Landon Donovan's Summer Suddenly Got Much Less Busy

The 2014 FIFA World Cup starts three weeks from today (!) and the U.S. men released their 23-man roster set to go to Brazil. The normally joyous occasion was marked by controversy as star midfielder Landon Donovan (the U.S.' all-time leading goal scorer) was surprisingly left off after appearing in the past three World Cups. We already knew that head coach Jurgen Klinsmann had German balls of steel but this move certainly shows that he's not afraid to take a different approach than most.

I trust Klinsmann and his assistant coaches' judgment that Donovan wasn't in good enough form to make it (midfield is the U.S.' deepest position) and I just hope that this doesn't remain the main focus for everyone when they get to Brazil. Should the Americans lose (a near certainty), let's not pretend that simply having Donovan would have changed everything. Klinsmann will have to answer plenty questions about this subject tomorrow (as he should), but after that it's time to move forward with this group.

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

After naming the 30-man preliminary roster on May 12, the following seven players have been released from the U.S. MNT’s training camp: forwards Terrence Boyd and Landon Donovan, midfielders Joe Corona and Maurice Edu, and defenders Brad Evans, Clarence Goodson and Michael Parkhurst. The seven remaining players have been placed on a standby list and are returning to their respective club teams.

The U.S. has three warmup matches stateside before things get real: they play Azerbijan next Tuesday in San Francisco (10, ESPN2), Turkey a week from Sunday (2, ESPN2) at Red Bull Arena then they close with Nigeria (the only team of the three also heading to Brazil) on June 7 (6, ESPN) in Jacksonville.

Ever since that nightmare draw for the U.S. in December, I have purposely not gotten my hopes up at all in terms of them advancing out of the group stage. It certainly could happen, don't get me wrong, but I just am leery of setting myself up for painful disappointment. I think it is as simple as seeing what happens in the U.S.' first match, vs. Ghana on June 16 (6, ESPN). If they win, great. If they tie or especially if they lose, goodnight. The best they can hope for vs. Portugal on June 22 (6, ESPN) is a draw while the final match vs. Germany on June 26 (12, ESPN) is all but guaranteed to be a loss. Got it? Let's go U.S.!

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Four More Years of Jurgen Klinsmann for the U.S. Men's National Team, Because Why Not?

Bravo to the U.S. soccer federation for acting fast before people are all down on the men's national team this summer at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Today, they rightfully rewarded head coach Jurgen Klinsmann (27-10-7) with a contract extension through the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The key footnote to the deal is that he also becomes the team's technical director.

Odds are that his first World Cup with the U.S. next June will be a forgettable one as they face the formidable task of advancing out of Group G which features Ghana, Portugal and Germany-all unquestionably great squads. Even if the Americans get embarrassed, Klinsmann is still the best man for the job. I'm not saying he's the greatest coach in the world (that's so subjective anyway) but let's agree that the U.S. couldn't do any better.

Changing the culture around the team and youth programs take years and a few cycles of World Cups to see any progress in a sport that usually moves at a glacial pace (hello goal-line technology). Klinsmann is young, full of energy and his coaching and playing resume speaks for itself. So far his players seem to respond positively to him, they have to realize how lucky they are to have an outsider rather than some MLS or god forbid U.S. college coach.

With all the Americans have success around the Globe, we have plenty to be proud of when it comes to soccer these days. Still, I'll maintain that Klinsmann is the best thing to ever happen to the USMNT. He will have as good a chance as any to turn us from a middling team to a powerhouse more in line with our country's size (yes I realize we have a million sporting options unlike most other countries).

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What a Nightmare: U.S. Men will face Germany, Portugal & Ghana in Group G

So who's looking forward to the 2018 World Cup in Russia? I can't remember being more depressed about a sporting event that is still seven months away than this afternoon when the 2014 World Cup draw was unveiled in Brazil. The three teams in your group are absolutely vital to the non-superpower teams so that's why the fact that the U.S. men drew Germany, Portugal and Ghana was a stroke of unbelievably bad luck.

I could care less about the method that shady FIFA came to this conclusion, I feel bad for U.S. fans that have already dropped thousands of dollars to book their trips to crime-infested Brazil. Haha stay safe guys! The U.S. meets Ghana (a team that in the 2006 group stage eliminated them and knocked them out in the 2010 round of 16) in a must-win to open play on June 16 in Natal.

There is no mystery to how the Americans will advance. They have to beat Ghana which has clearly proven to be a tough task then they somehow need to draw with either Portugal on June 22 in Manaus (a rain-forest city) or June 26 vs. Germany in Recife. Seeing Cristiano Ronaldo face the U.S.' clownshow backline should be good for some laughs. I won't say that Portugal is a tournament-favorite because as someone with Portuguese heritage, I can tell you that they always choke. For that reason, the U.S has a better chance to tie them. Germany is always a heavyweight so in this setting, I give Jurgen Klinsmann's team zero chance to do anything positive against his countrymen.

And this has been your 2014 World Cup update. I will still watch every game that I can since I maintain this is the best sporting event in the world and it only comes once every four summers. However, I have already come to the conclusion that it'll be a short stay for the U.S. Nevermind if they will get any points in Brazil, will they score any goals is a more relevant but super negative thought stuck in my mind.

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At This Point, Qualifying For the World Cup is a Formality; It's Time For The U.S. Men To Take The Next Step

Let me be clear: tonight is rightfully a time of celebration after the U.S. men's national team beat Mexico 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Columbus Crew Stadium. Coupled with Panama's 2-2 tie with Honduras, the Americans have reached the World Cup for the seventh consecutive time and 10th overall. That got me to thinking: it's about time that we started striving for more.

Being a Top-3 team in CONCACAF is not that difficult (Costa Rica also clinched a spot) and heaven forbid the U.S. comes in fourth, then they get to wipe the floor with a patsy from Oceania. What I'm trying to say is that now that we know what Jurgen Klinsmann (25-9-6) is all about, why don't we start demanding greater success at the World Cup? I'm sick of the U.S. struggling to get through the group stage then bowing out to an average team (hello Ghana in 2010). It's silly to think they can win the World Cup next summer in Brazil but why not make an unlikely run to the semifinals?

Mexico is a dumpster fire that looks destined for a date with New Zealand in the playoff after tonight's loss which was preceded by them firing their coach last weekend. To complete qualifying, the U.S. will meet Jamaica (Oct. 11) and Panama (Oct. 15) but this evening's results took all the intrigue out of them (which is what we were hoping for).

It was scoreless at halftime but the U.S. made it 1-0 on Eddie Johnson's powerful header (from Landon Donovan's cross) in the 49th minute then fittingly Donovan iced it in the 78th minute with a redirection from Mix Diskerud. Clint Dempsey had a chance to leave it at 3-0 but his last-second penalty kick missed the net.

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Clint Dempsey Is Coming Back To MLS, Wait What?

This truly caught me by surprise: U.S. men's national team superstar Clint Dempsey is reportedly returning to his roots in MLS. Various reputable outlets (ESPN.com, CNNSI.com, etc.) sprouted similar stories tonight that he was about to transfer (for $9 million, an MLS-record) from Tottenham and sign a four-year deal with the Seattle Sounders worth $32 million. Huh?

If this goes through-apparently he'll be watching at Seattle's match on Saturday-and introduced on Monday then he only spent one season at Tottenham after transferring from Fulham. As expected, he didn't score at nearly the same rate since he was on a much better team but 22 starts (out of 38) and 12 goals (7 in EPL matches) seemed like a decent return for the 30-year-old midfielder/forward.

From the sense of challenging himself and wanting to play at the top level, this move makes no sense whatsoever. Dempsey has been the U.S.' top field player for years and this will really damage the international credibility he had built up by competing so well at Fulham and to a lesser extent Tottenham. Now he's just another American toiling in MLS.

If he wanted to cash in and set up his family for life (not that they were starving before), well who can hate on that? It's just weird that his priorities changed so quickly. Keep in mind that Tottenham finished fourth last season in the EPL but missed out on the final Champions League spot since Chelsea (defending Champions League winner) received it for their past achievement.

Not that he'll probably ever disclose the real reason but it'll be interesting to hear how Dempsey will explain this bizarre decision. He's at the top of his game professionally which is why this makes me so disappointed. Oh and it is less than a year away from the 2014 World Cup. MLS will always be here, why not test himself a few more years in England? Ugh.

I'd say Dempsey returning to MLS (for the first time since 2006 with the New England Revolution) might make me watch it or at least pay attention more but the fact is it would take many additional great players spread around the league before I start to care. Sorry Deuce. I will still watch the EPL faithfully but with Dempsey gone and Gareth Bale possibly going to Real Madrid, looks like I won't need to pay extra attention to Tottenham anymore.

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We'll Always Remember The 2013 Gold Cup (Slight Exaggeration)

I was actually looking forward to the 2013 Gold Cup final this afternoon: U.S. men vs. Panama so shame on me for having any type of expectations that it would be a good match. Sure, I'm happy that the Americans came away with a 1-0 win at Chicago's Solider Field for their fifth Gold Cup title (first since 2007; 2nd most behind Mexico's 6) and extended their team record win streak to 11 games but I must say that it was a really dull event.

As seen above in the video clip, substitute Brek Shea scored less than a minute after he came onto the field in the 69th minute, his second international goal-both in this Gold Cup. True to this match, it was a rather ugly goal-yes they all count the same-as Landon Donovan (Golden Ball winner for the tournament) whiffed on Alejandro Bedoya's cross which it allowed Shea to sprint to the goal-line and touch it in (it was going in anyways).

The U.S. outscored its opponents 20-3 in the 2013 Gold Cup and went 6-0-0. They also tied their longest home win streak (10 games) in team history. They earned a spot in the playoff vs. 2015 Gold Cup winner for a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup. If the Americans also win in 2015 then they'll automatically qualify.

U.S. goalkeeper Nick Rimando only had to make one save for what had to be one of the easiest shutouts of his life. Eddie Johnson could have ended it with a goal in the 84th minute but somehow he put Shea's perfect cross over the crossbar from a few feet away. Oh well, the reason I don't take the Gold Cup seriously is that if you watch the World Cup next summer I'll bet that only one or two players (Donovan and Johnson or DeMarcus Beasley) will start from this B-squad team and competition.

Jurgen Klinsmann was relegated to watching this match in a press box since he was suspended one game for his bizarre outburst vs. a referee in the semifinal on Wednesday vs. Honduras. The only thing that probably bummed him out was another possible serious injury to Stuart Holden's knee. After an awkward challenge caused him to bang his knee with a player from Panama, he came out in the 23rd minute with a limp. Even worse, he was very emotional on the bench and sidelines-showing that he knew it was bad. It was reported to be a sprained knee but we'll see about that. After the match, Klinsmann admitted that it could be serious. Remember Holden missed most of two years with separate knee injuries. Ugh, seeing him hurt again made me sick. Poor guy.

The A-squad is back in action on August 14 at Bosnia-Herzegovina (2:30, ESPN2) in an interntaional friendly. 2014 World Cup qualifying starts up again in September.

UPDATE 7/30: Terrible news for Holden as he tore the ACL in his right knee during Sunday's match.

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U.S. Men Cruise Into 5th Straight Gold Cup Final With 3-1 Win Over Honduras

The U.S. men's national team continued to roll along in 2013 (11-2-2) as they won their 10th straight match overall (extending a team record), a 3-1 victory over Honduras in the Gold Cup semifinals at Cowboys Stadium. Unfortunately, their bitter rival Mexico couldn't hold up their end of the equation as they lost 2-1 to Panama in the other semifinal meaning it'll be U.S. vs. Panama on Sunday (4 p.m. EST, Fox) for all the Gold at Soldier Field in Chicago. That's a rematch of the 2005 final, won by the U.S. in penalty kicks.

This outcome was never really in doubt as the U.S. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and improved to 14-4-3 all-time vs. Honduras (11-2-2 at home). The intrigue over the next few days will have to do with whether head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will be on the bench or in the stands since he was sent off in the 88th minute for arguing with an overzealous referee about what should have been a foul called on Honduras.

I'm surprised it took me this long to mention him but Landon Donovan has been playing outstanding soccer this entire tournament (5 goals, 7 assists in 5 matches). He continued his torrid pace with two goals and an assist vs. overmatched Honduras-a little payback (emphasis on little, for the 2-1 Honduras win in February during World Cup qualifying) for the U.S.' A-team.

The other American to stand out from the rest has been Eddie Johnson. He opened the scoring in the 11th minute after Donovan played him through then the Sisqo lookalike darted past his defenders and blasted a shot into the upper netting. Former Boston College star Alejandro Bedoya had his best game in a U.S. jersey as he recorded the first two assists of his career. After goalkeeper Nick Rimando's goal kick was headed along by Johnson, Bedoya passed the ball to Donovan in the 27th minute and Landon settled it off his chest then hit it into the corner for a 2-0 U.S. lead.

It's hard to argue with their goal-differential (19-4) but if the U.S. has shown one weakness in this Gold Cup, it's been on set pieces. Once again, they were victimized as Honduras scored their lone goal in the 52nd minute when Nery Medina impressively headed in Marvin Chavez's cross. Oh well.

Well before the time he was subbed off, Donovan answered a minute after Honduras' goal with the final blow. It started with Clarence Goodson's long ball found Bedoya who crossed it to Donovan and he was right in front of the net so all he had to do was redirect it. Along with Klinsmann's transgression, Johnson picked up a needless yellow card in stoppage time (something to remember for the Final).

The U.S. will be looking for its fifth Gold Cup title: 1991, 2002, 2005 and 2007 were the champions so it would be the first in six long years. Panama has never won it since only the U.S., Mexico and Canada have captured the crown. Keep in mind that the 2013 Gold Cup winner will meet the 2015 Gold Cup winner for a spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup (as CONCACAF's representative).



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