Gold Cup Preview- Belize

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!

Tonight, July 9, 2013 USA vs. Belize JELD-WEN Field, Portland, Oregon 8pm PST
Game 1 of The Gold Cup for the U.S.

The Gold Cup has already had it's share of upsets and the U.S. wants to make sure they don't fall in their opening game to a weaker team like our neighbors to the North and South did. Canada and Mexico are both 0-1-0 in group play. The U.S. has Belize tonight, Cuba on the 13th and Costa Rica on the 16th. Costa Rica might be the only team that gives them a fight in their group, but we've learned every opponent can be dangerous in this tournament.

This is not our World Cup team, but we will definitely see some of these players in our last four World Cup Qualifiers and probably on next summer's World Cup team. Everyone seems to think that Landon Donovan will be on that squad. Another blast from the past, Oguchi Onyewu is back and trying to make the World Cup squad on the back line and Hercules Gomez is back up front after recovering from his injury.

This same lineup beat Guatemala 6-0 in a friendly in San Diego on Friday. It was interesting to see the Yanks bring out the "Where's Waldo" red and white striped kits. I thought those were going to be retired forever. I thought they would play all season in the simple Centennial all-white or white and blue kit. I don't know where Chip is tonight, but if he was here, I know he would have SOMETHING to say about DaMarcus Beasley being named captain of The Gold Squad team! Well, it's almost time for the game. Hopefully we'll hear what Chip thinks about what's going on the Gold Cup.

Go USA!    

MNT vs. BLZ | 07/09/2013 | 8 p.m. PT | JELD-WEN Field; Portland, Ore. - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/#sthash.SleTX30q.dpuf

MNT vs. BLZ | 07/09/2013 | 8 p.m. PT | JELD-WEN Field; Portland, Ore. - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/#sthash.SleTX30q.dpuf

U.S vs Honduras- The Fan Experience

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!

Happy 4th of July- This is OUR HOLIDAY! Hooray for The Red, White and Blue, Brother! Here's our recap of our fan experience attending the U.S. vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifier.

A great time was had by The Red White and Blues Brothers as Chip and I saw our first game together in 2013. Chip is living in Salt Lake City so I flew out from Chicago for 3 days of Fun, Food and Football. In 2009, Chip saw his first U.S. game, which was also our first U.S. game together. Ironically, it was USA vs. Honduras and a World Cup Qualifier for the 2010 World Cup. The game in 2009 took us by surprise. U.S. fans are used to being in the minority when we play Mexico in big American cities like Chicago or LA, but when we showed up to Soldier Field in Chicago, we were shocked to see Honduras fans were in the overwhelming majority. To make things even harder for us, our U.S. Supporter section was divided between the 100 and 300 level with Honduras fans filling up the 200 level.

Yeah, well if it was MY FIRST game ever, then it stands to reason it was OUR FIRST game together too... seems a bit redundant Danny. Not necessarily! What if I wasn’t there? It is possible you could have gone to the game without me... you wouldn't do that though... would you?   Hmmm, Yes, I think I probably would! I do remember that game well and was shocked to see so many Honduran fans at the game. I thought USA soccer had come farther than that, but apparently not yet. It was still an electrifying game for me, being my first time and just being in the atmosphere of it all.

This was going to be a much different situation. Playing in the intimate Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake’s soccer specific stadium was chosen because we would have the home field advantage with a pro-U.S. crowd. The capacity is listed at just over 20,000 and it sold out within a few days.
The game in Chicago had 55,000 mostly Honduran fans.

Once again we were surprised to see large groups of fans wearing the blue and white of Honduras.  I think it was still a pro-U.S. crowd but Honduras was definitely well-represented.

Different is certainly putting it mildly Danny. I would almost prefer to have had more Honduran fans there to be honest. It would have made for a more exciting crowd (I said almost!) I would say our crowd was about 70% American. On one hand it was good to see more Americans at the game, but on the other hand Americans sure are sedate when it comes to soccer! I mean, let's see... Danny brought a drum to the game and there was only ONE other drum in the whole stadium!! (Actually, a few Honduras fans had drums but we only had two in the U.S. Supporter Section) AND that one came from Iowa for God's sake! Come on Utah! If you want more USA games in Salt Lake, I suggest getting a little more positive energy in the stadium. The only time the crowd really got going was when a Honduran player went down and the crowd chanted "let him die". To be honest I was a bit disgusted by it. I know players dive and stuff and pretend they are in agony, but using our energy to antagonize that AND to even suggest someone should die for it is appalling to me. Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately, too often the passionate fans have hatred towards the other players, the other fans and the other team. Many U.S. Supporters have a great sense of humor and they are super-clever. I like when we use playful humor in our chants and songs. Too many of them are negative and derogatory. The Red, White and Blues Brothers stand for unity through soccer and good sportsmanship. We have a blast interacting with the other team’s supporters before and after the games. We take pictures and drum and dance with them. It truly can be an international party. In 20 years of attending national team games, I can only recall one negative experience where a drunk Mexican fan stole my Uncle Sam hat after a game in Houston.  Can't we be loud and boisterous in a POSITIVE way to lift our team up and give them energy to help them win the game?! That is what a "12th man" is for in my opinion. And before all the feminists jump in, let me point out it was a Men's National Team game. If the women were playing, then it would be called a "12th woman". Whew, I could hear the wrath coming already on that one!

With that being said. I really did have a great time at the game, as I always do with Danny. I only wish we could have more passion in our country for the MNT. Danny and I went around the stadium after the game with Danny's drum and we had more Honduran fans dancing with us than American fans. I had to double check the scoreboard to make sure I didn't miss something and wondered if Honduras actually won the game. I hope tons of Americans go to Brazil and get to see and feel their passion for the game! Danny and I went there to experience it and it is a trip I will never forget. Especially since we wrote a book on it. Check it out at http://www.fieldsofpassion.net  We danced more in Brazil than I have danced in my lifetime. So go out and dance America! It is fun!

For the past year, U.S. Soccer has really become fan-friendly. Last May they started having a training session open to the public a day or two before the game. Recently, they started holding a pep rally the night before the game. Chip and I went down to the rally and were quite pleased. It was held in a medium-sized music venue. They played great videos on the big screen and had Q & A sessions with U.S. Soccer Federation president, Sunil Gulati, , former U.S. great Eddie Pope, current U.S. players Eddie Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Nick Rimando and coach Jurgen Klinsmann.  What a unique experience… and it was free!  

Yes, I really enjoyed the pep rally, Danny. I came away impressed with Jurgen and I feel he just might be the right guy for the job actually. I may not have said that a ear ago. My only regret is I didn’t step up to the microphone to pepper Jurgen about his substitution selections and his thought process in it all. Next time perhaps. Maybe that’s a good thing. If you got going they might have called Security and have you removed!

After the rally we helped out a TV reporter by being his colorful and cheering backdrop during his live remote. On Tuesday-game day we ran around getting last minute additions to our Red White and Blues Brothers uniforms and I needed some supplies for my sign I was making. Since the game was being broadcast on a jumbo-tron screen back home in Chicago’s Grant Park I made a sign that said, “MAKE SOME NOISE CHICAGO!” I know the cameraman filmed it more than once, but I didn’t hear from anyone who saw the sign on the air.



You can see all our other photos on our online photo album HERE

We also filmed scenes from my Castrol Correspondent video. The video was good enough to get me in the top semi-final round.  You can watch it and vote once a day from this link:
https://www.facebook.com/castrolusa?sk=app_362434780537080&app_data 

Thanks and Let's Go USA!

Honduras 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 June 18, the Red White and Blues Brothers attended the U.S vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifier in Salt Lake City where the Yanks came up victorious 1-0 to that pesky Honduras team.  Now let's go to Chip with the game recap...  

A win is a win they say. It was a big win for the USA MNT for sure and it solidifies us as a team to be reckoned with. However, we still have a long way to go to be ready to WIN a World Cup. Keep in mind my review is from ground level BEHIND the goal which is a little different perspective than watching on TV. 

It felt like we had little or no flow in the game. Bradley controlled the midfield as usual, but other than that if felt like we were kicking the ball around a bit. We did play nice defensively in my opinion. Honduras only had one or two real chances at goals. Tim Howard stepped up both times as expected. And not to pat myself on the back, but it does reinforce my belief that Beasley needs to be used as a midfield substitution (instead of Castillo) and not as a starting defender. I guess we will see how Jurgen feels come September. I don't think we need to wait that long. The Beas was just appointed Captain of the U.S. squad during the Gold Cup for the month of July! Our offense did have some superb attacks and we could have had 2 or even 3 goals with a little luck or a little NO OFFSIDE call. (Minutes before the U.S. scored their real goal, a U.S. goal was waved off with a controversial-for-us offside call.) Jozy (Altidore) came thru once again and Clint (Dempsey) was a bit unlucky not to head one in. Unlucky? It was beyond that. It was surreal! I’ve never seen anything like it. Dempsey hit a nice full-extension header that went off the post and it bounced back directly over his diving body. If he was able to bend his leg up he might have scored the most amazing forward-heel shots ever scored!  Bradley even had his opportunity to score, but it sailed just over the crossbar. Overall it was nice to see the attacking mindset. I still wish we could do it with a little more fluidity and I wish we could counterattack better.  Counterattacks are some of the most dangerous plays in soccer, and Honduras almost proved that on Tuesday night. Luckily they had a miss dribble to ruin one and a misfire to ruin another. Our counterattacks look like we are setting up for a tea party or something... We are not the British National Team, we are the US Men's National Team!!

I feel Graham Zusi is one of the most under appreciated players on our team. Well I appreciate him if that helps. Why does Jurgen always sub for him? I need to know these things. Now, I was really impressed with the way Brad Davis played when he came in for Zusi, but what if Zusi stayed in and Davis came in for Eddie Johnson? That might just be dynamic! In an earlier post I had mentioned Eddie might be in top form since he scored a couple of goals and yes he scored against Panama in Seattle, but I retract that statement. He hasn't impressed me much personally.

Again, overall I am pleased with our progress and look forward to seeing how we improve over the next few months and into next summer. Danny and I will be in Columbus to see the HUGE game against Mexico. Come on out and meet and greet with us!

I almost say here that it didn't help that the officials insisted on taking away all the streamers that the fans were throwing towards the field and the goal. Don't they watch any soccer games in Europe or Brazil? There are always streamers along the field and the goal. It seemed to take away some of the enthusiasm from the crowd and it showed how little America really knows about the passion and fun of the game.

Wow, I’m glad you ALMOST said that, because if you really said that, it might be taken a little harsh!

Read about our fan experience in the next blog and as we get ready for the Gold Cup... Let's Go USA!

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!