On Friday, the Seattle Sounders released a distressing statement concerning Sounders and USMNT forward Clint Dempsey. The 33-year-old will be undergoing medical evaluations for an irregular heartbeat over the coming days, missing Seattle’s match against Portland on Sunday and the United States’ September World Cup qualifiers against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
While Jozy Altidore’s goalscoring record for Sunderland will always torment him like a black spot, a piece of low-hanging fruit for doubters who refuse to recognize his enormous talent, those who’ve followed his career of late will know that it’s his troublesome hamstrings which remain his personal Kryptonite.
How mad would you be if you were bounced from a major international tournament by the likes of Bahrain? Let's ask the USA men's U-19 team, which lost 3-1 to Bahrain in the COTIF tournament, ensuring their exit from the competition.
Well that escalated quickly. They appear to not be psyched about it. (The USA is in the dark-colored jerseys and Bahrain in the white, by the way.)
When we last reported on Charlie Davies back in April, it was to celebrate his remarkable recovery from a 2009 car accident that could’ve claimed his life. The subject of an ESPN documentary entitled “The Unrelenting Charlie Davies”, the New England Revolution forward was looking forward to a successful 2016 MLS season.
This season will be a pivotal one for Julian Green. The 21-year-old USA international will not play for Bayern Munich's reserve team, and will insead try to break into the first team.
Saturday, in Bayern Munich's International Champions Cup pre-season friendly against Inter Milan, Green began making his case for first-team minutes, scoring a hat trick in the first 35 minutes of the match.
Christian Pulisic only made his debut for Borussia Dortmund back in January 2016. Since then, we’ve learned that the 17-year-old is an absolute gem of a player. In seven months time he became the youngest player to score two goals in the Bundesliga, made his USMNT debut in March, scored against Bolivia and represented the USA three times at the Copa America Centenario.
It’s been over two years since Julian Green introduced himself on the largest of international stages with that fantastic goal against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. Now, it finally looks as though he’s ready to progress at the club level with Bayern Munich.
The story arcs that football provides us with are both fascinating and absurd. Who could’ve guessed that, come 2016, Brad Guzan would be doing battle with Victor Valdes to be named the starting goalkeeper for Middlesbrough?
Guzan, the 31-year-old Illinois native with 50 USA appearances to his name, is expected to join the newly promoted Premier League club on a free transfer following Aston Villa’s relegation.
Landon Donovan has returned to the public spotlight with a couple of high profile appearances in the last week. On Monday, Donovan took part in Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities by participating in a celebrity softball game. The USA’s all time leading scorer hit an inside-the-park home run that showed off the 34 year olds still electric pace.
Tim Howard’s presence in MLS was clearly felt during his return on Monday as the American goalkeeper registered a shutout in the 0-0 draw between Colorado Rapids, Howard’s new club, and the reigning MLS champion Portland Timbers.
Howard’s debut electrified Colorado’s fanbase — the club typically averages 14,978 spectators per match but had a season-best 18,759 attend Monday’s July 4th matchup.
Rapids fans were keen to see Howard and Jermaine Jones, both returning from Copa America action with the United States, take the field together for the first time for the club.