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The final match of the year is set to kick off today for the U.S. men's national team as the Americans take on Denmark (2:30pm, ESPN Classic/Galavision/ESPN2 after Ukraine-Greece) on the last international matchday of the year.

The United States will be playing its 24th match of the year and this match is an important one as head coach Bob Bradley looks to learn more about the depth of his squad.

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The final match of the year is set to kick off today for the U.S. men's national team as the Americans take on Denmark (2:30pm, ESPN Classic/Galavision/ESPN2 after Ukraine-Greece) on the last international matchday of the year.

The United States will be playing its 24th match of the year and this match is an important one as head coach Bob Bradley looks to learn more about the depth of his squad.

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Until espn2 picks up the game, I'm relying on a sometimes reliable Danish stream, so let's hope we have no problems.As always, you can also follow along at the U.S. Soccer Matchtracker.The USMNT line-up:Guzan; Hejduk, Spector, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Holden, Bradley, Clark, Feilhaber, Altidore, CunninghamBack near kickoff. Click to continue reading...

A Slovakian team that was (apparently)Â good in European qualifying, but not well ranked by FIFA, Â played a defensive, counter-attacking game against the USA in a partially filled stadium, on a pretty ugly field and won 1-0 on a weak penalty call. Â Â Not what you call must-see-TV, so it is probably good that not many people saw it.

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The U.S. national team returns to action for the first time since qualifying for the 2010 World Cup today when it takes on Slovakia in a friendly in Bratislava (10am, FSC).

The Americans are without Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, as well as the injured Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, but there are still plenty of starters who will have chances to show they can play without the team's top players.

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The U.S. national team returns to action for the first time since qualifying for the 2010 World Cup today when it takes on Slovakia in a friendly in Bratislava (10am, FSC).

The Americans are without Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, as well as the injured Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, but there are still plenty of starters who will have chances to show they can play without the team's top players.

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The U.S. men's national team takes on Slovakia on Saturday and the match is one of the last remaining opportunities this year for head coach Bob Bradley to take a look at different players and positional pairings before the end of the year.

With standouts Landon Donovan and Tim Howard not called in, and with key injuries to Oguchi Onyewu and Jay Demerit, the squad Bradley will turn to to face the Slovakians will be a much different-looking group than the ones that helped the team qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

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The Sin: Envy has always been associated with the color green, probably in a large part thanks to the Bard's classic Othello. In that play, the jealousy that accompanies envy is referred to as "the green-eyed monster". Proverbs 23:17 also warns against it, stating that one should "Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord.

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The USA plays 2 international friendly matches in the next 10 days.
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Nov 14
Slovakia v USA
-Wed Nov 18
Denmark v USA
Here is the roster:
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton
Troy Perkins - Valerenga
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes
Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Jimmy Conrad - Kansas City Wizards
Clarence Goodson - Start
Frankie Hejduk - Columbus Crew
Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew
Heath Pearce - FC Dallas
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus
Sacha Kljestan - Chivas USA
Dax McCarty - FC Dallas
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
F:
Jozy Altidore - Hull City
Conor Casey - Colorado Rapids
Jeff Cunningham - FC Dallas
Eddie Johnson - Fulham
So much for Edgar Castillo's call up. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

The U.S. men's national team is set to close out its World Cup qualifying campaign tonight against Costa Rica (8pm, ESPN2/Galavision). The Americans have already qualified, but Costa Rica needs a win tonight to ensure a berth in the 2010 World Cup.

Tonight's match is being played under a bit of a somber cloud as the U.

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No LIVE tonight, but we have a preview look from ESPN and I'll be back in about 30 with the line-ups (as well as the usual wrap bits after).UPDATE:Howard; Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Feilhaber, Bradley, Holden, Donovan, Altidore, CaseyBench: Guzan, Conrad, Torres, Rogers, Cooper, Spector, Clark- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

First off, Ryan B. is departing The Spoiler. He's been doing some great work for a while and I wish him the best.
Now the best of the rest:

• Grant Wahl was robbed in Honduras. WTF. [SI]
  
• New Armani underwear model: Ronaldo. [TOW]
  
• Arsenal needs trophies ASAP.

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DEDICATION
Today's episode is dedicated to the Edgar & Eric, the Jomfru brothers.
STARTERS
Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts is teaming up with Rush Limbaugh to bid for the St Louis Rams of the NFL.
TEAM USA
Frankie Hejduk, left fullback Columbus Crew, has been added to the roster. Click to continue reading...

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                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

With Clint Dempsey sidelined for Saturday's World Cup qualifier at Honduras due to a shoulder injury, U.S. head coach Bob Bradley will have to select a replacement for Dempsey from a handful of good candidates.

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                                                         Photo by ISIphotos.com

With Clint Dempsey sidelined for Saturday's World Cup qualifier at Honduras due to a shoulder injury, U.S. head coach Bob Bradley will have to select a replacement for Dempsey from a handful of good candidates.

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Here is our USA Roster for the final two CONCACAF World Cup qualifying games, to be played Oct 10 at Honduras, and Oct 14 v Costa Rica in Washington DC.
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Stade Rennes
Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Jimmy Conrad - Kansas City Wizards
Clarence Goodson -Start
Oguchi Onyewu - AC Milan
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus
Stuart Holden - Houston Dynamo
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca
F:
Jozy Altidore - Hull
Conor Casey - Colorado Rapids
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich
Charlie Davies - Sochaux
Two comments:
-Are you surprised to see Jimmy Conrad back on the team? Click to continue reading...

It's hard to feel bad about winning three points on the road in CONCACAF, since that seems to be a rarity nowadays.  Yet, it's hard to feel totally good about this result either. Â

It is another perfect example of the half-full, half-empty conundrum. Â

I said after the El Salvador game that this match would tell us a lot about the team .

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The U.S. makes two changes from Saturday, bringing in Ricardo Clark and Oguchi Onyewu.Howard; Spector, Onyewu, Bocanegra (c), Bornstein; Dempsey, Clark, Bradley, Donovan; Davies, AltidoreBench - Guzan, Marshall, Torres, Ching, Cherundolo, Feilhaber, Holden--- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

"Candidly, if we can't beat El Salvador at home, we don't deserve to go to the World Cup." - Landon, more or less, I'm working from memory
YAY! We deserve to go to the World Cup! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!
I had the perfect title in case of a loss - "SLC Punked." Or did I use that last year for the Red Bulls playoff game? Click to continue reading...

I think I must have made by point now: The US needs more ball possession and to slow the game down.

Attack: When healthy, the Charlie Davis and Jozy Altidore combination should not be tampered with. Davis has blistering speed, good foot skills, loves cutting from left to center and is a perfect foil for Donovan's timed releases.

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What will the song be? Here are your USMNT performers:Howard; Spector, Marshall, Bocanegra (c), Bornstein; Dempsey, Feilhaber, Bradley, Donovan; Altidore, DaviesAll the post-game material arrives here later. Enjoy the game!- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

The U.S. men's national team is in must-win mode tonight as it faces El Salvador in World Cup qualifying in Sandy, Utah (8pm, ESPN Classic).

The Americans currently sit in third place in CONCACAF qualifying, but a win tonight would go a long way toward helping the USA qualify.

I will be providing commentary throughout the evening so please feel free to follow along here.

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                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team is a day away from its crucial World Cup qualifier vs. El Salvador in Sandy, Utah, and a game that seemed so simple a few months ago is growing increasingly complicated.

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Here is the USA 24 player training roster for the 2 World Cup qualifying games against El Salvador at home on Sat Sep 5 and away to Trinidad & Tobago on Wed Sep 9.
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes
Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Jay DeMerit - Watford
Clarence Goodson - Start
Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew
Oguchi Onyewu - Milan
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Benny Feilhaber - Aarhus
Stuart Holden - Houston Dynamo
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca
F:
Jozy Altidore - Hull
Conor Casey - Colorado Rapids
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Charlie Davies - Sochaux
Robbie Findley - Real Salt Lake
Any surprises here? Click to continue reading...

MAN OF THE MATCH: This was clearly a two-horse race. While Charlie Davies did score the USA's lone goal, he failed to put away his golden opportunity to get the go-ahead in the second half. Overall, a good performance, but we had to give the nod to Oguchi Onyewu.

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Plenty enough has been said elsewhere on the internet about the US Men's National Team's disappointing performance at Azteca earlier this week. Probably not enough has been made in the national media of the vomit-filled cups that were hurled (pun intended) at Landon Donovan while he was taking corner kicks.

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USSF hosted a teleconference from Miami this afternoon with US Coach Bob Bradley and first choice keeper Tim Howard.
Listen HERE
The team trained this morning in Miami and will do so again tomorrow, after which they will depart for Mexico City.
There will be no team training in Mexico prior to the match. Click to continue reading...

US Soccer released the roster for the August 12 "Attack the Azteca" game today, and THERE ARE NO SHOCKS but a couple of mild surprises.
GK: Guzan, Howard
DEFENSE: Spector, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Marshall, Bornstein, Cherundolo and DeMerit
MIDFIELD: Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Feilhaber, Holden and Torres
FORWARD: Altidore, Casey, Ching, Davies and Donovan
Looks like DaMarcus Beasley has finally played himself out of the program. Click to continue reading...

Here is the 20 player training roster for the USA, to be cut down to 18 on game day:
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Stade Rennes
Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
Steve Cherundolo – Hannover 96
Jay DeMerit - Watford
Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew
Oguchi Onyewu – AC Milan
Jonathan Spector - West Ham United
M:
Michael Bradley – Borussia Monchengladbach
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus
Stuart Holden - Houston Dynamo
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca
F:
Jozy Altidore - Hull City
Conor Casey - Colorado Rapids
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Charlie Davies - Sochaux
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
For me the surprises on this roster are Chad Marshall, Stuart Holden & Conor Casey. Click to continue reading...

GK- Howard
LB- Bocanegra
CB- Onyewu, DeMerit
RB- Spector
LM- Donovan
CM- Bradley, Clark
RM- Dempsey
F- Altidore, Ching
For the whole roster, get it here.
My thoughts...

• I think the above lineup is your safest bet for this away match.

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Turns out a highlight video online helped this guy get signed by Borussia Dortmund.
How awesome is that?
Now for some less-exciting links:

• Jermain Defoe arrested on police error. [Guardian]
  
• Bayern Munich defends Ribery after Franz blast. [AFP]
  
• Schweinsteiger and the drinking contest.

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Today MLS Rumors put it up its much hyped "investigation" into to US Soccer. To call it laughable is an insult to humor. To call it stupid is an insult to stupid people. To even give this much attention is probably a mistake on my part, but I simply cannot let it go by. This is one of the single-most offensive, stupid pieces I've ever seen written on American soccer and additionally it includes outright racist sentiments. Click to continue reading...

In an earlier post, I wondered why Bob Bradley had named seven arguable A-teamers to the Gold Cup roster when he (a) knew he would be losing 3-4 starters during the course of the Gold Cup and (b) had no intention of using them in the tournament. In that post, I argued that Bob Bradley might be one of the worst planners ever.

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Welcome to the latest installment of Your Questions Answered, where I field questions, take weeks to answer them, and then crank out some intriguing responses to get you talking and thinking that I'm either a soccer genius, or an idiot.

Yes, it once again took me a month to get to the Q&A, but given how busy the last month has been for the national team you might understand my issue.

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