Hello Everyone!

March 23rd, 2011 | by: michael | Comments Off

Hey guys. My name’s Mike and I am the new co-blogger here on the USA WCB . I am so excited to be on here and I hope I can make this page more active. I am a diehard supporter of the US National Team, and Major League Soccer. The team I support the most besides the National Team is the New York Red Bulls.

Please follow me on twitter.

Even though the World Cup ended 7 months ago, USA supporters have the CONCACAF Gold Cup to look forward to this summer, which I will be covering. The team also has some great friendlies coming up against Argentina and Paraguay. Every Monday, I am going to do a post-called “Yanks Overseas”. In these posts, I will talk about how American players did over the weekend in matchups overseas.

The US will be hosting Argentina in an international friendly at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday in East Rutherford, NJ. The US will also host Paraguay at LP Field on Tuesday, March 29 in Nashville, TN.

Here’s the updated roster for the upcoming friendlies.

GOALKEEPERS (3): Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tim Howard (Everton), David Yelldell (MSV Duisburg)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres), Timothy Chandler (FC Nürnberg), Jay DeMerit (Vancouver Whitecaps), Eric Lichaj (Leeds), Oguchi Onyewu (FC Twente), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Michael Bradley (Aston Villa), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Mikkel Diskeruud (Stabaek), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt)

There are a couple changes to the original lineup that Bob Bradley announced a couple weeks ago. Steve Cherundolo, Stuart Holden, and Zak Whitbread are no longer on the roster due to injuries. While Chernundo (groin) and Whitbread (back) injuries do not seem serious, Holden is expected to be out six months with a knee injury after a tackle made by Manchester United’s Jonny Evans this past Sunday. Holden needed 26 stitches in his knee following the incident. This is a huge setback for Holden, who some have said to be the most improved player on the national team.

Seeing Agudelo and Ream on the rosters makes a Red Bull fan very excited, but also disappointed because both players will not be with the team on Saturday verses the Columbus Crew.

The last time the US played Argentina was in East Rutherford in 2008, where the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Since 1995, the US is 2-0-1 against Argentina.

Also, it looks like the 2011 new red kit for the National Team has leaked.