USA Latest news, scores, etc.

[MUFC]

Ended 1-0 then?

well done :danc: :danc:

[Frank Cunha]

nice job by Bocanegra in the second half playing on the cental defender position, good job by Claudio Reyna he played the whole game

Beside a blunder at the end Friedel was fantastick

[Frank Cunha]

United States 1, Poland 0

By ROY KAMMERER, Associated Press Writer
March 31, 2004
PLOCK, Poland (AP) -- The United States tuned up for World Cup qualifying by beating Poland 1-0 in an exhibition game Wednesday on DaMarcus Beasley's goal, ending the hosts' seven-game winning streak.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel had a shutout in his first national team game in nearly two years for the United States, which lost to Poland 3-1 in the first round of the 2002 World Cup.

The Americans, who went on to reach the quarterfinals of that tournament, open their road to the 2006 edition with a qualifier against Grenada in Columbus, Ohio, on June 13.

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Due to fears of terrorism Wednesday, Polish police increased security for the game, with at least 50 officers forming a ring around the field and another 500 outside the stadium.

U.S. coach Bruce Arena started seven European-based players, including Friedel, who plays for Blackburn in the English Premier League.

The goalie wasn't really tested until the 67th minute, when he came out to smother a shot launched by Jacek Krzynowek. Grzegorz Rasiak had Poland's best chance in the first half, when Gregg Berhalter fell as they tangled over a pass, letting the forward race toward the goal alone. But Rasiak's weak shot spun outside the left post.

The U.S. team had many more scoring chances.

In the 26th minute, U.S. captain Claudio Reyna flicked a pass to Chicago Fire midfielder Beasley, who pushed the ball past goalie Jerzy Dudek without breaking stride. It was Beasley's fifth goal in a U.S. uniform.

Josh Wolff posed the Americans' first threat in the 15th minute, forcing Dudek to charge out of the net and smother the shot. In the 58th minute, Conor Casey had his foot on Bobby Convey's pass right in front of the goal, but a defender kicked it away at the last minute. In the 64th, Clint Mathis had a clear look, but took too long to control the ball.

It was one of several exhibition games across Europe on Wednesday, with teams starting to warm up for this summer's European Championship.

Robbie Keane scored in injury time to give Ireland a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic, which had been unbeaten in 20 games; Sweden edged England 1-0; Germany beat Belgium 3-0; and Greece edged Switzerland 1-0.

England, which has not beaten the Swedes in 11 games since 1968, was forced to play without several injured stars, including team captain David Beckham and striker Michael Owen. The only goal came in the 54th minute, when Ajax Amsterdam striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned home a left wing cross from Kim Kallstrom.

[Soccerdad]

More pics for you to hunt down!

[pirate]

Great win For the USA. :thumbsup:

[BethlehemFC]

Originally Posted by Soccerdad

Nicely done as always!

[Frank Cunha]

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"It feels good.”
-- U.S. coach Bruce Arena after yesterday’s 1-0 win over Poland marked the USA’s first win on European soil since Arena took the helm in 1998.

"
1. U.S. SOCCER: Beasley goal gives U.S. 1-0 victory over Poland

DaMarcus Beasley scored in the 26th minute to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Poland for its first victory of 2004 and its first victory in Europe since 1998.

Beasley scored his fifth goal in 31 international appearances, finishing a nice combination passing play from Josh Wolff and Conor Casey, the lone player making his U.S. debut.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel picked up his 24th career shutout, returning to the U.S. nets for the first time since his 2002 World Cup heroics. The victory avenged a 3-1 loss to Poland at the 2002 World Cup.

"I thought it was a good game for us today," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. ''Beasley's goal was big, since the Polish team was putting us under a lot of pressure early in the game. They also put us under a lot of pressure in the last 15 minutes, and Friedel made two big saves for us. I was pleased with the way our team played. We were very composed and did a good job in the last 20 minutes to kill off the game and get the win. I also want to make a point to thank the Polish fans for treating us with such respect during the game."

The victory marked the U.S. team's first triumph in Europe since a 3-0 win against Austria on April 22, 1998. Arena's teams had gone 0-7-1 in Europe before today's victory over Poland.

"I'm happy," said Arena about the win in Europe. "We have a good team, and over the last two years we have played some very difficult teams on the road, some very difficult teams to play against. We knew we would win one of these games along the way, and we were fortunate that we were able to win today."

GAME SUMMARY

March 31 in Plock, Poland

Poland 0 USA 1. Goal: Beasley 26.

Poland -- Dudek, Klos, Rzasa, Baszczynski (Hajto, 46), Radomski (Szymkowiak, 46), Bak, Smolarek (Gorawski, 62), Krzynowek, Rasiak (Saganowski, 46), Lewandowski (Mila, 72), Zurawski.

USA -- Friedel, Vanney, Berhalter, Mastroeni (Bocanegra, 52), Cherundolo, Klein (Sanneh, 74), Reyna, Beasley, Mathis (Zavagnin, 85), Wolff (Convey, 46), Casey.

Referee: Tommy Skjerven (Norway).

Att.: 10,500.

STATS
Shots: Poland 9, USA 4.
Saves: Poland 0, USA 3.
Corner Kicks: Poland 5, USA 3.
Fouls: Poland 9, USA 7.
Offside: Poland 3, USA 1.

2. U.S. SOCCER: From the U.S. locker room after Poland-USA

CONOR CASEY, U.S. Forward

On his first cap and the win:

"I was excited to get my first cap and winning adds to that excitement. I thought the team played very well in a tough game and I was happy with the result. For my first game, I thought I did OK."

DaMARCUS BEASLEY, U.S. Midfielder

On his goal:

"We had possession for a while and Wolff played the ball behind a defender. We had talked about this before the game, because we have played together for a long time, so we talked about playing balls behind defenders. I made a diagonal run and was able to put the ball through Dudek's legs. Anytime you can get a goal and help the team is a plus in my book. Winning our first game in Europe with Bruce means this is going to go down as a big goal for me."

BRAD FRIEDEL, U.S. Goalkeeper

On the win:

"Anytime you can beat anyone in Europe it is a great exercise. This is Bruce's first win in Europe and our last win came against Austria [in 1998], so it is obviously difficult to win here. I thought Poland had a good team, and they were very organized. After we got through the first 10 minutes of the game, we were very, very solid throughout. Overall it is very encouraging for us going into the last few games before qualifying."

On his return to the national team:

"For the most part I've played with just about everyone here at least once, and a few of them for many years. To be honest, it didn't feel like I've been gone for 21 months. I felt very comfortable and I think it is because I've had so many experiences with the national team, so it is very easy for me to come back in."

[Ricochet]

http://www.turfmonster.com/content/?ContentId=1601

The US have confirmed an international friendly with Honduras, which will take place in New England's Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on June 2.

The match will be the team’s final preparation before they begin the Road to Germany 2006 on Sunday, June 13, at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, where the USA will take on Grenada in the first of a two-game CONCACAF World Cup qualifying series that will end in St. George's, Grenada on June 20.

"Foxboro has been an outstanding home for soccer and for the US national team," said US manager Bruce Arena. "They've hosted a number of important games over the years and we've had great success there.

One problem for the US will be the level of support the Hondurans bring to matches against the States. A 2002 World Cup qualifier against Honduras in RFK Stadium saw over 50,000 fans turn up, with the US support outnumbered.

However, Arena is hoping that the US fans will turn out in force.

"We know that fans from all over the Northeast will come out to support us, and it is a great venue for us to have a home-field advantage in these important matches against two tough CONCACAF opponents."

The US has only lost one match in the history of playing in New England, winning 17 out of 24 internationals at both the old and new stadium in Foxboro.

The US defeated a young Honduran team 4-0 in a friendly in front of 38,534 fans in Seattle on March 2, 2002, in the last meeting, but the two teams split their pair of World Cup qualifiers in 2001.

The States is coming off the back of an impressive 1-0 win in Poland, as they gear up for World Cup qualification matches this summer.

[Frank Cunha]

http://www.soccer365.com/US_NEWS/Bre...31_70884.shtml

[Soccerdad]

nice roster, glad to see Armas and Casey getting another call up.


ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (2): Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jonny Walker (MetroStars)
Defenders (5): Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Dan Califf (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Dallas Burn), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Pope (MetroStars)
Midfielders (6): Chris Armas (Chicago Fire), DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Richard Mulrooney (San Jose Earthquakes), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution), Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City Wizards)
Forwards (5): [Conor Casey (Karslruhe), Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), Jovan Kirovski (Los Angeles Galaxy), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)

[Frank Cunha]

a great opportunity for Kevin Hartman

[Frank Cunha]

game to be televised live on Fox Sports World

Arena Names 18 Man Roster 20/04/04

Kickoff for the game is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live coast-to-coast on Telemundo and Fox Sports World. For the second time, a U.S. Men’s National Team match will be also be broadcast in high definition on HDNET. Fans can follow the match live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

[pirate]

Hope the USA win.

[Soccerdad]

Originally posted by pirate
Hope the USA win.

Same here, looking forward to see how our US based team without any players from abroad (except Casey) show.

[Frank Cunha]

don't think there is a ton of pressure on our team like there is on other countries. Unfortunately, at this point and time there aren't too many Americans that follow the national team on a regular basis. Probably not that many people are aware of this game in our country on Wednesday. It certainly takes a lot of pressure off the coach, but I'd like it to get to a point where there is some real pressure on the coach and players every time we step on the field. However, because of our current environment in our country, it certainly doesn't mimic the pressure perhaps the Mexican coach will have on Wednesday, or coaches in Europe and South America."
-- U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena on the pluses and minuses of being able to experiment in friendlies game without the pressure other national coaches face from fans and media.

"I am sure that we will beat them. We have an open account with them that will not get resolved in an exhibition match. We have to pay them back during qualifying or in the World Cup."
-- Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)