Checking in from Philly

Alan e-mailed us last night with a post that he wrote for Slate magazine. Don't bother asking me why I don't run that magazine yet, I seem like a shoe in no?

Anyhow, he was at the US-Turkey friendly in Philly on Saturday which neither Shimer or I could go to. So without further ado, Alan's recap of the 2-1 American win.

Hope you caught at least the highlights of the game or maybe like me, you watched the whole thing last night at 1am like the hopeless soccer junkie I've become once again. The US came out really slow in the first half and Turkey struck first although they should have been up 3-0 at the half.

It was a completely different story in the second half as the field tilted towards the Turks. As Alan pointed out, Landon Donovan was all over the field and he had pretty assists on both goals: by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey.

Jonathan Bornstein did his best to blow it by getting absolutely abused on a crossing attempt by Turkey but the US was able to hold on for the nail-biting (well at least as friendlies go) 2-1 victory.

As I write this, the US has arrived in South Africa. They have one more exhibition: on Saturday (8:30 a.m. EST) against Australia before the 2010 World Cup begins on June 11. US-England is June 12 at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Czech yourself before you wreck yourself

The U.S.'s schedule of friendlies is now fully stocked as they will play the Czech Republic on May 25 (location TBA, although rumors of Hartford, CT) and Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 29.

Those are the last two warmup matches for the United States before they leave for South Africa and the World Cup.

The Czech Republic and Turkey are two quality opponents, that although they didn't advance to the World Cup through the ultra-competitive European group stages, will present some good challenges for the U.S.

As Shimer has already noted, the U.S. plays El Salvador February 24 with an All-MLS squad and then the Netherlands on March 3. I haven't heard yet if Bob Bradley will bring the MLS'ers or the big boys to face the Dutch but we'll let you know when we hear it.

If you are anywhere near the Czech Republic or Turkey games, you should definitely check them out as they'll be a great opportunity to send the United States to South Africa in style. I know I'm already thinking about trying to go to one or both. Plus, it'll be the start of summer and the tailgating scene should be very appealing.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/4921663/ce/us/united-states-adds-friendly-vs-czech-republic-world-cup-warmup-slate?cc=5901&ver=us