U.S. Men Beat Panama 2-0 To Grab First Place In Hexagonal Standings

As far as I'm concerned, beating Panama (a country of 3.5 million people that has never made the World Cup) is hardly notable except for the fact that the U.S. men's national team handed them a 2-0 defeat tonight in a World Cup qualifier at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.



Coming off Friday's improbable 2-1 win at Jamaica in stoppage time, the U.S. had confidence and it showed since they dominated Panama for most of the match. They were rewarded with three points and first place in the hexagonal standings halfway through the final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Tim Howard only had to make two saves, one difficult shot in stoppage time, for his 26th career clean sheet. Both American goals were top notch as Jozy Altidore scored for the third straight game (something he's never done for the national team) in the 36th minute and Seattle Sounder Eddie Johnson thrilled his awesome home fans with a goal in the 53rd minute.

Old man DeMarcus Beasley was busy, he hit the post in the 60th minute after a remarkable run that was straight out of 2002. Unfortunately, he picked up a yellow card in stoppage time (he was already carrying one) so he'll miss the next U.S. match.

Many trusted American soccer writers felt that Michael Bradley was the man of the match and it was hard to argue after he controlled the midfield, made wonderful passes and won every 50/50 ball. Bradley started the sequence on Altidore's goal as he sent it down the wing to Fabian Johnson who one-touch crossed it across Panama's goalmouth. Altidore finished it perfectly.

Johnson's goal was assisted by Geoff Cameron, who also had an excellent performance and found Johnson with a long aerial pass. Johnson did the rest with a cool shot around Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.



The U.S. (3-1-1) will go for its third World Cup qualifying win in a row next Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN) in Sandy, Utah at Rio Tinto Stadium against Honduras (2-2-1).

UPDATE 6/15: Midfielder Kyle Beckerman was added to the U.S. roster for the match vs. Honduras.

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Brek Shea Hits The Lottery: Signs 4.5 Year Deal With Stoke City Worth $3.96 Million Dollars

I have never really understood the allure of U.S. midfielder Brek Shea; he's a decent enough player that has never scored a goal in 15 appearances for the United States. Today is not the time for hating though since before the January transfer window closed, he went from FC Dallas (MLS) to Stoke City where he signed a 4.5 year deal worth $3.96 million dollars with the English Premier League club.

From ESPNsoccernet.com
Stoke boss Tony Pulis told the club's official website: "It's fantastic news that we have been able to push through a deal.
"Brek is a very, very exciting player, and one who we firmly believe could go on to become an outstanding player for this football club.
Shea is the Potters' first signing of the January transfer window.
"He has terrific pace, a very good left foot and is capable of scoring goals," Pulis said. "He has all the tools needed to be a success here."

Shea turns 23 on February 28 so he's still very young with plenty of potential. He had played for Dallas since 2008 but he is recovering from surgery on his right foot in November. He will find a few familiar faces in the dressing room, on the practice field not to mention on the road and at games: fellow American Geoff Cameron, the defender has started 21 games for Stoke (6-12-6) who finds itself in 10th in the EPL. American midfielder Maurice Edu is also on the team but he's only played in one game (as a substitute) this season so I'm not sure what the deal is with him.

It will probably take Shea time to rehab his foot some more, not to mention adjust to the pace and quality of play in England but this is the biggest thing to happen for his young career. As always, we love to see American players test themselves in the best leagues possible (ie. not MLS). Good luck Brek!

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Maurice Edu Takes His Talents From Scotland (Rangers) To England (Stoke City)

Well it is safe to say that Stoke City has solidified its place in the hearts of U.S. men's national team's fans in just a few short weeks.

Coming on the heels of the news that defender Geoff Cameron had signed there, today we found out that midfielder Maurice Edu was leaving Rangers-bankrupt and banished to Scotland's third division-for greener pastures in the English Premier League. There had been rumors of Edu looking at Ipswich (which plays in The Championship) but I felt all along that he could play at a higher level than that.

From The Sporting News
"After Rangers filed for bankruptcy, Edu announced he would leave the club. He turned down offers from Bursaspor, Evian, Trabzonspor and Valenciennes before accepting the move to Stoke City."

The former University of Maryland star and native of California will never wow you with his flashy moves or impressive statistics. His best attributes as a center midfielder (or center back where he had to play last week against Mexico) include work rate, high fitness level and being a capable two-way player. He is very consistent and you know what to expect from him which is always a good thing.

He also follows the path of Alejandro Bedoya, who left Rangers for Helsingborgs IF (Sweden). Edu had been practicing with Rangers but he didn't suit up in their league games this season. On the other hand, U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra so far has chosen to honor his contract and stay in Scotland. There is only six days left until the transfer window closes (August 31) so I wish I could get to Scotland and convince him that is not the best route for his career. I'm pretty sure that if he wanted to, he could still compete in the EPL or at least a higher level than Scotland in Europe.

MLSSoccer.com reported that Edu (who is 26) became Stoke City's fallback option once Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone wasn't signed. I could care less the reasoning and semantics behind the move, I'm just happy to say that another American is playing in what I consider the top soccer league in the world: the English Premier League. That will never get old in my book.

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The Streak Is Over, After 75 Years The U.S. Men Finally Win (1-0) In Mexico

It only took 75 years and 25 matches but the U.S. men finally ended the worst streak associated with their national team: they shocked Mexico 1-0 tonight at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in a friendly between the two bitter rivals.

Thanks to substitute Michael Orozo Fiscal's goal in the 80th minute (his first international goal), the U.S. were able to put 0-23-1 (all-time record in Mexico) and 0-19-1 (at Estadio Azteca) behind them. Oh and they were outscored 81-14 in those matches. Nearly a year to the day after Jurgen Klinsmann's debut with the Americans-a 1-1 tie vs. Mexico in Philadelphia-they picked up their most meaningful victory in years; I'd rank it even above the 1-0 win in Italy (their first against them) in February since they rarely meet the Italians.

The funny part about such an important strike is that it came as a direct result from three substitutes: Brek Shea started the play with a run down the left side. He played it into Terrence Boyd in the box who cleverly back-heeled to Fiscal. The defender had made a run forward and he was able to touch it in before the Mexican defense cleared it out.


It's surprising that Mexico agreed to have this friendly at Estadio Azteca since they usually save its mystique and crazy home-field advantage for World Cup qualifiers. From a U.S. perspective, this couldn't have gone any better since not only did they finally earn a win at what had been a house of horrors, but they did it without many of their biggest stars. Now, when they go back next summer in a qualifier with a full squad, they will have that much more confidence in themselves.

This was a game that Mexico let slip away since they dominated possession and had numerous chances offensively. Conversely, the U.S. struggled to string together any passes and therefore they defended almost the entire 94 (4 minutes of added time) minutes. That made for a brutal game to watch, until about the 80th minute or so. The two center backs in the makeshift U.S. backline really stood out: Maurice Edu (he's normally a midfielder) and Geoff Cameron, who was probably the most consistent U.S. player from start to finish.

The first half was devoid of any real notable action as Mexico had the ball but couldn't do anything productive with it. Things opened up in the second half as the U.S. legs looked a little wobbly in the thin air. Cameron headed a cross away from the U.S. box in the 56th minute then Jesus Zavala headed another chance over in the next minute.

The only real chances before Orozco Fiscal's goal were a free kick by Herculez Gomez then Kyle Beckerman's slide tackle which made the ball go barely over the Mexican net. It would have been one of the flukiest goals in the history of U.S. soccer.

It was not Mexico's night as Andres Guardado curled a free kick around the U.S. goal in the 65th minute but the best chance of the match for them came in the 76th minute when Chicharito missed the net on a wide open header.

Of course no special win for the United States would be complete without a pair of absurd saves by Tim Howard. He was able to stop Javier Hernandez's deflected shot in the 85th minute by going from one post to the other. Even more impressive, he stuffed Chicharito on a header in the 89th minute that the Manchester United striker normally buries.

From here, the U.S. goes back into qualifying mode as they travel to Kingston, Jamaica on Friday, September 7 then host Usain Bolt's boys on Tuesday, September 11 (should be a great scene that day) in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S. is 1-0-1 after its first two matches, a 3-1 win vs. Antigua and Barbuda then a 1-1 tie with Guatemala. Four points (two wins) should be expected even though Jamaica also sports a 1-0-1 mark.

It has taken some time, as can be expected, but Klinsmann is really starting to take hold of this team. He improved to 8-5-3 in his U.S. head coaching career while the Italy and Mexico wins show the potential this country has in men's soccer. Outsiders have always felt like the U.S. was a sleeping giant and at last, they are proving that to be true.

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Another U.S. Men's National Team Player Heads To London: Geoff Cameron Signs With Stoke City

Another U.S. men's national team player is headed overseas as defender Geoff Cameron has agreed to a deal with Stoke City of Barclays Premier League.

Most recently, the University of Rhode Island graduate was on the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer. After Jurgen Klinsmann came aboard for the U.S. men, Cameron started to get CAPs.

At 27, Cameron has versatility since he can play defense and in the midfield. He's made five appearances for the U.S. and he appears to be in the mix for World Cup 2014 qualifying (which starts up again in September).

Stoke City is currently on a preseason tour of the United States. They met the Columbus Crew on Tuesday (a 2-1 loss) then they play Orlando City (a USL team) on Saturday and Sporting Kansas City next Wednesday. That means it will be easy for Cameron to meet up with his new team and get acclimated before they cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Believe it or not, the EPL season begins three weeks from tomorrow. Stoke City opens on Saturday, August 18 at Reading then the following Sunday their home opener is against Arsenal. That should be a great introduction to England for Cameron, let's hope he gets some minutes in that match.

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U.S. Men Top Panama 1-0 In A Battle Of JV Squads

I can't sit here and pretend that I'm proud of what I did this evening. Yes folks, I wasted two hours of my life sitting at a computer, watching the U.S. men's B squad take on Panama's B squad on ESPN3.com.

After watching Liverpool-Manchester City in the Carling Cup and Real Madrid-Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey earlier today, this nightcap felt like drinking a warm 40 of Steel Reserve after a day filled with Guinness and Hoegaarden, but I digress.

All you need to know is that the U.S. won 1-0 in Panama City for Jurgen Klinsmann's third straight win (4-4-1 overall since taking over last summer).

In his second CAP, midfielder Graham Zusi scored his first international goal while goalkeepers Nick Rimando and Sean Johnson (not the former U.S. gymnast) split halves and the shutout.

Don't ask me how a full U.S. squad lost 1-0 to Panama last summer in the first round of the Gold Cup because from what I saw tonight, Panama is awful. They had way more chances than the U.S. and led 6-1 in corner kicks. What's more, U.S. defender (and URI alum) Geoff Cameron was sent off in the 51st minute after a bogus red card for taking down Panama's Blas Perez on a breakaway (outside the box).

I'll give props to the Americans for holding the fort on the road while they played with 10 men as the U.S. improved to 2-0-1 all-time in Mariano Rivera's native land.

From the start, all signs pointed to this being a joke of a game. You'd figure Panama doesn't have too many big events like this yet the stadium was half-full. At least Panama's head coach dressed up like he was going to dinner on a cruise-wearing black pants with a belt and a green polo shirt. The commentators were Taylor Twellman and Ricardo Ortiz, an underwhelming duo if I've ever heard one. Just a very strange night all around.

Zusi got in the board early as he followed up Zach Loyd's cross and deflection off Teal Bunbury to slot it home in the upper corner.

Rimando doesn't look very athletic on first glance but he was scrambling around in the first half and he made some nice saves.

The only other real chance for the U.S. was in the 30th minute as Jones unleashed a blast from distance but Panama's goalkeeper Luis Meija dove to stop it then somehow dove again to keep Chris Wondolowski's follow up header out of the net. I'd guess that if anyone in Bristol, CT was paying attention, that will be in Sportscenter's Top 10 plays this evening.

Jones picked up a yellow card on a challenge that was physical but not cardworthy. I fear that he earned it simply on his growing bad reputation, which is not a good thing.

More than anything, this international friendly was about getting young guys experience in tough (kind of) environments. On Saturday vs. Venezuela, Hamid, Sapong, Zusi and Delagarza all appeared in their first U.S. match.

Delagarza got a yellow after dribbling back towards his own goal for a while then trying to turn, losing the ball and then taking down his man. Ugly.

Brek Shea played in his ninth match for Klinsmann, the only player that has done that but you'd be hard-pressed to find any highlights from him in this one. He was a ghost, albeit a ghost with that awful haircut.

Panama completely bungled a couple easy chances late in the game. A header off a cross went inches wide and a shot from in close inexplicably went wide. Bottom line, if the U.S. was facing a real opponent, they would have lost.

All I know is that the next U.S. men's match is February 29 in Italy and it is going to be like night and day compared to this snoozefest. All the big guns from European clubs should be there, relegating most of these MLS All-Stars to the bench or better yet, back home where they belong. U.S. vs. Italy will be great, in fact I might try to sleep until then.

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