The United States dropped three places to 14th in the latest FIFA Rankings. FIFA once again extended the rankings period, this time to include the playoffs for the final six World Cup slots. The United States played twice during the rankings period, losing to Slovakia and Denmark. Mexico moved up three places to 16th. Click to continue reading...

By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Nov 19, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- As someone watching a soccer game from the perspective of "analyst," it would be nice to always come up with spellbinding ideas of what worked and what didn't. We'd all like to have our own unique take on what just happened, why and why not, and all that. Click to continue reading...

The United States played two tough European opponents and were defeated in both matches. But we certainly learned something from both games, and thus this European Adventure has been useful for Bob Bradley.

• The US has its style: tactically Bob Bradley is modeling his team after what Carlo Ancelotti did at AC Milan.

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Yesterday ended the long and difficult road that is World Cup qualifying. The 32-team field is set and while we won't know until next month what the groups are it does present a good time to discuss each team and how they got there.

(Note: I hope this is a start of many more World Cup posts going into next year.

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Denmark notched three unanswered second half goals to come back from 0-1 down against the United States in Aarhus yesterday. Â FC Dallas stirker Jeff Cunningham had given the Yanks the a surprise lead in the 26th following a Danish defensive error. The match also saw the United States debut of former Mexican international Edgar Castillo. Click to continue reading...

Alas, poor Hejduk! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite step-overs, of most abysmal crossing. He hath lunged in like a hack a thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Quite literally, actually. So... Click to continue reading...

1. Halftime: Again the United States gives up a goal shortly after the half, this time to a team that had just made three substitutions. Keeping shape early in the second-half continues to be an issue, with the US getting caught panic defending. Someone should have been marking Johan Absalonsen, who had way too much time to make his turn in the US box. Click to continue reading...

The United States got a first-half goal that stood into halftime, but couldn't hold up over the second 45, losing 3-1 to Denmark on Wednesday in Aarhus. Jeff Cunningham scored from the top of the arc in the 26th-minute for the opener. For Denmark, the story of the game was making three changes to start the second-half, Johan Absalonsen got too much space in the US box and scored a 47th-minute equalizer - 70 seconds. Click to continue reading...

2 - Jonathan Spector 3 - Carlos Bocanegra 4 - Michael Bradley 5 - Benny Feilhaber 7 - Stuart Holden 12 - Jonathan Bornstein 13 - Ricardo Clark 15 - Jimmy Conrad 17 - Jozy Altidore 18 - Brad Guzan 19 - Robbie Rogers 22 - Frankie Hejduk 25 - Clarence Goodson 28 - Dax McCarty 32 - Jeff Cunningham 33 - Edgar Castillo 35 - Marcus Hahnemann 36 - Eddie Johnson Click to continue reading...

This is a leak of the USA Nike World Cup 2010 home kit that has made its way to the internet. If real, the new U.S. National Team jersey features a diagonal stripe may be inspired by that worn by the 1950 World Cup team that famously upset a heavily favored England 1-0 in Brazil. [...] Click to continue reading...

It's a tough situation Bob Bradley finds himself in. With very few friendly dates left before South Africa to test our best against quality opposition, today's game against Denmark appears to be a dud. The US is without its two most recognizable field players, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, while the Danes basically have a "B" side at their disposal which excludes such recognizable names as Daniel Agger and Niklas Bendtner.

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1. Another Revamp: A lot is being asked of the squad in camp, needing a quick reshuffle and integration of players from Slovakia to Denmark. Clint Dempsey and Steve Cherundolo started against Slovakia but won't be available against Denmark. Cherundolo's absence in particular means reshuffling the defense. Click to continue reading...

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Nov 17, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- The United States continues the European tour this week, playing Denmark on Wednesday in another test against a mid-tier team headed to next year's World Cup. The US will be looking to reverse Saturday's 1-0 loss to Slovakia. Denmark may actually be an easier opponent than Slovakia, even though they're six places higher in the FIFA Rankings. Click to continue reading...

Nothing like a possible leaked kit that we've all been waiting to see. Avoiding The Drop posted these two photos below earlier in what looks like could be the US Men's National team's World Cup kits for next year.

What do you think of these two kits? I will admit I love seeing a red kit here.

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The United States Men's National Team will close out an impressive 2009 schedule when they face fellow 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Denmark on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Aarhus, Denmark. Kickoff at NRGi Park is set for 8:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. CT), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic at 1:25 p.

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Every fan of the US team has been hoping that the stars could align, the flipped coin could land on its edge and that somehow the US could be seeded in the World Cup draw. Being among those top eight seeds would make a huge difference and the path to the final 16 would be much easier.

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Bob Bradley added four players over the weekend to his roster for the upcoming friendly in Denmark. Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, and Edgar Castillo.

José Francisco Torres was initially called into the camp for Denmark and has since been excused for personal reasons.

Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey and Chad Marshall have been released back to their clubs after the USA's 1-0 loss to Slovakia on Nov.

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• The Galaxy's win over the Dynamo was dramatic but in many ways tainted. A strange call when against Houston, and the rolling power outages that swept Southern California seemed to unfortunately coincide with upsurges in Houston play.
• Chicago vs Real Salt Lake was a better match than the Galaxy-Houston game.

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Sorry for the delay and the abbreviated nature of this post. I've been on the road all weekend, and I'll put something together after the Denmark match that will address what we learned from the two matches. Until then, just a few quick hits about... Click to continue reading...

United States National Team coach Bob Bradley has announced changes to the US roster that will face Denmark on Wednesday. Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, and Chad Marshall have left camp. Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Edgar Castillo, and Jose Francisco Torres have been added to the roster. Click to continue reading...

To be honest this game was kind of a dud for the US. Slovakia got a PK and then packed things in for the rest of the game. You could say the US also didn't help matters out for themselves as they couldn't generate solid offense and when they did have changes, well they just didn't do enough with them.

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Marek Hamsik's penalty kick in the 26th minute was enough for surprise World Cup qualifiers Slovakia to earn a home win against a weakened United States team in an international friendly earlier today. The penalty followed U.S. defender Jonathan Bornstein's push on Vladimir Weiss in the box. Check out our Videos section for game highlights and [. 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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I'll have much more later but today the US showed that we have a lot of depth on the backline, but that the loss of Charlie Davies up front could be a fatal blow to our chances to advance deep in next summer's World Cup.

Brad Guzan made some big saves, and Slovakia looked disinterested at times in the game after coming through a very strong UEFA qualifying group.

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1. Making Possession Count: Slovakia had limited opportunities and never really threatened the United States goal from the run of play in the first-half and early in the second. On the other end, too many of the US chances ended up directly at the keeper. Whether it was from distance or on the run with time in the box, the shot selection wasn't causing enough problems for Slovakia keeper Jan Mucha. Click to continue reading...

The United States had a hard time getting their attack in sync on Saturday in Slovakia, losing 1-0. Though the US dominated possession, they couldn't turn that into goals. Slovakia took full advantage of their best chance of the game, a 26th-minute penalty when Vladimir Weiss was taken down in the box. Click to continue reading...

1. Guzan In Goal: Brad Guzan is coming off a superb performance in the League Cup for Aston Villa. On October 27th against Sunderland, Guzan stopped a penalty in regulation and then stopped three more in the shootout. Though hopefully he won't need to save any penalties on Saturday, he could use that big moment where he is the difference. Click to continue reading...

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Nov 12, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- The United States National Team traveled to Bratislava this week to play World Cup-bound Slovakia on Saturday in a high-profile friendly meant to help Bob Bradley's squad build experience ahead of 2010. The game will also be the first test since the Confederations Cup in June that doesn't involve a CONCACAF opponent, giving Bradley a real taste of what the World Cup in. Click to continue reading...

The friendly between the US Men's National Team and Slovakia, being played in Bratislava, Slovakia will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision beginning at 9:00 am.

After earning a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men's National Team sets its sights on raising the bar for the World Cup in South Africa, which is now a mere seven months away.

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2009, has been a very complicated year for US National Team supporters. We've had the high of our first ever FIFA final combined with the low of a 5-0 loss to arch rival Mexico. We beat World Cup qualifier Honduras four times this year and gave Spain its only loss of the last three years.

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The Washington Hospital Center issued a press statement on Tuesday announcing that United States National Team forward Charlie Davies has been released from the hospital. Davies has been recuperating at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. "I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has dealt with me in the Hospital Center and NRH for really putting in the time to help me get better as a person and as an athlete," Davies said. Click to continue reading...

United States National Team assistant and director of the National Team's youth setup John Hackorth has left the program to join fellow former National Team assistant Peter Nowak's staff at Philadelphia Union. Nowak left the National Team at the end of May to become the expansion team's head coach. "The reason I made the move here and now is simple. Click to continue reading...

The National Soccer Hall of Fame released the Player Ballot for the Class of 2010. Chris Henderson, Eduardo Hurtado, and John O'Brien appear on the ballot for the first time. A player needs 66.7% of votes casts to be elected on the first ballot. If no player meets that threshold, the five highest vote getters will be put on a second ballot. Click to continue reading...

U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named his squad of 22 players that will meet 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Slovakia on November 14th in Bratislava and Denmark in Aarhus on November 18th. Team USA's first ever match against Slovakia will be shown on at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday morning on Fox [. Click to continue reading...