US vs Panama Preview

The US will have a depleted roster from which to pick a team that can beat Panama tonight. Five crucial players (Adu, Parkhurst, Davies, Feilhaber, and Cherundolo) have left the squad to join their respective teams in preseason training. Bob Bradley's coaching genius will be tested to try and and find the right players with the right chemistry. Panama tied Mexico in their now famous encounter in Houston last week, so we know they can compete. Look for a physical battle and if the US can grab an early goal, it should take the fight out of the Panamanians really quick. As far as a starting 11 go, here is who I would go with:

-----------------Perkins

Evans-----Conrad-----Marshall-----Pearce

----------Beckerman---Cronin

Holden------------------------------Rogers

-------------Ching----Cooper

Robles
Goodson
Pause
Clark
Heaps
Quaranta
Arnaud

I pick this poster because of the physical nature that I think this game will take. Cooper and Ching give the front line a lot of size, plus the addition of Coopers deceptive speed could take Panama off balance. Beckerman has been the best central midfielder for the US in this tournament so he gets the start, and I was really impressed with young Sam Cronin in the Haiti match, he was composed and very good defensively and isn't afraid to mix it up physically. Rogers and Holden give the US speed on the flanks and both are very good strikers from distance when they cut inside. Pearce has played well enough to continue at left back, and Brad Evans should start at right back in Cherundolo's absence, I don't like it because Evans is a defensive midfielder and I think Panama will attack at Evans from the get go. Perkins gets the easy nod in goal as Robles seemed in over his head against Haiti.

MLS Weekend Outlook

Weekend matches in MLS this weekend feature the top teams in the East and West meeting in Toronto, and Seattle, in an international friendly will be taking on Chelsea FC. Here are the weekend matches:

Houston Dynamo @ Toronto FC - 1pm EST on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes
Chelsea FC @ Seattle Sounders FC - 3pm EST on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes
Colorado Rapids @ DC United - 8pm EST on MLS Direct Kick
Real Salt Lake @ Columbus Crew - 8pm EST on MLS Direct Kick
San Jose Earthquakes @ Chicago Fire - 8:30pm EST on MLS Direct Kick

Superliga 2009: Chicago Fire vs Tigres UANL

In the finale of the 2009 edition of the Superliga tournament, North American Champion Chicago Fire will take on Mexican Champion Tigres UANL on August 5 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. The Fire beat the New England Revolution and Tigres beat Santos Laguna to make it to the final showdown. Congrats to the Fire who have been on top of the Eastern Division for some time this season.

MLS Thursday Night Special

David Beckham's return to the Galaxy had all the makings of a multi-million dollar drama flick, angry friends (the Galaxy), people with money (AC Milan), and a dream (Beckham). All the story needed was a good ending. Well that ending came to fruition when the LA Galaxy trumped the New York Red Bulls 3-1 on goals from Alecko Eskandarian, Landon Donovan, and Eddie Lewis. Beckham played started and played the first half and was active throughout. The Galaxy are currently sitting on a four game winning streak and have only lost two of their last eighteen games. The team which struggled last season so much has now found a solid core of players in Beckham, Donovan, Buddle, Eskandarian, Lewis, Ricketts, and Berhalter. They're getting better as fast as NYRB is getting worse, who, with tonight's loss, have lost five straight and haven't won since May 8 vs San Jose. With MLS preparing to take its All-Star Break (more on that soon), I'll break down the All-Star game vs. Everton FC and discuss the first half of the season. Major international friendlies involving MLS teams vs. the heavyweights of Europe are coming soon including:

Chelsea FC @ Seattle Sounders FC- July 18, 3pm EST on ESPN2
AC Milan @ LA Galaxy- July 19, 10pm EST
FC Barcelona @ LA Galaxy- August 1, 11pm EST on FSC
FC Barcelona @ Seattle Sounders FC- August 5, 10:30pm EST on ESPN
Real Madrid @ Toronto FC- August 7, 7:30pm EST
Real Madrid @ DC United- August 9, 3pm EST on FSC

Stay tuned for more on MLS to come shortly.

Yanks Abroad Ticker

Slow week for soccer folks, but here are a few tidbits to get you through till Saturday:

Eddie Johnson is having a stellar preseason for Fulham, scoring a goal and recording two assists in two games during Fulham's preseason tour through Australia. Granted it's not Premiership opposition, the fact that hes scoring goals and getting chances shows that he's growing after a full season spent on loan with Cardiff City. With Bobby Zamora likely to leave for Hull City soon, this will only give Johnson more opportunities to impress Roy Hodgeson. I for one am glad to see him playing (finally) to his potential. He impressed in a few games at Cardiff City during a season where he made 30 appearances and scored two goals, after getting only six games for Fulham after his transfer from Kansas City.


Danny Szetela is set to return to MLS after stints with Racing Santander in Spain and Brescia Calcio in Italy. Szetela, who could never nail down a starting spot at either club only made a couple appearances for Santander, and even though he saw the field 26 times for Brescia and scored a goal, his loan ended and has let go from La Liga. FC Dallas are tops in the allocation spot, but are expected to pass which would mean he's likely to end up with DC United.

UPDATE: Szetela has officially signed with DC United.

The players for the game against Panama continues to dwindle. With overseas commitments the following players have left:

Charlie Davies- FC Sochaux
Freddy Adu- SL Benfica
Steve Cherundolo- Hannover 96
Michael Parkhurst- FC Nordsjaelland
Benny Feilhaber- AGF Aarhus

That group forms a strong core of players that would've made the trip to a third consecutive Gold Cup much easier, now, the group looks quite thin. Here is a potential starting line-up vs Panama on Saturday:

--------------------Perkins

Evans------Goodson------Marshall------Pearce

------------Beckerman----Holden

Quaranta------------------------------Rogers

-------------Ching---------Cooper

Of course there are still the now six extra players allocated to the US for the Gold Cup, who are Sacha Kljestan, Jonathan Bornstein, Josmer Altidore, Brad Guzan, Conor Casey and Ricardo Clark. Kljestan or Clark would be a good addition to partner Beckerman because Holden is better on the right wing. Nothing much you can do about Evans starting at right back, unnatural, but he'll have to deputize for now.

MLS Weekend Look Back

This past weekends games in MLS saw rivalry matches in Chicago and LA, plus the top two teams in the Western Division squared off in Seattle. Here are some quick rundowns of this past weekends matches:

Seattle Sounders FC 2, Houston Dynamo 1
Kansas City Wizards 0, New England Revolution 0
Columbus Crew 0, Chicago Fire 0
Colorado Rapids 1, FC Dallas 0
Toronto FC 3, San Jose Earthquakes 1
LA Galaxy 1, Chivas USA 0

Holden Rocket Secures USA First Place

On a night which saw a young US side struggle to find their offense, it was a 23 year old who delivered the goods. Stuart Holden in the second minute of stoppage time blasted a 25 yard shot on a line into the upper 90. The draw secured first place in Group B and a date with either Mexico, Panama, or Jamaica in the quarterfinals in Philadelphia. Despite a fast start for the American's who scored in the 6th minute through Davy Arnaud, they were frustrated the rest of the half and even thrown for a couple loops late in the first. Two goals in four minutes from Haiti, due in part to some highly questionable goalkeeping from first timer Luis Robles gave the Haitians hope for their biggest win ever. The Haitians put all 11 players in their own half and only shot long, hopeful balls on their so-called counterattacks. The Americans produced chances, but just couldn't find the net, until the 92nd minute when Holden took control of a loose ball and blasted one into the net. No player ratings for this one as it was largely experimental and we'll see the regulars back in the quarterfinals.

In case you missed it, here are the highlights: