Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too! 

Up Next:
Tuesday, October 15. USA vs. PANAMA, Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City, Panama
9:30pm EST, 8:30 pm CST, 7:30pm MST, 6:30pm PST
Watch on: beIN SPORT
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer 

     Well, we did it! We finished first in CONCACAF for World Cup Qualifying with a victory over Jamaica and now the Yanks have traveled down to Panama for the 10th and final match in the Hexagonal. U.S. and Costa Rica are already fine-tuning for next summer's tournament, as Honduras, Mexico and Panama battle it out for the final spots. All Honduras has to do is tie last-place Jamaica and they're through, but the 4th place finisher will be playing in next month's inter-continental playoff with New Zealand and the 5th place finisher will be watching the World Cup on TV next summer. I predict 3. Honduras 4. Mexico and 5. Panama but there are usually surprises and upsets with so much at stake! Tuesday promises to be one of the most exciting days of international football, so tune in!

Let's check in with Chip Daly to see what he thought of Friday's win against Jamaica...

     So USA fans. 2-0 win and we won the HEX! Time to celebrate.... NOT SO FAST! I hate to complain about a win, but did anyone else feel like we were just going thru the motions out there? And I sure wish I had 10 minutes to talk to Jurgen about what he is thinking! Is it just me, or does Zusi make things happen EVERY time he is on the field? He knows when and where to distribute the ball. He can finish when he needs to. He knows when to push and when to get back on D. I am not wrong am I? If not, then WHY does he not start? And when he does start, why is he the first one substituted for in the 55th minute?

 

I was upset that Landon was taken out at halftime, but found out he is fighting an ankle injury, so would wonder if that is why? I still think DaMarcus should be a midfield sub. Not sure if Edgar (Castillo) is the answer in the back, but he did well for the time he was in. We need to get our defense in solid order in my opinion and we should know who should be playing back there by now! And DaMarcus is not the answer. No? Well he is going to be the captain on Tuesday night! Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones and Matt Besler all went back to join their club teams. 

 

Why did Wondo (Chris Wondolowski) not get the call? All he does is score goals! Was it because he was called up late and they weren't sure he was ready? I say Plbbbt! to that! Everyone says Aron (Johannsson) played well up front, but I didn't see it! He may very well develop into a formidable striker, but not yet. Does Jurgen rely on his "German" background to make decisions? Chip, Aron did look good in the first half which I believe you missed. You're right, he didn't look great in the 2nd half and it would have been great to see Wondo.

 

Now don't get me wrong. I feel Jurgen has done a GREAT job so far! I am impressed whenever I hear him interviewed. I only wish I COULD interview him! I also understand we have been hit with a ton of injuries and we have done well to play thru them and win the HEX. I just want to make sure we are ALL READY to WIN the Cup next summer! I saw a blip somewhere where someone said we can't win the Cup anyway. I am not sure who said it or what the context was, so if anybody out there knows who said it, let me know! I would like to give them a piece of my mind!

 

Well, there is my 2 and a half cents worth of ranting. Agree? Disagree? I am all ears to what say YOU the American soccer fans!

 

Go Red White and Blue!

Thanks Chip! Wow! There's some passion there! Yeah, I thought it was great to see Castillo come in for Beasley in the 2nd half. He looked like he was having so much fun out there and he contributed by getting an assist on Jozy Altidore's goal. And can I just say, Jozy's goal celebration ROCKED! He knocks the ball into a wide open net and just walks right into the goal... I loved it! Zusi has been consistent all year and oftentimes has been USA's best player. I'm looking forward to an awesome night of soccer and I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

Final Push for WC 2014

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too! 

Up Next:
Friday, October 11. USA vs. JAMAICA, Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas 
6:30pm EST, 5:30 pm CST, 4:30pm MST, 3:30pm PST
Watch on: ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer 

Last month the U.S. qualified for World Cup 2014 but we're back at it again... Two upcoming games with two very desperate sides are upon us and then qualifying will be over except for a few inter-continental playoff games to determine the final World Cup slots. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that. In this upcoming game with Jamaica we can't let our guard down... they are in last place but they beat us last year in qualifying. And earlier this year they battled back to tie the U.S. late in the game but an extra-time heroic goal by Brad Evans gave the US a very exciting 3 points. What do you think, Chip?

Well, it is getting down to the nitty gritty of preparing for the final push to win the World Cup. (Coach) Jurgen (Klinsmann) sure has the right attitude, that we need to continue to build on what we have established. And everything we do NOW sets the tone for WC 2014!

Jurgen called in 20 players to camp, but Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey and Omar Gonzalez are all injured so there are some gaping holes in the roster.

Without Michael Bradley, Jurgen says it will give a chance for players like Mix (Diskerud)  and Aron (Johannsson)  to step in and show what they can do. Mix showed some gumption against Mexico, so I am hoping he gets to play more to see if he can really play well for a longer period of time, or if he's just a bit player. So, you're saying Jurgen should throw him in the MIX? Either way, we still NEED Bradley if we hope to win the WC!

Without Clint Dempsey, it leaves Jozy (Altidore) up front with?? Jurgen mentions Eddie Johnson as the other forward. I would personally like to see Landon (Donovan) up with Jozy. And I really wish he would have called on Chris Wondolowski to come in and show what more he can do! He is a pure goal scorer I feel, and could really help if Jozy gets tired and we need a goal to win. Yeah, it would have been fun to see Wondolowski in there, but Terrence Boyd and Johannsson are both hot for their club teams now, so we're stacked up front. He can put any of them up there.

Also without Clint, it opens up a captain's spot. Will it be Landon? Will it be DaMarcus (Beasley)? I really don't know how he can't give it to Landon. He has been captain before and has the coolest head on the team in my opinion. I was thinking Tim Howard, but if you want a cool head, yeah maybe not.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the starting lineup...
GK: Howard
Defense: Evans, Besler, Cameron, Beasley
Midfield: Beckerman, Jones, Donovan, Zusi
Forwards: Altidore, Johnson

and the three subs will be Diskerud for Zusi, Johannsson for Johnson and Bedoya for Beckerman and I'll say Donovan will have the captain's armband.

The most interesting matchup... At midfield we have Jermaine Jones and they have Jermaine Johnson There could actually be 2 Johnsons and a Johannsson on the field at the same time and 4 Jemaines: Jones (US) Johnson, Anderson and Taylor (Jamaica)

OK, let's go out and support the Red White and Blue on Friday. Come on KC, show us what you got from your fan base! Lets not get complacent! I was very impressed with KC's Supporter section in last year's World Cup Qualifier so I know they will not disappoint! They also have to prove to Columbus that they can be even louder! Let's Go U.S.!