U.S. Women To Meet Netherlands In April

The U.S. women's national team will play the Netherlands in The Hague at Kyocera Stadium on Tuesday, April 9. That is four days after the U.S. meets Germany and it will be the first time the Americans have played the Dutch since 2006. It won't be on TV so U.S. fans will have to pay attention to ussoccer.com's matchtracker and their Twitter account: @ussoccer_wnt

From ussoccer.com
The games against Germany, the Netherlands and Canada in Toronto on June 2 are the first high-profile away friendly matches of the year for the U.S. WNT as U.S. Soccer celebrates its Centennial in 2013.

“The Dutch and the Germans will be at the height of their preparations for the European championships and we are fortunate to get these kind of quality matches in the year after the World Cup and Olympic cycle,” said U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni. “Our team is looking forward to experiencing the fantastic soccer cultures of both countries and embracing the challenge of playing two sides just two months before they take part in the biggest women’s soccer event in Europe.”

The match against the Netherlands will be just the sixth meeting between the two countries, the first since 2006 and the first in Holland since 1991, which was the USA’s only loss of the series, a 4-3 setback in Vianen. The match in 2006 took place at the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea, a 2-0 U.S. victory.

The U.S. is 4-1-0 all-time against the Netherlands with four straight shutouts (outscoring the Dutch by 16 goals in the process). Holland won the first meeting 4-3. The Netherlands qualified for the 2013 European Women's Championship in Sweden, they are in Group B this summer with Germany, Norway and Iceland.

Tom Sermanni's squad will reconvene shortly to get ready for the 2013 Algarve Cup. Their next match is March 6 vs. Iceland in Albufeira, Portugal. That's followed by games with China (March 8) and Sweden (March 11).

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World Cup 2014 Qualifying: U.S. Men's Soccer vs. Honduras Live Blog

The U.S. starting 11: Howard; Chandler, Gonzalez, Cameron, F. Johnson; Williams, Jones, Bradley, E. Johnson; Dempsey, Altidore

Honduras' starting 11: Valladares; Peralta, Bernardez, Figueroa, Garcia; Boniek, Espinoza, Garrido, Martinez; Bengtson, Costly

This might be the first U.S. men's national team game that the legendary Ray Hudson has commentated for. Exciting for hardcore soccer fans. Former U.S. star Cobi Jones also joins him and

1st minute-Great news already, with Chandler starting that means that now he's CAP tied and a U.S. player (not German) from here on out.

4th minute-Chandler gets burned by Martinez who whips a low cross in. Howard bobbles it but he hangs on.

8th minute-Honduras had a 3-on-1 but they screwed it up by going offside, big break for the U.S. defense. No clue where all the guys went on that play.

15th minute-Haha Honduras' head coach is wearing jeans and a Honduras polo shirt, classy.

17th minute-4th time Honduras has been called offside already, weird.

23rd minute-Espinoza has a shot from outside the box, caught by Howard.

25th minute-the 1st U.S. corner is a good one but Eddie Johnson heads it over. Gotta put that on goal.

29th minute-that was a nice counterattack by the U.S. Eddie Johnson crossed a low ball to Altidore who one touched it barely over the net. The U.S. has picked it up after a slow start.

31st minute-Chandler clears a Honduras pass off the goal line, yikes.

33rd minute-Howard with a strong punch on a quality shot from distance.

36th minute-Jones chips it beautifully to Dempsey who runs onto it and one touches it out of the air. Exquisite goal, 1-0 U.S. 33rd career international goal for Dempsey which moves him up to sole possession of 3rd place in U.S. history.

40th minute-Honduras ties it with an even more brilliant goal. It all started with a corner kick then ended with a bicycle kick by Garcia. You'll see that on highlight reels for years. Nothing you can do about that.

Halftime: U.S. 1, Honduras 1. A fair score since both teams finished their best chance with a flourish. The U.S. would have been in much better shape with a 1-0 lead but they probably didn't deserve it anyway.

No changes for either team to start the 2nd half.

50th minute-Bradley had a chance but his weak shot was deflected out.

52nd minute-Boniek is free down the wing but he puts the shot in the side netting.

55th minute-Bengtson almost takes advantage of Cameron's miscue in the back but he shoots it over.

56th minute-Haha Honduras is offside again, wiping out a goal.

58th minute-Come on Bradley, his corner kick never even went inbounds. That is unacceptable and can't happen at this level, ever. 1st U.S. sub: Maurice Edu is on for Williams.

59th minute-2nd U.S. sub: Sacha Kljestan on for Eddie Johnson.

65th minute-Bradley laid it off for Dempsey, his shot might have been trouble but it was blocked out for a corner before it got on goal.

67th minute-last U.S. sub: Graham Zusi in for Jones. So this is it, the U.S. won't have any more guys come on.

70th minute-Figueroa flashes up for a header but he can't put it on Howard. That was a good chance if he aimed it better.

71st minute-Costly shoots wide from distance.

79th minute-lazy defending leads to a tap-in by Bengtson. Gonzalez and Cameron were the culprits leaving Howard stuck in no-man's land. 2-1 Honduras, crushing goal to allow, especially in that fashion.

84th minute-And Bengtson gets carried off on a stretcher. Haha pathetic, let the stalling tactics commence.

93rd minute-Honduras makes its first sub: Welcome in for Costly.

94th minute-That's about right, the U.S. has one last chance on a corner but Gonzalez heads it over.

Final: Honduras 2, U.S. 1. That was a crappy performance by the U.S. and a blah game as well but you felt like Honduras would find the go-ahead goal at some point if the U.S. didn't take another lead. As always, the U.S. defense is a disaster and they can't find four above average players to put together. Ugh, nothing like a heartless loss by the U.S. to ruin your day. Thanks guys! They had never lost the opener during the final round of World Cup qualifying until today so they've got that going for them.

This was the first of 10 matches (2 against 5 other teams), if the U.S. can't finish ahead of Panama and Jamaica then heaven forbid lose to New Zealand in the final playoff, well then they don't deserve to be in the World Cup. That's a long way off though and a doomsday scenario. Still, the next U.S. game: March 22 vs. Costa Rica in Denver, Colorado now becomes a must-win since the next match is at Mexico and we all know how much they struggle there. Thankfully, the Costa Rica game will be on at a better time (10 p.m. EST and a real network (ESPN). Today's game in Honduras was a B-squad presentation all-around: middle of the day and week, on an obscure network.

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This Is It, Don't Get Scared Now: U.S. Men Set For World Cup Qualifier At Honduras On Wednesday

Nobody has really focused on it, since there have been a million other things going on in the sports world but the U.S. men's national team's final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil begins on Wednesday at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Luckily for us, the game (4 p.m. EST) will only be broadcast on beIN SPORT which means that most will be following it on ussoccer.com's gametracker and their Twitter account (@ussoccer). Sigh.

This morning, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann released his 24-man roster for the match. They'll train in Miami today before leaving for Honduras later this afternoon.

From ussoccer.com
“We want to have a sense of urgency right from the start of the Final Round," said Klinsmann. “We have a lot of respect for Honduras, but our message to the team is that we are going there to get three points. One thing we learned from the Semifinal Round is that you have to bring the right mentality to play in the tough games on the road, and I’m confident we are ready to do that.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (World Cup qualifying Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton – 22/9 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire – 0/0)
DEFENDERS (9) : Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – 0/0), Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander – 31/5), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – 5/0), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana – 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg – 0/0), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders – 0/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy – 0/0), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim – 3/0), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg – 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8) : Michael Bradley (Roma – 19/5), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo - 0/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor – 9/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 – 5/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht – 12/0), Jose Torres (Tigres – 9/0), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim – 4/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – 3/0)
FORWARDS (4 ): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar – 17/6), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur – 26/10), Herculez Gomez (Santos – 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders – 11/10)

Since it is on an official FIFA approved international fixture date, Klinsmann will bring in the varsity as opposed to the JV squad that had a scoreless draw with Canada last week (that's the last time I'll ever reference that worthless friendly). 17 of these players compete for clubs in Europe or Mexico and five of them have 50 or more CAPs.

The United States holds a 12-3-3 lifetime record against Honduras in a series that goes back to 1965. Both the United States and Honduras earned a place in the here by virtue of winning their respective semifinal round groups. The Catrachos qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after only losing once at home in nine qualifiers throughout the cycle. That lone loss came against the United States.

The U.S. and Honduras are part of the six-team hexagonal along with Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama. The 10-game, round-robin format will take place from Feb. 6-Oct.10. The top three teams will automatically advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while the fourth-place team will compete in a two-leg playoff against the champion from the Oceania Confederation.

It's important that the U.S. get off to a good start since this round means everything and only the best teams remain alive. Their next match won't be until March 22 when they host Costa Rica at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. That's a long time to think about a loss so they at least need a draw to feel confident about themselves.

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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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U.S. Women Put A Bow On 2012: Abby Wambach Named FIFA Player Of The Year, Sundhage World Coach Of The Year

2012 has been officially over for a week now but the U.S. women's national team still had plenty to celebrate today from last year. Striker and co-captain Abby Wambach was named the 2012 FIFA Women's Player of the Year while former head coach Pia Sundhage took home the 2012 World Coach of the Year for women's soccer.

This all took place this afternoon at the 2013 Ballon d'Or gala in Zurich, Switzerland. Brazil's Marta for some reason came in second place while Wambach's teammate Alex Morgan finished in third. It's hard to believe but this is only the third time a U.S. woman has won her sport's biggest individual award: Mia Hamm captured it in 2001 and 2002-the first two years the award was handed out. Coaches and captains from women's national teams across the globe voted for their top three players, who received five, three and one point respectively.

From ussoccer.com
“I’m very, very surprised,” Wambach said. “Individual honors only happen if you have great teams and great people who have given you the chance to be here. Not only do I think Marta and Alex could have won, but many other players could have been here as well. Thanks to FIFA, thanks to U.S. Soccer and thanks to all the fans and my family for putting me in this position. I don’t think of myself as the best player in the world, just a player who plays on the best team in the world.”

Sundhage is the first U.S. women's head coach to take home the trophy, which began in 2008. She came in third that first year then second in 2011. She beat out Japan's Norio Sasaki (who won in 2011) and France's Bruno Bini. Sundhage is the current head coach of her home country-Sweden.

Some interesting numbers for Wambach, courtesy of ussoccer.com
Last year, Wambach was chosen as one of three finalists for the award along with Marta and Homare Sawa of Japan, who won the award. Wambach finished third in the voting in 2011, the first time she was in the final three for the award, although she finished fourth in the voting in 2004 and 2006, fifth in 2007, was one of the final 10 in 2009 and was fifth again in 2010.

Wambach, who is on the cusp of catching Hamm on the world’s all-time scoring list, currently has 152 career international goals with 27 of them coming in 2012.

Her 27 goals in 2012 was the second-most prolific scoring year of her 12-year National Team career.

Wambach scored a goal in the first five matches of the 2012 Olympics, a feat never before achieved, and was the only U.S. player to start all 32 games during the year.
She currently has 198 career caps and could hit 200 in the USA’s second match of 2013 against Scotland on Feb. 13 in Nashville, Tenn.

Wambach tied for the team lead in scoring with six goals during the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament last January and also had five assists over the five games despite only playing 285 of the possible 450 minutes.

She scored in 20 of the USA’s 32 matches this year and had seven games in which she scored twice, including the final two games of the year (4-0 and 4-1 victories against China). The USA is 97-2-7 all-time in matches in which Wambach has scored a goal.

As co-captain of the U.S. team, she helped lead the American women to a 28-1-3 overall record in 2012, with the only loss (avenged twice during 2012 including the Olympic gold medal game) coming to Japan in March at the Algarve Cup. Wambach wasn’t on the field when Japan scored the game-winner in that 1-0 match.

Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has won five U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Awards (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011).

Wambach, Morgan and their team officially kick off 2013 on February 9, when they face Scotland in Jacksonville, Fla for a friendly. It will be new head coach Tom Sermanni's first match with the U.S.

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Jurgen Klinsmann Calls In The Unofficial MLS All-Stars To Face Canada In Houston

If you've already made plans on January 29, don't worry about not catching the U.S. men's national team's friendly vs. Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Looking at Jurgen Klinsmann's 25-man roster that he called to training camp in California starting tomorrow, it's clear that this is a game best caught on DVR or maybe reading about online.

Of the 25 guys, 21 of them currently play in MLS which is about all you need to know. Basically, this is the JV roster (for the JV game) before the Varsity returns to face Honduras on February 6 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. The makeshift squad will train together before leaving for Houston on January 27, the Canada match is set for a 9 p.m. ET start on ESPN2.

From ussoccer.com
“There is a tremendous amount of talent in the player pool. We follow these players very carefully, and the group coming in is the next line to challenge the players ahead of them in the National Team,” said Klinsmann. “This is absolutely a huge opportunity, and we’re looking forward to working with them. We are getting ready for the friendly against Canada, and also the big World Cup qualifier in Honduras, so these are going to be an important few weeks of preparation.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)
DEFENDERS (9): Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Edson Buddle (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

I'm not even joking when I tell you that I have never even heard of at least half these players. That's because I'm a soccer snob and I can't be bothered with MLS, sorry. I remember Hamid, Morales, Beckerman, Bedoya, Diskerud, Feilhaber, Gatt, Zusi, Agudelo, Buddle, Johnson and Wondolowski from previous U.S. games.

Johnson leads in goals (14) and caps (44) for this inexperienced bunch. In fact, eight of them are looking for their first cap: Beitashour, Beltran, Besler, Bruin, Hall, Lade, Morales and Morrow. Additionally, eight players on the roster are 23 and under. Agudelo, the first Development Academy alum to play for the senior team, is the youngest at 20.

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Clint Dempsey Scores His First Goal At White Hart Lane For Tottenham, In Their 3-1 Win Vs. Reading

Predictably, it's been a big adjustment for American midfielder Clint Dempsey as he went from being Fulham's top star in 2011-12 to a part-time starter, part-time substitute for Tottenham. Through 15 games for his new club, I think that he is starting to figure out his role for the third-place team in the English Premier League.

This afternoon, Dempsey rung in the New Year with his third goal of the season for Spurs in a 3-1 win vs. Reading. It was Dempsey's first goal at White Hart Lane-their home field. In 15 appearances, he has three goals and three assists. He came on as a substitute in the 75th minute and scored the third goal for Spurs (that made it 3-1) in the 79th minute.



The goal is far from a classic by Dempsey since it took a deflection off a Reading defender's foot. However, you have to note that he must still have plenty of confidence to even attempt an audacious shot like that.

Up next for Tottenham, they host Coventry on Saturday (10 a.m. ET) in an FA Cup match. Their next EPL opponent is at Queens Park Rangers on January 14 (3 p.m. ET).

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