Elias Vasquez, who is part of the Guatemalan squad for the Gold Cup is apparently not involved: He was training with Real Salt Lake today, which would indicate that he’s set to play for the team on Saturday against Orlando City South Carolina.
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Head coach Klinsmann subsequently opted to make Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley captain for the Gold Cup, but the German insists that taking the armband away from Dempsey does not diminish the 32-year-old’s importance to the team.
After a rough patch to end 2014 and in the beginning of 2015 that saw the USA peculiarly vulnerable to giving up late goals, the USA has righted the ship picking up wins against Mexico, the Netherlands, and an historic win against Germany in Cologne. “Everyone will now expect Costa Rica to play great football and win against any team”. The attendance of 44,835 at Nissan Stadium was the largest crowd to watch a soccer game in Tennessee. “But it doesn’t change who I am”.
Playing his 22nd global game, Chandler doubled the lead in the 58th minute.
In the U.S. Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers on June 16, Dempsey drew a red card in the 111th minute after he tore referee Daniel Radford’s notebook in half.
“That’s something I put behind me”, said Dempsey, who posted an apology on Twitter after the incident. Through a spokesman, he declined requests for an interview this week.
“It’s important to have Clint be in his best condition for us”, USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Thursday. “”(The ejection) was a traumatic moment for him… At the age of 32, that’s actually quite awesome. “I talked with my teammates”.
Guatemala will have wanted to do better with their next opportunity right after halftime when Guzan spilled a free kick in the 47th minute that fell right to Jose Contreras with a free look at an open goal. Nobody’s flawless. It happened. The goal was Chandler’s first for the U.S. “We will use all six subs, most likely, to give the players minutes and give them a chance to show us what they have”. “Clint is exceptional, an absolutely exceptional player”. He’s proved that year in and year out. He’s proving that now in MLS, like Jozy (Altidore) does as well. “And we hope that Javier is okay and recovers quickly”. We need him on board. “We know there are areas where we need to sharpen things up”. Given their tough slate of friendlies, it will be interesting to see how the Americans will play as prohibitive favorites for the next couple of weeks. While he is still young and raw, he is going to be able to pick apart the defenses of CONCACAF teams at the Gold Cup and should be a huge asset if any opponent wants-or needs- to open the game up. Yedlin is creative, has good awareness and could be a monster in the midfield for the U.S. for years to come, especially given that he has the stamina and speed to get back. “So he’s excited about (serving as captain) and rightfully so”.
The goal displayed Yedlin’s athletic ability, showing his blistering pace whilst he also put good quality into the box, which will be encouraging for Spurs supporters and manager Mauricio Pochettino.
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Team United States of America is entering its worldwide friendly with Guatemala with a roster almost at full strength, save for a new, yet familiar captain.
