When the U.S. Soccer Federation announced the roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup in the midst of the U.S.'s surprising run to the Confederations Cup final, the general consensus was that the lineup was thoroughly a "B" team. After all, the supposed "A" team had done enough work in upsetting then-FIFA No. 1 Spain, and giving newly minted top dog Brazil a run for its money, before losing 3-2 last week.
On Wednesday, CONCACAF said it would allow the U.S. to add seven players to the already 23-man roster for the Gold Cup due to playing in back-to-back competitions barely separated by a week and, more importantly, over 10,000 miles. Thursday the USSF announced those seven players -- all members of the Confederations Cup roster -- upgrading the roster to a solid "B+."
The work, apparently, is never over for the U.S. National Team. Fresh off takings its bows after a stunning 2-0 upset over No. 1-ranked Spain at the Confederations Cup Wednesday, the U.S. was back to work Thursday.
In this case, it was naming a 23-man roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins on July 4 in Seattle with a match against Grenada. Of note, only six players on the Gold Cup roster have over 10 caps. On top of that, just Michael Parkhurst and Brian Ching were on the 2007 competition roster, which the U.S. won, punching their ticket to the 2009 Confederations Cup in the process.
Wednesday night in chilly Bloemfontein, South Africa, the U.S. national team lodged one of its greatest victories in its history, beating FIFA No. 1 Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The win snapped Spain's 35-match unbeaten run, denying them a chance to set a new record at 36.
This win almost made me pull out the thesaurus for the proper word to describe it. Stunning? Yes. Unbelievable? Pretty close. Deserved? You bet.
When the draw for the 2009 Confederations Cup took place a couple months ago, American soccer fans circled the date June 18. Why? One word: Brazil. It's just not every day you get to play against the team most consider the best team in the world.
The U.S., which looked good for a half vs. Italy on Monday (and terrible for the other), probably needs to take at least a point against Kaka, Robinho & Co. Thursday in Pretoria, otherwise the final group stage on Sunday vs. Egypt will probably be rendered moot.
Action kicks off at 9:55 AM ET on ESPN2. We'll be live blogging shortly before then.
Two years after retiring from international soccer, Brian McBride will wear the USA jersey one last time.
McBride was one of the three over-23 players named on the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team, which was announced today by U.S. Soccer. The former Fulham striker will join future Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst on the team.
There are few surprises among the under-23 players on the roster. McBride joins Jozy Altidore, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies up front. Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley headline the midfield, which also includes MLS standouts Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden and Sasha Kljestan, along with Benny Feilhaber (Derby County) and Danny Szetela (Brescia).
Parkhurst leads a back line that includes Michael Orozco (San Luis) and three MLS starters -- Patrick Ianni, Nathan Sturgis and Marvell Wynne. Chris Seitz will back up Guzan in goal.
McBride hinted last April that he would be willing to join the U.S. Olympic team. His presence would allow Peter Nowak to play a 4-4-2 with McBride and Altidore up front, rather than the 4-2-3-1 that barely managed a goal in Olympic qualifying. The U.S. side still faces an uphill battle in Group B against the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan, but it's hard to argue the talent isn't there.
Two years after retiring from international soccer, Brian McBride will wear the USA jersey one last time.
McBride was one of the three over-23 players named on the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team, which was announced today by U.S. Soccer. The former Fulham striker will join future Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst on the team.
There are few surprises among the under-23 players on the roster. McBride joins Jozy Altidore, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies up front. Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley headline the midfield, which also includes MLS standouts Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden and Sasha Kljestan, along with Benny Feilhaber (Derby County) and Danny Szetela (Brescia).
Parkhurst leads a back line that includes Michael Orozco (San Luis) and three MLS starters -- Patrick Ianni, Nathan Sturgis and Marvell Wynne. Chris Seitz will back up Guzan in goal.
McBride hinted last April that he would be willing to join the U.S. Olympic team. His presence would allow Peter Nowak to play a 4-4-2 with McBride and Altidore up front, rather than the 4-2-3-1 that barely managed a goal in Olympic qualifying. The U.S. side still faces an uphill battle in Group B against the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan, but it's hard to argue the talent isn't there.
Reyna, 34, became one of the Red Bulls' two Designated Players last year after a 12-year career in Europe, during which he played with Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Rangers, Sunderland and Manchester City. Reyna scored 22 goals in 265 European club appearances. He also anchored the U.S. midfield during the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. A string of leg and back injuries prevented him from playing this season for New York.
What's interesting about Reyna's retirement from an MLS perspective, though, is that the Red Bulls will not use Reyna's DP slot this year. That would open the door for someone like, say, Barcelona striker Thierry Henry to move to New York in 2009, right about the time that Red Bull Park would finally be ready. The Red Bulls might have to wait an extra year, though, as Henry's contract doesn't expire until 2010, and MLS prefers not to pay transfer fees.
If you're a fan of the U.S. men's national team, you might be paying a lot more attention to French soccer next season. SoccerAmerica is reporting that Ligue 1 club AS Monaco is preparing to make bids for Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley, two up-and-coming American stars currently playing in Europe.
Bradley scored 15 goals last season with Dutch club Heerenveen and had been linked to Premier League clubs Everton, Blackburn and Middlesbrough and German clubs Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. Adu, meanwhile, moved to Benfica last July and has struggled to get playing time after a mid-season managerial change.
This is worth noting for two reasons. One, AS Monaco's president is Jerome de Bontin, a French American who is also on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Two, Monaco is perhaps most famous for developing French national team stars like Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Emmanuel Petit, Lillian Thuram and Patrice Evra. Perhaps Monsieur de Bontin is hoping some time in Monaco will help Adu and Bradley get as good as those guys.
If these transfers go through, that would put three U.S. national team starters in France. Carlos Bocanegra has already signed with Rennes, who finished 6th in Ligue 1 last season.
So Argentina recently announced the roster for its Olympic soccer team. It's overage players are Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano and Inter Milan center-back Nicolas Burdisso. That's in addition to Lionel Messi from Barcelona, Fernando Gago from Real Madrid and Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid, who are all under 23.
The rest of the field suddenly looks quite doomed, doesn't it? With Ivory Coast, Australia and Serbia in Group A with them, Argentina looks like a lock to go through as the group winner.
That's really bad news for the USA, which is in group B with Japan, the Netherlands and Nigeria. The Group A winner plays the Group B runner-up in the quarterfinals. If the USA wants any hope of a medal in men's soccer, it must win Group B. Finishing second likely means a quarterfinal tie against Argentina. Yes, the senior team held Argentina to a 0-0 draw a month ago, but that wasn't a competitive match at a neutral site. Plus, most of that USA backline won't be in Beijing.
U.S. Soccer has yet to announce its roster for the Olympics, though Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu are expected to be on it.
Let's be honest -- when Eddie Johnson breaks off the sort of accurate header he should have hit against Spain against you, you're in for a really long day. You can see that goal and seven others in this highlight reel. Oh, by the way, the second leg to this World Cup Qualifier is next weekend. To my knowledge, there is no 10-goal mercy rule.
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When the U.S. Soccer Federation announced the roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup in the midst of the U.S.'s surprising run to the Confederations Cup final, the general consensus was that the lineup was thoroughly a "B" team. After all, the supposed "A" team had done enough work in upsetting then-FIFA No. 1 Spain, and giving newly minted top dog Brazil a run for its money, before losing 3-2 last week. .jpg)
The work, apparently, is never over for the U.S. National Team. Fresh off takings its bows after a stunning 2-0 upset over No. 1-ranked Spain at the Confederations Cup Wednesday, the U.S. was back to work Thursday. .jpg)
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When the draw for the 2009 Confederations Cup took place a couple months ago, American soccer fans circled the date June 18. Why? One word: Brazil. It's just not every day you get to play against the team most consider the best team in the world. 
Two years after retiring from international soccer, Brian McBride will wear the USA jersey one last time.
Two years after retiring from international soccer, Brian McBride will wear the USA jersey one last time.
New York Red Bulls midfielder and former 
If you're a fan of the 
So Argentina recently announced 
