The U.S. closed out 2008 with a 2-0 win over Guatemala. Goals from Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu gave the U.S. a good win to end the semifinal round. Now the U.S. looks towards 2009, where they will meet Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Mexico in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, aka 'the hexagonal.'
5:50 p.m. - Well, the teams are off the field, and that means it's time for us to sign off! We'll be back after the match!
5:48 p.m. - Just a reminder: Guatemala needs to win tonight. Los Chapines are three points behind Trinidad & Tobago, so they'll need a win and a T&T loss to have any chance of advancing to the Hexagonal. In Group 2, Mexico, Honduras, and Jamaica are still fighting over two spots. There's still much to play for in these last games of the semifinal round.
5:46 p.m. - More highlights from today, with England beating Germany 2-1:
5:45 p.m. - Brad Guzan has had enough, and he's marched back to the locker room. The team should follow pretty soon.
5:43 p.m. - Looks like we're wearing our whites tonight, with blue shorts and white socks. That may sound fairly straightforward but actually it wasn't - there was a bit of a snafu with some of Guatemala's gear getting here, so we were not quite sure what colors the teams would be wearing. Anyhow, looks like it's going to be the U.S. in white, and Guatemala in blue
5:41 p.m. - The stadium soundtrack has reverted back to its traditional form: The Boss' "Born to Run" is playing now.
5:37 p.m. - Sean Franklin and Matt Pickens are inactive tonight.
5:35 p.m. - Tonight's referee crew is from Mexico, with Benito Archundia taking the whistle as the center ref.
5:33 p.m. - Apparently the Snake Pit was goin' off! Here are some pictures from the pre-game festivities out in the parking lot. 5:26 p.m. - Out come the U.S. and Guatemala for warmups...
5:20 p.m. - Some Guatemala fans have arrived and they're making their home behind the near goal. They've got their blue and white streamers out already...
5:16 p.m. - Here come Brad Guzan and Troy Perkins, they're the first players out on the field as they walk across the pitch to the far goal box.
5:14 p.m. - The players should be out any minute now...There was a full slate of international games around the world today. Perhaps most notable was Diego Maradona's debut as head coach of Argentina in Scotland. Argentina grabbed the 1-0 win for their new coach.
5:10 p.m. - Here's how the U.S. will start tonight's game against Guatemala:
That's a 4-4-2, though expect Clark and Mastroeni to operate a bit behind Adu and Kljestan, who will use the wings to get forward and support the strikers.
Six players make their first ever starts in World Cup Qualifying: Thorrington, Goodson, Parkhurst, Bornstein, Clark and Cooper.
Four players retain their places from the previous game against T&T: Guzan, Adu, Kljestan and Altidore.
5:08 p.m. - In case you haven't seen it yet, here's today's pre-game video:
5:05 p.m. - Currently The Killers' new single, Human, is playing over the loudspeaker. Um...Where is "R.O.C.K. in the USA?" Where is James Brown's "Living in America?"
5:03 p.m. - Our U-20's got off to a great start in the World Cup today, defeating France 3-0. Alex Morgan opened the scoring before substitute Sydney Leroux added a brace to nab all 3 points.
5:00 p.m. - We've put out the lineup over on the U.S. Soccer Twitter. Go check it out! Or just wait here if you want, we'll have it in a few minutes.
4:58 p.m. - Pre game sprinklers are watering the field. At this time of year, usually the grounds crew wouldn't water the field - since the ground would freeze. It's unseasonably warm here, almost 60 degrees! That'll cool off more into the tonight but it shouldn't be nearly as cold as we (or probably Guatemala) expected.
4:55 p.m. - The team arrived a few minutes ago, but nobody is on the field yet. A few coaches and players walked out onto the pitch to check it out. Jozy Altidore, Ricardo Clark and Freddy Adu trotted out to the center circle, along with assistant coach Mike Sorber.
4:50 p.m. - Hello from Commerce City, Colo! We've settled ourselves in the press box and we'll be here live blogging up until kickoff.
If you took our advice and read the pre-game notes this morning, you would have seen this tidbit:
Three players are in the squad from the Colorado Rapids. In addition to team captain Mastroeni, Conor Casey and Cory Gibbs return to the U.S. fold. Casey looks to get his first international action since 2005, while Gibbs comes back after a knee injury knocked him off the 2006 FIFA World Cup roster.
Got us thinking about which player has had the longest interval between national team appearances. One player in the running may very well be starting tonight! Anyway, you know the drill. Starting the stopwatch ... now.
Game days are often the longest days in any camp. With matches normally having night-time kickoffs and no real activities beforehand, it often winds up being a day of eating, resting, eating, napping, eating ... you get the idea. With the 6 p.m. MT kickoff, things move up a little bit for the team. Here's a look at today's schedule:
7 - 10:30 a.m. - Breakfast available 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. - Pick up Game Day Attire 2 p.m. - Pre-Game Meal 2:45 p.m . - Team Meeting 4:10 p.m. - Depart for Stadium 6:11 p.m. - Kickoff 9 p.m. - Post-Game Meal
(Somewhere around 8 p.m., we're hoping to pencil in 'defeated Guatemala')
You may have noticed that the MNT isn't the only U.S. team with a game today. The U-20 Women's National Team has just kicked off their World Cup campaign, as they take on France down in Chillan, Chile. The game is currently being shown on ESPN2, so tune in to see what will hopefully be a good victory for the U.S. You can aso follow the game over at ussoccer.com with MatchTracker.
The 2008 "Best Of" Awards kicked off today, with voting taking place over at the Best Of Blog. Fans are invited to vote on 12 different categories, ranging from Best Goal, to Best Bar and even Best Blog (seriously, is that one even a contest?). We asked U.S. MNT midfielder Sacha Kljestan to weigh in with his votes in different categories. You better believe that we watched Sacha while he filled out the ballot, too.
Best Assist - Drew Moor vs. MEX, Feb. 6: "I wasn't at this game, so I was watching it on TV. Drew hit a pinpoint cross and Jozy finished well. It looked like a great crowd at the game, it's just too bad we couldn't get the win." Best Goal: MNT - Michael Bradley vs. TRI, Sept. 10: "This was a good finish on a set piece that we had worked on. It's pretty difficult to score with a touch like that and the goal started out the game really well for us. It set us on pace for the 3-0 win and took us closer to qualifying for the next round."
Best Goal: WNT - Carli Lloyd vs. BRA, Aug. 22: "This was an important goal, not just for the Women's team but for U.S. Soccer. It gave the U.S. another gold medal and marked a big win over one of the toughest teams." Fan Photo - Jeff York: "I picked this photo because it shows the spirit of the home fans we had in D.C. It was a good atmosphere at the game that night, and it really helped us get a 6-1 victory that put is in the next round of qualifying."
Best Performance: Player - Tim Howard vs. ARG, June 8: "This was a great individual performance and Timmy came up with a ton of saves, especially early to keep us in the match against Argentina. The atmosphere at giants stadium, with the cheering fans and the heavy rain at the end. For Tim, it must have felt great to put in such a good performance in the stadium he used to play in for the MetroStars."
Best Performance: Team - U.S. MNT vs. Guatemala, Aug. 20: "In a hostile environment our team did really well to handle the pressure; we needed to start out semifinal round with points. Maybe it wasn't our best soccer at times, but we got a good result because of a great collective team effort and I think that's what made it such a good performance."
Best Photo - Triple Celebration: "I remember when this photo was taken; it was a good moment for our team. Getting the second goal in that game solidified our lead and help us qualify [for the Olympics]. It was early in the half and Freddy stepped up and just buried the free kick (Ed. See Best Goal - MNT) , and the keeper didn't move. We were so happy and ready to celebrate."
Best Video: All_Access - It Starts Here: "It's an inspiring video about preparing for World Cup Qualifying and I think it really captures a lot of the feelings you have getting ready for these big games. I've been lucky enough to be a part of these squads, and the team has done really well and we hope to continue getting better throughout the rest of qualifying."
Sacha didn't get a chance to vote for his favorite blog before heading to dinner, so we just cast his vote for the MNT Blog. We think it's what he would have wanted. Remember to cast your votes at the Best Of Blog!
Today's training took place inside of Dick's Sporting Good Park. We had the customary one hour on the field, and because the guys were split up into groups of starters and non-starters, we can't show you too many pictures! Muuahahahaha! Instead, you can get by with a few shots of what was a beautiful sunset tonight. Be sure to check out the full gallery at ussoccer.com.
Considering the number of players from CONCACAF who ply their trade in MLS, there is normally quite a bit of crossover between club and country when the U.S. plays in the region. This time...not so much. Chris Rolfe and John Thorrington share the same locker room with Marco Pappa in Chicago, the trio coming off a 2-1 loss to Columbus in the Eastern Conference finals. They are the only current teammates lining up against each other Wednesday night. Sean Franklin now sits in the space at The Home Depot Center that was once the home of Guillermo “El Pando” Ramirez, who many will recall scored the championship-winning goal in overtime for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2005 MLS Cup.
It may be getting close to winter time, but The Official U.S. Soccer Bars are continuing to heat up across the nation as fans gather to support the U.S. national teams. There are 27 locations ready to turn on the tube live for kickoff when the U.S. takes on Guatemala on Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. MT, including the November 2008 Bar of the Month, Summers Grill and Sports Bar. Click here to find the Official U.S. Soccer Bar near you.
The election is over but you voters out there still have a bit more work to do. The finalists have just been announced for the 2008 Best of U.S. Soccer Awards and we need your help deciding winners in 12 different categories. Make your way over to the Best Of blog, to cast your ballot...
So the MNT Blog has consulted the Global Blog, an expert on world affairs, about this story. It is pretty ridiculous if you ask us, but apparently it works. Regardless, those of you coming to the game on Wednesday probably won't see the U.S. pull this off - we haven't been working on it much during this training camp. We'll see what Guatemala comes up with though...
We're training at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park Complex and as you can tell, the scenery is fantastic. The guys did a bunch of work outside today, as preparations for Wednesday's game began in earnest. A warm up, possession game and 8v8 were on the agenda before the team headed inside to finish up with a brief session in the gym. Bob Bradley and Mike Sorber also took timeout to address coaches of various teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Visitors from the Development Academy have become a common occurrence in the past year, as coaches from around the country come out to watch training whenever we're nearby.
Edit: The full gallery is now up on ussoccer.com. There you go, Kim!
Since the players have now started their preparations for Guatemala, what do you say we start getting warmed up ourselves?
We begin with a look back at the match against the Chapineson Aug. 20 in Guatemala City, which also happened to be the first match of the semifinal round of qualifying. Team captain Carlos Bocanegra provided all the scoring the U.S. needed to end a 20-year drought of defeating Guatemala on their home turf, nodding a home a corner kick from DaMarcus Beasley after a crafty play in the box from Brian Ching. Tim Howard earned his third shutout in four World Cup qualifying appearances, and the U.S. left Guatemala City with a 1-0 win and a crucial three points to kick off the semifinal campaign.
Mr. Anonymous is faithfully following the blog - thank you very much - and can not seem get enough photos!
Well, sir, we would like to remind you that the blog is only one source of information for all things U.S. soccer, the flagship obviously being ussoccer.com In fact, there are photo galleries from the previous two training sessions just waiting to be seen!
We'll make it easy on you this time, but don't forget to check ussoccer.com for all the latest news on our national teams, Coaching Education, Development Academy, Referee Week in Review podcasts, and much more.
As the governing body of soccer in all its forms in the United States, U.S. Soccer has helped chart the course for the sport in the USA for more than 90 years. In this time, the Federation’s mission statement has been very simple and very clear: to make soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.
The 2008 "Best Of" Awards kicked off today, with voting taking place over at the Best Of Blog. Fans are invited to vote on 12 different categories, ranging from Best Goal, to Best Bar and even Best Blog (seriously, is that one even a contest?). We asked U.S. MNT midfielder Sacha Kljestan to weigh in with his votes in different categories. You better believe that we watched Sacha while he filled out the ballot, too.
such a good performance."
Be sure to check out the full gallery at ussoccer.com.
We're training at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park Complex and as you can tell, the scenery is fantastic. 
The guys did a bunch of work outside today, as preparations for Wednesday's game began in earnest. A warm up, possession game and 8v8 were on the agenda before the team headed inside to finish up with a brief session in the gym.
Bob Bradley and Mike Sorber also took timeout to address coaches of various teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Visitors from the Development Academy have become a common occurrence in the past year, as coaches from around the country come out to watch training whenever we're nearby.
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