USMNT @ CUBA for first time in over 60 years — Saturday’s World Cup Qualifier
USMNT last played Cuba in 2005, but on home soil @ Seattle's Qwest Field. The 4-1 win for the USA was a first round match in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Because of the contentious recent history and relationship between the two countries, USA and CUBA only play each other when absolutely neccesary as dictated by FIFA rules. These days, this means they meet only for important tournaments related to CONCACAF…
Tonight, one such match will occur, and it will mark the first time in 61 years that the U.S. Men’s National Team has journeyed to play in Cuba. This will be a CONCACAF qualifier for the 2010 World Cup…
Match Previews and Videos -
USA @ CUBA -
Havana’s ESTADIO PEDRO MARRERO (Nat’l football stadium)
U.S. TV: ESPN Networks / Galavision — kickoff @ 8 pm EDT
from US Soccer,
USMNT Roster announcement and details
Also, MLS Players called up for USMNT
VIDEOS -
Flashback - As the teams prepare for their first-ever meeting in a World Cup Qualifier, have a look at highlights from their 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1st-round match at Seattle’s Qwest Field. USA’s goals in the 4-1 win; 2 by Landon Donovan, one each by Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley…
Official USMNT clips from training in Miami this week…
Day 1 , Day 2 , Days 3-5 w/links to related videos
Related articles:
Know Your Opponent: Cuba edition
“U.S. and Cuba find common ground…” (New York Times)
“The Cuba Cinco have arrived in Havana” (SI’s Grant Wahl)
…and - oh, yeah - one more thing… GO USA ! =)
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Videos — 95th annual U.S. Open Cup — DC UNITED Celebrations and Interviews
DC UNITED won the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by defeating Charleston Battery 2-1. (They also won in 1996)
CONGRATULATIONS TO DC UNITED for winning their second U. S. OPEN CUP title…
Here are two great videos produced in the afterglow; many aspects represented between them, including immediate post-game celebrations in the stadium, as well as interviews and backstory on their win. ENJOY =)
from BEHIND THE BADGE,
(2:06 min.)
DC United celebrates winning their 2nd U.S. Open Cup in front of their hometown fans at RFK stadium in Washington, DC. The Brazilian duo, Luciano Emilio and Fred, each scored a goal as United defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1… WATCH HERE
from ACCESS UNITED,
(7:26 min.)
Access United gets you behind the scenes as we show you the 2008 U.S. Open Cup celebration of D.C. United’s record 12th overall Trophy in their 14 years of existence… WATCH HERE
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95th annual U.S. Open Cup — Wednesday night’s Championship [UPDATED]
The U.S. Open Cup - the national Championship of the U.S. Soccer Federation - has been held annually since 1914. D.C. United have now won twice (1996, 2008).
A great win in the 95-year-old tournament last night gave DC United not only their second U.S. Open Cup title, but also their 12th major trophy overall in their short 14-year existence…
Established in 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the U.S. Soccer Federation’s national championship, which is open for participation to any sanctioned men’s team. This Final was the third for United (they won in 1996), and they hosted the Charleston Battery in for the Championship, in a match seen live on Fox Soccer Channel in the U.S.
Passionate fan contingencies from both sides were present; while Charleston had never made it this far in this tournament before, they had numerous players who had previous experience with MLS (even DC United), and the team as well as their fans had only a short distance to travel to Washington. Of course, D.C. had all of their fans groups there, including the two most famously boisterous collectives - ”The Screaming Eagles” and “La Barra Brava.”
from MLSNet,
“D.C. United outlasted a dogged challenge from the Charleston Battery in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday night, simultaneously ending the USL-1 club’s Cinderella tourney run and a four-year trophy drought of their own with a 2-1 victory at atmospheric RFK Stadium.”
“It was a Brazilian brace that won the affair for the Black-and-Red at the outset of each half, as Luciano Emilio found the net in the fourth minute and Fred returned from injury to notch the game-winner in the 50th minute. But the result was in doubt until the very end thanks to a composed performance from the Battery, who matched United in terms of possession and invention only to fall short in the final reckoning.”
Read the complete MLSNet.com Match Report here
Related, “United eye 12th major trophy”
VIDEO -
Official highlights from Fox Soccer Channel, (4:34 min.)
—–
Archived preview and background features follow here:
On Wednesday night at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., the 95th annual U.S. Open Cup will crown its champion…
Now officially titled the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in honor of the American Soccer pioneer, the tournament is one of the longest-running of any sport in the history of this country. Any men’s amateur or pro team sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation in any league in this country is eligible to try to qualify and participate.
This year, a second-tier team, the Charleston Battery has made it all the way to the Final, where they will meet the venue’s home team, D.C. United, who won the U.S. Open Cup in 1996, their debut year as a franchise. They also made it to the U.S. Open Cup Final in 1997, and have additionally won four MLS Cup titles, which is more than any other team…
You can read how both teams got to this point, and preview the Final with the features below, including audio and video. After the match, we will update this page with the post-game features as they become available.
You can watch the Final live on TV…
U.S. TV: Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
CHARLESTON BATTERY @ DC UNITED
Wednesday, September 3 — RFK Stadium
Fox Soccer Channel — kickoff 7:30 pm EDT
ENJOY… =)
Preview articles,
AUDIO -
US Soccer’s David Applegate caught up with D.C. United Head Coach Tom Soehn and Charleston Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser to talk about Wednesday’s Final…
VIDEO -
(01:40) Historic moments in D.C. United’s Championship seasons…
Will you be there on September 3 at RFK Stadium?
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The Best of MLS — Week 23 [UPDATED]
updated September 3 -
(see Wednesday’s episode of “Extra Time” at bottom of page)
Weekend and weeknight regular-season MLS matches took place in the 23rd round, and with all of the player and coaching changes taking place and showing up in action, it’s beginning to make the final two-month stretch of the season very interesting, indeed…Here, MLSNet features from three of the week’s best matches, and other great stuff like Goal of the Week and Player of the Week… ENJOY =)
GALAXY @ REVOLUTION,
Landon Donovan had his fifth multi-goal game of the season against New England at Gillette Stadium; the two in this match also extend his lead as the MLS player with the most goals - now 16 - on the season in the Budweiser Golden Boot tally.
VIDEOS -
Official highlights from Fox Sports Net, (5:20 min.)
TORONTO FC @ CHIVAS USA,
The other L.A. team was at home - the Home Depot Center - and hosting TFC, the Goats had a spectacular finish to their match. With the score at 1-1 in the final stoppage time, Atiba Harris scored in the 95th minute off of an assist from Sacha Kljestan. It was only the second time in Chivas USA’s 4-year history that they had a come-from-behind win in a regular-season league match.
Related, “Harris to rest after easy match winner”
VIDEOS -
Official highlights from Fox Sports Net, (5:22 min.)
Post-game comments from players and Coach Preki
RAPIDS @ REAL SALT LAKE,
Rocky Mountain Cup -
RSL forward Fabian Espindola was named the MLS Player of the Week, and on Wednesday afternoon, also was awarded Goal of the Week…
from MLSNet,
“Espindola scored both goals in Real Salt Lake’s 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. The win improved Real Salt Lake’s record to 8-8-6 with 30 points, and gave them sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, five points behind Houston Dynamo and three points ahead of third-place Chivas USA.”
Read the MLS Player of the Week Press Release here
—–
VIDEOS -
MLS Goal of the Week (Real Salt Lake’s Fabian Espindola), all of the finalists,
“Extra Time” (Wednesday, September 3 episode) The latest of the weekly series’ exclusive webisodes, featuring co-hosts Shep Messing and Greg Lalas. Topics up for discussion include how the playoffs are shaping up, some MVP candidates, look at your emails, and much more…
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