Collapse: US falls to Denmark in friendly

This was a chance for newcomers to shine. It was a chance to prove the US can do it without Dempsey, Donovan and Howard. It was a chance to see how the US might do in a tough World Cup group. They failed. No one served the attackers. The defenders were overrun and got no help from midfield.

What do we make of this? Clearly, Donovan's presence is key to the US attack and drive as a whole. Onyewu's absence in the back line was flagrantly obvious, along with Bocanegra's mishaps. DeMerrit, Goodson, Marshall and Conrad are all good options, with DeMerrit being at the top of the list. Unfortunately, Goodson-Conrad, Bocanegra-Spector did not work today. Spector was miserable as a center back, even though he is occasionally played there in his club team, West Ham.

On the flanks, Bornstein had a quiet day but let a few balls slip through. Hejduk was a trooper and played with his trademark spunk, but Cherundolo and Spector remain better options at that position. Castillo was not used as a left back, from what I could tell and failed to impress.

The attack was quiet with a seemingly out-of-shape Altidore and with Cunningham and later Johnson lacking enough service to be dangerous. This was ultimately the problem... The midfield. Holden was exceedingly out-of-pace with the rest of the game, Bradley was caught ball-watching and Clark didn't contribute enough defensively. This was the major cause for the collapse at the start of the second half with three unanswered Danish goals. The defense needed more numbers in the back and the defensive midfielders were caught ball-watching.

Some positives include Feilhaber's resilience and Cunningham's opportunistic chance. I'm not sure if Castillo will be called up again, maybe for another friendly, maybe not. Donovan and Dempsey are clearly the aces in this team. It's hard to see the US faring well without them. Another point is Altidore's companion up top. Davies' speed is missing right now and the only other dominant player that can do this is Donovan. But who would be the creative force without Donovan in the midfield? These are questions that need to be mauled over by the coaching staff and the players themselves. There's not much time left until the World Cup and there are only a handful of FIFA dates to work with next year ahead of the competition. Indeed, it's crunch time.

Player ratings:
Guzan...6
Hejduk...5
Bocanegra...4
Spector...4
Bornstein...4.5
Holden...4
Bradley...4
Clark...5
Feilhaber...6
Cunningham...6
Altidore...4
Subs: Johnson (5), Goodson (5), Conrad (5.5), Castillo (3.5),

In & out: the November World Cup playoffs

Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing a full world cup qualifying day with a great Bosnian friend of mine. Our prerogative was, of course, the playoff between Bosnia and Portugal played at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. The home team came away with a victory of 1-0 in a game that could easily have gone Bosnia's way with three (yes, three) shots hitting the post. Dzeko was a threat in the area but Bosnia's chances came only in spurts as the hosts put continuous pressure on the visiting team. Return leg is on Wednesday at Zenica in Bosnia. An upset by the Balkan team could effectively push Cristiano Ronaldo's team out of South Africa. That would add another superstar's absence from to next year's tournament after Ibrahimovic's Sweden was eliminated.

Elsewhere in football yesterday was France's win in Ireland thanks to a Nicolas Anelka goal in Dublin. The bleus are now one foot away from South Africa. It was a scorcher between Russia and Slovenia. Russia deserved more, but Slovenia got an away goal late in the game that will prove crucial during Wednesday's return match in the former Yugoslav republic. Arshavin and Pavlichenko's play, along with Bilyaletdinov's brilliant strikes highlighted a young Russian side with great prospects for the future... if they are able to advance after Wednesday's game. Ukraine and Greece tied 0-0 in Athens. Donetsk will be a tough, cold venue for the Greeks in the return leg.

But the playoffs in Europe weren't the only qualifiers yesterday. Egypt forced a playoff in neutral ground against Algeria after a 95th minute goal earned them a 2-0 victory that tied their North African neighbors in points and goal differential. Nigeria and Cameroon also returned to the World Cup after their absence in 2006. Oceania finally has a team other than Australia (now in the AFC) earning a spot in the World Cup after New Zealand posted a 1-0 victory over AFC's Bahrain. Finally, another inter-conference playoff between Concacaf and Conmebol ended in a 1-0 victory for Uruguay in Costa Rican soil. The two-time world champs are now poised for another appearance in FIFA's most important tournament.

The fun doesn't stop there. Because this was an official FIFA date (meaning all club teams are required to cede their players for international matchups), high profile friendlies could be played. A depleted England fell to Brazil in Quatar whilst Spain beat out Maradona's Argentina. The US also had a friendly in Bratislava against a limited Slovakia side that was content with a 1-0 margin attained through a questionable penalty. Cunningham and Dax McCarty made the squad but didn't factor much. Wednesday brings a more intriguing game against Denmark on Danish soil. Edgar Castillo will feature for the Americans, as will Torres, Holden and Clark. Dempsey, Cherundolo, and Marshall have been released from camp.

Wednesday should be another great day for international futbol. Much is still at stake and all will be resolved ahead of next month's World Cup draw.

This Is It tour: September qualifiers

Yes, I'm alluding to the King of Pop's ill-fated final tour. He never made it, and as of right now, some countries might be on-the-outside-looking-in come the October qualifiers for South Africa 2010. So the allusion has more than one connotation here. If you thought the Confederations Cup was awesome, just wait till this weekend to find out why international soccer is the best type of soccer in the world. Marquee matchups, lots of stars, huge implications, you name it.

Let's start with our home planet of USA and our home galaxy of Concacaf. We saw how the US faltered at the hands of mighty Mexico and in the shadows of the majestic Azteca. Will the boys that beat Egypt and Spain in the Confederations Cup show up this weekend (vs El Salvador) and next Wednesday (@ Trinidad)? I sure hope so. Three points are acceptable. Four points are a minimum. Six points are a must. Why? Because right now the US is sitting in third place (10 pts) behind Costa Rica (12 pts) and Honduras (10 pts, better goal differential). Getting six points means they go to Honduras in October to snatch away points and then home vs Costa Rica to keep all three. And Mexico? They go up against Costa Rica at the so-far impenetrable Saprissa stadium; then home vs Honduras. We have to hope they stay with only three points. Why all the fuss, though? Because the fourth place goes up against fifth-placed South American. Right now that could even be Argentina.

Down to the land of Andes and Amazon we go. Ecuador should hope to get at least four points from visits to Colombia and Venezuela if they have any hope of landing a fifth play-off spot at least. But the most interesting situation is Diego Maradona's Argentina. In fourth place at the moment, the "gauchos" have a home game against first place Brazil and then a visit to difficult Paraguay. Argentina-Brazil game is at 8:30PM ET and you can catch it here or here. Just follow links to the "sports" sections of those websites.

And Europe? Holland is already in. On the verge are Germany, Spain, and England. In danger are Italy, Portugal, Sweden, France, Denmark, Greece, and Switzerland. All could qualify. All could be out, especially CR9's Portugal. Good matches to watch (online if you can or ESPN or FSC) are Denmark-Portugal, Switzerland-Greece, and France-Romania.

Asia is almost set. The Koreas are in; surprisingly Kim Jong-il's team is finally back in the competition after three decades of absence. Japan and newly Asian-conference-switched Australia. A playoff between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will decide who plays against New Zealand for the last spot. No Iran this time around.

Africa is looking interesting with Gabon ahead of Togo, Morocco and Cameroon (personal faves). Tunisia and Nigeria are fighting it out, as are Algeria and Egypt. Ghana (my lab mate's country), and Cote d'Ivoire are almost in.

Are you excited yet? I sure am, and so are the 200+ nations that make up the Fifa family.

Canada attacks

Well, well. Look at what our friend from north of the border has done. They still lost to Brazil, yes, but they made the game closer than the 5 time world champs would have liked and looked far more impressive in style and play than the Americans looked at any point during their visit to Wembley. If it wasn't for Serioux serious error or De Guzman's errant back pass, Canada might have come away with an important tie. De Guzman's long shot was nothing short of spectacular (just check out the video) and their ability with the ball both defensively and offensively is enough to have Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica worried ahead of their (presumptive) "cuadrangular" later this summer and into the fall for the initiation of the penultimate phase of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. I would be very concerned if I was Bob Bradley that this team could go on to the last round of qualifiers (the US should make it, we hope, through the following phase). Here's why: 1.) attacking speed, 2.) similar style of play, 3.) lots of MLS players, 4.) brand new fan base and stadium.