The U.S. men's national team's European friendlies are fast approaching and we will soon learn which new faces head coach Bob Bradley will be taking a look at.

Why should we expect to see some new faces? The long term losses of Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu, coupled with the absence of Jay DeMerit, has left serious voids in the squad.

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The U.S. men's national team's European friendlies are fast approaching and we will soon learn which new faces head coach Bob Bradley will be taking a look at.

Why should we expect to see some new faces? The long term losses of Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu, coupled with the absence of Jay DeMerit, has left serious voids in the squad.

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These USA vs Italy matches have gotten to be quite something. The U- 17 World Cup match today was no exception. A missed penalty made the difference.

The USA had their chances including a penalty awarded for a handball on Federico Mannini in the 17th minute. But Jack McInerney saw his penalty kick saved by replacement goalie Francesco Bardi.

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Will we see more of Conor Casey with the US National Team? (Getty Images)

Good evening folks, I hope everyone is having a good day. Now that we are in the evening it is time once again for some links and thoughts. I only have two items tonight and really only one link.

My first thought of the night centers around the US Men's National team and their upcoming friendlies this month in Europe.

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Carlos Alberto Parreira

The recent re-appointment of Carlos Alberto Parreira as coach of South Africa, replacing fellow Brazilian Joel Santana who had been hired on Parreira's recommendation, ignited that perennial question: is a national team, particularly one on the periphery of world football, better served by a local or an outsider?

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____________________________Photo by ISIphotos.com

The time is now for Kenny Cooper if he wants to get Bob Bradley's attention for 2010. With two friendlies on the horizon in November, steady play from the tall forward would likely earn up at least a spot when the rosters are announced next month.

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____________________________Photo by ISIphotos.com

The time is now for Kenny Cooper if he wants to get Bob Bradley's attention for 2010. With two friendlies on the horizon in November, steady play from the tall forward would likely earn up at least a spot when the rosters are announced next month.

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Through the Chicago Fire's first decade, the MLS team was led on the field by one of two men, former Poland National Team Captain Piotr Nowak through the team's first five seasons and former United States National Team Captain Chris Armas through its second five. Piotr was on hand last Thursday night, along with fellow Ring of Fire members Frank Klopas, Bob Bradley and me, to welcome Chris into the team's hall of fame.

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We are less than a month away from a pair of U.S. men's national team friendlies against fellow World Cup participants Slovakia and Denmark and it is growing increasingly difficult to project just who will be playing in central defense for the United States when those matches take place.

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We are less than a month away from a pair of U.S. men's national team friendlies against fellow World Cup participants Slovakia and Denmark and it is growing increasingly difficult to project just who will be playing in central defense for the United States when those matches take place.

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First things first, the US MNT has added another friendly to the November schedule by announcing their stop in Slovakia four days before playing Denmark, which will make for a good pair of measuring stick matches against a couple of fellow World Cup qualifiers on European soil. Both Slavakia and Denmark finished atop their UEFA qualifying groups, so these matches should provide a good show of where we stand against quality competition several months removed from the Confederations Cup.

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A frenetic final MLS weekend is in the books and on Sunday we learned that Chivas USA and the Galaxy will face each other for the first time ever in the playoffs.

Here's the complete playoff schedule as announced by MLS today:

Eastern Conference semifinals game #1
(1) Columbus Crew at (4) Real Salt Lake, 3 p.

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Sure, Tom Soehn isn't technically gone yet. But we all know he's doomed. That's why it's time to start speculating on his replacement. Here's my latest odds.
Richie Williams, current Red Bull interim coach – Now that virtually everyone I have spoken to, both close and distant, say that Red Bull clearly wants a name head coach going into its first season at Red Bull Park. Click to continue reading...

Well, USMNT coach Bob Bradley is now 2-for-2 in World Cup tune-up friendly foes after setting up a November 14th match at fellow South Africa travelers Slovakia.As you can see, this side - led by Napoli ace Marek Hamšík - is no joke.- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

The United States will play Slovakia on November 14th in Bratislava, the US Soccer Federation announced on Monday. Details for the game will be released at a later date. "We are very pleased about the opportunity to face another quality opponent on European soil," US coach Bob Bradley said. "Slovakia finished on top of a very competitive group in UEFA qualifying, and has demonstrated their capabilities throughout the process. Click to continue reading...

USA defender Oguchi Onyewu had surgery this week to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee, that he injured in the recent World Cup qualifying game against Costa Rica.

After the game the U.S. Soccer Federation estimated that his recovery at three to four months, but the federation issued a new estimate of six months on Thursday after his operation.

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Last night, the Chicago Fire made their latest induction into the club's Ring of Fire, which acknowledges heroes of the team's history. Added last night was Chris Armas, joining Bob Bradley, Piotr Nowak, Lubos Kubik, Frank Klopas and Pitch Invasion's own Peter Wilt in the Ring. Despite the pouring rain all night, Fire supporters, including myself, stayed in the stands to recognise Chris at an excellent half-time ceremony, midway through a critical game that eventually saw the Fire reach the MLS playoffs after a 1-0 win over Chivas USA.

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The task is a simple one for the Chicago Fire, but the simplicity doesn't make it any less difficult. The Fire need a win or tie tonight against Chivas USA in order to secure a playoff berth as well as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Chivas USA isn't about to make it easy though, not when a win tonight at Toyota Park (8pm, ESPN2) will move the Goats one step closer to the No.

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Oguchi Onyewu's knee injury could leave his World Cup status in jeopardy for next summer. Onyewu, who suffered the injury in the dying minutes of the U.S.'s 2-2 tie against Costa Rica last week, went under the knife this week after tearing a tendon in his knee.

The surgery, completed by U.

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Oguchi Onyewu's knee injury could leave his World Cup status in jeopardy for next summer. Onyewu, who suffered the injury in the dying minutes of the U.S.'s 2-2 tie against Costa Rica last week, went under the knife this week after tearing a tendon in his knee.

The surgery, completed by U.

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With World Cup qualification confirmed, U.S. coach Bob Bradley continues to evaluate players. ESPNsoccernet projects whom we think Bradley will choose as his 23-man U.S. roster for the 2010 World Cup.
Still in the mix...
Players are ranked from top to bottom in terms of how certain a lock they appear to be for the roster and their current perceived pecking order. Click to continue reading...

It was a bittersweet end to the hexagonal for most US fans after a victory over Honduras sent Bob Bradley's men to South Africa. Click to continue reading...

Those of you who never stop by for curry takeaway on the way home from work will be relieved to learn that Bob Houghton, famously bad original one-year-and-fired coach of the Colorado Rapids (and charter member of the soccer Good Old Boys network in the US) is advising his players in India, where he's the national team coach, to STOP PURSUING CAREERS IN MLS because it's just not good for their development. Click to continue reading...

FIFA has finally gotten around to approving German-American (or should that be American-German?) Jermaine Jones' switch to the US National Team. Jones, a member of FC Schalke in Germany's top...

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As some of you might have noticed (at least those of you who follow me on Twitter) might of noticed yesterday, I lost my temper about 'ol Golden Balls...just a wee bit. I'm not apologizing for my 140 character or less rant, but I suppose it's a reasonable to provide some some clarification as to my state of mind. Click to continue reading...

Has any week in the modern history of American soccer contained the kinds of highs and lows that we witnessed last week? It's taken me all the way until now to be able to sit and really think about what happened starting with the win over Honduras and ending Wednesday night at RFK.
Let's start with the win over Honduras. Click to continue reading...

Jason and Zach discuss the USMNT's emotional draw with Costa Rica, bring in Shane Evans of Goal.com to cover the mood of the team and evironment at RFK, talk about the American injury concerns, and...

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                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good afternoon all. As promised, here is the first installment of Your Octobers Questions Answered.

There are several quality questions in the overall batch this month, with the U.

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                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good afternoon all. As promised, here is the first installment of Your Octobers Questions Answered.

There are several quality questions in the overall batch this month, with the U.

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Will Wolffie get another look from Bob Bradley now that Charlie Davies is injured?
Grahame Jones of the LA Times blogged a couple of days ago about the loss of Charlie Davies for Bob Bradley's National Team setup. One of the names he throws out there? Our own Josh Wolff, veteran of the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. Click to continue reading...

US MNT Player Power Rankings (10/15/09): The US Men's Soccer Team has qualified for the 2010 World Cup, which kicks off a mere 8 months from now. Now that we're in, the big question is who will represent the Red, White, & Blue at the world's biggest sports spectacle.

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Reports in the French press have shed more light on Charlie Davies' accident earlier in the week and provided some encouraging news on the 22-year old's situation. Davies has most recently showed signs of improvement, says a Foot 01 report dated 3:13pm East Coast time on Thursday. The report quotes a Radio Monte Carlo interview with Pierre Barrieu, the French fitness coach of the U.

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The U.S. National Men's Team dominated Cuba at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., winning the CONCACAF group qualifying match by a 6-1 score to clinch a spot in the Hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying. DaMarcus Beasley got a brace for the Yanks, who won for the fourth time in as many games.

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There's still not a lot of new information coming in on the accident that Charlie Davies was involved with early Tuesday morning. There is still no word on who the driver is or their condition.

Steven Goff was reporting this morning that US coach Bob Bradley visited Charlie on Wednesday morning and that he was responding to doctors but was still heavily sedated.

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There's not a lot of new information coming in on the accident that Charlie Davies was involved with early Tuesday morning and still no word on who the driver is or their condition.

Steven Goff was reporting this morning that US coach Bob Bradley visited Charlie on Wednesday morning and that he was responding to doctors but was still heavily sedated.

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