2013 Gold Cup Update: Landon Donovan Is Earning His Place In The 2014 World Cup

This is coming from someone who spent money on a ticket to last week's the U.S. men's match vs. Costa Rica in East Hartford, CT: By and large the Gold Cup is pretty pointless. Yes, I have paid attention to all the U.S. games and even some that didn't have much bearing on anything but that's only because it's smack dab in the middle of the summer when the lack of choices in the sports world is dire.

I would compare the Gold Cup to preseason games in other sports, the best players either don't play at all or not as much as usual leaving the contests up to the B-squad players. You know, the has beens, never weres and never will bes. Oh and it's against mostly garbage squads from CONCACAF, many of whom don't have a prayer to beat the U.S. (hello Belize). To make my point clear, the U.S. men beat El Salvador 5-1 this afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore but probably all people will talk about is Landon Donovan's re-emergence. The U.S. advanced to the semifinals (for the seventh consecutive time) on Wednesday in Dallas, Texas against Honduras (a 1-0 winner over Costa Rica) at 7 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel. Mexico plays Panama in the other semifinal.

After his sabbatical from soccer and the U.S.' A-squad, he seems to be returning to form in MLS with the Galaxy (or so I hear) and in this tournament. I believe this makes him a lock to go to Brazil with the U.S. next summer, assuming they reach the World Cup. I also think he could find himself back in the starting 11 after this journey of self-discovery. He still isn't finishing at a very high level but he managed to put up a goal and two assists today, giving him 55 career goals and 54 career assists for the Red, White and Blue.

The funny thing is that this could have been even more of a blowout, the U.S. easily should have scored another goal or two but who can worry about such things after 4-goal victories? Goodson got forward and one-timed Donovan's cross in the 21st minute. Joe Corona, who might have the best name ever, made it 2-0 with a pretty little move then shot from the top of the box in the 29th minute.

El Salvador's only highlight came via a penalty kick in the 39th minute earned by their lone star Rodolfo Zelaya. He chipped it in slow motion down the middle to beat U.S. goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

A 2-1 halftime lead only motivated the U.S. to put their cleats on the gas more as Eddie Johnson (sporting bleach blonde hair like Sisqo or Cisse, Gus Johnson called him "Demolition Man"-Wesley Snipes movie in 90s-which hopefully catches on) came off the bench and scored seconds later in the 60th minute with a powerful header on Donovan's corner. Johnson returned the favor by finding Donovan for a breakaway in the 78th minute then Mix Diskerud completed the scoring with another header-this time from Donovan in the 84th minute.

We always root against Mexico but I am openly hoping for a U.S.-Mexico Gold Cup Final, that would be a rematch of 2007 (the last time the United States won this dinky competition). The U.S. is currently riding a nine-game win streak, the longest in the team's long history.

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U.S. Men Walk In Quick Sand, Settle For Scoreless Draw With Canada

It's a good thing that tonight's game essentially meant nothing since the result made me want to sip some Gatorade laced with bleach.

The U.S. men's national team settled for a 0-0 draw against Canada in Toronto. It was the last friendly before World Cup qualifying starts and truthfully, the U.S. was quite lucky not to fall to a team that they hadn't lost to in 14 straight matches.

Making their first appearance in Canada in 15 years (how's that possible?), the U.S. men lacked the energy and skill that they showed against Scotland last Saturday (5-1 win) and even the 4-1 loss to Brazil on Wednesday. Maybe the combination of three games in eight days and two practices a day the last few weeks left the U.S. overly tired. Who knows? More likely, they were looking past this contest.

No excuses though, Canada is a team that they should always dominate because Canada hasn't made it to the World Cup since 1986. They actually had the two best chances: midfielder Nikolas Ledgerwood scored in the first half but the play was blown dead on a phantom foul call on Canada. That was a big break for the U.S. Not much else happened in the entire match until the final few moments.

The U.S. remained unbeaten against Canada in its last 15 matches (8-0-7) dating back to 1985 while also notching a shutout for the fourth time in its last six games (4-1-1).

Canadian forward Simeon Jackson showed the type of finishing ability you'd expect from a striker on Canada when he blew an easy tap in after a cross from Dwayne De Rosario in added time.

It should tell you how badly the U.S. played that their two best chances were from Edgar Castillo and Clarence Goodson. A last minute addition to the lineup after Fabian Johnson was hurt in warmups, Castillo nearly scored on an incredible dipping volley in the first half. Goodson's header off a corner in added time would have given the U.S. a win it didn't really deserve. Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld palmed the sharp header over the crossbar.

Tim Howard got the clean sheet for the U.S. but it was a strange one since he only made a few harder than average stops. Bottom line, the U.S. will need more from its stars when they start World Cup qualifying. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were both invisible except for the one combination play they had that almost resulted in a goal by Dempsey in the first half.

All of this nonsense will be erased and/or forgiven if Jurgen Klinsmann's squad shows up on Friday against Antigua and Barbuda (7:00 p.m., ESPN & ESPN3.com). The match in Tampa Bay, FL is the first of six World Cup qualifying games in the CONCACAF third round for the U.S. this year.

They have home and homes with Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala and Jamaica. If that isn't the easiest group in the history of sports, I haven't heard it. The U.S. should beat all of those teams; yes I understand it's harder to win on the road, even against those scrubs, but come on. America will never be taken seriously when they continue to have poor showings against nobodies.

Mexico beat Brazil 2-0 in a friendly this afternoon in Dallas, further proof of how much better Mexico is than the U.S. at this moment. I'm going to guess that Mexico wouldn't have tied Canada 0-0 under any circumstances. Something to keep in mind.

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Where will Jozy Altidore end up?

Following up the good news about Cherundolo, we catch up with one of the U.S.' biggest disappointments from the 2010 World Cup: Jozy Altidore.

We all know that Jozy didn't not have one capable partner up front so it's not all his fault that he scored a grand total of zero goals but considering the chance against England that hit the post and the countless other opportunities, that wasn't good enough.

Looking ahead, Altdiore appears likely to transfer from Villarreal after his stint with Hull in the EPL last season.

Ajax, Besiktas and Fenerbahce have shown interest in acquiring him in addition to Premier League clubs, and a loan and permanent transfer both are possibilities for the 20-year-old American forward.

Like all the U.S. national team players, our hope for Altidore is that 1) wherever he goes he plays and 2) he plays against the highest caliber of opponents that he possibly can. Altidore has the potential to be one of the greatest players and top goal-scorers in U.S. history if he properly develops.

He is due to start preseason training with Villarreal on Aug. 3.

"A lot of the top clubs around Europe have been in touch, and we're just looking at what's the best for Jozy's career at this point," his agent, Lyle Yorks, said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "It's important to find a home for himself where he's going to get games, continue to develop and really show his abilities."

The European transfer window remains open through Aug. 31, but the Premier League opens Aug. 14 and La Liga on Aug. 28.

'We're not trying to rush into anything at this point," Yorks said. "There are advantages to getting it done early because you obviously have a longer preseason to get into the team, but it's important to get the right fit."

Yorks said he had had discussions with two Premier League clubs he wouldn't identify. Fulham also has held discussions about Altidore, pending a decision on hiring a manager to replace Roy Hodgson, who left the Cottagers to become Liverpool's manager.

Altidore was acquired by Villarreal from Major League Soccer and the New York Red Bulls in June 2008 for about $10 million. He became the first American to score in La Liga but played just six matches before he was loaned to second-division Xerez at midseason. He didn't get into another game that season, then was loaned to Hull for 2009-10.

"If it's a full transfer, then the transfer would have to be agreeable with Villarreal," Yorks said. "They spent quite a bit to get him. If it's a loan, then the pressure's off a little bit."

Yorks appears to be the Scott Boras or Ari Gold of American soccer players as he also updated the contract situations of Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber and Clarence Goodson.

Clint Dempsey, another client, reported back to Fulham following the World Cup, where he scored the U.S. goal in the 1-1 tie against England. Fulham said last August it had extended Dempsey's contract through the 2012-13 season but the 27-year-old may have options to consider.

Yorks said since the World Cup there had been inquiries about Dempsey from fairly large clubs in Italy, Germany and France, and from another Premier League team. The interest levels varied.

"He's prepared to start the season with Fulham, and if there's a right scenario that presents itself where it made sense for the club and for Clint, then he would certainly entertain that," Yorks said.

Defender Oguchi Onyewu intends to remain with AC Milan, a team he joined last summer. Onyewu was limited to one competitive game for the club last season because of a knee injury and in May extended his contract for a season until June 2013 at no extra cost.

"At this point, he's definitely set on staying there," Yorks said. "Various clubs have called regarding a loan situation, but because he missed last season, he's obviously keen to start the situation in Milan."

Yorks and his agent group also are trying to find a new club for midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who left Glasgow Rangers. Yorks said he's exploring the possibility of new deals for midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who is with Denmark's Aarhus, and defender Clarence Goodson, who plays for Norway's IK Start.

That's Herculez with a Z

Gotta feel good for US striker Herculez Gomez.

He just tied it up in the 66th minute with a header off a corner kick and another header by teammate Clarence Goodson.

For a guy just trying to get a roster spot (with the final 23 announced tomorrow), Gomez can't do much more than that. The timing was ironic too since he had another chance just moments earlier: Ching backheeled it to him and he was wide open but hit it right to Cech's chest.