United States Men's National Team: The March to South Africa

[improbus]

Here is what I like about Jozy. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time (he's the Anti-Eddie Johnson). That is all the US ever needed. We throw alot of balls into the box and control the ball an awful lot, all we've ever needed is a finisher. Ching is a target player (a poor man's young Brian McBride), and that really doesn't fit the US's style. Eddie is a disaster in an organized game (which is why he did well in MLS....zing!!!). I have high hopes for Jozy in 2010.

[WMR]

Bradley Names 24-Man Roster to Train For FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Against Costa Rica and Honduras
- Team Will Gather in Miami Beginning May 26 to Prepare For Critical World Cup Qualifiers Against Second and Third Place Teams in the Group
- U.S. Seeking First-Ever Win in Costa Rica on June 3 at 8 p.m. MT, Live on the ESPN Networks and Galavision
- More than 40,000 tickets sold for USA-Honduras on June 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago

CHICAGO (May 24, 2008) — U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 24 players that will train in advance of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. The U.S. will be seeking its first-ever victory away to Costa Rica when they meet at Estadio Saprissa in the fourth match of the 10-game final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Kickoff on June 3 is set for 8 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on the ESPN Networks and Galavision.

Three days later, the city of Chicago will host its first World Cup qualifier when the U.S. welcomes Honduras to Soldier Field. More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for the USA’s third home match of the final round, where the U.S. will face the team who delivered them their last home loss in World Cup qualifying, a 3-2 defeat on Sept. 1, 2001, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans can follow both matches live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

The U.S. is in first place in the final round hexagonal with an undefeated 2-0-1 record. Costa Rica sits one point behind, while Honduras holds the third position. The top three teams will automatically qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

“Clearly these next matches are very important in our efforts to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, who is 9-1-1 overall in qualifying action. “Both teams have been very good throughout the qualifying process. We are certainly aware of the challenges of playing in Costa Rica, and Honduras has produced some great results, including two wins against Mexico. We are excited for the start of a very competitive summer for our team.”

The U.S. team will begin assembling on May 26 in Miami, and depart June 1 for San Jose. Several players will join camp following weekend club competition, including 2008 U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year Tim Howard, who will lead Everton against Chelsea in the FA Cup final on May 30 at Wembley Stadium, and DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu, who can win the Scottish league title later today and will play in the Scottish FA Cup final against Falkirk next weekend. José Francicso Torres will arrive late if Pachuca reaches the finals of the Mexican league playoffs, and the MLS-based players will travel to Miami following their league matches this week.

The roster boasts nine players who have appeared in all three of the USA’s final round qualifiers, including seven who have started every game. Three players: Michael Bradley – the ussoccer.com Man of the Match after scoring a pair of goals in the 2-0 win against Mexico – DaMarcus Beasley and Heath Pearce are tied with nine starts during the 2010 qualifying campaign. Following his record-setting hat trick in the 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago on April 1 in Nashville – he is the youngest U.S. player ever to put in three goals in a game – Jozy Altidore now leads all U.S. attackers with five goals in this World Cup qualifying cycle. Bradley, Brian Ching and Clint Dempsey all have four goals each. Dempsey is one game shy of his 50th appearance for the United States.

Landon Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster with 108 international appearances, the USA’s all-time leader in goals and assists is one goal shy of tying Brian McBride for the most career goals in World Cup qualifying (10). He recorded assists on all three of Altidore’s goals against Trinidad & Tobago, improving his career tally to 36 assists.

The U.S. defense has produced eight shutouts through 11 matches in this cycle. Tim Howard has presided over five clean sheets, while Brad Guzan has picked up the remaining three. Team captain Carlos Bocanegra has been an anchor in central defense alongside Oguchi Onyewu, who is playing Anderlecht on Sunday in the second leg of a playoff to determine the Belgian league champion. Frankie Hejduk, a veteran of four World Cup qualifying cycles, has started all three final round matches at right back, providing a goal and an assist in the 2-2 away draw in El Salvador, marking the first time the U.S. has come from behind by two goals to earn a point on the road.

In addition to the 24-man roster, two players have been invited to participate in their first camp with the full team: Aston Villa defender Erich Lichaj and Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Luis Robles.

Following the two qualifiers, the U.S. will depart June 8 for South Africa to begin preparations for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The final 23-man roster for the event will be announced June 7 in Chicago. The United States has been drawn into a powerful Group B along with reigning world champions Italy, five-time World Cup winners Brazil, and reigning African Cup of Nations winners Egypt for the tournament, which will be played from June 14-28. The U.S. kicks off action against Italy on June 15 at Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane/Pretoria, and then faces Brazil on June 18 in the same venue. The United States finishes group play on June 21 against Egypt at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

The U.S., along with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Trinidad & Tobago, is competing in the 10-game round-robin format through Oct. 14, 2009, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The fourth-place team will compete in a two-game playoff to be held Nov. 14/18 against the fifth-place finisher in South American qualifying.

U.S. Men's National Team Roster vs. Costa Rica and Honduras
May 26-June 6, 2009
Players P Ht. Wt. DOB Hometown Club C/G
Adu, Freddy M 5-8 140 06/02/89 Potomac, Md. AS Monaco (France) 12/1


Altidore, Jozy F 6-1 175 11/06/89 Boca Raton, Fla. Xerez C.D. (Spain) 9/6

Beasley, DaMarcus M 5-8 145 05/24/82 Ft. Wayne, Ind. Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 85/17

Bocanegra, Carlos D 6-0 170 05/25/79 Alta Loma, Calif. Stade Rennais (France) 65/10

Bornstein, Jonathan D 5-9 145 11/07/84 Los Alamitos, Calif. Chivas USA 14/1

Bradley, Michael M 6-2 175 07/31/87 Manhattan Beach, Calif. Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany) 28/5

Califf, Danny D 6-1 175 03/17/80 Orange, Calif FC Midtjylland (Denmark) 23/1

Ching, Brian F 6-1 195 05/24/78 Haleiwa, Hawaii Houston Dynamo 36/9

Davies, Charlie F 5-10 160 06/25/86 Manchester, N.H. Hammarby IF (Sweden) 5/1

DeMerit, Jay D 6-0 185 12/04/79 Green Bay, Wis. Watford FC (England) 9/1

Dempsey, Clint F 6-1 170 03/09/83 Nacogdoches, Texas Fulham FC (England) 49/13

Donovan, Landon F 5-8 150 03/04/82 Redlands, Calif. Los Angeles Galaxy 108/37

Edu, Maurice M 6-0 170 04/18/86 Fontana, Calif. Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 11/1

Feilhaber, Benny M 5-9 150 01/19/85 Irvine, Calif. AGF Aarhus (Denmark) 16/2

Guzan, Brad GK 6-4 210 09/09/84 Homer Glen, Ill. Aston Villa FC (England) 12/1

Hejduk, Frankie D 5-8 155 08/05/77 Cardiff, Calif. Columbus Crew 84/7

Howard, Tim GK 6-3 210 03/06/79 North Brunswick, N.J. Everton FC (England) 37/0

Mastroeni, Pablo M 5-10 170 08/26/76 Phoenix, Ariz. Colorado Rapids 63/0

Kljestan, Sacha M 6-1 150 09/09/85 Huntington Beach, Calif. Chivas USA 16/3

Onyewu, Oguchi D 6-4 210 05/13/82 Olney, Md. Standard de Liege (Belgium) 40/5

Pearce, Heath D 5-10 175 08/13/84 Modesto, Calif. Hansa Rostock (Germany) 23/0

Spector, Jonathan D 6-0 180 03/01/86 Arlington Heights, Ill. West Ham United (England) 12/1

Torres, José Francisco M 5-7 135 10/29/87 Longview, Texas C.D. Pachuca (Mexico) 4/1

Wynne, Marvell D 5-9 170 05/08/86 Poway, Calif. Toronto FC 2/1

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton: 9/7 SO)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 19/2), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA: 1/0), Danny Califf (Midtjylland: 4/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 17/2), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 14/1), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 9/0), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United: 2/1), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC: 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Freddy Adu (Monaco: 5/1), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers: 24/6), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 9/4), Maurice Edu (Rangers: 4/0), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus: 0/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 9/0), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids: 13/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez: 6/5), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 15/6), Charlie Davies (Hammarby: 1/1), Clint Dempsey (Fulham: 15/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 28/9)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

Head Coach: Bob Bradley (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
All-time Record: 24-8-4
World Cup Qualifying: 9-1-1

[WMR]

I hope we get to see Adu and Altidore on the pitch at the same time.

[NJReds]

I hope we get to see Adu and Altidore on the pitch at the same time.

I think they have to be. I'd like to see Wynne get some time as well.

I assume this is the team that will take on Italy, Brazil and Egypt in the first round of the Confederation Cup later in June.

[WMR]

I can't wait to see Italy and especially Brazil.

[NJReds]

I can't wait to see Italy and especially Brazil.

This should be the most exciting month for US soccer until the World Cup, assuming they qualify.

[WMR]

I truly believe the US could go very far in this World Cup. This will be the best team that we have ever taken to a World Cup competition. I'm very, very excited.

[M2]

1. Can the U.S. trade Adu to Jamaica for Ricardo Gardner? The U.S. needs a left back and Adu does very little to warrant the second coming label that he still seems to carry.

2. I really liked Landon Donovan on the left in the USMNT's last qualifier. In fact, I liked it so much it pretty much guarantees he won't be there in this game.

3. Who's the CAM? You can make the case for Edu playing the destroyer role and Bradley in a more advanced position. I'm sure of this much, Bradley's playing one of those two roles.

4. Check out a kid named Celso Borges on the Costa Rican team. He's rapidly becoming one of the best players from North America.

5. These two games are good tests for the U.S. as both Costa Rica and Honduras have solid squads with some star talent. At least one of these teams is also going to South Africa.

[dsmith421]

I have a feeling Costa Rica gives us a beating, but we drill Honduras to stay on script for qualifying.

[Caveat Emperor]

This should be the most exciting month for US soccer until the World Cup, assuming they qualify.

Not qualifying would be a truly embarrassing setback for US Soccer. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

[NJReds]

Not qualifying would be a truly embarrassing setback for US Soccer. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

I fully expect them to qualify, but stranger things have happened.

[WMR]

They're not going to miss the World Cup. It's simply not going to happen. This team is STRONG. The way they're able to go on the road in CONCACAF and secure victories is something that the USMNT has never really experience before.

A draw is viewed as being forced to settle while it used to be seen as on par with a victory.

[Hoosier Red]

They're not going to miss the World Cup. It's simply not going to happen. This team is STRONG. The way they're able to go on the road in CONCACAF and secure victories is something that the USMNT has never really experience before.

A draw is viewed as being forced to settle while it used to be seen as on par with a victory.

I'd see it as a victory this week.

[WMR]

I'd see it as a victory this week.

I agree. I'd be fine with a draw in this instance.

I'm just speaking broadly about when we play on the road in CONCACAF these days.

A draw and a victory would be what I would aim for from these next two matches although I think two victories is very possible and perhaps even likely.

[Hoosier Red]

I just figured out, if the US does nothing more than win all its games at home, it can finish no worse than 3rd and would than qualify.

I really don't see any of the teams beating the US stateside.