MyBlog

The United States was able to beat Italy for the first time in their history by grinding out a 1-0 result in Genoa on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klinsmann named his lineup to face Italy and it includes most of his best options.

The U.S. nailed down there second victory under Jurgen Klinsmann on Tuesday afternoon with a dichotomous performance against Slovenia.

A 1-0 loss to France in Paris leaves the U.S. with two goals and four losses in the six games of the Jurgen Klinsmann era.

After finally getting a win under his belt as U.S. national team coach, Jurgen Klinsmann is faced with another lengthy period away from his players with a loss fresh on his mind as this international break comes to an end.

R: So "The Beautiful Game" takes center stage for the next month as the World Cup kicks off on Friday. I, for one, could not be more excited to get it going. Should be some great match ups even if some of the sport's biggest stars will be watching from home. At least that little bastard Giuseppe Rossi will be playing in as many games this year as you or I. Get your vuvuzelas ready cause here we go.

M: So true man, I really enjoy World Cup; it's so much more than justsoccer/futbol/football, or whatever you want to call it. It sounds kind of corny but it truly is a world event, something to look forward to every four years. Great soccer, great parties and hey it's not called "TheBeautiful Game" for nothing!!

R: We begin our preview with Group A (South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and France. I have Mexico winning the group and the Handball Nation to also advance. France seems like the easy favorite to move on but they played pretty awful in qualifying so I'm not really sold on any of these teams and could very easily see any one of them advancing.
M: Well, and while you were away in the Great White North catching crabs (he he, said the 12 year old boy); The Frogs lost to China, the China that's ranked 84th in the world and didn't even make the Cup. I wish I could pick one of the other two teams in this group but I can't so it's our Neighbors to the South and "Les Bleus" advancing.

R: Next up, group B (South Korea, Greece, Argentina, and Nigeria). Or, as I like to call it, Argentina plus 3. With possibly the best player in the world at the moment in Messi, there is no way Maradona's club doesn't make it out of this group. I so badly want to pick an African team to advance and Nigeria might have the best shot.

M: Not a lot of surprise in this group for me either. Argentina is the class of the group and might just win it all. I like Nigeria here as well. That being said will there really be much of a home pitch advantage for Nigeria here. Not exactly like there fans have the spare cash to travel. "Honey were not going to eat this year, I'm going with the boys to World Cup!"
R: Maybe Sally Strothers can send someone to the Cup‚ “for just pennies a day." Next up, the group we are most interested in, Group C (England, US, Algeria and Slovenia). Lets be honest here, we don't REALLY give a damn about any team outside the US. With that said, I think the Yanks stand a good chance in this group, especially with the recent rash of injuries the English have incurred. No Becks, No Rio, and a history of unimpressive finishes outside their home turf, and England looks vulnerable. If I was a betting man, I'd still put money on them advancing but would love to see the US get at least a point on Saturday. I like the team the US has assembled this time around and expect them to advance as well.

M: I think the Yanks have a real chance not just advance but win this group. Now I know the English are strong, and the US is an underdog, but ask King George and General Cornwallis how that went for them. (too historical?) OK, so this isn't life or death or the birth of the free world or anything but it sure will be fun. I think Slovenia could be dangerous if either the Yanks or Three Lions sleeps on them but I think both will advance here. Which is good because if we can keep the English wives and girlfriends around a little longer that can't be a bad thing.

R: I don't know which I'm more shocked by, your ability to work in a King George reference or your ability to find new ways to insert pictures of attractive women into the blog so we'll call it a draw. Anyway, moving on to Group D (Serbia, Ghana, Germany and Australia). Like Argentina before them, I don't see anyway Germany doesn't advance out of this group even without Michael Ballack. Not much of a challenge for them in this group but the number 2 spot will be interesting. A few weeks ago, I would have taken Ghana to advance but without Essien, they may be done before they even start. I'll take the Socceroos to move on.

M: I'm going with the Krauts and the Aussies here as well. Germany is the class of the group and I just like the way the Socceroos grind and usually out work whomever they face on the pitch, they also have a world class keeper in Schwarzer, so he may be able to carry them this year.......at least out of the group.
R: Lets just lump the next two groups, E and F, together as there really isn't much room for drama here. I'll take the Dutch and [who cares] in E and Italy and [does it matter] in F. This brings us to the the infamous "Group of Death." Every cup has one, not every Cup has one this undramatic. There was some intrigue with this group when Drogba was healthy but now, I don't see how Brazil and Portugal don't advance. I think the bigger question is seeding as neither would want a Round of 16 showdown with Spain.

M: I agree with all three assessments with these groups. I think it will be Spain v. Portugal in the next round which should be an unbelievable match. Brazil will win the group, My only wish is that Drogba was at full strength because I would have Ivory Coast leaving with Brazil and Ronaldo's Boys heading Home.

R: So that only leaves Group H (Honduras, Chile, Spain and Switzerland). Spain, as previously mentioned, should have little trouble advancing from this group and with a handful of the worlds best players in Villa, Iniesta and Casillas, why should they. I'm going to go with Chile to also move on if for no other reason that I'm not sold on Honduras as a threat and the Swiss are the Swiss.

M: Espana, Espana, Espana. They are certainly the most talented team in the tourney this year and have a real chance at the trophy. I like Chile as well, Honduras slipped in to the final 32 on goal differential, and I'm neutral on the Swiss. One interesting side not from this group though is that this is the only group with 3 of the 4 team speaking the same language, can you say mas smack talking!!!!!

That's it for this week, stay tuned for more World Cup coverage when we get to the Round of 16!! If any of you are in the Central Florida area this weekend and would like to watch the Yanks match on Saturday with the Guys; then come and have a pint with us at Crickters Arms Pub in the Festival Bay Mall click here for directions!!!! U.S.A U.S.A U.S.A!!!!!!!!

For this weeks final five we decided to figure out the lamest thing about England, (tough to narrow it down but we managed!)

5. Tea 4. Chalk White Skin 3. Bad Teeth 2. This Guy 1. Wayne Rooney

I do not know is any of you went to the Turkey match but that had to be one of the most intense soccer matches I have ever been to.  It was awesome over 50,000 people a come from behind victory and amazing atmosphere to send the boys off to South Africa. I will try and get pictures up but the team played really well in the 2nd half against a very talented opponent. 
After the game, Sam's Army was out in full force for about 30 minutes or more we where chanting and screaming.  There was an awesome poster of Landon Donovan with a knife his right head and a Beckham scalp in the other hand with both arms stretched out.  It read on the bottom 1776...1950...2010.  It was really cool to see all the team spirit.

To all Yanks in Joburg:

I will be traveling with my family to suppport our Men against Algeria & Slovenia..Does any one know any details where SA is meeting pre game or have any pickup games scheduled against local teams

Also any hints to get acess to team practices

GO USA !!!!

So my questions are.......Where is Sam's Army really going to be sitting???
Secondly, where are we going to meet before and after the US drubbing of the Turks???

We can't wait to travel and represent So. Cal. at Lincoln financial field for the last send off match for our boys before the World Cup in S.A. !!

The black & white photo that I'm using for my profile pic is from the "Miracle on Grass" game between the USMNT and England in the 1950 World Cup. Many of the players on that team were from St. Louis, my home town, and I wanted to honor their historic win. Does anyone know which player wore #4? I thing it might be defender Harry Keough, but I'm not sure. It's great that the 2010 squad will have jerseys with the diagonal stripe.

If you'd like to read more about the '50 World Cup, there's a good entry in Wikipedia.  Here's a game recap from the U.S. Soccer site:

U.S. SHOCKS ENGLAND IN 1950 WORLD CUP: A crowd of 10,151 at Estadio Independencia in Belo Horizonte, Brazil witnessed one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history as the U.S. stunned England 1-0 on June 29, 1950. U.S. forward Joseph Gaetjens produced the historic goal in the 37th minute, heading home a long shot from midfielder Walter Bahr past English goalkeeper Bert Williams to shock England and the rest of the soccer world. England searched for the equalizer as they pressured the U.S. defense and goalkeeper Frank Borghi for the remainder of the match. The English came close to scoring in the 82nd minute, but forward Jimmy Mullen’s header off a free kick was cleared by Borghi, and the Americans held on for the win.

http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Articles/2003/05/90-Year-Anniversary-Articles-Soccer-Wire-Decades-1950-59.aspx