Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team has reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup final yet again, and has done so with using basically the same lineup for the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

If the U.S. men's national team is going to successfully defend its CONCACAF Gold Cup title, it will do so with a very short-handed squad.

The USA-Mexico rivalry is ready to resume today as the the U.S. national team takes on 'El Tri' in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final at Giants Stadium today (3pm, Fox Soccer Channel/Univision).

The Americans are looking to win a third straight Gold Cup while Mexico is looking to win its first match vs.

For all of the praise that Bob Bradley has gotten and deserved for his win in Switzerland (breaking a 5 game European losing streak), 2007 Gold Cup champions, wins against Egypt and Spain, and 2009 Confederation Cup runners-up, he has gotten condemned for unimaginative performances against El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup Qualifying.

What a meh week following a meh result, that I couldn't see. Gotta love when a game isn't on, and you have to catch whatever you can online. So, we all know now that DC lost 2-1 off of a goal by Javier Morales. Before that, United-Slayer Beckerman smacked the crossbar. So, after the first goal by RSL, you really felt that the field tilted their way.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team beat Honduras just two weeks ago in Gold Cup group play, but it will be much more difficult this time around.

The U.S. national team will be looking to take a step closer to a third straight CONCACAF Gold Cup title today when it takes on Panama in the quarterfinals.

These teams have met in the past two Gold Cups, with the Americans winning the 2005 final via penalty kicks, and the 2007 quarterfinals in a tight 2-1 match.

It's been a while since I've done any article commentary, so I thought I'd jump back in. I've been reading Ives Galarcep's live commentary on our Gold Cup matches and found some pretty funny inconsistencies.

It should be noted that Ives does not consider himself a USA fan. Several times in the past, during one of his "Let's Pick Ives' Brain" sessions (AKA the Q&A), he has been faced with a question like:

"As a USA fan, who would you most like to see called up for the next qualifier?

Arnaud has impressed during his time with the National Team.
For the 3rd straight USA match during the Gold Cup, Wizards midfielder/forward Davy Arnaud is in the starting 11. In his first two starts, he has registered a goal (his 1st in international play) and an assist (his 1st in international play).

The U.S. men's national team will take on Honduras for the third time in less than two months tonight in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Americans have beaten the 'Catrachos' in the previous two meetings, once in World Cup qualifying, and once in the Gold Cup Group Stage.

This won't be a full-bore LIVE like you're all accustomed to, but I know some West coasters are still stuck at work.In any event, here is your USMNT line-up to face Honduras for a place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final:Perkins; Heaps, Goodson, Marshall, Pearce; Holden, Beckerman, Pause, Rogers; Arnaud, ChingBench: Busch, Quaranta, Evans, Clark, Cronin, Cooper, Parkhurst Kick off is in about an hour

Here's how the USA will lineup for tonight's Gold Cup semifinal against Honduras:
Perkins; Heaps, Goodson, Marshall, Pearce; Holden, Beckerman, Pause, Rogers; Arnaud, Ching (capt.)
- Jimmy Conrad will not dress tonight and Brian Ching will replace him as captain.
- The bench looks like this: Busch, Quaranta, Evans, Clark, Cronin, Cooper, Parkhurst

USMNT Head Coach Bob Bradley annouces roster for January Camp

A pair of Scandinavian stand outs as well as few MLS emerging stars headline Bob Bradley's 30 man roster for the annual January training camp. Rising MLS stars, Omar Gonzalez, Chris Pontius and Kevin Alston will have the opportunity to show their skills to Coach Bradley ahead of the opening of camp on January 4th.

Not called in
I've taken a good, long look at the roster Bob has called in for Camp Fun, and I feel really good about them. This is a team that could easily challenge Columbus in the East next year.
"Gosh," thought I. "The US national team is as officially deep as the Jacuzzi in Barbie's Malibu Dream House.

by Will Johnson
The travel day home from Seattle was pretty dull, as was our first training session after losing the game against Seattle in a disappointing fashion. Everyone was not happy with the average performance and most importantly, zero points. We knew that Thursday night's game against Columbus would be a huge challenge for us and exactly what we needed.

The New York Red Bulls are home at Giants Stadium tonight, looking to record their first win of the season against a strong Real Salt Lake team. The tilt is a rematch of last season's Western Conference final, won by New York.

The Red Bulls will welcome newcomer Alfredo Pacheco to the fold.

Assuming that many of the USA players who are on the World Cup qualifying and Confederations Cup rosters will not be on the Gold Cup team, here is my pool of players that I see the 23 Gold Cup players coming from.
There are 78 here in total.
Who should or should not be in my list, and who would be your first 11?

US Men's National Team backup players, Santino Quaranta and Brian Ching scored four minutes apart late in the second half to lift the United States to a 2-0 victory over Honduras on Wednesday, putting the two-time defending champion on the verge of the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Team List
USA
Coach: Bob Bradley
T.

It's another catch-call post for the final Gold Gup group match between the USMNT and Haiti. Tonight's line-up card, with a more offensive midfield look...Robles; Evans, Parkhurst, Conrad (c), Heaps; Quaranta, Holden, Cronin, Clark; Cooper, ArnaudBench: Perkins, Pearce, Goodson, Beckerman, Rogers, Davies, ChingI'll be back later with the wrap-up.

I finally got a chance to watch the U.S. Honduras match and, in the absence of our normal source for shot details, once again compiled my own list of shots taken, their position, and result. By my count, the U.S. took 18 shots against Honduras, 9 in each half. As always, I'll use the abbreviations set out here.

After nearly two weeks of Gold Cup 2009 group matches and a bizarre match involving Mexico, we have reached the quarterfinal knockout stages of the 2009 edition.
Five (USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras and Panama) of the top six FIFA-ranked CONCACAF teams have justified their standings and made it through to the last eight.

The US MNT has advanced to the 2009 Gold Cup Semifinal after besting Panama 2-1 on Saturday night in front of over 30,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly. That's right, I said over 30,000 fans. Methinks this National Soccer craze is gaining momentum. Me also thinks that once everyone is on the bandwagon, I may feel liking jumping off.

The United States starts the final with the same lineup that earned a victory in the previous game against Honduras:
Perkins; Heaps, Marshall, Goodson, Pearce; Holden, Beckerman, Pause, Rogers; Arnaud, Ching (capt.)
- On the bench for the U.S.: Busch, Evans, Cooper, Quaranta, Clark, Cronin, Parkhurst

Here are the line-ups for today's CONCACAF Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico at Giants Stadium. No changes for the home side...Perkins; Heaps, Marshall, Goodson, Pearce; Holden, Beckerman, Pause, Rogers; Arnaud, Ching (capt.)Bench: Busch, Evans, Cooper, Quaranta, Clark, Cronin, Parkhurst Ochoa; J.

RSL was down on the strength of two Schelotto goals by the 35th minute and it appeared as if Crew would be able to get over the one goal disadvantage and advance to the quarter finals. But RSL struck back from a Javier Morales goal two minutes later. Ten minutes later, RSL were awarded a penalty by referee Baldemero Toledo, a dubious call on Frankie Hejduk as Espindola went down a bit too easily.

Courtesy of Jamie Clary (@soccerprofessor on Twitter), The Yanks Are Coming presents our first American Soccer Trivia Challenge. Test your knowledge and click on the link at the bottom of the page to see how you did. Feel free to post your score... Read more

Saturday night at home, Real played a match that looked like it could have been a win, but late in the game Colorado scored the equalizer and happily departed Rio Tinto Stadium with a tie and overall lead in The Rocky Mountain Cup. So close to a win and yet so far, but RSL coach Jason Kries was optimistic after the match and felt his players showed commitment and dedication in their play.

The U.S. men's national team plays its first match since the Confederations Cup as it begins CONCACAF Gold Cup play tonight vs. Grenada.

Most of the U.S. team's top stars are sitting this tournament out, leaving the event as an opportunity for young players to prove they belong, and veterans a chance to show they still have what it takes to contribute to the first team.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

If the U.S. men's national team is going to successfully defend its CONCACAF Gold Cup title, it will do so with a very short-handed squad.

After nearly two weeks of Gold Cup 2009 group matches and a bizarre match involving Mexico, we have reached the quarterfinal knockout stages of the 2009 edition.
Five (USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras and Panama) of the top six FIFA-ranked CONCACAF teams have justified their standings and made it through to the last eight.

US Men's National Team backup players, Santino Quaranta and Brian Ching scored four minutes apart late in the second half to lift the United States to a 2-0 victory over Honduras on Wednesday, putting the two-time defending champion on the verge of the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Team List
USA
Coach: Bob Bradley
T.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team beat Honduras just two weeks ago in Gold Cup group play, but it will be much more difficult this time around.

The promise of Real Salt Lake's pre-season success in the Carolina Challenge Cup, and the team's obvious strength at home, faded in early summer. RSL looked good early on, really good, and I was hopeful that the strong 2008 finish was heralding the birth of solid, top of the conference team, you know, a team that could always be counted on to get into the playoffs.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team has reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup final yet again, and has done so with using basically the same lineup for the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Congratulations! You've made it to the last home game of the year. Is it meaningful? Quite possibly.
As it turns out, this time around we are in a position to actually visit Mr. Post Season for once. There is still a chance that the whole thing will collapse around us as expected, but you can dream.

BAM!G - Guzan, Howard, PerkinsD - Bocanegra, Marshall*/Califf/Gibbs, Castillo, Cherundolo, Conrad, Goodson, Pearce, SpectorM - Bradley, Beckerman*/Cronin, Cameron*/McCarty, Dempsey, Donovan*/Beasley/Bedoya, Feilhaber, Torres, WhiteF - Altidore, Casey, Cunningham, Findley*/CooperThe players marked with an asterisk may or may not be available, depending on MLS leg two results this week.

Three big saves by Rimando in the penalty shootout keeps the Fire out. Ned Grabavoy nails the winning penalty kick after Fabian Espindola misses his chance. The Fire fell victim to a peculiar directional bias that made them test Rimando low on his left as Thorrington, Pause, and Prideaux became predictable.

From all of us at The Yanks Are Coming, we hope you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We're sure Kyle Beckerman is very thankful for Landon Donovan right now. Hell, can you blame him?