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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Who will fill the second striker spot for the US?

Shimer and I have admitted multiple times that we're not Brian Ching fans. Still, we never like to see any of the prospective US national team members get hurt.

A striker on the Houston Dynamo, Ching hurt his left hamstring last Thursday playing for the Dynamo and he's expected to miss the next few weeks. This could hamper his World Cup preparations and truth be told, nobody knows who will step into the second striker position alongside Jozy Altidore.

Ching and Colorado's Conor Casey are competing to make the 23-man roster. The US will gather for a final training camp in mid-May before their two exhibitions in the States: May 25 vs. Czech Republic in East Hartford and May 29 vs. Turkey in Philly. They also play Australia on June 5 in South Africa, ahead of their World Cup opener June 12 vs. England.

Stuart Holden makes his Bolton debut

Lost amidst the US-El Salvador game and the Champions League action of the last couple days, U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden made his debut last night for Bolton in their 4-0 loss to Tottenham in a fifth-round replay FA Cup match.

Holden was in the starting 11, one of five midfielders in Bolton's peculiar 4-5-1 formation. It was clearly a tough result but the good news is that he played all 90 minutes so his fitness must be at a decent level ahead of a likely World Cup roster spot.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=289035&cc=5901

Holden joined Bolton in January after playing with the Houston Dynamo of the MLS. He previously had a brief stint in England with Sunderland but that was cut short after getting injured in a bar fight in Newcastle. Happens to the best of us, right?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/746348/ce/uk/?cc=5901&ver=us