The USMNT is obviously hurting along with the rest of us right now. As such, the players’ social media accounts have pretty much gone quiet since Tuesday. After the debacle in Trinidad and Tobago, Bruce Arena, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard and Omar Gonzalez all addressed the media and answered questions. You can watch the first three in the video above and Gonzalez in the video below.
Lost in all the furor following the USMNT’s disastrous 2-1 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago (and because the match was played on ESPN 8: The Ocho, so no one saw it) is the fact that the Soca Warriors’ Alvin Jones probably scored the best goal of the entire CONCACAF qualifying cycle, a sludge dating back to March 22, 2015.
Alexi Lalas brought it up; we’re here to answer it. Is Tim Howard still the right man in goal for the U.S. Men’s National Team?
Three years ago Tim Howard was the meme king of the World Cup, dual-handedly keeping Belgium at bay for 90 minutes while his USMNT teammates flailed around defensively. Howard made a World Cup record 15 saves that day, ultimately allowing two goals in extra time in a 2-1 loss that would have been a 1-0 win had Chris Wondolowski been able to put a shot on target from six yards out.
The story of Sunday night’s 1-1 draw between Seattle and Los Angeles wasn’t Lamar Neagle’s 85th minute equalizer for the Sounders, nor was it Gyasi Zardes actually doing a goal for the Galaxy. It was provided by FS1 broadcaster Alexi Lalas after the match had concluded. Lalas has some opinions on the USMNT, and he brought them. He brought them hard.
Major League Soccer revealed today that German star Bastian Schweinsteiger will wear the captain’s armband when the MLS All-Stars take on Real Madrid in Chicago on August 2. Schweinsteiger beat out Tim Howard and David Villa for the honor in a Snapchat vote.
The process for selecting the 24-man MLS All-Star roster means that there’s always going to be some massive snubs. That just comes with the territory of allowing fans to vote for nearly 50% of the squad. It’s not worth getting too upset over. After all, it’s the fans that’ll actually pay to watch the glorified friendly between the All-Stars and Real Madrid on August 2 in Chicago.
Major League Soccer is home to some miserable road teams, with four squads failing to win a single away fixture about halfway through the season.
Two of those sides met Saturday night in Denver. Marlon Hairston scored twice and Tim Howard came up with some big saves as the Rapids beat the Dynamo 3-1, leaving Houston 0-7-2 on the road.
Houston, Minnesota and Colorado all have seven road losses without a win, though the former two have both drawn twice. New England is 0-6-3 away from home.
The United States has appeared in 10 FIFA World Cups, including the last seven straight. Out of those 10 appearances, they've fallen at the first hurdle on five occasions. The most notable exceptions include the first-ever World Cup in 1930 when the side finished third in the 13-team tournament and their run to the 2002 quarterfinals in Japan and South Korea.