USA vs Mexico Gold Cup 2011 Preview

Tonight marks another battle between the two kings of CONCACAF, USA and Mexico.  The two teams are coming into the match going in seemingly different directions with the USA struggling and Mexico riding the hot hand of El Chicharito Javier Hernandez into the finals.  But if history is any indication then the match should be a classic, regardless of current form, when these two fierce rivals take to the pitch.

So who wins tonight's match and rides into the Confederations Cup in 2013?  All signs point to a Mexican victory but the Mexicans haven't beaten a full strength US squad on American soil in quite some time and they'll struggle to break down the Americans tonight as well.  That being said, the US has struggled mightily to put forth a consistent attack during this tournament and they may struggle to pressure the Mexican backline when they have the ball.

For the US to win Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones will need to control the middle of the field and currently disrupt Mexico's controlled possession game.  Counter attacking will be crucial for the Americans and Juan Agudelo and Clint Dempsey must hold onto the ball to give the US defense time to regroup.

While I believe the US will win this game in my heart, the blogger in me is going to predict a 2-1 victory for Mexico.  Alright forget that, I'm going with a 3-1 USA win.  Suck it.

USA vs Mexico World Cup 2002 Highlights

I thought you might want to revisit the biggest win the U.S. has ever scored against Mexico in preparation for the Gold Cup Final match tomorrow.  Absolutely brilliant first goal by the USA.  More highlights to come.

One Of My Favorite Goals Of All-Time

This goal is absolutely nuts.  The first few angles look like a very well struck freekick but wait until they show the final angle.  That shit is bonkers.  How is it possible to bend a soccer ball like that?

Just thought I'd share.

Jermaine Jones Finally Lives Up To The Hype

When Jermaine Jones switched his allegiance from Germany to the United States fans of the Red, White and Blue started to dream of the possibilities that his addition to the squad would bring.  Unfortunately, injuries delayed his arrival and forced him to miss the World Cup last summer but during this summer's Gold Cup we are getting our first real chance to see him perform.  The results, to date, have been a mixed bag but his performance against Guadalupe could be a sign of things to come.

Paired with Michael Bradley in the middle of the park, Jones played his best game for the Stars and Stripes.  By sitting deep in the midfield with Bradley playing mostly in front of him, Jones was able to receive the ball from the back and move forward with precision and accuracy.  Being set back also allowed him to use his speed and power to either cut out Guadalupe's counter-attacks or simply dispossess his opponents as they pushed forward.

Guadalupe is no powerhouse but the ability of the Americans to move the ball around with ease had more to do with Jones' comfort level on the pitch than it did with the opponents lack of quality.  As competition gets tougher in the knockout rounds the tandem of Jones and Bradley, and how they combine, will be the determining factor in how far the U.S. goes.  The good news is that Jones has finally started to hit his stride and his ascension could be what secures the Nats a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil.

U.S.A. Needs To Find A Goal Scorer...Now

The U.S.A. continues to struggle in the 2011 Gold Cup and while nobody really appears to be on top of their games at the moment the biggest struggle seems to be up top.  Goal scoring has always been a point of contention for the U.S. squad but it seems like recently they have not been able to find a consistent goal scorer that is able to put pressure on the opposing backline.

Jozy Altidore may have scored a brilliant goal tonight against Guadalupe and added another tally in the opening match against Canada but those goals ended a pretty lengthy scoring drought for the young striker.  Juan Agudelo, Chris Wondolowski, Teal Bunbury, Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley and Hercules Gomez have all failed to pressure the goal consistently and have caused the spot next to Altidore to become a revolving door of sorts.  In fact, it is starting to look like the best option for the second forward spot may be the same person who last held down that spot, Charlie Davies.

Davies is still making his way back from the horrific car accident that he was involved in a few years back but he would have most likely been on the Gold Cup roster if he hadn't pulled his hamstring a few weeks back.  Davies has shown us this year with D.C. United that he is starting to round back into shape and has already recovered his knack for showing up in the right place at the right time to put the ball in the back of the net.

It may be too early to declare Davies the savior once again but after watching the U.S. struggle against Panama the other night one thing is clear.  The U.S.A. National Team needs a goal scoring savior and they need it now.

Davies is on the road to recovery

With the horrible loss to Honduras hanging over my head, and actually keeping me away from posting out of sheer disgust, I really could use some good news regarding the state of the United States mens soccer team. Well, Ives Galarcep had an opportunity to speak with Charlie Davies about his rehabilitation and to say it's positive would be an understatement. Davies is jogging and will be heading back to France shortly to start training with his club team Sochaux and hopes to return to game action in April. This article is a must read for all U.S. soccer fans. For more from Davies, check out this post on Soccer by Ives. Looks like the World Cup is no longer an impossible dream for Davies and that is probably the best news we could have gotten as fans.

Donovan stars, Dempsey falls, Clark signs and Holden waits

The news has been flowing in like the river Nile recently and I've been drinking it all in waiting to release it in one gigantic explosion of cholera enduced blogging diarrhea. Now that I've painted that pretty picture I think it's time to begin.

The biggest news of the last 72 hours has been the fall and probable rise of Clint Dempsey. The Fulham star was injured during this weekends match against Blackburn and the initial diagnosis was knee ligament damage. Reports out of England yesterday indicate that Dempsey suffered "moderate" damage and will not require surgery. Early estimates are putting Clint back on the field before the end of the EPL season. All American soccer fans are collectively exhaling.

Also in England, Landon Donovan has enjoyed two stellar performances for Everton and both the player and the club may be looking to extend the loan past the March return date. If Donovan continues to be a vital cog in the starting eleven for the remainder of his time, the club might be forced to pay up to extend him or even buy him outright. He won't come cheap but if Everton is serious about moving up the pecking order they'll need to splurge a little bit and I'm sure Donovan is much better than a lot of the other players you'll see being picked up in his price range.

I'm going to close this post with some updates on players who are trying to get the hell out of Houston before it gets over 100 degrees again. Ricardo Clark has reportedly signed with Eintracht Frankfurt of the Bundesliga while Stuart Holden has been linked with Bolton and Sporting Braga in Portugal. Both players need to play wherever they go and hopefully they will put themselves in good positions to join the U.S. at the World Cup this June.

Orozco signing with MLS to increase World Cup chances?

American defender Micheal Orozco has been a solid starter for his Mexican club side San Luis for the past few years but has not been able to move up the U.S. national team depth chart and has seemingly been exiled since his silly red card in the Olympics back in 2008. Well, reports are indicating that Orozco has cut his ties with San Luis in the Mexican first division and is planning on signing with MLS and joining the Philadelphia Union in an effort to catch the watchful eye of Bob (Bad Ass) Bradley.

Orozco is a young talent who can play almost anywhere along the back line and was deployed on the left for the U.S.A. during the Olympics. Although Mexico is not exactly a top-tier league from top to bottom, Orozco's ability to succeed in a respected league at a young age has to be looked at by the American brain trust. Making a move to MLS and playing for Bradley's former assistant coach could turn out to be a great move for the player. He has played under Peter Nowak during the Olympics and I'm sure that and Nowak's connection with the head man have something to do with his decision.

This could be a great move for Orozco and could see himself getting the call this summer if he out performs players like Chad Marshall, Danny Califf, Jonathan Bornstein, Marvell Wynne and Kevin Alston during the early part of the season. I know he doesn't have much time to show his worth but current form is always an important factor leading up to the World Cup and the starting defensive spots are not exactly locked down at this point by any means.

USA World Cup bid narrows host city list to the final 18

The U.S. Soccer World Cup committee has narrowed the list of potential host cities from what felt like 150 a few weeks ago to a more manageable 18. If selected to host either the 2018 or the 2022 World Cups, the final host cities would be chosen from this group. Which cities are in this group you ask? You guessed it, Las Cruces, New Mexico and Corvalis, Oregon.

Here's the real list: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

The biggest surprise is the absence of Chicago which hosted World Cup matches in 1994 and is also the home to one of my friends. Soldier field has hosted large scale soccer matches in the past few years so not seeing it make the final list is a bit of a shocker. And I'm going to take it laying down.