8 games have already come and gone and no thread! Doesn’t matter though as the hexagonal begins Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

Earlier Results on the Road to Germany:
UNITED STATES vs. Grenada 3-0
Grenada vs. UNITED STATES 2-3
Jamaica vs. UNITED STATES 1-1
UNITED STATES vs. El Salvador 2-0
Panama vs. UNITED STATES 1-1
El Salvador vs. UNITED STATES 0-2
UNITED STATES vs. Panama 6-0
UNITED STATES vs. Jamaica 1-1

First Game will be Wednesday, February 9, 2005 vs. Trinidad & Tobago @ Port-of-Spain.

Catch it LIVE on ESPN2, 2:30 PM Eastern this Wednesday!

Here’s the squad for the enemy, Trinidad & Tobago (Only 18 will be there):

GK
Shaka Hislop (Portsmouth) ENGLAND - EPL
Clayton Ince (Crewe Alexandria) ENGLAND - COLASHIP

D
Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers) - SCOTLAND - SPL
Brent Sancho (Dundee FC) - SCOTLAND - SPL
Anton Pierre (Defense Force) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Keyeno Thomas (San Juan Jabloteh) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Marlon Rojas (Real Salt Lake) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Atiba Charles (W Connection) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Derek King (Joe Public FC) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Densill Theobald (Arima Morvant Fire) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

M
Carlos Edwards (Wrexham AFC) - WALES - COLASHIP???
Anthony Rougier (Nanjing Yoyo FC) - CHINA
Angus Eve (San Juan Jabloteh) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

F
Dwight Yorke (Birmingham City) ENGLAND - EPL
Kenwyne Jones (Southampton) ENGLAND - EPL
Stern John (Coventry City) ENGLAND - COLASHIP
Cornell Glen (FC Dallas) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Scott Sealy (Kansas City Wizards) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Leslie Fitzpatrick (Atlanta Siverbacks) - UNITED STATES - A-LEAGUE
Nigel Pierre (San Juan Jabloteh) - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO



To know more about the teams, in this corruption filled region called CONCACAF, click here:
http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2006/concacaf_p04.html

I don't really follow the MLS or american players abroad, so why no Tim Howard or Donovan. This team seems very different from the US team of last WC. Is it not the best team, due to this being possibly an easy game?

Also, are Jabloteh or FC Dallas now MLS teams?

Thats the Trinidad squad.

And FC Dallas was formerly known as the Dallas Burn, still MSL.

Donovan will be called in...

I don't really follow the MLS or american players abroad, so why no Tim Howard or Donovan. This team seems very different from the US team of last WC. Is it not the best team, due to this being possibly an easy game?

Also, are Jabloteh or FC Dallas now MLS teams?


The US team is not known yet, cause the USA Coach refuses to release any players' names until just hours before the game! :mad:

However, the squad can still be figured out by reading different websites where various names will be mentioned. Right now, there's a bunch of US-based players practicing in Miami. On Monday, it should be more clear as all the guys mentioned coming from Europe will certainly make the squad.

Jabloteh is in Trinidad & Tobago. FC Dallas is in MLS. I'll edit in the countries of these clubs where I can. :)

Thats the Trinidad squad.

Oh, right. :blush:

I recognised the first player and did a double take on which team the squad was actually for.

Real Salt Lake?!?

8 games have already come and gone and no thread!
Hey, I was just waiting for the final round. I'm very excited, and hoping to see the Guatemala game in person.

Real Salt Lake?!?

Real Salt Lake is one of the new expansion teams, based out of Salt Lake City, Utah.

As for the WC Qualifiers, I'm excited to see them get underway, hopefully I can make one of the future games if they are in the San Francisco area or maybe Los Angeles. Hopefully they'll play on eat Stanford Stadium or the Rose Bowl. Last (and only) USA NT game I've been to was qualifying for the 1998 WC, USA vs. Costa Rica at Stanford Stadium. I did get to see Romania vs. Sweden in 1994 at Stanford Stadium as well. Even though I was 6 years old, it was still a blast.

I hope we get a game in Columbus again. It really is a top notch soccer stadium up here, as soccer only fields in america go. Plus, those warm weather teams cant handle ohio in october! thats how we beat Mexico

The squad that is training in Miami is now known! Only 18 will be taken to Port-of-Spain. I predict all the Euros to make the trip, otherwise it would be a huge disservice and waste of time to fly them into Miami for nothing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3235-2005Feb6.html

GK
Kasey Keller (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – GERMANY - Bundesliga
Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC) – ENGLAND - Colaship
Joe Cannon (Colorado Rapids) – UNITED STATES - MLS

D
Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC) – ENGLAND - EPL
Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord Rotterdam) – NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96) – GERMANY - Bundesliga
Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus) – GERMANY – Bundesliga2???
Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy) – UNITED STATES - MLS
Eddie Pope (Metrostars) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards) - UNITED STATES - MLS

M
Landon Donovan (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) – GERMANY - Bundesliga
DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven) – NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Eddie Lewis (Preston North End) – ENGLAND - Colaship
Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Clint Mathis (Real Salt Lake) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Ben Olsen (DC United) - UNITED STATES - MLS

F
Brian McBride (Fulham FC) – ENGLAND - EPL
Brian Ching (San Jose Earthquakes) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Eddie Johnson (FC Dallas) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution) - UNITED STATES - MLS
Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards) - UNITED STATES – MLS

LET’S GO YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They won't let me into the Washington Post article without registering.

So I'm just guessing Joe Cannon, Jimmy Conrad, Clint Dempsey, Pablo Mastroeni and Brian Ching get left home.

(Totally guessing, actually, but I'm sure someone will come along and set me straight).

Real Salt Lake is one of the new expansion teams, based out of Salt Lake City, Utah.



The city name makes sense but the "Real" doesn't since it is Spanish for royal I believe so using it for an English team doesn't make sense unless they think there is a Fake Salt Lake.

The city name makes sense but the "Real" doesn't since it is Spanish for royal I believe so using it for an English team doesn't make sense unless they think there is a Fake Salt Lake.True. Moreover, the "Real Madrid" isn't named this way because there's actually a "Fake Madrid"... but because it's the "Royal Madrid" in Spanish.

I can understand that people in Salt Lake City has found it cool to get the same name as in Madrid, but another issue is also that there's no King in the US. :crazyeye:

But anyway, I'm glad to sea MLS teams being inspired by European team names. :)


EDIT : Oops ! that's what you were saying... Sorry !

The city name makes sense but the "Real" doesn't since it is Spanish for royal I believe so using it for an English team doesn't make sense unless they think there is a Fake Salt Lake.

The owner of the team just ripped it off of Real Madrid. That pretty much explains it all. :lol:

Even non-fans of the "International Game" have heard of Real Madrid, FC Porto or Manchester United... So naming teams DC United, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas is just a way to help "legitimize" MLS in the eyes of ticket-buyers. How popular is MLS anyway?

Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC) – ENGLAND - Colaship

Go Hahnemann, wooo! :D

The city name makes sense but the "Real" doesn't since it is Spanish for royal I believe so using it for an English team doesn't make sense unless they think there is a Fake Salt Lake.
Yeah, that's what I was getting at, quite an odd name for a team in a Republic. ;)

So what does FC stand for?

So what does FC stand for?

Football Club. In Porto's case, the portuguese form: Futebol Clube

The squad that is training in Miami is now known! Only 18 will be taken to Port-of-Spain. I predict all the Euros to make the trip, otherwise it would be a huge disservice and waste of time to fly them into Miami for nothing....


What happened to Claudio Reyna?

Football Club. In Porto's case, the portuguese form: Futebol Clube
Okay, that's what I would have thought, but then I don't understand why it's "FC Dallas" instead of "Dallas FC".

Okay, that's what I would have thought, but then I don't understand why it's "FC Dallas" instead of "Dallas FC".

Probably because the inspiration came from the clubs: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, FC Internazionale, FC Porto, etc.

Probably because the inspiration came from the clubs: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, FC Internazionale, FC Porto, etc.
Okay. I promise I'm not being intentionally dense, it's just that every "FC" team listed in post 1 and post 12 had it after the name. I only follow international competition, so I don't really know many of the league team names (including the MLS). But I'm learning!

That's because those teams were mainly from England. In this side of the channel we use other forms.

Probably because the inspiration came from the clubs: FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, FC Internazionale, FC Porto, etc.

Instead from AS Monaco FC, probably the only club with abbreviations on both sides of their name. AS stands for "association sportive", or "sport club".

What a lousy set of forwards btw. What happened to ernie stewart?

You guys had better look out for Dwight Yorke and Sterne John. They are both quality forwards. Shaka is a pretty good keeper too.

Instead from AS Monaco FC, probably the only club with abbreviations on both sides of their name. AS stands for "association sportive", or "sport club".

What a lousy set of forwards btw. What happened to ernie stewart?

Eddie Johnson of FC Dallas is a very good forward. You've never heard of him cause he's in the US. The others are pretty lousy though.

Ernie Stewart is very old now, he's still playing in the Netherlands.

Hey Mr Black (and other yankee fans), wasn't Clint Mathis a striker? Is he now converted to a midfield position?

Hey Mr Black (and other yankee fans), wasn't Clint Mathis a striker? Is he now converted to a midfield position?
He played for Hannover 96 until recently and he played as a striker there.

He played for Hannover 96 until recently and he played as a striker there.

Mathis plays a bit of both Striker & Attacking Mid., but he doesn’t believe in playing defense. Which is why the US coach doesn’t use him often.

Here is a pre-game article. The ‘Soca Warriors’ is the nickname for the T&T team. The good stuff is in bold, so that you won't have to read the whole thing. :)

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=324391&cc=5901


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - When Bruce Arena said that he's learned to "expect the unexpected" when it comes to World Cup qualifying, he was hardly being overdramatic. If anyone knows the animal that is CONCACAF qualification, it is the U.S. national team manager.

Having gone through two qualification rounds in booking a ticket for the 2002 World Cup along with the two-game home-and-home series against Grenada last summer and the six-game semifinal round that the Yanks survived this past fall, Arena has seen just about everything.

There's no way that Arena expected his team to need a result down in Barbados just to move on the final round of qualifying back in 2000. Starting that final round with three straight wins - one coming against the vaunted Mexican side, no less - and a 4-0-1 mark midway through the round was almost as surprising as the three-game losing streak that followed during that up-and-down run throughout 2001 to clinching a berth in South Korea.

Same goes with the late-game heroics that were seen in both Jamaica and Panama in 2004 that earned the U.S. critical points on the road only after many nervous moments when the side was down late in the second half of both matches.

That sort of caution is currently alive and well amongst the coaching staff and 23 players gathered here in Trinidad, as the U.S. prepares for Wednesday's match (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. ET) against Trinidad & Tobago to start the final round of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

"Anywhere in the entire region makes for a difficult place to come and play," said U.S. defender Greg Berhalter, who has been through the rigors of qualifying the past two cycles. "Trinidad will be dangerous because their players have had all this time to think about this game and prepare for it. Plus, with Carnival going on, it's going to make the atmosphere that much more crazy."

The fact that Carnival is ending on Tuesday night will certainly spill over to Wednesday's match and make the Queen's Park Oval a virtual Lion's Den for the American side to walk into.

"They'll be very emotional," said Arena of the Soca Warriors, led by manager Bertille St Clair. "They'll have a huge home-field advantage playing in front of a capacity crowd, playing on a field that probably won't be the best because the fact that it's a cricket ground and they've had events for Carnival there."

Having the match at the Oval is a bit of a gamesmanship move, as the field is very low-cut for cricket and will play very fast, which T & T hopes will help with the collective team speed they possess. Since various concerts have been held at the grounds over the past month, it'll likely be a surface that has dirt patches and rough spots, much like the field that the U.S. is used to playing on at The Office in Kingston, Jamaica.

During the U.S. side's final training in Coral Gables, Fla., on Monday morning before departing for Trinidad that evening, Arena pitted what appeared to be the starting unit against a substitutes team in an 11 v. 11 scrimmage. If that is the case, the "grey" team that could take the field on Wednesday afternoon had a back four of Cory Gibbs on the left, Eddie Pope and Carlos Bocanegra in the central defense, and Steve Cherundolo as the right back. In the midfield, Pablo Mastroeni lined up in a holding role behind Landon Donovan, flanked by DaMarcus Beasley on the right and Eddie Lewis on the left. Up front, the pair of Brian McBride and Eddie Johnson played together.

When changes were made midway through the scrimmage, Josh Wolff went up top for McBride, Ben Olsen and Clint Mathis took up spots in the midfield for Lewis and Mastroeni, and Frankie Hejduk and Berhalter took out Cherundolo and Gibbs, which pushed Bocanegra out to left back.


Donovan, who trained with the side for two days in Miami after flying back from Germany where he now plays for Bayer Leverkusen, looked particularly strong, in both the scrimmage and in finishing exercises. Bocanegra stood out, as well, as did most of the European-based players in camp.

The only likely starter that wasn't on the field during Monday's scrimmage was goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who arrived in Miami from Germany only 30 minutes before the team charter took off since he was in goal for Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday. Despite an all-day travel day that saw Keller fly from Duesseldorf to Frankfurt before heading to the U.S., Arena isn't worried about his veteran goalkeeper.

"It's been real difficult, but Kasey has done this a lot," said Arena, who made Keller his No. 1 goalkeeper even before it became apparent that Brad Friedel was retiring from international play, which he made official on Monday. "With a field player, it'd be a lot more difficult. Kasey has been doing this for a lot of years, and he understands how to deal with it."

The same goes for someone like Lewis, who looked like one of the sharper players in training on Monday despite not getting to Miami until Sunday afternoon due to his Preston North End's match in England on Saturday.

"You are tired on the flight and you think about how you can get rest, but then you land in the U.S. and you forget about it," said Lewis. "You're so excited to be home - even for a day or two - and to be playing for your country that it doesn't matter. It really just takes a day to recover."

Trinidad & Tobago won't have nearly as many problems with jet lag or overtired players. The majority of the roster has been together for close to two months in Trinidad, and has been playing tune-up matches for several weeks.

"They've had about six to eight games to prepare," said Arena. "So I think they're going to be a handful."
Much like the U.S., T & T has a roster that includes several players who make a living overseas. The most notable player being Birmingham City striker Dwight Yorke, who will be making his first appearance for his country in three-and-a-half years. While he is a far cry from the lethal scorer that he was with Manchester United in the '90s, Arena said the Soca Warriors will be banking on his international experience.

In a 1-0 loss to Haiti on Sunday, U.S. assistant coach Curt Onalfo said that Yorke played in a playmaker role behind the strikers and looked impressive. Since the days of the slick-passing Russell Latapy, T & T hasn't had a true organizer in the midfield, which makes Yorke's role even more vital in his return to the side.

Arena mentioned the tandem of Stern John (Coventry City) and Cornell Glen (FC Dallas), who are expected to play up top as the striker tandem in a 3-5-2 formation, as well as standout goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, as being key players to watch for the Soca Warriors. He also knows that his strikers will be tested by the size and power of the T& T defenders.

"They have physically dominating defenders in Marvin Andrews (Glasgow Rangers) and the like back there," said Arena. "So they're pretty good there."

When looking at the opposing team, U.S. assistant coach Mooch Myernick pointed out another player that could give the American some trouble in Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones.

"He's a big guy who they'll play out on the flank," said Myernick. "Jones has played in the first and second divisions in England, and now is in the Premiership, so he has the type of experience that many of our overseas players have."

The U.S. players and coaches have said that the Trinidad & Tobago side is athletic and talented, but many have also said, to a man, that it's not a side known for its consistency.

"They're so unpredictable," said Berhalter. "Guys like Stern John and Dwight Yorke can change a game, but you really just don't know what they'll bring on any particular day."

"It comes down to whether they can integrate their foreign-based players with their players who have been in camp," said Myernick. "That's not always easy. Fortunately, it's something our team is now used to and we have an incredible amount of experience in doing that. We know how to be a team. That's a strength that a lot of the other countries in the region can't match."

That's one of the reasons that this American side is expected to finish in the top half of the six-team group and earn a berth in its fifth straight World Cup come 2006. To do that, it all starts down here in the West Indies, where the U.S. hopes to send a message to the other teams around the region with a strong start out of the gate.

"Even in this past round of qualifying, we learned that we have to have an attitude where we go away and get results," said Donovan. "We are not playing to get ties on the road, but we're going (on the road) to win games."


20 hours till game time. AGUANTE YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!! :rockon:

By the way, isn't football called soccer in the US ?

Then it should be SC Dallas instead of FC Dallas... :crazyeye:

Hey ! :)

I've just checked the MLS website.. and it's actually very funny. It seems that the MLS is getting europeanized not only in team names but also in logo designs. Few years ago, most of MLS team logos could have been used for Basket-ball or Ice Hockey. Today, it seems they are more and more European.

Here are some examples...



In 1998 :

New York Metrostars
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/NYNJMetrostars96.GIF

Dallas Burn
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/DallasBurn98.GIF

Colorado Rapids
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/ColoradoRapids96.GIF

Miami Fusion
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/MiamiFusion.GIF




In 2004 :

Metrostars
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/met_lg.gif

FC Dallas
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/fcd_lg.gif

Club Deportivo Chivas USA
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/cdc_lg.gif

Real Salt Lake
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/rsl_lg.gif

See, real Salt Lake even has a crone. Heh. To me, the new style looks a lot better.

I think a lot of support for MLS comes from America's rapidly growing Hispanic community, so they are trying to create an image with more international appeal.

Three hours, eight minutes!

EDIT: Hey, they fixed the board clock! And I've apparently got a thing for exclamation points today!

Does anyone know if today's other games all kick off at the same time? Or are they spread throughout the day?

Is there a page with live updates for this sort of thing?

Had a quick search, freeserve are showing all the international friendly scores from around the world but no mention of any North American games.

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/t/sc/index.html?year=2005&month=2&day=9

Had a quick search, freeserve are showing all the international friendly scores from around the world but no mention of any North American games.
ha ha. Adding insult to injury.

EDIT: Looks like both the other games are later tonight.

Congratulations to us, good win over T&T, but the first half wasn't as attractive. Hopefully we will be in shape for the big game against Mexico.

The other two CONCACAF scores:
Costa Rica 1-2 Mexico
Panama 0-0 Guatemala

Congratulations to us, good win over T&T, but the first half wasn't as attractive. Hopefully we will be in shape for the big game against Mexico.

The other two CONCACAF scores:
Costa Rica 1-2 Mexico
Panama 0-0 Guatemala


Yeah, the next WCQ is March 27 in Estadio Azteca (115.000 hostile fans, 7,300 ft of altitude) in Mexico City, where the US holds a not-so-impressive record of 0-21-1. :eek:


U.S. outclass Trinidad 2-1 in final round of qualifiers! The US remains unbeaten vs. T&T in qualifiers. :)

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050209/7/33s6.html


USA (4-4-2): Keller; Gibbs, Bocanegra, Pope, Cherundolo; Lewis (Albright 82’), Mastroeni (Dempsey 66’), Donovan (c), Beasley; Johnson (Berhalter 87’), McBride
DNP: Hahnemman, Hejduk, Twellman, Wolff

TRI (3-5-2): Hislop (c); Rojas, Andrews, Sancho; Pierre, Fitzpatrick (Glenn 70’), Rougier (Eve 46’), Edwards (Theobold 74’), Yorke; S. John, K. Jones
DNP: Ince, Charles, King, Sealy


GOALS!!!!
Edward Johnson (30') - USA
Eddie Lewis (55') - USA
Angus Eve (90') – T&T


The table that leads to Germany!
--------P---W—L—D—GF—GA--Pts
Mex—--1--—1—0—0-—2—--1-----3
USA—--1—--1—0—0-—2—--1-----3
Guate--1--—0—0—1—-0--—0-----1
-------------------------------------------------
Pan--—1—--0—0—1-—0—--0-----1
-------------------------------------------------
C.R.—--1--—0—1—0—-1--—2-----0
T&T--—1—--0—1—0—-1—--2-----0

Hey ! :)

I've just checked the MLS website.. and it's actually very funny. It seems that the MLS is getting europeanized not only in team names but also in logo designs. Few years ago, most of MLS team logos could have been used for Basket-ball or Ice Hockey. Today, it seems they are more and more European.

Here are some examples...



In 1998 :

New York Metrostars
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/NYNJMetrostars96.GIF

Dallas Burn
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/DallasBurn98.GIF

Colorado Rapids
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/ColoradoRapids96.GIF

Miami Fusion
http://www.jerryremy.com/LogoServer/Soccer/MiamiFusion.GIF




In 2004 :

Metrostars
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/met_lg.gif

FC Dallas
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/fcd_lg.gif

Club Deportivo Chivas USA
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/cdc_lg.gif

Real Salt Lake
http://www.mlsnet.com/imgs/logos/rsl_lg.gif

hey that's true! In the end, they're replacing those childish logos! :thumbsup:

The table that leads to Germany!
--------P---W—L—D—GF—GA--Pts
Mex—--1--—1—0—0-—2—--1-----3
USA—--1—--1—0—0-—2—--1-----3
Guate--1--—0—0—1—-0--—0-----1
-------------------------------------------------
Pan--—1—--0—0—1-—0—--0-----1
-------------------------------------------------
C.R.—--1--—0—1—0—-1--—2-----0
T&T--—1—--0—1—0—-1—--2-----0

It seems pretty easy.What happens to the 4th?

It seems pretty easy.What happens to the 4th?

It should be pretty easy this time, with Jamaica and Honduras gone.

The 4th team get's to play a home-&-home series with the 5th Asian for the last and final spot.

Does anyone know why the games are scheduled the way they are? (i.e. one game, long break, two games days apart, long break, two more games, etc.) I'm sure there's a reason for it, just asking if anyone knows what it is. Something to do with league schedules?

This time FIFA decided that the NT games can only take place in certain days, in order to make less of a mess in the international calendar. So the teams play on a weekend and then on a wednesday, and in those 2 weeks there are no league games, at least in Europe. Yesterday there was no pause, and so there wwre very few competitive games, mostly friendlies.

Makes sense.

Hey, the American men are playing a couple of friendlies between now and Mexico on March 27. How will that work? Will they just play them without the European players?

That may well be the case. Unless thats when we have some World Cup qualifiers here.

Hey, the American men are playing a couple of friendlies between now and Mexico on March 27. How will that work? Will they just play them without the European players?

Yes, but Arena will probably call back some Euro bench players...yeah, Tim Howard, I mean you.

Man United probably wouldn't want to let him go as he might play occasionally.

I thought I saw a segment about him on "60 Minutes" and it gave me the impression that he did play. Again, I don't follow the league teams, so forgive my ignorance-did he play at one point, or did I just not pay enough attention when I watched that show?

Howard played against Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final IIRC. I'm not entirely sure about league appearances this year, but most of the Man United games or highlights I've seen have Carroll in goal.

With regard to the friendlies, the US will be playing friendlies against Honduras and Colombia prior to the qualifying match in Mexico.

Yes, but who will comprise the team? Presumably the US players on European club teams will not be called upon to play in these friendlies, so will it just be the US based players? That was my question.

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=153559


22 players, all from MLS

all from MLS
Yeah, okay. That's what I figured. It'll still be nice for the guys who need it to get a month's conditioning before Mexico.

Just an update. The Mexico game will be on ESPN2 as well as Telemundo, so we will be getting an English language broadcast after all. Happy day.

USA vs. Colombia tonight in Los Angeles!!! I don't know what time, but it doesn't matter anyway cause it's not on TV. :(

------------------------------------------------------

Colombia’s squad

Goalkeepers (2):
Juan Carlos Henao (Santos Futebol - Brazil)
Breiner Castillo (Aucas - Ecuador)

Defenders (6):
Humberto Mendoza (Atlético Nacional - Colombia)
Aquivaldo Mosquera (Atlético Nacional - Colombia)
Camilo Zúñiga (Atlético Nacional - Colombia)
César Fawcett (Real Cartagena - Colombia)
Andrés Orozco(Dorados de Sinaloa - Mexico)
José Julián De La Cuesta (Cádiz - Spain)

Midfielders (6):
Andrés Casañas (Envigado)
Héctor Hugo Hurtado (Atlético Nacional - Colombia)
Juan Carlos Ramírez (Independiente Santa Fe - Colombia)
Aldo Leao Ramírez (Independiente Santa Fe - Colombia)
John Viáfara (Once Caldas - Colombia)
John Javier Restrepo (Cruz Azul - Mexico)

Forwards (3):
Edixon Perea (Atlético Nacional - Colombia),
Hugo Rodallega (Deportes Quindío - Colombia)
Luis Gabriel Rey (Morelia - Mexico)

-------------------------------------------------
USA squad (All of the players play in MLS in the United States)

GOALKEEPERS (3):
Jon Busch (Columbus Crew)
Joe Cannon (Colorado Rapids)
Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles Galaxy)

DEFENDERS (6):
Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Nat Borchers (Colorado Rapids)
Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew)
Ritchie Kotschau (Colorado Rapids)
Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)
Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)

MIDFIELDERS (9):
Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution)
Eddie Gaven (MetroStars)
Kyle Martino (Columbus Crew)
Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)
Clint Mathis (Real Salt Lake)
Brian Mullan (San Jose Earthquakes)
Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)
Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City Wizards)

FORWARDS (4):
Brian Ching (San Jose Earthquakes)
Ed Johnson (F.C. Dallas)
Pat Noonan (New England Revolution)
Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)

It's 7:30PM local time, just in case anyone in the area was planning on going. And doesn't have tickets yet. And didn't already know. Okay, this post is pretty pointless, but it does let everyone know when to think happy thoughts.;)

EDIT: 3-0 US, so everybody did a good job thinking happy thoughts. I expected us to lose with only MLS players. Does anybody know if that was Columbia's best team they put on the field? Meaning, were they missing any stars? I've got no idea.

......................

EDIT: 3-0 US, so everybody did a good job thinking happy thoughts. I expected us to lose with only MLS players. Does anybody know if that was Columbia's best team they put on the field? Meaning, were they missing any stars? I've got no idea.

Not near their best team, these were a bunch of guys who play in Colombia.

However, this proves that the MLS is 3 times stronger than the Colombian league!!! :D :cool: :eek:

See, I know very little about this. I know the European leagues are good (some of them? all of them?) so if a player plays in Europe, I figure he's "good". But are those the only good leagues out there? It's a global sport, so I figured everywhere but the US had some good leagues.

MNT v. Honduras tonight, 9PM GMT. Airing on Fox Soccer Channel and HDNet, neither of which do I have. :(


EDIT: Er, we won, 1-0, so yay for us! if anyone cares. Just a friendly and all . . .

But are those the only good leagues out there? It's a global sport, so I figured everywhere but the US had some good leagues.

Outside Europe, the leagues in Brazil and Argentina are good. Most other south american leagues are pretty decent, aside from countries like Bolivia and Surinam. Mexico has some strong teams, and Japan has some quality as well. I'd rate all those leagues over the MLS. I doubt if there are many americans playing in those nations though.
But american players always perform good when they're playing in the national team. The team is always a good collective, that's it's primary strength.

Cool. I'd pretty much given up on getting an answer to that one.

Just a reminder, the big one is on tomorrow:

US @ Mexico 1 PM EST

can be seen on ESPN2 or on Telemundo

Just a reminder, the big one is on tomorrow:

US @ Mexico 1 PM EST

can be seen on ESPN2 or on Telemundo

It’s football we are talking about here. The correct terminology is “Mexico v USA” and NOT “US @ Mexico” .
The home team is always mentioned first. ;)

PS I hope the away team wins :)

After spending all week reminding my friends to watch, I actually forgot it was on until I came here. I would have missed it.

And now I realize it's still Saturday. But once I get the days of the week right, I'll be in great shape. ;)

It’s football we are talking about here. The correct terminology is “Mexico v USA” and NOT “US @ Mexico” .
The home team is always mentioned first. ;)

PS I hope the away team wins :)


:rolleyes:

In a thread about the US team, I'll use local convention and terminology.....but please, feel free to start yet another thread telling us what "football" really is and how we're doing things all wrong. :p

:rolleyes:

In a thread about the US team, I'll use local convention and terminology.....but please, feel free to start yet another thread telling us what "football" really is and how we're doing things all wrong. :p


UNITED STATES SQUAD:

GK
Kasey Keller – Borrusia Moechengladbach (Germany)
Jon Busch – Columbus Crew
Kevin Hartman – LA Galaxy

D
Oguchi Onyewu – Royal Standard de Liége (Belgium) :)
Chris Albright – LA Galaxy
Cory Gibbs – Feyenoord (Netherlands)
Gregg Berhalter – Energie Cottbus (Germany)
Carlos Bocanegra – Fulham (England)
Steve Cherundolo – Hannover 96 (Germany)
Chad Marshall – Columbus Crew

M
DaMarcus Beasley – PSV (Netherlands)
Eddie Lewis – Preston North End (England)
Bobby Convey – Reading (England)
Clint Dempsey – NE Revolution
Landon Donovan – Leverkusen (Germany)
Pablo Mastroeni – Colorado Rapids
Pat Noonan – NE Revolution
Steve Ralston – NE Revolution
Claudio Reyna – Manchester City (England)
Kerry Zavagnin – KC Wizards

F
Eddie Johnson – FC Dallas
Brian McBride - Fulham (England)
Josh Wolff – KC Wizards
Brian Ching – SJ Earthquakes




MEXICO SQUAD:

GK
Oscar Pérez - Cruz Azul
Oswaldo Sánchez - Guadalajara

D
Francisco Rodríguez - Guadalajara
Carlos Salcido - Guadalajara
Rafael Márquez – FC Barcelona (Spain)
Gonzalo Pineda - UNAM
Hugo Sánchez - UANL
Héctor Altamirano - Santos Laguna
Salvador Carmona - Cruz Azul
Ricardo Osorio - Cruz Azul

M
Jaime Lozano - UNAM
Rafael García - Cruz Azul
Ramón Morales - Guadalajara
Pavel Pardo - América
Luis Pérez - Monterrey
Antonio Naelson - Toluca

F
Cuauhtémoc Blanco - América
Jared Borguetti - Pachuca
Francisco Fonseca - Cruz Azul
Alberto Medina - Guadalajara

It’s football we are talking about here. The correct terminology is “Mexico v USA” and NOT “US @ Mexico” .
The home team is always mentioned first. ;)

PS I hope the away team wins :)

Thanks, we appreciate your support! :love:

:rolleyes:

In a thread about the US team, I'll use local convention and terminology.....but please, feel free to start yet another thread telling us what "football" really is and how we're doing things all wrong. :p

You are right of course; I suppose you get so many unfriendly digs that when a friendly one comes along, even it is unwelcome.
Anyway, I do hope the US qualifies for Germany. IMO the WC wouldn’t be the poorer for not having the US there (and I am not just talking about money).
And another thing, my impression from over here is that Mexico always qualifies for the WC without even breaking sweat so that’s another reason to hope you win. :)

The final score reads 2-1 Mexico, but it doesn't tell the whole story. American Cattenacio at it's worst.

---------------------------------------------------------
Keller - Saved the US from what could have been a historical A$$ POUNDING at the Azteca

Gooch - fvcked up on the first goal, but then played OK for the rest of the match.

Berhalter - is a slow, old, no-skill hack who should never wear the National team jersey again.

Cherundolo - was invisible, which is not good considering you're a defender and Mexico has about 85 to 90% of the possession.

Bocanegra - is a terrible left back, but it's not his fault as he is a Central Defender, PLAY HIM IN THE CENTER!

Reyna - looked like he was about to die in the Mexican heat, altitude and smog after about 15 minutes!!! Leave his a$$ in England once and for all, this old dog needs to be put to sleep.

Mastroeni - Nice job letting the opposing midfielder score on an open goal. :mad:

Donovon - Looks like he is in his Leverkusen form, which is CRAP! Then again hw was also played out of position.

Beasley - Another US player who was played out of position, he has no right foot, play him on the left.

Lewis - He played good, and scored a nice goal.

Johnson - A lone striker with an invisible midfield, he ain't going to score if he doesn;t get the ball.


Last but not least is the head coach Bruce Arena - What an arrogant **********!!!!!!!!! You train with the MLS guys for 3 weeks and then only start 2 of them! 3 players out of position! How about making a sub before 80 minute mark, the Euros were dying!!!! FVCK YOU BRUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was bad. Our defense was terrible. Both goals illustrated that. Thank God we have Keller or things would have been worse. At least it only gets easier from here. Though, I'm kind unnerved that in three days we have to play a team who just beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-1 (we beat them only 2-1).

That was bad. Our defense was terrible. Both goals illustrated that. Thank God we have Keller or things would have been worse. At least it only gets easier from here. Though, I'm kind unnerved that in three days we have to play a team who just beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-1 (we beat them only 2-1).

It does get easier, except for that trip to Estadio Saprissa.

A couple of post game articles.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=173288&cc=5901

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=328962&cc=5901

Don’t forget, remind all your friends, families, and co-workers

8:00 PM ET, 7 CT, 6 MT, 5 PT, (Insert Alaska, Hawai’i time zones here) Wednesday, March 30, 2005

LIVE from BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA…………….UNITED STATES vs. GUATEMALA

In what is now a MUST WIN game.

Support the national team and support the beautiful game in this country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111

I'm definitely taping that game (it's my mom's birthday), but I encourage everyone to watch and support.

As for the trip to Saprissa, it'll be tough, but Costa Rica is not Mexico, it will be easier to gain points there.

And another thing, my impression from over here is that Mexico always qualifies for the WC without even breaking sweat so that’s another reason to hope you win. :)

Considering the north/central american countries place 3 countries for the WC plus a 4th in a playoff v.s. the 5th asian country, neither Mexico or the US should break any sweat.

I'm baffled as with why Berhalter played instead of say, Gibbs. Berhalter played years for the team of my birth town, and even then (what, 10 years ago?) he was crap. I guess Mr. Black has a true point on Bruce Arena. IMO he was wasting his time with the MLS players to begin with, and that he should focus on building a team instead of experimenting. If he was a really good coach, it'd be something else. But he's mediocre at best, so he should shut up and learn from better coaches.

I watched the last 30 minutes of the Mexico-USA game and the US players looked completely wasted. Some of them could barely stand on their feet. It was already 2-1 when I began watching, but on that half hour alone the result flatters the USA team.

Reading Mr Black's review it looks like it was like that for the rest of the match too... I guess the altitude played a part on that.

Click here to see the US-Guatemala score. 2-0 US win!!!! :goodjob:

I missed the game, but here is a report on it: http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/3501074

Who do we play next and when??

Edit: I saw the game on FoxSoccerChannel. It could of been 3-0, but Donavan had an off-sides after he scored.

We play Costa Rica in Salt Lake City sometime in June, I forget the exact date.

The 4th and the 8th of june. Like most other countries :)

Thanks, that's too long away though...

US beats Costa Rica 3-0, so it's time to bump this back to the top.


Kudos to Costa Rica for having a vibrant stable economy. This makes them the only country in the region without a large amount of ex-pats in the US which leads to the rare pro-US crowds in qualifying. Salt Lake City did a great job promoting and covering the game.



Up next, mighty Panama. The upstart Panamanians somehow managed to lose against truely awful Trinidad & Tobago.

As strong as the region looked last WCQ (remember when it looked like Mexico wouldn't make it ?), it looks equally weak this go round. After watching yesterday's games, I find myself asking 'Can whoever finishes 4th actually beat the 5th Asian team? (Bahrain?)'

Job well done to the USA. :) I suppose Donovan showed us why he still deserves to play on the NT. I have no worries about Panama, we should be able to defeat them fairly easily.

Tomorrow could be a deciding day for the region as that marks the halfway point. I see Costa Rica recovering to take third though and Guatemala taking 4th. They have a fairly strong chance of beating the Asian team, which I think will be Bahrain.

Does anyone know why tonight's game is on tape-delay? I looked at ESPN and ESPN2's primetime schedule, and I don't think college softball is going to bring in a whole lot more viewers than soccer . . .

First, college softball almost doubles soccer ratings. How sad is that ?Second, it's an NCAA tourny. ESPN is contractually obliged to show it, part of the NCAA deal they sign - show crap like softball & women's basketball, get college football, men's basketball, etc.


Telemundo has the game on an earlier time delay, 11:30 EST.

If you're taping/Tivoing the ESPN2 showing, be sure to add time on the back end. Unless it's a really quick game, the Twins/Diamondbacks game is likely to run long in the 3-hour time slot they have on ESPN2 before the US game.

Ah. That explains it then. How do you get your information about which sports get what ratings? That'd be interesting to check out. I know it's on telmundo too, but that's still past my bedtime.

I never record sports. I just can't get into a game if I know I can just go find the score on the internet.

I lurk around over at www.bigsoccer.com where they obsess over everything including ESPN and every slight, real & imagined, to the beautiful game and its coverage here.

The Americans won 3-0 in case anyone is checking . . .