US Soccer Players

Monday's TV

No games today.

Holland's Roster

Holland released their 23-man roster for Wednesday's friendly against the United States.

Algarve Cup: USA 2 - Norway 1

The United States Women faced a significant test in their second Algarve Cup game, needing a stoppage time winner to beat Norway 2-1.  Abby Wambach put the US up in the 13th-minute, and that lead held until the 63rd when Isabel Herlovsen scored for Norway.  It would be Wambach again for the winning goal, scoring in the 92nd-minute.  The US now needs to tie or beat Sweden to advance to the championship game.

Europa League: Everton Exits

A tough night for Everton in the Europa League, with Tim Howard and Landon Donovan getting the start and hoping to add to their 2-1 first-leg lead.  Instead, it was all Sporting Lisbon, winning 3-0 at home and advancing 4-2 on aggregate.  Miguel Veloso opened the scoring in the 64th, with Pedro Mendes following in the 77th and Matias Fernandez finishing off the score line in stoppage time.  Donovan subbed out in the 73rd-minute.

"Credit to Sporting," Everton manager David Moyes told his club's official site. "They were the better team and deserved to go through. We didn't get to the levels we got to in recent weeks. The idea was to get a goal and get the tie finished but Sporting started well and we found it difficult. We knew the first 20 minutes would be difficult. There was pressure throughout and we never had enough of the ball to make anything happen."

MLSPU Statement On CBA Expiring

The Major League Soccer Players Union released the following statement on Thursday:

“Effective at midnight tonight, our collective bargaining agreement with MLS will expire,” MLSPU executive director Bob Foose said.

“While we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn’t been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement. We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA. In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues. We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated.”

Friday's TV

No games today.

* Earlier we had an incorrect listing for Friday. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Bradley Calls In 20 For Holland

On Thursday, US National Team coach Bob Bradley announced his squad to face Holland next Wednesday in Amsterdam. Four players from yesterday's win against El Salvador were chosen.

“This is a great opportunity for us to bring many of our European-based players together as we continue to finalize our plans for the World Cup roster,” Bradley said. “This is the final match before we bring the team together for the World Cup, so to have a match against one of the top teams in the world like the Netherlands is a big benefit and a good challenge for our group. They are expecting a large crowd to turn out for the game, and we are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere in Amsterdam.”

10 Questions With... Danny Jordaan

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Feb 25, 2010) US Soccer Players -- Before Danny Jordaan was given the task of heading South Africa’s 2010 World Cup organizing committee, he was a fervent anti-apartheid advocate. As he watched his beloved nation split further down racial lines, Jordaan realized that sports could serve a role in mending those deep divisions.

In his fight against apartheid, Jordaan used sports to focus the World's attention on the situation in South Africa. Successfully lobbying the International Olympic Committee and FIFA to keep apartheid South Africa from participating in international events further isolated the country, helping to end the practice and establish a true representative democracy.

A former teacher and businessman, Jordaan was elected to the South African parliament in 1994 – the same year apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black president – and worked arduously towards trying to unite the country. In 1997, he was elected CEO of the South African Football Association with the goal of bringing the World Cup to his country. The 60-year-old Jordaan subsequently headed the country’s unsuccessful bid for the 2006 World Cup (narrowly losing to Germany), but spearheaded the effort six years ago that led FIFA to award South Africa the 2010 tournament.

The World Cup comes at a tough time for South Africa. Poverty and crime are seen as possible impediments to the World Cup’s success. However, Jordaan has spent the past year traveling the world (including a visit last year to ESPN’s Connecticut headquarters) reassuring skeptics that this summer’s tournament will be a rousing success for his country and Africa as a whole.

With 105 days to go before the start of the World Cup, I talked with Jordaan to discuss South Africa’s ongoing preparations, how the country hopes to curb crime amid an influx of tourists and what sort of legacy the tournament will leave for the African continent.

Ching Improves His Chances

By Michael Lewis - TAMPA, FL (Feb 25th, 2010) US Soccer Players -- The real winner of Wednesday night's international friendly wasn't the United States, which rallied for a 2-1 win over El Salvador. The true winner was striker Brian Ching, who walked out of Raymond James Stadium smelling like roses.

Ching certainly was at his best during the precious 45 minutes he had to show his skills in the last domestic match before coach Bob Bradley makes his decision on the 23-man player roster in May. He equalized with one of his classic headers, thanks to a fabulous left-wing cross by Heath Pearce and was part of Sacha Kljestan's winning goal two minutes into stoppage time.

While Bradley said it was too early to say if Ching had made the team, his play has put distance between him and his rivals for a roster spot. At this point, it would be a real surprise if he isn't a choice for South Africa.

World Cup: Bridge Says No To England

In the aftermath of the John Terry scandal, Chelsea left back Wayne Bridge has gone on record that he won't be involved with the National Team.  Terry had an affair with Bridge's girlfriend, and the ensuing fallout cost Terry his role as England captain.  Terry and Bridge were teammates with Chelsea until Bridge moved to Manchester City at the start of the season.  The two teams play each other on Saturday.

“I have thought long and hard about my position in the England football team in the light of the reporting and events over the last few weeks. It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive. Sadly therefore I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection. I have today informed the management of this decision. I wish the team all the very best in South Africa.”

Thursday's Daily: What To Take From Carson And Tampa

With J Hutcherson -- The United States won the frustration exhibition on Wednesday night. What can be taken from the win against El Salvador is fairly straightforward. Repetition gets rewarded, with the US sticking to crosses into the box looking for headers. One of those finally ended up in the back of the net. Most of the time, if the opposition is allowing a team to show that move over and over, eventually it's going to work. There was no point in trying anything else with the ball played wide. Keeping it simple made sense.

If you're El Salvador, don't pass out of the back. There are very few teams that can pull that off with any consistency. Most CONCACAF teams won't yield that and will try to run onto the ball. It causes panic defending, especially when the ball is kept on the ground with bad field conditions. Sacha Kljestan wasn't the first US player to see that and respond.

USA 2 - El Salvador 1

Wet conditions at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium did the United States National Team no favors on Wednesday night against El Salvador.  In a game where the US dominated position and chances, they couldn't get their shots to fall.  El Salvador made things worse, with Rudis Corrales scoring in the 59th-minute. 

The USA continued to press and create chances in the El Salvador box, finally connecting with the head of second-half substitute Brian Ching who equalized in the 75th-minute.  In the second minute of stoppage time, Sacha Kljestan took the ball at the top of the penalty area, played a one-two, and scored.

Holden Gets Start, Villa Gets Win

Stuart Holden got his first minutes for Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday, getting the start in their FA Cup 5th round replay against Spurs.  Unfortunately for Holden and Bolton, they lost 4-0. Two of Tottenham's goals were own goals, capping a tough night for Bolton where they produced enough offense to expect a goal of their own. 

Algarve Cup: USA 2 – Iceland 0

The United States Women opened Algarve play with a big win over Iceland made possible by a strong performance from goalkeeper Hope Solo.  She saved two penalties in the 2-0 win.  An Iceland own-goal opened the scoring in the 60th-minute, with Lauren Cheney making it 2-0 a minute later.

“It’s really funny, because Abby and I sat at breakfast for about an hour this morning talking about penalty kick strategy and what I like and what she sees in goalkeepers when she takes a penalty," Solo said. "We picked each other’s brains, so going in I kind of knew what I wanted to do.”

Thursday's TV

Europa League on GolTV: Galatasaray - Atletico Madrid at 1pm, Juventus - Ajax at 3pm, and AS Roma - Panathinaikos at 8pm. Copa Libertadores on Fox Sports en Espanol: Blooming - Lanus at 5pm, Once Caldas - Sao Paulo at 7pm, and Universitario - Libertad at 9pm.  All Times Eastern

Wednesday's Daily: A Ticket To Holland

With J Hutcherson -- Rather than treating tonight's USA - El Salvador friendly as the last World Cup roster audition for United States-based players, maybe it makes more sense to see it as a chance for a trip to Holland. After all, any individual performance in Tampa is relative not only to the opponent, but the strength of squad. Without the regulars, there's a cap on just how much a player can do to improve his position.

El Salvador alongside the makeup of a domestic training camp team takes away the metric. It's not Tim Howard marshaling the defense or Carlos Bocanegra helping out to keep shape. The restart isn't coming from Landon Donovan. The strike partner hasn't been playing in a topflight European league. We know that going in, so what's really in play?

Tough One For West Ham

Jonathan Spector got the start for West Ham at Old Trafford, but Manchester United recovered quickly from their Saturday loss at Everton to win 3-0. Wayne Rooney scored in the 38th and 55th minutes, leading the Premier League with 23 goals. Michael Owen scored in the 80th, two minutes after subbing in for Dimitar Berbatov. Ben Foster got the start in goal, picking up the shutout with four saves.

"We have to do much better than this and refocus straightaway because an important game for us is coming up next week, it's as simple as that," West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola told the club's official site. "I described Wayne Rooney as a King Midas. Everything he touches now turns into gold. He's in the type of form where every opportunity can turn up a goal. I thought he had a normal game tonight but he still scored two goals and could've got another one. That says a lot about the player."

Donovan Talks Future

On Tuesday, Landon Donovan told evertonTV he expects to be part of the club at some point in the future.

“I'm enjoying it and enjoying every day that I'm here. Every day that goes by makes me think that I want to stay here, but we'll see what happens. I would definitely imagine that I will be back here at some point in my life. I think it's been an incredible experience and away from football, the people have been extremely nice. That being said, I do miss LA, I miss my team-mates there, I miss the sunshine. That'd be nice to get back there too."

Gil Moves To RSL

Highly-rated US Under-17 player Luis Gil joined Major League Soccer on Monday, when he was allocated to Kansas City.  His time with the Wizards lasted a day, with the club trading him to Real Salt Lake.  Gil had expressed a preference for Seattle or Salt Lake when he signed with the League.  In return, Kansas City got an international roster slot, a second-round 2011 SuperDraft pick, and 25% of any transfer fee should the League sell Gil to a foreign club. 

Algeria Waits For CAF Decision

Algeria could be short two players for the group stage of the 2010 World Cup. The National Team is waiting for the Confederation of African Football to decide on two incidents from the African Cup of Nations semifinals. In one, Nadir Belhadj was sent off for a tackle. In the other, goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi head-butted the match official and was later sent off in a separate incident.

Both players could receive significant bans that would prevent them from participating in the group stage of the World Cup. Depending on what kind of sanction is imposed, Algerian coach Rabah Saadane could leave both players out of the upcoming friendly schedule. Algeria plays Serbia on March 3rd.