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20
Jul 17

Tim Howard reckons Pressure on US downgraded after WC Qualifier Wins

Tim Howard reckons that the pressure has lessened on the American side after they have managed to achieve a couple of decent results in the World Cup qualifiers of late.

America faced Trinidad and Mexico recently and while they would have liked to come out of those games with full 6 points, 4 points were not bad returns either.

They dominated Trinidad, but, couldn’t quite do the same to Mexico as that game ended in the form of a draw with both sides finding the net once each.

There was some criticism of the head coach Bruce Arena for the fact that he rested majority of the first choice players for the Mexico game.

The fans were of the view that the rotation was the reason why America couldn’t push for the win.

But, Howard defended the coach saying that he had to do it because of the short spacing between the matches. Continue reading →

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26
May 17

Bruce Arena’s managerial return to USA kicked off in superb form

Following the dismissal of JurgenKlinsmann from the managerial position of the USA national football team, on November 22 of 2016 it was confirmed that Bruce Arena was selected as the man to replace Klinsmann and so far, it has brought forth impressive performances.

This is the 2^nd time that Bruce Arena has taken charge of the USA national team as he was the coach of the team back in 1998 until 2006. He managed to guide the team to 2 CONCACAF Gold Cup’s during this period of time.

Bruce Arena is hoping that he can continue to add more trophies to his collection and help the USA national team make a comeback from their recent dip in form which has seen them losing 1-2 to Mexico and 4 days later losing 0-4 against Costa Rica.

These previously mentioned defeats were some of the reasons of why JurgenKlinsmann was fired from coaching USA and eventually replaced by Bruce Arena. Continue reading →

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1
Apr 17

DEMPSEY RETURNS FOR SEATTLE SOUNDERS

United States football player Clint Dempsey is set to return for Major League Soccer side Seattle sounders as he has been cleared to return to the sport after a long-term injury layoff.

The former Premier League star has not played professional football since August after he underwent surgery to address a heart condition.

Dempsey was cleared to return after featuring in two pre season matches that went well. The 33-year old is close to regaining full fitness and ready to help when the team defends the MLS Cup it won last year. Sounders trounced Toronto in a penalty shootout, so they would be looking at defending their title this term.

“Right now the focus is getting through this year, playing again and making an impact on the field. The minutes will keep going up and I’ll keep pushing in training,” Dempsey said.

On his fitness level, he said: “I feel like I’m finally getting close: 85 percent, 90 percent back to full fitness. Whether it’s the training staff here or in other places, everybody is one the same page of how I should be progressing. As of right now, everything is going great.” Continue reading →

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16
Jan 17

CONCACAF GOLD: CUP USA SET TO PLAY IN NASHVILLE, TAMPA AND CLEVELAND

The United States men’s national football team in a bid to defend its sixth confederation cup title has been fixed at the top of group B in the upcoming 2107 CONCACAF Gold cup.

The US team is set to play in a series of matches commencing in July, the team will play their first match of the tournament at Nashville on July 8, 2107 at the Nissan stadium, Nashville, and the next appearance will be at the Raymond James stadium in Tampa on July 12.

Moving on to complete the group stage matches, the team will play three days later at the first energy stadium in Cleveland Ohio. With much anticipation built up for the Gold cup, group schedules, date selection and match assignment for the knockout rounds are slated to be announced in the upcoming year.

The highly ranked teams in the CONCACAF including Mexico and the United States are to headline the tournament consisting of 12 countries. Being the 14th edition of the Gold Cup, seven teams in total have already secured a place in the competition. Continue reading →

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17
Nov 16

USA vs. MEXICO QUALIFIERS TICKETS SOLD OUT

It’s a new month already. Welcome to November where we would be witnessing one of the highly looked out for World Qualifiers, the game between the United States of America and Mexico to be held on the 11th of November.

The game which would be played at the Columbus Crew SC’s MAPFRE Stadium no longer has any tickets to be sold as tickets have been officially sold out.

For the first time in the history of US Soccer, all tickets would be issued in a mobile-only format. The MAPFRE Stadium can only contain no more than 23,665. However, the Federation has said that it received no less than 17,000 valid requests for tickets totaling about 56,000.

The tickets would however be awarded via a lottery system and those with successful requests would be notified duly. So far, this is the fifth straight sellout in any World Cup qualifiers. For the first time, the both teams would be advancing to the final hexagonal stage of the qualifying games for the FIFA World Cup Competition to be hosted by Russia. Continue reading →

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25
Sep 16

USA SOCCER SACK HOPE SOLO

Long term United States goal keeper Hope Solo was sacked by the soccer federation, after her poorly thought out comments at the recently concluded Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

For more than ten years, Hope Solo stood like a rock for the US in between the goal posts, but it seems her time has ended. Hope Solo has stepped on several toes many times, but the US soccer federation isn’t allowing her go scot free this time.

Hope Solo has a reputation for clashing with coaches, picking fights with former players, particularly on social media and condemning her teammates. Two years ago, she was even arrested on domestic assault charges. Last year, she was in the same team van as her husband when he was arrested for driving under the influence. On popular ABC show Dancing with the Stars, she picked a fight with her partner, accusing her of slapping her and adding that the show was rigged. The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the comments she made after the US lost to Sweden at the Olympics. Continue reading →

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25
Jul 16

The USA Faces A Tough Opponent In Argentina

If you saw the recent match between USA and Argentina you would have surely enjoyed the match. It was a pleasure to see Lionel Messi in action.

The record breaking player helped his team into another historic win that day. The team was catapulted to the finals of the Copa America as a result. The USA team was unable to stand up against the fury of the Argentina team. Indeed, Lionel proved himself to be a record scorer yet again. He has become a record goal scorer with his achievements as well as helped his team to become world champions for the second time as they defeated US at a score of 4-0. The finals are now looming up for the team. It was certainly a pleasure to see Messi in action. The free kick that he provided in the 32^nd minute helped to take his goal score to a total of 55. The crowd of 70,858 was ecstatic to see this magnificent player in action at the NRG Stadium in Houston. Continue reading →

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25
May 16

USA and Mexico considering joint-bids for the 2026 World Cup

There are media reports that USA and Mexico might be considering a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup.

It is believed that discussions have already started with FIFA at the Congress that was held in Mexico last week.

One member of the United States Soccer Federation has been reported as saying that they are very open to the idea of hosting a World Cup together and confirmed that they have already started talks with the Mexico federation. However, talks are still at a beginning stage, and nothing concrete has come out as yet.

He said that FIFA seems to be quite interested in the idea, and it is up to both federations to come out with a timetable and a serious plan to convince FIFA of giving them the 2026 World Cup. Continue reading →

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28
Apr 16

SEATTLE SOUNDERS GETS FIRST WIN

Seattle Sounders get first win of the season in the Eastern Conference of the Major League Soccer [MLS]. The star player of the team, Clint Dempsey, scored the lone goal that separated the team and Montreal Impact in the fourth match of the MLS this season.

Sigi Schmid’s team would need more victories if they actually want to finish the season well as they are currently tenth on the log table. In the game against Montreal Impact, midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz and goal scorer Clint Dempsey switched roles. Dempsey dropped behind to strengthen the middle while Ivanschitz moved up into the left wing. Ivanschitz revealed that they have always switched positions before.

He said: “In the games before, we always switched positions. Sometimes, he was on the left wing and I was the second striker, so we just started different but in general it’s the same. I think step by step we are playing better together.”

Ahead of the game against Houston Dynamo, who are 8^th on the table, the Sounders would need to dig deep to get their second win.

“Especially now this weekend it will be important how we defend as a team, how we organize ourselves, and be crucial when we have the ball and in the final third,” Ivanschitz added.

Striker Nelson Valdez was seen training aside the team. Coach Sigi Schmid said the striker picked up a knock during training earlier this week. He is still a doubt for the game against Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Continue reading →

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26
Nov 15

Wenger is certain that this is his best Arsenal team since 2004

The last time that Arsenal won the Premier League title was during the 2003-04 season and they managed to do this in a superb form as Arsene Wenger pushed his team to an undefeated season. Arsenal didn’t lose a single match of that season and after such an impressive accomplishment, the team was nicknamed as: ‘’The Invincibles’’.

There is no doubt whatsoever that this Arsenal team was the best one that the club has ever had in their history as it had superstar players including: Lehmann, Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Viera, Gilberto and even the lesser known players managed to stand out in this season.

Arsenal enjoyed the time of their lives in this season but things began to fall apart after the 2003-04 was over and the Premier League club has failed to lift the league title or any other really big piece of silverware. It’s been over 10 years since Arsenal has won the Premier League title but Arsene Wenger believes that this drought will be reaching it’s end soon as the French manager is certain about having his best team since 2004.

Arsene Wenger voiced his confidence in the team that’s under his control as he said: “I believe we have the squad now to compete for the title. I am very happy with the squad I have, but we always look to strengthen. If that turns up, we will always look to strengthen. Chelsea won it by a margin last year, so they are the favorites. After that, let’s see how it goes. After the first 15 games, we will know more.”

The veteran manager is certain that he has a squad which is good enough to compete and make a genuine charge for the Premier League title but their start of the season has been a fairly underwhelming one as Arsenal lost their opening match of the season after losing against West Ham United. Continue reading →

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