1. U.S. Announce Roster for Qualifier vs. Cuba Saturday

    October 10, 2008 by admin

    Head Coach Bob Bradley announced last week the 23 players he will include on the roster for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s World Cup Qualifying match versus Cuba this Saturday.  The game will begin at 7 pm EST at RFK Stadium in Washington DC and can be viewed on ESPN Classic.

    © John Todd/isiphotos.com

    The United States can clinch a spot in the final World Cup qualifying round with a win over Cuba this Saturday. 

    As far as the roster is concerned, it appears that we’ll be seeing the same old crew we usually see. Whether or not Bradley chooses to use his roster in a different, more effective way is yet to be seen. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am tired of seeing boring games where the U.S. has trouble putting a solid game together…even when playing against a poor team. We’ll see if Bradley has come up with a better scheme tomorrow evening.


    The U.S. Roster Saturday will include:

    GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, Tim Howard (Everton FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF).

    DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock).

    MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca).

    FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

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  2. FIFA World Rankings Update

    October 8, 2008 by admin

    The Spanish Men’s National Team appears to have extended its lead over the rest of the world as it remained in first place for the fourth month in a row Wednesday.

    Although Spain’s recent World Cup qualifying wins have come over weaker teams Armenia and Bosnia, the top ranking remained in tact.  Second place Italy held its ground as well with qualifying wins over Georgia and Cyprus, and third place Germany managed to secure its ranking with its solid qualifying play.

    The Brazilians managed to make a leap in the rankings despite a tie in qualifying play against Bolivia and a 5-0 win over Chile.  Brazil jumped the Netherlands to secure the fourth place ranking.

    Unfortunately for you United States fans, the Americans are nowhere to be found in the FIFA rankings this month…well, unless you take a look at the bottom end of the list!


    1. (1) Spain
    2. (2) Italy
    3. (3) Germany
    4. (6) Brazil
    5. (4) Netherlands
    6. (5) Croatia
    7. (7) Argentina
    8. (8) Czech Republic
    9. (12) Russia
    10. (9) Portugal
    11. (11) France
    12. (14) Cameroon
    13. (10) Turkey
    14. (15) England
    15. (16) Bulgaria
    16. (19) Israel
    17. (18) Greece
    18. (13) Romania
    19. (26) Ukraine
    20. (22) Uruguay

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  3. USA vs. Cuba: Where’s the Offense?

    September 8, 2008 by admin

    In what one would expect to have been a total blowout, the U.S. Men’s National Team struggled in a 1-0 victory over Cuba in Havana. Sure, the U.S. got their three points in the qualifier, but certainly did not look impressive versus the Cubans.

    While the American’s dominated play, the Cubans had ample opportunities to even the score; however, thanks to the exceptional performance of goalkeeper Tim Howard, the U.S. managed to dodge a couple of bullets and hold on for the victory. Concerns regarding the ability of the United States offense continue as Ching, Donovan, and Johnson were unable to get the job done against a weak Cuban side.

    It is apparent that things are going to have to change quickly if the U.S. is going to stand a chance in the World Cup in 2010. History has shown that the United States have had a plaguing inability to finish in just about any situation. Until the lack of offensive firepower ceases, the U.S. will have the usual disappointing World Cup.

    Despite the disappointing performance last weekend, the U.S. managed to climb in the FIFA rankings three spots from 31 to 28. It’s hard to believe that just two years ago this team was positioned as the 4th best team in the world! Currently ranked as the 28th best team in the world, the Americans are flirting with falling back to their lowest ever FIFA ranking of 35 (October 1997).

    Will the U.S. make it out of the first round in the 2010 World Cup?

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