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Spain Wins World Cup In ‘Ugly’ Final It was a night Spain will never forget. For the Netherlands the Dutch may never erase the memory of how close they came to their first World Cup championship. Sunday’s final in South Africa had little semblance of “the beautiful game.” No, make that no semblance! Spain and the Netherlands were both going for their first-ever World Cup championship. Spain scored four minutes from the end of overtime for a 1-0 victory before a Johannasburg crowd of 84,490 at Soccer City. The Dutch, with 10 players on the field at the end, finished the game with a World Cup final record nine yellow cards and a red card. Caught up in a game of negative emotions, the Dutch turned the game into a street fight. Midfielder Andres Iniesta fired in the game-winner to the far post minutes before the game appeared ready to head to the dreaded penalty kick shootout. The final whistle signaled the start of a flood of positive emotions from the winners…..tears, hugs and dancing in the stands all the way back to Madrid, Barcelona and throughout Spain. While the winners celebrated, the losers charged the referees. "This success, being world champions, is a success for all of us," said Spanish Coach Vicente del Bosque. "Spain deserves this triumph and this World Cup." While Dutch Coach Bert Van Marwijk, was disappointed with the results, he was not apologetic for the way his team played. "That's not our style,” said Van Marwijk. “I suppose it's regrettable. But you play to win." Spain came into the 2010 FIFA World Cup ranked #1 and was one of the pre-tournament favorites. The only other time Spain advanced beyond the quarterfinals at a World Cup was in 1950, when the tournament invited only 16 teams. But over the last three years Spain has enjoyed an unprecedented run, one that has included a European Championship and a 35-match unbeaten streak. Since Del Bosque took over for Luis Aragones following the Euros, Spain has lost just two of 33 matches. The final win is the one that will be long remembered. And when it ended, goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the captain, wept as he was mobbed by teammates. "I can't quite believe it yet," Iniesta, the Barcelona midfielder said. "I had the opportunity to score that goal, which was so important. It's something absolutely incredible." "I simply made a small contribution to my team in a match that was very rough. There were all sorts of things happening on the pitch." And most of them involved the Dutch, who came into the match having earned only 13 cautions in their first six World Cup matches combined. They had five 12 minutes into the second half in the final. British referee Howard Webb was busy as he strugged struggled to gain control of the game. He also handed out five yellow cards to the Spanish, but it was the Dutch who saw most of the cautions. The Dutch had received only 13 cautions in their first six World Cup matches combined, but 12 minutes into the second half of the final they already had five. "It's not our style, let me put it that way, to commit horrible fouls," Van Marwijk said. "[But] I think both sides, also the Spanish, committed horrible fouls. I don't think the referee controlled the match very well." Germany won the consolation game, finishing third with a 3-2 victory over Uruguay in a game that was in sharpe contrast to the negative play that marked the championship game. U.S. Out Of World Cup In Overtime RUSTENBURG, South Africa (June 26, 2010) – The U.S.
Men’s National Team fell 2-1 in extra time to an inspired Ghana
team their 2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 matchup in Royal Bafokeng Stadium
in Rustenburg, South Africa. The USA’s first loss of the tournament
ends the team’s impressive World Cup run that saw them win their
group over England, Slovenia and Algeria. U.S. coach Bob Bradley used his first of
three substitutions at the 30-minute mark of the first half, replacing
Clark with Maurice Edu. After that change, the U.S. began
to gain a little more control of midfield. The U.S. fell behind early in three of its four games in South Africa,
and actually only held the lead in a collective total of three minutes,
the rest of stoppage time after scoring in the 1-0 win over Algeria. Match: United States vs. Ghana Scoring Summary: 1 2 OT1 OT2 F GHA – Kevin Prince Boateng 5th minute Lineups: GHA: 22-Richard Kingson; 2-Hans Sarpei (19-Lee Addy,
73) , 4-John Pantsil, 5-John Mensah (capt.), 7-Samuel Inkoom (11-Sulley
Muntari, 113), 8-Jonathan Mensah; 6-Anthony Annan, 13-Andre Ayew, 21-Kwando
Asamoah, 23-Kevin Prince Boateng (10-Stephen Appiah, 78); 3-Asamoah Gyan
Stats Summary: USA / GHA Misconduct Summary: Officials:
U.S. Beat Algeria In Stoppage Time When the 2010 FIFA World Cup began for England and the United States on June 12, the talk was about how “big” that first game would be. Far bigger than the games against Slovenia and Algeria, the other two teams in Group C. On the final day of Group C play, both England and the U.S. needed a win in order to advance out of the group into the round of 16. After a 1-1 draw, each had also tied their second group game. England, which had tied Algeria 0-0, advanced with a 1-0 win over Slovenia. The U.S., facing elimination from the tournament, scored 45 seconds into four minutes of stoppage time to beat Algeria 1-0 to actually finish first in the group. The U.S. will meet Ghana in the first knockout round, while England will play Germany. For the U.S. team it will be a rematch of a game against the team they needed to beat to advance to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but didn’t. With hopes of getting a win against the Algerians fading as the clock wound down past 90 minutes, the U.S. began a counter attack from a save by goalkeeper Tim Howard, who played the ball to Landon Donovan. Donovan carried the ball up past midfield and played the ball to Jozy Altidore who was streaking down the right flank. Altidore played the ball square across the face of Algeria’s goal, intended for Clint Dempsey. The ball played off Dempsey and a defender and was slapped down by the Algerian goalkeeper, right to the foot of Donovan, who had continued to run down the middle of the field. Donovan slotted the ball in past the prone goalkeeper, and U.S. supporters around the world exploded. The win left the U.S. unbeaten in all three group games, the first time that has ever happened. It was also a shutout for a team that has a history of giving up soft goals early in either the first or second half of games, or both. However, it also marked the ninth time this U.S. team has scored a goal after the 86th minute, to either earn a draw or a victory, going back to the final round of World Cup qualifying. The U.S. scored six goals in three games, but only four counted. A late goal off a free kick, scored by Maurice Adu, was called back for a phantom foul against Solvenia. That would have given the U.S. a 3-2 win after trailing 2-0 at halftime. Against Algeria, Dempsey collected a ball on the far post midway through the first half, and tapped it into an open goal. The referee’s assistant flagged offside. Video replay showed Dempsey to be even with the last defender and behind the goalkeeper. It should have been the game-winner. "This team embodies what the American spirit is about," Donovan said after the game. "We had a goal disallowed the other night. We had another good goal disallowed tonight. But we just keep going. And I think that's what people admire so much about Americans. And I'm damn proud to be an American." The crowd of 35,827 was pro-American as thousands traveled to South Africa to support the team this year. In sports bars, homes, the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, etc., the cheers when up when Donovan’s shot hit the back of the net. "That's probably going to capture more people's attention than if we won the game 3-0 and it was easy," said. "That emotion, that passion is what American sports fans thrive on." For U.S. coach Bob Bradley advancing to the second round, and doing it as his team had done, was a rewarding experience for a veteran soccer coach who took over the head coaching position after the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He said he felt this will help lift the team going into the knockout phase of the tournament. "That was a really special feeling," Bradley said. "These guys put a lot into it, they never quit. We're proud. We finished first in our group. Five points, didn't lose a match. So we're ready." U.S. Rallies To Earn 2-2 Draw Against Slovenia JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (June 18, 2010) – The U.S. Men's National Team played Slovenia to an epic 2-2 draw in its second Group C match the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After falling behind 2-0 in the first half, an early second-half strike from Landon Donovan and a fantastic finish off a half-volley from Michael Bradley evened the score and earned the USA a critical point before another boisterous pro-U.S. crowd of 45,573 at Ellis Park. The result puts the USA’s destiny in their own hands, with a win
in their final Group C match on Wednesday, June 23, against Algeria at
Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria automatically earning the Americans
a spot in the knockout phase. The U.S. is tied with England for second
in the group with two points each. “I think this team has shown that it keeps fighting until the end and we have now had the experience of pushing games when we’re behind,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “It’s a credit to the mentality of the players and to the fact that they’re going to fight for 90 minutes every game. We have a third match where we still have the chance to determine our ability to move into the final round.” The USA comeback began just three-minutes into the second half, with a world-class strike from Donovan, who roofed a shot past Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic from six yards out after dribbling freely into the right side of the box from a tight angle. Donovan was freed into the area on a perfectly placed pass from the halfway line by standout defender Steve Cherundolo that eluded the Slovenian defense. After several goal mouth chances for the U.S. throughout the half, the USA finally cashed in for goal number two with one of the most skillful tallies in team history. The goal came in the 82nd minute on a lunging half-volley toe-poke from Bradley, who was set-up in the right side of the penalty area, by a perfectly weighted knocked-down header from Jozy Altidore. The big U.S. forward got his head on a service sent by Donovan from midfield and put it right into the path of the charging Bradley. The ussoccer.com Man of the Match scored his eighth career goal, and his first in a World Cup. The inspiring U.S. comeback could have netted the team all three points just a few minutes later, but Maurice Edu’s volley into the back of the net on a perfect free kick from Donovan in the 85th minute was disallowed by Malian referee Koman Coulibaly for an apparent foul. For Donovan, the match was his 10th all-time World Cup appearance, moving him to within one game of the all-time U.S. record (11, Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart), and his goal was the third of his World Cup career (tied with Brian McBride for second best all-time, just one behind Bert Patenaude). He also became the third player in U.S. history to score in two different World Cups (2002 and 2010), joining McBride and Clint Dempsey. The first half was a horrible one for the United States, who struggled
early to break down the compact Slovenians. Slovenia made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute off a counter attack. On the goal, forward Milivoje Novakovic beat U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu’s offside trap by playing a perfect ball into the run of midfielder Zlatan Ljubijankic, who tucked his shot easily into the center of the goal underneath an onrushing Howard. In the first half, the referee from Maili made another controversial
call when he issued a yellow card to forward Robbie Finley,
after a Solvenian freekick had hit Finley in the face and then ricocheted
off his upper chest. With two yellow cards in two games, Findley will
be suspended for the USA’s final Group C match against Algeria. The USA's World Cup continues on Wednesday, June 23, against Algeria in Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The match kicks off at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) live on ESPN HD and Telefutura, with special pre-game coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN. ESPN Radio and Futbol de Primera Radio will also provide coverage of the game. Fans can also follow along on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer. U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report Match: United States vs. Slovenia Scoring Summary: 1 2 F SVN – Valter Birsa 13th minute Lineups: SVN: 1-Samir Handanovic; 2-Miso Brecko, 4-Marko Suler,
5-Bostjan Cesar, 13-Bojan Jokic; 8-Robert Koren (capt.), 9-Zlatan Ljubijankic
(7-Nejc Pecnik, 74; 20-Andrej Komac, 90+4), 10-Valter Birsa (14-Zlatko
Dedic, 87), 17-Andraz Kirm, 18-Aleksandar Radosavljevic; 11-Milivoje Novakovic
Stats Summary: USA / SVN Misconduct Summary: Officials: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Michael Bradley RUSTENBURG, South Africa (June 12, 2010) - In one of the
most anticipated games in U.S. Soccer history, the U.S. Men's National
Team opened play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with an intense 1-1 draw with
in Rustenburg, South Africa. The result temporarily puts the USA and England atop Group C, where play will continue on Sunday with Algeria and Slovenia kicking off their first match in Polokwane at 1:30 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. ET). The U.S. had a number of inspired performances during the match, with goalkeeper Tim Howard leading the way. Appearing in the first World Cup game of his career, the 31-year-old veteran earned ussoccer.com Man of the Match honors by handling every foray into the penalty area with steady decision-making and sure hands, helping to limit England’s chances. A nervous first few minutes for the U.S. resulted in an early goal for England on the first opportunity of the match. Following a deep throw-in along the U.S. flank, Frank Lampard played a slight ball into the top of the penalty area that missed its intended target, forward Wayne Rooney, but did find its way into an opening for Emile Heskey to turn on defender Jay DeMerit and play a ball toward Gerrard. Making a diagonal run into the area ahead of Ricardo Clark, Gerrard took one touch and then easily slotted the ball past Howard in the fourth minute. The U.S. evened the match in the 40th minute as Dempsey took possession of the ball 35 yards from goal, turned twice on Gerrard to create some space, and then unleashed a left-footed shot from 25 yards that England goalkeeper Robert Green bundled across the line despite being in perfect position to smother the threat, getting two hands firmly on the ball in front of his body. “It’s important for us to still come away with a point. It’s
a difficult way to start but I felt the response from the team was strong
and there are good things we can take away from the match," said
U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “We’ve had a
good focus the whole time. We’ve said it so many times that we understand
what the first round is about, but we were still excited to start the
World Cup playing against England. It’s a big game and a big night,
and overall we take away positive things as we now get ready for Slovenia.” The closest chance of the second half came from the foot of Altidore, who ran onto a ball played down the left flank from Donovan (racing to save a ball from going over the touchline at midfield). Altidore then outmuscled midfielder Jamie Carragher, gaining a step on the second-half substitute and carrying the ball for 35 yards into the area. The 20-year old U.S. forward then squared his hips and hit a right-footed blast from eight yards out that Green parried, only to see the ball ricochet dangerously off the near post and into the air where the U.S. could not collect it and continue the pressure. During a five-minute stretch beginning in the 70th minute, England challenged Howard with sustained pressure, but a strong defensive performance from the USA’s back line of Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, Steve Cherundolo and captain Carlos Bocanegra proved flawless in the final 45 minutes. The four defenders were taking the field together for the first time since the team’s 2-1 qualifying loss to Mexico in Mexico City on August 12, 2009. Cherundolo was particularly strong throughout the game, getting involved from the beginning by getting deep down the right flank to challenge on offense and defensively getting the job done against England’s speedy Shaun Wright-Phillips (who replaced James Milner in the 31st minute after the U.S. defender had been giving him fits). For Onyewu, his strong performance in the air in the second half came
in just his fourth game back from his patellar tendon injury more than
seven months ago. The 90-minute performance from the defender was a key
part of the USA’s success. The result marked the first time since 1994 that the USA opened FIFA World Cup play with a draw. And the early goal marked the third straight FIFA World Cup in which the USA saw a goal scored inside the five-minute mark of their first game. Jan Koller scored for the Czech Republic in the fifth minute in 2006 and John O’Brien scored in the fourth minute against Portugal in 2002. The USA's World Cup journey continues on Friday (June 18) against Slovenia at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, and then on June 23 against Algeria in Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. Both matches kickoff at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) live on ESPN HD and Univision, with special pre-game coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN. Fans can also follow along on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer. -U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report- Match: United States vs. England Scoring Summary: 1 2 F ENG – Steven Gerrard (Emile Heskey) 4th minute Lineups: ENG: 12-Robert Green; 2-Glen Johnson, 6-John Terry,
20-Ledley King (18-Jamie Carragher, 46), 3-Ashley Cole; 7-Aaron Lennon,
8-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard (capt.), 16-James Milner (Shaun Wright-Phillips,
31); 10-Wayne Rooney, 21-Emile Heskey (9-Peter Crouch, 79) Stats Summary: USA / ENG Misconduct Summary:
U.S. Defeats Turkey 2-1 In Final Sendoff Game For 45 minutes in Philadelphia it looked like “same old, same old” for the U.S. Men’s National Team. Sluggish and uninspired, the U.S. trailed Turkey 1-0 at halftime. It had come on an easy goal that finished a counter attack. The defense failed to cover for Jonathan Spector, who had moments earlier carried the ball to the top of Turkey’s penalty box. It was the type of defense that had allowed four goals in a 4-1 loss earlier in the week. But this should have been different. U.S. coach Bob Bradley had started what is pretty close to his World Cup starting lineup, and there were55,407 red, white and blue-bathed fans cheering the team on at Lincoln Financial Field. But yet, the U.S. showed a disjointed attack and a lack of defensive pressure and bite. It looked like a preview of another three-and-out in South Africa. But four lineup changes in the second half seemed to turn things around. Jose Torres settled down the midfield, Oguchi Onyewu and Steve Churundolo stiffened the defense, and the speed of Robbie Finley stretched the top of the U.S. attack. Goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, both assisted by Landon Donovan, turned the trick and gave the U.S. a 2-1 win and U.S. fans hope that the team will do well at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. U.S. coach Bob Bradley started 10 new different players against Turkey from the lineup he used against the Czech Republic as he was still trying to settle on his final 23-player roster. Only Clarance Goodson started both games, and Onyewu subbed for him to start the second half. The winning goal came with 15 minutes left and it originated off a throw-in seconds after the game had momentarily paused for Jonathan Bornstein to replace Carlos Bocanegra. Cherundolo threw the ball into Donovan on the right wing and he spun towards goal before lifting a short pass to Dempsey inside the penalty area. Dempsey’s first touch pushed the ball forward and then he showed great balance in riding the tackle of Sabri Sarioglu before stuffing his shot under Demirel from five yards away. The U.S. departed for South Africa the day after the win over Turkey and will play a final exhibition game on June 5 against Australia, before opening World Cup group play on June 12 against England. U.S. Men's National Team Match Report Match: United States vs. Turkey TUR: 1-Volkan Demirel; 2-Servet Cetin, 4-Gokhan Zan,
13-Caglar Birinci, 5-Emre Belozoglu (Capt.), 6-Hamit Altintop (9-Semih
Senturk, 73), 14-Arda Turan (28-Ozan Ipek, 90), 17-Selcuk Inan (15-Mehmet
Topal, 52) 25-Sabri Sarioglu, 10-Tuncay Sanli (8-Nihat Kahvechi, 77),
18-Colin Kazim-Richards (16-Sercan Yildirim, 59) Stats Summary: USA / TUR U.S. Team Visits The White House WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2010) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden greeted the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team at the White House, three days prior to the team’s departure to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. President Bill Clinton also attended the event as honorary chairman of the USA Bid Committee to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022. President Obama, Vice President Biden and President Clinton met with
head coach Bob Bradley, U.S. Soccer President Sunil
Gulati and the 23 players who were named to the World Cup roster
on Wednesday and wished them good luck in South Africa. “It was a great honor for our team to visit the White House and
meet President Obama, Vice President Biden and President Clinton,”
said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “We are proud
to be representing our country in South Africa, and there is no greater
way to reinforce that message than to hear it directly from the President
of the United States.” The U.S. will play their final home match on May 29 before departing for South Africa when they face Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. More than 45,000 tickets have already been sold. ESPN2 and Galavision will broadcast the match live beginning at 2 p.m. ET. ESPN will have a 30-minute pregame show beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. The United States will play one final friendly before the tournament begins, this time on South African soil when they face Australia on June 5 at Ruimsig Stadium in Roodepoort. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. The U.S. Men's National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria. Bob Bradley Talks About His Team Of 23 U.S. MNT coach Bob Bradley spoke to the media after announcing the 23 players he will take to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He spoke of the players selected, those he didn’t and the way the team will approach the two final friendly games before taking on England on June 15. Coach Bradley ... On the selection of Edson Buddle and Herculez
Gomez: The team approach for the game with Turkey and how it differs from
the Czech Republic game.: The difficulties of the selection process: Defensive mistakes against the Czech Republic in the 4-2 loss: Guzan or Hahnemann at #2 goalkeeper and who might start against Turkey:
Why Herculez Gomez was picked: The Youth of Alejandro Bedoya: Will the lineup for the game with Turkey look like the first XI:
On Brian Ching Not Being Picked: Leadership and Team Chemistry: On DaMarcus Beasley’s earned a spot on the
team team: Did anyone earn a spot against the Czech Republic: Evaluation of Edson Buddle in league play: Youth and overall age of the team: On Eddie Johnson vs. Robbie Findley:
Team Fitness two weeks from World Cup opener: Importance of Carlos Bocanegra: On Bocanegra’s fitness: On Clarence Goodson: On the level Oguchi Onyewu will need to play at to be a starter:
On Steve Cherundolo: On the role of outside backs on his team: On how he made the decision on Robbie Findley: On where Findley needs to improve: On Benny Feilhaber: On Jonathan Bornstein: On whether he chose players by positions or overall: CHICAGO (May 26, 2010) — U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named the 23-man roster that will travel to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The team departs for South Africa on May 30, and will play their opening match of the tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg live on ABC at 2 p.m. ET. U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (All-Time World Cup Roster Appearances) “We have been working for almost four years to reach this point, and we are grateful to all the players who have been part of the process. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the efforts and professionalism that everyone has put into building this team,” said Bradley. “It’s important in any team building process to get to the final 23, and clearly there were some tough decisions to make.” The U.S. squad carries a variety of World Cup experience into South Africa, as fifteen players have been named to their first World Cup roster. Meantime, six players have played in a World Cup game, with midfielder Landon Donovan leading the team with eight appearances – all as a starter – while DaMarcus Beasley has six World Cup caps to his credit. That duo and Steve Cherundolo are earning a place in their third World Cup. A total of 92 players received at least one cap under Bradley during the four-year cycle as the team compiled a 35-19-6 record. Additionally, 43 players were used during the 2010 qualifying campaign, 19 of whom made the final roster. Those players accounted for 29 of 42 goals scored in qualifying, including Jozy Altidore’s team-leading six goals. Donovan is the leading capwinner on the roster with 121 international appearances. The USA’s all-time leader in goals (42) and assists (42) is one of two players with a World Cup goal in the books, along with Clint Dempsey. The Bronze Ball winner from the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup is coming off a banner year, having become the first American player to reach the final of a European cup competition. The defense is backstopped by goalkeeper Tim Howard, the Golden Glove winner from the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup who allowed less than a goal per game in 13 appearances in 2010 World Cup qualifying. Team captain Carlos Bocanegra – whose 12 career goals give him second place on the all-time scoring chart for U.S. defenders – is the third most capped player on the roster with 77 appearances. Oguchi Onyewu has made his return to action following a seven-month recovery from a ruptured patellar tendon suffered last October in the team’s final qualifier, a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica. Jonathan Bornstein, whose stoppage-time goal in that game gave the U.S. first place in CONCACAF qualifying, along with Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson and Jonathan Spector, have the chance to appear in their first World Cup. In the midfield, Donovan’s dominance shone in the final round of qualifying, where he contributed to 12 of the 19 goals scored. His five goals overall tied for second place along with Dempsey and Michael Bradley, who also shared the most appearances in qualifying with Donovan (15). Bradley is joined in the center of the park by fellow 2008 Olympians Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber and Stuart Holden. Edu and Beasley earned a Scottish Premier League title with Rangers in 2010, while Feilhaber earned his place in U.S. Soccer lore by scoring the goal in the 2007 Gold Cup final against Mexico that gave the U.S. a chance to shine in the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Holden made his first appearance for the national team less than a year ago, scoring a goal in his debut against Grenada in the opening match of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Ricardo Clark scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win away to Trinidad & Tobago in qualifying, while José Torres is one of two players on the roster to ply his trade in Mexico. The strike force is led by Altidore, who has eight career goals in 24 appearances and is the youngest U.S. player in modern history to score a hat trick. A trio of forwards – Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley and Herculez Gomez – did not appear in World Cup qualifying for the United States. Buddle, who had not appeared for the national team since 2003, became the 92nd player to collect a cap under Bradley when he assisted on the first goal against the Czech Republic on May 25 in East Hartford. Gomez, who entered camp after becoming the first American player to lead a foreign league in scoring when he scored 10 goals for Puebla in Mexico, recorded his first goal for the full team against the Czechs. Overall, players representing clubs from 10 different countries will be heading to South Africa. A record 19 players on the roster play professionally for clubs outside the United States. The average number of caps earned is 34, compared to 44 in 2006. Likewise, the team is slightly younger than four years earlier, the average age slightly under 27 years old while in 2006 that number was closer to 28.5 years of age. The U.S. Men's National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria. U.S. FALLS TO CZECH REPUBLIC 4-2 EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (May 25, 2010) – In a match that served as a final audition for some U.S. players and a World Cup tune-up for others, the U.S. Men’s National Team fell 4-2 to the Czech Republic in front of 36,218 fans, the largest-ever crowd to watch a soccer match at Rentschler Field. Both U.S. goals came from players who had never before tallied at the full international level with midfielder Maurice Edu putting the USA ahead in the 17th minute while second-half substitute forward Herculez Gomez knotted the score at 2-2 in the 65th. The U.S. allowed two goals in the final 13 minutes plus stoppage time as Martin Fenin tallied in the 78th and Tomas Necid ended any chance of a late U.S. equalizer with a goal in the 92nd. “We've worked very hard and guys know we're at a point where tough
decisions need to be made,” said Bradley, who would name the final
23 players who will go to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA Men’s World
Cup. “On a night when the result doesn't go our way, we know there
are things we will still work hard at and we pay tribute to the guys who
have been in this camp, the work they've put in and the way they've gone
about it.” The match marked the return to game action for central defender Oguchi
Onyewu who played his first match since tearing the patellar
tendon in his left knee on Oct. 14, 2009, at RFK Stadium in the USA’s
final CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. Onyewu played 65
minutes before being replaced by Alejandro Bedoya, who
came in at right midfield, moving Stuart Holden into
the middle and Edu to center back. U.S. Men's National Team Match Report Match: United States vs. Czech Republic Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Maurice Edu (Edson Buddle) 17th minute Lineups: CZE: 1-Petr Cech; 2-Ondrej Kusnir, 5-Jan Rajnoch, 6-
Tomas Sivok, 7-Libor Sionko (19-Jan Moravek, 85), 8-Jan Polak (12-Mario
Holek, 90), 11-Daniel Pudil, 13-Jaroslav Plasil (18-David Limbersky, 91),
17-Tomas Hübschman, 15-Martin Fenin (4-Milan Cerny, 78), 20-David
Lafata (9-Tomas Necid, 67) Stats Summary: USA / CZE Misconduct Summary: U.S. Draws England, Algeria, Slovenia The U.S. caught a break for the first time at the final draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open on June 12 against England in Group C, which is the lowest ranked seeded team, other than host South Africa. The U.S. also drew Algeria, recognized as the least of Africa’s entrants, and Slovenia, which is ranked 33rd in the world ranking, 19 spots below the #14 USA. This marks the sixth consecutive World Cup the U.S. has qualified for, and on four occasions, the U.S. has failed to advance out of group play. The U.S. lost 1-0 to Brazil in 1994 second round, when the American’s hosted, lost 1-0 to Germany in the 2002 quarterfinals. U.S. players and coaches welcomed the 2010 draw and felt that the U.S. had a good chance of advancing from the group into the knockout phase. Mexico will open the tournament from Group A on June 11 by playing the host country, which is clearly the weakest of the eight seeded teams. Also in Group A are 2006 World Cup runnerup France and Uruguay, which qualified by beating Costa Rica in a playoff. The “so-called” Group of Death is Group G: Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. African power Ivory Coast was also grouped in the most challenging first-round quartet in 2006, with the Netherlands, Argentina and Serbia & Montenegro. (The Dutch and Argentines went through to the second round.) First Round Schedule Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H
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