So What? Seriously, SO WHAT? What difference does this loss make in the greater scheme of things? None!
This afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts the Spanish National Team put on a soccer clinic, at least for the first half, against the United States National Team.

I have mixed feelings on the eve of the United States' opening match of the 2011 Gold Cup. Everything that I was afraid of happening in the Spain match (except injuries) happened, and now Bob Bradley's team has U.S. fans nervous and somewhat pessimistic the day before they face the 76th ranked country in the world, according to FIFA and Coca-Cola.

In front of an over-capacity crowd at LIVESTRONG Park in Kansas City the United States squeaked by Guadeloupe 1-0 last night behind a wonder goal from Jozy Altidore. That is the good news. The bad news, its hard to get excited about this win and the performance of the Yanks thus far in the tournament.

The US did just enough to win their last group game and advance to the second round of the Gold Cup. This tournament has already fallen short of our expectations for the Americans, but if the team finally can get a couple of solid game performances the US could still get themselves to the final and maybe win.

After watching World Champion Spain dispose of the Americans 4-0, I'm left wondering. I'm left wondering a lot of things. It seems as though the game would have gone about much differently if not for some questionable personnel decisions, but we'll get to that.
This game never needed to happen.

The US national team has a lot to prove this summer. Fans don't feel good about the roster. There are questions in the defense. Disappointing results have become the norm. In fact, you can say it's all been downhill since losing to Mexico in the Gold Cup.
And there's a big tournament coming up soon, which the team pretty much needs to win.

That wasn't exactly "comfortable", but the result was good and getting Altidore a little confidence boost1 might prove huge in the longer term. Blowing the doors off an opponent in the opener might be more sexy2, but there's something to be said for easing into a tournament and building up momentum as you progress.

Tomorrow the US will get a second chance at Panama when the two teams meet in the semi-final of the Gold Cup. In group play Panama earned its first ever win against the Americans while also snapping the US's undefeated streak when competing in the Gold Cup group stage.

Since the 2-1 loss to Panama the US has come back with two straight shutouts and has tightened up its back four by moving captain Bocanegra to center back and bringing in Lichaj at left back.

The United States gets a chance to avenge its most shocking loss in the history of the Gold Cup tonight when it takes on Panama at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Just eleven days removed from the 2-1 defeat the United States are a completely different team, in terms of attitude and tactics. Bob Bradley made excellent adjustments to his squad for the game against Jamaica on Sunday, switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation and inserting both Alejandro Bedoya and Sasha Kljestan in the midfield.

Photo by Sam S. Osman

I felt like I was watching my favorite Premier League side Arsenal Saturday night. The United States built a 2-0 advantage over Mexico in the Gold Cup final before coughing up four goals. It was an epic collapse and now it is time to look at what went wrong for the US.

Some quick Tuesday bullets:

• First, a training video from US Soccer:

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» Why do I have this sneaking suspicion that Brek Shea might get a look at leftback?

» Clarence Goodson rules out for Wednesday with a hammy strain. Could Michael Orozco make the start or will it be Bocanegra and Tim Ream?

Clint Dempsey makes it 2-0 in South Africa two years ago.

Update: The US has the following 18 available for today.

(Confirmed by US Soccer)

G: Tim Howard, Hahnemann
DEF: Lichaj, Ream, Goodson, Onyewu, Cherundolo, Spector
MID: Dempsey, Kljestan, Edu, Bradley, Jones, Rogers, Bedoya
STR: Altidore, Wondolowski, Agudelo

Notable: Landon Donovan ruled out with illness.

USA vs Canada 2011 Score:- USA 1-0 Canada ( Altidore 15′)- Half time score- match is in progress Date:- 6/7/11- 7th June, 2011 @ Fort Field, Detroit, MI CONCACAF Gold Cup ( Copa Oro) 2011- Group C USA starting lineup vs Canada:- Howard, Bocanegra, Goodson, Cherundolo, Ream, Dempsey, Jones, Bradley, Donovan, Altidore, Agudelo Canada starting [.

The embarrassingly do-or-die Gold Cup match with Guadeloupe sees Bob Bradley making a few tweaks:Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra, Lichaj, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey, Donovan, Wondolowski, AltidoreSubs: Hahnemann, Onyewu, Bornstein, Edu, Kljestan, Bedoya, AgudeloI'm not convinced the coach has made the best changes, but by me it seems safe to say they should still win rather handily.

Today's subs bench has a couple of entertaining names not seen there yet in this tourney. It looks like 100% Jamaica will see a 4-2-3-1 at the top of the hour.Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra, Lichaj, Jones, Bradley, Bedoya, Kljestan, Dempsey, AltidoreBench: Hahnemann, Ream, Bornstein, Edu, Adu, Donovan, Agudelo - Greg Seltzer

With the U-17 MNT already having dropped a 2-1 decision to Uzbekistan in their second World Cup group match today, the senior side is now less than an hour away from their Gold Cup final four battle with Panama.Bob Bradley has started the same eleven that worked the lion's share against Jamaica, with Landon Donovan again among the subs:Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra, Lichaj, Bradley,

USA-MEXICO SERIESALL-TIME

• The U.S. has a 15-31-11 all-time record against Mexico in 57 meetings; however, since 2000 the U.S. has a 10-4-2 advantage in the series.
• At home, the U.S. has a 13-7-9 record including a 9-1-2 mark since 2000. The 2009 loss in the Gold Cup final was the first defeat in the last 12 meetings in the U.

United States vs. Mexico Gamethread

United States starting XI: Howard; Cherundolo, Orozco Fiscal, Bocanegra, Castillo; Jones, Beckerman; Donovan, Bradley, Torres; Buddle

United States bench: Hamid, Loyd, Pearce, Clark, Rogers, Shea, Agudelo.

Mexico starting XI: Ochoa; Juárez, Márquez, Moreno, Salcido; Barrera, Torrado, Castro, Guardado; Naelson, Peralta.

US

Check out PSP photographer Daniel Gajdamowicz's pre-game and match photo essays.

Tim Howard said before Wednesday night's friendly between the USA and Mexico, "It's going to take all hands on deck." He wasn't wrong. And after a shaky first half, the defense's confidence grew and the offense started creating real chances in what was, in the end, a great effort from the US against an objectively superior Mexican team.

USA Setup: USA Coach Jurgen Klinnsman set up in a 4-2-3-1 with Michael Bradley as the #10 behind lone striker Edson Buddle. Bradley was not close enough to Buddle, and therefore Edson was isolated up top. He did however hold up the ball well when given the opportunity, it was just that his opportunities were few and far between.

1. With a new coach in place, there's an awful lot of uncertainty about what's to come. I think it's best if we just get the obvious, can't-miss prediction out of the way: Our coach will wear slacks for the first time in nearly five years.

Slacks it was. Klinsmann elected to go with the business-casual, polo-and-slacks combo.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The U.S. men's national team's 1-0 victory against Honduras had its share of bright spots, but also some question marks, making Tuesday's friendly against Ecuador a good chance for some players to redeem themselves, and for some to show their stuff after seeing only limited time on Saturday.

Enter 2011, and exit 2010 and another decent, but somewhat forgettable U.S. World Cup campaign. So far, I am left with many questions and few answers as the U.S. National team looks forward to the Gold Cup beginning in June. Just which USA team is going to show up for the Gold Cup in June? Will it be the team that beat Spain in 2009 at the Confederations Cup (yes, I know that the U.

Our 2nd entry in what is sure be a long-running journal. Here was our first entry in October.

After most camps and friendlies, TSG puts together a piece with the following components for discussion amongst the community.

Could this triumvirate be celebrating goals together in the summer?

Birmingham, UK Rumors have surface that up and coming American defender, Eric Lichaj will be loaned by Aston Villa to a yet-unnamed Polish club. Anonymous team sources said that "Lichaj" was too hard for supporters to pronounce, much less incorporate into song. Such move would likely allow Lichaj more playing time and greater reception by the local supporter base.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The political unrest and dangerous conditions in Egypt led to the cancellation of Wednesday's friendly between the United States and the defending African champions, but that doesn't mean we can't think about what could have been.

We'll never know what lineup Bob Bradley would have gone with against the Egyptians, but we can speculate.

The Soccer Hall of Fame may be trapped in the Phantom Zone, but that doesn't mean there aren't players to enshrine. So, let's look at this year's ballot!
...wait. Can you? You sure can't here. No, this site hasn't worked for a dog's age.
Oh, okay, the Fed has the list.

The U.S. national team's longer-than-planned hiatus is set to come to an end soon, with match-ups against South American powers Argentina and Paraguay looming. Bob Bradley hasn't really had a chance to field a full-strength team since last summer's World Cup, but will now have a chance to see just where his team stands less than three months before the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

Most goals from an American player in a single Premier League season:

TEN
Clint Dempsey (2010/11)
NINE
Brian McBride (2005/06)
Brian McBride (2006/07)
SEVEN
Clint Dempsey (2009/10)
SIX
Roy Wegerle (1993/94)
Joe-Max Moore (1999/00)
Brian McBride (2004/05)
Clint Dempsey (2008/09)
Clint Dempsey (2007/08)
FIVE
Carlos Bocanegra (2006/07)

I'm discouraged by the lack of a proper ideas man in midfield, as you'd probably have guessed.Tonight, we will not see Yelldell, Lichaj, Benny or Mix in uniform. Hopefully, they will get starts against Paraguay.Enjoy the game.Howard; Spector, DeMerit, Onyewu, Bocanegra - Jones, Bradley, Edu - Dempsey, Donovan - AltidoreBench: Hahnemann, Bornstein, Ream, Chandler, Kljestan, Agudelo, BuddleAndujar;

The U.S. men's national team heads into tonight's friendly vs. Paraguay searching for its first win of 2011, but also searching for the right combination of players as the team draws closer and closer to this summer's Gold Cup.

Tonight's friendly (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel) should provide a showcase for some talented youngsters who impressed in Saturday's match against Argentina.

So much going on this morning... I'm trying to get my thoughts together for my Press-Enterprise column so this kind of a rough draft for that...
I was originally going to focus on the Gold Cup but there's a lot to get to so I think I'll have my expanded Gold Cup thoughts right here since I've gotta get them out somewhere and Twitter's 140-character limit isn't quite enough.

The United States begins their quest to take back the Gold Cup Championship tonight with its first group stage game against Canada at Ford Field in Detroit. With the drubbing of Spain very much fresh in the minds of US players and fans the pressure is squarely on Bob Bradley and team to put forth a good performance and take all three points in this game.

3:10 p.m. Well, ok, we're not actually at the Rose Bowl yet. Luis and I decided to be environmental and carpool to the game and at this moment, we're stuck in the traffic leading to the stadium parking lots. People are walking past us at a steady clip, going faster than the molasses pace of the crowded cars.

US Strategy Bob Bradley elected to change his tactics after playing a 4-2-2-2 in the three group matches. Landon Donovan was unavailable to start after arriving late from his sister's wedding. Consequently, Sasha Kljestan and Alejandro Bedoya were brought into the starting XI to replace Donovan and Chris Wondolowski.

Bob Bradley is gone from the US national team, and with his ouster and impending replacement, the national team figures to undergo change. Certainly this team will be different now that Bradley is gone, with some new faces coming in and some old faces gone.
Who stands to gain from the move?

After his release from West Ham at the end of last season, several followers of the future of the USMNT wondered what was happening. Gooch was in limbo at Milan (although later made his way to Porto), Bocanegra was on his last legs, and most of the rest of the back line for the US was playing in MLS where hacking seems to take precedence over finesse.

Huge match for the US Men's National Team tonight... well actually not really. If anything it's really just a big game for our national team's new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann who signed on with the club a little more than two weeks ago. Fans will be expecting results, changes, and a long term vision for future successes, the latter of which being something that many complained Bradley lacked.

1. With a new coach in place, there's an awful lot of uncertainty about what's to come. I think it's best if we just get the obvious, can't-miss prediction out of the way: Our coach will wear slacks for the first time in nearly five years.

2. Most pundits are expecting a Bradley-type lineup today, since it's Klinsmann's first game and he'll be feeling things out.

Glasgow Rangers has grabbed the unofficial title of Team America on Wednesday after making U.S. national team captain the second American to sign with the Scottish club champions on Wednesday.

Bocanegra joins Rangers via transfer from St. Etientte, and could be in action as soon as Thursday.