Welcome to tonight's In-Game Blog for the match between the U.S. Men's National Team and Canada. We'll have all the information on this international friendly for the USA, including lineups, pre-game facts and in-game notes from Toronto.
Lineup
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 21-Clarence Goodson, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.

photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

All-time record: 2–1–1
At PPL Park: 1–0–1
At BMO Field: 1–1–0
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 6

Did you know...

The Union's 6 goals in their 6-2 victory in Toronto last season was the most goals they've ever scored in an MLS match.

The Los Angeles Galaxy had a welcome sight at training on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Josh Saunders was back in uniform and on the training field despite still being ineligible to play games for the club. Saunders said he was enrolled in the league's substance abuse and behavior health program for stress reasons -- not drugs and alcohol, according to ESPN LA -- and he shed a bit of light on his situation.

Leaving the foggy past well behind him
THE BUZZ?
Can this league drought possibly continue? Will De Ro fail to score against us twice? Will there be a parade if TFC gets a draw? Does Winter dare rest starters before Wednesday's ACC Final? Is ghost Robert F. Kennedy ashamed of his shoddy stadium?

Zak Whitbread's career has hit a most unwelcome bump in the road.

The American centerback was released by Norwich City on Thursday after another injury-plagued campaign. Whitbread, 28, made 21 appearances for Norwich as the club finished midtable in its first season back in the Premier League.

St.Hubert - this leg goes to Quebec
THE BUZZ:
Will Aron Winter regret saying "we're better than Montreal"?
Did Jesse Marsch pin those word to Impact's dressing room?Do people honestly prefer St.Hubert's over Swiss Chalet?Is TONIGHT the new start for TFC 2012?Could there be more old Italians on Montreal?

Timm took a little time off and Dave forgot the Friday edition of Major Link Soccer. This week's journey revisits the Dana White v Soccer "battle," the unique scheduling needs of MLS with a focus on the Chicago Fire, a look at something that Toronto FC is doing well on the field and an update from around the Major League Soccer from the weekend.

MONTREAL VS. TORONTO

OLYMPIC STADIUM - SATURDAY 12PM ET
TV: TSN

THE KICKABOUT:
Finally, after years of teasing each other in the Canadian Championship, our "real" league derby is on tap.

If Toronto FC is to figure out a remedy for their defensive problems, Wednesday night would be an ideal time to do so.

TFC, Major League Soccer's last hope in the CONCACAF Champions League, welcomes red-hot Herculez Gomez and in-form Santos Laguna to BMO Field Wednesday night for the opening match of their CCL semifinal match (8 p.

You can't spell Hollywood without "Soolsma"THE BUZZ:
A tiny Home Depot Center crowd, an apparently "fatigued" Galaxy playing their first team... again, and a Toronto FC squad who have pulled off the odd cup miracle. Could the Hollywood stars have aligned for The Reds tonight?

Footballs? Pancakes? Boobies?
With just a week to go before "The Biggest Game In TFC History" (TM), The Reds continue in the group stage of The Mickey Mouse Cup. Tonight's opponent are Swedish also-rans BK Hacken of the Allsvenskan, marking the second time Toronto faces "The Hedge" in its history.

It's "Springtime for Winter" as Toronto FC today released the names of the 41 players (so far) who are taking part in the club's pre-season training camp. The major difference from past years on first glance is the absence of any professional trialists. Just a year ago, the likes of Javier Martina, Mikael Yourassowsky and King Osei Gyan (for you TFC trivia buffs) were training with The Reds in hopes of grabbing a contract but this year seems quite different.

Aceval in the hole?The rumours are boiling out of Chile today that The Reds are about to add a new defender to their ranks. If the Santiago media are to be trusted, then 28-year old centre-left back Miguel Aceval has already agreed on a contract with TFC and the paperwork is in the midst of being finalized by Major League Soccer.

"Mmm - you can barely taste the clog!"Toronto FC got the SIXual Healing bandwagon / promotional tour on track today with a breakfast event for season ticket holders in Downtown Toronto. The second year manager Aron Winter held court and was joined by players Danny Koevermans, Stefan Frei and Ashtone Morgan.

With the weekend off, it's almost like the Portland Timbers are rearing themselves for the storm of games that's to follow in the next couple weeks. This Friday the Timbers play their last regular home season game against the Houston Dynamo. A few days later the gang is taking a "road" trip first to D.

"Oooh, we don't love turtling..."THE BUZZ:
A surprisingly festive atmosphere despite a small crowd at BMO Field as the number of Pumas supporters in attendance was well in the hundreds. Giant golden kitty cat faces everywhere - Nick Soolsma must have been in heaven. Actually, it was quite possibly the largest ever away support number at a TFC match - despite the "away" supporters all having 416 phone numbers.

Chivas USA 1 Toronto 0

Juan Pablo Angel scored his sixth goal in five games for Chivas USA in the 12th minute, heading home an Ante Jazic cross from seven yards after Justin Braun picked up a loose ball in the Toronto half.

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It took me just 30 minutes to get from my Torrance driveway to my press box seat tonight at Home Depot Center where a rather subdued atmosphere has greeted two struggling teams.

That is some detailed scouting
CHIVAS USA (13th) VS. TORONTO FC (16th)
　
THE HOME DEPOT CENTRE - SATURDAY 10:30PM ET
TV: GOLTV RADIO: FAN 590
　
THE KICKABOUT:
Once a year, usually around this time of the season, Toronto FC is faced with "The Most Important Match of the Season (TM)".

By DAVID GUBALA

Toronto FC entered Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League match with a must-win mentality, looking to rebound from a heavy 4-0 defeat at Pumas last Sunday. A regular starting XI featured for Aron Winter's side with hopes of a post group-stage round still remaining well alive.

Harrison, NJ - drink it in.IN THE TUNNEL:
A fine night at one of North America's finest football stadiums. Despite the excitement of playing in one of the world's greatest cities (well, it's bombed out post-apocalyptic suburb at least) TFC has rarely had a good time in the Big Apple's shadow.

This review was written by Saurabh of Hoffenheim Offside. Thanks to him for his help and make sure to check out his blog!

It may have been important to start playing immediately after losing Dwayne De Rosario in a trade to New York. We got to see new boy Tony Tchani in action right away and he showed glimpses of the vision and creativity that is sometimes lacking in THE MLS.

First of all, my deepest apologies for the headline. I don't usually do the pun thing, and now you see why.

TFC had its first home game of the season hosting Portland Timbers, the second expansion team of MLS in 2011. Toronto had a dire performance against Vancouver the week before.

It was the first time two Canadian teams have faced off in Major League Soccer. As a spectacle, it was an exciting game to watch for the neutral, and a great advert for soccer in this country. On top of that, we saw many Canadian players on display. The Whitecaps featured two Canadian players and Toronto FC had 5 Canadians take the field.

TFC played their final two games in the Carolina Cup Challenge this week. On Wednesday the Reds faced Charleston Battery. Here's how we lined up for that match:

TFC Starting XI: Stefan Frei, Ty Harden (Dan Gargan 46′), Nana Attakora (Ashtone Morgan 46'), Dicoy Williams, Mikael Yourassowsky, Nick LaBrocca (Matt Gold 58′), Oscar Cordon (Andrew Ornoch 63′), Nathan Sturgis, Jacob Peterson, Javier Martina, Keith Makubuya (Nick Soolsma 70′)

I didn't get to watch this game, and apparently I didn't miss much.

Jason: On staff
GET BENT!
Aron Winter added some bench strength on the coaching side by promoting Jason Bent from the Academy ranks to 1st Team Assistant Coach. It's a solid move on the club's part as the 33-year-old Bent is a decent, young Canadian coaching prospect and his three years as Academy Head Coach gives him a strong bond with the crop of Academy youngsters moving to the 1st Team.

After a mere 4 days of working with new head coach Aron Winter, the boys in red finally got on the pitch for their first preseason game. It was not being televised anywhere, so most had to follow @TorontoFC on twitter for live tweets on the game.

Kickoff in Turkey was at 10:00am ET against Partizan Belgrade.

ANTALYA, Turkey Nana Attakora scored the team's lone goal Wednesday as Toronto FC played Partizan Belgrade to a 1-1 draw to open the Major League Soccer pre-season. The Canadian defender connected on a corner kick in the sixth minute, but Toronto couldn't hold onto its lead as Nemanja Tomic tied the game for the [.