We're not playing Barbados anymore, I don't think Guatemala has to put up ads looking for players on their federation website.
The semifinal round of CONCACAF qualifying begins tonight, with the US playing probably its most difficult game of the round first. Guatemala should advance with the US into the Hex, and this game will be a chance to gauge where both teams stand.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Now that the really hard work has been done, it is time for the U.S. men's national team to finish off its World Cup qualifying group.

The Americans can essentially do just that on Wednesday when it takes on Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota Park on Wednesday.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team is set for a historic trip to Cuba this weekend when it travels to Havana for a World Cup qualifier against the Cubans.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The first group stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying is set to kick off on Wednesday with the U.S. national team in Guatemala City to take on Guatemala. The Americans will be favored but can't expect an easy game, especially considering they have never won a qualifier in Guatemala before.

A win is a win, right? The US went into the Guatemalan cauldron, never the most happy of hunting grounds for US Soccer, and emerged with an important 1-0 victory courtesy of Bocanegra's noggin. Time to break out the bubbly and wave the flag . . . or is it? Cue the talking points . . . ! * The second note that appears in the text file I was using to keep track of my thoughts on the game is, "

Stade Rennais Football Club is a French Ligue 1 football club from the city of Rennes. They feature former French international Sylvain Wiltord, United States defender Carlos Bocanegra and Ghanian legend Asamoah Gyan. Rennais are currently in 8th place in Ligue 1. Their 2008/09 Puma home kit features an embroidered Rennais club crest, screened sponsor design, as [.

I didn't get to see enough of the USA/Poland match to write a full match report, but I just wanted to come on here to quickly point out how great our defense looked against a quality European team. It wasn't enough for Bocanegra and Onyewu to just shut down every one of Poland's attacks, they also felt the need to each score a goal too!

What do you think Lalas has in store for us this time?

Will Ruud have any say?

Will Vagenas finally be traded?  (I say no, he has legacy just like Cobi did, but we'll see.)

Will we hang onto the young guys who are becoming good mid-level players?

Will Xavier go?

Is there any chance, any chance at all, of signing Bocanegra?

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Now that the really hard work has been done, it is time for the U.S. men's national team to finish off its World Cup qualifying group.

The Americans can essentially do just that on Wednesday when it takes on Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota Park on Wednesday.

Six points in the bag and little doubt the US will advance to the hexagonal. However the truth be told I think the United States finishes third in the hexagonal on current form and must improve its linkup play and general possession play in the final four matches of this qualifying stage. With this in mind this is the lineup I would like to see tomorrow assuming the bucket is being used by Bradley again.

US Coach Bob Bradley has taken most of the players from his recent three-match run against world powers to take on lowly Barbados on Sunday at the Home Depot Center (5p ET, ESPN2). The roster...

G: Cervi, Guzan, Howard
D: Bocanegra, Califf, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Hejduk, Oneywu, Pearce
M: Adu, Beasley, Bradley, Edu, Klejstan, Lewis, Mastroeni
F: Ching, Dempsey, Donovan, Johnson

My probables to take on the 121st-ranked Barbadans.

The long march begins again for the US MNT, which kicks off the semifinal round of World Cup Qualifying with a match at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City tonight at 10p ET (ESPN2) against the host country's chapines.
The Yanks are 10-4-5 all-time vs. Guatemala in a series that began in 1977 with four straight losses to the Central American nation.

World Cup qualifying action begins anew, folks.
------------------------Howard-------------------------
Cherundolo---------Onyewu------Bocanegra ------Pearce
-----------------Bradley--------Mastroeni------------------
----Donovan--------------------------------Lewis-----------
--------------Dempsey------------Ching---------------------
LD is interviewed talking about how qualifying isn't easy.

Kickoff is inside half an hour, here's the U.S. line-up: Howard; Hejduk, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Pearce, Bradley, Edu, Dempsey, Beasley, Donovan, Ching Subs: Guzan, Califf, Wynne, Clark, Kljestan, Lewis, Johnson I highly doubt this will be a good night for the hosts. The Americans have something to prove and Cuba aren't nearly as cultured as Guatemala.

With a meaningless final match set for tomorrow night, let's move onto more important matters and begin our discussion of the problem areas and what the potential solutions might be for the U23 national team in the Olympics. Of course as you know, each team is allowed to bring three senior players to add to the mix.

Carlos Bocanegra has found a new home.  The 29-year-old defender has completed a move from Fulham to Ligue 1 club Rennes on a free transfer.  The contract will keep him at the club for three years. The out-of-favor former captain did not fit into Roy Hodgson's future plans and was allowed to leave Fulham after his [.

Carlos moves to France.
Rennes is in Brittany (my favorite region, of the ones I've visited, in France). Partly due to proximity to England, perhaps, quite a few people there speak English. They also consume a lot of delicious crepes, both sweet and savory. Good stuff. If Carlos sticks around long enough, he can learn French and use it, perhaps even during games, with Oguchi Onyewu, who speaks the language well due to his years playing in Belgium.

Someone is working on a U.S. Soccer project (it's not the federation, it's a scholarly venture), focusing on the men's team and sent me a list of questions, wanting my perspective. I know what I think, and usually people don't have to ask twice for my opinion, but I'm well aware that there's a world of different thoughts out there.

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QPR Official Site -TEAM NEWS - QPR v AC CHIEVO VERONA
QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Delaney, Mahon, Hall, Gorkss, Agyemang, Leigertwood, Blackstock, Balanta, Ledesma. -Subs: Bolder, Camp, Alberti, Ainsworth, Di Carmine, Stewart, Rose.
AC Chievo Verona: Squizzi, Mantovani, Mandelli, Malago, Maroclini, Bentivoglio, De Oliveira, Iunco, Rickler, Bogdani, Italiano.

It was not pretty. It was not entertaining. It was a little nerve wracking. But it was one goal and a win for the USA in Cuba. 6 points from 2 games on the road is a good thing. But please, let's get the motor running. OK? Is that too much to ask?
~and~
Adam Spangler of This is American Soccer delivers Part 1 of a 5 part indepth story/interview with Clint Dempsey.

If you're watching the US' world cup qualifier tonight, this is the place for discussion.  You'll find the lineup after the jump, and any thoughts on it are welcome.   Howard Cherundolo Onyewu Bocanegra(c) Pearce Kljestan -Bradley -Dempsey Donovan Beasley Ching - What do you think?

It's been a busy week for the Wizards, so this weekend provided a bit of a respite before this week's game against Columbus. The friendly against Atlas AC was a 2-1 to the Wizards, although because of the nature of the game the result wasn't important - it was a chance for a partner club to get a preseason run out, plus a match for reserves to play in.

Here's a link to an interesting survey on the Sideline Views Blog. I would encourage all who are interested to respond and please post your responses here to and maybe we can get some dialogue going. My answers are listed below.
# Is U.S. Soccer on the right track in attracting potential fans?

In honor of Brian's return to MLS, here is a moment of inspiration courtesy of Brian McBride. Its a great goal that he scores for Fulham on a pass from Carlos Bocanegra.

The line-up card is in, kickoff coming soon... Howard; Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Pearce, Kljestan, Bradley, Dempsey, Beasley, Donovan, Ching - Greg Seltzer