Don’t let the skeptics tell you Grenada is a poor opponent. This side qualified for the Gold Cup by beating World Cup 2006 and current Hexagonal participant Trinidad and Tobago. This is also a team that gave Costa Rica such a scare in the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying that Hernan Medford was sacked as the Ticos manager.

It should be noted however that Grenada is without Jason Roberts and Shalrie Joseph in this tournament. But nonetheless a motivated American “B +” squad destroyed a normally competitive Grenada squad to celebrate Independence Day.

The US performance was impressive to say the least. Bob Bradley got his squad selection and tactics right today. Robbie Rogers and Heath Pearce ran free on the left side while Freddy Adu and Stuart Holden complemented each other well. But the decision to not play Adu in the Confederations Cup by Coach Bob Bradley can easily be justified by the number of poor passes Adu made tonight as well as how easily he was disposed when he tried to dribble past defenders.

Clarence Goodson and Chad Marshall were tremendous inside and Troy Perkins saved the one really good chance Grenada had.

Charlie Davies looked a little tentative early playing with a totally new set of players after a great Confederations Cup.   But late in the first half and early in the second half he stepped up big.

Davy Arnuad brought some energy and pace when he was inserted late in the match. This was an impressive and comprehensive win for the United States. Bob Bradley has shown that not only can he get his tactics right, but he can turn a completely different eleven (or ten plus Charlie Davies) around in six days after an 8,000 mile trip and still excel.

The US faces a Honduran B- side Wednesday at RFK Stadium. Surely the crowd at RFK will be pro Honduras as it was in the 2001 qualifier, the last competitive US loss on home soil.

Expect to see Brian Ching on Wednesday as well as Kenny Cooper. I am told Ching does not want to play on turf unless absolutely necessary (a wise decision indeed) and with the final group game at Gillete Stadium this may be his only chance to play at this stage of the tournament. Additionally, Charlie Davies and Freddy Adu both looked less than sharp after the long journey from South Africa and it would probably be wise to rest both.

However, it is possible Ching and Davies will be starting together in the World Cup up top, so any game action the two can get together would be helpful at this point in time. We may also see Luis Robles on Wednesday night.

The only negative of this game is that the US second stringers showed they can break down a bunkered, defensive minded opponent much more easily than the USA “A” team. The sort of daring runs and crosses that Rogers made early we never see against the likes of Guatemala, Cuba and El Salvador on the road in tough qualifiers. Perhaps the metality that Rogers, Holden and other youngsters brought today needs to be bottled and given the US “A” team when facing CONCACAF opposition.

PLAYER RATINGS

Perkins     7

Cherdundolo  7

Goodson   7

Marshall  7

Pearce  9

Pause  8

Beckerman 8

Rogers 9

Holden 8

Adu 6

Davies 6

Evans  6

Arnaud 7

Parkhurst  6

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Alfredo Pacheco is flying the MLS banner high in CONCACAF these days. At a time when less high profile, national team players from the region play in MLS than arguably any time in the league’s history (look back at the hexagonal and World Cup qualifying for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups for comparison) Pacheco, of the New York Red Bulls, has helped lead El Salvador from the depth of CONCACAF existence, to the hexagonal and Gold Cup front runner in less than two years.

El Salvador had fallen so far in the FIFA Rankings and CONCACAF pecking order that they became the only CONCACAF nation to have ever qualified for a Hexagonal round previously to begin World Cup qualification in the first stage for this cycle. The Salvadorians have also accumulated a terrible Gold Cup record in recent years.

Pacheco had been a solid professional for El Salvador during the decline. He led C.D. FAS to consistent title challenges in the Salvadorian league and as the nation entered 2008 and the insult of having to participate in the first round of qualifying along with the likes of St Kitts, Aruba, Bermuda, Dominica and the Cayman Islands.

But while most of the two leg ties in the first round of qualifying were competitive, El Salvador crushed Anguilla 16-0. In the second round the Salvadorians shocked Panama over two legs. Panama had been tipped by many including myself to make a strong run in qualifying. (Panama did reaffirm some of my faith in them by winning the Gold Cup Qualifying tournament earlier this year beating Costa Rica in the final)

Then El Salvador entered the semifinal round of qualifying as an underdog yet again. Reading some of the Haitian football press, they believed their nation was handed a gift by Panama’s elimination and the advancement of El Salvador.

But it was not to be: with Pacheco leading the defense El Salvador outscored Haiti 5-0 in their two matches and finished second behind flawless Costa Rica to advance to the next round. (The Ticos have won 10 games and lost just once thus far in qualifying.)

Into the Hexagonal went El Salvador tipped once again by myself and others to be the pushover of the round. But the Salvadorians erased a late two goal deficit at home against Trinidad in the first match and then shocked the US with two goals and an eventual draw in the second game.

With Pacheco off to the New York Red Bulls following his impressive displays in the semifinal round, the veteran had the confidence to organize the defense at Saprissa to hold the Ticos scoreless for 69 minutes. The next set of qualifiers saw El Salvador beat Mexico.

Yesterday, Pacheco who is El Salvador’s most capped player on the current squad helped organize a defense that frustrated Costa Rica once again. In front of a partisan crowd at LA’s Home Depot Center, a huge upset was completed.

El Salvador’s resurrection is complete. Now Pacheco can focus on the improbable: qualifying El Salvador for the 4^th spot in CONCACAF and a playoff against COMENBOL’s number five. At the same time, his club responsibilities will force him to help give a steady experienced hand to what has been a terrible New York Red Bulls season thus far.

But as the last two seasons taught us, Juan Carlos Osorio, Red Bulls manager can turn a team around at midseason and qualify them for the playoffs. Pacheco is going to be an important part of any Red Bull revival this year. Perhaps he can do a little for New York of what he has helped create for El Salvador.

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With the Confederations Cup now behind the USMNT, the Gold Cup is on the horizon. Sure, plenty of people have issues with the tournament. Many would like to see the region’s championship every 4 years rather than bianually. The continental powers take the tournament more seriously when a Confed Cup spot is up for grabs.

Nonetheless, it’s a perfect time for teams like El Salvador, smaller countries which don’t get play in big matches often. El Salvador can use this time to build their confidence, playing against a Costa Rican side, likely to play in their third consecutive World Cup. For teams like Canada and Jamaica who are already out of World Cup Qualifying, it’s a chance to bring home some soccer glory to their respective nations. For Guadeloupe, this is their World Cup. As they are not a FIFA nation, they cannot compete at the World’s soccer championship.

For the US, besides being a moneymaker, the tournament gives us valuable time to examine fringe elements of our player pool heading into South Africa. Not every country currently in World Cup Qualifying has this opportunity to test out the depth of their side in a meaningful competition.

Though the Condfederations Cup gave us a glimpse of who may be in our starting 11 come next summer, there are still a few holes and question marks … especially in regards to depth. So the question is, who deserves more of a look? Who might fit in with the bigger picture? Who will have a huge tournament, and garner playing time in the remaining qualifiers? Who might be a big suprise and steal a World Cup spot?

*** Some key players to watch :

- GK: Brad Guzan

Tim Howard is a lock as the starting keeper and Guzan appears to be entrenched as the backup … will we get to see him play? Will he show some consistency and perform well, following his gem of a match against Egypt?

- LB: Heath Pearce, Jonathan Bornstein

With the emergence of Jay DeMerit as a force at CB, Carlos Bocanegra has been pushed wide and done reasonably well. However, his performance was still inconsistent and this spot still seems open. Heath Pearce has shown flashes, yet has made critical errors at times. He should be starting at LB in the Gold Cup, and will need to have an excellent tournament in order to pass Bocanegra and Bornstein … who was also good at times, bad at others. One thing Bornstein does offer is his ability to get forward in the attack. Of course, Bocanegra also offers his set piece prowess.  What can Pearce bring to the table?

- RB: Steve Cherundolo

Steve should be the starting RB for the USMNT today against Grenada. He also has a lot to prove. First off, he is coming off a nagging injury and he will need to show that he is not only healthy and fit, but also capable of playing in more solid form. Jonathan Spector’s play at this position was one of the stories’ of the Confed Cup for the US and Frankie Hejduk has been solid in qualifiers before getting injured. So it’s an up hill battle for ‘Dolo.

- CM: Stuart Holden, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan

This is probably the deepest position on the National Team. With Michael Bradley sure to be a starter, the other spot is still open. There are so many candidates here. Jermaine Jones isn’t eligible until August and Maurice Edu is recovering from injury. Ricardo Clark and Benny Feilhaber both played well at the Confed Cup, but it’s unclear how much playing time they’ll get, if any at all in the Gold Cup. They are 2 of the 7 addons granted by CONCACAF, so if they play it might be sparingly.  Still, it would be nice to see them continue to solidify their spots.Though I don’t really want him to be at this time, Sacha Kljestan is clearly on Bob Bradley’s radar. While I hope he will eventually develop into a good player for our country, I just don’t think now is the time. Let’s hope to see some progress. The most important thing now for Kljestan is to regain some confidence. He’s looked lost on the pitch lately and is making too many bad passes. Stuart Holden played quite well for USA at the Olympics in Beijing. Though probably still  a World Cup Cycle away from contributing, it will be interesting to see his development. Arnaud and Beckerman are longshots for South Africa.

- Wingers/Playmakers : Freddy Adu, Robbie Rogers, Colin Clark

Robbie Rogers was another player who had a good showing at the Olympics and is also a bit away from being in contention for South Africa. He is unquestionably talented, but has a tendency to impress and then fall off the radar. Colin Clark is another exciting, young player who is far on the fringe, but has good technique. Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey appear to be our two playmakers, and will probably be 90 minute men at South Africa. Torres and Adu have also shown real promise in the little playing time they’ve received here. Freddy Adu might be able to garner more time as a sub, with a great Gold Cup performance. His versatility, being able to play in the midfield or as a forward should allow him to play a lot.

- Strikers: Davies, Altidore, Ching, Cooper, Quaranta

Definitely a posisition of extreme interest. Davies and Altidore are late additions, both of whom played well at the previous tournament. I really hope to see them together more, as I feel they could be our starters in South Africa. Brian Ching is perhaps Bradley’s perferred player at striker, yet he might end up being a backup. Kenny Cooper has struggled to get Bradley’s attention and will need a big tournament. I really hope he plays well and forces Bradley to play him more. He is big, solid presence, who is good both in the air and technically gifted on the ground. Santino Quaranta is on the outside looking in. I have a feeling he may be the suprise of the tournament though. He is versatile, brings a nice mix of skills (speed, strength, service) and most importantly hunger. Much like the USA played their best when given second life, Quaranta is in a similar spot. He has resurrected his career after battling with substance abuse. With the change in his personal life, has come change on the pitch. He is near the top of MLS in assists and works very hard.  He appears to be relishing this chance, as he wasn’t sure he’d have the opportunity to play again for the National Team.

In the end, only a few of these fringe players will make the squad for South Africa … but is there a potential diamond in the rough to be found at the CONCACAF Gold Cup?

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It’s the perfect time of the year to catch up on reading, so what better choice is there to read than some of the greatest football books?

In conjunction with our sister site EPL Talk, we’ve put together a list of the top 18 recommended football books for this summer. Some of the highlights that US soccer fans will enjoy include:

• Soccer In A Football World by David Wangerin. The author traces the history of soccer in the States and dispels the myth that soccer didn’t finally arrive in the country when the NASL opened its doors. Dive into this fascinating book that features exhaustive research and plenty of twists and turns throughout each chapter.
• The Ball Is Round by David Goldblatt. Author David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer’s rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world’s most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA.
• Inverting The Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson. If you’re fascinated by tactics and formations, or want to learn more, this eye-opening book discusses how formations have changed over the years and what impact it has had on the beautiful game that we cherish.

Read the complete list of 18 recommended football books by clicking on the banner below. Even if you’ve read some or many of the books, be sure to participate in the book discussion by adding your observations, questions and a list of your favorite football books that we may have missed from the list.

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Every single game of the 2009 Gold Cup tournament is available to watch live (and on replay) online at OmniSport, which is the official online partner for the CONCACAF tournament and the newest sponsor of Major League Soccer Talk, your source for the pre-eminent coverage of US soccer including the national team, USL, Open Cup and MLS.

Each game is available for $5.99, or you can get a Gold Cup Tournament Pass, which allows you to watch every game of the tournament for just $29.99 — a savings of $119.76

The benefits of watching the Gold Cup on OmniSport are:

• All games are 100% legal
• New HD quality flash streaming - full screen mode is just like TV
• Secure payments (guarantees your details security)
• No adverts promise.

Here’s the schedule for the 2009 Gold Cup (all times eastern):

Friday, July 3

• Canada v Jamaica, 8pm
• Costa Rica v El Salvador, 10pm

Saturday, July 4

• Honduras v Haiti, 7pm
• Grenada v USA, 9pm

Tuesday, July 7

• Jamaica v Costa Rica, 7pm
• El Salvador v Canada, 9pm

Wednesday, July 8

• Haiti v Grenada, 7pm
• USA v Honduras, 9pm

Thursday, July 9

• Guadeloupe v Nicaragua, 8pm
• Mexico v Panama, 10pm

Friday, July 10

• Costa Rica v Canada, 7pm
• El Salvador v Jamaica, 9pm

Saturday, July 11

• USA v Haiti, 7pm
• Honduras v Grenada, 9pm

Sunday, July 12

• Panama v Nicaragua, 5pm
• Mexico v Guadeloupe, 7pm

Saturday, July 18 (Quarterfinals)

• Group A winner v Group B runner-up, time TBD
• Group B winner v Group A/C third-place, time TBD

Sunday, July 19 (Quarterfinals)

• Group C runner-up v Group A runner-up, time TBD
• Group C winner v Group A/B third place, time TBD

Thursday, July 23 (Semi-finals)

• Semi-final 1, time TBD
• Semi-final 2, time TBD

Sunday, July 26 (Final)

• Semi-final winner 1 v Semi-final winner 2, 3pm

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As I discussed yesterday I love the Gold Cup. Perhaps the tournament needs to be moved back to February or made once every four years but I do support the event wholeheartedly.

The United States is in CONCACAF and I have made an effort to understand the rest of CONCACAF as well as I understand the USMNT. I certainly hope that has reflected in the coverage on this website and in my other work.

I take pride in being told by other media members that I was one of the few American based analysts who tipped Guadeloupe to be strong in the last Gold Cup or that pointed out that Honduras was without two of its most critical players in last month’s qualifier.

But the sad reality is to follow CONCACAF as closely as I feel I need to do so in order to provide objective and worthwhile coverage of the US Men’s National Team, I have to rely almost exclusively on Spanish language media to learn what I feel I should learn about our national team.

Knowing CONCACAF well also provides excellent scouting for MLS and USL-1/USL-2 for signing players. Just yesterday Seattle signed an excellent player, Leonardo Gonzalez who should have been signed by an MLS club years ago.

Fox Soccer Channel has the rights to the Gold Cup in English for the United States. Yet, as they did in 2005 and 2007 they are only showing games involving the United States. If someone who really wants to scout the players and learn the region wants to develop an understanding for the playing field the US faces (and MLS/USL teams in CONCACAF) we must rely on the Univision family of networks.

In the meantime, FSC shows reruns of alleged classic English Premier League games including the likes of Stoke City and West Brom. As I discussed during the Confederations Cup it would be great to have some sort of original FSC programming on US Soccer aside from the outstanding USL Breakaways show which is league produced.

Can you imagine a studio show with Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan breaking down the US Confederations Cup run? Instead we get an FSC produced show of Manchester United highlights hosted by Nick Webster.

Summer is when football matters in the United States. Yet our most visible all football channels seem to think only the English and Italian game matters. Sure they show USL on Friday night, MLS on Saturday nights and WPS on Sunday nights but these seem to be afterthoughts in the bigger FSC thinking. No effort is given by the network to build the brand of US Soccer on the channel beyond Gold Cup matches.

For those who say “well the English Premier League and Serie A get more viewers,” please point to the EPL or Serie A game in the last ten years that got more US based viewers or media coverage than the two USMNT games last week in the Confederations Cup.

FSC has a tremendous asset in Christopher Sullivan and Max Bretos. Both know CONCACAF well and understand the culture of football in a way that no ESPN on air personalities do. Yet FSC limits their exposure and the exposure of anything North American.

To get our football news we must go beyond FSC, and as the rights holder for CONCACAF events, MLS, WPS and USL this is quite disappointing.

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A Few Moves(not a complete list)

As July 1 approached, the time when players contracts would be guaranteed if they were on the roster, MLS clubs made moves. I haven’t listed the players waived or released to make roster room, but some of the new additions are…

26 yr old Alecko Escandarian has moved across the hall as he was picked up by LA from Chivas USA. Josh Tudela was dropped to make room on the Galaxy roster.

The Revs are trying to bolster their scoring by signing 5 time Lithuanian player of the year, striker Edgaras Jankauskas.

The Rapids added defensive help with the signing of Julien Baudet from English League One side Crewe Alexandra.

The Sounders added defensive help with the signing of Costa Rican defender Leonardo Gonzalez from Liberia Mia, the Costa Rican league champion.

The RBNY signed keeper Bouna Coundoul.

Home cookin’?

Chicago is the only team with more points per game on the road than at home.

A Meaningful Statistic?

SoccerBlog.com makes a case for passing stats as a predictor of success.

Only two teams, Houston and Chivas USA, have won over 50% of their games. No other team has won more than 38% of their games.

The Real Standings?

Over at the fullback files, a good job was done looking at the standing from different perspectives, so I figured I list the standings based on points per game(PPG), especially since the range is so wide. RBNY has played 18 games, while the Revs have played just 12.

The Open Cup

By now you’ve heard how 4 of the 8 MLS teams were dumped out of the US Open. Same old story. Short rosters, nominal prize money leads to MLS fielding 2nd string teams despite the carrot of a bid to the CONCACAF Champions League for the winner. That’s how DC United made it into the 2009-10 competition.

20/20 hindsight

It’s interesting re-reading pieces by people I respect and see how things worked out. What criteria do you use to decide what info to let through the sieve?

Jeff Carlisle’s look at the USMNT midfield on May 6, 2009.

Brent Latham made his picks of 11 players to go to the Confed Cup on May 29.

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Misha Sher, Business Development Director of Soccerex and now a contributor to our show joins us from London to give his take on the USMNT Confederations Cup run and bring us up to speed on some transfer talk related to American players. Daniel Feuerstein then joins us to discuss the US Open Cup and break down the USMNT depth chart. Ignacio Rodriguez brings us up to speed on Miami FC and Chris Rirodan reports on the Puerto Rico Islanders/Carolina Railhawks match. An action packed MLS Talk Podcast.

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CONCACAF ’s oddities have struck once again. The Confederation that has done some odd things through the years (most notably the re-branding of the entity as the Football Confederation about ten years ago) has once again done something that seems from the perspective of someone who watches a lot of football, quite odd.

The decision to allow a special exemption for the US add seven players just two days before the tournament begins is bizarre. This allows the USA to carry a squad of 30 players while the other 11 qualified nations carry a 23 man squad. Additionally, the US is permitted to shuttle players back and forth between their club sides and the national team under this newly adopted rule which preceded the tournaments kickoff by under 72 hours.

I love this event that gives smaller nations, who are never going to qualify for the World Cup an attempt to qualify for this tournament. Haiti’s one World Cup appearance in 1974 is likely to be their last, but the Caribbean nation has now qualified for consecutive Gold Cups for the first time ever. Grenada has qualified for the first ever Gold Cup this year and it is great to see the island nation with several familiar names in a meaningful tournament.

It is also great to see Nicaragua long the doormats of Central America qualify for this tournament over Guatemala who is missing only their second Gold Cup.

The Gold Cup gets a bad wrap from football fans in the United States. No it is not the European Championships or the Copa America but it is our continental championship. Smaller nations as noted above put a great deal of emphasis on qualifying and when countries like Haiti or Nicaragua qualify it’s a big deal for those nations and their football federations.

I think that CONCACAF having spent lots of money promoting this event is risking losing the bi-annual payday. Mexico is sending a “B” squad much as they did in 2005 and the United States has called a squad reflective of the difficulty the USSF faces fielding competitive teams in two successive tournaments during the European/Mexican closed season.

CONCACAF was probably frightened by the prospect of lets say a Panama-Costa Rica final? Can you blame the Confederation for wanting to avoid this given the fact that the final will be held at 77,000 seat Giants Stadium?

But the other side is simple: Why should the United States be allowed to add seven more players all of whom participated in the Confederations Cup when Canada for instance didn’t call up several of their best players in deference to their club side? Honduras also has called a mixed squad of regulars and youngsters up for this tournament.

Had this rule change been adopted before the US participated in the Confederations Cup it would have been much more credible. The United States group opposition and potential knock out stage opposition could have prepared accordingly. The CSA for example could have struck a deal with Toronto FC to call in Dwayne DeRossario for knock out stage games, by naming him to the tournament roster but allowing him to stay at BMO Field for the time being.

Additionally, Bob Bradley who is under intense pressure to perform and juggle players in two tournaments and their club commitments could have prepared better for both events by naming a squad of players that initially incorporated the additional players. Mexico, knowing the situation could have made a decision whether or not to call such an inexperienced squad based on knowing that the US as reigning CONCACAF Champions would have seven extra spots.

I am a firm supporter of the Gold Cup. Unlike many other football fans and pundits I see a lot of value in the tournament. But truthfully, the Gold Cup worked much better as a January/February event which it was in 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. It didn’t conflict with the MLS season and the Mexican League generally made provisions to release their players for the competition.

If CONCACAF wants to continue having the tournament every two years perhaps they should shift it back to February as it was for years. Sure this would eliminate some top European based players (unless FIFA mandates their clubs release them as they do for the African Nations Cup) but would eliminate these scheduling issues with other tournaments, including the Copa America which Mexico will compete in again in 2011.

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Thank you again for listening to the MLS Talk Podcast.

- Kartik

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