USA gets the W in front of a packed CenturyLink Field

By Money Mike


Over the past couple of years, all the U.S. soccer fans in Seattle have been asking hundreds of times when the U.S. men's national team will come to Seattle? Let alone for a match that actually counts, like the World Cup Qualifier. We didn't have to wait any longer as the U.S. made a stop in the Emerald City for their first World Cup Qualifying match in Seattle since 1976, and it was one to remember. On Tuesday, the United States defeated Panama 2-0 in front of a crowd of 40,847 at CenturyLink Field, the seventh largest crowd for a home World Cup Qualifier and the second largest crowd for a U.S. men's soccer match in the Pacific Northwest. Everyone inside the stadium (including myself) came in full voice all the way through the final whistle and the home field advantage paid off for the Americans as they now climb on top of the hexagonal group and their unbeaten streak at home in World Cup Qualifying play lives on. Just a memorable night all around for U.S. soccer.

The Americans had the first crack at goal in the third minute. Brad Evans, who more than likely appears to be a regular now for the USMNT, took the long throw in from the far side. His throw in was aimed towards fellow Seattle Sounder Eddie Johnson, but it was over his head and the ball bounced to Fabian Johnson for a left foot volley which sailed over the bar but not by much.

A couple minutes later, DaMarcus Beasley sent in a high lofted ball in the penalty area for EJ who whiffed on his attempted volley. Clint Dempsey stepped up and struck it first time but this one was high and wide by a mile but it was good to see the U.S. pouring pressure on early in the match.

The officiating in this match, as far as I'm concerned, was very poor. A lot of soft challenges have been called against us. Clint Dempsey's been getting clipped a lot in this game and the referee hasn't been calling them. I mean, for years we've been having to deal with shitty referees in MLS and none of them (except for maybe one and no I'm not talking about Ricardo Salazar) should be called in to officiate the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. As a matter of fact I don't know how one of the MLS officials were called in last year by FIFA to officiate the 2012 Men's Olympic Tournament in Great Britain. Of course everybody around the World knows that the officiating in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was godawful. There was also some crappy officiating in the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany, most notably the Quarterfinal between the U.S. and Brazil. And with the officiating we're getting in the qualifying stage, I'm starting to have a bad feeling that we're gonna have shitty referees in the 2014 World Cup.

In the 22nd minute, the U.S. probably would've been up had one of the players not gotten in the way. Fabian Johnson picked up the ball on the near side, cut to his right foot and curled the ball to the far post over the head of Clint Dempsey and it was poorly cleared by Carlos Rodriguez right to Michael Bradley to volleyed low and hard, but it hit Dempsey on the way and Panama dodge another bullet.

Speaking of poor officiating, in the 34th minute, the USA should've been awarded a PK. DaMarcus Beasley found Jozy Altidore, who spun around Ramon Torres and was clipped from behind and it looked like the referee pointed to the spot, but he said Torres got the ball and then a second later Altidore was whistled for a handball. Torres won the ball? Not from what I saw. Jozy Altidore spun around Torres, had him beat. Torres clipped him from behind, did not get the ball and the referee was in perfect position to see that. How is that not a penalty?

Enough talk about the refereeing in this game. Moving on to the 36th minute of play, the Stadium erupted as the U.S. drew first blood......



Panama thought they had an equalizer on the stroke of halftime. Marcos Sanchez, who was released by D.C. United not too long ago, slid the ball to the top of the box for Anibal Godoy who poked the ball into the box for Luis Tejada to tap it in, but the offside flag was up, which means the goal did not count. Correct decision as well, Tejada was definitely offside.

In the 53rd minute, Geoff Cameron got Eddie Johnson in behind with a good long ball and the Sounders striker did the rest......



In the 65th minute, USA had a chance to make it 3-0 and put this match in bed. Jozy Altidore worked a nice give-and-go with Clint Dempsey and gave it a crack from about 30 yards out (don't know exactly, I don't have a measuring stick) which was saved by the goalkeeper Jamie Penedo. Clint Dempsey tried to follow up with the rebound, but his chance skipped off the grass, over Penedo's head and off the crossbar.

In the 79th minute, the Americans were once again denied by the woodwork. Jozy Altidore slid the ball for DaMarcus Beasley who sprinted all the way from his left back position. Beasley took a touch and then just when everyone thought it was gonna go it, the ball instead hit the outside of the post.

Panama's only threat in the match came a minute and a half into second half stoppage time when Luis Tejada played a nice through ball to Rolando Blackburn, but U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard came out and cut down the angle. Other than that, Howard wasn't really tested much in this game as the U.S. climb to the top of the hexagonal group with a 2-0 win.


Observations:

DaMarcus Beasley has started the last six matches at left back (including friendlies), but after picking up that yellow card late in the match, he will not be seen on the pitch next Tuesday for USA's match with Honduras at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City. Now Jurgen Klinsmann has some tough decisions to make with that spot. He's got Graham Zusi returning from his suspension and he should get the start at right midfield for the match. But does he start Edgar Castillo at left back? Does he move Fabian Johnson to left back and move Eddie Johnson to left mid or even give Brad Davis the start at left midfield? Those are tough decisions for a coach to make, but Klinsmann knows what he's doing and he's the only one who has the answer to that question.

Again, a great turnout at CenturyLink Field by the fans. The seventh largest attendance in U.S. soccer history for a home qualifier. It was loud all night long and just great to be a part of it. My first ever international soccer match in person and it's one to remember. 100 years and counting for U.S. soccer and I just wonder what it's gonna look like in 2113? Of course that another 100 years from now, which is a long time.

Cobi Jones (right) is the all-time caps leader
in U.S. soccer history with 164.

You know, time was a little slow during the day. Probably the reason for that is because we've had to wait in line for about 40-45 minutes at FX McCrurys to get a table. This was before the game, so we didn't miss any action. And during that time, my mom went to the bar a couple of times to look for a table. In the first attempt, she wanted me go with her to help find a table (I'm allowed to go in the bar now since I am 21), and no surprise, we didn't find a table. So I told her that "we're never gonna find a table." Then she responded by saying, "it's about luck." And to be honest, that was the dumbest thing I ever heard. Because the truth was, we were never gonna find a table in the bar because the entire restaurant was packed with a lot of USA fans. So that killed a bit of our time, then a few minutes later I see Cobi Jones, one of the greatest if not the greatest U.S. soccer player of all-time, entering the building. For those of you that have never heard of Cobi Jones is, he has the most caps out of any U.S. soccer player in history (as said on my photo), he's won two MLS Cup titles with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 and 2005, he's the all-time leader for the Galaxy in games played for them as well, he's been on three World Cup squads including 1994 when the U.S. were the host nation and he also led the Americans to a Gold Cup title in 2002. He was one of my favorite players growing up and I was just glad that I got a chance to meet him.

Overall, it was a great night. Again this was my first U.S. soccer match that I got to see in person and surely won't be my last and I hope that the USMNT will be back in Seattle soon. More importantly, they got a big World Cup Qualifying win which puts them a step closer to booking their ticket to Brazil.


Scoring summary:

United States - Jozy Altidore (Fabian Johnson) 36'

United States - Eddie Johnson (Geoff Cameron) 53'


Misconduct summary:

United States - Jozy Altidore (caution; foul) 56'

United States - Geoff Cameron (caution; foul) 69'

Panama - Marcos Sanchez (caution; dive)* 69'

United States - DaMarcus Beasley (caution; foul)^ 92'+

United States - Tim Howard (caution; time wasting) 93'+

* - Will miss Panama's next match on June 18th against Jamaica

^ - Will miss USA's next match on June 18th against Honduras


Lineups:

Panama - Jamie Penedo; Lionel Parris, Ramon Torres, Felipe Baloy, Carlos Rodriguez; Marcos Sanchez, Armando Cooper (Nelson Barahona 59'), Amilcar Henriquez (Gabriel Torres 78'), Alberto Quintero; Anibal Goboy (Rolando Blackburn 59'); Luis Tejada

United States - Tim Howard; Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley; Eddie Johnson (Joe Corona 87'), Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Fabian Johnson (Brad Davis 87'); Clint Dempsey; Jozy Altidore (Stuart Holden 91'+)


Hexagonal table:

1. United States; 3-1-1 (10 points), GF 6 GA 3 GD +3
2. Costa Rica; 2-1-2 (8 points), GF 5 GA 3 GD +2
3. Mexico; 1-0-5 (8 points), GF 3 GA 2 GD +1
4. Honduras; 2-2-1 (7 points), GF 6 GA 6 GD 0
5. Panama; 1-1-3 (6 points), GF 5 GA 5 GD 0
6. Jamaica; 0-4-2 (2 points), GF 2 GA 8 GD -6

Brad Evans' late winner rescues all three points for the United States

By Money Mike


With just under two minutes to go plus stoppage time, it appeared that Jamaica was on route to its third straight World Cup Qualifying defeat and the U.S. were on its way to its first ever World Cup Qualifying win in Kingston (believe it or not). But after the Reggae Boyz equalized late in the match, it appeared the Americans were gonna walk away with a disappointing result going into the match against Panama on June 11th, which of course will take place here in Seattle. But an unlikely hero stepped up in stoppage time. Brad Evans, who was making his second straight start at Right Back for the U.S., came through with one of the biggest goals of his career as he scored the game winner to salvage all three points for the U.S. in a 2-1 victory of Jamaica. The American are now sitting in a three way tie for first place with Mexico and Costa in the Hexagonal table with seven points. Costa Rica is currently sitting on top of the group with a +2 goal difference while the U.S. sits in second by virtue of goals scored. Again the top three teams will automatically qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. While the fourth-placed team will face New Zealand (winner of the Oceania qualifier) in a home and away playoff for one of the final spots in the World Cup.

USA came out attacking right from the start and they should've been 1-nil up in the 2nd minute. Graham Zusi's cross sailed over the head of Clint Dempsey, but it was cleared poorly by Alvas Powell. Jermaine Jones stepped up and hit it first time and it hit his own teammate and fell to Michael Bradley who his it on the half volley, right on the sweet spot, had goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts beat but it comes off the post and Jamaica dodge an early bullet.

Two minutes later, Jermaine Jones played a good long diagonal ball to Fabian Johnson on the near side. Johnson cut inside of Power and got the shot away before one of the Reggae Boyz had any chance to slide in and break up the play, but Donovan Ricketts got down and made the save.

Now we're gonna fast forward to the 30th minute, when the United States continued to press and this time would make it count. Graham Zusi got around O'Brian Woodbine and whipped in a very good driven ball into the six-yard area where he had two blue shirts and getting on the end of it, unmarked was Jozy Altidore with a snap header to put the U.S. ahead 1-0 in Kingston. It was Jozy's 15th international goal and his second in as many caps after only recording one goal in the Klinsmann era, which of course came from the penalty spot in USA's 3-2 win over Slovenia back on November 15, 2011.

In the 38th minute, USA nearly got pegged back. Ryan Johnson lifted the ball over the head of Omar Gonzalez and found Rodolph Austin, who brought it down and tried to slot it inside the far corner with the outside of his foot, but the post saves the Americans. Shortly after, Jermaine Johnson had a go but he missed well wide of goal.

In the 49th minute, Jamaica continued to push for the equalizer. Jermaine Johnson cut inside of Fabian Johnson and drove one low and hard, but wide as well. Johnson's been causing a lot of havoc on the right hand side for Jamaica and made life really difficult for the U.S. even though they've dodged a lot of bullets from him. I think one of the big mistakes that Jamican coach Theodore Whitmore made was replacing 'Jermaine' Johnson with Theo Robinson in the 68th minute because they lost some creativity on the right hand side since that move.

In the 50th minute, nearly got burned with a long distance effort. Garath McCleary played the ball back to Rodolph Austin, who was given so much room to take a touch and crank from well outside and he didn't miss by much. Michael Bradley tried to close him down, but he was too late. That's why you can not give the opposition that much room, especially Austin because he really can hit em' from outside with a lot of power.

Moving on to the 89th minute, the Reggae Boyz came through with the equalizer. After Graham Zusi committed a foul in his own half, which also resulted in a yellow card, Rodolph Austin curled his free kick to the six yard area and found an unmarked Jermaine Beckford and all he needed to do was get a head to it and that's exactly what he did as he snapped it inside Tim Howard's left hand post and the U.S. appeared to have let two points slip away with a minute to go plus stoppage time. I don't know how the linesman didn't see it and obviously none of the U.S. players had their hands raised, protesting to the officials, but it looked like when the ball was chipped into the box, Beckford was in an offside position. But the linesman didn't see it, the goal stood and Jamaica leveled things up at 1-1. By the way, that yellow card on Zusi will keep him out of USA's next qualifying match on Tuesday against Panama.

In the second minute of stoppage time, just when you thought all was lost, Brad Evans stepped up and came through with a late winner. Michael Bradley played a short corner and got the return pass from Graham Zusi. Bradley cut to his left foot, slid the ball into the area for Evans and here's what happened.....



Big win for the U.S. in Kingston in the first of three qualifying matches in June. Many people believe the U.S. need to get seven points out of these three matches. So far they have three, now it's time to get ready for the Panama match on June 11th here in Seattle. And of course, I'm gonna be there....


Scoring summary:

United States - Jozy Altidore (Graham Zusi) 30'

Jamaica - Jermaine Beckford (Rodolph Austin) 89'

United States - Brad Evans (Michael Bradley) 92'+


Misconduct summary:

United States - Graham Zusi (caution; foul)* 89'

United States - Brad Evans (caution; excessive celebration) 91'+

* - Will miss USA's next match on June 11th against Panama


Lineups:

United States - Tim Howard; Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley; Graham Zusi, Jermaine Jones (Geoff Cameron 59'), Michael Bradley, Fabian Johnson (Edgar Castillo 14'); Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore (Eddie Johnson 83')

Jamaica - Donovan Ricketts; Alvas Powell, Daniel Gordon, Adrian Mariappa, O'Brian Woodbine; Jermaine Johnson (Theo Robinson 68'), Rodolph Austin, Marvin Elliot, Jermaine Hue (Jermaine Beckford 70'), Garath McCleary (Omar Daley 75'); Ryan Johnson


Hexagonal table:

1. Costa Rica; 2-1-1 (7 points), GF 5 GA 3 GD +2
2. United States; 2-1-1 (7 points), GF 4 GA 3 GD +1
3. Mexico; 1-0-4 (7 points), GF 3 GA 2 GD +1
4. Panama; 1-0-3 (6 points), GF 5 GA 3 GD +2
5. Honduras; 1-2-1 (4 points), GF 4 GA 6 GD -2
6. Jamaica; 0-3-2 (2 points), GF 2 GA 6 GD -4

USA gets a huge World Cup Qualifying victory in a blizzard

By Money Mike


Despite all the heavy snow late in the night in Denver, the match went on and it was the USA who came away with the three points they so desperately needed. On Friday night, the U.S. defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in front of a sellout crowd at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. With the win, the U.S. moves up two second place in the hexagonal table. Remember, the top three teams in the group qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the fourth placed team will play New Zealand in a home-and-away playoff for one of the final spots in the World Cup. New Zealand clinched the top spot in the OFC Qualifier with a game to spare after coming away with a 2-1 victory over New Caledonia in their match on Friday. The U.S. have another Qualifying match on Tuesday as they head down to Mexico for a clash against their arch rivals.

In the 15th minute, the U.S. pressured the Costa Rican backline early as the visitors struggled to clear the ball out of their own area. Michael Umana got over Jozy Altidore trying to head the ball clear, but he headed to right to Clint Dempsey who decided to have a go from about 30 yards out, but it was always going high and wide.

A minute later, the Americans took advantage of a poor goal kick from goalkeeper Kaylor Navas and climbed out to an early lead. Graham Zusi picked up the loose ball and fed it to Clint Dempsey, who then turned and found Jozy Altidore from about 19 yards out. Jozy had a go which was blocked by Roy Miller and right there to poke the ball into the empty net was Clint Dempsey to give the United States a 1-0 lead. It was Dempsey's seventh goal of this Qualifying campaign and his fourth in the last three World Cup Qualifying matches. The Costa Rican defenders were claiming offside, but that wasn't even close. Dempsey was well onside on the shot from Altidore so there's no way the linesman would raise his flag on that play.

Five minutes later, the Costa Rican's nearly caught the Americans on the break. Geoff Cameron was looking to feed the ball out wide to Herculez Gomez, but it was cut out by Bryan Oviedo who continued his run and chipped ball toward the back post which took a deflection and bounced off the foot of Christian Bolanos and into the hands of Brad Guzan.

In the 38th minute, Costa Rica had another opportunity to pull level. Bryan Oviedo once again jumped in from the back and worked a 1-2 with Christian Bolanos and looked to square the ball across for Alvaro Saborio, but it took a deflection and once again landed in the arms of Brad Guzan who of course was making his first start in the Klinsmann era, replacing Tim Howard who was out with a back injury.

Now moving on to the 42nd minute, USA should've had a penalty. DaMarcus Beasley curled the ball in the box with his left foot for Jozy Altidore. Kaylor Navas made a dumbass decision coming off his line and try to punch the ball away and he didn't get a finger to it. The ball bounced to Clint Dempsey, who made a cut and was clipped by Roy Miller. The referee was right there and he does not call a penalty. Why? I do not know, but it should've been called.

In the 51st minute of the match, the U.S. had an opportunity to double the lead. Clint Dempsey whipped in a good cross for Herculez Gomez, who flicked the ball to Jozy Altidore, but the momentum carried him away from the goal. Altidore chased the ball down near the end line, cut inside to the top of the penalty area turned and struck the ball near post with his right foot, but it rolls wide of net. It was a nice bit of play though from Altidore. We've seen him do that a couple of times during his early days with the New York Red Bulls. I thought Altidore was lively all game long, making some good runs in the box, getting a couple of good looks at goal.

In the 60th minute, Costa Rica began to push forward and they had another opportunity to pull level. Michael Barrantes played a good long ball for Alvaro Saborio who volleyed it low from a tight angle, but Brad Guzan read it perfectally.

10 minutes later, the Costa Rican's thought they had an equalizer. Not so fast. Michael Barrantes curled the ball out with his left foot and it sailed over everybody in the box. However, Ariel Rodriguez was there to track the ball down and play it back in and the U.S. back stuggled to clear the ball away and Roy Miller poked the ball back to Barrantes who curled the ball to the far post for Joel Campbell who headed the ball off the post and into the back of the net, but the flag was up for offside so the goal did not count. It was the right call as well because when the ball was played in, there were two Costa Rican's in an offside position, including Campbell. If Campbell wasn't in an offside position, then the goal would probably stand, but it wasn't and the U.S. were able to hold on for a big win.


Scoring summary:

United States - Clint Dempsey (Unassisted) 16'


Misconduct summary:

Costa Rica - Roy Miller (caution; foul) 49'

United States - Jermaine Jones (caution; foul) 69'

Costa Rica - Giancarlo Gonzalez (caution; foul) 90'


Lineups:

Costa Rica - Kaylor Navas; Cristian Gamboa (Juan Diego Madrigal 81'), Michael Umana, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Roy Miller, Bryan Oviedo (Diego Calvo 73'); Ariel Rodriguez, Michael Barrantes, Christian Bolanos (Joel Campbell 62'); Bryan Ruiz, Alvaro Saborio

United States - Brad Guzan; Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, DaMarcus Beasley; Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones (Maurice Edu 83'); Graham Zusi (Eddie Johnson 76'), Clint Dempsey, Herculez Gomez (Kyle Beckerman 94'+); Jozy Altidore

Looking ahead to USA's two upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches

By Money Mike


We're only one match into the Hexagonal Round of the CONCACAF Qualifier for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and already it feels like the United States need to get a result in one of these two matches. The U.S. are coming off a 2-1 defeat down in Honduras in the first match of the Hexagonal round and now for the two upcoming matches tomorrow against Costa Rica at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado and Tuesday at the Estadio Azteca against Mexico, they're going to be without a few key players including their goalkeeper. Tim Howard is out with a back problem, so Brad Guzan will be called upon to fill in for the injured Howard. Now Guzan does have experience playing in big games like these. He's appeared in five WCQ matches and has registered a clean sheet in three of the five. He's done well in goal lately for Aston Villa, so we'll see how he does. Howard's not the only one ruled out, as I just said earlier. Steve Cherundolo is still not fully recovered from his knee injury, Timmy Chandler suffered a hamstring injury during a match last Saturday, Fabian Johnson has been out for two weeks with a hip problem and Danny Williams has been dealing with an illness. Another player that isn't on the squad is their leader Carlos Bocanegra, who was left out due to the fact that he hasn't seen any playing time for his club for over a week and a half now. Other players that haven't been getting any playing time...... the ones that you'd consider as a possible replacement in the back of course. Oguchi Onyewu has made only 1 appearance for Malaga this season (what the hell is going on with this guy?). Michael Parkhurst has lacked playing time since his move to FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga. And here's one that I don't recall anyone mentioning, Eric Lichaj. He's had a good run of form up to December 23 and then he's only appeared in two matches since then. So the inexperience in the back has led to concerns for the entire week now.

Now if you hadn't read anything regarding the critics of this U.S. team, you might want to do that. There was a piece on Sporting News about 11 anonymous players criticizing Jurgen Klinsmann's coaching methods (which were pathetic as of last match), but there criticism was a step too far. Not even Michael Bradley appreciated any of it.....

“It’s shameful, and it’s embarrassing. I think for every guy who has ever played on a team, you give everything you have … and on every team in the world, not every guy is going to be happy. There’s going to be guys who go back to their room and talk with their roommate about things they wish were different. But that’s normal.

…But you cross a line when you take those thoughts and you take your disappointments outside of the team, outside of the inner circle."

And Bradley's 100% right. We hear about shit like this every year. Players not being happy, wondering why they're here, etc. But when you spread this crap outside the system, you're taking it a step too far (I don't know, I can't explain). Here's a look at the squad. You can see the lack of experience in the back. DeMarcus Beasley is back in the side along with Terrence Boyd and of course Brad Guzan will be back in net for the Red, White and Blue.....


U.S. squad by position (caps/goals):

Goalkeepers:

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa; England) - 20/0

Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) - 6/0

Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) - 3/0


Defenders:

Clarence Goodson (Brondby; Denmark) - 34/3

Geoff Cameron (Stoke City; England) - 12/0

Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy) - 4/0

Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake) - 1/0

Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City) - 1/0

Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes) - 1/0


Midfielders:

DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla; Mexico) - 97/17

Michael Bradley (AS Roma; Italy) - 73/11

Maurice Edu (Bursaspor; Turkey) - 43/1

Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht; Belgium) - 39/4

Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04; Germany) - 27/2

Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) - 24/1

Brek Shea (Stoke City; England) - 15/0

Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) - 8/1

Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) - 6/0

Joe Corona (Tijuana; Mexico) - 3/0


Forwards:

Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur; England) - 92/31

Jozy Altidore (AZ; Netherlands) - 53/13

Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC) - 46/14

Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna; Mexico) - 19/5

Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna; Austria) - 7/0


USA vs Costa Rica prediction:

So for this one, I'm gonna break everything down and go from there. I mentioned that the U.S. lacks experience defensively, Costa Rica brings in a good attacking side with Alvaro Saborio (who last I heard, may not play due to injury). They also have Bryan Ruiz who struck twice against the American's the last time these two teams met in a World Cup Qualifier. Then there's young Joel Campbell and of course Jairo Arrieta. But as good as their attack is, Costa Rica is not that good at defending. I mean, they are not a physical team and when it comes to that. Whether it's from open play or on set pieces, they are just not that good. I mean, the American's are a physical team. Eddie Johnson's an aggressive player, Herculez Gomez, Michael Bradley and Omar Gonzalez are aggressive players. So I kind of draw this to who's the more physical side, and it's definitely the U.S. If they can hold their ground defensively and on put the Costa Rican backline under a ton of pressure, I think they can put in a couple of goals and come away with a result. The U.S. has a 24-match home unbeaten streak in World Cup Qualifying play, and I've been wrong before, but I think they'll get a result and extend it to 25.

USA - 2
Costa Rica - 1


USA vs Mexico prediction:

Last time the U.S. visited Mexico, they defeated them 1-0 on an 80th minute goal by Michael Orozco Fiscal. However this is not going to be the same Mexico side we saw in the last visit. Mexico is off to a slow start themselves after drawing at home to Jamaica in their first match of the Hexagonal round. But again, the El Tri has had their number against the American's in this stage and I don't see why the match on Tuesday would be any different. I just hope I'm wrong with this one, but I have to go with a loss.

USA - 0
Mexico - 2

USA falls 2-1 to Honduras to kick off the final round of Qualifying

By Money Mike


The United States kicked off the final round of Qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but not the way they would've wanted. The Americans fell 2-1 on the road to a very tough Honduras team in the first of 10 hexagonal matches on the road to Brazil. The loss now leads to questions and concerns leading up to their next World Cup Qualifier on March 22nd against Costa Rica, which will take place at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Questions like, why the hell did USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann go with a 4-3-3 formation? Why did he bench Carlos Bocanegra? You know, those kind of questions. And concerns on whether or not the U.S. can put this loss behind them and show up with a different mentality in their next match six weeks from now. Not that this was an upset because it was not even close to being an upset. We knew Honduras wasn't going to be a gimme for the American's, but when you look at the upcoming schedule in qualifying, this team is looking at what we consider a figurative must-win game against Costa Rica.

Not much action early on until the 23rd minute. Oscar Boniek Garcia tried to dribble around Geoff Cameron but had the ball poked off his feet by the Stoke City defender. The ball rolled to Roger Espinoza for a turning shot, but it was right at goalkeeper Tim Howard.

In the 26th minute, the U.S. had an opportunity to go up 1-0. Jermaine Jones took the corner from the near hash mark and his inswinger found Geoff Cameron whose header sailed well over the top. Eddie Johnson was also there and I've looked at the replay of this opportunity a few times and it almost looks like the ball came off EJ's head, but I'm pretty sure Cameron got a head to it because if Johnson got to head to it, then it probably would've been a goal from my point of view. I don't know, but the bottomline is, the U.S. missed a set piece opportunity.

A couple minutes later, the U.S. came so close to breaking the deadlock. Jermaine Jones played a beautiful diagonal ball to the near side for Eddie Johnson who had plenty of room out there. Johnson settled the ball before curling it into the area for Jozy Altidore who just flicked it over the bar.

From about the 30th minute to the end of the match, the American's started to get a little sloppy with their passing. Especially in their own area that nearly lead to goals by Honduras. You can also add crappy defending to that list as well. In the 31st minute, Carlo Costly chipped the ball in the penalty area for Roger Espinoza who got by Danny Williams and square the ball across for Oscar Boniek Garcia, but Fabian Johnson stepped in and cleared the ball away before Boniek Garcia had a chance to tap the ball into an empty net.

Shortly after, another giveaway by the U.S. in their own area allowed Mario Martinez to cut inside with his left foot and curl his shot toward the far post, but Tim Howard punched the ball over bar to keep the match at 0-0.

In the 36th minute, the United States found the breakthrough. Jermaine Jones chipped the ball into the area for Clint Dempsey who beat the offside trap and side footed it off the half volley into the left corner to put the U.S. ahead 1-0.

That lead was short lived however. In the 40th minute, Honduras hit back. Mario Martinez took the corner from the far hash mark and curled the ball into the area which was headed away by Omar Gonzalez. The attack wasn't over tough. Victor Bernardez tracked the ball down on the near side and sent it toward the back post for Maynor Figueroa who headed the ball back across and just when you though Geoff Cameron was going to clear the ball away, Juan Carlos Garcia connects on the bicycle kick and all Tim Howard could do on that play was watch it because there was no way in hell he could've kept that out and Honduras leveled the match up at 1-1 on the stroke of halftime.

In the 79th minute, Honduras took advantage of some lazy defending from the back line and took the lead. Maynor Figueroa poked the ball into the area with the outside of his boot for Oscar Boniek Garcia to chase and it looked like he wasn't going to get there before Tim Howard came out to claim it, but Geoff Cameron let him get there and Boniek Garcia poked the ball across and Jerry Bengtson beat Omar Gonzalez, who was late to react, to the ball and slam it into the empty net for what turned out to be the game winner and USA's final round of qualifying starts out poorly.


Observations:

I really don't know what hell kind of tactics Jurgen Klinsmann is going with, but it is 100% ineffective and Derek Richey from the Straight Red Card picked up on this as well and it was pretty funny how he put. Saying that the U.S. were playing Barcelona type football. And from what I've been watching, I have to agree with him because it seems as if Klinsmann is not interested in crossing the ball, he's interested in just kicking the ball around without any direct play. Everything Derek has said on his latest episode relating this is dead on. And why? Why is crossing the ball not Klinsmann's priority?

Also, you start Timmy Chandler and Fabian Johnson and all of us our expecting both of them to make a lot of runs from the back and get in on the attack for the U.S. and we saw none of that. And why not? How can you start those two and not get them to go forward? Of course this is Chandler's first competitive game for the United States because of the fact that Steve Cherundolo is out injured and he just underwent minor knee surgery so I don't think he'll be fully recovered in time for the Costa Rica match. One more thing defensively, you bench Carlos Bocanegra? Honestly, starting Cameron and Gonzalez back there was a big mistake. I've heard people say Bocanegra wouldn't have made a difference back there. EH EH!! WRONG!! I probably would've half expected Gonzalez and Bocanegra to partner up in the center of defense, but in big games like this you have to stick with your leader at all costs. Bocanegra has been back there a lot with Geoff Cameron, he's been back there a lot with Fabian Johnson, and has been back there a couple times with Chandler. He absolutely would've made a difference. If there was a mix up defensively, then you would have Bocanegra talk it over for a few seconds and hope that it doesn't happen again. But because he wasn't out there, the same mistake happened over and over again and Honduras took advantage of it.

I hope within the next six weeks, Jurgen decides to not only make a couple of changes to the lineup, but changes his tactics as well and goes back to a 4-4-2. This kind of crap he's using does not work for this team. We need guys who can get the crosses into the box, no short passes through the middle. Another thing, if there's a counter attacking opportunity, don't slow the play down and let your opponents get back, you get your asses forward immediately and catch them on the break. I've said this a number of times and I'm going to say it again, what we saw on Wednesday does not work for the U.S. and will never work. This better be fixed.


Scoring summary:

United States - Clint Dempsey (Jermaine Jones) 36'

Honduras - Juan Carlos Garcia (Maynor Figueroa) 40'

Honduras - Jerry Bengtson (Oscar Boniek Garcia) 79'


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

United States - Tim Howard; Timothy Chandler, Omar Gonzalez, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson; Jermaine Jones (Graham Zusi 67'), Danny Williams (Maurice Edu 58'), Michael Bradley; Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson (Sacha Kljestan 59')

Honduras - Noel Valladares; Arnold Peralta, Victor Bernardez, Maynor Figueroa, Juan Carlos Garcia; Oscar Boniek Garcia, Luis Garrido, Roger Espinoza, Mario Martinez; Jerry Bengtson (Jorge Claros 84'), Carlo Costly (Georgie Welcome 93'+)

EJ and Evans called up for WCQ in Honduras

By Money Mike


In just two days, the 2013 CONCACAF Hexagonal kicks off. For the United States, it's going to be one tough ride for them starting this Wednesday down in Honduras. Earlier today, Jurgen Klinsmann has called in 24 players for Wednesdays match including Eddie Johnson and Brad Evans. Both EJ and Evans were called up for a friendly this past week against Canada and both got the start in the match. With a much more experience USA side than we saw last week, it's highly unlikely that Evans will be in the starting lineup and because of the fact that you can only have a maximum of 23 players on your international roster come gametime, one of the 24 players that were called up will have to be left behind.


Rest of the team:

This won't be the same USA side we saw last week against Canada. That was full of inexperienced players, five players getting their first cap and just not everybody used to playing together. And luckily that wasn't our regular team because if it was, then we would have some problems here. However the key here will be our outside backs. The U.S. has dealt with injuries on the defensive end leading up to the final two matches in the third round of qualifying and right now Steve Cherundolo could be the biggest loss for the team defensively. We do know that Timothy Chandler accepted a call-up to the squad. He currently has nine caps for the U.S., but all of them were friendly matches. It's good to see Fabian Johnson on the squad after he went a full 90 minutes for Hoffenheim during their match this past weekend. He's been dealing with a knee injury for a couple of weeks and there have been questions on whether or not he would fully recover in time for Wednesday, but he's on the squad and ready to go. Both Chandler and Fabian Johnson better be on their toes because Honduras are going to go with Mario Martinez and Oscar Boniek Garcia on the wing for sure, and both of them are known for causing a lot of havock.

Another thing I want to point out is Jozy Altidore, who was the target of racist chants from the dutch football fans, is back on the squad. The 23-year old is currently tied for second in the league with 15 goals on the season and has made a lot of strides since joining AZ Alkmaar in 2011. Altidore currently has 13 goals in 52 appearances for the United States, but he hasn't scored since the friendly match against Slovenia back on November of 2011. In big matches like this one, this is where you need Jozy's goalscoring form in league football to carry on to the international level.


U.S. squad by position (caps/goals):

Goalkeepers:

Tim Howard (Everton; England) - 84/0

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa; England) - 20/0

Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) - 3/0


Defenders:

Carlos Bocanegra (Racing de Santander; Spain) - 110/14

Michael Parkhurst (FC Augsburg; Germany) - 15/0

Geoff Cameron (Stoke City; England) - 11/0

Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim; Germany) - 10/0

Timothy Chander (1. FC Nuremberg; Germany) - 9/0

Edgar Castillo (Tijuana; Mexico) - 7/0

Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy) - 3/0

Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City) - 1/0


Midfielders:

Michael Bradley (AS Roma; Italy) - 72/11

Maurice Edu (Bursaspor; Turkey) - 42/1

Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht; Belgium) - 38/4

Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04; Germany) - 26/2

Jose Francisco Torres (Tigres de la UANL; Mexico) - 20/0

Danny Williams (Hoffenheim; Germany) - 11/0

Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) - 7/1

Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC) - 7/0

Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) - 6/0


Forwards:

Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur; England) - 91/30

Jozy Altidore (AZ; Netherlands) - 52/13

Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC) - 45/14

Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna; Mexico) - 19/5

Projected Lineup:

Howard

Gonzalez           Bocanegra
Chandler                                                                   F. Johnson

Williams
Zusi                                                                    E. Johnson
Bradley

Dempsey         Altidore

Prediction:

The United States are 12-3-3 all time against Honduras. In fact their last visit to Honduras was a World Cup Qualifying match back on October of 2009. The United States defeated defeated Honduras 3-2 in that match to book their place in the 2010 World Cup. However this is a much different Honduras team than a few years ago. We all know this will not be an easy task for the U.S. Hopefully they can get a win over there. A draw would also be a good result. We won't know the outcome of this match until the final whistle is blown, but both teams look evenly matched, so I'm gonna go with a draw with this one.

USA-1 Honduras-1

Eddie Johnson gets the call for two critical upcoming World Cup qualifying matches

By Money Mike


After almost two years since his last international cap, Eddie Johnson finds himself back in the ranks as he gets called up to the U.S. men's national team for two huge World Cup qualifying matches against Antigua and Barbuda this Friday and against Guatemala next Tuesday. EJ's last cap for the U.S. came on October 13, 2010 against Colombia. Since then, his form began dipping during his spell in Europe and he eventually fell out of the picture. On Friday, Johnson sent out a tweet saying that he was called into the squad, but we didn't officially find out until yesterday. Johnson has appeared in 26 matches and scored 14 goals this season for the Seattle Sounders.

Again, it has felt like a long time since we've last seen EJ in a USA jersey and I'm pretty sure everybody was aware of the season why that was the case and why most of them hated the trade this past offseason that sent Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle to the Montreal Impact. Back then, I did say that I was gonna keep my thought on the trade to myself and see what happens, but now I'll tell you that I thought it was a good move all along. I knew they made the right move, because as hard working as Fucito was, I didn't think he was that good and Fredy Montero needed a true stike partner and it did take a while for the Johnson-Montero partnership to click, but these two have combined for 27 goals this season. I'm really glad Johnson got called up after a terrific season with the Sounders. He deserved it.


Rest of the team:

As happy as I am to see EJ back on the roster, with these two upcoming WCQ matches, you need to stick with your big guys. Guys that have come into the ranks and put together some solid performances day in and day out. I think the U.S. should stick with the same backline that started against Jamaica in the last qualifying match with the Cameron-Bocanegra partnership in the center of defense. Fabian Johnson has been solid at left back. It's gonna be interesting to see who's gonna get the start in the midfield because Jose Torres has been left out of the squad and Sacha Kljestan was recalled along with Michael Bradley, so I think Klinsmann will probably switch things around in the center of midfield. Last game I think the U.S. went with a 4-2-3-1 formation, but by the look of things, they might go 4-4-2 with diamond look to it which means somebody will be left out of the starting 11, but who? Of course Torres is not in the squad, which was no surprise because he sucked last match against Jamaica. Jermaine Jones put in a good performance. Graham Zusi was very impressive last match. And Danny Williams also put in a solid performance in a holding midfield role. So we'll see what Klinsmann will do.

There were complaints about Jozy Altidore being left out of the squad because he is having a terrific season for Alkmaar Zaanstreek. He's currently tied to the league lead with eight goals scored. But to hear Jurgen Klinsmann say that it had to do with his attitude, you know, his frame of mind going into camp just goes to show you nobody's safe. Alan Gordon was sort of an odd call up. We still have yet to see Joe Corona in a WCQ match. He's made two friendly appearances and that's it.

The match on Friday away to Antigua and Barbuda I think will determine USA's fate going into their home match on Tuesday against Guatemala. I mean, a lot of things could happen here. A win will surely boost their chances of advancing to the final round of qualifying. Right now they're in a three way tie with Jamaica and Guatemala in the group table with 7 points. I think USA will advance to the final round of qualifying after it's all said and done.


U.S. squad by position (caps/goals):

Goalkeepers:

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa; England) - 20/0

Tim Howard (Everton; England) - 81/0

Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) - 6/0


Defenders:

Carlos Bocanegra (Racing de Santander; Spain) - 107/13

Geoff Cameron (Stoke City; England) - 8/0

Edgar Castillo (Tijuana; Mexico) - 7/0

Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96; Germany) - 85/2

Maurice Edu (Stoke City; England) - 40/1

Clarence Goodson (Brondby IF; Denmark) - 32/3

Fabian Johnson (1899 Hoffenheim; Germany) - 9/0

Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland; Denmark) - 14/0


Midfielders:

Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) - 23/1

Michael Bradley (AS Roma; Italy) - 69/10

Joe Corona (Tijuana; Mexico) - 2/0

Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04; Germany) - 24/2

Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht; Belgium) - 35/4

Danny Williams (1899 Hoffenheim; Germany) - 8/0

Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) - 4/1


Forwards:

Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur; England) - 89/28

Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna; Mexico) - 16/5

Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes) - 0/0

Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC) - 42/12

Projected Lineup:

Howard

          Cameron          Bocanegra            

                           Cherundolo                                                 F. Johnson

Williams

                                Zusi                                                          Kljestan

Bradley

Dempsey           Gomez

Marcus Hahnemann returns home to Seattle; Sounders acquire him via the allocation process

By Money Mike


This was where Marcus Hahnemann began his career in 1994 and now this where he will end his career. Earlier this afternoon, the Seattle Sounders traded a conditional draft pick to Toronto FC for their allocation slot to get the veteran goalkeeper. Hahnemann joins the Sounders for the rest of the 2012 season with an option for 2013, although I doubt that will be picked up. My guess is this will be his final year as a professional soccer player. There were some questions in the past about whether or not the Sounders were going to pick him up when Kasey Keller retired. Most of the folks were expecting him to join the team as the new starting goalkeeper, but then the Sounders picked up Michael Gspurning. So then earlier today, Hahnemann signs an MLS contract and the Sounders picked him up through Allocation.

After four seasons at Seattle Pacific University, Hahnemann joined the Seattle Sounders in 1994 when they were playing in the A-League. In 1995 and 96, Hahnemann led the Sounders to back to back A-League titles and was named A-League MVP in 95'. After that he joined the Colorado Rapids and led them to the MLS Cup final in 1997 only to lose to D.C. United. He made 66 Appearances for the Rapids from 1997-99 and he still holds the team record with 39 wins for the Rapids. In 99', Hahnemann moved to Fulham in an 88,000 pound transfer from Colorado, which I think is $129,784 in American money. However, he couldn't break into the first team and after five appearances on loan with Rochdale, Hahnemann joined Reading in 2002 and became their starter through 2009. In the 2005-2006 season, he helped Reading win promotion to the English Premier League. It was the first time in club history that Reading reached the top flight of English football. He made 282 appearances for Reading and after they were relegated to second division football in 2009, Hahnemann joined Wolverhampton Wanderers who were promoted to the Premier League for 2009-10. He was originally the backup to Wayne Hennessey, but after Hennessey conceded four goals in two consecutive matches, Hahnemann took over as the starter and helped lead Wolves to 15th place which was good enough to keep them up. The following year, he struggled and lost his job after 15 appearances in 2010-11. He spent the 2011-12 season with Everton, but did not make a single appearance for them. Hahnemann has also capped nine times for the U.S. national team, and was on their squad during their CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship run in 05'. He was also on their squad for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.


Thoughts on this move:

Well, it's great to see he's ending his career in his hometown. Apparently the Sounders needed a backup goalkeeper to rely on in case Michael Gspurning for some reason gets injured again. Bryan Meredith had his struggles, Andrew Weber did ok but he's not that great and I don't think Josh Ford is ready for this level. So bringing in Hahnemann as a backup was a pretty good move by the front office.

USA defeats Colombia 3-0, clinches a spot in the Quarterfinals

By Money Mike


The United States in their second group game of the 2012 Olympics completely dominated the entire match from start to finish and come away with a well deserved 3-0 win over Colombia to book their place into the quarterfinal round. The U.S. still have one more group game to go, which takes place on Tuesday at Old Trafford against North Korea. The U.S. would win with at least a draw in that one. I'm not gonna go through the scenarios, we'll just have to wait until the final match to find out who they're playing, when they're playing and where they're playing.

The opening goal didn't come until the 33rd minute for the USA. Colombia failed to get the ball out of their own area and Alex Morgan found Megan Rapinoe out wide. Rapinoe took a couple of small touches and from about 20 yards out, just curls it over the head of goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda in to the net to put the United States ahead 1-0.

Six minutes later, we had a controversial moment and I got to tell you, Colombia are lucky not to pick up a red card. The United States were on the counter attack and off the ball, Colombian player Lady Andrade threw a forearm right into Abby Wambach's face and the referee somehow didn't see it. After the referee blew the play dead, you could see Wambach's right eye was swelling up. I don't understand how the referee didn't see that or why the assistant referee or fourth official weren't paying any attention to that because that's violent conduct and that should've been a red card. Now, the last thing I heard regarding this was that FIFA was reviewing this play. So by the look of things, Andrade could be banned from international play for a while. I mean that was just stupid and uncalled for.

In the 74th minute, the U.S. doubled their advantage.  Abby Wambach, who stayed in the match despite picking up a black eye, worked a brilliant give and go with Tobin Heath as she beat two Colombian defenders to the ball and slots it home to make it 2-0 USA.

Three minutes later, the U.S. would add one more for good measure. Carli Lloyd made a great run down the center and was found by Megan Rapinoe and she slots the ball away with ease for her second goal of the tournament and that was all the United States needed as they defeat Colombia 3-0 and clinches a birth in the Quarterfinals.


Scoring summary:

United States - Megan Rapinoe 1 (33')

United States - Abby Wambach 2 (74')

United States - Carli Lloyd 2 (77')


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

Colombia - Sandra Sepulveda; Nataly Arias, Natalia Gaitan, Kelis Peduzine, Yulieht Dominguez; Tatiana Ariza (Liana Salazar 71'), Carmen Rodallega (Ana Montoya 71'), Maria Usme; Ingrid Vidal (Melissa Ortiz 86'), Orianica Velasquez, Lady Andrade

United States - Hope Solo; Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone, Rachel Buehler, Kelley O'Hara; Heather O'Reilly (Tobin Heath 67'), Carli Lloyd, Lauren Cheney, Megan Rapinoe (Amy Rodriguez 81'); Abby Wambach (Sydney Leroux 78'), Alex Morgan


Now I may be a couple days late with this video because I didn't see it until today, but here's a little trailier on the U.S. women's journey to another Olympic Gold Medal...

U.S. women rally from two down with four unanswered goals to defeat France 4-2

By Money Mike


So we all know that the Olympics don't officially start until Friday. However, the only exception to that is Olympic soccer kicked off with the women's tournament today. Six women's matches were played today but the only match I care about is a match that features the United States. Like earlier today at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, and yes folks this was an official Olympic game. This U.S. came back from two goals down as they scored four unanswered goals to defeat France 4-2. Good way to kick off the 2012 Olympic tournament for the two time Olympic Champions. Despite the result, I wasn't overly impressed with the midfielders. Most the game, they just seem to have a knack on giving the ball away to the opposition and other times, their teammates just fall asleep at the wrong time. Hopefully USA head coach Pia Sundhage can work with her team in that area during practice leading up to their next match on Saturday.

It took only 12 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, unfortunately, it was France who struck early. France's long ball was headed away by Amy LePeilbet but right to Gaetane Thiney and from 20 yards out Thiney strikes the ball brilliantly in to the back of the net to put France ahead 1-0. Hope Solo did get a fingertip to it but not enough.

Two minutes later, the U.S. we're two goals down. Elise Bussaglia took the corner for France on the far side of the pitch. The U.S. fail to clear the ball out of their area and Marie-Laure Delie makes them pay as she rips her shot into the net to put France up 2-0 over the two-time defending Olympic Champions.

The United States would climb back into this one in the 19th minute. Megan Rapinoe, who is one of four players from the Sounders Women's team, took the corner from the near side and what we all know is that if the corner kick finds the head of Abby Wambach, it's more than likely going to be a goal and that's what happened here. Rapinoe floated the ball to the far post and it was Abby Wambach who got up and headed the ball back across and inside the left post cut the French lead to one.

With just over a half an hour gone by, the United States would equalise and it was another one of four Sounders Women on this team, you guys may have heard of this person before, her name is Alex Morgan. Following an offside call against France, Hope Solo (speaking of the Sounders Women), booted the ball into the French half which missed the head of Abby Wambach but ball found Alex Morgan in the box. Morgan waited for ball to bounce right in front of her before chipping the ball over the head of French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and in to back of the goal to tie this baby up at two goals a piece. Remember last year following USA's World Cup defeat to Japan, I talked a little bit about Alex Morgan and why she should've started and went ahead and stated that she was the future of this U.S. Women's team. Of course she was just making a jump to the international level and she had nine international goals. Now fast forward to July 25, 2012, and the 23 year old has become one of the best in the game. That equalising goal was Alex Morgan's 28th in her international career in her 43rd cap and I'll bet she's gonna reach 100 caps way before the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In the 56th minute, the United States would get their third unanswered goal to take their first lead of the match. Megan Rapinoe poked the ball in the middle for Carli Lloyd and remember the goal she scored against Brazil in the 2008 Gold Medal match in Beijing? When she took one touch and just cracked one inside the far post? Well, this goal against France was no different. Rapinoe fed the ball to Lloyd who took one touch and then BANG!! Right footed from outside the area and the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping that one and the U.S. who were 2-0 down earlier in the game were now 3-2 up.

10 minutes later the U.S. would add a fourth. Once again, Megan Rapinoe was involved in the play as she played the ball long to the far side of the pitch and French defender Corine Franco made a mistake by sliding in to try to break up the play which gave Tobin Heath so much space to run at the French defense. Heath took it toward the end line and squared the ball across which missed Abby Wambach but right there was Alex Morgan at the far post to tap it in for her second of the game to make it 4-2 for the U.S. and that's how it would end.


Scoring summary:

France - Gaetane Thiney 1 (12')

France - Marie-Laure Delie 1 (14')

United States - Abby Wambach 1 (19')

United States - Alex Morgan 1 (32')

United States - Carli Lloyd 1 (56')

United States - Alex Morgan 2 (66')


Misconduct summary:

NONE


Lineups:

United States - Hope Solo; Amy LePeilbet, Rachel Buehler, Christie Rampone, Kelley O'Hara; Megan Rapinoe (Sydney Leroux 84'), Shannon Boxx (Carli Lloyd 17'), Lauren Cheney, Tobin Heath; Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan (Amy Rodriguez 74')

France - Sarah Bouhaddi; Corine Franco, Wendie Renard, Ophelie Meilleroux (Laura Georges 46'), Sonia Bompastor; Camile Abily (Sandrine Soubeyrand 71'), Louisa Necib (Eugenie le Sommer 46'), Elise Bussaglia; Elodie Thomis, Marie-Laure Delie, Gaetane Thiney

Brad Evans and Jeff Parke called into U.S. men's national team camp

By Money Mike

After a couple of players withdrew from U.S. national team camp earlier today, USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called up Sounders midfielder Brad Evans and defender Jeff Parke as the U.S. prepare for friendlies against Venezuela and Panama on January 21 and 25. Parke and Evans will fill in for LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and FC Dallas defender George John who have both withdrawn from the squad due to the fact that they both could be on the move during the Winter Transfer Period.

This is Parke's first international call-up in his 7 year career, and well deserved. And the fact that he's a solid defender makes me want to question why he's never made an international appearance yet and if he's ever gonna play for the U.S. national team. Remember we picked him up in the Expansion Draft from the New York Red Bulls and at that time, we started bringing in more defender like Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Patrick Ianni, Tyrone Marshall, and he felt like he lost his spot on the team so he leaves Seattle and signs with the Vancouver Whitecaps who were playing in the USL at the time and he doesn't do much over there. So then he returns to Seattle as a trialist in 2010 and following injuries to Ianni and Hurtado, Parke stepped in and became a consistent starter for this team ever since. So back then, maybe there wasn't much that he did to prove that he's ready for the international level, but now he's been called into camp. He also admitted earlier that he was bothered by being overlooked by the USMNT.

Brad Evans as we all know made his international debut on July 4, 2009 against Grenada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which took place here in Seattle. So far he has capped four times for the Red, White and Blue. Even though I'm not sure he deserves a call up due to his lack of fitness these last couple of seasons, Klinsmann decided to call him into camp and Evans is a Sounder so I've got to accept the fact that he joining camp. I know Sounder fans on Facebook were bitching about Brad Evans being called into camp which I do not appreciate. He has struggled in terms of fitness, but come on, do Sounder fans really have to complain.

I was really hoping that Jurgen Klinsmann would call up Lamar Neagle because of his performance last season. But get this, he's only 24 years old, he's got a long career ahead of him and I have a feeling that Neagle will be called up soon. Hopefully that wasn't the first time I've said it, but he does have a future in the International level as you may have heard before.

18 of the 20 players on the current squad are current MLS players, four players have capped at least 10 times and the most capped player on this upcoming 20-man squad is Benny Feilhaber with 38 caps. It's always good to bring in new players as you try to build a strong team for the future with the Gold Cup, the World Cup, etc. Remember in the 2009 Gold Cup, due to the fact that the United States participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup, most of the players on the Gold Cup squad had little to no experience. That was the only time I didn't make any complaints for USA losing 5-0 in the final to Mexico, but it that was a team full of veterans like Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, etc., then I would've complained. That squad he had in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the fact that USA failed to win the Cup I believe is the reason Bob Bradley was fired. I mean, 2011 was a year that every U.S. soccer fan would like to forget.


Players called into USMNT camp

Goalkeepers: Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) (1/0), Bill Hamid (D.C. United) (0/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) (5/0)

Defenders: Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) (1/0), A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles Galaxy) (0/0), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas) (1/0), Jeff Parke (Seattle Sounders FC) (0/0), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland; Denmark) (9/0), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA) (32/0)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) (18/1), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt; Germany) (32/2), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC) (4/0), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution) (38/2), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids) (2/0), Brek Shea (FC Dallas) (9/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) (0/0)

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls) (15/2), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City) (2/1), C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City) (0/0), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) (5/0)

Seattle Sounders FC preview vs San Jose Earthquakes. Over 62,000 tickets sold as Kasey Keller prepares for his final home match.

By Money Mike



A record crowd of over 62,000 will fill CenturyLink Field tomorrow as one of the greatest Goalkeepers in the game, Kasey Keller gets set to play in his final regular season home match of his career. A lot of folks have been chanting "ONE MORE YEAR!!" hoping that he will change his mind and return for the 2012 season. For them, and it hurts me to say this, they won't get their wish. And then people have been asking if he will be in net for the playoffs, and obviously, that's a dumb question. Keller will of course be in net for the playoffs. The Sounders on the other hand have two games remaining before the playoffs. Tomorrow, they take on the San Jose Earthquakes, who are already eliminated from playoff contention. These two teams met back on April 2 down at Buck Shaw Stadium in San Jose. Brad Evans and O'Brian White were the goalscorers for the Sounders, but the Earthquakes got two of their own from Simon Dawkins and Khari Stephenson and the match ended all square at 2-2. Right now, San Jose's big focus would be Chris Wondolowski getting his second straight Golden Boot, he'll be their go-to guy in this one.


Injury report:

San Jose Earthquakes - For the Earthquakes, Andre Luiz, who seriously needs to retire, has a left knee injury and he is out. Ike Opara has a left foot injury and is also out, and that's a key injury because this guy is a threat on set peices. Alan Gordon had season ending surgery, I don't know where though. Bobby Convey has inflammation on his right knee. Steven Lenhart is not injured, he has taken a family leave of absense for the rest of the season. Anthony Ampaipitakwong and Ramiro Corrales are both listed as doubtful. And Nana Attakora and Scott Sealy are both listed as questionable.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Sounders, of course Steve Zakuani, Mike Seamon and Terry Boss are shut down for the season. Jeff Parke suffered a concussion last week against the Philadelphia Union and he has been ruled out for the home finale. O'Brian White still has not recovered from his second blood clot surgery and he may not be back this season. And finally, Mauro Rosales has been cleared for play this weekend after sitting out for a few weeks with an MCL sprain he suffered against D.C. United.


Looking back at Kasey Keller's 20-year career:

I tell you what, thing will never be the same without Kasey Keller. He made his U.S. national team debut in 1990 when he was still playing College Soccer at the University of Portland. With the national team, Keller picked up his 100th cap in the semifinals of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Canada because of the fact that Tim Howard was carrying a yellow card and would've been suspended for the final if he picked up another one in the semifinal. So they benched Howard and started Keller and the U.S. eventually won the match 2-1 after a last second equalizer by Atiba Hutchinson was ruled out for offside. The U.S. would go on and win the Gold Cup in 2007 defeating Mexico 2-1 in the final. Keller made 102 appearances overall for the United States from 1990-2007, and there's no doubt, he made some big plays for the national team, including in their second match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Italy when he made a world class save to deny Alessandro Del Piero a go ahead goal. He made 176 appearances for Milwall from 1992-96, 99 appearances for Leicester City from 1996-99 and also won a League Cup for them, 51 appearances for Rayo Vallencano from 1999-2001, 85 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur from 2001-2005, 4 appearances during his short loan stint with Southampton in 2004, 78 appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach from 2005-2007, 13 appearances for Fulham during the 2007-2008 English Premier League season and so far, 91 appearances for the Seattle Sounders since 2009.


A Tribute to the Captain:

The day after USA's loss in the World Cup final.

By Money Mike



July 18, 2011........... The day after the FIFA Women's World Cup final. The day after all the disbelief from the entire nation. The day after the United States fell apart in the final minutes in both area's of the match and ended up falling to Japan on Penalties. I looked all around facebook on U.S. soccer's fan page as well as Alex Morgan's, Hope Solo's and Tobin Heath's and the only negativity I found came from a couple of stupid bitches from France and Brazil (both of them were women) who thought they were being funny. They're just embarrassing themselves because USA already knocked Brazil out and knocked France out. You know, this is tough to swallow because you're rooting for a team that is well coached, well drilled, ranked #1 in FIFA. When you put together so many chances against your opponent, ok they're under a lot of pressure. If you don't convert those chances, it'll come back to haunt you. It happened to Arsenal in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham City. Failing to convert on so many chances and they end up losing after a Goalkeeping error. But really guys, you can't blame the coach, you can't blame Hope Solo, you can't blame anyone on this team for this defeat. I mean, sometimes things are meant to backfire.

To me, the most underated player on this team would also be the youngest player on this team, Alex Morgan. I just didn't understand at all. Why didn't Alex Morgan start a World Cup match at all. The United States were the very last team to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, getting past Italy in a 2-legged final playoff round and guess who scored the winner in that one? Alex Morgan. She has a great future with this team, especially after scoring two goals in four World Cup appearances, including one in the final against Japan. I mean, it's just amazing how much this woman has grown, not only as a player, but also as a human being. But now in matches that count, I think it's time to let her go a full 90' minutes.


Overall performance for the U.S. in this World Cup:

There was no doubt in my mind that the U.S. had a very good in the World Cup and the fans knew that. The fans applauded them for their efforts, every single fan. None of them booed them, threw tomatos, none of that bullshit because that would've been disrespectful for the USSF and the all of America. Out of all the Women's World Cup's I've seen, the one I enjoyed most was the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. And I'm pretty sure everyone who watched would agree with me as well.

Now here's a video I want to share to you guys......