round hexagonal following the comprehensive 2-0 victory against Mexico on Feb. 11 in Columbus, Ohio. U.S. Men's National Team Roster U.S. Men’s National Team 2009 Schedule Date * FIFA World Cup Qualifier For the third straight time, the United States defeated Mexico 2-0 in a CONCACAF Final Round World Cup Qualifying match Crew Stadium. This one was a gritty victory in difficult conditions in front of 23,776 fans who braved strong wind and rain. The match was played mostly in the midfield and that's where the U.S. won it. The determined Americans, led by midfielder Michael Bradley's inspired play, were able to control Mexico and never let it get into the match. "We needed to impose our game on them," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "We needed to push hard and to be aggressive. Our midfield play as a group set a tone collectively. "In conditions like these, it's important to move as a team and not leave any gaps on the field, to connect passes. We understood how important it was to shut them down. Maybe some of our guys did not have their best performances individually, but we worked as a group." The U.S., which is 9-0-2 in its last nine home games against Mexico, pushed hard from the opening whistle. The first 20 minutes were played at a frantic pace with neither team really able to get much of an edge. The match settled in after that, but most of the play remained in midfield with neither side able to break through. When the U.S. finally did take a lead, it was with the kind of goal that was fitting, considering how tightly the first half was played. In the 43rd minute, midfielder DaMarcus Beasley sent a right-side corner past the goal. Striker Landon Donovan kept the ball in play, heading it back into the crowded middle where defender Oguchi Onyewu hit it at Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, who couldn't hold it. The ball bounced out to Bradley whose shot went through a crowd into the net. Mexico coach Sven Goran-Eriksson, despite being without injured left winger Andres Guardado and suspended regulars Gerardo Torrado, Carlos Vela, and Fernando Arce, started an attack-minded lineup with three forwards -- Giovani dos Santos, Nery Castillo and Carlos Ochoa. The Mexicans came out ready to push forward, but the U.S. stayed right with them and Eriksson suffered a blow when Castillo went out in the 14th minute with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Mexico was never in the match after the Rafael Marquez received a red card from referee Carlos Batres in the 65th minute after he kicked U.S. keeper Tim Howard as the two of them collided going for a lofted ball. Howard came away holding his side. The U.S. scheduled the match here hoping for cold weather, such as in a the 2001 qualifier in Columbus when the Mexicans were deeply distracted by bitter cold temperatures and lost 2-0. Tonight, there was rain, wind, flooding and tornado warnings with the field swamped by water 90 minutes before kickoff. The stadium field crew worked furiously and by kickoff most of the standing water had been removed, leaving the playing surface was decent. After a lull, however, the wind picked up again at times almost gale strength. The U.S. won the coin toss and elected to take the wind the first half, had the best run of play and came away with the lead. In the second half, the Americans' high work rate in the middle kept Mexico at bay despite its obvious advantage of the wind at its backs. Then Marquez was sent off. Finally, in the match's dying moments Bradley, coming up the middle unmarked, took a pass from Donovan and lashed a ball through Oswaldo for the final 2-0 margin. After the match tempers flared a bit as the two teams made their way through the same exit from the field to their almost adjoining dressing rooms. Order was quickly restored after a bit of pushing and shoving. "It's great to start the final round with a win against Mexico," Bob Bradley said. "The all-around team effort was good and it's a good starting point to build on." - U.S. Men's National Team Match Report - Match: United States Men's National Team vs. Mexico Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Michael Bradley (unassisted) 43rd minute Lineups: MEX: 1-Oswaldo Sanchez; 2-Aaron Galindo, 3-Carlos Salcido,
4-Rafael Marquez (capt.), 5-Ricardo Osorio; 6-Leandro Augusto, 12-Alberto
Medina (15-Antonio Naelson, 60), 8-Pavel Pardo; 11-Carlos Ochoa, 10-Nery
Castillo (14-Israel Martinez, 34), 17-Giovani dos Santos (9-Omar Bravo,
72) Stats Summary: USA / MEX Misconduct Summary: Sacha Kljestan’s Hat Trick Tops Sweden 3-2 CARSON, Calif. (Jan. 24, 2008) — Sacha Kljestan scored the 11th hat trick ever for the U.S. Men’s National Team Saturday evening to earn a 3-2 victory against Sweden open their 2009 campaign at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. In a fairly tepid first 45 minutes, Kljestan provided the U.S. with a 2-0 lead going into the locker room. His first goal was a stunning 35-yard free kick that he placed perfectly into the upper left corner, before following up that effort by burying a penalty kick with five minutes remaining in the half. With Sweden pulling a goal back in the 73rd minute, it was Kljestan once again who answered for the U.S., taking a feed from Brian Ching to bury a left-footed shot just one minute later. In the 89th minute, Sweden struck again to make things interesting, but the U.S. was able to kill off any last minute attacks for an equalizer. The three goals by Kljestan were the first of his career with the full team, and put him in unique company as only the second player ever to open his national team scoring account with a hat trick. The only other player to pull off the feat was Aldo “Buff” Donelli, who tallied four goals in a 4-2 victory against Mexico on May 24, 1934, in the lone qualifying match for the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy. “Getting a hat trick is pretty exciting for me,” said Kljestan. “I’ve never scored more than one goal in a game as a professional, so it’s definitely exciting. I’m just as happy about the win and I’m glad we held on in the end. It was great to do it [score a hat trick] here at the Home Depot Center. I have a lot of friends and family that come and support me every game, so that was pretty cool to have them here.” The victory kept the U.S. undefeated in eight matches at The HDC (7-0-1) and was the eleventh straight time the U.S. has either tied or won their opening game of the year, with the U.S. also defeating Sweden 1-0 to start the streak in 1998. Overall against Sweden, the U.S. now holds a winning record with four victories and three losses in seven games. Despite a fairly inexperienced roster, the U.S. was able to control the majority of the match and provide an effective attack, especially in the second half. Of the 18 players on the roster, 13 had less than 10 career caps, and six of the starters chosen by U.S. head coach Bob Bradley had less than 5 caps, including two – goalkeeper Troy Perkins and midfielder Robbie Rogers – who earned their first caps on the night. “It’s important to start the year off with a win,” said Bradley, who opened the calendar year with a victory for the third straight time since taking over in late 2006. “When you’re in a long camp, with three weeks and a lot of work, it’s nice at the end to have the reward of winning. From a coaching standpoint there’s always going to be things, at this time of year, that you feel good about, and there’s always going to be things that need improvement.” The U.S. now looks ahead to their opening match of the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying against archrival Mexico on Feb. 11 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The match, the first of 10 games in the final round – commonly referred to as the ‘hexagonal’ – will kickoff at 7 p.m. ET and fans can watch the match live on ESPN2 HD and Univision, or listen on the Futbol de Primera radio network. - U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report - Match: United States Men's National Team vs. Sweden Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Sacha Kljestan 17th minute Lineups: SWE: 12-Johan Dahlin, 7-Markus Jonsson, 8-Marcus Lindberg,
9-Max von Schlebrügge, 5-Adam Johansson; 10-Andreas Dahl (14-Rasmus
Elm, 62), 6-Daniel Andersson (capt.) (13-Martin Ericsson, 71), 20-Gustav
Svensson, 16-Samuel Holmén (15-Alexander Farnerud, 62); 11-Mikael
Dahlberg, 19-Daniel Nannskog Stats Summary: USA / SWE Misconduct Summary: Officials: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: U.S. Men’s Clinch Berth in Regional Final Qualifications The U.S. Men's National Team clinched a berth in the Final Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying with a dominating 6-1 victory against Cuba at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. DaMarcus Beasley scored two goals, while Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu added tallies as the U.S. took full advantage of the passionate home support. The U.S. is undefeated in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, with six consecutive wins. In what is the best ever start to a U.S. qualifying campaign, the team has set a record for the most consecutive victories in one World Cup qualifying cycle. The victory also increased the U.S. Men’s record run of qualifying wins in a row to seven, dating back to the last match in the Final Round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. “Our goal was to earn a spot in the next round, and we’re very pleased we were able to accomplish that tonight,” said U.S. Men’s National Team Bob Bradley. “We were also pleased with a strong team performance, especially against a Cuba team that fought hard and were difficult to break down despite coming in with no points.” Bradley’s side started strong, taking the game to the Cubans from the opening whistle. They found the breakthrough just ten minutes in, when Beasley latched on to an excellent through ball by midfielder Sacha Kljestan. Beasley’s one-time finish, his 16th goal for the U.S., was perfectly placed to beat Cuban goalkeeper Odelin Molina to the far right post. The goal rattled Cuba, allowing the U.S. offense to continue churning, generating more chances in front of an excited home crowd. Midfielder Clint Dempsey sent an attempt just over the bar in the 22nd minute, and then a minute later Michael Bradley had a goal disallowed for offside. In the 30th minute, Donovan collected the ball on the right flank, looked to the far post and whipped in an excellent ball to Beasley, who timed his run to perfection. He controlled well with his chest, before forcing the ball past Molina with his right foot for his second goal of the night. For most teams, the early goals would signal an oncoming rout, but Cuba fought the odds and surprised everyone by responding immediately in the 32nd minute. Jenzy Muñoz pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the U.S. area, and with the outside of his foot he hit a perfectly weighted shot that barely grazed the crossbar before going in the goal over the outstretched Tim Howard. The goal was the first for a U.S. opponent in 582 minutes of action since Spain scored against the U.S. on June 4 in Santander. It also ended a shutout streak of 573 minutes during World Cup qualifying. Already a goal down, Cuba’s task was made even harder in the 41st minute when Yoel Colomé was dismissed for his second yellow card. Colomé clipped Donovan, who had used his pace to beat the Cuban defender to the ball, and referee Roberto Moreno Salazar had little choice in putting the offender in his notebook for the second time. The U.S. made a slight tweak to their formation to start the second half, but continued to keep the pressure on Cuba, and Donovan put the proverbial nail in the coffin just three minutes in when he finished off one of the prettiest goals of the evening. After a series of passes through the midfield, Ching collected the ball at the top of the penalty area with his back to goal and then slipped the ball wide left to Heath Pearce. With his first touch toward the endline, Pearce then slipped the ball through the six-yard box where a crashing Ching let the ball go and allowed Donovan the easy tap-in past Molina. After two point-blank attempts from Dempsey and Beasley were saved by Molina, the Cuban goalkeeper was unable to keep out Ching’s goal-line header in the 63rd minute. Beasley whipped in a free kick from the right side to the back post for a wide-open Kljestan, who headed the ball along the goal line where Ching did the last bit to make sure it was across the line. In the 68th minute, José Torres made his international debut for the U.S. when he came in for Heath Pearce, while Altidore replaced Ching. Altidore was the first to provide a spark, collecting a through ball on the right side and holding off his defender as he darted on goal, but Molina once again proved up to the task, this time knocking away the attempt with his right knee. Altidore would get another chance, but first Donovan came just a foot from tallying his second on the night, his free-kick skimming the outside of the post from 25 yards. Torres meanwhile, was making his mark on proceedings, and the debutant unleashed a rocket just high from 30 yards out. In the 87th minute, Altidore finally broke through when Dempsey slipped him straight up the gut of the Cuban defense and the youngster held off his defender before burying a low shot past a helpless Molina. Onyewu finished off the scoring in the 90th minute when he headed home a cross from Freddy Adu, who had replaced Kljestan in the 76th minute. The U.S. will announce the travel roster Sunday for the upcoming match against Trinidad & Tobago, which kicks off on Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. ET at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN and Galavision. Notes: This was the fourth consecutive win in the Semifinal Round, which ties for the most wins ever in a Semifinal Round (four in 1998 WC qualifying as well) … Costa Rica became the first team to book their place in the final hexagonal with a 4-1 victory against Suriname in Paramaribo in Group 3 on Saturday afternoon … The U.S. will not know it’s schedule in the Final Round of qualifying until December. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -- Match-up: USA vs. Cuba Scoring Summary: Scoring: Lineups: CUB: 12-Odelín Molina; 6-Yoel Colomé, 16-Reysander
Fernández, 3-Yeniel Márquez, 2-Silvio Miñoso; 14-Jaime
Colomé (8-Alianas Urgelles, 72), 5-José Luis Clavelo (capt.),
7-Luis Villegas (13-Carlos Domingo, 46), 9-Alain Cervantes, 11-Jenzy Muñoz
(10-Mario Ruiz, 80), 15-Leonel Duarte Stats Summary: Misconduct Summary: U.S. World Cup Qualifying Perfect The United States ran its record in CONCACAF World Cup 2010
qualifying to 3-0 with a 3-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota
Park outside of Chicago. Michael Bradley’s redirection of a free kick from Landon Donovan in the first half gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead. Clint Dempsey made it 2-0 in the first half and Brian Ching completed the scoring with the third goal in the second half. The U.S. has now won five straight qualifying games by shutout, but the last three have been unexciting 1-0 affairs. All on the road, against Barbados in the preliminaries and over Guatemala and Cuba in pool play. The win over T&T was the first at home in this round of games and came before a noisy crowd of 11,452. “It’s good to have gotten this round off to such a good start," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "We found a good rhythm and did a good job moving the ball and finding the little seams in their defense. I think that set the tone for the game. It was a good win, and halfway through this round I think we continue to improve and that’s what it’s all about.” The closest T&T came to scoring was late in the game after a corner kick when a followup shot was cleared off the line by defender Steve Churundalo. The U.S. outshot the visitors 11-6, but only two of T&T’s shots were on goal and U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard had to only make one save. Mexico and Costa Rica also ran their group records to 3-0-0. Mexico edged Canada 2-1 and Costa Rica beat Haiti 3-1. In Group A with the U.S. Guatemala beat Cuba 1-0 and moved into a tie with T&T for second place in the group. The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the final round robin. Following Mexico’s win over Canada, the Chicago Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who came on in the 89th minutes after not playing against Honduras and Jamaica, announced his retirement from international play. Bradley Names Qualifying Roster U.S. coach Bob Bradley has selected a 20-man roster for a pair of upcoming qualifying games against Cuba Sept. 6 in Havana and Trinidad & Tobago Sept. 10 in Bridgeview, Ill. Bradley has selected six players from the 2008 Olympic team, including Michael Orozco, the Mexican-based defender who picked up a third-minute red card in the USA’s loss to Nigeria. Eddie Johnson returns to the roster, while Kenny Cooper, who is lighting up Major League Soccer in scoring, was left off the roster. The U.S. opened the semifinal round of the CONCACAF qualifying with a 1-0 road win over Guatemala. "These next two games are very important to help us position ourselves to advance to the final stage," said Bradley. "With the win against Guatemala, we have put ourselves in a good situation at the start of the semifinal round. I was very pleased with the way our team stuck together in a difficult environment. We need to have that same type of effort in the matches against Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago." The roster is comprised of 13 foreign-based players and seven MLS men. Orozco, the only player on the roster who has yet to earn a U.S. international cap, is one of six players from 2008 Olympic team. The others are: midfielder Sacha Kljestan, defender Maurice Edu, who recently joined Glasgow Rangers, midfielder Michael Bradley, goalkeeper Brad Guzan, and defender Marvell Wynne. U.S. MNT Roster Vs. Cuba GOALKEEPERS DEFENDERS MIDFIELDERS FORWARDS The U.S. Men’s National Team earned their first-ever FIFA World Cup qualifying win in Guatemala on behind a Carlos Bocanegra goal after both sides had been reduced to 10 men in a physical match that produced seven yellow cards, two red cards and 40 total fouls. The victory was the first for the United States in Guatemala since 1988, and marked their third-straight shutout victory in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard starred between the pipes, making seven saves and more importantly controlling his area both in the air and on the ground. He earned his third shutout in four World Cup qualifying appearances. "It was a very hard fought game, and for us a hard earned three points," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "The win is based more on the determination of our team. Sometimes it's necessary to win games in that way. It was a game where we relied on the effort, team spirit, and the mentality of the group. “Our experienced players have made the point to the team that qualifying is always difficult away from home. You have to expect games to be very tough. We have played some tough games in the last year, but none of them are qualifiers. To experience it and to win in that fashion is good for the group." An afternoon rainstorm soaked an already wet field, creating a slippery and heavy surface. The chippy first half generated more yellow cards than shots on goal. Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey and Pablo Mastroeni were all booked in the first 33 minutes, as was Guatemala’s Guillermo Ramirez. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Guatemala created some of their best chances of the match with the first five shots of the half and other chances as space opened on the wings and in front of the U.S. back line. Things got trickier when Cherundolo pulled down Fredy Garcia near midfield and was shown his second yellow card of the game. The fortunes reversed just three minutes after Guatemala took the man advantage with the U.S. rushing to bring on Frankie Hejduk to provide cover at right back. On a long ball out of the back, Eddie Lewis looked to flick the ball on when he was violently met by Guatemala’s Gustavo Cabrera, who came flying in from the blind side with his elbow up. The two crashed heads, with Lewis falling to the ground with a gash on his forehead that required five stitches to close. Cabrera was shown a red card as soon as he regained his feet. Bradley quickly went to his bench, bringing on DaMarcus Beasley in addition to Hejduk, and the move quickly paid dividends. As Lewis headed to the locker room for more medical treatment, the U.S. quickly took an advantage that they would not relinquish. Landon Donovan drew a foul in the attacking third, his first free kick was stopped by the arm of Jose Manuel Contreras, who earned a yellow card for his transgression. On the next free kick, Donovan sent in a perfect ball to Oguchi Onyewu, who forced Trigueno to make his best save of the game tipping his headed ball over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner, Beasley curled the ball into the center of the area. As Onyewu was ridden down at the near post, Bocanegra used Brian Ching to set the perfect pick and he was wide open to head the ball inside the far post. It was Bocanegra’s second career World Cup qualifying goal and 10th of his international career. Down the stretch the U.S. held strong, with Howard being called to action several times to come off his line. Guatemala missed their best chance after Yony Flores shanked a left-footed shot at the far post in the 74th minute. Eight minutes later, Carlos Gallardo challenged Howard at the far post with a low shot. The U.S. goalkeeper smothered the shot, but a charging Ruiz kicked the U.S. goalkeeper as he challenged for a rebound that wasn’t there. After the foul was called, Howard returned to his feet and was given a yellow card for shouting at Ruiz, who mysteriously was not shown a card on the play. With the red card, the U.S. will be without the services of Cherundolo for the next qualifier in Havana vs. Cuba on Sept. 6. That match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision at 8 p.m. ET. That match is the first of two in a double match date that will include the USA’s first home qualifier of the semifinal round on Sept. 10 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. After MatchDay 1, the U.S. is in second place of Group 1 behind Trinidad & Tobago, 3-1 winners against Cuba. By earning yellow cards in the match, Dempsey, Mastroeni, and Howard join Onyewu – who carries a yellow from the Barbados second round series – on the list of players who will earn a one game suspension if they receive another caution in future qualifying matches. - U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report - Participants: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Guatemala
Scoring Summary: USA – Carlos Bocanegra (DaMarcus Beasley) 69th minute Lineups: GUA: 1-Ricardo Trigueno; 4-Yony Flores, 14-Luis Rodriguez,
7-Mario Rodriguez, 11-Guillermo Ramirez, 9-Carlos Ruiz, 5-Carlos Gallardo,
6-Gustavo Cabrera, 10-Fredy Garcia (2-Carlos Castrillo, 66), 15-Fredy
Thompson (12-Jean Marquez, 64), 16-Jose Manuel Contreras (13-Marco Pablo
Pappa, 74) Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Match Officials Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Tim Howard McCarty Replaces Sturgis On Olympic Team FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty, who played collegiate soccer at UNC Chapel Hill, has been named the the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team. McCarty, who was announced as an alternate when the team was named last week, will replace the injured Nathan Sturgis, former ACC Defensive Player of the Year at Clemson, on the U.S. roster. The 21-year old McCarty was to join the Olympic team for training in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thursday. "I've always thought that the Olympics were one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and like many kids, I dreamt of one day playing in such a tournament," said McCarty. "It's obviously not the ideal way to be called up – you never wish injury upon anyone. But it is still an honor." The team will travel to Hong Kong on Friday for the ING Cup, facing fellow Olympic participants Ivory Coast on July 30 and Cameroon on Aug. 2 in the final two matches before the start of the Games. "The initial shock of learning that I will be an Olympian was unbelievable," McCarty said. "It's an honor, and I was speechless when I found out. I just want to help the team out anyway possible and hopefully help us win a medal." In March, McCarty helped the U.S. team qualify for the Olympics. He played in four of the five CONCACAF qualifying tournament games, in which the U.S. finished second behind Honduras. The U.S. has been drawn into a difficult Group B of the Olympic Games and will open against Japan on Aug. 7 before facing the Netherlands on Aug. 10, with both games taking place at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Tianjin. The team will then travel to Worker's Stadium in Beijing to conclude group play against 1996 gold medalist and 2005 Under-20 World Cup champion Nigeria on Aug. 13. McCarty has appeared in 11 games for FC Dallas this season, registering one assist. Michael Harrington, another former Tar Heel, has been added as an alternate to the Olympic team in McCarty’s slot. Harrington plays for the Kansas City Wizards. U.S. men's Olympic team Goalkeeper (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake) Defenders (4): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC) Midfielders (8): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas). Forwards (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew) Head coach: Peter Nowak The long-anticipated announcement of the U.S. Men’s Olympic team included three overage players -- a goalkeeper, a defender and a forward. Brad Guzan, who is headed from MLS to England’s Aston Villa, was named to the team, along with Chris Seitz, who was the U23 goalkeeper during CONCACAF qualifying. The defender is Michael Parkhurst of the New England Revolution, and the forward is Brian McBride, who is the most senior member of the 18-player roster. The youngest players on the team are Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley. All of these six have international experience with the senior national team. The selection of the Olympic team was a collaboration between U23 coach Peter Nowak, who is also a full national team assistant, and MNT coach Bob Bradley. Part of the consideration was how not being able to include Olympic players on the roster for an Aug. 20 World Cup qualifier in Guatemala might impact the U.S. chances in that important game. The U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying
with a 9-0 aggregate thumping of Barbados, and is now in the six-game
round robin semifinals. That said, Nowak was able to get most of the players that he had hoped would be available. It is likely that this team, comprised entirely a professionals, is the most talented that the U.S. has sent to the Olympic Games. Joining Parkhurst, who is the current MLS Defender of the Year, on defense will be Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis, Mexico), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake) and Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC). The midfield includes Adu (SL Benfica), Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA) and Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio). Up front, joining McBride who is currently out of contract, will be Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF) and Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew). McBride, 36, the former captain of Fulham FC of the English Premier League, has appeared in three World Cups for the U.S. MNT. From 1993-2006 he made 95 appearances and scored 30 goals. He retired from international soccer following the 2006 World Cup. He is the only U.S. player to ever score in more than one World Cup. “After an extensive process of evaluation, we are very excited about the group of players that we have chosen to represent the United States at the Olympic Games,” said Nowak in a conference call. “It has been a very competitive environment, and
we have had some tough decisions to make. It’s no secret that we
have a difficult challenge in front of us in our group.” The Americans, in a very difficult group, begin Group B play on Aug. 7 against Japan, the Netherlands on Aug. 10 and Nigeria on Aug. 13. (See page 4 for schedule). U.S. Men’s Olympic Roster U.S. Advances 1-0 Over Barbados With a 1-0 victory against Barbados, the U.S. Men’s National Team captured the two-game, aggregate goal series by a 9-0 margin, advancing to the Semifinal Round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Eddie Lewis scored the only goal of the game in the second leg of the affair at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, providing the U.S. with their fourth straight shutout against the small Caribbean nation. The U.S. will now prepare for their first match of the Semifinal Round, which will be on the road against Guatemala on Aug. 20. Overall, the U.S. will play a total of six games in the round-robin Semifinal Round, facing all three opponents in the four-team group home and away. The top two teams will advance to the Final Round hexagonal that will be played in 2009. Along with the U.S. and Guatemala, Cuba advanced to the Semifinal Round group with an 8-3 aggregate score against Antigua & Barbuda, including a 4-0 victory this afternoon. Also advancing was Trinidad & Tobago, who defeated Bermuda 2-0 in the second leg for a 3-2 aggregate score. Guatemala advanced with a 9-1 aggregate score againt St. Lucia. After heading to Guatemala, the U.S. will travel to Cuba on Sept. 6 and then host Trinidad & Tobago in Chicago on Sept. 10. The second half of the round-robin play will begin against Cuba at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 11, before moving to Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 14 and finishing in Denver against Guatemala on Nov. 19. “For the series we feel good about the work we've done,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “This was an opportunity to use different players and it is important to get some young players experience. We had the confidence that we were strong enough defensively that we would hold together to get the win." Lewis, wearing the captain’s armband as he earned his 19th World Cup qualifying appearance, struck the game-winning goal in the 21st minute. After some nifty dribbling in the midfield, Freddy Adu, who earned his first World Cup qualifying start, spotted Lewis slicing behind the Barbados defense and slipped a nicely weighted through ball between two defenders directly into his path. Charging into the area, Lewis spotted the ‘keeper closing in and calmly slotted his shot through Alvin Rouse’s legs to the far right corner. With a thumping 8-0 win in the first leg against Barbados,
Bradley made seven changes to his starting line-up in Bridgetown, fielding
a youthful side. The only remaining players that started last week were
goalkeeper Brad Guzan, defender Heath Pearce
and midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Michael
Bradley. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report --
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F Scoring: Lineups: BRB: 1-Alvin Rouse, 5-Bryan Neblett, 6-Jonathan Straker,
7-Paul Ifill (capt.), 9-Marc McCammon, 11-Jonathan Nurse (12-Malcolm Marshall,
81), 13-Riviere Williams (8-Rondell Vaughan, 68), 14-Ramuel Miller, 15-Emerson
Boyce, 16-Barry Skeete, 17-John Parris Stats Summary: USA / BRB Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Eddie Lewis The U.S. Men’s National Team opened 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying and took a commanding lead in first leg of their Second Round two-game series against Barbados this afternoon with a historic 8-0 victory at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The eight-goal win is the largest margin of victory ever in U.S. Men’s National Team history, and ties the record for the most goals scored by the U.S. in a match. The U.S. scored eight goals in a friendly against the Cayman Islands on Nov. 14, 1993, but also allowed a goal in the 8-1 victory. Clint Dempsey started the rout when he tallied the quickest goal ever scored by the U.S. in World Cup qualifying, when he finished a fantastic service from Carlos Bocanegra only 53 seconds into the match. Michael Bradley and Brian Ching added goals in the first half before the U.S. wore down a tired Barbados defense in the second half to score five more goals, including three in the final nine minutes of the game. Dempsey and Ching both ended up with two-goal performances with goals in the second half, while an own goal and strikes from Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson provided the U.S. with the record performance. "It's good to get the whole thing underway,” said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “We spent a lot of time thinking about just getting off on the right foot, and a goal early like that certainly is getting off on the right foot. From there, it's just an exercise of staying sharp, trying to play the right ball, the right timing, and finish off some of plays so we could have a margin. We were able to do that, so in those ways it was a definite success." The second leg of the two-game series against Barbados will be played on Sunday, June 22 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Galavision. It took the U.S. a little less than 11 minutes to get their next goal, this effort not coming as cleanly as the record breaker. Right back Steve Cherundolo streaked down the sideline and swung a cross into the penalty area towards both Ching and Dempsey who were crashing in on goal. With a defender attempting to cover both U.S. players inside the six yard box, the ball bounced around before popping out for Ching to take a strike on goal, but Rouse made the save. The deflection landed in the middle of the penalty area where Bradley was able to pounce on the rebound and rip a crushing left-footed strike into the right side of the net to record a goal in his first-ever FIFA World Cup qualifier. After just missing on the earlier sequence, Ching got some help from midfielder Pablo Mastroeni to earn his first goal since the 2007 Gold Cup. A short corner kick by Donovan to DaMarcus Beasley started the sequence, and Beasley then fed it back to Donovan who had run to the top of the penalty area. Donovan quickly slipped the ball to his right for a wide-open Mastroeni, and the two-time World Cup veteran unleashed a blast towards the mash of players in the box where it deflected off Ching and found the back of the net. The five second half goals were scored by Donovan, Dempsey, Eddie Johnson, Ching and an own goal by Barbados. There were six other CONCACAF Second Round qualifying matches played on Sunday, with the most surprising scoreline coming out of Trinidad & Tobago where the home team lost, 2-1, to Bermuda. Mexico, Canada, Panama and Jamaica all won their first leg matches, while Haiti and the Netherlands Antilles played to a scoreless draw.
Match-up: USA vs. Barbados Scoring Summary: 1 2 F Scoring: Lineups: BRB: 1-Alvin Rouse; 2-Dyson James, 3-Daryl Ferguson, 4-Greg
Belle, 5-Bryan Neblett; 8-Jonathan Forte (13-Riviere Williams, 69), 10-Norman
Forde (Capt.) (12-Malcolm Marshall, 72), 11-Jonathon Nurse (17-John Parris,
76), 15-Rommelle Burgess; 7-Paul Ifill, 9-Mark McCammon. Stats Summary: USA / BRB Misconduct Summary: SANTANDER, Spain (June 4, 2008) – The U.S. Men’s National Team fought fourth-ranked Spain toe-to-toe for more than an hour before an opportunistic goal by Xavi Hernandez in the 79th minute delivered Spain a 1-0 victory before 13,500 fans at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander. Eddie Johnson had one goal called back and barely missed a second as Spain extended its unbeaten run to 17 matches and improved its record against the United States to 3-0-0 all-time. Kicking off at 10 p.m. local time, the U.S. played much
better than they did a week ago against England, creating a handful of
chances during a fairly even affair with the fourth-ranked team in the
world. The U.S. will have a short turnaround as they next face No. 1-ranked Argentina on June 8 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the team’s final match before beginning their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. More than 63,000 tickets been sold for the match, which will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Galavision at 7:30 p.m. ET. "In certain areas, I think there was improvement (from the match against England)," said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradly. "In the first half, I certainly felt that we passed the ball better. In the second half, we had a very good chance early on but we lost a little bit of energy and Spain was able to capitalize." "I thought we stopped moving to support each other when we had the ball. [Cesc] Fabregas and Xavi started moving very well to find little gaps in our midfield. At that point, Spain was able to take advantage. They're a very good passing team." The U.S. began the match with a renewed spirit and determination, staying compact and organized while constantly shutting down the Spanish passing lanes. The duo of Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu kept Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabrergas in check, while centerbacks Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu limited the chances for the Liverpool’s dangerous frontman, Fernando Torres. The U.S. made three changes to start the second half, once again inserting Brad Guzan for Tim Howard and Frankie Hejduk for Steve Cherundolo. DaMarcus Beasley made his second appearances in as many matches, replacing Adu and pushing Clint Dempsey into the center of the 4-2-3-1 formation. Spain also made a handful of changes in the second half, and almost immediately Ruben De La Red and then Xavi began to find space between the USA’s central midfield and backline to orchestrate attacks. Nonetheless, it was Johnson who once again almost broke the deadlock in the 49th minute. Eddie Lewis received the ball wide and drove down the left flank, delivering a cross reminiscent of his pass to Landon Donovan to set up the USA’s second goal in the Round of 16 victory against Mexico in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Johnson had done well to position himself ahead of his mark, but his glancing header skimmed agonizingly wide of the right post. As the half wore on, Spain began to show why they’ve
been chosen as a favorite to win the 2008 European Championships, which
kick off this weekend. They nearly grabbed the lead in the 62nd minute
when a well taken free kick from Xavi clanged off the crossbar. Down a goal, the U.S. picked up the pace and continued to push for an equalizer until the final whistle. They created two chances in added time, starting with a header from Bradley off a cross from Hejduk that didn’t find the mark. Johnson made a last-minute foray into the box, unleashing a tight-angle shot that was well handled by Casillas. After the Argentina match, the U.S. opens qualifying play
for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in a Second Round series with Barbados that
begins Sunday, June 15, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff
for the first leg of the series is set for 2 p.m. PT, and the match will
be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -- Match-up: USA vs. Spain Scoring Summary: Scoring Summary: Lineups: ESP: 1-Iker Casillas (capt.); 11-Joan Capdevila (3-Fernando
Navarro, 53), 4-Carlos Marchena, 5-Carlos Puyol, 15-Sergio Ramos; 12-Santi
Cazorla, 8-Xavi Hernandez, 14-Xabi Alonso (19-Marcos Senna, 46), 21-David
Silva (22-Ruben De La Red, 58); 9-Fernando Torres (17-Daniel Güiza,
46), 10-Cesc Fabregas (18-Álvaro Arbeloa, 84) Stats Summary: Misconduct Summary: The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to a determined England side on Wednesday evening in front of 71,233 fans at Wembley Stadium in London. John Terry, acting as the team captain on the night, and Steven Gerrard scored on either side of halftime to deliver a 2-0 victory to the world’s 11th ranked team. The loss was the first for the U.S. in 2008, and broke their five-game undefeated streak going back to October of last year. It was also the USA’s first loss in four away matches after setting a team record of three consecutive victories outside their borders. The U.S. now turns their sights on fourth-ranked Spain, who are in final preparations for the 2008 European Championships. The team travels to Santander on Thursday to prepare for their match-up at on Wednesday, June 4 at Estadio El Sardinero. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN360.com and delayed on ESPN2 (5:30 p.m. ET) and Galavision (7 p.m. ET/PT). “First, I would give credit to England,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “Overall, I thought that the first 30 minutes we dealt pretty well with the speed of the game. As we moved on in the half, certainly we hurt ourselves with giving away some fouls around the box to a dangerous team on set pieces, and they took advantage of that. In the second half there was an attempt to push a level up on our end, but we couldn't sustain enough pressure, and in that regard England on the night was quite good. The second goal for them was excellent passing movement and I give them credit.” The U.S. was without the services of midfielder Landon Donovan, who was a game-time scratch due to a strained groin which he suffered during the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 3-1 win against the Kansas City Wizards this past weekend. Without Donovan, who is just one cap away from reaching 100 international appearances, the U.S. struggled to create enough dangerous chances against the quality defensive line of England. A compact U.S. defense did a good job of denying quality scoring chances throughout the opening stanza, and in particular keeping Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney from getting good looks at goal. The majority of England’s chances in the first half were created from the deadly foot of David Beckham, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder finding numerous chances to whip crosses into the U.S. penalty area. England’s first real opportunity came in the 12th minute when Beckham’s service from the left flank dangerously skipped through the six-yard box before ending up harmlessly over the endline. Along with Beckham, Gerrard proved dangerous all over the pitch as the Liverpool midfielder found open areas in the final third to exploit the U.S. defense. Beckham served in another dangerous kick in the 24th minute from just outside the area. Gerrard ran into the penalty box unmarked and pulled off a shot that was deflected by Carlos Bocanegra. The U.S. got a look at the England goal two minutes later when Eddie Johnson held off his defender near the English endline on the right side of the 18-yard box and chipped the ball across the goalmouth. Michael Bradley was waiting at the far post but couldn’t stretch high enough to get a head on the ball. Jermaine Defoe came close to opening the scoring in the 34th minute after a great build-up from the English team. David James sent a long ball to the feet of Wayne Rooney in the center circle. Rooney passed to Gerrard who sent a quick, sharp pass to Defoe. Despite being tightly marked by Pearce, Defoe managed to hit a shot that went wide left of the U.S. goal. After missing a penalty kick for Chelsea in the Champions League final against Manchester United, Terry went into the match with a heavy heart. However, in the 38th minute the weight was slightly lifted when he put England in the lead by converting a trademark Beckham set piece. Handed a free kick on the right flank 40 yards from goal, the Galaxy midfield swerved in a dipping cross and the England captain rose above the crowd near the penalty spot to nod one home past Howard into the right corner. The U.S. made two changes at halftime, swapping Brad Guzan for Tim Howard, and replacing Steve Cherundolo with Frankie Hejduk. The team came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of purpose, creating their most dangerous opportunity of the night in the first minute of the second half. Pearce advanced up the left flank and picked out Johnson making a run to the near post. The Sierra Mist Man of the Match hit a one-time volley toward goal that narrowly missed finding the inside of the left post. Defoe once again created danger for the U.S. in the 53rd minute, taking an unbelievably swift first touch and turning on Pearce after collecting a free kick from Terry directly in front of the goal. The Portsmouth striker's snap shot was well saved by Guzan, who maintained his composure in the face of a dicey scoring chance. England doubled their lead in the 59th minute with Steven Gerrard showing his class. Manchester United defender Wes Brown played a ball to Gareth Barry in the middle of the park, who clinically spliced a ball between the U.S. defense and into the path of the perfectly timed run by Gerrard. The England number 10 made no mistake, calmly holding the ball at his feet long enough to draw Guzan out before slipping a shot across the goal into the lower left corner. The U.S. continued to search for a goal of their own, getting two sniffs in the 66th and 68th minutes. On the first, Michael Bradley drove a ball into the area for Josh Wolff, but his diving header went well left. Dempsey followed that up two minutes later with a shot from 35 yards out, but the deflected effort fell harmlessly to James. Bradley made three more changes to the U.S. lineup as Freddy Adu came into the match for Wolff in the 68th minute, along with Eddie Lewis, who replaced DaMarcus Beasley. Lewis put his experience to work with some fancy footwork along the right endline to get past English midfielder Joe Cole, then floating the ball to the back post. With U.S. captain Bocanegra ready to pounce, James managed to stretch a paw out and swat the ball out for U.S. corner. With the game in hand, England was able to keep the U.S. chasing until the final whistle. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -- Match-up: USA vs. England Scoring Summary: Scoring:
Subs not used 2-Dan Califf Head Coach: Bob Bradley ENG: 1-David James; 2-Wes Brown (13-Glen Johnson, 58), 6-John Terry (capt.), 3-Ashley Cole (14-Wayne Bridge, 83), 5-Rio Ferdinand; 7-David Beckham (17-David Bentley, 46), 4-Owen Hargreaves, 8-Frank Lampard (21-Gareth Barry, 57), 10-Steven Gerrard; 9-Jermain Defoe (25-Peter Crouch, 68), 11-Wayne Rooney (22-Joe Cole, 79) Subs not used: 12-Joe Hart, 15-Stephen Warnock, 16-Jonathan Woodgate, 18-Phil Jagielka, 19-David Wheater, 20-Tom Huddlestone, 23-Stewart Downing, 24-Ashley Young, , 26-Dean Ashton, 27-Theo Walcott, 28-Gabriel Agbonlahor, 29-Joe Lewis Head Coach: Fabio Capello Stats Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: Bradley Will Draw From Top 33 Player Pool U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a 33-man player pool that will be used to select rosters for the upcoming trio of blockbuster friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina. The roster for the England match, which will include approximately 22 players, will be announced early next week. All three of the USA’s World Cup qualifying tune-up matches will be broadcast on the ESPN and Univision networks, and fans can follow each game live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. “With the challenging schedule of friendlies we have organized to prepare for World Cup qualifying, this is an excellent opportunity to continue to evaluate our player pool and at the same time balance the workload,” said Bradley, who is presiding over a five-match unbeaten run for the United States. “Many of our players have just completed seasons in Europe, and the MLS schedule is in full swing, so it is important that we manage the time wisely to give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the important matches this summer.” The friendly schedule kicks off with a trip to famed Wembley Stadium for a May 28 clash with England that will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic at 3 p.m. ET and tape delay on Galavision at 7 p.m. ET/PT. More than 1,300 tickets were sold in the U.S. Supporters Section for the USA’s second-ever trip to London. The U.S. will then face fourth-ranked Spain on June 4 at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander. The match will be shown live exclusively on espn360.com, and broadcast via tape delay on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m. ET and Galavision at 7 p.m. ET/PT. The U.S. will head back across the Atlantic to face No. 1-ranked Argentina on June 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET in New Jersey. More than 46,000 tickets have been sold for the USA’s final match at Giants Stadium. The USA’s final match before the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Galavision. The U.S. is currently riding a five-match unbeaten run that includes back-to-back victories on European soil for the first time in team history. Prior to the USA’s first qualifying match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup cycle, the U.S. will have played in two major international tournaments, defended their Gold Cup title, qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and competed against four teams who were ranked in the top 10 in the world when they faced the United States (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain). The U.S. opens qualifying play for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in a Second Round series with Barbados that begins Sunday, June 15 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff for the first leg series is set for 2 p.m. PT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision. The second leg will be played on June 22, with details still to be finalized. U.S. Men’s National Team Player Pool U.S. To Play Argentina In New Jersey Coming off a 3-0 victory over Poland, the U.S. MNT’s first-ever back-to-back wins in Europe, U.S. Soccer has announced a May 28 game against England in Wembly Stadium, and a June 8 game at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, NJ against #1 ranked Argentina. The 3-0 victory in Krakow followed last fall’s 1-0 win over Swizerland in Basel. The games with England and Argentina, along with a June 4 game against Spain in Santander, gives the U.S. three consecutive high-level games before going into World Cup 2010 qualifying in June. The match against Argentina will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. "Argentina is clearly one of the best teams in the world and playing against an opponent of that caliber is a great opportunity for our team," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "Combined with the matches against England and Spain, we have put together a very good schedule to help us prepare for World Cup qualifying. We expect it will be a fantastic crowd at Giants Stadium, and we are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere." The U.S. begins the quest to qualify for their sixth-consecutive World Cup finals when they take on Barbados on June 15 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The second leg of the home-and-away series will be played either June 21 or 22 in Barbados. Prior to the USA’s first World Cup qualifier, the U.S. will have faced six teams that have been ranked in the top 15 in the world since 2007 – Argentina, Brazil, England, Mexico, Sweden and Spain. The U.S. is 2-0-1 this year, having also beaten Sweden 2-0 and played Mexico to a 2-2 draw. The U.S. has played top-ranked Argentina eight times in their history, holding a lifetime record of 2-6-0 against the South American juggernaut. Of those eight matches, only three have been played in the United States, with the other five taking place in neutral sites. The two U.S. victories include a 3-0 upset of the defending champions in the group phase of the 1995 Copa America, and a 1-0 win in 1999 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., when a Joe-Max Moore goal was the difference. This will be the last friendly match for the U.S. Men at Giants Stadium. The U.S. Men have played at Giants Stadium seven times in their history, holding a 4-1-2 record. One of the most memorable matches in U.S. history occurred at the East Rutherford venue on June 11, 2000, when the U.S. defeated Mexico, 3-0, to win the 2000 Nike U.S. Cup. The emphatic victory was the beginning of the team’s current 10-game undefeated streak on home soil against their archrival. The U.S. played their last two matches at Giants Stadium during the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, defeating Honduras, 2-1, in the semifinals and then Panama in penalty kicks to earn the title. The teams last met during the 2007 Copa America, with the Argentines outclassing a young and inexperienced U.S. team in their 4-1 win on June 28 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Argentina advanced to the final before falling to Brazil, 3-0, to finish in second place. Argentina currently sits in second place of CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, collecting three victories while suffering one defeat through four matches. Following the match against the United States, the Argentines will play qualifiers against Colombia at home on June 14 and away in Brazil three days later. The match against England on May 28 will take place at the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium and will kick off at 8 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET), live on ESPN Classic and Univision. The U.S. will then move to continental Europe to take on fourth-ranked Spain on June 4 at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander. Goals by a pair of defenders and a swerving free kick from Eddie Lewis paced the U.S. to a convincing 3-0 win against Poland as the U.S. improved their lifetime record against Poland to an even 7-7-2. Landon Donovan provided both assists on the first half goals from Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu as the U.S. remained unbeaten in 2008, posting a 2-0-1 record. The victory marked the first time the U.S. MNT has won consecutive games on European soil. The U.S. defeated Switzerland, 1-0, in Basel on Oct. 17, 2007, in their last trip across the pond. The three-goal margin of victory was also the largest for the U.S. in Europe since a 3-0 victory against Austria in Vienna in 1998. “I thought it was a great team effort tonight,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “Obviously we took advantage of set pieces, which is always a positive. More importantly, we showed the mentality and discipline necessary to win games on the road against good opponents like Poland. I thought the crowd tonight was fantastic. It was a special atmosphere, one that our players really appreciated.” After coming off the field in Krakow, the U.S. learned their opponent for the second round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, as Barbados defeated Dominica 1-0 to win the first-round series 2-1 on aggregate. The U.S. hosts their first qualifier on June 15 at The Home Depot Center, with the second leg to be played either June 20 or 21 in Barbados. In preparation for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, the U.S. will play a set of friendlies in Europe, facing England on May 28 in London before moving to continental Europe to play fourth-ranked Spain on June 4 at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander. Kickoff against England at the new, 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium is set for 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Univision. Against Poland, the U.S. came out organized and disciplined from the opening whistle, and Bradley’s side dealt with the slippery conditions much better than the hosts. Time and again, the U.S. pressure led to poor passes and turnovers from Poland, and the U.S. was able to string together series of combinations to create opportunities. The U.S. snatched the lead in the 12th minute off a trademark Donovan free kick, which was earned when a charging Heath Pearce was fouled on the left flank. Set up 25 yards from goal along the sideline, he swerved an in-swinger six yards in front of the near post, where Bocanegra laid more shoulder than head to the ball, directing a shot to the lower left corner. The goal marked the ninth international strike for the U.S. captain, who was named Sierra Mist Man of the Match for also having an impressive performance with his defensive duties to help earn the shutout. Offensively, the U.S. continued to maintain pressure, while staying strong in the back. The central tandem of Bocanegra and Onyewu kept the middle clean and Steve Cherundolo and Pearce contained the runs of the Polish wingers. Another service from Donovan, who earned his 99th cap against Poland, led to the USA doubling their advantage in the 35th minute. This time it was Onyewu who was on the end of the expert service. A corner kick delivery from the right reached the head of the 6’4” defender, who got free when defender Marcin Wasilewski slipped while jostling in the area. Onyewu made no mistake, powering home a drive from seven yards to record the fourth goal of his career, and mark the first ever time scoring in back-to-back games. Despite several changes at halftime by Leo Beenhhakker, the U.S. never took their foot off the gas and nearly struck again just three minutes into the second stanza. Taking advantage of a miscue by defender Grzegorz Bronowicki, who was the last man with Poland’s entire team pushed forward, Donovan snuck behind him and stole the ball inside the midfield circle. With Bronowicki chasing, Donovan sprinted in alone on goal and tried to curl a shot to the far corner when the ‘keeper came to cut off his angle, but his attempt narrowly skimmed past the right post. A pair of second-half substitutes combined to end all hope for Poland in the 73rd minute. A foul on Josh Wolff about 20 yards from goal set the table, leaving Lewis and Clint Dempsey standing over the ball. It would be Lewis to pull the trigger, the left-footer bending a wicked strike over the Polish wall that nestled into the lower right corner. Poland’s best chance of the night was in the 30th minute when a poor clearance by Pearce allowed Poland to regain possession near the top of the penalty area. The ball was eventually played back to Dariusz Dudka and he unleashed a bullet on target, but Tim Howard was up to the challenge, diving to his left to push it wide of the post. With only three saves on the night, Howard picked up his 11th career shutout and 18th career victory. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -- Scoring Summary: Scoring: Lineups: POL: 1-Artur Boruc; 13-Marcin Wasilewski, 6-Jacek Bak, 16-Arkadiusz
Radomski (19-Michal Golinski, 63), 3-Grzegorz Bronowicki; 21-Lukasz Piszczek
(17-Wojciech Lobodzinski, 46), 18-Mariusz Lewandowski, 5-Dariusz Dudka,
8-Jacek Krzynowek (7-Euzebiusz Smolarek, 46); 9-Maciej Zurawski (10-Lukasz
Gargula, 46), 20-Pawel Brozek (11-Radolsaw Matusiak, 46) Stats Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Carlos Bocanegra Bradley Names Roster For Poland Friendly U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named 18 players to the roster that will face Poland on Wednesday, March 26 in Krakow. Kickoff at Wisla Stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The match in Poland represents the first of three friendlies the U.S. will play on European soil prior to the start of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. begins the quest to qualify for their sixth-consecutive World Cup finals when they take on the winner of the first round series between Barbados and Dominica. The Caribbean nations drew 1-1 in the first leg on Feb. 6 in Dominica, with Barbados hosting the return leg on March 26 in Bridgetown. The U.S. will host their first qualifier on June 15 at The Home Depot Center, with the second leg to be played between June 18-21 on the road. The U.S. Men will travel to England for the first time since 1994 to meet the #11 ranked England National Team on May 28 in London. Kickoff at the new, 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium is set for 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Univision. The ninth meeting between the nations will serve as preparation for both teams as they gear up for the start of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A week after taking on England, the team will head to continental Europe to face Spain at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 4, at Estadio El Sardinero in Santander. U.S. MNT Roster Vs. Poland It’s Official! The U.S. Men’s National Team
will travel to England for the first time since 1994 to meet the 11th
ranked England National Team on May 28 in London. The ninth meeting between the nations will serve as preparation for both teams as they gear up for the start of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Ticket information for U.S. fans wanting to travel to the England match will be announced shortly. "We have consistently said that one of our goals is
to play matches against good opponents and in environments that will really
challenge our team,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley.
With previously announced matches against Poland on March 26 and Spain on June 4, the meeting with England will provide the U.S. with an impressive three games on European soil in preparation for World Cup qualifying. The U.S. will face Poland in Krakow at 3:30 ET (live on Fox Soccer Channel) and Spain at Estadio El Sardinero in Santander at 4 p.m. ET. The U.S. begins the quest to qualify for their sixth-consecutive
World Cup finals when they take on the winner of the first round series
between Barbados and Dominica. The U.S. and England last met on British soil at the original Wembley Stadium in London on Sept. 7, 1994, with the Three Lions earning a 2-0 victory. One year before, the USA posted a matching 2-0 scoreline at Foxboro Stadium as part of the build up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The most memorable meeting between the teams occurred 58 years ago at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. In that match, the United States provided one of the sport’s biggest all-time upsets with a 1-0 win in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. England holds a 6-2-0 lifetime advantage in the series that dates back to 1950. The teams last played on May 28, 2005, in Chicago where Clint Dempsey’s first international goal wasn’t enough to cancel out the pair from Kieran Richardson as England hung on for a 2-1 win before 47,637 fans at Soldier Field. (Watch the highlights here) England has been drawn into Group 6 of UEFA qualifying for
the 2010 FIFA World Cup, headlining a group that includes Croatia, the
third place team in the 1998 World Cup. The English open qualifying action
with a pair of away matches, traveling to face Andorra on Sept. 6, before
meeting Croatia in Zagreb four days later. Dorrance, Perez Elected To National Soccer HOF Legendary University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Coach Anson Dorrance and highly respected U.S. National Team Veteran Hugo Perez have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame President Steve Baumann announced today. Unfortunately, in the 2008 Player election no individual exceeded the required 75% of ballots cast to gain entrance into the Hall of Fame. Top players were Preki Radosavljevic with 67.97% and Joy Fawcett with 67.19% of the vote. This is the first time this has happened since a voting change was made in 2004. “We are excited to reveal such a prestigious 2008
Hall of Fame Class,” he said. “Anson Dorrance has set an unbelievable
standard for American soccer coaches. His success at UNC is staggering
and his World Championship with the U.S. Women’s National Team has
inspired coaches to higher levels of excellence. Induction into the National
Soccer Hall of Fame is a natural outgrowth of his exemplary and continuing
career.” The U.S. Men’s National Team continued their dominating undefeated streak at home against Mexico this evening with an exciting 2-2 draw in front of 70,103 fans at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The match was a high-paced affair, with the U.S. jumping out to a 2-1 lead at halftime, only to surrender the tying goal just two minutes into the second half to Mexico’s Jonny Magallón, who had both goals for the Tri-Colores. The U.S. goals came from defender Oguchi Onyewu and 18-year-old Jozy Altidore, making his first start for the United States. “There were some good things that you need to see in a tough environment and in a tough game,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, whose U.S. record now stands at 13-5-2, “and there were some things that you see that you still need to improve on. These kind of games are what the players look forward to and as coaches, we understand that we need this kind of games in order to look hard at our players and our team to find things that we need to improve.” The U.S. is now undefeated in its last 10 home games against Mexico, compiling an impressive 8-0-2 record since 2000. The U.S. has outscored Mexico 17-3 in that stretch, including Wednesday’s match, which was the highest scoring game in the series in almost 11 years (dating back to a 2-2 draw on April 20, 1997, a span of 17 games). The opening goal of the game came in the 29th minute after the USA’s first sustained pressure of the match, with Onyewu finishing a towering, precise header from eight yards out that left Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa helpless. Onyewu began the sequence with a long throw-in from the left sideline that the Mexican defense failed to clear, allowing Landon Donovan to alertly lift the ball back into the area from the right side of the penalty area and allow the hulking defender to expertly head home off the right post. Mexico tied the match in the 35th minute on a close-range strike from Jonny Magallón, after a brilliantly played free kick from Pavel Pardo on the right flank eluded the U.S. defense and slid dangerously to the back post. Magallón eluded Drew Moor to slam his shot from four yards out into the upper left corner of the goal. Mexico’s second goal also came on a close-range back-post strike from Magallón, who again beat Moor to the spot, this time finishing a deflected corner from Carlos Vela (by defender Carlos Salcido at the near post) just two minutes into the second half to even the score. Magallón’s two goals were sandwiched around a stunning header from the young Altidore (18 years, 92 days), making his first start for the United States. Altidore’s 40th minute strike was slammed home from nine yards out after Moor had gotten forward on the right flank to hit a pinpoint cross into the area. The goal was the result of a strong U.S. counterattack led by Bobby Convey, who eventually fed Clint Dempsey, who in turn fed Michael Bradley to create the space for Moor. With the goal, Altidore became the youngest player to score for the United States in the modern era. Just two minutes after the USA’s second goal, Dempsey thought he had a goal of his own, hitting a 22-yard turnaround laser into the lower right corner of the goal. However, in controlling the ball off his chest on a long pass from Onyewu, the Texas native was whistled for offside. Despite watching the U.S. surrender two goals to Mexico at home for the first time in 11 years, goalkeeper Tim Howard was exceptional in the net for the United States, making a number of strong saves, and more importantly securely controlling every ball he was able to get his hands on. The Everton goalkeeper finished the match with six saves. Overall, the testy match between the two old rivals featured six yellow cards, including four against the United States. Through 54 all-time meetings with Mexico, the U.S. has a lifetime record of 14-29-11 in a series that dates to 1934. However, the United States owns a dominating 12-6-9 advantage in home matches since 1957. Additionally, since the rivalry between these two teams began in earnest in 1990, the sides have played 27 times, with the U.S. holding a 12-7-8 advantage. The 70,103 fans marked the fourth largest attendance for a USA-Mexico match in the United States (and the largest outside the state of California). It was also the second largest soccer crowd in Texas history. The U.S. wore their new home white Nike uniforms for the first time, and the match also featured the debut of the team's new game ball (the Total 90 Omni). Next up for the United States is an away match on March 26 against Poland in a city to be determined. The U.S. last faced Poland on March 1, 2006 in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where a lone goal from Clint Dempsey provided a 1-0 victory in a match that included a heavy snowfall during the second half. In June, the U.S. will travel to face fourth-ranked Spain as both teams prepare for major international events in the summer, the United States getting ready for their first World Cup qualifier on June 15 in Carson, Calif., while Spain gets ready for the 2008 European Championship. CHICAGO (January 24, 2008) — U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has recalled 21 players to the U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, CA, to begin preparations for the match against Mexico. More than 43,000 tickets have been sold for the showdown with the USA’s regional rivals on Feb. 6 in Houston. Kickoff at Reliant Stadium is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Univision, as well as on 75 affiliates of the Fútbol de Primera Radio Network. Fans can also follow the game live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. All 21 players on the Carson roster were part of the group that began training in early January and finished with a 2-0 win against Sweden on Jan. 19 at the HDC. Missing are four members of the Under-23 Men’s National Team – Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan and Marvell Wynne – who will participate in the U-23 camp being held from Jan. 24-Feb.3 in Bradenton, Fla. "We are very pleased with the work we put in so far this year, and are looking forward to the next challenge against Mexico,” said Bradley. “We will continue to build on the concepts that we have established during the last year, and we are clearly progressing as a team as we move forward in preparing for the start of World Cup qualifying this summer.” Fourteen of the players saw action in the Sweden match, with three players earning their first international appearance. Houston Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson bagged his first goal in addition to his first cap, slamming home a rebound off a Pat Noonan shot to tally the game-winner. In the USA’s 500th international match, Landon Donovan made another U.S. scoring record all his own, converting a penalty for his 35th career goal, making him No. 1 on the USA’s all-time scoring list. Brad Guzan got credit for his first shutout in five internationals played, after having split time in three previous U.S. shutouts in which he appeared. The 21-man training camp roster remains a largely domestic-based group, holding 16 players who ply their trade in the United States. The MLS teams are well represented, with 11 of 14 clubs contributing players to the Carson camp. The roster boasts several year-end award winners, including MLS Goalkeeper of the Year (Brad Guzan) and Defender of the Year (Michael Parkhurst). In addition, New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman finished third on the leaguegoalscoring chart with 16 goals, the fourth time in his six-year career he has tallied 15 goals or more. The list of Scandinavian-based players on the roster has grown to five, with Clarence Goodson (IK Start) and Noonan (Aalesund FK) both signing contracts to head to Norway at the conclusion of their service. They join Aalborg BK captain Dan Califf, Ramiro Corrales and Jeremiah White, who collected his first cap when he replaced Donovan in the second half of the Sweden match. The team will train in Carson until Feb. 3 before leaving for Houston. The final roster for the Mexico match, which may include more European-based players, will be finalized prior to the team’s departure from Carson. After the Sweden match, the U.S. will compete in a series of friendlies before beginning the attempt to qualify for their sixth-consecutive World Cup finals when they take on the winner of the first round series between Barbados and Dominica. The U.S. will host their first qualifier on June 15, with the second leg to be played between June 18-21 on the road. U.S. Men's National Team Training Camp Roster Johnson Is Fifth American On Fulham United States striker Eddie Johnson has became the fifth American player to sign with Fulham of the English Premier League. He has received an English work permit and was immediately signed by Fulham to a contract running through the summer of 2011. Johnson, a Florida native who has 11 goals in 31 matches with the U.S. men, is likely to join Fulham within the week and he could make his EPL debut within days of arriving in England. Johnson’s initial application for a work permit was denied because he was one match short of playing for the necessary 75 percent of U.S. national team “official matches” over the past two years. His 72 percent was sufficient upon appeal. The deal between Johnson, who has been playing for the Kansas City Wizards, and Major League Soccer has been negotiated with the London club for transfer for several weeks. As is its policy, MLS did not disclose the amout, but it is reported that the transfer fee for Johnson is the largest MLS has ever received for a player. Johnson signed a new contract with MLS last season and it reportedly contained a buyout clause valued at $4 million. Johnson becomes the fifth U.S. player on Fulham. “I have made no secret of the fact that I believe the squad lacks a certain balance in specific areas of the team and following the loss of (American forward) Brian McBride to injury, this is true of our strike force,” Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said “At six-foot, one-inches tall, Eddie has the presence that will complement the other forwards within our squad and he has the ability to offer us another dimension to our attacking play.” The other Americans on Fulham are McBride, who is about to return to action after dislocating his left kneecap in the season-opener, soon after he was named team captain; defender Carlos Bocanegra, midfielder-striker Clint Dempsey and goalkeeper Kasey Keller. Johnson, 23, played seven seasons in MLS, the first five for FC Dallas (nee Dallas Burn) and the last two in Kansas City. In 127 regular-season matches, he scored 41 goals and added 13 assists. He had one assist in six playoff games. McBride has returned to training, but no date has been set for his return to the lineup. Fulham is in 19th place at 2-12-9 with 15 points, five points from escaping the drop zone with 15 games left. Robinson, Donovan Lead U.S. Men Over Sweden Landon Donovan became the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. Men’s National Team after scoring from the penalty spot in the second half to help defeat Sweden, 2-0, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. For Donovan, his penalty kick in the 48th minute was his 35th goal in international play, pushing him past Eric Wynalda for the all-time lead in his 97th appearance. “I wouldn’t classify it as important but it’s something that I’m very proud of,” said Donovan of the record. “More so than scoring goals, being part of the team for a long time it’s something I’m proud of. For me, the most important part of any game is helping the team get a victory.” Donovan wasn’t the only one who made history on the night as defender Eddie Robinson’s opening strike put him into the history books as well, although not as exclusive. By burying his one-timer off deflected save in the 15th minute, Robinson became just the 44th player in U.S. history to score a goal in his first appearance – something Donovan, still just 25 years old, had done himself back in 2000. The victory was the 10th straight time the U.S. has either tied or won their opening game of the year, with the U.S. also defeating Sweden to start the streak, 1-0, in 1998. “For us it’s a good way to start the year. This camp is always a challenge because guys have been off for a while, but we felt throughout the camp that things we worked on throughout last year were coming back, especially working as a team. Our fitness levels came along quickly, and tonight we played against a team who is always a good match for us. The game had tempo. It was physically challenging. I think to come out of it with a good result was important.” The U.S. started the game brightly and created the first real chance of the game in the seventh minute. Left back Ramiro Corrales, making his first international appearance since 2004, lifted the ball towards Taylor Twellman near the edge of the area. The New England forward cleverly flicked the ball behind him to Revolution teammate Pat Noonan, who dropped the ball back to midfielder Ricardo Clark just outside the area. Clark’s stinging one-timer was saved well by Rami Shaaban, who parried the ball away. Brad Davis, starting on the left flank for the U.S., took the majority of the free kicks and his deliveries were dangerous all night. In the 12th minute, his well-placed free kick just missed an onrushing Twellman at the edge of the six yard box. The U.S. was getting the better of their opponents, and in the 15th minute Robinson gave them the deserved lead. Davis whipped in an enticing corner, and Noonan’s flicked header caught the Sweden goalkeeper Rami Shaaban by surprise, but he was still able to punch it off the line. The ball deflected inside the area and Robinson pounced on the rebound, slamming the ball into the roof of the net from seven yards out. The goal was the wakeup call Lars Lagerbäck’s side needed, and Sweden began to come back into the game. Brad Guzan was forced into action in the 30th minute after a Sweden free kick fell invitingly for forward Pontus Wernbloom. Guzan was quick to react, however, and he made himself big to deny Wernbloom from close range. Three minutes later, Guzan was called upon again and denied Wernbloom for the second time. A mixup between Robinson and defender Jimmy Conrad gifted Wernbloom the ball in the box. But Guzan flew off his line and smothered the shot to deny Sweden its best chance of the match. The U.S. carried its one goal advantage into the break, and made three changes to start the second half. One of those subs, forward Jozy Altidore, stamped his authority on the game almost instantly, as he was brought down in the box in the 48th minute. A good combination from Donovan and right-back Drew Moor lead to a low cross into the area. Noonan controlled well, and found Altidore streaking to the edge of the six yard box. The New York Red Bulls forward wound up to shoot, but was impeded by Sweden’s Mattias Bjärsmyr. Donovan took it upon himself to dispatch the spot kick and came through for the U.S. as he has done so many times before. The weight of history seemed to have no effect on the California native, but he clearly knew what his achievement meant to U.S. soccer history, grabbing the ball immediately after the goal and taking it to the sidelines to be saved. Now up 2-0, the U.S. began to stroke the ball around with confidence. Altidore was causing all sorts of problems for the Swedish backline, who had to resort to physical play in order to stop the athletic 18-year old. In addition to Robinson, Bob Bradley handed debut caps to defender Clarence Goodson and midfielder Jeremiah White. The young U.S. internationals were unfazed by the bright lights and the team closed out the final whistle without ever really being threatened in the second half. The U.S. Men’s National Team will next play host to CONCACAF rival Mexico on Feb. 6 in Houston. Kickoff at Reliant Stadium is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Univision. Fans can also follow the match live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. -- U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report -- Match-up: USA vs. Sweden Scoring Summary: USA – Eddie Robinson (Pat Noonan) 15th minute Lineups: SWE: 1 Rami Shaaban; 2-Mikael Lustig, 3-Mattias Bjärsmyr,
4-Peter Larsson, 5-Oscar Rönningberg (15-Behrang Safari, 61), 6-Daniel
Andersson (capt.); 7-Niclas Alexandersson (18-Viktor Elm, 46), 8-Anders
Svensson, 9-Andreas Johansson (16-Samuel Holmen, 61); 10-Rade Prica (20-Johan
Oremo, 61), 11-Pontus Wernbloom (19-Andreas Dahl, 78). Stats Summary: USA / SWE Misconduct Summary: Officials: Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Landon Donovan
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