The United States Men's National Soccer Team plays their first World Cup warm-up game today in a friendly against the Czech Republic at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut.
Coach Bob Bradley will use this game to test some of the fringe players and whittle down the 30-man preliminary roster to the final 23 that will make the plane to South Africa for the World Cup, just three weeks away. Bradley will probably use another friendly, on Saturday against Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, to fine-tune and build chemistry within his starting eleven and subs he will most likely use at the tournament.
Bradley probably has most of the squad penciled in already, but will look for a few fringe players to shine tonight to grab the last few spots. A few key areas he will have to watch are at forward, where Brian Ching, Edson Buddle, Hercules Gomez, Eddie Johnson, and Robbie Findley are all fighting for 2 or 3 slots, midfield, where a similar battle is waging between DeMarcus Beasley, Sacha Kljestan, and Alejandro Bedoya, and defense, where it will be important to see just who is fit with several injuries popping up at the recent camp at Princeton.
The Czech team will feature just 4 players that were on the 2006 World Cup roster when they defeated the Americans 3-0 in the group stage. The Czech Republic will be watching the games from home as they failed to qualify for this summer's tournament. Czech stars Tomas Rosicky and Milan Baros are out with injuries.
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
U.S. World Cup Preliminary Roster
Bob Bradley, coach of the United State Men's National Soccer Team, announced the list of 30 players who will train at Princeton before the World Cup in South Africa next month. The squad will need to be widdled down to 23 before their first game against England on June 12th.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Tim Howard (Everton)
Breakdown - Howard is the undisputed number one netminder leaving Guzan and Hahnemann to duke it out for second choice. Guzan backs up American keeper Brad Friedel at Villa and has seen limited action this season in a handful of Carling Cup and F.A. Cup games while Hahnemann, at age 37, usurped Wayne Hennessey in December as the number one choice for Wolves. In any case, all three will be taken to South Africa. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) could have been brought into camp to compete but it wasn't necessary since the three already listed stood head and shoulders above both Rimando and another candidate in Troy Perkins (DC United).
Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes)*, Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
Breakdown - The biggest question mark for the American back four, aside from Onyewu's health, is at left back. Pearce has been less than impressive in his performances for the national team while his MLS compatriot Bornstein has been extremely inconsistent; going from hero, as his game-tying goal against Costa Rica clinched America's first place spot in CONCACAF qualifying, to goat, in a friendly against the Netherlands where he was responsible for both Dutch goals, giving up a penalty kick on a careless foul and also deflecting a shot into his own net.
A few other options would be to play Spector on the left side where is comfortable, playing there for his club in England, or sliding left-footed captain Bocanegra from central defense. Both have capable backups at their preferred position, Cherundolo at right back and DeMerit at central defense respectively, but Spector may be the best choice because of Bocanegra's lack of pace.
The 6'4" defenseman known as "Gooch" is probably the best defender on Bradley's team but is coming off a major injury that saw him miss most of the Serie A season for the Rossoneri. With nearly no playing time with his club it will be important to see if he can get back to match fitness. Goodson provides depth in the center.
Notable exclusions include fan favorite Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) and former Mexican national Edgar Castillo (UANL).
Midfielders: DeMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aurhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
Breakdown - This unit his headed by America's greatest footballer of all time, Landon Donovan. He will probably start on the left as he has done since last summer, but may switch to the right where he shined in a loan stint in England at Everton.
This would largely depend on whether Bradley shifts Clint Dempsey from right wing to a forward position, which I will discuss in the next paragraph. However, should Dempsey move up top another option to replace him is Stuart Holden, a promising youngster who moved overseas in January and is also coming off an injury.
Another question is who will partner with Michael Bradley, the coach's son, in central midfield. The choice is between Edu, who has performed well for his Scottish club since recovering from injury, and Clark who stepped in admirably during Edu's absence from the national team. Clark had a recent injury spell after signing for a German club in January (have you noticed the pattern yet?).
Feilhaber and Torres can provide depth in the center and out left where a familiar face is back in the fold after losing Bradley's favor at the Confederations Cup last June. Beasley has made it back onto the roster after a terrible blunder on an American corner kick led to an embarrassing counter-attack goal for the Brazilians.
Missing the cut were Freddy Adu (Aris Thessaloniki), who has failed to live up to his expectations as a youth, and talented Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04) who switched affiliation from Germany but had several setbacks in his rehab from a leg injury.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Hercules Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)
Breakdown - The only sure thing in the list of forwards is Altidore. All five other candidates, three of which will probably be on the final roster, could make or miss the plane to the World Cup finals.
Brian Ching is a familiar face but shares a lot of the same attributes as Jozy and is also coming off an injury.
Findley and Johnson have the pace to compliment Altidore, but have been virtually unnoticable as of late when given the chance to prove themselves at the international level.
The most in form strikers at the moment are Buddle and Gomez. Buddle is having a career season in the MLS playing alongside teammate Donovan while Gomez tied for most goals scored in the Mexican Clausura, mostly coming on as a substitute.
Something Bradley has probably been thinking about is moving Dempsey or Donovan up top as a support striker. This is Donovan's natural position and Dempsey plays there for his club and has shown a knack for scoring when placed in this situation.
Unfortunately, the extremely promising Charlie Davies (Sochaux), who broke out at the Confederations Cup, failed in his efforts to make the World Cup roster after suffering extensive injuries and undergoing an intense rehab following a fatal car crash in Washington D.C. the night before the team's final qualifying game in October. Also not making the list was a regular from the past year, Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids).
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Tim Howard (Everton)
Breakdown - Howard is the undisputed number one netminder leaving Guzan and Hahnemann to duke it out for second choice. Guzan backs up American keeper Brad Friedel at Villa and has seen limited action this season in a handful of Carling Cup and F.A. Cup games while Hahnemann, at age 37, usurped Wayne Hennessey in December as the number one choice for Wolves. In any case, all three will be taken to South Africa. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) could have been brought into camp to compete but it wasn't necessary since the three already listed stood head and shoulders above both Rimando and another candidate in Troy Perkins (DC United).
Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes)*, Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
Breakdown - The biggest question mark for the American back four, aside from Onyewu's health, is at left back. Pearce has been less than impressive in his performances for the national team while his MLS compatriot Bornstein has been extremely inconsistent; going from hero, as his game-tying goal against Costa Rica clinched America's first place spot in CONCACAF qualifying, to goat, in a friendly against the Netherlands where he was responsible for both Dutch goals, giving up a penalty kick on a careless foul and also deflecting a shot into his own net.
A few other options would be to play Spector on the left side where is comfortable, playing there for his club in England, or sliding left-footed captain Bocanegra from central defense. Both have capable backups at their preferred position, Cherundolo at right back and DeMerit at central defense respectively, but Spector may be the best choice because of Bocanegra's lack of pace.
The 6'4" defenseman known as "Gooch" is probably the best defender on Bradley's team but is coming off a major injury that saw him miss most of the Serie A season for the Rossoneri. With nearly no playing time with his club it will be important to see if he can get back to match fitness. Goodson provides depth in the center.
Notable exclusions include fan favorite Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) and former Mexican national Edgar Castillo (UANL).
Midfielders: DeMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aurhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
Breakdown - This unit his headed by America's greatest footballer of all time, Landon Donovan. He will probably start on the left as he has done since last summer, but may switch to the right where he shined in a loan stint in England at Everton.
This would largely depend on whether Bradley shifts Clint Dempsey from right wing to a forward position, which I will discuss in the next paragraph. However, should Dempsey move up top another option to replace him is Stuart Holden, a promising youngster who moved overseas in January and is also coming off an injury.
Another question is who will partner with Michael Bradley, the coach's son, in central midfield. The choice is between Edu, who has performed well for his Scottish club since recovering from injury, and Clark who stepped in admirably during Edu's absence from the national team. Clark had a recent injury spell after signing for a German club in January (have you noticed the pattern yet?).
Feilhaber and Torres can provide depth in the center and out left where a familiar face is back in the fold after losing Bradley's favor at the Confederations Cup last June. Beasley has made it back onto the roster after a terrible blunder on an American corner kick led to an embarrassing counter-attack goal for the Brazilians.
Missing the cut were Freddy Adu (Aris Thessaloniki), who has failed to live up to his expectations as a youth, and talented Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04) who switched affiliation from Germany but had several setbacks in his rehab from a leg injury.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Hercules Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)
Breakdown - The only sure thing in the list of forwards is Altidore. All five other candidates, three of which will probably be on the final roster, could make or miss the plane to the World Cup finals.
Brian Ching is a familiar face but shares a lot of the same attributes as Jozy and is also coming off an injury.
Findley and Johnson have the pace to compliment Altidore, but have been virtually unnoticable as of late when given the chance to prove themselves at the international level.
The most in form strikers at the moment are Buddle and Gomez. Buddle is having a career season in the MLS playing alongside teammate Donovan while Gomez tied for most goals scored in the Mexican Clausura, mostly coming on as a substitute.
Something Bradley has probably been thinking about is moving Dempsey or Donovan up top as a support striker. This is Donovan's natural position and Dempsey plays there for his club and has shown a knack for scoring when placed in this situation.
Unfortunately, the extremely promising Charlie Davies (Sochaux), who broke out at the Confederations Cup, failed in his efforts to make the World Cup roster after suffering extensive injuries and undergoing an intense rehab following a fatal car crash in Washington D.C. the night before the team's final qualifying game in October. Also not making the list was a regular from the past year, Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids).
Monday, December 7, 2009
Group of Death
The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa took place on Friday, December 4th in Cape Town. The purpose of the draw was to find out which countries will face each other in the group stage of the tournament.
Qualification for the World Cup finals began in September 2006, right after the World Cup in Germany. After four years the nations involved have been widdled down to just 32 (see "2010 FIFA World Cup" blog) which were placed into eight groups of four teams. Each team will play one game against the other three in the group in order to determine which two countries, based on highest point total, will move on to the knock-out stages. Teams get three points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a loss. In the event of a tie in total points the tie-breaker is goal difference, then goals scored.
Teams were seeded into four pots of eight teams for the draw. The teams in group one were chosen based on the FIFA World Rankings from October 2009 and also includes the host nation. The remaining groups were based on FIFA confederations. Group two was from Asia, North America and Oceania, group three from Africa and South America, group four was from Europe.
As it happened, with the help of special guests including actress Charlize Theron and footballer David Beckham, the groups were chosen as follows:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France. Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece. Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia. Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana. Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon. Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia. Group G (aka Group of Death): Brazil, Korea DPR, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal. Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.
Get ready to cheer for your team this summer.
Qualification for the World Cup finals began in September 2006, right after the World Cup in Germany. After four years the nations involved have been widdled down to just 32 (see "2010 FIFA World Cup" blog) which were placed into eight groups of four teams. Each team will play one game against the other three in the group in order to determine which two countries, based on highest point total, will move on to the knock-out stages. Teams get three points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a loss. In the event of a tie in total points the tie-breaker is goal difference, then goals scored.
Teams were seeded into four pots of eight teams for the draw. The teams in group one were chosen based on the FIFA World Rankings from October 2009 and also includes the host nation. The remaining groups were based on FIFA confederations. Group two was from Asia, North America and Oceania, group three from Africa and South America, group four was from Europe.
As it happened, with the help of special guests including actress Charlize Theron and footballer David Beckham, the groups were chosen as follows:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France. Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece. Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia. Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana. Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon. Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia. Group G (aka Group of Death): Brazil, Korea DPR, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal. Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.
Get ready to cheer for your team this summer.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
2010 FIFA World Cup
Yesterday the final six nations qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. The World Cup, an international soccer tournament, occurs every four years and is the world's biggest sporting event. Here is the list of 32 nations that qualified for the 19th World Cup finals (Current FIFA World Ranking in parenthesis):
Asia [AFC]: Australia (24), Japan (40), Korea DPR (91), Korea Republic (48)
Africa [CAF]: Algeria (29), Cameroon (14), Ghana (38), Ivory Coast (19), Nigeria (32), South Africa (85)
North, Central America and Caribbean [CONCACAF]: Honduras (35), Mexico (18), USA (11)
South America [CONMEBOL]: Argentina (6), Brazil (1), Chile (17), Paraguay (21), Uruguay (25)
Oceana [OFC]: New Zealand (83)
Europe [UEFA]: Denmark (27), England (7), France (9), Germany (5), Greece (16), Italy (4), Netherlands (3), Portugal (10), Serbia (20), Slovakia (33), Slovenia (49), Spain (2), Switzerland (13)
Notable Nations That Did Not Qualify: Croatia (8), Russia (12), Czech Republic (15), Ukraine (22), Bulgaria (23), Israel (26), Egypt (28), Columbia, (30/T), Northern Ireland (30/T).
The Mike Webb Team: www.northernvirginiahouses.com
Asia [AFC]: Australia (24), Japan (40), Korea DPR (91), Korea Republic (48)
Africa [CAF]: Algeria (29), Cameroon (14), Ghana (38), Ivory Coast (19), Nigeria (32), South Africa (85)
North, Central America and Caribbean [CONCACAF]: Honduras (35), Mexico (18), USA (11)
South America [CONMEBOL]: Argentina (6), Brazil (1), Chile (17), Paraguay (21), Uruguay (25)
Oceana [OFC]: New Zealand (83)
Europe [UEFA]: Denmark (27), England (7), France (9), Germany (5), Greece (16), Italy (4), Netherlands (3), Portugal (10), Serbia (20), Slovakia (33), Slovenia (49), Spain (2), Switzerland (13)
Notable Nations That Did Not Qualify: Croatia (8), Russia (12), Czech Republic (15), Ukraine (22), Bulgaria (23), Israel (26), Egypt (28), Columbia, (30/T), Northern Ireland (30/T).
The Mike Webb Team: www.northernvirginiahouses.com
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