More Call Ups for Sporting KC

Today more call ups were announced for the upcoming FIFA international dates coming up next week.  Kansas City learned yesterday that Peterson Joseph and Mechack Jerome had been called up for Haiti's friendly against Korea. Now today we learned two more players had been called up.  The US national team named their roster for the upcoming qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico next week. Unsurprisingly Matt Besler and Graham Zusi were both called up.  Both of those players are expected to play a big role in the two games. Four points in those two games will assure the USA's qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The pair will miss Sporting's game next week against Columbus.

Sporting KC also looks likely to be without another player as well, although there's been no announcement that I can find. The Philadelphia Union posted an article about Michael Lahoud accepting a call up to Sierra Leone for their World Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea. In the article it mentions that Lahoud will be relying on Kei Kamara to know what to expect as he'd been called up for the game as well. So Kamara looks set to miss the game as well which will leave KC down five players for the game against Columbus.

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.

Kamara and Saad Called Up for National Team Duty

Sporting KC have two more internationals for the upcoming international window.  Joining Matt Besler and Graham Zusi on national team duty will be Kei Kamara and Soony Saad. 

Kamara will be rejoining the Sierra Leone national team for their 2 upcoming qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.  Currently Sierra Leone sit in 2nd place in their 4 team qualifying group on 4 points with a 1-1-1 record at the half way point.  The first game is on June 8th when Kamara and Sierra Leone will host group leaders, Tunisia.  Tunisia is currently on 9 points, so a loss by Sierra Leone would see them eliminated from qualification and almost assure Tunisia passage to the next round.  The second match sees the Leone Stars travel to Cape Verde, who are currently winless in this round of qualifying, but the African Cup of Nations quarter-finalists will be a tough opponent for Sierra Leone.  During the stretch, Kamara will not miss any league games as he'll not leave until after KC's game against Montreal on the first and return before KC's match in Dallas on the 22nd.  He would miss a potential US Open Cup game should KC win their first match.

Saad is a new addition to the list of Sporting KC internationals.  After representing the US at the U17 and U20 level, Saad has filed his one time switch with FIFA to represent Lebanon. Saad will be gone from May 25th through the 31st for a friendly against Oman.  Saad will miss Sporting KC's match up against Houston on the 26th as well as KC's first US Open Cup game.  The later of those two games is probably the bigger blow for KC because Saad was likely to be a starter for that game for KC. 

Good luck to both players as they represent their country.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Eliminated From African Cup of Nations

Needing a win or a high scoring draw in their African Cup of Nations qualifier today, Kei Kamara and the Sierra Leone national team ended up tying Tunisia 0-0 in Tunisia, sending the North African country to the African Cup of Nations in January by virtue of their 2 goals in the first leg in Freetown Sierra Leone.

Things didn't get off to a good start as they picked up a red card in the 25th minute, forcing them to spend the majority of the game playing a man down.  Still while a man down, the Leone Stars still created chances.  Kei Kamara put a ball in the back of the net, but was rightly ruled offside on the play.  Being down a man, Tunisia had the bulk of the possession, but Sierra Leone looked quite dangerous on the counter attack.  Late on Sierra Leone had another goal ruled out after a foul on the goal keeper off a corner kick.  The keeper came to claim it and collided with a Leone Stars player.  Another player put it into the net, but the foul had been called.  Overall Kamara had a very good game, considering he was left isolated as a loan forward after the red card.  It's a disappointing end to their run in hopes of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

Sierra Leone's sights will be set back towards the 2014 World Cup, their next qualifier is in March of next year when they will take on the same Tunisia side.

Espinoza and Kamara Called Up

We're closing in on the next international break, coming up in the middle of October and headlined for KC fans by the US World Cup qualifier against Guatemala at Livestrong Sporting Park.  And while that sold out game will be absolutely huge when it comes to the USA's qualifying for the hex, some Sporting players will be busy during that stretch as well. 

The US hasn't released their roster yet, but one would expect Graham Zusi to be included in the US squad.  Two other Sporting players have been called up though.  Roger Espinoza will compete for Honduras in two extremely important qualifiers in their hopes of making the hex.  Espinoza is one of 6 MLS players included on Honduras' roster that will play in Panama on the 12th and host Canada on the 16th.  Honduras is currently in second place in Group C on 7 points, tied with Canada but ahead on goal difference.  While Honduras is in Panama Canada will be hosting Canada.  While that match is important for Honduras, the game on the 16th is going to be huge.  That game on the 16th against Canada at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula will likely be a win and you're in game. Unless Canada absolutely blows out Cuba or Panama crushes Honduras goal difference is likely going to be the deciding factor on who goes through to the Hex and who stays home.  Espinoza figures to play a vital role for Honduras in both those games.

Speaking of win and you're in games.  That's exactly the situation that Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone face in their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Tunisia. This is the second leg of their home-home series to qualify for the Cup of Nations in South Africa in January 2013.  Kamara and Sierra Leone played to a 2-2 draw against Tunisia in Freetown in September, a disappointing result as the Leone Stars twice led the game, including in the 87th minute before giving up the equalizer a minute later.  The result in Sierra Leone means that the Leone Stars are in a virtual must win in Tunisia on October 13th.  Sierra Leone will either need to win on the road, or hope for a high scoring draw (3-3 or greater) to go through automatically.  A 2-2 draw would see extra time and potentially PKs.  I would absolutely love to see Kamara get the chance to represent his country at the ACN in January.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Draw at Home

Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone will have a tall task ahead of them when they travel to Tunisia for the second leg of their African Cup of Nations qualifying series.  Today in Sierra Leone, the Leone Stars drew 2-2 with Tunisia.  That means that Sierra Leone will now need to win on the road in Tunisia or draw 3-3 or greater to advance automatically.  A 2-2 draw in Tunisia would see the game go to extra time and potentially PKs.

Sierra Leone grabbed the lead in the early goings of the first half and held on through half time.  Early in the second half, Tunisia tied things up.  Then in the 87th minute Sierra Leone went ahead again after two Sierra Leone players went up for a header.  After the header, one of the Leone Stars was the first to react and bury it in the net to make it 2-1 Sierra Leone.  The celebration was short lived though as 1 minute later Tunisia was level again after some very poor defending by the Leone Stars.  A Tunisian player dribbled to the end line with his mark applying little pressure, then as he was falling down squared the ball into the middle for another player who buried it in the net to level the scoring. 

Kamara played the full 90 minutes, for his 10th cap while a member of Sporting KC and 15th overall.

Kamara Joining Sierra Leone National Team

Back in July, Kei Kamara was suspended by the Sierra Leone FA for comments that were disparaging of the Sierra Leone Sports Minister.  The suspension at the time was indefinite and came on the backs of a big win that put Sierra Leone within touching distance of the 2013 African Cup of nations.  That suspension now though has been lifted at least based on Kamara's comments on Twitter about heading to Sierra Leone.  Kamara is leaving for Sierra Leone ahead of the game in Freetown on September 8th.  It's the first of a home-home series against Tunisia.  The return leg is in October in Tunisia. With the break currently for KC until the 14th, Kamara likely won't miss a game.

One would assume that the suspension has also been lifted on Ibrahim Kargbo, the teams captain.  Previously on "This Week in Sporting" in an interview, Kamara had stated that he expected the suspension to be lifted, that the rest of the team was signing on to not play unless the suspension had been lifted.  While coach, Lars Olof-Mattsson had called for both to be reinstated, the original roster for the qualifier did not include either of the players.  Kamara and Kargbo should give a nice lift to the national team ahead of the first leg of the qualifier, Sierra Leone is currently the 10th ranked team in Africa, 57th in the world while Tunisia is 7th, 41st in the world.  A win is a must ahead of the return leg in Tunisia in October.

Bittersweet Day for Kamara

There was some good news and some bad news today involving Kei Kamara.  The good news first, Kamara, along with midfielder Roger Espinoza were named as reserves for the MLS All Star team.  In regards to the MLS game tonight it means little, neither one traveled to Philadelphia for the game, they weren't part of the roster.  The reason they were named as all stars is because it is part off the collective bargaining agreement between MLS and the players union.  There had to be 13 more players named as all stars.  Kamara and Espinoza earned the calls for Sporting.  What that means for the players is that they'll get their bonus for being an "all star" which is certainly a good thing for those guys.

Espinoza wouldn't have been able to play anyway as he's in London with Honduras for the Olympics.  They kick off their Olympic campaign tomorrow against Morrocco in Glasgow Scotland.

On the opposite side of things, some bad news for Kamara personally (but good news for Sporting KC).  Today, Kamara was suspended from the Sierra Leone national team "indefinitely."  Kamara and the national team captain, Ibrahim Kargbo have been suspended for having "frequently shown contempt to the Sport Minister Paul Kamara and football officials.  The pair were also accused of making inciting, derogatory statements and threatening remarks on air against football authorities."

It's the third time that Kamara has been suspended by his national team for comments made about the FA and sports authority.  It seems that the comments this time were in response to the refunding of air tickets, match fees and bonuses and other things.  Kamara has usually made his comments via Twitter usually after his trip and the last one was really no different when he made comments about the country being behind the team but not necessarily the FA and sporting authority joining the rest of the country behind the team.

It's a sad thing for Kamara and his international career but a good thing for Sporting KC, as Kamara will now not miss time heading to Sierra Leone for the Leone Stars African Cup of nations qualifier against Tunisia in September (7-9) and October (12-14).  In a critical part of the season it will be nice to have Kamara available for selection.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Advance

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

In the biggest game of this international break for any KC player, Kei Kamara and Sierra Leone took on Sao Tome and Principe in a must win African Cup of Nations qualifier.  Sierra Leone lost the first leg away 2-1 and fell behind 1-0 very early today in the home leg.  Facing the need to score 2 to at least force extra time, Sierra Leone came alive after the goal.  Kei Kamara scored to tie the game in the 17th.  The goal was Kamara's first for his country.  Teteh Bangura made it 2-1 shortly after, tying the series at 3-3 on aggregate.  In the 30th, Kamara got his brace and put the Leone Stars up 3-1 on the day and 4-3 on aggregate.  Before the half time whistle, Bangura scored his second to make it 4-1.  Sierra Leone cruised into half time.  In the second half though, Sao Tome and Principe came out quickly again and again got an early goal to make it 4-2 and 5-4 on aggregate both in favor of the Leone Stars.  But a third conceded by the Sierra Leone would have seen them go out on away goals.  The Leone Stars held on though, Kamara had a third goal ruled out due to an offside call.

The Leone Stars advance to the next round of qualifying which will be a home-home series against one of the teams that qualified for the 2011 African Cup of Nations.  Should Sierra Leone win that series, then they will advance to the 2013 tournament in South Africa. 

Kamara, Reserves, and Open Tryout News

With Roger Espinoza serving a one game suspension in Honduras' qualifier last night against Panama, Kei Kamara was the only Sporting KC player that competed in the latest set of qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  Today in Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone took on the Nzalang Nacional in their second qualifier as they attempted to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.  Sierra Leone fell behind 1-0 early, before two goals in the 23rd and 30th minute put the Leone Stars ahead 2-1.  Another strike before half time leveled the score though.  A 52nd minute red card saw Sierra Leone reduced to 10 men, but they held on for the 2-2 draw.  Kamara went 90 minutes for the Leone Stars in the game.  Currently Sierra Leone sit second in the group on 4 points behind group leader Tunisia.  The top team in their group will advance to the net stage of qualifying.  Sierra Leone's next qualifier for the World Cup isn't until March of next year. 

The bigger match for Sierra Leone though occurs in a week, when the Leone Stars will try to keep their 2013 African Cup of Nations qualification hopes alive against São Tomé and Príncipe.  Sierra Leone trails in the head to head series 2-1 after their away leg back in February.  The Leone Stars need to win by a 1-0 score line of by 2 goals to advance.  A 2-1 win would cause extra time, while any other 1 goal win would see the Falcons and True Parrots advance on away goals. 

Reserves Fall in Colorado

Sporting KC didn't have a league game this weekend, but they did travel to Colorado for a reserve game against the Rapids.  Due to the number of injuries they've had though, there were quite a few Juniors players and trialists that not only dressed, but started for the reserves in the game.  The reserves were behind 1-0 at the half, and were down 3-0 early in the second half before Soony Saad pulled one back for the Rangers.  The game is the last for the reserves until mid August when they play Houston.  With the busy schedule for KC coming up it's a good thing at least that they don't have the reserve games to worry about.

Call Backs for Open Tryouts

I'd completely spaced out that the open tryouts were this weekend, the team made no specific announcement of it stating who the players were that were competing this year.  The team has posted the list of players that  made the second day of the tryouts though.  Here's a quick look at some of the players that I've found. 

Adolfo Armendariz - Looks like he's a soccer player from Oklahoma.

Matthew Baldeh - Is a local player from the KC Blaze.

Michael Bickerdike - Is a player from the Dallas area.

Jacob Braswell - Posted this training video of his training ahead of the open tryouts.

Jose Jesus Cabrera - Appears he may have attended Niagara Community College.

Josh Dopieralla - Is a Sporting KC fan from Little Rock.

Alex Brambour - A goalkeeper from Maple Woods.

 Sam Eid - Played at Creighton.

Danile Menyon - Appears to have played at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines.

Erik Gerhard Mueller - May have played for Cal State San Marcos.

Pablo Pagliani - Played for the University of Arkansas club team.

Chris Perez - May be the same player as from William and Mary.

Cole Walker - A local kid that plays at Harding University.

Tony Weber - Another local that played at Drake.

Jesse Welsh - Appears that he played at Coffeyville Community College.

Christopher Wenske - Another local from the KC area.

Collin Wylie - Attended Ottawa University.

Sporting KC on International Duty

With MLS playing a limited schedule right now due to the international break, some of Sporting KC's players are on international duty.  Today two players were in session.  First, Kei Kamara and the Sierra Leone national team kicked off their 2014 World Cup qualifying today in Freetown, Sierra Leone when they took on Cape Verde.  The Leone Stars got goals from Medo Kamara and Sheriff Suma in the first half to take a 2-0 lead.  A late goal from Cape Verde wasn't enough, as Sierra Leone got their qualifying campaign off to the right start.  Kamara started and played 90 minutes for Sierra Leone.

The other player, was Roger Espinoza and Honduras.  Today they took on El Salvador in a friendly in DC at RFK Stadium.  With Espinoza suspended for Honduras' first World Cup qualifier coming up duty to his red card in last year's Gold Cup against Mexico, Espinoza didn't start the match for Honduras.  Instead, Espinoza came on as a sub for Wilson Palacios. Honduras ended up winning their last friendly before their qualifiers start, 3-0.

Kamara Called Up as Well

To go along with Graham Zusi's call into the US national team camp in Orlando, another Sporting KC player has been called up to his national team.  Kei Kamara is one of 15 international players that have been called up for Sierra Leone's camp ahead of some friendlies and three important qualifiers.  The first friendly is this coming Tuesday against Iraq, and the second friendly is on the 26th against Jordan. 

Those two are just the warm up games though.  The important games come up a little later.  On June 2nd, Sierra Leone kick off qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Freetown against Cape Verde.  Then on the 9th they go on the road to take on Equatorial Guinea in another World Cup qualifier.  The biggest of the 3 though occurs on the 15th in Freetown when they play Sao Tome and Principe in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.  Sierra Leone lost the first leg on the road 2-1 and now will need to make up the deficit at home.

If he accepts the call up, along with Zusi potentially going for games as well, KC's offense could be in a bit of trouble.  And we still have yet to hear about Honduras' call ups and losing Roger Espinoza as well.

Kamara Called Up for Leone Stars

Kei Kamara posted on Twitter today that he will be traveling to Sierra Leone in the next few days. Kamara's comment: "Packing for an even longer trip this time...Orlando then Sierra Leone then Soa[SIC] Tome & Principe."

Kamara and Sporting KC head to Orlando tomorrow to begin the final phase of preseason training. But while KC is in Orlando, there is an international match date, on the 29th of February. Roger Espinoza and Teal Bunbury will already miss time in Orlando due to national team commitments, and now Kamara is set to as well. Shortly after the first tweet, Kamara confirmed his call up saying: "Guys am only going for a game on the 29 Feb. And should be back in time for the Opener in DC. Hopefully lol jk."

Kamara's tweets along with the fact that the Leone Stars play Soa Tome & Principe in a friendly would make it obvious that Kamara will be representing his country in the upcoming friendly. Kamara will join up with his national team before heading to the island nation in the Gulf of Guinea.

With Kamara and Bunbury both gone, there's certainly an opportunity for Dom Dwyer, Jacob Peterson, and Soony Saad to all step up and contribute during the tournament down in Orlando coming up this week.

Leone Stars Draw but Fail to Qualify

Kei Kamara and the Leone Stars pulled out a draw in South Africa against the Bafana Bafana, but the point was not enough to see them through to the African Cup of Nations. Sierra Leone needed a win and a Niger loss to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1996, but couldn't find the net. Niger did their part, falling 3-0 to Egypt in their last qualifier, but the draw in South Africa saw the Mena qualify for their first ACN due to their head to head record against South Africa and Sierra Leone. The 3 teams tied atop Group G, but Niger's 2-2-0 (W-L-D) record against the other two gave them top spot as Sierra Leone and South Africa finished 1-2-1. Due to goal difference Sierra Leone finished 3rd in the group. Kamara went the full 90 minutes in the draw, only 2 days after arriving on the continent.

Kamara Heading to South Africa

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Earlier today I posted about Kei Kamara's international situation, his suspension by the Sierra Leone FA and subsequently being invited to the game in South Africa even though he was suspended. Well Kamara is headed to South Africa to job his national team for their African Cup of Nations qualifier. Kamara left immediately after practice today headed for the airport to fly to Atlanta and then on to Johannesburg, South Africa for the game on Saturday. Kamara has not had too many kind words about the Sierra Leone FA lately, but today posted that he was "doing it for Sierra Leone and all the people that believe in us." Kamara's call up could be in part due to the words of Sierra Leone national team coach, Lars Olof Mattsson, who said that Kamara is vital to Sierra Leone's qualification hopes. Sierra Leone can qualify for the African Cup of Nations on Saturday, they first need to defeat South Africa. They'll also need either Egypt to beat or tie Niger at home, or they need help from other groups to try and become one of the top two second place teams.

Kamara's International Situation

photo courtesy of Jarred Donalson

Last week when Sporting KC announced that 5 players would be representing their respective national teams in games this coming weekend, one name was absent from the list of players, Sierra Leone striker, Kei Kamara. Sierra Leone play a must win qualifier in South Africa against the Bafana Bafana on Saturday. With Kamara having starting the last few games it was an interesting omission from the team. At the time of the announcements Kamara posted this on Twitter saying he had received an invitation from the FA to come join the team for the game but he said that it also meant he's suspended.

According to this article, Kamara had been suspended by the SLFA for misbehavior during the Leone Stars last game when they defeated Egypt 2-1. Apparently Kamara was suspended because he asked for the money that he was supposed to receive. The news was broken by J.S. Kelfala, the VP of the SLFA, but Kamara said in the story that he has never received any official confirmation of the suspension from the FA. In fact, last night on Twitter, Kamara posted that now apparently the Sierra Leone FA want Kamara to fly to South Africa, arriving on Friday to play in the game on Saturday. Previously Kamara had said how poorly run the SLFA was, that got him suspended last year from the team. From reading about this situation I'm not sure many people can disagree that the SLFA seems to be a very poorly run FA, not able to decide if a player is suspended, never sending the suspension in writing or informing them directly, and then trying desperately to get the suspended player to the game.

More International Call Ups for KC

To go along with Roger Espinoza's call up for Honduras, four more Wizards players have been called up to represent their respective national teams. Teal Bunbury, Peterson Joseph, Craig Rocastle, and Shavar Thomas have all been called up to the US, Haiti, Grenada, and Jamaica respectively.

The biggest games of the international break are for Joseph and Rocastle whose national teams have two World Cup qualifiers. Joseph and Haiti go on the road to play the US Virgin Islands on the 7th then return to Port-au-Prince to take on Curaçao. Haiti is currently second in group F behind Antigua, but both teams are 2-0 in group play having both beat up on the two other teams in their group in the first two games.

For Rocastle, he'll likely get his first action since the Gold Cup when Grenada go to Belize on the 7th and then go home to take on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Grenada really need to get results from those as they currently are at the bottom of group E with 0 points as Guatemala leads the group currently.

Bunbury and the United States have two friendlies during the window. They start with a game against Honduras in Miami before playing Ecuador at Red Bull Arena. Meanwhile, Thomas and Jamaica appear to only have one game during this window, the game against Honduras.

The five players will miss no competitive games for Kansas City during the time. The 5 though are likely to miss the friendly on October 12th against Chivas Guadalajara due to their national team commitments though.

The one name missing from the list this time is Kei Kamara, whose national team, Sierra Leone have a must win qualifier for the African Cup of Nations against South Africa. According to Kamara's Twitter he did receive an invitation to join the national team but then said "oh oh wait but that also mean "AM SUSPENDED SMH"". Not sure what exactly the meaning of the second half of his Tweet but it doesn't look like Kamara will be traveling for the game.

Kamara and Sierra Leone Beat Egypt

In a very big game in Freetown, Sierra Leone today, Kei Kamara and the Leone Stars took on Egypt in an African Cup of Nations qualifier. Kamara went the full 90 minutes as the Leone Stars won 2-1 with an 89th minute penalty kick. Sierra Leone dominated the early going of the game and got the first goal from Sheriff Suma off of a corner kick in the 14th minute, although the goal could could down as an own goal. As the game continued Egypt, which brought a U-23 team, got more and more of possession and in first half stoppage time Egypt got the equalizer after Sierra Leone's goalkeeper, Christian Caulker parried a weak shot into the path of Marwan Mohsen who buried his opportunity. In the second half Sierra Leone went searching for a winner that would keep them in the tournament qualification process. Kamara had a big role to play being active in helping create opportunities. The Leone Stars forced good saves out of Egypt's goalkeeper, but finally in the 89th minute, Sierra Leone got the winner. After a foul in the box, Mohamed Bangura stepped up and buried the penalty kick giving Sierra Leone a huge win.

The win puts Sierra Leone into a tie for first place with South Africa with 8 points. South Africa plays Niger tomorrow in their qualifier in Niger. Sierra Leone plays South Africa on the last match day in Port Elizabeth. The result that the Leone Stars are hoping for is a draw between the two tomorrow. That would allow Sierra Leone to qualify for the African Cup of Nations if they defeat South Africa on the last match day. See the goals below.

Bunbury, Thomas, Kamara, and Espinoza National Team News

Lots of international team news was announced today, and 4 Sporting KC players were affected. First, Kei Kamara's call up for the Sierra Leone national team was confirmed by the team today, although I think Kamara tweeting last night that he'd been called up was proof enough that he'd been called up for their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt at home.

In other news, and probably the most surprising of KC's call ups, was the news that Teal Bunbury has been called up for the US national team. Bunbury returns to the national team for the first time since Camp Cupcake this past January. A little surprising in the call up as Bunbury's form hasn't been extremely good. But it has improved since earlier this year. The US play Costa Rica in LA on Friday the 2nd before heading to Belgium to take on the Belgians on the 6th. Combine his absence with Kamara's and KC's front line is going to take a hit for the LA game next weekend.

Shavar Thomas has also received another call up for Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz have a friendly in Quito, Ecuador on September 2nd. It'll be another opportunity for Thomas to captain his country. Thomas could possibly be back in town for the game against LA, but may not be needed depending on the health of Aurelien Collin and his ability to play.

Finally, word from the team today is that while the forward line will suffer against LA, the midfield is just a little better. Roger Espinoza will not be leaving to join the Honduran team for their friendlies against Colombia and Paraguay and will instead be available for selection against the Galaxy. That's a big boost to the midfield, especially since Collin is unlikely to be 90 minutes fit yet, and that leaves KC a little short in the d-mid position.

Kamara Called Up By Sierra Leone

According to Kei Kamara on Twitter tonight, he has been called up for the Sierra Leone national team for their upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt. With the call up, Kamara looks set to miss the game against the LA Galaxy two days after Sierra Leone's game on the 3rd. A blow for KC in a game that was moved by Farm Aid. Sierra Leone really needs a win in this game in Freetown, Sierra Leone. A loss puts them in real danger of not making the tournament. Word out of Egypt has been that the Egyptian team will be using a U-23 side for their final two games, which could be a boost for the Leone Stars.

Kamara joins Roger Espinoza as players that have received call ups for the international break coming up next week. Word is that Peter Vermes though is trying to work out a deal so that Espinoza will stay with the team.