It's Official: Jurgen Klinsmann Hates Jozy Altidore

I try not to read too much into rosters for games, since U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been scouring every possible direction for anybody that can contribute to his team. Still, it was bizarre today when we found out that U.S. striker Jozy Altidore was left off the 24-man roster for the U.S.' next two important World Cup qualifiers: on Friday at Antigua and Barbuda then Tuesday in Kansas City against Guatemala.

Altidore has obviously never impressed Klinsmann since he has rarely gotten off the bench since the German took over last year. However, considering how well he is playing in the Netherlands this season and the fact that something named Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes) was named in his place makes this borderline mystifying. Gordon is a 30-year-old (31 next week) journeyman that is in MLS and this would be his first CAP.

From ussoccer.com
The U.S. first faces the Benna Boyz on Oct. 12 in North Sound, Antigua. Kickoff for the USA’s first visit to the island is set for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be broadcast live on beIN SPORT. Four days later, the U.S. will close out the semifinal round at sold-out LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. That match will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

“The mentality we are bringing into these two games is to get six points,” said Klinsmann. “It’s important that the players arriving into Miami prepare themselves for two ‘finals.’ We must have urgency within the group and a clear understanding that we need to deliver, which means each player has to bring a 100 percent effort. All our focus and energy for the next few days will be on getting the right preparation for the team so we can win the next two games.”

The U.S. is currently even with Guatemala at the top of Group A with seven points and matching totals in both goal differential and goals scored. Jamaica also has seven points but sits in third place due to a lower goal differential. With the three nations tied on points and jockeying for the top two spots, no team will be able to secure a place in the Final Round until the last group matches are played on Oct. 16.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5): Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)

Bradley is back after missing the two matches against Jamaica in September. This also marks Johnson and Kljestan's return to the national team. The U.S. beat Antigua and Barbuda 3-1 on June 8 in their first ever World Cup qualifier against them. Bradley, Edu, Fabian Johnson, Jones and Zusi all carry yellow cards into Friday night's match meaning they would be suspended for one-game after another one.

The U.S. began training in Miami earlier today and they will head to the island of Antigua on Thursday. Luckily, like the match in Jamaica, we won't be able to watch the game for free on TV so we'll have to rely on Twitter and the few American journalists that are in attendance. CONCACAF!

UPDATE 10/9: Shea (abdominal strain) and Donovan (knee) are out with injuries for both qualifiers and according to U.S. Soccer, there will be no replacements for them.

UPDATE 10/10: Geez, now Johnson (flu) and Castillo (foot) are out for Friday. The team hopes that Johnson will recover in time for Tuesday. Johnson had been a starter with Castillo serving as his backup. Bocanegra and Parkhurst figure to be the left and right backs with Cameron and either Goodson or Edu in at center back. They are down to 20 healthy players (including 3 goalkeepers).

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Well I Hope The U.S. Men Enjoyed Their Trip To Jamaica

Once again, I guess I should consider it a blessing in disguise that I wasn't able to watch a U.S. men's national team World Cup qualifier live (hello Guatemala earlier this summer) because if I had, I might have smashed my television or the remote.

The U.S. lost 2-1 in Jamaica last night at Independence Park aka The Office (the U.S. is 0-1-4 there), marking the first time in 19 meetings (1-10-8) that the Americans had fallen to the Jamaicans. Jamaica is now in first place in Group A with seven points, the U.S. and Guatemala are tied with four points and the same goal-differential after Guatemala rallied for a 3-1 win at Antigua and Barbuda last night.

The weird part is that Clint Dempsey scored 35 seconds in (fastest goal in U.S. World Cup qualifying history) but after that the U.S. couldn't mount any sort of attack. No doubt missing midfielders Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan (both out with injuries) hurt them severely.

Maurice Edu played a through ball to Herculez Gomez, his shot was saved but Dempsey (making his first appearance in 3 months) was there for the rebound. It was his 28th international goal and he has scored in all three World Cup qualifiers in 2012.

Jamaica scored both of its goals off of dangerous free kicks from the top of the box. In the 23rd minute, after a foul by Kyle Beckerman, Rodolph Austin hit a shot that deflected off Beckerman's legs (he was in the wall) and past Tim Howard.

In the 62nd minute, after a foul by Edu, Jamaica's all-time leading scorer Luton Shelton extended his record with his 34th international goal. Howard had no chance as it curled low and inside the near post.

These teams meet again on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio. Thankfully, that will be broadcast live in the States (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET) so we can all watch it and don't have to rely on Twitter or sketchy gametrackers online. Needless to say, at worst the United States has to get a draw. A win would put them back in the right direction while a loss would further compound last night's disaster.

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U.S. Men Get Ready For A Double Dose Of Jamaica In World Cup Qualifiers

Fresh off their historic 1-0 win in Mexico on August 15 (albeit in a friendly), the U.S. men's national team gets back to business in terms of 2014 World Cup qualifying as they travel to Kingston, Jamaica on Friday night (8 p.m., not on TV here) to play Jamaica. Then the Reggae Boyz come to Columbus, Ohio for a rematch on September 11 (8 p.m., ESPN 2, ESPN3.com).

Today, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann selected 24 players to train for the vital pair of Group A matches. Keep in mind that midfielders Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan are both unavailable because of injuries. Interestingly enough, the U.S. has never won a World Cup qualifier in Jamaica, they have only settled for four ties.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos)

18 American players were part of the 3-1 win vs. Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 and the 1-1 tie vs. Guatemala on June 12. 20 of the Americans currently compete on a European club with five in the English Premier League. In total, they play in nine countries.

2012 has been very good to the U.S. men, they are 6-1-2 with five shutouts. Their signature moments have been their first-ever win (1-0) in Italy (February 29) and their inaugural victory in Mexico that I already referred to. Beating Jamaica on their home soil isn't at that level but it would still be a nice addition to this impressive resume. Jamaica is tied atop Group A with four points after two matches but the U.S. leads with a better goal differential.

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U.S. Men Settle For 1-1 Tie In Guatemala

The best thing to come out of tonight is that I didn't waste $30 on the U.S. men's World Cup qualifying match in Guatemala that was only shown Stateside on Pay Per View. I probably could have found a free version online but I was too lazy and content with simply watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Looks like I didn't miss much as the U.S. tied Guatemala 1-1 in Guatemala City.

Clint Dempsey scored in the 40th minute after a great move helped him elude two defenders then beat the goalkeeper. Fabian Johnson had the assist on Dempsey's second in two games. It was also his 28th this season between U.S. and Fulham; 27th international goal, three behind Brian McBride for third place in U.S. history.

Substitute Jozy Altidore appeared to score in the 78th minute but it was called back for a controversial foul.

Chicago Fire midfielder Marco Pappa took advantage of a free kick in the 84th minute as Guatemala (ranked 85th) tied the U.S. (28th) on a wonderful strike that completely fooled American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

On Twitter, all the U.S. soccer honks and former players said it was an acceptable result since it's so hard to win on the road, blah blah but I guess they forgot this was a team that had never made the World Cup. Oh and the United States has an 18-match unbeaten streak dating back to 1988 against said squad.

I guess this was more impressive than Friday's uneven 3-1 victory against Antigua and Barbuda since that was in Tampa Bay but at the same time, it's hard to say a tie is ever better than a two-goal win.

After two games, the U.S. is in first-place out of four teams in its qualifying group. They have four points (+2 goal differential), Jamaica has four points (worse goal differential), Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda both have one point each.

The U.S. men's next World Cup qualifier is Friday, September 7 in Jamaica. That will most likely determine who comes in first place of the group if either gets the three points. After five games (2 World Cup qualifiers) in 2.5 weeks, the best thing for the players is to get some rest. They have to be exhausted (at least that's how they played) after all the training and travelling, which happened right after the club seasons ended.



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