FanNation

U.S. Men Kick Off Semifinal Round

GROUP REMINDER

U.S. Men vs. Guatemala
Live on ESPN2, Galavison
08/20/2008  10:00 PM  ET

FROM USSOCCER.COM -

2010 FIFA World Cup / Semifinal Round Qualifying / Wednesday 8/20

SEMIFINAL SHOW ON THE ROAD: The journey to the 2010 FIFA World Cup resumes on Aug. 20 when the U.S. takes on Guatemala on MatchDay 1 of Semifinal Round qualifying for South Africa. Kickoff at the Estadio Mateo Flores is set for 8 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker. The team traveled from Miami to Guatemala City on Monday afternoon where they were met by team captain Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu. The U.S. will train in the stadium Tuesday evening, just over 24 hours from kickoff.

• Eighteen players are eligible to dress for both teams, and must wear 1-18 for jersey numbers.
• Oguchi Onyewu is the only U.S. player carrying a caution into this match. Any player accumulating two cautions will be suspended for the next FIFA World Cup qualifier.
• The U.S. has never lost to Guatemala in World Cup qualifying play. With an unblemished 4-0-4 record, the USA's victories have all come on U.S. soil.
• The United States is 1-4-4 all-time in Guatemala. The lone victory came Jan. 13, 1988, a 1-0 win courtesy of a goal by Jeff Agoos.
• Four players on the current roster appeared in the last World Cup qualifier against Guatemala, a 0-0 draw on Sept. 7, 2005 in Guatemala City: Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Pablo Mastroeni (c) [starters in bold]. The match came four days after the U.S. clinched a place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win against Mexico.
• Frankie Hejduk and Eddie Lewis have also seen action in Guatemala, both part of the squad that earned a 1-1 draw on July 16, 2000, in Mazatenango in the opening match of the semifinal round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
• Three players on the roster have tallied goals against Guatemala. Johnson has a pair, including the game-winning goal in the 2-0 victory on March 30, 2005, in the final round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Dempsey put away the lone goal in the 1-0 win in the first match of group play in the 2007 Gold Cup, launching the USA's run to their second-consecutive regional title. Brian Ching scored the second of four goals in the 4-0 friendly on Feb. 19, 2006 in Frisco, Texas.
• Donovan leads the team in World Cup qualifying caps (21), and is tied with Johnson for most goals in qualifying (8). Johnson has produced a remarkable strike rate, with eight goals in eight qualifying appearances. Johnson became the first player in U.S. history to score three goals as a substitute when he recorded a hat trick in the 6-0 semifinal round qualifying victory against Panama on Oct. 13, 2004, at RFK Stadium.
• Johnson and Donovan are tied for third on the USA's all-time goalscoring list in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Brian McBride is the USA's all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup Qualifying with 10 goals scored over three World Cup cycles (1998, 2002, 2006)
• Michael Bradley leads the U.S. in 2008 in minutes played (557).
• All 18 players were part of the roster that handed Barbados an 8-0 defeat in the first leg of Second Round qualifying on June 15 at The Home Depot Center. Additionally, all six of the USA's goalscorers in the Barbados series - Michael Bradley, Ching (2), Dempsey (2), Donovan, Johnson and Lewis - will be on hand.
• The U.S. collected a 12-2-4 record in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, outscoring their opponents 35-11 while collecting 11 shutouts. The U.S. finished undefeated at home during the qualifying campaign, going 8-0-1, with all eight victories coming by shutout.
• The U.S. has posted a 4-2-2 record in 2008, which includes the pair of victories against Barbados in the second round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, a road win against Poland and a 0-0 draw against No. 1-ranked Argentina. Overall, the U.S. has scored 16 goals while surrendering five.
• Leagues from seven different countries are represented on the U.S. roster, with England and the United States each contributing six players. Others include: Belgium, France, Germany (2), Holland and Scotland.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 3/2 SO)

U.S. wins Olympics opener over Japan, 1-0

 american-soccer-news.com

A Stuart Holden goal shortly after half time proved the difference in the U.S. Men's opener in the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. dodged a few bullets in the later stages of the match and ultimately might have been fortunate to garner all three points, but it was an all-around solid effort for Peter Nowak's men. The victory removes some of the bad taste left over from the U.S. Women's loss to Norway in their opening game.

"The first game in this kind of tournament is very tight and you have to compete," said U.S. head coach Peter Nowak. "I'm very proud of them, because the first game is never easy and you never know how it is going to be . You train for three weeks and you try to find the right recipe about how the team will play. It was important to get the three points."

Bocanegra Signs Three Year Deal With Rennes

US SOCCER NATION BLOG: Sunday June 29, 2008

USA CAPTAIN CARLOS BOCANEGRA TO PLAY FOR STADE RENNAIS FC

OK, this news took place last Wednesday June 25th, so I'm expecting that everyone has already heard about it. However, this is the first chance I've gotten to write about it and I really thought it was in our groups best interest to cover the story, even though it's coming a little late.

USA Downs Barbados-Moves On To Semi Finals

US Soccer Nation Blog: June 26,2008- Hello everyone. I'm pleased to report that the United States Men's Soccer Team is alive and well after sweeping Barbados in a 9-0 aggregate. In the first match played at The Home Depot Center in front of a crowd of 11,476, the US jumped out in front 1-nil on a Clint Dempsey strike at exactly :53 seconds match time. Dempsey's goal was the quickest ever scored by the US from the opening Kick Off. But the fun didn't stop there. The US scored not only early but often. They were up 3-0 at halftime and nailed the coffin shut by adding on 5 more goals in the second half on their way to an 8-nil 2nd round qualifying victory. The 8-0 tally is recorded as being the highest scoring shutout in US team history. It seemed almost crazy to me watching the US man handling on its attack in comparison to the absolute defensive struggle against Argentina just the week before. The US ran its usual 4-4-2 formation

Group Reminder: USA vs Barbados Sunday 5pm Eastern Time

US Soccer Nation Members - As is our policy here at US Soccer Nation, I'm sending out a reminder that the USA Men's National Team will be playing it's next match on Sunday June 15 at 5pm Eastern time or 2pm Pacific time. The game will be telecast on ESPN 2. This is going to be the opening of the 2010 qualifier matches for The USA. I hope that everyone sees the game. If you're not going to be home, get your DVR programed now while it's on your mind. The USA needs your support. US Soccer Nation will be covering the match and will be publishing a Match Analysis as soon as possible.