2008 schedule so far:

2/06/08 8:00 CT vs. Mexico | Houston, TX | ESPN2
3/11/08 8:00 ET vs. Cuba | Olympic Qualifying | Tampa, FL
3/13/08 8:00 ET vs. Panama | Olympic Qualifying | Tampa, FL
3/15/08 7:00 ET vs. Honduras | Olympic Qualifying | Tampa, FL
3/20/08 Semifinals | Olympic Qualifying | Nashville, TN
3/23/08 Championship | Olympic Qualifying | Nashville, TN
3/26/08 vs. Poland | TBD, Poland
6/04/08 vs. Spain | TBD, Spain

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 11:27 PM. Reason : better]

1/30/2008 11:21:34 PM

I'm a soccer fan for a month once every 4 years

See you in 2010

1/30/2008 11:24:08 PM

i understand the whole play mexico close to mexico to make it harder for the team and to experience hostile crowds....but we do play other countries enough in their own countries. this sort of tactic that bruce arena fell in love with is retarded now. most of these guys on the national team know what a hostile crowd is and have played in many. there is no reason to be doing this stuff anymore. they should play more games away from the mexican border.


but since the game is in feb, i realize that this is an ideal location for "warmer" weather in the winter months.

1/30/2008 11:26:29 PM

will there be an american fulham exodus soon?

1/30/2008 11:27:40 PM

I'd say it has mostly to do with the weather and little to do with the chance to play in front of a hostile crowd of illegal immigrants.

1/30/2008 11:28:16 PM

if you could find interviews and such with arena, he purposefully set matches up like that for hostile crowds. i heard him say it numerous times

1/30/2008 11:30:52 PM

I know that's what Arena was trying to do, but I think we're kind of handcuffed with the game being in February.

--

Players named to the squad for the Mexico friendly

									Caps	Goals
	GK	Steve Cronin		May 28, 1983 (age 24)		0	0	 Los Angeles Galaxy
	GK	Brad Guzan		September 9, 1984 (age 23)	5	0	 Chivas USA
	GK	Will Hesmer		November 23, 1981 (age 26)	0	0	 Columbus Crew
	GK	Zach Wells		February 26, 1981 (age 26)	1	0	 DC United
	DF	Dan Califf		March 17, 1980 (age 27)		18	1	 AaB Aalborg
	DF	Jimmy Conrad		February 12, 1977 (age 30)	24	1	 Kansas City Wizards
	DF	Ramiro Corrales		March 12, 1977 (age 30)		5	0	 SK Brann
	DF	Todd Dunivant		December 26, 1980 (age 27)	2	0	 Toronto FC
	DF	Clarence Goodson	May 17, 1982 (age 25)		1	0	 IK Start
	DF	Drew Moor		January 15, 1984 (age 24)	3	0	 FC Dallas
	DF	Michael Parkhurst	January 24, 1984 (age 24)	3	0	 New England Revolution
	DF	Eddie Robinson		June 19, 1978 (age 29)		1	1	 Houston Dynamo
	MF	Kyle Beckerman		April 23, 1982 (age 25)		3	0	 Real Salt Lake
	MF	Ricardo Clark		February 10, 1983 (age 24)	11	1	 Houston Dynamo
	MF	Brad Davis		November 8, 1981 (age 26)	3	0	 Houston Dynamo
	MF	Justin Mapp		October 18, 1984 (age 23)	8	0	 Chicago Fire
	MF	Pat Noonan		August 2, 1980 (age 27)		14	1	 Aalesunds FK
	FW	Landon Donovan		March 4, 1982 (age 25)		97	35	 Los Angeles Galaxy
	FW	Chris Rolfe		January 17, 1983 (age 25)	7	0	 Chicago Fire
	FW	Taylor Twellman		February 29, 1980 (age 27)	30	6	 New England Revolution
	FW	Jeremiah White		April 4, 1982 (age 25)		1	0	 AGF Aarhus

1/30/2008 11:32:49 PM

lol. thats an mls line-up if ive ever seen one

1/30/2008 11:36:01 PM

well aren't we just taking over Norwegian soccer

1/30/2008 11:36:31 PM

^^^ That's the current call-up.... most of the European based players are coming too

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 11:37 PM. Reason : .]

1/30/2008 11:37:38 PM

I don't know if Mexico has named its squad yet -- but with that lineup, we're gonna get slayed. And what's with the 9pm start time?



[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 11:41 PM. Reason : ^what?]

1/30/2008 11:39:02 PM

I'm pretty sure it's an international date so there will be some Euro guys coming in -- Dempsey, Bradley, Adu, Cherundolo, etc.

That list was just the "camp" roster

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 11:44 PM. Reason : camp]

1/30/2008 11:43:26 PM

Oh, didn't realize it was a camp roster. I couldn't imagine heading into a match with Mexico with those guys on the field.

1/30/2008 11:47:11 PM

Well actually the more I'm researching... Convey/Johnson/Dempsey/Boca/Howard are all probably staying in England. But Spector, Simek, Bradley, Feilhaber are all possibilities

But there will be a couple of guys in there from Europe and Altidore hinted that he may get called up as well

1/30/2008 11:47:43 PM

http://www.myspace.com/ericb4c

1/31/2008 1:25:49 AM

??

1/31/2008 9:35:11 AM

yeah no international guys?

1/31/2008 11:50:38 AM

Roster for the Mexico game


GOALKEEPERS : Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC)

DEFENDERS : Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo)

MIDFIELDERS : Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)

FORWARDS : Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pat Noonan (Aalesund FK)

2/2/2008 7:11:40 PM

the game IS in HD on espn2HD wednesday

2/2/2008 8:21:04 PM

Our defense looks soft from that roster list.



Here's the Mexican roster. No Nery Castillo, injured.

GOALKEEPERS: Guillermo Ochoa (Club América), Luís Ernesto Michel (CD Guadalajara), Moisés Muñoz (Morelia)

DEFENDERS: Rafael Márquez (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven / HOL), Johnny Magallón (CD Guadalajara), Fausto Pinto (Pachuca), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Oscar Rojas (América)

MIDFIELDERS: Pavel Pardo (VFB Stuttgart / GER), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Francisco Arce (Santos Laguna), Andrés Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna / SPA), Antonio Naelson (Toluca)

FORWARDS: Giovani Dos Santos (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Vela (Osasuna), Juan Carlos Cacho (Pachuca), Adolfo Bautista (Jaguares de Chiapas), Antonio de Nigris (Ankaraspor / TUR)

Dos Santos is supposedly awesome...and is 18 years old. Guardado's another good youngster and is the one the Mexican goal against us in the Gold Cup final in Chicago last summer, although he may be out.





[Edited on February 2, 2008 at 10:49 PM. Reason : /]

2/2/2008 10:33:09 PM

can anyone please give me one reason why eddie lewis is still being called up to the national team?

2/2/2008 11:57:35 PM

gives eric winalda a connection to the team from the booth?

2/3/2008 12:01:11 AM

Well our left back is usually our weakest position (aside from a true striker) and there's no Cherundolo in the lineup either... so yeah, our defense does look pretty suspect. What other defenders do we have that can play outside -- Wynne, Bornstein, Spector, who else?

Decisions from Bradley I don't get: Twellman was originally going to be included and we got lucky that he was injured in training -- we've seen enough of this guy on the international level. Eddie Lewis is STILL being included -- there's no way he should be even close to the WC roster in 2010 so what the hell is the point... it's not like he's worth much when he plays anyways.

Things in the line-up I'd like to see: Guzan starting or at least playing a half, Bradley in the same position he plays for Heerenveen, actually starting Altidore, not playing a pussy ass two def. mid lineup

2/3/2008 12:06:04 AM

yea i am still upset that hes not playing spector. spector, while not a winger, could prob play lewis' position better than him right now at lewis' age

2/3/2008 12:07:54 AM

^ I dunno...I've not been impressed with Spector when he plays for the national team.

Quote :

"gives eric winalda a connection to the team from the booth?"

Wynalda and O'Brien got relieved of announcing soccer by ESPN.

The new tandem is JP Dellacamera and John Harkes.

[Edited on February 3, 2008 at 11:40 AM. Reason : /]

2/3/2008 11:36:26 AM

^ I have to agree about Spector and the NT but to be fair, I think he has less than 10 caps so maybe he should be given more opportunities. I mean, 70+ appearances in England's first division at age 21 is pretty impressive.

2/3/2008 11:53:46 AM

Quote :

"Wynalda and O'Brien got relieved of announcing soccer by ESPN. The new tandem is JP Dellacamera and John Harkes."

best news i've heard in a while

they are BY FAR the best espn has to offer

2/3/2008 3:09:49 PM

balboa ftw!!!!!!!

2/3/2008 4:19:39 PM

Quote :

"they are BY FAR the best espn has to offer "

Harkes?

Seriously?

I like Wynalda.

2/4/2008 11:59:59 AM

i like wynalda because he's critical

2/4/2008 12:24:04 PM

I like Harkes better in-game because he usually talks more about the actual game. I like to listen to Wynalda's opinions, no matter how wrong I think they are, and I think he's great for American soccer... he needs to limited to pre-game/halftime type stuff.

2/4/2008 2:11:21 PM

^ Yeah, I definitely like Wynalda more in the Don Cherry role...let him get all riled up during the first half and then just blurt shit for ten minutes during the halftime report.

2/4/2008 2:18:05 PM

johnny harkes is my favorite american player ever...we share a birthday too

2/4/2008 2:19:16 PM

^ yeah, he's mine too... Captain for Life except when Steve Sampson's around

also stars in the only cool MLS commercial ever

2/4/2008 2:39:12 PM

wynalda's commentary leads me to believe that watching futbol eats his soul.

2/4/2008 2:43:05 PM

I'm so hyped for this game, about 70,000 are going to be there, hopefully its at least 25% US fans

2/6/2008 3:03:20 PM

yea ill be watching. just got done watching the england game on FSW, englang prevailing 2-1. if i were capello i would make sure that was the last game wes brown ever plays for the national team.

and if i were ferguson i would hvae gotten rid of brown years ago, hes awful.


but hopefully the US can destroy mexico tonight

2/6/2008 5:01:07 PM

yeah I watched the England game too

these things should be clear to capello

bentley should get more callups
cole is good
rooney is a ballhog
brown should be taken into a back alley and shot

2/6/2008 5:24:27 PM

Quote :

"but hopefully the US can destroy mexico tonight"

AMEN

2/6/2008 5:25:20 PM

A "heard it through the grapevine" starting lineup from BigSoccer:

-------------------------- Howard ---------------------------

Moor ------------ Onyewu -------- Bocanegra ------ Corrales


-- Donovan ------ Bradley ------- Clark ------------- Convey


---------------- Altidore ----------- Dempsey -------------

Dear God our outside backs suck.

From Steven Goff (Washington Post's soccer beat guy):

Quote :

"*The retractable roof is closed. It is a gorgeous day, but apparently the cool weather that blew in overnight and will stay with us this evening prompted organizers to keep it shut. *TV coverage on ESPN2 begins at 9 p.m. ET (8 Central), but kickoff will not take place until 25 minutes after the hour. *The four U.S. scratches from the game-day roster: defender Eddie Robinson, midfielder Brad Davis, midfielder Stuart Holden and defender Heath Pearce."

[Edited on February 6, 2008 at 7:21 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2008 7:18:23 PM

I'll be surprised at that lineup if it's true. He likes to play the 4-5-1 and with such a weak defense and with the amount of pace Mexico attacks with, I didn't think this would be a game he'd change that for. But with that said, I like the fact Altidore is starting and I wonder if the Clark/Bradley midfield would be more of a def. mid/att. mid because there's nobody sitting behind the forwards like usual.

2/6/2008 7:37:36 PM

by cole i hope you mean joe cole...cause ashley cole is also awful. england needs to revamp their wingbacks/fullback position

2/6/2008 7:53:45 PM

^ haha yes, I meant Joe Cole... my bad

yeah Cashley was giving the ball away almost every time he touched it

2/6/2008 7:57:36 PM

I thought this game was suppose to be on ESPN2??

I've got OK and Texas on my TV.


Nevermind...its coming on after the game.

[Edited on February 6, 2008 at 8:04 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2008 8:02:44 PM

my thoughts on the game:

yea. gerrard looked good at times.
SWP is perfect coming off the bench to change the pace if needed. hes the perfect super sub for england.
rooney did really good when he dropped off from the top, with crouch as the target man.
gerrard, crouch, and rooney played well in that formation when they were on the field.
joe cole was making people look sily out there at times.
a. cole and brown should worry about club and never play international again
ferdinand was his usual self in which you couldnt tell if he was great or poor. which is fine for me as a defender
upson gave the ball up quite a few times, hes gone when terry comes back
i wouldve rather seen lescott than upson play
im glad owen got no playing time, his career is going down rather than up at this point
bentley looked pretty good, he did hold the ball a couple times too long, but he'll only get better
jenas looked very good in the role he was playing

2/6/2008 8:06:18 PM

Ashley Cole will feature in the team in the future simply because there are very few quality left backs in England

2/6/2008 8:08:28 PM

you would think, w/ this game being on espn2 and all, they would at least make a passing mention of it.

2/6/2008 8:13:15 PM

I bet there's been an insane amount of advertising for it on Univision though

2/6/2008 8:14:50 PM

lol

2/6/2008 8:20:46 PM

shit... well Ives is reporting that is the right lineup

---------Altidore-----Dempsey-----------

Convey---------------------------Donovan

------------Bradley----Clark-----------------

Corrales------------------------------Moor

----------Bocanegra---Onyewu-------------

-----------------Howard--------------------

2/6/2008 8:20:59 PM