Panama Recap/ Honduras Preview

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!

What a difference three games make! Before our second game in the Hexagonal World Cup Qualifying round back in March, the U.S. team was sitting dead last as the only team without a point. Now after game five, our halfway point, The U.S. sits alone at the top as we prepare for the Honduras rematch this Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

Up next: Tuesday, June 18. USA vs HONDURAS, Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
9:00pm EST, 8:00pm CST, 7:00pm MST, 6:00pm PST
Watch on: ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer
CHICAGO: Watch it live on the big screen at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park!

OK USA fans... a strong showing against Panama. I like seeing Eddie (Johnson) and Jozy (Altidore) finishing off goals. That is so important in World Cup Qualifying and will be even more important in the World Cup. You can dominate a game, but if you don't hit the net then it means nothing. We still need to improve in some areas I feel, but overall I am pleased with our progress. Honduras will be an interesting game. I’ll say! Honduras shocked us with a late goal back in February to steal a victory. That was our only loss in the first half of the Hex. We will get to see how Zusi comes out after sitting out a game. And I will get my personal wish of not having Beasley in the backfield, although I would like to have him available for a late sub. Speaking of late subs, Jurgen Klinsmann didn’t even make his first sub until the 87^th minute. I’ve been a DaMarcus Beasley fan since his days with the Chicago Fire. I thought he played a very exciting, attacking-minded game at left back, but his lack of national team experience as a defender is a concern. We will find out about some of the other defenders I guess. I'm curious to see who Jurgen will play back there. Gonzalez, Cameron, Evans and Besler is my guess... with Evans on the left.  And it will be nerve racking to see if Jones is able to go or not. I think as long as we have Bradley in the middle and our strikers continue to finish, it should be a good result. However, Honduras did beat Jamaica 2-0, so they will be a formidable opponent. So come out and support the Team or watch for us on TV! We will be there! The Red White and Blues Brothers will be unveiling our new supporter uniforms at the game!

Jozy Altidore was again named the Budweiser Man of the Match. Tim Howard shaved his beard. Jurgen Klinsmann looked much more professional in his Centennial USA sweatshirt. Kyle Beckerman who plays for Real Salt Lake was just called up to the team. He has a lot of National Team experience and it’s good to see him back. If the U.S. would have beaten Mexico in the 2011 Gold Cup Final, they would be representing CONCACAF in the Confederations Cup in Brazil right now. That would have been a much better test to prepare them for the World Cup in Brazil. This will be the last World Cup Qualifier until September. The Gold Cup takes place in July and we might see Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra suit up for the U.S. in that tournament. Let’s home the U.S. can extend their 2-game win streak with a victory over this pesky Honduras team. You might have watched the following Honduran players with for their club teams… Victor Bernardez and Marvin Chavez (San Jose Earthquakes) Mario Martinez (Seattle Sounders) Oscar Garcia (Houston Dynamo) Arnold Peralta (Glascow Rangers) Roger Espinoza (Wigan) and Wilson Palacios (Stoke City, teammate of Geoff Cameron).

GO USA!

   

Jamaica Recap/ Panama Preview

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! 

Well, it's a busy couple of weeks for U.S. Soccer! Friday night down in Jamaica the Yanks had us fans on an emotional roller coaster, but our boys pulled off an exciting win in stoppage time!  A trip back to the Pacific Northwest and we're ready to do it again! It's USA vs. Panama in Seattle Tuesday night for our 5th game and the halfway point in the Hexagonal round of our CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.

Up next: Tuesday, June 11. USA vs PANAMA, CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington 9:30pm EST, 8:30pm CST, 7:30pm MST, 6:30pm PST
Watch on: ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer

Now Here's Chip with our Game 4 Recap from Friday night...
Hey USA fans. It was a nice, strong win in Jamaica... but we certainly can't rest on our laurels or our Heartys.  We will still need to play with a lot of heart in the up coming games this summer. (Oh, I get it Laurel and HEART-Y! Sometimes your sense of humor is more like a Hardy Boys mystery!) We can't afford to give away points in our home games. In other words, we need to strive for 6 points in Seattle and in Salt Lake City. 4 points would be OK, but I don't want OK. I want brilliance! And we can do it. We will surely miss Zusi against Panama, thanks to a second yellow card. Someone will just have to step up and then he can come back against Honduras. We also have to be careful with several players carrying yellow cards. A yellow card in the Panama game for several players would mean a 1 game suspension. I don't think we can afford to lose any players for the Honduras game, especially Bradley, Dempsey or Evans.

Friday night's hero, Brad Evans received a yellow card for celebrating after his amazing goal! All he did was put his shirt over his head, run to the sideline and laid on his back before he was mobbed by his teammates. I think it was crossing the touchline and leaving the field, but I guess it could have been "delay of game". I think the Panamanian referee could have let that slide. I think the game is better with goal celebrations.

Now for an assessment of the game. I felt we controlled and dominated the first half. This made me very happy, but I also felt we were lucky to be up 1-0 at half. Another breakdown in the defense gave Jamaica a golden opportunity in the 42nd minute, but luckily the right post held strong. Of course, we hit a post early on too, so fair is fair. I don't think goalposts operate on a basis of fairness, but each team just missed and hit the post in the first half. Either goal would have been a huge momentum swing as Bradley's post was in the second minute of the game and Jamaica's was right before halftime. 

Speaking of post shots. Is it just me that thinks this, or is Michael Bradley the best player on the field these days? He controls and dominates the mid field and seems to do it with ease. He always knows where the ball should go and almost always gets it there. Nobody ever dribbles around him when he is on the defense and he can get a shot off once and a while too.... as he did when he hit the left post early in the game. We can thank our lucky stars and stripes we have him on our team!

Well, Budweiser awarded Altidore the man of the match and I thought Zusi was the best player for the U.S. on Friday. It's a bummer he has to sit out Tuesday's game with that yellow card suspension.

On to the second half. I felt we played fairly well in the second half as well, but a little sluggish. Blame it on the heat and humidity perhaps? Or partaking in Jamaican customs at halftime? One thing is for certain, we need to shore up the line on free kicks! Jamaica has 3 goals off set pieces in the past two games against us. That is unacceptable! I would blame this one on late sub Eddie Johnson. He was out of position in the end. He is a forward and a goal scorer, so can we really blame him or should we blame Jurgen for the substitution choice? I don't really like to "blame" anyone, so let's move on and hope that both people learn from their mistakes.

However, I sure would like 5 minutes with Jurgen to discuss his substitution choices. So much for moving on! It looks like Chip is getting fired up. We now return to his rant, already in progress... I understand his hand was forced a little with the Jones injury (let's hope his injury is not serious) and bringing Cameron in. I am not sure about the Castillo sub? He didn't seem to do too bad, but he didn't seem to do too much either. Maybe he needs to develop more. But I am baffled by the Johnson sub. Was Jozy exhausted? Hurt? If so, why not bring in a fresh defender for him and move Beasley up to fill the void? Beasley could attack some and still get back to help on defense. Or were his legs done too? These are things I don't know by watching on TV, and I sure would love some insight into it! In an earlier post I mentioned Johnson scoring two goals and being in form. I am not so sure about that anymore. He didn't impress me, and he certainly didn't seem to understand the situation of the game. I can think of at least two times where he pushed the envelope forward late in the game when he should have settled and controlled. Another goal at those times would have been nice, but the play wasn't there in my opinion. Of course, that is just MY opinion. What is YOUR opinion? The Red White and Blues Bros. want to hear from you!

Danny, anything you want to add?
Why yes Chip, thank you for asking! Since you're asking our readers their opinions of coaching tactics and strategy, I have a few items I'm curious about... Tim Howard's beard and Jurgen Kilinsmann's wardrobe choice. Tim, it's great to have you back in the net after recovering from your broken back, but c'mon man, lose the beard! You're one of the only players on the U.S. team that a casual American sports fan might recognize on the street and now you have a disguise. And Jurgen, I think it's totally cool that you brought the team down a few days early to enjoy Jamaica and to watch the Mexico/Jamaica game, but your khakis and T-shirt was a bit too laid back. You looked like you were coaching your daughter's Saturday morning youth game.

And I'd like to point out, that Klinsmann started the same line-up 2 games in a row for the first time since he became the U.S. coach in 2011. Unfortunately with Zusi and Jones out, he won't be able to continue the streak. In the three U.S. away games in the hex, they've worn 3 different uniform combinations. In Honduras in February they wore the all-blue kit and in Mexico in March they wore the all-white kit as the Mexicans wore all black. On Friday they mixed it up a bit by wearing white shorts with the navy blue jersey and socks. Maybe they did that because Jamaica wore black shorts, but it got them a win, so in September when they resume qualifying on the road, I hope they wear the lucky kit.

And things to watch for the Panama game... Panama is coming off a 0-0 tie with Mexico on Friday. That's huge for them, even at home. They're currently in 4th place in the hex. Brad Evans should get a hero's welcome at his home stadium in Seattle. Eddie Johnson also plays for the Sounders and he got a hat trick against Panama (as a sub!) in 2004. Ok, it was 9 years ago, but still that's pretty cool. Panama is playing only their second game on the road in the hex. They tied Jamaica back in March. Panama has never qualified for the World Cup. They have only 1 player playing in the Eastern Hemisphere (Rolando Blackburn plays in Slovakia) and only one player in The MLS (Blas Perez plays for FC Dallas but he might miss Tuesday's game.

Let's Go U.S.A!

QUALIFIER TONIGHT! Ya Mon!

Friday Night... USA back in action vs. Jamaica at "The Office". Mexico beat The Reggae Boyz earlier this week 1 to 0 and the U.S. should do the same. But the last time these two teams met, it was Jamaica who came out on top. Let's Go U.S.!

The Red, White and Blues Brothers will have a game recap and we'll look ahead to our next qualifier with Panama on Tuesday.

100 Year Victory

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!  
 
The U.S. split their two friendlies as they get ready for their most intense month of World Cup Qualifying. Their loss to Belgium left many of us cringing, but the victory over Germany during the Centennial celebration gave us hope and hopefully gave the Yanks the confidence they need to come away with three victories in World Cup Qualifying. Here's Chip with his U.S. vs. Germany recap...

Well USA fans.... let's not get too excited about a 4-3 win over a second-string German team using their fourth-string goalie. It is a nice win and it was nice to see Jozy (Altidore) play well and Clint (Dempsey) continue his mastery. I am also happy to see Jurgen (Klinsmann) playing Michael Bradley this game. Hopefully the Belgium game was just a game of rest for Michael, although he really doesn't need much rest the way I see it. Michael Bradley joined the team after the Belgium game. He played in Coppa Italia last Sunday and didn’t push himself to get back by Wednesday. I think if it was a qualifier he would have had a much more aggressive travel schedule. After all, Neymar played in Brazil on Sunday and was being announced as the newest member of Barcelona in Spain on Monday.  If Jozy played as fast and hard as Michael, he would be a monster. As it is, I am happy with the result and see room for improvement... which needs to happen SOON… Like this coming Friday soon! The U.S. travels to Jamaica for a World Cup Qualifier on Friday.

The qualifiers are upon us and this is where we will see which direction the USA team will go and if Jurgen is truly the right man to lead us to the Holy Land... some of you know it as Brazil. If he gets a set lineup and quits tinkering with it through the qualifiers, then I think we will have a strong qualifying round and maybe make some noise in Brazil. If he continues to shuffle the lineup like an old deck of cards, then we will never get the continuity and cohesiveness we will need to win the World Cup… or even qualify for the World Cup.

Our defense needs to grow up quickly! Without a solid defense, we are doomed. This is where Jurgen especially needs to decide on his four backs and stick with them! If he can't tell who the talent is by now, he will never be able to recognize it. I am not at practices, so it is hard for me to completely evaluate who should be there and who shouldn't. However, if it were my decision I would be playing (Geoff) Cameron, (Matt) Besler, (Omar) Gonzalez and (Clarence) Goodson. Those are my picks for now and would hope (Carlos) Bocanegra will get healthy enough to play. Or maybe even Oguchi Onyewu could dream of getting healthy? Yeah, C'mon Gooch, we KNEED you, Man! I am not holding my breath though.  I think the Beasley experiment should be put to rest. He is too risky back there. I think he is better utilized as a late midfield sub who can use his speed to attack and still get back on defense.

So, let's all hold a collective breath together and pray we come out on the other side as a color other than blue.... how about Red and White and Blue! Go USA!

Danny's comments:

Wow, this is cool. My first international game was U.S. vs. Germany in Chicago's Soldier Field 20 years ago... June 13, 1993. I was at the game with my dad. I remember discussing whether or not Germany was "letting the U.S. score a few goals." Germany won that game 4-3 and Jurgen Klinsmann scored the first goal for Germany. Twenty years later: same score- different result. Germany is ranked second in the world. I would think even their second-string team is worthy of a World Cup bid. And even their 4th-string goalkeeper is very talented. Heck, we have 6 keepers on the roster this month and I'd be confident with any of them in the net. So I say let's not dismiss this victory. Anytime we can beat Germany, it's a big deal. And I don't think we have our best XI on the field either... so there! I don't think Jurgen is going to stop tinkering with the lineup. In fact, the Gold Cup in July will probably be the mad scientist's lab. I predict the lineup we see this month will be much different than the one we see in our September and October qualifiers.    

We'll post a pre-Jamaica game blog later in the week, but if you want a sneak peek of The Reggae Boyz, check out their game tonight (Tuesday) against Mexico. Hopefully their tough opponent will wear them down for us!

 

USA: Back in Action

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! 

On Wednesday, May 29, our U.S. National Team resumes play on American soil. A couple of friendlies are scheduled before our June World Cup qualifying games.
May 29 vs. Belgium in Cleveland
June 2 vs. Germany in Washington, D.C.

Here's Chip with our preview...

OK USA fans... here we go! Probably the most important 4 months of soccer in the USA is upon us. Starting in June with more qualifiers and ending in September with Mexico in my hometown of Columbus! There are still a lot of unanswered questions I feel, and so I am nervous AND excited to see how it plays out.

Well, I'd be surprised if it does play out by September. The CONCACAF Hexagonal is way too tight and I wouldn't be surprised if it went to the end. In October we have Jamaica in Kansas City and then we travel to Panama. After that the top 3 will be in and our 4th place representative plays New Zealand in a playoff. So I'm saying it's an important 5 months!

Jurgen (Klinsmann, the coach) has decided to bring in 6 goalies to training camp. That seems a bit excessive to me, especially since we have 2 goalies locked in with Timmy (Howard) and Brad (Guzan). The 3rd goalie is almost never that important to World Cup. He tries to explain is reasoning in a recent interview, but I just don't agree with the decision. We shall see I guess.

Yeah, I think he should just pick a number 3 and then spend his energy figuring out how to get us some goals.

Defense is our biggest question mark I feel. I only see one proven player on the roster and that is Omar Gonzalez. There is potential of course, IF they step it up. Mr. (DaMarcus) Beasley can still show us some things I hope. Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler have sure showed promise, but lack the experience we may need in Brazil. Still hoping that Carlos Bocanegra will make a strong return. We should know by September!

And I hope Jurgen settles on one lineup and lets the guys get used to playing together. They need to build chemistry. If Bocanegra is in the plans for Brazil, he should at least call him into camp.

Strangely, our midfield is probably our strongest asset at this point (excluding the goalies of course). That has not been the case for American soccer as far back as I can remember. But with likes of Bradley, Holden, Davis, Edu (injured) Jones, Shea (injured) Zusi and even Williams if he is healthy. Jurgen might have a tough time deciding who to play there. I know which 4 I would pick at this time, but want to see the others play in up coming games against Belgium and Germany to decide. That's probably what Jurgen is thinking and feeling too right now I suspect.

What about Kljestan? He's on the roster. Did you not mention him because you can't spell his name?

Kljestan

Kljestan

Our forwards are good, but they still make me wonder. Are we going to have to rely on Clint (Dempsey) to score all of our big goals? Or will Jozy (Altidore) show some of his early USA form and continue his form from Holland? Jurgen says he is making progress on his maturity, which is much needed and I would LOVE to see personally. But I would also like to see him play harder for longer. Is his stamina up for the task? That is my big question for him. Will Hercules (Gomez) finally break through with some much needed goals? Eddie (Johnson) scored twice for Seattle recently and that is way promising to me. I hope Jurgen has paid attention to that. Our last World Cup went south because I believe (Bob) Bradley should have played Edson Buddle when he was in TOP form. He never got much chance. Being in form is critical in World Cup, regardless of how "great" other players may be. And speaking of form, can we DREAM that Landon (Donovan) will be in form soon and come back to save the day! He is a super hero in my opinon, and could out-play pretty much anyone on the front line even when not in form. But we do need him in form!

By the way, Donovan the musician wrote a song called Sunshine Superman. Maybe Donovan will start being a Superman now that his winter break is over and the sun is shining again.
Ok, maybe it will go to October, but I still think we should have a spot wrapped up after we BEAT Mexico in Columbus! And I know how to spell Kiljestiran's name.... just don't know much about him to be honest... experience! I agree that Jurgen should just pick a lineup and get on with it! Oooh, Sunshine Superman... I will have to look that up and when I see Landon in Salt Lake, I will ask him to make it his theme song! Go USA!!

 

What say YOU?! Agree with me or disagree, I want to know what USA fans are thinking out there!

And what do you think of our match ups with BELGIUM and GERMANY? We could have picked anyone to play our Centennial Celebration friendlies with. The European sides might help us get ready for playing in The World Cup, but we could have found other Latin American teams that might help us better prepare for qualifying. And one last note, I'd hold out on playing Beasley tonight. Save him for the Germany. Only because he would get his 100th Cap for U.S. Soccer on U.S. Soccer's 100th Birthday- that's way cool!

And Danny and I will be heading to the Honduras game in Salt Lake and 90% chance we will be in Columbus for the big Mexico game! Come out and meet and greet us, the Red White and Blues Brothers!! You won't be disappointed I promise!

USA vs. Mexico Recap

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! 

On Tuesday, March 26, our U.S. National Team traveled to Mexico City for Matchday #3 in the the final round of World Cup Qualifying. Here's our recap...

We are not Irish, but I must say we had some luck on our side Tuesday night in Azteca. Even an earthquake could not deter our determined lads. I felt like we controlled and possessed the ball fairly well, especially for a young team. However, we made a few mistakes again and could have easily paid for it, but luckily Mexico wasn't up to the task. We got away with a couple of calls, BUT every game and every team gets away with a call or two. I felt the ref did a good job. Mexico had plenty of opportunities in front of the net that they just missed, plain and simple. If they would have spent more time and energy on focusing on the goal instead of whining and rolling all over the ground like they got run over by a steam engine, then they probably would have won.

I personally like watching Mexico play. I know they’re our big rival, but they are a good team and they play an exciting style of soccer. But it is really hard to respect a team that dives so much and flops around like they were just body slammed by The Crusher. And I agree with you Chip about Mexico and their missed opportunities. They couldn’t find the net if they were a fish under a tuna boat. They completely outplayed us but only 3 of Mexico’s 17 sots were on goal.

A point is a point they say and I agree for the most part. Just curious… when is a point not a point? I really did want 3 points, and I now have some respect for Jurgen as he appeared to want 3 as well. He made some late subs that suggested he wasn't playing for a tie. He wanted a goal and a win. I LOVED it! It didn't work out of course, but I was happy to see his effort.

At that point I was thinking that Jurgen was on crack. That thin air at 7200 feet was probably influencing those decisions. He’s bringing in forwards when Mexico was putting big pressure on our defense. It felt like the whole game was played on our side of the field.

I know Jozy was upset when he came out, but really we had NO shots on goal at that point! How could Jozy possibly complain? He really needs to play harder and with more direct effort in my opinion. Of course, he didn't get a whole lot of help from his mates. Still, if he is the main forward, he should be attacking! Jozy and Bradley had the only real challenge of the first half that I saw and Mexico broke it up easy enough without us even getting a shot off. It is a little concerning to me that we didn't get more chances, but it is Mexico and high altitude and all that jazz. I will be curious to see how we progress in the next few games and if Jozy will come out with FIRE in his pants to prove himself worthy, or sulk in a corner? I am hoping for the FIRE! I think he can be a great goal scorer on the international level. I would like him to be a great soccer player along with that!

I was extremely impressed with Brad Guzan! He was confident and outstanding! I dare say he may be a better keeper than Tim Howard at this point, and that is saying something! I wouldn't say there is a keeper controversy, but I wouldn't knock Jurgen if he continued to play Guzan after Howard gets healthy. Trying to make THAT decision just might be the biggest challenge for him as a coach.

Guzan did a fine job and it’s great he got a few big games under his belt this time around but I don’t think he was really tested all that much. He was selected as Budweiser’s Man of the Match. I do think he was deserving of this, to be able to keep his composure and direct the defense while they were getting bombarded late in the game. I was watching the Spanish broadcast and they selected Bradley as their player of the game. Too much of the time I saw our guys standing around on defense during Mexico’s set plays. This is unacceptable! Mexican attackers were left wide open on more than one occasion. I think Graham Zusi deserves special mention for making that 30-yard run back towards our goal to break up a scoring chance. Our defensive backs really seemed to read the game well and they stepped up to break up several more potential Mexican attacks.

Beasley did OK, but I think we need him on the left side at midfield and we need to find a true defender for the left back. Of course, I don't know if there is one to be had out there and we may have to live on the edge with him. I do love a good Aerosmith song, so that might not be so bad. Again, time will tell.... as is the case for a big part of this team! With youth comes growth, we hope!!

And speaking of youth, they might have to carry us through some of the games in the hex. We now have 7 U.S. players carrying a yellow card. Fortunately, the three that were handed out on Tuesday were not to any of the players already carrying one. It’s almost inevitable that there will be some yellow card suspensions served by the U.S. later this summer.

After 3 of the 10 games each team will play in this Hexagonal round, here are the standings

1. PANAMA 1-0-2,  5pts
2. HONDURAS 1-1-1,  4pts

3. USA 1-1-1,  4 pts
4. Costa Rica 1-1-1, 4 pts
5. Mexico 0-0-3,  3pts

6. Jamaica 0-1-2, 2pts

I also must say I think I like the kits. They are a little simple, but that gives them a "classic" look and feel to me. I will take ALL WHITE over all black ANY day!!
Nice!!

Go USA!!!!!             

Viva Estados Unidos!

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, March 26. USA vs MEXICO, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico 10:30pm EST, 9:30pm CST, 8:30pm MST, 7:30pm PST
Watch on: ESPN, WatchESPN, Univision
Follow on Match Tracker at ussoccer.com
and via Twitter @ussoccer

Pre-game special: The replay of Friday's U.S. vs. Costa Rica game will be shown on ESPN Classic from 7:30 to 9:30 EST!

It's time for Matchday #3 in the CONCACAF Hexagonal final round of World Cup Qualifying! Our heroes, The U.S. Men's National Soccer team head down to Mexico City where last August they won for the first time ever on Mexican soil in a "friendly" which is a soccer term for an exhibition game. We keep score but the score doesn't really mean anything beyond bragging rights. Yeah, but it will influence FIFA's World Ranking. Mexico is currently ranked 15th in the world and USA is ranked 33rd. There are a lot of draws or ties in soccer. Extra time (overtime) and tie-breakers are usually only used in the final rounds of tournaments. One would think that with only 1 win in Mexico there would be a lot of ties between the two teams. One would think that, but our U.S. team is a pathetic 1-23-1 while playing in Mexico! Let's hope the curse is over and we can start a new winning streak!

The big difference between these two teams is in goal. The goalkeeper for Mexico will probably be Ochoa who has a lot of hair and the U.S. will go with Guzan who has very little. Mexico is coming off a very disappointing result from Friday. They were up 2-0 against Honduras with 15 minutes left in the game. Anytime you can win an away game in World Cup qualifying is a huge bonus. Most teams play very cautiously and look for a draw which is worth 1 point. That's a lot better than giving your opponent 3 points for a win. Honduras scored 2 goals just 3 minutes apart in the 77th and 80th minute and the game ended in a draw. They are going to come out strong against the U.S. If we can get another early goal like on Friday, that will no doubt take the wind out of their sails and fill their heads with doubt. Yeah, but let's get to the real important point... what uniforms will both teams be wearing? On Friday, Mexico wore their traditional green jersey and white shorts. I like that kit much better than their modern black kit with gold and red trim. And will the U.S. debut a new centennial away kit? Against Honduras in February they wore all navy blue with white short sleeves. The Yanks' navy blue is too close to Mexico's black so I predict Mexico will once again wear green or USA will once again wear white.
While you're at it, why don't you predict what color the referee will be wearing? Geez, let's get to the game. The big news is that Jermaine Jones is out with an ankle injury.
Yellow.
You're calling Jermaine Jones yellow?
No! I bet the referee will be wearing yellow.
Is there anything intelligent you would like to add to this blog?
Yeah, most of the Mexican players play in Mexico. Only one plays in England and that is Manchester United's Javier Hernandez, known around the world as "Chicharito." He was the fastest player in the last World Cup so our inexperienced defenders will have their hands full. Chicharito scored both of Mexico's goals on Friday.   Three U.S. players play professionally in Mexico... Hercules Gomez, DaMarcus Beasley and Joe Corona. Maybe Corona will get into this game. He didn't see any action on Friday.
Let's go down to Azteca and get 3 points! The next World Cup Qualifiers won't be until June and our home game against Mexico will be in Columbus, Ohio in September.
GO USA!