Comments on: Cooper, Conrad Recalled: Marshall Dropped as US Prepare for World Cup Coronation

By: Rafael

Rafael — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:36:27 +0000

The political situation in Honduras will have zero effect on the game. Honduras will be all business and with many playing in Europe, they will be hungry for success. It is their time. The U.S. won’t know what hit them. They will loose that game to a more talented technical team.

By: Brad

Brad — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:38:56 +0000

Where are we at with yellow cards?

Do we dare sit these guys to save them for Costa Rica?

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:09:48 +0000

Where are Orozco and Castillo?

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:17:24 +0000

Just curious, why is there a picture of Peter Nowak with this post?

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:20:25 +0000

I know a lot of factors can work into it, but is anyone else amazed that Jimmy Conrad has only played in 1 qualifier?

He is my sleeper pick to start.

As a USMNT fan And Rapids fan, please leave Casey home!! His form in MLS is falling off. His only recent goals are marginally taken PKs. He adds nothing Ching doesn’t, and how many target guys do you need off the bench.

By: Joey Clams

Joey Clams — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:14:46 +0000

Qualification is basically sewn up? Virtually assured? The US could easily lose the next two matches. Other big boys have been on skids. Why not us?

By: LI Matt

LI Matt — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:21:43 +0000

Of course, most of that time it was the US who didn’t progress to a point where they would’ve met Honduras.

In ‘89, Honduras was knocked out by T&T; in ‘96, a home draw with Jamaica proved fatal.

By: francesco

francesco — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:04:40 +0000

the left back question still remains and BB is obviously not going to bring in castillo as soon as we’d like.

By: Seybold

Seybold — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:39:46 +0000

I read in the Honduran media that the USA and Honduras have only played 5 total qualifying matches: two in 1965 and 2001, and the Chicago match. Unbelievable, seeing as how we usually play El Salvador, T&T, Mexico and Guatemala twice each cycle, and Costa Rica two or even four times each cycle.

Anyway, our away record is two wins and one draw, 2-0 in the matches in San Pedro Sula.

By: paul

paul — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:23:29 +0000

I don’t think that political issues will necessarily derail Honduras in the next match. Yes, things are not ideal, and all US soccer fans would be wise to wish this nation, for its own sake and for the sake of its national team, a quick resolution to political instability. Remember that personal trouble can focus the mind of an athlete as well as scramble it. Trouble off the field can encourage a player to make the most of his time on the field, where politics idles for 90 minutes. (If it could only idle for longer peroids of time, we might actually have a world worth living in…)

I am a bit disapointed with the selections. Given the number of players on red cards, and the limited positive play from others (Casey, Clark, Bornstein), it would be refreshing to see ol’ Bob try to bring in some fresh faces–see Orozco, Castillo, ect. Perhaps a victory in Honduras would encourage Bob to experiment with his lineup against Costa Rica. It would be good to see a different formation and personel combination out on the field in games that actually matter. But the US does still need to clinch a spot to South Africa–this is probably not a good time to do too much experimenting, although seeing Cooper and Conrad return is nice.

I think US fans should remember how well this team played against Honduras in Chicago. Yes, Honduras wasn’t at full strength and is playing far better now than it did then. But that US performance was vasty underrated because we let in a goal so early. I was at that game, and the way we were able to keep possession–Sam’s Army was even able to string together a good number of ‘Ole!’ chants during the second half–is a reminder that there is something wrong with that extends far beyond Kartik’s current favored “European journeymen” meme.