After Eight Long Years, The U.S. Men's National Team Is Headed Back To The (2022) World Cup!

 

    In the most anti-climatic way possible (all they needed to do was not lose by 6+ goals), the U.S. men's national team secured their place in the 2022 World Cup with a 2-0 defeat tonight at Costa Rica. The Americans finished third in CONCACAF behind Canada (no really) and Mexico to earn the last automatic bid from the region; the Costa Ricans will have to face New Zealand in a playoff for another ticket to Qatar this fall. The World Cup draw is on Friday afternoon (11:30 am, FS1) with the event starting on November 21 and the Final is on December 17. Haha nothing like having one of the biggest events in the world smack dab in the middle of the holidays and a million other things going on in sports. 

    After infamously missing out on the 2018 World Cup, what should be a basically automatic thing for the USMNT became that much more important in this cycle. Sure they had their ups and downs (in case you forgot, qualifying takes forever) but all that matters for head coach Gregg Berhalter is that they got the job done. For casual fans who only tune into the World Cup, this promises to be the most talented squad that the United State has ever fielded. Almost all of the older players from previous World Cup teams have been phased out, replaced by precocious studs all over the pitch that are employed by some of the top clubs in soccer: forward Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) is the headliner that everybody knows but midfielders Giovanni Reyna (Dortmund), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig) along with defender Sergino Dest (Barcelona) are just a few of the names that you will be constantly hearing from now until November (Wyclef Jean voice). 

    It sounds like a cop out but so much of the USMNT's fate in Qatar will be determined by who are the other three countries in their group. With a favorable draw, they could potentially go very far in the tournament. Conversely, if they must play a couple powerhouse teams in the group stage then yikes. Regardless, this is a fun and likable collection of players that are only going to get better with this most valuable experience at the World Cup that most of them lack. Keep in mind that the 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico so given the young ages of most of our top players, you can start to understand why people have sky high expectations for that time since many of these guys hopefully will be in their primes by then.

    Finally, I would argue that there is no more important global sporting event than the World Cup and you simply cannot underestimate how much buzz soccer will generate if the USMNT can make a run in Qatar. Something similar to this has been said at every previous World Cup but thanks to video games and social media, the game has never been more popular in the States-just ask your kids or younger relatives. With so many of these players competing outside of MLS, you start to understand that this isn't your father's all-heart and little talent American teams of the past. There are plenty of questions about Berhalter and some time left to figure out who will make the final roster but at this moment, this is a time to celebrate and be proud once again of the USMNT because they are winners after the darkest time in their modern era.

UPDATE 4/1/22: The World Cup draw was this afternoon and I have to say that it went really well for the United States at least on paper. They are in Group B with England, Iran and the European playoff winner of Wales vs. Scotland/Ukraine. They'll meet the European playoff winner on the opening day of the tournament November 21. After that, they'll face England on Black Friday (November 25) and they will close out the group stage on November 29 vs. Iran. They should win the opener, a positive result against England is possible and they have to beat Iran.

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After Almost 5.5 Years in Charge, Jurgen Klinsmann is Fired as USMNT Head Coach & Technical Director

After a wretched 4-0 loss in a World Cup qualifier last Monday night in Costa Rica, you had to wonder if Jurgen Klinsmann was done as both the USMNT head coach and technical director. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati was non-committal after the match and after he had a week to think about it, today he made the somewhat expected move: Klinsmann was out in each capacity. By itself, this was disappointing enough but heap on the fact that LA Galaxy head coach (and former USMNT head coach Bruce Arena) is said to be returning once again so I can't help but feel like the U.S. Soccer Federation has lost its common sense.

I understand that it's quite possible many of the key players (Michael Bradley for sure) had begun to tune Klinsmann out, how else do you explain their recent form, but you'll never convince me that Arena or any other American for that matter will be able to match Klinsmann's all-World resume. He was a World Cup winner as a player with Germany and also coached their national team along with Bayern Munich (Germany), one of the most powerful clubs in the universe. Instead, they are at least temporarily going back to a guy that hasn't been in charge of the USMNT in a decade (1998-2006) and who has been coaching in lowly MLS (New York Red Bulls and Galaxy) since then. Ugh. Thanks to Klinsmann, the U.S. was able to bring in many Mexican-American and German-Americans (Jermaine Jones, John Brooks, Julian Green, Fabian Johnson and Timmy Chandler) who have become some of the top players.

The U.S. just doesn't seem to have a realistic view of itself or rather, they are completely mistaken for what is the proper way to go from a mid-tier country (their usual status) to one that can consistently challenge for major titles. Where is that outside the box thinking that brought them Klinsmann? This is all semantics since Arena is still the winningest head coach in USMNT history but Klinsmann is second (55-27-16) since he took over on July 29, 2011. He led the team to a program-record 12-game winning streak in 2013 and their 16 wins overall and .761 winning percentage in 2013 are an all-time record for a calendar year. They also advanced out of an extremely difficult group at the 2014 World Cup before losing to a far superior Belgium squad in the round of 16. Things seemed to have turned stale this year though as they finished a disappointing fourth in the Copa America on their home soil (losing a knockout game to Jamaica, come on) and they lost a heartbreaker 2-1 to Mexico in World Cup qualifying on November 11 in Columbus, Ohio.

The weird part is that the men's national team has never been more popular and therefore also more scrutinized in the United States than it is today. This is of course a good thing. With such easy access to games from all over the world constantly (featuring many of our brightest stars), we are much more knowledgeable when it comes to the beautiful game. Of course, the sad truth is that the men's team will probably never be an upper-echelon program simply because most of our best athletes play other sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc) that pay better and bring far more fame at least in the states. Non-soccer fans never quite understand why the USMNT isn't better but that is the main reason why. As technical director, Klinsmann made sweeping changes to the U.S. youth national teams and the fruits of that are already being seen with an amazing prospect like Christian Pulisic who rightfully got the hell out of the U.S. to test himself at a very high level (Borussia Dortmund).

Arena is just a placeholder, a lame duck coach that is said to only be around through the 2018 World Cup. I know we are all starting to get worried about even reaching that point but keep in mind that Mexico had to go all the way to a playoff (vs. New Zealand) to reach the 2014 World Cup and CONCACAF is still filled with numerous awful teams so the U.S. should bounce back in March when they finally reconvene to face Honduras on March 24 and go to Panama on March 27. The U.S. under-23 men's head coach and former U.S. star midfielder Tab Ramos is apparently a candidate further down the road for this job but he's not ready for it yet.

Even before Klinsmann took over, I've felt for a long time that the U.S. men's national team should have a non-American in charge in order to reach our ultimate potential. I believe it's the exact opposite thinking for the U.S. women's national team since they are the gold standard in their sport so why mess with their immense success? He gave us a certain amount of credibility globally that is suddenly gone and will never be replaced by the likes of Arena, Ramos or any other U.S. lifer that has yet to experience the highest levels of competition that the sport has to offer. I know that many bandwagon fans wanted to see this happen but I'm pretty sure this will be your classic case of buyer's remorse when the U.S. fails to really grow at all in the next few years. Honestly, getting to the 2018 World Cup won't be much of an achievement if they bow out in the group stage.

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U.S. Men's Roster Set For Costa Rica & Mexico, With A Couple Big Names Left Off

The U.S. men's next World Cup qualifiers are Friday against Costa Rica in Colorado and next Tuesday in Mexico City against Mexico. Today, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named his 23-man roster which is notable since Tim Howard (back), Steve Cherundolo (knee) and Timmy Chandler (hamstring) are among the eight regulars who were left off due to various injuries and illness.

Friday's match is at sold-out Dick's Sporting Good Park, it is the second game of the Hexagonal will be broadcast live on ESPN (10 p.m. EST). Tuesday (10:30 p.m. EST, ESPN) is at Estadio Azteca, a place where the U.S. has never won a World Cup qualifier although they finally grabbed a win there last summer.

“We know we have a big task ahead of us, and we are confident our group will get the job done,” said Klinsmann in a press release. “Obviously there are many players out with injuries, and that means the next person in line has a chance to step up. Getting points at home in World Cup qualifying is huge, and we are looking forward to having an awesome crowd supporting us in Denver on Friday night.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (World Cup qualifying Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire – 0/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake – 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake – 0/0), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – 6/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy – 1/0), Clarence Goodson (Brondby – 5/0), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes – 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla – 26/6), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake – 2/0), Michael Bradley (Roma – 20/5), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana – 1/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor – 10/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 – 6/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht – 13/0), Brek Shea (Stoke City – 2/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar – 18/6), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna – 2/0), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur – 27/11), Herculez Gomez (Santos – 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC – 12/10)

The five other Americans that won't be there are Edgar Castillo (facial fractures), Fabian Johnson (hip), Jonathan Spector (ankle), Jose Torres (hamstring) and Danny Williams (illness). Klinsmann and his team won't make excuses, they have more than enough talent remaining to still get some positive results. Friday's game, since it is at home plus they are coming off the 2-1 loss to Honduras means that they need a win pretty badly. I don't expect them to win in Mexico, especially without Howard so it might be the first time in my life that I root for a draw. That would be a solid result for the U.S. First things first, they need to beat Costa Rica and get some confidence back after their awful showing in Honduras (February 6).

UPDATE 3/19: Midfielder Brad Davis was added to the roster.

UPDATE 3/20: With Carlos Bocanegra not on the roster, Klinsmann had to pick a new captain for these two qualifiers. His choice of Dempsey is fine by me, why not go with the best player who must have the respect of his teammates?

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Oh Crap, Looks Like Tim Howard Will Miss Some World Cup Qualifiers

Facing two vital World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica (March 22 in Colorado) and Mexico (March 26 in Mexico City) in two weeks, the U.S. men's soccer team received some very bad news. Goalkeeper Tim Howard picked up two broken bones in his back playing for Everton so he's expected to be out for the rest of March.

That means that backup goalkeeper Brad Guzan would start in his first World Cup qualifiers in four years for the Americans. The good news is that Guzan has been the starter lately for Aston Villa so he should be ready.

Howard was hurt Feb. 26 in an FA Cup win over Oldham and missed last weekend's Premier League game against Reading. That ended his streak of consecutive league matches at 210, two shy of the Everton record set by goalkeeper Neville Southall from 1987-93.

Everton manager David Moyes said Howard will miss Saturday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Wigan and the March 16 match league match versus Manchester City, but could return March 30 against Stoke.

"We are not sure how long Tim will be out for because, obviously with a goalkeeper, he has to dive around and hit the ground," Moyes said Friday, according to the team's website. "If everything goes well, he misses next week's game, as well, and then because of the international break he might be close after the rest because that would be four weeks."

Howard is getting up there in age (34) although goalkeepers can play at a much higher level in later years than most field players. He is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world; he started all their games at the 2010 World Cup and the previous seven World Cup qualifiers for Brazil 2014.

"He has two fractures, but they are not bones that are supporting anything," Moyes said. "It is off the spine. They are not weight-bearing. It just needs a bit of healing time. It is not like a pure fracture where you need to wait to look at it. It is a question of whether he can cope with the pain. The bones will heal themselves, but it's not good."

Midfielder Landon Donovan won't start training with the LA Galaxy until later this month so he won't be ready for these upcoming matches. Midfielder Clint Dempsey has been out since February 21 at Tottenham dealing with a calf injury and fullback Steve Cherundolo could miss a month at Hannover (Germany) with a shoulder injury.

None of this makes me feel better, I was already expecting the U.S. to not win at Mexico. They really need a win vs. Costa Rica to get some confidence back after the 2-1 loss at Honduras in February to open this last round of qualifying (the Hexagonal).

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Pia Sundhage's Farewell Tour Starts Out With The U.S. Dropping 8 Goals On Costa Rica In Rochester

Perhaps you've heard that U.S. women's national team head coach Pia Sundhage is stepping down. I have heard some additional information that she'll be at the helm for two more games, Sunday, September 16 vs. Australia at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA and Wednesday, September 19 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO.

The farewell tour got off to the perfect start for Sundhage (who is reportedly in the works to be Sweden's head coach) as her team pinned an 8-0 loss on Costa Rica this afternoon at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, NY. It was the team's first match since winning the gold medal vs. Japan at the London Olympics.

Hometown hero Abby Wambach gave the people what they wanted as she scored twice, Megan Rapinoe had two goals while Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Carli Lloyd and Heather O'Reilly bagged single tallies.

The U.S. was never challenged as they led 5-0 at halftime. Rapinoe opened the barrage with a goal off a free kick in the 13th minute, her shot just grazed the crossbar and went in.

Not surprisingly, Wambach had not one but two headers for goals (putting her at 145 international strikes). Rachel Buehler crossed to her in the 24th minute then Rapinoe's corner kick eight minutes later found what has to be the greatest aerial player in women's soccer history.

Alex Morgan got in on the action in the 38th minute after a touch from Wambach, Morgan's left-footed shot left the Costa Rican goalkeeper with no chance to stop the high riser.

Rapinoe's second goal-in the 45th minute-was a complete gift as her shot from the edge of the area trickled in off the goalkeeper's hands.

Supersub Leroux kickstarted the late scoring as she ran onto a pass from Morgan, overpowered her defender and finished in the far corner in the 77th minute.

Lloyd kept up her hot streak as she scored on a bending free kick in the 84th minute and O'Reilly tapped in Leroux's cross in garbage time (89th minute).

Some interesting notes courtesy of ussoccer.com
In the 54th minute, goalkeeper Jill Loyden replaced starting goalkeeper Hope Solo, ending Solo’s consecutive minutes played streak at 1,163. That is a U.S. WNT goalkeeping record as Solo surpassed Briana Scurry’s previous mark of 990 minutes during the 2012 London Olympics.

The U.S. improved to 94-2-5 when Abby Wambach scores a goal.
The USA improved to 10-0-0 this year when Wambach and Alex Morgan both contribute at least one goal in the same match.

U.S. defender and team captain Christie Rampone played in her 267th career international match on Saturday. She now sits five behind third-place Julie Foudy (272) on the all-time list.

Pia Sundhage improved her USA coaching record to 89-6-10.

The next match against Australia will also be broadcast live on NBC like today's game. I gotta say that the new go-to announcer combination of ex-U.S. men's player Kyle Martino and Arlo White is great. Thank God they left Brandi Chastain and her needless yelling back in the UK or somewhere else far away from a microphone.

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U.S. Women VS. Germany, Coming Stateside (Chicago, Hartford) In October

Fresh off their third straight gold medal (and fourth overall) earlier this month at the Olympics, the U.S. women's national team is set for a tour of the U.S. which actually begins this weekend.

They play Costa Rica on Saturday, September 1 in Rochester, NY (Abby Wambach's hometown) at Sahlen's Stadium. Then they meet Australia on September 16 in Carson, CA at Home Depot Center and September 19 in Commerce City, CO at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Even better than those friendlies, today it was announced that Pia Sundhage's team (No. 1 in the world) will meet the No. 2 team-Germany-on Saturday, October 20 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL and Tuesday, October at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT for a pair of juicy exhibitions.

From the ussoccer.com press release
The U.S. and Germany are two of the most successful women’s soccer nations in history and have met three times in the FIFA Women’s World Cup with the USA owning a 2-1-0 record in those games. The most recent meeting in a major tournament came in the semifinal of the 2004 Athens Olympics as, the U.S. defeated Germany 2-1 after extra time and then went on to the championship game where a victory against Brazil started the USA’s run of three straight Olympic gold medals.

The most recent friendly match between Germany and the U.S. was played just more than two years ago with the USA earning a 4-0 win on May 22, 2010, in Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. Women’s National Team has faced Germany 25 times, compiling a record of 17-4-4 in a series that dates back to a 4-2 win on May 30, 1991, in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

The U.S. women have plenty of history at both of these venues and not surprisingly, they have experienced a boatload of success. Both locations happen to be hotbeds for soccer so expect sold-out crowds to take in the action.

Toyota Park, located less than 15 miles from downtown Chicago, is home to Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire and will host the fourth stop on the U.S. WNT Fan Tribute Tour celebrating the team’s third straight gold medal and fourth overall following a 2-1 victory against Japan on Aug. 9 in front of more than 80,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium to close out the 2012 London Olympics.

The Chicago area is no stranger to hosting friendlies between the two countries. The U.S. has an undefeated record against Germany in games played in Chicago, winning 4-2 on June 28, 1998, and a 4-1 victory on Sept. 9, 2001. Both of those matches were at Soldier Field.

The U.S. WNT has played three times at Toyota Park, with the most recent being a 1-0 triumph against Italy on Nov. 27, 2010, in the second leg of a 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying playoff match that earned the USA a berth in the tournament. The U.S. also defeated China PR 4-1 on Aug. 27, 2006, and earned a 2-0 win against Ireland on Sept. 20, 2008, in two international friendlies at the stadium.

Rentschler Field, the 40,000-seat home to the University of Connecticut football team, also has hosted several U.S. Women’s National Team matches. The USA has a 3-0-0 record at the facility, last playing in East Hartford on July 17, 2010 in a 3-0 win against Sweden. In other matches at the stadium, the U.S. defeated China PR 3-1 on Aug. 1, 2004 and beat Norway 1-0 on July 14, 2007.

This team gave us so many memories this summer at the London Olympics, while these games certainly don't have the same lofty stakes, it is always fun to watch them compete no matter what the circumstances. If you love soccer in America, it doesn't get much better than these special women.

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U.S. Women Secure Their Spot In London With A 3-0 Win Vs. Costa Rica

From all I read, it wasn't a classic performance by any means but all that matters is the final result: the U.S. women's team is going to the 2012 London Olympics thanks to their 3-0 win vs. Costa Rica tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia.

It was a semifinal in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament; host Canada beat Mexico in the other, setting up a fun but ultimately meaningless (since they're both in already) final on Sunday night (8 p.m. on NBCSports) between the two rivals and neighbors.

Tobin Heath had the first goal, a header in the 16th minute but the top ranked Americans were only up 1-0 at halftime against a team ranked No. 41 that had never been to the Olympics or a World Cup and also had never scored a goal against the U.S. in eight previous encounters.

The U.S. settled down in the second half as Carli Lloyd blasted one in during the 72nd minute and Alex Morgan wrapped it up with a goal in the 89th minute off the bench.

Hope Solo earned the shutout by making a big-time stop in the 20th minute, she also benefited from a Costa Rica shot in the 27th minute that rocked the crossbar.

This contest was certainly tighter than the first two games in group play: the U.S. rolled 14-0 over the Dominican Republic and 13-0 over Guatemala before a 4-0 win over Mexico and finally, this 3-0 triumph.

The United States will enter London this summer as two-time defending gold medalists. Ironically, both titles came after not winning the ultimate prize-the World Cup.

The tournament includes the UK, Japan, North Korea, Cameroon, South Africa, France, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. The final team will hail from Oceania. You'll notice that Germany isn't on that list which means that the U.S. will likely be the favorite.

We all fell in love with this group after their incredible run last summer; let's hope that it continues, albeit with a win in their final match and another Gold to bring home.

If nothing else, it's a delectable side dish to what is shaping up to be an incredible summer of the beautiful game: Euro 2012, London Olympics and World Cup qualifying starts plus some awesome friendlies (Brazil vs. Argentina in NJ).

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U.S. vs. Costa Rica 2nd half live blog

Haha Darke mentions that some U.S. honk compared them to Brazil or Barcelona at halftime. I'd love to be that insane for one day in my life, just to see what it's like.

No subs for the U.S.; Colindres in for Martinez for Costa Rica.

Castillo might be related to Wiz Khalifa. He's covered in tattoos and really skinny. I'm pretty sure I made that joke during the Mexico friendly but it's late and I forget.

Costa Rica has won three CONCACAF championships and has appeared in three World Cups. They're the third most successful country in CONCACAF behind the United States and Mexico.

Altidore feeds Rogers for a goal but the offside flag was up for a long time before it all went down. Too bad, that was nice.

Donovan gets a yellow card, nobody is sure if it's for a handball or dissent to the referee.

Haha Costa Rica had a good chance but a header was blocked in front of the U.S. goal by another Costa Rica player. Howard stopped the second easier shot.

Second sub for Costa Rica: Rodney Wallace (went to University of Maryland; plays for Portland Timbers) who is making his debut.

The U.S. makes its first change with Altidore coming off in favor of Juan Agudelo.

Ugh. Costa Rica scores in the 65th minute. Howard makes one unbelievable save on a header from in close and gets a hand on the rebound but it goes in. 1-0 Costa Rica.

Second U.S. sub: Kljestan in for Rogers.

Torres tries a long range shot and it's deflected out by Nagas. U.S. corner kick but they can't do anything with it.

Honestly, what does Ramos bring to the broadcast that myself or one of my friends can't do? His broken English is distracting.

Another U.S. corner but as always, they can't use it to their advantage.

Agudelo gets taken down in front of Costa Rica's goal. Good no call.

Haha closeup of the Costa Rican coach freaking out on the sideline. Yelling at one of his lowly assistants because they didn't get to substitute in when they wanted. Relax bro, it's a friendly.

The ball bounces around in the Costa Rican box but nobody wants to shoot it.

Shea gets a yellow card after pushing a Costa Rican defender. Then the Costa Rican goalkeeper dives when Shea slightly touches him. Ugh, it's becoming one of those ridiculous matches.

Kljestan gets a yellow as well, this is getting silly.

Costa Rica sub: McClean in for Sanchez.

Agudelo wins a U.S. corner. At least he was looking to take somebody on.

Maurice Edu makes his first noticeable contribution of the game by shooting it well wide. Sweet.

Wow Agudelo just had an amazing run through a few Costa Rican players forcing the save by Costa Rica's goalkeeper. Flashes of brilliance from the young guy.

Mena in for Costa Rica.

Boy oh boy Castillo is awful, hope he never gets another CAP for the U.S. in the near future.

Torres with a blast that knocks down a Costa Rican player but can't get through.

Not a huge Donovan fan and as usual, he has disappeared in a U.S. match. He seems to make that a regular occurance. Granted, he also finds a way to score some huge goals from time to time.

Agudelo gets hacked down outside the Costa Rica box. Four minutes of stoppage time left. No time like the present, the U.S. desperately needs a goal.

It's laid off for Kljestan who shoots it slow, weakly and right into the wall. Honestly, what has he ever done in a U.S. uniform? I get that Klinsmann is giving everyone a chance but I don't get it with him. He's like a poor man's Benny Feilhaber and that's rather depressing to write.

Final: Costa Rica 1, U.S. 0.

This game means nothing win or lose but it's a disappointing result since the U.S. dominated in the first half. They had some chances but it's no surprise that without Clint Dempsey (not to mention Stuart Holden and Michael Bradley) the U.S. struggled to find its scoring touch.

The U.S. travels to Belgium on Tuesday (2:30 p.m.), let's hope they can wake up between now and then. Klinsmann needs a win (0-1-1 so far) to make everyone a little happier.

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U.S. vs. Costa Rica 1st half live blog

This is Jurgen Klinsmann's second match as the U.S. head coach. This friendly between CONCACAF rivals takes place in Carson, California.

U.S. starting 11:
Howard; Chandler, Orozco Fiscal, Bocanegra (c), Castillo; Donovan, Edu, Torres; Rogers, Altidore, Shea

Costa Rica starting 11:
Navas; Umaña, Miller, Johnson, Acosta; Barrantes, Azofeifa, Sánchez; Saborío, Brenes, Martínez (4-3-3)

Apparently this isn't Costa Rica's top squad, more of an experimental group.

Again, the U.S. doesn't have last names on the back of their jerseys and they all have the numbers 1-11. Interesting idea, we'll see if it works for Jurgen Klinsmann.

Torres with a great ball to Altidore but it's blown dead for offsides. Looked like a good chance.

Great combination play between Brek Shea and Altidore. Shea laid it off for Donovan who puts it inches wide. Should have been 1-0, wonderful opportunity.

Shea plays a ball to Altidore who chests it down and shoots wide.

Since the 2010 World Cup, the U.S. is 5-5-5. Thanks Bob Bradley.

U.S. wins its first corner kick in the 13th minute. Costa Rica's goalkeeper wins it but is out of bounds, another U.S. corner.

Costa Rica has been MIA in the first 15 minutes, the U.S. is controlling the ball and consequently the play.

First good chance for Costa Rica but they were offsides.

Jozy with his obligatory offsides call of the game, only took him 19 minutes into this one.

U.S. free kick 25 yards out from the top of the Costa Rica box, good chance right here. Haha Shea still has that goofy Eurotrash haircut, what's the deal with that? Donovan shoots it over.

Oh no, that Jorge Ramos bozo is back on the halftime show. Don't ask me who hired that joker. He brings absolutely nothing to the table but then again, Taylor Twellman is the new sideline reporter (shoots self in head).

Navas snags a cross from Rogers before Shea can get to it. A little more pace on that and the U.S. would have scored.

Donovan comes in on an angle but decides to lay it off for Altidore but it was behind him and Costa Rica knocks it out of bounds. To be fair to Donovan, a defender was right on his back.

Ian Darke says the U.S. "should be ahead but they're not." Couldn't have phrased it any better myself, dominant first half.

Costa Rica is 2-0-2 vs. the U.S. in the last four meetings, Howard has never beat them.

Nice save by Howard on a long distance strike, first shot by Costa Rica on goal.

The ball squirts through to a Costa Rican player who tries to go high but Howard knocks it over the bar for a corner kick.

0-0 at halftime.

Good first half by the U.S. but it would be nice if they led. It will be interesting to see who Klinsmann uses as substitutes in the second half. I have a feeling this game won't end scoreless.

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The More Germans The Better On U.S. Men's National Team Roster

With the end of August almost upon us, it was time for U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to announce the rosters for exhibitions against Costa Rica and Belgium in the beginning of September.

Without question, the most intriguing name on the list is Fabian Johnson. He started for Germany in the U-21 European championship just two years ago but he's followed Klinsmann to the U.S. I can't say that I've ever heard of him but his credentials seem pretty legit: he's a midfielder for Hoffenheim, a German club.

Another former German Timmy Chandler will also get to make his debut for the new U.S. head coach after he got pulled off the roster at the last minute before the Mexico match. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey get their first CAPs under Klinsmann while Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Ricardo Clark were left out of (supposedly to deal with transfer issues with their clubs) this group.

"All three of these players are trying to sort out their club situations, and the deadline for transfers is a week away," Klinsmann said. "They have also not been playing matches, so for these reasons we decided to select different players for this roster."

Freddy Adu wasn't selected, either. The former phenom recently returned to Major League Soccer, and is still adjusting to his new Philadelphia Union team.

The U.S. and Costa Rica meet frequently in CONCACAF play, but this is their first exhibition since 1995. The Americans have an 11-11-6 record overall against the Ticos, including a 2-2 draw on Oct. 14, 2009, that cost Costa Rica a spot in last year's World Cup. The tie dropped Costa Rica to fourth in North and Central American and Caribbean region qualifying, and the Ticos then lost to Uruguay in a playoff for the spot shared by CONCACAF and South America.

This will be the fourth game against Belgium, and first since 1998. Belgium has won the last two meetings.

Roster
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton, England), Bill Hamid (DC United).
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Edgar Castillo (Club America, Mexico), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg, Germany), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Zach Loyd (Dallas), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis, Mexico), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (New York)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim, Germany), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Brek Shea (Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles).

Other new players in the mix include Hamid, Larentowicz (a former Revs player) and Bunbury.

With more time to train and get prepared, expect some better chemistry between Klinsmann and his team. Likewise, Costa Rica and Belgium represent a step down from the level of Mexico so the U.S. should be more ready to handle teams of that caliber.

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U.S. vs. Costa Rica slated for September

Yesterday, we told about the U.S. men's friendly against Belgium in September. Well today they added another match, this one coming Sept. 2 (four days before playing in Belgium): vs. Costa Rica at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Both are FIFA international fixture dates, meaning head coach Bob Bradley -- if he's still in charge -- can call in any healthy player from any club on the planet.

What's likely is that he'll use a domestic roster, primarily Major League Soccer players, for the match against the Ticos, then field a team of European-based players against Belgium. The games will be the Yanks' first since falling to Mexico in the June 25 CONCACAF Gold Cup final at the Rose Bowl and will serve as preps for the start of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Belgium is something of an unknown since they're not a team that normally faces the U.S and they're not one of Europe's best so we don't get to see them much. On the other hand, the U.S. is well aware of Costa Rica since they're a CONCACAF rival and always a quality opponent.

The U.S. is 11-11-6 all-time against Costa Rica, which is currently playing as a guest team in Copa America, South America's nations championship, after reaching the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals. The Ticos have a four-game unbeaten streak going against the U.S., although the most recent meeting -- a 2-2 draw in October 2009 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier in D.C., forged on Jonathan Bornstein's stoppage-time goal -- sent Honduras past Costa Rica for the region's final berth in South Africa.

This will be the first friendly between the sides since 1998.

The atmosphere for U.S. vs. Costa Rica should be a good one even if as expected, it's mostly MLS players and not the big boys.

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