Dom Dwyer is an American citizen. He celebrated his American citizenship by blasting the USMNT ahead of Ghana in the 19th minute of his first cap.
Everyone, meet @Ddwyer14. @Ddwyer14, meet everyone. A dream #USMNT debut for the 26-year-old! pic.twitter.com/41cLap5kGK
Jesse Gonzalez is probably the best young goalkeeper in MLS. The 22-year-old FC Dallas goalie is tall, athletic and composed. Sounds perfect for the USMNT, right? I mean, Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are getting older, and there hasn't been a heir apparent to step into their shoes.
The problem was until today, Gonzalez was actually in Mexico's player pool. However, Gonzalez filed paperwork for a one-time national team switch, and today FIFA approved the move. This is a big deal. Gonzalez has a while to go before he even hits his prime, and he's already really good.
Based on the roster selections for the 2017 Gold Cup, it’s clear CONCACAF heavyweights Mexico and the United States aren’t putting too much stock into the upcoming tournament.
Mexico, which sent many of its top players to the Confederations Cup, will be devoid of most of its stars at the Gold Cup.
The U.S., despite not being in the Confederations Cup and with a partial berth to the 2021 Confederations Cup on the line, is sending a side full of inexperienced players to the Gold Cup.
Bruce Arena has finalized his 23-man roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and it’s an interesting mix of veteran players that are desperate to impress and make one final World Cup squad while the next generation of talent aims to prove that their time has arrived.
While every player on the roster stands to either gain or lose a lot with regards to the ultimate goal of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, here are five players that could use this tournament as a springboard to more important roles next summer.
The Confederations Cup will play its eighth final on Sunday, July 2.
For the first time since 2003, Brazil will not be in said final.
The Brazilians have dominated this tournament, winning four of the seven editions and reaching the final another time. Only France (twice) has been to more than one final, winning in 2001 and 2003.
While the Confederations Cup can occasionally create some less-than-stellar matches in the group stage, the finals have been entertaining at the very least.
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.
Approaching the halfway point of the 2017 Major League Soccer season, Minnesota United has already answered two questions that lingered around the expansion club throughout preseason: 1.) Is MNUFC the worst MLS side of all-time? No. Far from it. In fact, with five wins (which is what many predicted would be their grand total for the entire season), they’re only three points out of the playoff picture.
Torsten Frings is finally getting his comeuppance, 15 years and 24 hours to the day.
The former German international became head coach of SV Darmstadt in January, around the time American Terrence Boyd joined the team.
Darmstadt was promptly relegated to 2. Bundesliga.
On Thursday, 19-year-old Texan McKinze Gaines signed with the club. One can only assume he’s planning to help finish the job Boyd started.
Why might these young Yanks be plotting revenge on a new coach of high regard who spent a couple years in MLS before retiring?
The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off in just a few weeks, and it looks like the United States Men’s National Team has a new kit on the way. The tournament will begin on July 7 with Canada taking on French Guiana at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. While we continue to speculate over who will make the final 23-man roster for the USMNT, there’s one thing we can all come to an agreement on: the new Nike kits are a huge upgrade.