Espinoza and Mustivar Called Up for Qualifiers

After this weekend's game against Toronto FC, Sporting Kansas City is off until they play Real Salt Lake on April second, but not all of KC's players will be off from games. It was announced today that two of Sporting KC's players had been called up to represent their national team during the off week for KC. Roger Espinoza and Soni Mustivar were called up by Honduras and Haiti respectively as they both play World Cup qualifiers on March 25th and 29th.

Espinoza and Honduras are in trouble as they head into a pair of games against El Salvador, in a group that also includes Mexico and Canada, Honduras currently sits at the bottom of the group at 0-2 after losses on the road against Canada and at home against Mexico. If Honduras has hopes of qualifying for their third straight World Cup, they need to probably get at least four points from these two games. Honduras will travel to El Salvador first for their game on the 25th before hosting the return leg on the 29th at Estadio Olympic Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula. El Salvador, for their part, isn't doing much better, currently sitting in third place with a single point from a home draw with Canada. Only the top two will advance to the "Hex."

Mustivar and Haiti aren't doing any better than Honduras at this time though, as they too sit 0-2 in their group after a pair of 1-0 losses on the road against Costa Rica and at home against Jamaica. Haiti will be hosting Panama on the 25th before heading to Panama City for the return leg on the 29th. If Haiti has a hope of reaching the next round they need to probably get at least four points out of the game as well with their final two games being a trip to Jamaica and hosting Costa Rica.

The pair could be joined on national team duty by captain Matt Besler when the US releases their roster for their upcoming qualifiers against Guatemala.

Sporting's CONCACAF Internationals Go Winless

Sporting KC's three CONCACAF internationals all started last night for their countries in World Cup qualifiers, unfortunately though none of them were able to pick up a win. Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong, and Soni Mustivar all started for the US, Canada, and Haiti in the second match of the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. The US and Canada had both picked up wins in their first game while Haiti had lost on the road to Costa Rica in their first game.

Last night it was the first road game for both the US and Canada. The US took on Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. Besler started for the US again, partnering Geoff Cameron in the middle of the USA's defense. The pair was solid for the US all night working to keep Trinidad striker Kenwyne Jones in check. At the other end of the field though the USA struggled offensively. It certainly wasn't a pretty game for the US and ended 0-0, but they'll take the point on the road and will remain strong favorites to advance out of the group.

Canada's first road trip was in San Salvador where they played an El Salvador team that has players on strike. De Jong once again started at left back for Canada as they too escaped with a road point. Like the US, Canada now has four points from their first two games. They now sit second in their group behind Mexico, who has six points.

Mustivar and Haiti weren't as lucky at home against Jamaica. After a strong Gold Cup it was thought that Haiti could make Group B a real group of death in CONCACAF that could see Costa Rica or Panama upset and not make the Hex. Haiti though suffered a 1-0 loss at home last night in Port-au-Prince to Jamaica which now leaves them rooted at the foot of the group after two games. Mustivar started for the Haitians in his traditional midfield position.

Qualifying is now done until March when the US will take on Guatemala in a pair of games, Canada will play Mexico, and Haiti will play Panama.

Sporting Internationals Go 3-1 in First Games of Break

Sporting Kansas City's four internationals on duty with their national team went 3-1 over the last two days as the international break kicked off.

The first game occurred yesterday when Kristian Nemeth and Hungary kicked off their European Championship playoff in Oslo, Norway against the Norwegians. Norway controlled the game at home, but a goalkeeping error by Orjan Nyland allowed Laszlo Kleinheisler to score on his debut with the senior national team. The Hungarian defense held out and Hungary took a 1-0 lead back to Budapest for their game on Sunday. A win, a draw, or a one goal loss when Hungary scores will see them through to next summer's Euros. Nemeth went 90 minutes for Hungary in the win.

The other three games all occurred tonight. Sporting's captain, Matt Besler started the game for the US national team in St. Louis against St. Vincent and Grenadines. Things didn't start well as the US fell behind 1-0 early, but the US came back though and scored six unanswered to win 6-1. Besler had a couple chances himself to score his first international goal, including a flick on header that hit the cross bar. Late on Besler actually moved up into the midfield and played much more advanced than any KC fan has seen him play after Jermaine Jones picked up an injury after the US had used all three substitutions. The US will now travel to Trinidad for a game early next week against Trinidad and Tobago.

Up in Vancouver, Marcel de Jong started for the Canadian national team as they were able to exercise some of their demons from last cycle against Honduras. The last time the two teams had met in World Cup qualifiers Canada just needed a draw to advance to the "Hex" but ended up getting destroyed 8-1 and were eliminated from the World Cup. Canada though got a deflected goal by Cyle Larin and the Canadian defense shut down Honduras to pick up a 1-0 win. Canada now gets to travel to El Salvador for their second game.

The lone loss from the first set of internationals came from Soni Mustivar and Haiti as they played on the road against Costa Rica. Mustivar started the game on the bench for Haiti. Costa Rica scored in the 29th minute to take a 1-0 lead. On the hour mark Mustivar was inserted into the game for Haiti for they were unable to find an equalizer and fell 1-0 on the road. Haiti will now get to host Jamaica in their second game in the group.

Mustivar Called Up By Haiti

Sporting KC's season may be over, but some players will continue to play over the next few weeks. Next weekend is another FIFA international window and World Cup qualifying kicks off again for CONCACAF nations. While the likes of Matt Besler and Marcel de Jong are likely to both get call ups for their respective country's qualifier, and Krisztian Nemeth is likely to be recalled by Hungary, another Sporting player has been called in.

Haitian international, Soni Mustivar has been called up by Haiti and will join them for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers in Costa Rica and at home against Jamaica in the coming break. This will be Mustivar's first time accepting a call up as a member of Sporting KC. Mustivar had been on Haiti's roster for this past summer's Gold Cup, but did not accept the call. At the time there were rumors that he had retired from international soccer. For the moment at least though, that appears to be in the past.

Zusi and de Jong Called Up, Mustivar Turns Down Call

The 23 man rosters for next month's Gold Cup were released today with two Sporting KC players named to the roster. Marcel de Jong was named to Canada's roster while Graham Zusi was named to the USA's roster. Zusi will join the US team after this weekend's game against Colorado ahead of a friendly against Guatemala next week. De Jong's departure date has not been stated, so he could play in next week's US Open Cup game against Dallas before leaving. Meanwhile a third player has been named to his country's 23, but has apparently turned down the call up. According to the completed rosters, Sporting's Soni Mustivar was named to Haiti's roster but apparently turned down the call up and talks with the Haiti federation are currently on going. Of the three, Mustivar may be the biggest loss with the way that KC has played since he came into the starting lineup if he does in fact get called up for the tournament. Along with the Open Cup game, the players would also miss a trip to Vancouver on July 12th.

For those teams that advance past the group stage, games against Montreal on the 18th, Salt Lake on the 24th, and potentially a US Open Cup quarterfinal on July 21st or 22nd. KC's remaining players not called up, Matt Besler and Roger Espinoza could also be called in for the knock out round as all teams are allowed six replacements. Espinoza, like Mustivar turned down a call up for the Gold Cup, instead wanting to stay with KC and work on his fitness. Besler's absence may be the most surprising of all, and one has to wonder if he asked to not be called in for the group stage as well due to KC's lack of depth right now at the center back position. The KC captain though would be a prime candidate to be one of the six replacement players named after the group stage.

Five KC Players on Gold Cup Preliminary Rosters

Today CONCACAF announced the preliminary squads for this summer's Gold Cup. The 35 man rosters for all 12 teams was announced today. The rosters will be knocked down to 23 for the actual tournament itself, although teams can make changes to their roster after the group stage.

For Sporting KC, they've had five players named to the provisional squads for four different countries in the Gold Cup. All of the five players were expected call ups, for the US national team, captain Matt Besler and Graham Zusi are on the list, neither was called into the national team for the games against the Netherlands and Germany. And while the US won both of the games, some of the defensive struggles could give a chance for Besler to win back the starting left center back post. As for Zusi, he probably has a much tougher task of winning back a spot on the team with the way the national team has played lately. And honestly up until the last couple games Zusi hasn't really looked like he should get a call up the way he's played since the World Cup last summer.

The other call ups involve Roger Espinoza being called back to the Honduran national team after having not been called in the last two times they've gotten together. Also there's Marcel de Jong who is on the Canadian roster after missing their most recent call ups for World Cup qualifiers as he returns from injury. The final call up is defensive midfielder Soni Mustivar for Haiti. Mustivar earns his first call up for Haiti as a member of KC.

If all players get called up to the final 23, four KC players will be playing at Sporting Park on July 13th with Honduras, Haiti, and the USA all in town.

The tournament kicks off on July 7th with the group stage and runs through July 26th. The US for example though has another friendly on July 3rd and would likely want players in camp a few days before that. What that means is that any Sporting KC players that make the final or third place game could miss as many as five games with Sporting. Should KC beat St. Louis in the US Open Cup, their fifth round match up would be on June 30th or July 1st followed by league games on July 12th at Vancouver, July 18th vs Montreal, and July 24th vs Real Salt Lake. The fifth game is dependent on US Open Cup advancement as the quarterfinals are July 21st or 22nd.

Certainly not a great situation, but they're not alone, two of their three opponents, Vancouver and Salt Lake have also had five players named to provisional rosters. The third opponent, Montreal only has one called up.

Sporting Park to Host US vs Panama in the Gold Cup

CONCACAF today announced the groupings for this summer's Gold Cup, including the USA and their fourth trip to Sporting Park since the stadium opened. The United States, already grouped in Group A will play in Dallas, Foxborough and Kansas City for their three group games. Joining them will be Panama, Haiti, and Honduras or French Guiana (those two meet in a home and away playoff in late March to decide the final team in the tournament).

The United States will open the group in Dallas against the winner of the Honduras/French Guiana playoff on July 7th before taking on Haiti in Foxborough on the 10th. The Yanks will close out group play on July 13th at Sporting Park against Panama. Certainly not an easy group for the United States, especially if Honduras, as expected, takes care of French Guiana in the playoff matchup. You'll have Honduras who has qualified for the last two World Cups, Haiti, who while having not qualified for the World Cup since 1974, have given the US trouble in the past in the Gold Cup, including a 2-2 draw that the US had to salvage at the death in the 2009 version of the competition. Then you have Panama, the USA's opponent in KC, the team they beat in the 2013 version of the tournament in the final 1-0 (beating Mexico twice in that tournament), the team that was a late Graham Zusi goal from heading to the World Cup themselves, and the only team to beat the US in the group stages of the Gold Cup since the tournament was founded in 1991. So there really won't be any easy games for the US in this competition.

Group B will also see its share of tight games with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Canada making up the group. In Costa Rica you have arguably the best team in CONCACAF right now as the seeded team. You then add in regional rival El Salvador, 2014 Caribbean Cup winners, Jamaica, and co-hosts, Canada, who automatically qualified. While Costa Rica should win the group, playing Canada in Toronto in their final group game could be a strong test.

Of the three groups, Mexico in Group C got the easiest as they'll go up against Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba. While you have Guatemala and TnT both runner's up in their regional competitions, neither made The Hex in the last round of World Cup qualifying. Meanwhile Cuba qualified as the fourth place finisher out of the Caribbean.

The winner of the 2015 Gold Cup will meet the winner of the 2013 Gold Cup (the USA) in a home and home series for the right to go to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. If the US wins the Gold Cup this year, the US will automatically advance to the Confederations Cup.

Saad and Jerome Earn Caps on International Match Day

Sporting KC's Soony Saad and Mechack Jerome both added to their cap total today in international matches for their countries.

Saad had the more important match of the two as Lebanon was hoping to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. They needed a win against Thailand and help from China who played Iraq to qualify. Unfortunately China lost 3-1 to Iraq and Lebanon was eliminated. Lebanon though finished the qualifying cycle on a high as they took care of their opponent 5-2. Saad scored what proved to be the game winner one minute into first half stoppage time. The goal, Saad's second for Lebanon and first in a competitive match made the score 3-1. Lebanon scored two more in the second half before Thailand scored one to close the gap to 5-2.

You can see his goal at the 1:39 mark below


While Saad's was the more important game, Jerome's may have been more historic. Haiti played in Kosovo in the first FIFA sanctioned friendly for the Serbian territory that declared it's independence from Serbia in 2008 but has yet to officially be recognized. Jerome earned another cap in the 0-0 draw as the two teams played in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000.

Jerome Called Up for Haiti

Sporting KC defender Mechack Jerome will be one of two players to represent their national team this week ahead of the MLS season kicking off. Jerome will join Soony Saad on national team duty. Saad has been with the Lebanon national team ahead of their must win AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Thailand. Lebanon need a win and some help from China to qualify for the 2015 version of the tournament.

Jerome and Haiti will be heading to Europe to play Kosovo in their first official FIFA sanctioned game. You can read more about Kosovo's fight to get FIFA sanctioned matches in the New York Times. The match will take place on Wednesday the 5th, three days ahead of Sporting's season opener against Seattle. Jerome likely wasn't expected to play much of a role, but with the Champions' League next Wednesday against Cruz Azul there was a possibility he'd have some role in Seattle as KC has stated their want to win the CCL.

Jerome and Joseph Called Up for Haiti

We're coming up upon another international break with another round of World Cup qualifiers coming up. Sporting looks set for a few players for qualifiers, but the first two announced players are for a friendly. Mechack Jerome and Peterson Joseph have been called up for Haiti for their friendly against Korea on September 6th. The two will miss Sporting's game on September 7th against Columbus at Sporting Park. 

That means that Joseph will miss the next two league games for Sporting KC. He's already missing KC's game this weekend against Colorado due to yellow card suspension. So his next potential match for the club will be KC's next Champions' League game against Real Esteli on the 17th of September.

These though are the first of a few call ups for Sporting KC in the September FIFA date. Matt Besler and Graham Zusi both seem likely to be called up for the US team for games against Costa Rica and Mexico. Meanwhile Sierra Leone has a World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea that could seem Kei Kamara called up, but the Leone Stars are eliminated from World Cup qualifying so maybe he stays with KC. The other potential call up is Soony Saad who could be called up for a pair of friendlies for Lebanon against Syria and Qatar. The game against Columbus could certainly contain a number of reserves if all are called up and accept the calls.

Gold Cup Over for Jerome and Joseph

The Gold Cup run for Mechack Jerome, Peterson Joseph, and Haiti ended tonight in Houston.  A 1-0 loss to El Salvador on an iffy penalty call, and a 2-0 win by Trinidad and Tobago over 10 man Honduras saw Haiti go out of the tournament with a 1-2 record.

Haiti lost their first game of the tournament 2-0 to Honduras.  They came back in the second game, beating Trinidad 2-0 before the loss tonight to El Salvador. Jerome started all three games for Haiti in the tournament.  Joseph started the team's first game and came on as a substitute in the team's final two games.

Jerome and Joseph will now returning to Sporting KC and should probably be available for the team's game this weekend in Salt Lake. Jerome will give KC back some wingback depth that forced them to quickly recall Kevin Ellis from his loan to Orlando ahead of this past weekend's game against Toronto. Joseph will give KC some more midfield depth with Paulo Nagamura still struggling with ankle issues.

Jerome and Joseph Called Up for Gold Cup

The Haitian national team has named their roster for the upcoming Gold Cup. Sporting KC's Haitian duo, Mechack Jerome and Peterson Joseph will both on the team. The two left Kansas City on Tuesday to join their national team in Canada where they are training and playing friendlies ahead of the tournament. Haiti is in group B in the Gold Cup, with Honduras (who they play July 8th), Trinidad and Tobago (July 12th), and El Salvador (July 15th).

During the tournament Jerome and Joseph will miss at least four games, Saturday against the Crew, July 3rd against Vancouver, July 7th in Chicago, and July 13th in Toronto. If Haiti advances, the duo would miss KC's game in Salt Lake on the 20th.  The only other game they could miss is if Haiti were to make the final and that'd be KC's trip to Montreal on the 27th.

Sporting KC Internationals Busy this Weekend

Sporting KC has recently had 7 of their players on international duty, representing their country, and this past weekend was busy for all of them.

On Friday it was announced that Sporting KC's first round pick in the super draft this year, Mikey Lopez had been selected to the roster for this summer's U20 World Cup in Turkey. He's flown straight from France, competing in the Toulon tournament with the U20 team to Portugal, where the team is holding their training preparing for the World Cup.

The news wasn't as good for Soony Saad though.  Saad, who scored on his debut for Lebanon had been asked to stay on ahead of Lebanon's 2 World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Iran. Saad was set to play a role in those games, but because of paper work issues with his one time FIFA switch, he was unable to play in Lebanon's 1-1 draw with South Korea that eliminated Lebanon from World Cup qualifying.  Saad has returned to Sporting KC at this time because the paper work issue will not be resolved by the time of Lebanon's other qualifier against Iran.

Friday night, Sporting's two full US internationals were both in the starting lineup as the US took on Jamaica in Jamaica. Matt Besler and Graham Zusi both started for the US in their 2-1 win at "The Office." Both players handled the situation well, Besler remains undefeated when starting for the US now with a 2-0-1 record.  Handled the Jamaican attack quite well throughout the game.  Zusi also had himself a strong game and was a danger throughout. He set up the first goal of the game doing very well on the right wing before playing in a perfect cross to Jozy Altidore who headed the ball in to give the US a 1-0 lead in the first half.  On the opposite side though he gave away the foul that led to the Jamaica goal.  And on that play Zusi picked up his second yellow of the Hex, meaning he has to sit out the game this coming Tuesday against Panama in Seattle.

On Saturday, Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone took the field in a virtual must win qualifier in Freetown against Tunisia.  A loss would have eliminated Sierra Leone from World Cup qualification.  Kamara scored his 3rd international goal of his career as the Leone Stars grabbed a 1-0 lead.  They kept the lead until a 44th minute penalty from Tunisia tied the game.  Sierra Leone regained the lead in the 72nd though and looked to be on their way to a big win.  Unfortunately Tunisia equalized again in stoppage time again to make it 2-2.  With that result, Sierra Leone remain 5 points behind Tunisia with only 2 games left to play.  This means Sierra Leone needs to win out and Tunisia needs to lose out for the Leone Stars to advance in World Cup qualifying.

Also on Saturday, Haiti took on the world champs, Spain in a friendly in Miami, Florida.  Peterson Joseph started the game for Haiti.  Joseph ended up being subbed out just before the hour mark, being replaced by his Sporting teammate, Mechack Jerome.  Haiti surprisingly kept the result close as they only fell to Spain 2-1.

Things remain busy for Sporting's internationals this week as well.  Besler and Zusi have the qualifier against Panama.  Sierra Leone face a must win qualifier on the road against Cape Verde.  Joseph and Jerome will make their way to Brazil where they will take on the previous World Cup champs, Italy.

Joseph Called Up for Haiti

I had meant to post this on Wednesday, but with recording the podcast and all the news on that day, I forgot, but it works out with the tournament starting tonight as well. 

Sporting KC midfielder, Peter Joseph was called up to the Haiti national team for the upcoming Caribbean Championships in Antigua and Barbuda.  Joseph and Haiti have been placed in Group A after winning their qualifying group.  Through both qualifying stages, Joseph played in all but one of Haiti's games to get to the tournament proper.  Haiti is grouped with Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, and hosts Antigua and Barbuda.  Haiti kick the tournament off tonight in the first game against former teammate, Daneil Cyrus and Trinidad.  On Sunday Haiti will be back on the field taking on the country that they share their home island with, the Dominican Republic.  The final group phase game is on Tuesday against the hosts Antigua. 
Finishing in the top two in their group will qualify Haiti for the 2013 Gold Cup, and also see them advance to the knock out phase of the Championship where they would face a team from Group B, which features defending champs, Jamaica (which features former Wizards, Shavar Thomas and Jermaine Hue), Cuba, French Guiana, and Martinique.

Haiti Qualify for Caribbean Cup

This past weekend, Peterson Joseph and Haiti clinched themselves a spot in this December's Caribbean Championship, hosted in Antigua and Barbuda.  Haiti qualified by finishing at the top of their group, that played in Grenada.  Wednesday, Haiti opened the group against Guyana.  Joseph played no part in the game, but Haiti was able to win 1-0, putting them in a good position after the first game as Grenada tied French Guiana 1-1.  Friday was the second game day, and Haiti took on French Guiana, a win would see them clinch a spot in the tournament proper. French Guiana pulled off the win though, winning 1-0 over Haiti.  Joseph came off the bench and played 19 minutes as Haiti looked for a goal.  The loss with a Grenada win, put Haiti in a must win position for the final group game against the hosts, Grenada.  Haiti got some help on Sunday in the first game as Guyana, already eliminated beat French Guiana 4-3.  Haiti then took the field and took care of business against Grenada.  Haiti won 2-0 clinching first place in the group.  Joseph started and played into stoppage time when he was subbed out, probably to kill time.

Haiti as winners advance into Group B of the tournament proper.  Haiti will be grouped with the hosts, Antigua, Martinique, who finished second in their qualifying group behind the Dominica Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, who finished on top of their qualifying group ahead of Cuba   The other group contains defending champions, Jamaica, French Guiana, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.  Those games will take place in early December on the 8th, 10th, and 12th.  Haiti needs to finish in the top 2 in their group to qualify for next summer's Gold Cup.

Quiet International Date for Sporting KC

It looks like it is going to be a quiet week for Sporting KC players who represent their national team.

USA

Today the US roster came out for their friendly against Russia on Wednesday in the last international date of the year.  Jurgen Klinsmann's roster does not include any Sporting KC players.  Klinsmann has gone with quite a few young players on the roster along with some mainstays.  There's no room on the roster this time around for Graham Zusi though as the likes of Mix Diskerud, Josh Gatt, and Joe Gyau getting looks by Klinsmann.  I wouldn't take the lack of call up as anything of major importance for Zusi, Klinsmann knows what he can do and come February when the Hex kicks off I expect that Zusi will be on that roster.

The other Sporting player that many people thought would get a look in this camp is defender Matt Besler.  With some of the USA's problems at center back in the last set of qualifying, people thought that Besler, a candidate for defender of the year, would be a perfect candidate for this game after KC's early playoff exit.  Instead, Klinsmann has gone with the same group of center backs that he used for the last qualifying cycle.  The center back position for the friendly against Russia will feature two of four of Carlos Bocanegra, Geoff Cameron, Clarence Goodson, and Maurice Edu.  Two of those guys (Cameron and Edu) are not playing center back for their clubs (Cameron right back, Edu bench warmer), while Bocanegra is currently in the second division, and Goodson's club looks set to be relegated to the second division.  I understand that Besler, like Zusi, has had a long club season and the game is on the other side of the world, but the US really needs to start looking for new blood at center back.

As a whole there were only 3 MLS players called in for the friendly, two goalkeepers, Sean Johnson and Nick Rimando, and Juan Agudelo at forward.  A fourth player, Herculez Gomez plays in Mexico, the rest of the roster is from Europe, a much shorter trip, probably the main reason for the lack of Besler, Zusi, and other MLS players.

Honduras

Honduras is set to play Peru in an international friendly on Wednesday down at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.  Honduras will be doing so without Roger Espinoza, who has been left off the roster for the game.  Like Zusi and Besler, Espinoza has just come off a long season, arguably longer with his trip to London for the Olympic games.  Espinoza, probably more than anyone on KC's roster has earned this break and not getting a call up.

Haiti

Starting on Wednesday, Haiti will continue their campaign to qualify for the 2012 Caribbean Championships in Antigua and Barbuda.  Haiti is grouped with hosts Grenada, Guyana, and French Guiana in a 4 team tournament that starts Wednesday and concludes Sunday.  Haiti will play Guyana on Wednesday, French Guiana on Friday, and Grenada on Sunday.  The top two teams will qualify for the tournament in Antigua.  The top 4 teams there will qualify for the 2013 Gold Cup in the United States.

I've been unable to find an official roster for the team for this round of the tournament, but I'd expect Peterson Joseph to be playing a role for Haiti when they take the field.  He started all 3 of Haiti's games in the last group stage back in September, so expecting the same shouldn't be surprising.

EDIT: The team has officially announced that Joseph will be representing Haiti.

Good Night for Sporting KC Internationals

It turned out to be a huge night for Sporting KC's international players as all 3 got huge results to help them in their own qualifying efforts. 

First, Graham Zusi got his first start in a competitive game for the US national team as they faced a virtual must win at home against Jamaica.  After the loss in Jamaica and Guatemala beating Antigua earlier tonight, the US faced the prospect of falling out of a spot in the Hex with only 2 games left.  Zusi though took full advantage of his starting opportunity having a fantastic game and earning himself high praise around the US Soccer community.  In the 6th minute Zusi cut outside around the corner of the box and fired a shot on goal that hit the cross bar.  Zusi had two other opportunities in the first half, the first after a blocked shot by Fabian Johnson that Zusi got to on the back post by Dwayne Miller got his foot to the shot knocking it away.  Also off a corner that was headed back to him by Carlos Bocanegra, Zusi hit the volley just over the bar.  Even without the efforts, Zusi had a great game, combining extremely well with Steve Cherundolo, the two caused Jamaica a number of problems down the USA's right side the entire game. 

It took until the second half for the US to find the winner and it came off a fantastic free kick from former Wizard, Herculez Gomez.  Miller in the Jamaican net should have done better, but you can't take away from the strike from Gomez.  The US now have 2 games left to clinch advancement to the Hex and would certainly appear to be in the driver's seat.

In other World Cup qualifying action, Roger Espinoza and Honduras took on Cuba in San Pedro Sula in Honduras.  Honduras got their qualification hopes back on track with a 1-0 win and moved into second in the group ahead of Canada on goal difference.  Espinoza set up the goal by Jerry Bengtson after some great work on the end line before sending a looping ball to the back post where Bengston headed the ball into the empty net.  The goal was all Honduras needed.  Honduras finish qualifying in Panama on the 12th before finishing qualifying at home vs Canada which could be the game that decides which of those two teams advances to the Hex next year.

The final Sporting international playing tonight was Peterson Joseph who finished their first qualification phase for the Caribbean Championships and Gold Cup qualification.  The Haitians topped Puerto Rico 2-1 to finish atop Group 1.  With the win, Haiti move into Group 6, which will be hosted October 18th through the 25th in Grenada.  Haiti and Grenada will be joined by the winner of Group 2 and the second place team from either group 4 or 5.

Joseph and Haiti Clinch Spot in Next Round

Haiti clinched advancement to the next round in qualifying for the Caribbean Championships with a 3-1 win over Bermuda last night.  Sporting KC midfielder, Peterson Joseph picked up another cap for Haiti going the full 90 minutes in the win.  Haiti is currently second in their group behind Puerto Rico on goal difference.  The two teams meet tomorrow in the final group game.  Haiti need a win to guarantee first place in the group.  Should Haiti win, they will move into Group 6 to play Grenada.  Should Haiti draw or lose to Puerto Rico, they will go into Group 7 which is hosted by Guadeloupe and feature Martinique who finished 1st in Group 3.

Joseph Only Sporting International to Play Friday

Three of Sporting Kansas City's four players on international duty had games scheduled last night, but only one of those 3 saw the field.  Roger Espinoza's Honduras teammates were in Cuba for a mid-day kick off in their World Cup qualifier.  Espinoza had to sit out the game due to his red card against Brazil in the Olympics.  Honduras didn't need him though, after a shaky start, the Hondurans settled down and defeated Cuba 3-0 in a game that Honduras had to win to truly keep their qualification hopes alive thanks to goals by 3 other MLS players, Jerry Bengston, Victor Bernardez, and Marvin Chavez.  A loss would have left Honduras on 1 point, 5 points behind second place Panama with 3 games left.  At the half way point of this round, Honduras is currently 3rd in the group with 4 points.  Tuesday they host Cuba in the return leg while Panama host Canada.  A win there could move Honduras into second place in the group depending on the other result.  Espinoza will be available for that game after serving his suspension.

Graham Zusi was on the bench, but was an unused sub for the United States as they fell to Jamaica for the first time in history last night in Kingston.  The US got off to a great start when Clint Dempsey scored 35 seconds into the game, but it was all down hill from there.  Silly fouls just outside the box allowed Jamaica to score twice off of free kicks to win the game 2-1.  The loss puts a lot of pressure on the US in the return leg in Columbus on Tuesday.  Thanks to Guatemala's 3-1 win over Antigua, they are now tied for second place in the group with the United States.  The US definitely missed Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan last night, and the whole team will need to step up come Tuesday.  The "good news" (if there is any) for fans in Kansas City is that the loss certainly makes the game in October at Livestrong Sporting Park look much bigger than it was heading into this series of qualifiers.

Peterson Joseph was the only Sporting player to see the field as he and Haiti took on Saint Martin in their first game of qualification for the Caribbean Championships later this year.  Haiti is the host for their group that also includes Bermuda and Puerto Rico.  Joseph started, and recorded an assist as Haiti got off to a flying start, winning 7-0 over the French overseas collectivity.  Sunday, Haiti return to action against Bermuda and can clinch a spot in the next round with a win over Bermuda and Puerto Rico not losing to Saint Martin.  Haiti finish this group stage against Puerto Rico on Tuesday.  Should they advance, Haiti will play in a group with either Grenada or Guadeloupe, depending on whether they finish first or second.

Today, Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone take on Tunisia in the first leg of a home-home series in an attempt to qualify for the African Cup of Nations in January.

Joseph Called Up for Haiti

KC will have a second player represented in the upcoming international window along with Roger Espinoza.  Joining Espinoza on international duty is the Haitian Xavi, Peterson Joseph.  Joseph has been called up for the Haitian national team for the first round of the Caribbean Championships qualifying.  Haiti begin their campaign to qualify for the 2013 Gold Cup next week.  In the first round Haiti host 3 games in a 5 day period in Port-au-Prince.  They start with non-FIFA member Saint-Martin, who is a member of CONCACAF on the 7th, on the 9th they will play Bermuda, and on the 11th they finish group play against Puerto Rico. 

Should Haiti finish first or second in their group they will qualify for the second qualifying round.  In that round they'd play in either Grenada (Oct 18-25) or Guadeloupe (Oct 21-28) (the 3rd group is hosted by Cuba) depending on if they finish first or second.  The top 2 in each of those final 3 groups will qualify for the finals in Antigua and Barbuda in December.  Should Haiti finish as one of the top 4 in the finals, they will qualify for the Gold Cup.