Alejandro Bedoya after practice

"It's unfortunate that Benny got injured (opening up a spot for him), he's a good friend of mine, but things like that happen in football. You always have to be prepared, I'm here ready. My first major tournament. For me, its just keep on developing: learning from every training session and game."

-How he got the call to the team. "I was in Sweden on summer break (from his club season) and my girlfriend had just flown out there. We had a vacation set already for Barcelona. Already packed and ready to go so just changed my plans. Had to book my gf a ticket and came to the States. It's all for the better."

-"This is my opportunity, I have to show I belong here and hopefully I get the chance to play."

-"Disappointed not to make it initially but coach has some hard decisions to make. Good competition. See what I can do. We didn't go over it. Keep moving forward, gotta work hard."

-"Started out well in Sweden, 4 goals and 3 assists in 9 games so far in Sweden."

-"I have an agent for a reason (transfer rumors)."

-"I've had some texts and phonecalls in the area, nice to see my college coach Ed Kelly today. Some of the people will be coming to the game tomorrow so it's going to be fun to see them. I love this area, Boston, so it's nice to be back."

Bedoya in U.S. camp for injured Feilhaber

When one door closes for the U.S. men's national team, another opens in every sense of that tired cliche.

New England Revolution midfielder Benny Feilhaber went down on Saturday night with an ankle injury against the Los Angles Galaxy. That puts his status in serious jeopardy heading into the friendly against Spain this week, not to mention the Gold Cup later in June.

The positive side of that is it gives Boston College product Alejandro Bedoya, a chance to get back with the national team.

Bedoya, a midfielder, has made seven appearances for the U.S. and was on the preliminary roster for last year's World Cup. He has spent the last two years in Sweden with Orebro, scoring four goals in nine matches this season.

Feilhaber is being evaluated after injuring his ankle in New England's 1-0 loss to Los Angeles. Teams have until 24 hours before their first Gold Cup game to replace injured players. The Americans begin group play June 7 against Canada.

The U.S. also faces World Cup champion Spain on Saturday in an exhibition.

It would be the best of both worlds if Feilhaber's injury isn't that serious while Bedoya flourishes in camp and gets a real shot to show what he can do with the U.S. in June.

Feilhaber MLS-bound

U.S. men's national team midfielder Benny Feilhaber is coming to the MLS.

The question that remains is to what team exactly and that will be determined this afternoon by 5 p.m.

Chivas USA has the first opportunity to sign the 25-year-old because it is atop the MLS allocation list and must decide by 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. If Chivas USA passes, Philadelphia is next.

A member of last year's U.S. World Cup team, Feilhaber had been with Denmark's AGF Aarhus since 2008 but had been looking to leave the second-division club. After playing for UCLA, he went to Europe and played for Germany's Hamburg and England's Derby.

MLS is paying a transfer fee to Aarhus, and Feilhaber will earn at least $335,000.

As he showed last summer at the 2010 World Cup, given the right opportunity, Feilhaber is a very solid player. Like most young guys that haven't seen their careers take off yet, he hasn't really found the right landing spot for his talents. Hopefully this journey to MLS will get his game in gear and allow him to go back to Europe to a higher club.

Where will Jozy Altidore end up?

Following up the good news about Cherundolo, we catch up with one of the U.S.' biggest disappointments from the 2010 World Cup: Jozy Altidore.

We all know that Jozy didn't not have one capable partner up front so it's not all his fault that he scored a grand total of zero goals but considering the chance against England that hit the post and the countless other opportunities, that wasn't good enough.

Looking ahead, Altdiore appears likely to transfer from Villarreal after his stint with Hull in the EPL last season.

Ajax, Besiktas and Fenerbahce have shown interest in acquiring him in addition to Premier League clubs, and a loan and permanent transfer both are possibilities for the 20-year-old American forward.

Like all the U.S. national team players, our hope for Altidore is that 1) wherever he goes he plays and 2) he plays against the highest caliber of opponents that he possibly can. Altidore has the potential to be one of the greatest players and top goal-scorers in U.S. history if he properly develops.

He is due to start preseason training with Villarreal on Aug. 3.

"A lot of the top clubs around Europe have been in touch, and we're just looking at what's the best for Jozy's career at this point," his agent, Lyle Yorks, said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "It's important to find a home for himself where he's going to get games, continue to develop and really show his abilities."

The European transfer window remains open through Aug. 31, but the Premier League opens Aug. 14 and La Liga on Aug. 28.

'We're not trying to rush into anything at this point," Yorks said. "There are advantages to getting it done early because you obviously have a longer preseason to get into the team, but it's important to get the right fit."

Yorks said he had had discussions with two Premier League clubs he wouldn't identify. Fulham also has held discussions about Altidore, pending a decision on hiring a manager to replace Roy Hodgson, who left the Cottagers to become Liverpool's manager.

Altidore was acquired by Villarreal from Major League Soccer and the New York Red Bulls in June 2008 for about $10 million. He became the first American to score in La Liga but played just six matches before he was loaned to second-division Xerez at midseason. He didn't get into another game that season, then was loaned to Hull for 2009-10.

"If it's a full transfer, then the transfer would have to be agreeable with Villarreal," Yorks said. "They spent quite a bit to get him. If it's a loan, then the pressure's off a little bit."

Yorks appears to be the Scott Boras or Ari Gold of American soccer players as he also updated the contract situations of Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber and Clarence Goodson.

Clint Dempsey, another client, reported back to Fulham following the World Cup, where he scored the U.S. goal in the 1-1 tie against England. Fulham said last August it had extended Dempsey's contract through the 2012-13 season but the 27-year-old may have options to consider.

Yorks said since the World Cup there had been inquiries about Dempsey from fairly large clubs in Italy, Germany and France, and from another Premier League team. The interest levels varied.

"He's prepared to start the season with Fulham, and if there's a right scenario that presents itself where it made sense for the club and for Clint, then he would certainly entertain that," Yorks said.

Defender Oguchi Onyewu intends to remain with AC Milan, a team he joined last summer. Onyewu was limited to one competitive game for the club last season because of a knee injury and in May extended his contract for a season until June 2013 at no extra cost.

"At this point, he's definitely set on staying there," Yorks said. "Various clubs have called regarding a loan situation, but because he missed last season, he's obviously keen to start the situation in Milan."

Yorks and his agent group also are trying to find a new club for midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who left Glasgow Rangers. Yorks said he's exploring the possibility of new deals for midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who is with Denmark's Aarhus, and defender Clarence Goodson, who plays for Norway's IK Start.

We just need one

Feilhaber with a great chance in the 65th minute. He had no angle but M'Bolhi hit out his cross/shot for a corner. It was a decent chance but Bocanegra's header skipped wide.

1-0 England in the 70th minute.

0-0 U.S.-Algeria in the 68th minute.

The U.S. injury report-mostly good news edition

Since there was so much stuff in the last few days about injured U.S. players, I figured I'd group it all in together.

The good news: Clint Dempsey is expected to be back playing for Fulham before the end of the Premier League season.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=743151&sec=americansabroad&cc=5901

Maurice Edu returned to action with Rangers and played all 90 minutes in their 1-0 win over St. Mirren today. Club and U.S. teammate DaMarcus Beasley played against Hibernian on Sunday but he was left off Wednesday's squad.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/02/17/2050.ap.soc.rangers.edu.0195/index.html

The bad news: my boy Benny Feilhaber will be out indefinitely with that ankle injury I mentioned on Monday. His Danish team AGF Aarhus said the injury he sustained was worse than they originally thought.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/02/16/2050.ap.soc.aarhus.feilhaber.1st.ld.writethru.0475/index.html

This is getting old

Hopefully it's not a precursor of things to come in June but right now the U.S. men's national team could not have much worse luck in the injury department.

Earlier today, midfielder Benny Feilhaber injured his ankle at a training session with his Danish squad, AGF Aarhus. He's scored once in 18 matches this season and the Danish league is currently on winter break before it returns in March.

Feilhaber limped out of practice and went to the hospital for X-Rays and a MRI scans. The team doctor said it's probably only a sprained ankle and it doesn't appear serious. Nothing will be for certain until the results come back tomorrow so let's cross our fingers.

He has not made much of an impact on the U.S. men's national team so far in his young career but at times, Feilhaber has shown some real flair with the ball on his foot. And that is precisely one of the things that Americans almost always lack: creativity and attacking ability.

With a clean bill of health, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play an important role in South Africa this summer.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/02/15/benny.feilhaber.ap/index.html