Palmer-Brown Called Up for U20 World Cup

Sporting Kansas City home grown defender, Erik Palmer-Brown will be headed to New Zealand this summer. The 18 year old center back was today named to Tab Ramos' roster for this summer's U20 World Cup. The US is grouped with Myanmar, hosts New Zealand, and the Ukraine for the tournament which will kick off on May 30th for the USA against Myanmar. Second on June 2nd the US will play New Zealand before closing out the group stage on June 5th against the Ukraine. The tournament runs all the way through June 20th.

The US team will open camp in Carson, California on May 14th ahead of their departure for New Zealand. With that reporting date, Palmer-Brown will miss five games for KC (May 16th vs Colorado, May 20th vs New England, May 23rd at Seattle, May 29th vs Dallas, and June 6th vs Seattle). He also has the potential to miss KC's entrance into the US Open Cup this year with that game occurring on June 16th or 17th. Palmer-Brown has made one appearance for Kansas City this season, coming on for the last five minutes of the season opener against New York.

Palmer-Brown will become the third KC player to go to the U20 World Cup as a member of Sporting KC/KC Wizards. Francisco Gomez played for the team at the 1999 competition in Nigeria where the US fell in the round of 16 to eventual champions, Spain. More recently, Mikey Lopez was part of the team that qualified for the 2013 version of the tournament in Turkey. Grouped with Spain, France, and Ghana the US was only able to manage one point and went out in the group stage. Four other current KC players have played in the U20 World Cup as well. In 2005 Benny Feilhaber and Jacob Peterson (who even scored in the 1-0 win over Egypt) were teammates on the US team that topped their group ahead of the likes of Germany and Argentina (who won the tournament) before falling in the round of 16 to Italy. At the same tournament, Canadian, Marcel de Jong played, but the Canadians picked up only one point in a group containing Syria, Italy, and Colombia. De Jong did score in Canada's 4-1 loss to Italy. In 2009, Ike Opara was part of the US squad that went 1-2 but failed to make it out of their group after 3-0 loses to Germany and South Korea offset a 4-1 win over Cameroon.

Sporting Park to Host Women's World Cup Qualifiers

There will be more international soccer coming to Sporting Park this year. For the first time since 2011, the US women's national team will be coming to Sporting Park this October Sporting Park has been named as one of four sites in the United States that will host the final round of qualification for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.

Sporting Park will host the first of the group games of the final eight team tournament on October 15th and 16th. All eight teams will play over the course of those two days. The eight teams (USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and four Caribbean teams) will be divided into 2 groups. After Kansas City the teams will head to Chicago, and then DC, before heading to Philadelphia for the semifinals and finals.

It'll be a good opportunity to welcome the women back to Sporting Park and a chance to see some of FC Kansas City's players represent the US national team in person. This will be the second time that the US women's team will play at Sporting Park, and the sixth time they've played in the KC metro area. For their comparative history though it's not the record you'd expect, the women are 2-0-3 all time in the KC metro area (0-0-1 at Sporting Park). The women have beaten Finland (1999 6-0), drawn Canada twice (2000 1-1, 2011 1-1), drawn Italy (2003 2-2), and beaten Mexico (2004, 1-0).

It should be a good time though and I'd hope that a number of fans come out to support the women's team, the women have always been well supported here with the women averaging 22,508 in their prior five visits to KC.

Besler and Zusi Named to 23 Man Roster for the World Cup

US national team coach, Jurgen Klinsmann today named his 23 man roster for the World Cup this summer in Brazil. Today he cut seven players from his initial 30 man roster to get himself the 23 that got tickets to Brazil.

Included in that 23 are two players from Sporting KC. Both Matt Besler and Graham Zusi made the cut and will be headed to Brazil here in the next few weeks with the US team. It's the first World Cup for both players as Klinsmann took just five players who have previously played in the World Cup.

With the selection, Sporting KC continues to be one of only two MLS teams (LA the other) to send a player to every World Cup since the league began play. The pair become the eighth and ninth players to represent their country while playing for KC. The total nine is the most for any one team in MLS history as well, LA is second having sent seven different players, and eight total (Cobi Jones went to two World Cups while a member of LA).

1998
Uche Okafor - Nigeria
Preki - USA

2002
Tony Meola - USA

2006
Jimmy Conrad - USA
Eddie Johnson - USA
Josh Wolff - USA

2010
Roger Espinoza - Honduras

The biggest news out of the announcement was that veteran and probably the best player to ever put on a US jersey, Landon Donovan did not make the roster. Donovan was among the seven players that were cut today by Klinsmann. The move is a surprise and has brought out a lot of negative comments from fans this evening and even led to Klinsmann's son deleting his Twitter after a Tweet he made regarding Donovan. Arguments that Klinsmann is already looking towards 2018 with this roster since he has a contract through the next World Cup and questions of how a player who hasn't a professional game for his club was selected ahead of him. For me personally my expectations of the World Cup remain the same. I expect a group phase exit based on the group.

Besler and Zusi Named to Preliminary Roster

The US men's national team today named their 30 man preliminary roster ahead of this summer's World Cup in Brazil. The roster had a distinct MLS feel to it, with half the roster currently plying their trade in the league.

Included with the 15 MLS players are two from Sporting KC. Matt Besler and Graham Zusi will both join the US national team in Stanford for camp after Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Union. Both Besler and Zusi were expected to be named to the roster and barring an injury, both should be on the plane to Brazil as well. Both should also get playing time in Brazil, with Besler expected to be the starter for the US in central defense when they take the field against Ghana on June 16th.

One other Sporting player was considered a long shot to make the roster, Benny Feilhaber. Feilhaber has likely started the 2014 season in the best form of his career and his ability to thread a pass (seen numerous times this season so far) had him on the lists of a few people who wanted to see that passing ability available to the US off the bench in Brazil. Feilhaber's lack of versatility though is likely one of the big things that hurt him. In Jurgen Klinsmann's 4-2-3-1 that he plays, Feilhaber really can only play in the middle of the three in the midfield. With a limited number of roster spots and the likes of Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Graham Zusi all able to play that middle position and other positions on the field Feilhaber's fate was already sealed. For Sporting though, this is good news. Being without both creators in the starting lineup would have caused KC a number of headaches for at least the rest of the month of May where they still have five games to play.

Review of 2013 Wishes

With 2013 behind us now, it's a chance to take a look at my 2013 wishes that I posted back in January 2013 and see how they worked out.

1. Silverware - An MLS Cup is certainly a nice way to end a season and fulfill this wish. We should do that more often.

2. 15 goals from Claudio Bieler - Sporting KC's DP finished with 10 regular season goals, he adding another in the US Open Cup, and another in the playoffs, so even counting all competitions, this one didn't get fulfilled.

3. A second double digit goal scorer - This was another one that didn't get fulfilled. Kei Kamara was second on the team in scoring, with 7 league goals (8 in all competitions) and Kamara played in less than half of KC's 34 games. So this one likely wouldn't have been filled if Kamara hadn't transfered to England. It goes down as a negative though.

4. A game in the Hex at Sporting Park - KC ended up with the final home game of the Hex against Jamaica. It ended up not being necessary for qualification as the US had already qualified for the World Cup. That actually ended up being just fine because the game just became a big party for US fans and was capped off by Sporting KC's own Graham Zusi scoring the game winning goal.

5. No more than 1 home loss - KC struggled at home this season, it's becoming a bit of a routine since Sporting Park opened. The team has struggled to break teams down at home, especially ones that choose to sit back. KC finished with a 9-5-3 record at home, the five losses equaled the number that KC had at home the first two years that Sporting Park was open combined. It was KC's road record that again carried them in 2013 as they went 8-5-4 on the road. This was even true in the Champions League, where KC won their two away games, but drew their two at home.

To be fair, when it came to crunch time in the playoffs KC took care of business in the playoffs, winning two and drawing one, but also coming from behind in each of their home games to get the results that they needed.

6. Comets break the "Big 2" - This was a success for the Comets in the playoffs at least. In the regular season the Comets finished third in the league and after losing at home to the Milwaukee Wave it looked like another "Big 2" final. But in Milwaukee, the Comets won the game and then won the mini-game, both times with late goals that saw them make the finals against Baltimore, which unfortunately they lost.

7. Successful launch of FC Kansas City and the NWSL - This I think was a major success. For FCKC it was a successful year, they were a late goal away from finishing in first place in the league in the regular season and ended up as number two overall in attendance behind Portland. I think if you were to ask the owners of FCKC the only thing that could have gone better was a championship and potentially a more "soccer friendly" facility, although Shawnee Mission North is not a bad place to watch a game.

As for the league itself, I think the league is in a very good place after their first season. They're already adding an expansion team in Houston that is owned by the Dynamo. And there are rumors that other MLS teams are interested in an NWSL team. If that's true it speaks well to the stability of the league going forward. The short term goal has to be to make it to year four, something the previous two women's leagues haven't made it to. But it's been a very successful first year.

8. Advancement from the group phase of the Champions League - This was a success in the basic terms of it. KC advanced to the knockout round and will take on Mexican side Cruz Azul. But on one side it is also disappointing because of where KC ended up. With KC opening with two games on the road and winning both, hopes were high that KC would finish in the top half of qualifiers, getting to play the second leg at home, and having a better chance of avoiding a Mexican side. But KC then drew their two home games and ended up falling all the way to the seventh seed.

9. No friendlies - KC played a club record 45 competitive games in 2013 and this year they didn't add a friendly to that list of matches.

Group G for Ghosts of World Cup Past

With the World Cup draw today, the US national team is going to face the ghosts of their past World Cups. Of the three teams in the USA's Group G in Brazil, they've met at least one of the teams in each of the past four World Cups.

The US faced Germany in the 1998 World Cup in France, falling 2-0 in their first group match. In the 2002 World Cup, the US again met up with Germany, this time in the quarterfinals, falling 1-0 to the Germans in a game that the US dominated for good periods of the game and had a hand ball on the goal line not called that would have led to a PK.

In the past two World Cups, the USA's elimination from the competition has come at the hands of their first opponent, Ghana. In the 2006 World Cup, after falling to the Czech Republic and tying Italy, the US needed a win to have a chance of advancing but ended up falling 2-1 to the African side. Then in the 2010 World Cup, after winning their group, the US faced Ghana again in the round of 16. This match went to extra time after a 1-1 draw in regulation. Again the African side advanced over the Americans with a goal in extra time to win 2-1.

Then there is Portugal, who the US defeated in their opening game of the 2002 World Cup, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before eventually winning 3-2 on their way to the quarterfinals.

Advancement out of the group will not be easy. Of the potential groups for the US, the only group that could have been harder, is if they were in Group B in Australia's place against the likes of Spain, Chile, and Holland. It's gonna be a chance for the US to exercise a few demons and has plenty of storylines already in place, Klinsmann vs his home country, can the US get over the Ghana hurdle, and Portugal's chance for payback from 2002.

Zusi the Hero of Mexico

Four days after putting in a man of the match performance for the United States in their 2-0 win over Jamaica that clinched the top of the Hex for the USA, Graham Zusi was again the man of the match. This time for a country he doesn't even represent. With the US trailing Panama 2-1 and Mexico trailing Costa Rica 2-1, Mexico was actually on it's way out of the World Cup for the first time since 1990 (and first time without it due to suspension since 1982). Then in the second minute of stoppage time, Brad Davis received the ball out wide and floated a cross into the middle of the box. Zusi made a nice run and headed the ball home to tie the game and give Mexico life. Shortly after Zusi scored, Aron Johannsson scored his first goal for the US to seal the game at 3-2.

The result is funny cause throughout the night you saw US fans openly rooting for Panama in the game, hoping they'd win and knock out Mexico. You saw even more, like myself, who were conflicted we don't want the US to lose, but to see your biggest rival embarrassed by not qualifying for the World Cup is something that you couldn't help but laugh about at their expense. You also saw Mexican fans openly rooting for the US, especially after Mexico went down a second time to Costa Rica. All in all, a crazy night in CONCACAF and a night that proves the excitement of playing all the final games at the same time.

Why Besler's Suspended

You've probably seen the above gif at some point today, if you haven't, the above is what got Sporting KC defender, Matt Besler his yellow card on Friday night in Costa Rica. The yellow, Besler's second of the qualifying cycle,  will force him to miss tomorrow's qualifier in Columbus against Mexico.

Joel Campbell, the Arsenal player on loan to Olympiacos, is the Costa Rican player who took the dive that got the booking and has been taking plenty deserved abuse for it today. For the US though, there is no recourse to get Besler's yellow card rescinded. The only way a yellow can be rescinded is in the case of mistaken identity.

Many questions have been asked about the assistant referee in this case. Center referee, Marco Antonio Rodriguez I thought had a good game as a whole, but here had to rely on his assistant as the ball was at the opposite end of the field when the "foul" occurred. According to reports, the referee didn't even raise his flag, but when Rodriguez confirmed with his assistant via his headset, the AR confirmed that it was Besler. My guess is that the AR didn't actually see the incident (or else Campbell would have gotten the yellow). But what I think happened is that he probably caught just enough out of the corner of his eye that when Rodriguez conversed with him the AR fingered Besler as the one that was next to him.

Besler broke his silence regarding the cards today on Twitter, and his response was pretty much what I expected, but said exactly what most people were thinking.

It's difficult putting into words the feeling, but watching the video confirms what I already knew
— Matt Besler (@mbesler) September 9, 2013

I'm extremely disappointed this is the reason I won't get a chance to represent my country in another Mexico match, with a chance to qualify
— Matt Besler (@mbesler) September 9, 2013

Having said that, I'm excited to support my teammates, and am fully confident we will get the job done tomm night
— Matt Besler (@mbesler) September 9, 2013

With Besler suspended along with Jozy Altidore and Geoff Cameron, and Michael Bradley injured, the US will have to step up tomorrow, but with a huge crowd the US can still clinch a World Cup spot tomorrow.

Sporting Park to Host USA-Jamaica World Cup Qualifier

US Soccer today announced the venues for the USA's final four home World Cup qualifiers.  As had been rumored for a few weeks now, Kansas City will be hosting the USA's final home qualifier and 9th of 10 qualifiers on October 11th against Jamaica at Sporting Park.  This will be the 4th World Cup qualifier held in the KC area (vs Bermuda 1968, vs Costa Rica 2001, vs Guatemala 2011).  KC has also proven to be a friendly home for the US, they've won all 3 of the previous World Cup qualifiers here as well as the Gold Cup game against Guadeloupe in 2010 as well.

The qualifier could very well be a key qualifier for the US, similar to last year's qualifier against Guatemala.  The 9th game has been the game where the US has clinched World Cup qualification in 3 of the last 4 World Cups. 

Personally I struggle to see how this game isn't key for the US, this game will very likely need to be a win for the US for them to clinch a top 3 spot and an automatic World Cup birth.

Sporting Park to Host US-Jamaica in October?

News is slowly starting to leak out on the rest of the sites that will host the US national team's remaining 4 home qualifiers that have not been announced yet.  Word over the weekend was that Columbus would in fact be the host of US-Mexico, and Seattle was getting one of the two qualifiers at home during the summer.

Then today was this Tweet from Grant Wahl:

Source: USSF aiming for home WCQ venues June 11 (PAN) Seattle; June 18 (HON) Salt Lake; Sept 10 (MEX) Columbus; Oct 11 (JAM) Kansas City.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) February 11, 2013

Looking at that list, each one makes sense, all 4 sites would give the US a very good chance at a strong home field advantage.  Seattle could easily pull in 60,000 plus for the US.  Salt Lake has done a good job of hosting the US national team, having previously hosted US-El Salvador last cycle.  Honduras is arguably the second best team the US will face this cycle and their fans tend to travel well.

As for US-Mexico, while Robb Heineman and much of the KC soccer community liked to talk up that they were really in the discussion (and I don't doubt that they were), there really wasn't an option other than Columbus.  I've said for a while, until the US loses to Mexico at Columbus, you don't mess with the success that is 3 straight 2-0 wins in qualifying over Mexico at Columbus Crew Stadium.

That leaves the final home qualifier in October against Jamaica for Kansas City.  And while Jamaica certainly isn't a glamorous opponent when it comes to qualifying, I'd argue that this match very well could be the biggest home qualifier of this entire cycle.  After the first match day that saw Jamaica get a draw in Mexico City, and Panama and Costa Rica tie in Panama, the US currently sit at the bottom of their qualifying group.  And while there's plenty of time to come back from that, this cycle appears to be one of the tightest in recent memory when it comes to qualifying.  There's no "minnow" that teams can breath a bit against. 

So October 11th against Jamaica could very well be a must win for the US heading into their final qualifier only 4 days later in Panama.  Getting a strong home crowd for this game is going to be an absolute must, and KC has proven over the last 2 years especially that they can bring it support wise for the US as the US beat Guadeloupe and Guatemala.  Even back in 2001 when Arrowhead hosted US-Costa Rica, the US has been well supported here. 

If this report is true, I think it shows the confidence that US Soccer has in Kansas City.  Putting what could be a very big game in KC to help put pressure on the visiting team to give the US that last little push.

Schedule Coming Wednesday and an Eye on International Dates

MLS fans will be able to plan the rest of their year come Wednesday.  The league is set to release the rest of the 2013 schedule on Wednesday at 11am Central time.  KC already knows their first three games on the season, playing at Philadelphia, at Toronto, and then opening Livestrong for the season against Chicago. 

Outside MLS play, it's going to be a busy year, the year before the World Cup, there's going to be a lot of international soccer going on.  Not just that, but there's also the Gold Cup this summer that will be taking up time.  With players like Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Graham Zusi being in camp for the US right now and potentially being called in later this summer as well.  Along with that that, there's still other US players on Sporting KC's roster that could be called up, like CJ Sapong.  Then you have Peterson Joseph whose national team of Haiti has qualified for the Gold Cup as well.  You also have Kei Kamara, the Sierra Leone player of the year, will likely have trips to Africa for Sierra Leone's World Cup qualifying campaign.  Finally in probably the least likely of the call ups, Lawrence Olum spent time with the Kenya national team this offseason and they too have World Cup qualifiers this year.  So before the schedule comes out, here are a couple of dates to keep in mind while looking at the schedule and KC's potential players that could miss time.

March 22nd
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Costa Rica
Sierra Leone vs Tunisia
Kenya vs Nigeria

March 26th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Mexico

June 4th
International match date

June 7th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Jamaica
Sierra Leone vs Tunisia
Kenya vs Nigeria

June 11th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Panama

June 14th
World Cup qualifiers
Sierra Leone vs Cape Verde
Kenya vs Malawi

June 18th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Honduras

July 7th through July 28th
CONCACAF Gold Cup

August 14th
International match date

September 6th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Costa Rica
Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea
Kenya vs Namibia

September 10th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Mexico

Octobere 11th
World Cup qualifiers
USA vs Jamaica

October 15th
USA vs Panama

November 15th through November 19th
International match date
Intercontinental playoff between CONCACAF and Oceania

Livestrong Finalist for Costa Rica Qualifier

Reports out of Costa Rica in early December were that Livestrong Sporting Park would be hosting the upcoming World Cup qualifier against the Ticos.  After that came further reports that it wouldn't be LSP, but instead Colorado or Salt Lake that would be hosting the game in an attempt to help acclimate players to higher altitudes ahead of the qualifier a few days later in Mexico City.

Today on Goals on Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel, Grant Wahl said that those are the final 3 sites that are being decided upon and that a decision should be coming some time this week.

Putting the game in Salt Lake or Colorado makes sense from the altitude standpoint.  Salt Lake hosted the US qualifier against Costa Rica in the 2006 cycle and provided a very good home atmosphere.  The last qualifier held in Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park was the qualifier against Guatemala in the 2010 cycle.  That game wasn't that well attended overall, but the game also meant nothing, and since then games for qualifiers have changed and qualifiers aren't going to have attendance like that any more I don't think.

KC provides a good home atmosphere and a place where the US will have a home field advantage, as shown in the Gold Cup and World Cup qualifier vs Guatemala.  In fact you can go back to the 2002 cycle when KC hosted the Costa Rica qualifier and over 30,000 showed up for that game.  All 3 provide very good choices for US Soccer.

If the qualifier doesn't come to KC, I still expect KC to get one of the qualifiers, whether it be Honduras, Mexico, Panama, or Jamaica.  Even with the rumors of the two summer home qualifiers vs Honduras and Panama going to the Pacific Northwest, I'd still figure on KC getting one of the final two.  My opinion then would be Jamaica as I wouldn't take the US-Mexico game out of Columbus.  The Jamaica game may not be glamorous, but if the US needs a result, there aren't many places where the US would probably want to come for a must win than Kansas City.

2013 Wishes

The calender has switched over to 2013.  And with the change it's time to look towards the year and soccer in Kansas City, specifically Sporting KC, who will start the season in about 2 months.  Here are my wishes for the year 2013.

1. Silverware - This is what I always want.  Last year KC grabbed the US Open Cup and I'd love to repeat that or grab the Supporters' Shield, or the big one, MLS Cup.

2. 15 goals from Claudio Bieler - Bieler has been brought in for one thing, to score goals.  For KC to be successful next season, he's going to need to find success and put the ball in the net.  Fifteen goals would be the most for a KC player since Eddie Johnson in 2007 and tied for the second most all time for Kansas City.

3. A second double digit goal scorer - Finishing needs to improve next season.  Hopefully Bieler helps with that, but hopefully KC doesn't lose too much from other goal scorers.  KC almost had two double digit goal scorers last year, next year getting a second player over 10 goals would be good.

4. A game in the Hex at Livestrong Sporting Park - KC has proven the last 2 years that they'll bring it to support the US national team in games at LSP.  From the Gold Cup two years ago to the qualifier vs Guatemala.  There were reports out of Costa Rica that KC would get that game in March, but later rumors have that game going to Colorado or Salt Lake for altitude preparations for Mexico City.  I'm not sure that KC will get the high profile US-Mexico game, but I wouldn't be surprised to see US-Honduras played at LSP.

5. No more than 1 home loss - KC had a 10-3-4 record at home this past year and a 8-4-5 record on the road.  If KC wants to go to the next level it's going to have to be their home record that improves.  KC's never been a traditionally good road team so if they can improve their home form and try to keep a similar road record they'll be in the race for the Supporters' Shield.

6. Comets break the Big 2 - Since the MISL returned in it's 3rd form in the 2008-2009 season (then the NISL) either the Baltimore Blast or Milwaukee Wave have made the final.  The last two year's the finals have been between those two teams.  The Comets initial hope this year had been to finally break up those two.  Currently though they're well behind those two in the standings this year.  While they may not catch the Wave or Blast in league play, hopefully at least in the playoffs they can break up the finals being these two teams.

7. Successful launch of FC Kansas City and the NWSL - It's been a whirlwind month plus so far for the new women's team and the new women's league.  From not publicly existing to the point of starting play in 2013.  On the surface the league looks like it may be in a good position from the start with the backing of 3 federations and more interested in how the league does in it's first season.  Right now FCKC is one of only two teams that have yet to announce where they'll be playing in the 2013 season.  Getting everything squared away for the 2013 season and a successful launch to the new league.

8. Advancement from the group phase of the Champions League - KC's first trip into the CONCACAF Champions League since it  referred to as the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2005.  At this point for an MLS team anything other than advancement is a major disappointment.

9. No friendlies - With MLS play, the US Open Cup, and the CCL, there's really no reason for KC to congest their schedule any more with meaningless friendlies.  Last year KC pulled in French champion Montpellier, which was a fun game for what it was considering it's a team most teams had never seen before and looked to be entertaining.  The other game was against EPL side Stoke who while a top half of the table side this season doesn't exactly scream high profile.  Avoiding these games with the busy schedule during the summer is something that I think needs to be done.

Review of 2012 Wishes

With the calender now switched over to 2012, let's take a look at my 2012 wishes and how they were fulfilled. 

1. Silverware - Your 2012 US Open Cup Champions, Sporting Kansas City has a nice ring to it.  While Sporting fell 3 points (and goal difference) short of the Supporters' Shield and fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs, they brought home their first silverware since 2004. 

2. A double digit goal scorer - This was also a success.  While KC as a whole struggled to take advantage of all their shots, Kei Kamara did hit double digits for goals scored this year.  CJ Sapong almost made it there as well, finishing with 9 goals.

3. A designated player who scores double digit goals - This one didn't happen, KC actually didn't bring in a designated player for the 2012 MLS season.

4. Equal or better last year's attendance mark - With all but 1 game sold out, and the majority of those games "over capacity" Sporting topped the 2011 average attendance of 17,810 with a 19,404 mark in 2012, 105% capacity of Livestrong Sporting Park.

5. One home loss at most - This one didn't come true, Sporting ended the 2012 season 10-3-4 in league at Livestrong Sporting Park.  Not a bad record at all, but the 3 losses, especially the one to Montreal really hurt KC last year.

6. Lock up Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and Chance Myers long term - Zusi was locked up before the season started.  Besler, there were a few worrying nights after the season ended and rumors of trials abroad for the MLS Defender of the Year, but Besler too re-signed.  Myers is the only one on the list who hasn't been locked up long term.

7. A World Cup Qualifier at Livestrong Sporting Park - The USA clinched a spot in the Hex with their 3-1 win over Guatemala at LSP.  An electric atmosphere in a game that the US needed to win to assure advancement.  KC set itself up as a site that can provide the US a home field advantage and has set itself up as a favorite to host a game in the Hex.

8. Get OUR MLS Cup back from Hunt Sports Group - Kind of but not really.  The fact that HSG still had the trophy got publicity this year and led to the issue actually being addressed publicly.  It came out that part of the deal to sell the team involved HSG keeping the trophy.  HSG did "loan" the trophy to OnGoal to display during the 2012 season.  After that Sporting is going to get a replica for the team.  At least this issue was brought out and something ended up being done about it.

Not bad on the wishes overall many of them came true and those that didn't weren't the biggest of the issues.

Reports that Livestrong Will Host World Cup Qualifier vs Costa Rica

The United States open the last round of World Cup qualifying in early February in Honduras.  The USA's first home game of the Hex takes place in late March on the 22nd.  The venue for the game has not been officially announced yet.  Unofficially though, reports out of Costa Rica are that the United States will play the qualifier at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS.

LSP had hosted the United States last World Cup qualifier of the last round against Guatemala with a sell out crowd of 16,947 (reduced capacity per FIFA).  The pro US crowd and comments from US coach Jurgen Klinsmann had firmly put KC in the position of hosting a game in the Hex this year.  The game would be the third straight year that KC has hosted the US team, as the US played Guadeloupe in the Gold Cup in KC as well.  Rumors and hopes were that KC would get high profile US vs Mexico game instead of Columbus, OH, where the last 3 World Cup qualifiers against Mexico has taken place.  If this report is true though KC will be hosting Costa Rica for the second time in World Cup qualifying.  The last time KC hosted Costa Rica was in the qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, when 37,319 showed up at Arrowhead to watch the US win 1-0.

Espinoza, Vermes, and World Cup Qualifiers

Some notes from the past few days now that the season is over.

Espinoza Confirms Wigan Interest

After the game against Houston on Wednesday, Roger Espinoza confirmed the rumors that had been around since the end of the Olympics, that Wigan Athletic were interested in the Honduran midfielder.  Wigan had been a rumored sutor for both the summer and winter windows for Espinoza, and with Espinoza now out of contract he has a choice to make.  According to Thad, Espinoza has 3 offers on the table, one from Wigan, one from Sporting, and a 3rd from another European team that Espinoza would not name.  Everyone would like Espinoza to stay in Kansas City, but I still believe that in the end, the chance to play in Europe and that bigger pay day will win out in the end and Espinoza will leave Kansas City for greener pastures. 

It's amazing the player Espinoza's turned into during his time here.  He started out as a left winger, converted to a left back, and then finally last year during the Gold Cup for Honduras really showed a penchant for playing in the midfield.  He came back to KC after the Gold Cup and took up the center midfield position, in front of Julio Cesar and helped KC finish on top of the Eastern Conference.  Cesar's staying home allowed Espinoza a free role that let him go all over the field winning tackles and causing trouble. Then this year he was named one of Honduras' overage players for the Olympics.  Honduras advanced into the knock out stages, where they met Brazil.  Espinoza had already had a good tournament, including a stellar performance against Spain in a 1-0 win that helped see Honduras through.  The Brazil game though was Espinoza's coming out party.  He scored Honduras' second goal on a great run and finish that gave Honduras their second lead of the game.  He turned in a man of the match performance that was capped by a red card in stoppage time.  As Espinoza walked off the field though, Brazil players stopped to shake his hand and the crowd at St. James' Park rose to their feet giving Espinoza a standing ovation.  A moment that still when thinking about it gives me goose bumps, I can't imagine how Espinoza feels about it.  If he does leave all I can say is good luck to him and that I might need to pick up an Espinoza jersey for whatever team he ends up with.

Vermes to get extension

fyi....working on an extension for PV.
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) November 8, 2012

Yesterday on Twitter, Robb Heineman posted the above, a day before the 3rd year anniversary of Peter Vermes being given the permanent job as , meaning Peter Vermes will be around KC for a while longer.  Vermes has been doing two roles for KC ever since the firing of Curt Onalfo during the 2009 season after the 6-0 loss to Dallas.  Serving as both coach and technical director, the success or failure of the team when the announcement was made would completely be on him.  He's succeed quite well, especially with the opening of Livestrong Sporting Park.  Vermes has coached the second most games in team history behind Bob Gansler with 110, the third most wins (45), second if you take away Ron Newman's 14 shootout wins.  He's also averaging the most points per game of any coach for KC, currently averaging 1.5 points per game in league play. 

Some of his tactical decisions have been questioned, especially his substitution strategy (or lack there of), but he's also still learning as a coach.  What he really needs to do is get the Dominic Kinnear playoff monkey off his back.  One thing that is hard to argue with his player scouting and signing ability, he's brought in a number of good foreign signings and draft picks that have contributed quite a bit to the team.

Hex Draw Out
 
While Sporting KC were taking the field vs the Dynamo, CONCACAF was holding the live draw for the final round of World Cup qualifying, the Hex.  Here's the draw.

Feb 6 at Honduras
March 22 Costa Rica
March 26 at Mexico
June 7 at Jamaica
June 11 Panama
June 18 Honduras
Sept 6 at Costa Rica
Sept 10 Mexico
Oct 11 Jamaica
Oct 15 at Panama

You would think that Livestrong Sporting Park is in line for one of those 5 home games.  After the announcement a rumor was making the rounds that Sunil Gulati had said the US would not be hosting Mexico at Columbus Crew Stadium.  The rumor that the US is giving this concession for a concession from the Mexican federation, possibly Mexico not playing the game in the middle of the day (I doubt they'd convince them to not play at Azteca).  If that's true, one would think one of the favorites to replace Crew Stadium would be LSP.  Especially after the crowd for the Guatemala game back in October.  Heineman believes that LSP has a very good shot at the Mexico game because Jurgen Klinsmann's feelings on the amenities at the stadium.  If LSP doesn't get Mexico, I still expect KC to get a game, possibly the Costa Rica or Honduras game, or maybe for purposes of the late result potential, put the Jamaica game at LSP. We'll have to see, but the biggest surprise would be no game at all at LSP.

Some Thoughts About Tomorrow

Tomorrow at Livestrong Sporting Park is a very big World Cup qualifier between the United States and Guatemala.  A spot in next year's Hex is on the line with the chance to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  A draw will see both the US and Guatemala through ahead of Jamaica who play Antigua.  Here are some random thoughts about the game.

Get there early

Parking is going to be an absolute mess.  With the lots on the Speedway side of State Ave. shut down for the NASCAR race this weekend, 20,000 people will be squeezing into the Community America Ballpark and other lots around the Legends area.  It's going to be an absolute cluster fuck so I suggest getting there as early as possible.

Don't wear club gear

Almost everyone knows I'm a club over country guy, I'll choose a Sporting game over a US game most of the time, but there's no reason for that to come into play tomorrow.  Sporting is off so my Sporting stuff will stay at home.  I strongly suggest that you do the same.  Don't brin petty club arguments into the tailgate or into the stadium with you.  Sure the jersey may still say Donovan on the back, but on the front it's not a US jersey.  It's not a hard concept to understand.  That leads to my next point.

Wear red

Or a US jersey.  For as long as I remember watching or attending US games, the supporters section of the United States has always worn red as a way to support the team.  It's the color of choice unless you're wearing a US jersey.  So if you don't have a US jersey, find something red that you can wear and wear that for the game.

The chants are quite similar

The chants and songs that are done by the American Outlaws and US supporters aren't much different from the ones that are done for Sporting.  You can basically replace KC or Sporting with US and you have the majoirty of the chants.  So don't feel bad if you don't know them right away.  The I believe chant is one that really took off after last year's Gold Cup game at LSP.

Expect Guatemala to "park the bus"

With Guatemala only needing a draw to advance, don't expect them to come out flying in the attack.  They'll sit back, play 10-11 behind the ball and try to make this game a dull 0-0 affair.  With Jamaica-Antigua kicking off at the same time, they'll have an eye on the other game if they do give up a goal.  Because if Jamaica and Antigua is close, Guatemala could even get through with a low scoring loss. Should things get closer the game could get quite exciting if the US do score early.  That's going to be the best way for the game to open up tomorrow, an early goal will certainly help that.  For a further look at potential results see my post from Saturday.

Enjoy the game

Last time KC hosted a World Cup qualifier, it was 11 years ago.  I don't expect it to be that long before KC hosts another World Cup qualifier, but they don't come around every day.  Enjoy the atmosphere for the US game.  This is going to be my 4th cap, and third World Cup qualifier I've attended.  And it'll be just as fun.  Eleven years ago Kansas City showed for at least one night that they were a soccer city, and now they're proving it on a regular basis, but it's time to show it again at the national level.

Early Look at Tuesday

Now that we've all had a chance to settle down from what was a fairly drab performance from the US men's national team last night in Antigua, it's now time to look towards Tuesday and the game at Livestrong Sporting Park against Guatemala.  Along with the USA's 2-1 win, Guatemala defeated Jamaica at home 2-1.  Here is how the groups look right now.

Team	GP	W	L	D	Points	GF	GA	GD
USA	5	3	1	1	10	8	5	3
Guatemala	5	3	1	1	10	8	5	3
Jamaica	5	2	2	1	7	5	5	0
Antigua & Barbuda	5	0	4	1	1	3	9	-6

So after last night, Guatemala and the US are tied at the top of the group on 10 points.  The US is currently ahead of Guatemala on the 7th tie breaker, goals scored away from home between the two teams (US has one, Guatemala zero because the return leg hasn't been played).

For the US, things are fairly simple as a whole, if you don't lose at home you're through to the Hex.  That's a simple enough task for the US, as they haven't lost a World Cup qualifier on home soil since 2001 when they lost 2-1 to Honduras at RFK Stadium.  Only one player on the current roster, Steve Cherundolo, was on that team that lost that day (Landon Donovan was on the team as well, but he's no longer in camp due to injury).

A loss would be devastating for Guatemala though as Jamaica is hosting Antigua & Barbuda the same night, and with Antigua having failed to win a game yet, Jamaica would seem primed to finish play on 10 points.  The US and Guatemala though could play to a draw and both teams would advance with 11 points as that would put them out of reach of Jamaica.  With that said, I'd expect Guatemala to come in and immediately sit back, playing for the draw as they'd know that would see them through.  Could make for a frustrating night for the United States unless they score early.  An early goal would force Guatemala to come out and attack looking to get back level.

The worst thing that could happen for the US is a loss, but it wouldn't eliminate them from qualifying, but things become more difficult.  One way that the US could still advance is if Jamaica fails to beat their Caribbean rival in Kingston, that would leave Jamaica on 7 or 8 points, below the US.  If the US loses and Jamaica wins, the goal difference in the 2 matches can be 2 (US lose 1-0, Jamaica win 1-0) and the US would still advance on goal difference, +2 to +1.  If the goal difference in the 2 games is 3, Jamaica cannot outscore the US by 4 goals, or else they'll pass the US in the goals scored category, putting the US out. 

So there's a quick look for you at what can happen on Tuesday at Livestrong Sporting Park.  To make it easy, how about we just win?

Down the Byline US World Cup Qualifier Ticket Giveaway

Sporting KC news is a little slow this week with the international break hitting us right now, but I'm not planning on going anywhere, especially with the United States coming to KC on Tuesday.

In less than a week many of us will be at Livestrong Sporting Park for what could be a win or go home World Cup qualifier against Guatemala.  While Friday the US play an important road game in Antigua, on Tuesday in Kansas City, the USA will take on a game Guatemala side that will likely also be looking to qualify for next year's Hexagonal.

The game is already sold out, and the atmosphere looks set to be absolutely electric for the game.  If you missed out on getting tickets, I'm going to help some of you get in on seeing this qualifier live and in person.  I have 3 pairs of tickets courtesy of Allstate Insurance, sponsor of the U.S. National Team and MLS to give away.

How do you get a chance at one of these pair of tickets?  It's quite simple the contest runs from the time of this posting until 4pm Central Time on Sunday October 14th, all you need to do is Tweet a link to this post and include the hash tag #DTBUStickets.  One entry per person.  I will randomly select 3 people from the list of people that do this.  All the winners will be contacted via Twitter with directions on how to get their tickets.

Good luck, and thanks again to Allstate for making this contest possible.  Allstate is also setting up their Allstate Fan Zone right outside Livestrong on Tuesday night. At the Fan Zone there will be interactive activities and chances to win tickets upgrades and a handful of other prizes that you can register to win.  Also at the Fan Zone you can get the chance to meet former Wizard great and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Tony Meola.  The 2000 MLS MVP that helped lead the Wizards to the MLS Cup title will be signing autographs between 4 and 6pm.  With the parking set up the way it is, make sure to get there early, stop by and meet the Wizard and US great and enjoy the rest of what the Fan Zone is offering.

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.