Dwyer Closing in On Citizenship and He Deserves a Look When He Gets It

During MLS media day today, Dom Dwyer let it be known that he is closing in on US citizenship. Having had his green card, making him a permanent resident in the United States since 2012. Dwyer has had his green card for five years next month, making him eligible to become a US citizen. Dwyer confirmed today that his paper work is ready to be filed in February to apply for citizenship. He also confirmed that he has been in contact with US Soccer and is working with the federation on his FIFA paperwork that would allow him to represent the United States at the international level. FIFA rules require him also to be a permanent residence in the country for five years after he turns 18, which he will meet in the next month.

So the question becomes is he good enough to represent the United States at the international level? If he'd been a US citizen last year, he would have been the highest scoring American player in MLS with his 16 goals, four better than Chris Pontius, who was the highest scoring American last season. He's scored 52 goals in his MLS career, 50 in the last three seasons, the only player with more goals in that stretch is Bradley Wright-Phillips who has scored 68.

He may not be among the top tier of talent for Bruce Arena with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood, and a healthy Clint Dempsey, but you'd have to think he'd immediately be able to slot in that second tier with the likes of Gyasi Zardes, Jordan Morris, and Chris Wondolowski. Surely Dwyer could step in and keep Wondolowski from continuing to get call ups, or keep Alan Gordon, who received a call up for the last set of World Cup qualifiers as an injury replacement, from being called up again. Dwyer's draw back is that he's not as versatile in his positioning for the US team as some other players are. Dwyer's not shown himself to be adapt at playing the outside forward position, at least in Peter Vermes' system. Maybe in the US system he could, but he's mainly a center forward. He's shown to be a guy that will fight and scrap with the center backs for other teams usually a head taller than him.

The worry that this will bring for KC fans with his potential citizenship is another player lost to international duty. With the Gold Cup this summer, KC could be decimated by call ups, potentially losing over half of a potential starting 11. KC could lose two-thirds of their attack (Dwyer and Graham Zusi), potentially their entire starting midfield (Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber, and Soni Mustivar, and potentially a center back (Matt Besler) all for the Gold Cup. It'd be a move that would certainly test Sporting KC's depth for their game against the Philadelphia Union on July 6th, two days before the US kick off in the Gold Cup.

Dwyer though certainly deserves at least a look at the national team level once his citizenship is finalized, even if it means KC has to rely on someone other than Dwyer to play center forward for a game or two as he's on national team duty.

Capped Sporting KC Players

Continuing to update stats, this time it is all players who have played for Kansas City who have also been capped by their national team. Unlike my prior post, this is caps at any point in their career, not just with Kansas City. Of all the players that have been with KC, 91 of them have represented their country at the full international level in their career, representing 32 different countries. The US obviously has the highest turnout on the list with 41 players, second is Jamaica with seven.

Here's the full list.

USA
Tony Meola - 100 - 0
Alexi Lalas - 96 - 9
Chris Henderson - 79 - 3
Mike Burns - 75 - 0
Peter Vermes - 67 - 11
Mike Sorber - 67 - 2
Eddie Johnson - 63 - 19
Josh Wolff - 52 - 9
Bobby Convey - 46 - 1
Brian Bliss - 44 - 2
Graham Zusi - 42 - 5
Benny Feilhaber - 41 - 2
Frank Klopas - 40 - 12
Matt Besler - 39 - 1
Jimmy Conrad - 32 - 3
Roy Lassister - 30 - 4
Eric Eichman - 29 - 4
Preki - 28 - 4
Herculez Gomez - 24 - 6
Mark Chung - 24 - 2
Chris Klein - 22 - 5
Kerry Zavagnin - 21 - 0
Brad Davis - 17 - 0
Mark Santel - 8 - 1
Justin Mapp - 8 - 0
Davy Arnaud - 7 - 1
John Diffley - 7 - 0
Nick Garcia - 6 - 0
John DeBrito - 6 - 0
Yari Allnut - 5 - 2
Kevin Hartman - 5 - 0
Sasha Victorine - 4 - 1
Teal Bunbury - 4 - 1
Steve Pittman - 3 - 0
Matt McKeon - 2 - 0
Ken Snow - 2 - 0
Alan Prampin - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - 2 - 0
Diego Gutierrez - 1 - 0
Curt Onalfo - 1 - 0
Sal Zizzo - 1 - 0

Argentina
Claudio Lopez - 58 - 10

Armenia
Yura Movsisyan - 66 - 16

Cameroon
Samuel Ekeme - 32 - 0

Canada
Alex Bunbury - 64 - 16
Marcel de Jong - 48 - 3
Pat Harrington - 1 - 0

Catalonia
Oriol Rosell - 1 - 0

Chile
Luis Marin - 8 - 0

Denmark
Miklos Molnar - 18 - 2

El Salvador
Pablo Punyed - 20 - 2

Finland
Antti Sumiala - 36 - 9

Grenada
Craig Rocastle - 12 - 1

Guadeloupe
Stephane Auvray - 23 - 2

Haiti
Mechack Jerome - 60 - 3
James Marcelin - 34 - 5
Peterson Joseph - 18 - 0
Josué Mayard - 17 - 2
Soni Mustivar - 12 - 0

Holland
Dave van den Bergh - 2 - 0

Honduras
Jorge Claros - 68 - 3
Roger Espinoza - 50 - 5
Ever Alvarado - 6 - 1

Hungary
Krisztian Nemeth - 35 - 4
Zoltán Hercegfalvi - 3 - 0

India
Sunil Chhetri - 92 - 52

Jamaica
Onandi Lowe - 65 - 27
Shavar Thomas - 52 - 0
Jermaine Hue - 42 - 12
Wolde Harris - 28 - 7
Khari Stephenson - 26 - 3
Peter Isaacs - 15 - 4
Akeem Priestley - 6 - 2

Kenya
Lawrence Olum - 4 - 0

Lebanon
Soony Saad - 5 - 2

Liberia
Dionysius Sebwe - 7 - 0

Mexico
Omar Bravo - 65 - 15

Nigeria
Uche Okafor - 34 - 1

Philippines
Martin Steuble - 32 - 2

Puerto Rico
Taylor Graham - 3 - 1

Russia
Igor Simutenkov - 20 - 9

Scotland
Richard Gough - 61 - 6
Mo Johnston - 38 - 14

Serbia and Montenegro
Vuk Rasovic - 5 - 0

Sierra Leone
Kei Kamara - 25 - 4

Trinidad and Tabago
Daneil Cyrus - 62 - 0
Gary Glasgow - 53 - 11
Scott Sealy - 25 - 2
Anthony Noriega - 5 - 0

Yugoslavia
Refik Sabanadzovic - 8 - 0

Zimbabwe
Vitalis Takawira - 26 - 12

Capped as Sporting KC Players

Continuing to update my stats, here is this year's update of players capped while playing with Sporting Kansas City throughout the club's history. There's a new player at the top of the list for Sporting KC, as Graham Zusi became the most capped international while playing with Sporting KC, passing Josh Wolff. Zusi was capped 10 times in 2016, moving him up to 42 caps for his career. He also scored a pair of goals for the USA, giving him five for his national team career. The five goals is good for the second most in KC international history, one goal behind Wolff. Matt Besler also passed Wolff as he too was capped 10 times and finished the year with 39 caps for his international career. Three other Sporting KC players earned caps in 2016, Roger Espinoza earned four caps for Honduras, Marcel de Jong earned one with Canada before his departure from Sporting KC, and Soni Mustivar made three appearances for Haiti after choosing to return to international duty.

Also of note this year, I was able to find some sources that helped me to find out how many caps Vitalis "Digital" Takawira had for Zimbabwe while with Sporting KC. Takawira appeared 11 times for Zimbabwe and scored five times in those 11 games.

Here's the full list.

Graham Zusi - USA - 42 - 5
Matt Besler - USA - 39 - 1
Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 31 - 3
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 20 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad and Tabago - 16 - 1
Scott Sealy - Trinidad and Tabago - 15 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Peterson Joseph - Haiti - 12 - 0
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 12 - 3
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Marcel de Jong - Canada - 11 - 1
Vitalis Takawira - Zimbabwe - 11 - 5
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 9 - 1
Krisztian Nemeth - Hungary - 8 - 2
Martin Steuble - Philippines - 8 - 1
Mechack Jerome - Haiti - 7 - 0
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 6 - 4
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Soni Mustivar - Haiti - 5 - 0
Jorge Claros - Honduras - 4 - 0
Soony Saad - Lebanon - 4 - 2
Teal Bunbury - USA - 4 - 1
Lawrence Olum - Kenya - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Benny Feilhaber - USA - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Mark Chung  - USA - 2 - 0
Oriol Rosell - Catalonia - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0

Feilhaber and Zusi Called Up to US National Team

Bruce Arena and US Soccer today announced the roster for this year's January camp that will culminate with friendlies against Serbia and Jamaica. Two Sporting KC players were named to Arena's squad, with Benny Feilhaber finally making his return to the international stage after being frozen out by Jurgen Klinsmann, and Graham Zusi being brought back in a new position at the international level.

Feilhaber received his first international call up since 2014's January camp, where Feilhaber made his last international appearance against South Korea. Despite having an MVP caliber season in 2015 and a solid season in 2016, Feilhaber was not called in by Klinsmann with the former US coach saying there were "others ahead of him." There was obviously not a good relationship between the two, with comments about Feilhaber's work rate being made. Feilhaber though deserved a return to the US team after his play the last two years and will now get the chance to prove it under Arena.

Zusi is listed as a defender on the roster announcement for the camp, something that was hinted at yesterday before the roster came out. He does have experience playing in the right back position for Kansas City, playing there a few times last year, including a performance against Arena's LA Galaxy that earned him a team of the week nod. With the talent coming through in the attack for the US, Zusi's international career as a winger looks like it is coming to an end, but he provides good leadership and is good as a defender on the wing in KC's system. Arena is possibly hoping that Zusi can get a career renaissance at right back, similar to what DeMarcus Beasley has experienced at left back after transitioning from the wing position.

One name not on the roster was Matt Besler, who has been a staple of Klinsmann's US sides since he earned his place in the team. Besler though is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery that kept him from being part of the camp.

2017 Wants and Wishes

A new year means that it's time to reset and look towards the future. With that said, here are my wants and wishes for 2017.

1. Silverware - Always the number one priority, winning trophies, painting the wall. Kansas City has made a habit of winning trophies over the last few years, hopefully KC's teams can return to that in 2017.

2. Secure a home playoff game - Children's Mercy Park hasn't hosted a home playoff game for Sporting Kansas City since the 2013 MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake. In the three seasons since, Sporting KC has qualified for the playoffs each year, but as the fifth or sixth seed an been required to play the first round on the road. KC has lost all three of those games to New York, Portland, and Seattle. CMP hasn't been a complete fortress for Sporting KC like people would like it to be, but playing a playoff game at home is a distinct advantage for Sporting. That means the club's regular season for has to improve in 2017.

3. Find a secondary goal scorer - Dom Dwyer had his second best goal scoring season of his career, scoring 16 goals for KC in 2016, none of them from the penalty spot. KC's second leading scorers last year were Jacob Peterson and Benny Feilhaber, both scoring six goals, one of those players is gone, and the other had five of his six goals come from the penalty spot. Teams were able to key in specifically on Dwyer most of the time, and while he rose to the occasion, varying KC's attack is going to be better overall for the team. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the 42 that Sporting KC scored in 2016, Sporting is going to have to find a secondary goal threat to not only take some pressure off of Dwyer, but to create a duel threat that will keep other teams more honest, and probably open up more chances for Dwyer. It could be one of the two guys that KC is reportedly set to sign, Gerso Fernandes or Latif Blessing, although I have worries about both being able to do it, or it could be someone new that KC brings in. Either way, KC can't rely on 16 goals from Dwyer and the next highest scorer having 10 fewer and hope to do much next season.

4. A consistent center back pairing - Sporting KC's defense was strong last season, allowing just 41 goals, good for sixth in the league, but as I mentioned in my review of my 2016 wishes, the club had a lot of rotation at the center back position, with seven different pairings being used throughout the season due to injuries, form and national team call ups. Of all the pairings, the Matt Besler/Nuno Coelho was the most used, and that was only used about 11 times all of last season. KC managed with the shuffling of players last season, but really need to have a consistent center back pairing going forward. If you look at the better teams in the league, they all have a consistent pairing that starts the majority of the games, with a third and maybe fourth option available should they be needed. KC used this strategy to great success in 2012 through 2014 with the pairing of Besler and Aurelien Collin. Right now the first team pairing would appear to be Besler and Ike Opara, although Kevin Ellis being preferred to Opara late last season could be seen as a sign for the season. There are also still the questions about Opara's ability to stay healthy over the course of an entire season, as 2016 was the first time Opara has played more than 1,500 minutes in a single season in his seven year MLS career.

The other possibility is a returning Erik Palmer-Brown, who played consistently for Porto's reserve team while on loan. If he returns though, Palmer-Brown looks set to miss a good portion of preseason and a chunk of the regular season with the US U20 national team for World Cup qualifying and the World Cup this summer, which would obviously limit his time and ability to play for Sporting.

5. Quick decision on EPB - Before people can begin to dream about Palmer-Brown having a big impact on Sporting KC this season, his future with the team needs to be decided. With Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto now being up, it's down to negotiations between the two sides on whether Palmer-Brown will return to Kansas City or whether he'll be making a permanent move to the Portuguese power house. Palmer-Brown is reportedly in the last year of his contract, which Porto will use as an argument to get a lower price on the defender as he'd be available on a free next winter, but they also run the risk of Palmer-Brown having a breakout performance with the U20 team and being outbid by other clubs if they go that route. Either way, KC needs to resolve it quickly as selling Palmer-Brown leaves KC again a little thin along the back line in terms of depth.

6. Swope Park Rangers continues to play the "kids" and develop the likes of Amer Didic and Kevin Oliveira - Marc Dos Santos is off to San Francisco and the Rangers have a new coach this year. Taking over for him is Nikola Popovic, an assistant with the Rangers' last year, he came to SPR from Benfica B, where he was an assistant coach. Popovic having that experience with the Portuguese reserve side should bode well for the continued youth mindset the Rangers had last season. That should mean players like Amer Didic, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nansel Selbol, and Kevin Oliveira (when he returns), all under the age of 23 should continue to get time to prove themselves and use SPR as a stepping stone to reach Sporting KC. Hopefully SPR also continue to bring in young players to develop them, along with a few players that are maybe a step away from the jump up to help Sporting. Also hopefully the Rangers' players that are signed to academy contracts get more time in 2017.

7. US qualify for Russia 2018 - Well, I (and many other anti-Klinsmann fans) got their wish, Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the US national team after the US started the "Hex" 0-2 losing at home to Mexico and in Costa Rica. With qualification for the World Cup important, the US went with the "safe" pick for a new head coach in Bruce Arena. He's not a head turning signing, but the expectation is to get things straightened out and get the US to the World Cup. The route back to the World Cup will start in March when the US will host Honduras in San Jose before traveling to Panama in a pair of games that the US really need to get six points out of to get qualification back on track.

8. Comets start run in second half of season - The Kansas City Comets have been one of the dominate forces in the MASL since it was founded, losing just three times in the regular season in their first two seasons in the league. Through 10 games this season they've already surpassed that loss total, having lost four times, and currently sit in third place in the five team Central division behind both Cedar Rapids and Chicago, the later of which still has two games in hand. The swagger that the team had the last two seasons doesn't seem to be there, they've lost talented players like Max Touloute and Coady Andrews, and the players that they've replaced them with haven't hit the same stride. At the same time, teams like Cedar Rapids and Chicago have really stepped up their game and brought in good talent to compete with the Comets in the Central division. Both of those teams have done so well that it appears like one of the Comets or the Milwaukee Wave are likely going to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in a long time this season. Something that most indoor fans would have thought next to impossible a couple years ago.

9. FCKC return to playoffs in 2017 - The Blues missed the playoffs for the first time in their history last season after losing five expected starters before the season to retirement or pregnancy and then lost a sixth early in the 2016 season. FCKC's defense stepped up big time last season to be one of the best in the league, but the offense struggled greatly. In 2017 the offense looks set to get a big boost as both forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux will be returning to the team after both giving birth in 2016. The pair will join with last season's leading scorer, Shea Groom to give the Blues some more offense. In fact, as long as the Blues can stay healthy, they should be in great shape in 2017, with the three previously mentioned players up top and a defense that includes Becky Sauerbrunn and Desiree Scott along with goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart. The Blues should be able to get themselves back into the playoffs in 2017.

A Look Back on my 2016 Wants and Wishes

On New Year's Eve, before we ring in the New Year, here's a look back at my 2016 wants and wishes and how each one turned out.

1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.

2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.

3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.

4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.

5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.

Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.

6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.

7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.

8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.

9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.

Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.

Besler, Zusi Called Up, Espinoza Turns Down Call

Sporting Kansas City has a pair of players called up for national team duty in the upcoming international break, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi were both called into the US team that will finish out the fourth round of World Cup qualifying with games at St. Vincent and the Grenadines and home against Trinidad and Tobago. The US currently sit second in their group on seven points through the first four games having last split their two games against Guatemala with a win and a loss. The US can clinch advancement to the next round of qualifying with a win on Friday if Trinidad also beats Guatemala in Port of Spain. If those results occur it would make the USA's game in Jacksonville on Tuesday September 6th meaningless as both teams would be through to the "Hex".

One name not going to World Cup qualifiers that had been expected to was Roger Espinoza. Espinoza was originally on the list of players called up by Honduras for their World Cup qualifiers against Canada and Mexico. Reports stated that he had turn downed the call for personal problems and Sporting KC later confirmed that while Espinoza was called up he was not going to be going. Honduras are currently in second place in their group, tied with Canada on four points. The two teams face off Friday in Honduras, a location where Canada lost 8-1 to see their 2014 World Cup qualifying hopes end. Honduras will want to get a win, and pile on to advance because goal difference is the first tiebreaker. Currently Honduras sits on minus 1 with Canada on minus 4. With Honduras closing out on the road in Mexico and Canada hosting El Salvador, padding their goal difference heading into that file game will be important for Honduras, but they'll be doing it without Espinoza.

Espinoza Called Up By Honduras

Rosters for some national teams are starting to come out ahead of the international break at the beginning of September. Today, Honduras' governing body, FENAFUTH tweeted out the roster that head coach Jorge Luis Pinto has selected for their games on September 2nd and 6th against Canada and Mexico. Named to the roster is Kansas City midfielder, Roger Espinoza. After missing out on the Olympics, Espinoza will return to the national team fold and look to help Honduras advance to next year's Hex.

Currently Honduras sits in a tie for second place with Canada on four points. Honduras is ahead of Canada due to a better goal difference (-1 to -4). Honduras will host the first game against Canada on September 2nd before traveling to Mexico. The Canada game will be very big for Honduras, who will want to pull off a multi-goal win to pad their goal difference (the second tie breaker) because on the final match day Honduras travels to Mexico City to play group leaders, Mexico while Canada will host last place El Salvador.

In Kansas City terms, Sporting KC does not play a single game in the stretch, their last game before the international break is August 27th at Philadelphia, the end of the club's long stretch of games. Their first game back comes three days after the game on the 6th when Sporting hosts the Houston Dynamo on September 9th.

Besler and Zusi Called Up for Copa America

Two of Sporting Kansas City's designated players are heading out on national team duty after tonight's game against Salt Lake. Matt Besler and Graham Zusi were called up by the US Men's National team for this summer's Copa America Centenario.

With MLS taking a break for much of the tournament, Besler and Zusi will only miss two games during the group stage. They'll miss next Friday's game against DC United as well as a game on June 2nd against the LA Galaxy. Should the US advance, they're also likely to miss the US Open Cup game on the 15th and could miss the game against Dallas on the 19th.

The good news for KC is they do have players that can step up in Besler's and Zusi's absence. Ike Opara can easily slot in at center back while Jimmy Medranda, Justin Mapp, or Connor Hallisey could all step in at Zusi' wing position.

US Friendly Confirmed for Children's Mercy Park

Back at the beginning of this month reports started to come out that Children's Mercy Park would be hosting a US men's national team friendly in their tune up for the Copa America. Reports out of Bolivia were confirmed when looking at FIFA's site that the US team would be hosting Bolivia in Kansas City. Today, US Soccer confirmed the friendly at Children's Mercy Park, the first US friendly to take place in Kansas City.

Children's Mercy Park will host the US vs Bolivia on Saturday, May 28th one day after Sporting KC will take the same field in a league game against DC United. The US has enjoyed plenty of success in their history in Kansas City, not just at Children's Mercy Park. The US team is unbeaten with a 5-0-1 record all time in Kansas City, 4-0 in World Cup qualifiers and 1-0-1 in Gold Cup games. Now Kansas City will get to host their second international friendly in a little over a year. Last year Mexico and Paraguay played an international friendly at Arrowhead that Mexico won 1-0. The game will serve as the USA's final tune up before kicking off the tournament in Santa Clara against Colombia.

The US has never beaten Bolivia, currently with a 0-2-4 record against the South American side. The two last met in 1999 when the two sides drew 0-0 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It'll be just under 20 years since the two met on US soil when they play at CMP; the last time was a 2-0 win for Bolivia on June 12, 1996 in Washington DC.

Zusi Called Up, Besler Returns to KC

US men's national team coach, Jurgen Klinsmann has made some changes to his roster ahead of what has become a must win game for the US to really control their own destiny in qualifying for the next round of World Cup qualifying. The US sit third in the group with four points and three games remaining, but less than full points Tuesday will leave them still in third place and needing assistance to advance ahead of Guatemala or Trinidad and Tobago.

As part of those changes, Klinsmann has called in Sporting KC's Graham Zusi. The KC winger hasn't been with the national team since last summer's Gold Cup where the US team finished in fourth place. Zusi will provide more offense for the US team that couldn't find the back of the net in Guatemala City on Friday.

Returning to Kansas City is Matt Besler, Sporting KC's captain suffered a concussion while training with the US team ahead of the qualifiers. US Soccer said that Besler would be monitored for his availability for Tuesday, but it appears that they made the decision to send him back to his club. Now Besler will continue his rehabilitation from the concussion with Kansas City. There will still be the question of his availability for Saturday against Real Salt Lake and whether he's recovered from the concussion to play. Based on history I won't be surprised if Besler is rested on the second if for no other reason than as a precaution.

Besler Misses World Cup Qualifier Due to Reported Concussion

The US Men's national team limped to a 2-0 loss in Guatemala tonight with a lackadaisical performance that saw them completely out coached and played off the field. One of the big things before the game even started was the reports that two of the team's center backs, John Brooks and Matt Besler would miss the game due to injury. Brooks left camp and returned to Germany to rehab after suffering a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Besler, Sporting KC's captain suffered a concussion in training on Tuesday. Besler is currently going through US Soccer's concussion protocols to determine if he'll be able to go in this coming Tuesday's qualifier which is also against Guatemala. The protocol saw Besler pulled from practice and underwent an evaluation that included a standardized acute concussion evaluation using a SCAT3. Besler must now return to his base level of testing before he will be allowed to return to undergo further post-injury neurocognitive testing to confirm that he is indeed back to his full level neurologically.

With concussions though it is not something that you rush back from or else you risk further concussions and injuries. Besler returning by Tuesday for the game against Guatemala in Columbus would be a surprise. In fact at this point I think you have to think that Besler is a serious doubt to play next weekend for Sporting Kansas City when they host Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. Last year when Graham Zusi and Seth Sinovic both suffered concussions against DC United, Zusi missed 11 days before returning to the bench for Kansas City and 14 days before he returned to action. Sinovic meanwhile missed a lot more time, missing three and a half months of the season for KC before making his return on August 29th.

What that means for Sporting is that I wouldn't expect Besler in uniform on the second against RSL. Based on today's story from the KC Star, I'd probably be getting ready for a center back partnership of Nuno Coelho and Kevin Ellis.

Besler Called Up for US

Sporting Kansas City captain, Matt Besler will be joining the US men's national team for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Besler will be joining Roger Espinoza and Soni Mustivar on international duty this next week. The US team currently sit in first place in their group in qualifying with four points from their first two games. They now play a pair of games against Guatemala. First on Friday they'll be playing in Guatemala City before a return leg next week in Columbus. Besler won't miss any time for Sporting as the club is off from league play this next week, returning to action on April 2nd against Real Salt Lake.

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.

Kansas City to Host Copa America Tune Up Friendly for US?

Reports out of Bolivia and FIFA are that the US men's national team will be returning to Kansas City in 2016. Facetas Deportivas in Bolivia is reporting that the Bolivian national team in preparation for the 2016 Copa America in the United States will play a friendly in Kansas City on May 29th against the United States. The match is also currently listed on FIFA's site, although it lists the date as the 28th. Steven Goff with the Washington Post confirmed that the two sides are apparently working towards a deal but said that it wasn't finalized as yet.

While the US has previously played four World Cup qualifiers and two Gold Cup group phase games in Kansas City in their history, going 5-0-1, the only draw coming in last year's Gold Cup against Panama, this would be the first friendly the men's team has played in Kansas City. The assumption is that the game would take place at Children's Mercy Park, the site of the last four games the US has played in Kansas City. This would also be the second international friendly in as many years hosted in Kansas City as Mexico defeated Paraguay at Arrowhead Stadium 1-0 in 2015.

No matter the date, the game would likely serve as the last tune up for the US team before they kick off the Copa America tournament on June 3rd in Santa Clara against Colombia. It would also come a day or two (depending on if the game is officially on the 28th as FIFA has it or the 29th as Bolivia announced it) after Sporting KC is scheduled to take on DC United at home.

Espinoza Called Up by Honduras

Sporting KC midfielder, Roger Espinzoa has been recalled to the Honduran national team ahead of their midweek friendly against Guatemala. Espinoza, who had been rumored to be joining the team ahead of their pair of games against Nicaragua and Guatemala was only called up for the later game, which takes place this Wednesday in Guatemala City. This is the first time that Espinoza has been called up to the national team since early last year. He was on the team's preliminary roster for this past summer's Gold Cup, but instead stayed with Sporting during that stretch. Espinoza will rejoin the club in Tucson, Arizona for the second phase of their preseason there and the Desert Diamond Cup.

De Jong Called up by Canada

Another Sporting Kansas City player has been called up by his national team ahead of January friendlies. Marcel de Jong has been called up by the Canadian national team for a camp ahead of a friendly against the United States on February 5th. The call up means that de Jong will join Matt Besler and potentially Roger Espinoza in missing the first portion of preseason camp for the 2016 MLS season. Canada are using the match up as a chance to test new players and prepare for World Cup qualifying to restart for them in March when they'll play a pair of games against Mexico.

Espinoza Returning to Honduran National Team

Since returning to Kansas City, Roger Espinoza has not been a figure with the Honduran national team. He was part of only one friendly in the first half of 2015, sat out the 2015 Gold Cup to be with Sporting KC, and missed the later half of the year because of his injury.

Now it appears that Espinoza will be returning to the Honduran national team. Reports out of Honduras are that Espinoza will be called up by head coach Jorge Luis Pinto for upcoming friendlies at the end of January and early February against Guatemala and Nicaragua. That means that Espinoza will join Matt Besler in missing a portion of preseason training with Sporting KC while with the Honduran team.

The friendlies are set up in preparation for World Cup qualifying to kick back off. Currently Honduras sits at the bottom of Group A with 0 points having lost their first two games to Mexico and Canada. Honduras will next play El Salvador in two games potentially with their hopes of making a third straight World Cup hanging in the balance.

Capped Sporting KC Players

After giving the list earlier today of players that have been capped for their national team while playing with Kansas City, here is the updated list of players that have played for Kansas City and been capped by their national team at any point in their playing career. There are 30 countries represented on this list and 90 players that have appeared for their country. Players in bold are those that are still playing for KC.

Here's the full list.


USA
Tony Meola - 100 - 0
Alexi Lalas - 96 - 9
Chris Henderson - 79 - 3
Mike Burns - 75 - 0
Peter Vermes - 67 - 11
Mike Sorber - 67 - 2
Eddie Johnson - 63 - 19
Josh Wolff - 52 - 9
Bobby Convey - 46 - 1
Brian Bliss - 44 - 2
Benny Feilhaber - 41 - 2
Frank Klopas - 40 - 12
Jimmy Conrad - 32 - 3
Graham Zusi - 32 - 3
Roy Lassister - 30 - 4
Eric Eichman - 29 - 4
Matt Besler - 29 - 0
Preki - 28 - 4
Herculez Gomez - 24 - 6
Mark Chung - 24 - 2
Chris Klein - 22 - 5
Kerry Zavagnin - 21 - 0
Brad Davis - 17 - 0
Mark Santel - 8 - 1
Justin Mapp - 8 - 0
Davy Arnaud - 7 - 1
John Diffley - 7 - 0
Nick Garcia - 6 - 0
John DeBrito - 6 - 0
Yari Allnut - 5 - 2
Kevin Hartman - 5 - 0
Sasha Victorine - 4 - 1
Teal Bunbury - 4 - 1
Steve Pittman - 3 - 0
Matt McKeon - 2 - 0
Ken Snow - 2 - 0
Alan Prampin - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - 2 - 0
Diego Gutierrez - 1 - 0
Curt Onalfo - 1 - 0
Sal Zizzo - 1 - 0

Argentina
Claudio Lopez - 58 - 10

Armenia
Yura Movsisyan - 35 - 10

Cameroon
Samuel Ekeme - 32 - 0

Canada
Alex Bunbury - 64 - 16
Marcel de Jong - 41 - 3
Pat Harrington - 1 - 0

Catalonia
Oriol Rosell - 1 - 0

Chile
Luis Marin - 8 - 0

Denmark
Miklos Molnar - 18 - 2

El Salvador
Pablo Punyed - 16 - 2

Finland
Antti Sumiala - 36 - 9

Grenada
Craig Rocastle - 12 - 1

Guadeloupe
Stephane Auvray - 23 - 2

Haiti
Mechack Jerome - 47 - 2
James Marcelin - 22 - 3
Peterson Joseph - 18 - 0
Josué Mayard - 17 - 2
Soni Mustivar - 9 - 0

Holland
Dave van den Bergh - 2 - 0

Honduras
Jorge Claros - 57 - 3
Roger Espinoza - 46 - 5

Hungary
Krisztian Nemeth - 23 - 3
Zoltán Hercegfalvi - 3 - 0

India
Sunil Chhetri - 88 - 50

Jamaica
Onandi Lowe - 65 - 27
Shavar Thomas - 52 - 0
Jermaine Hue - 42 - 12
Wolde Harris - 28 - 7
Khari Stephenson - 26 - 3
Peter Isaacs - 15 - 4
Akeem Priestley - 6 - 2



Kenya
Lawrence Olum - 4 - 0

Lebanon
Soony Saad - 4 - 2

Liberia
Dionysius Sebwe - 7 - 0

Mexico
Omar Bravo - 65 - 15

Nigeria
Uche Okafor - 34 - 1
Martin Steuble - 23 - 2

Puerto Rico
Taylor Graham - 3 - 1

Russia
Igor Simutenkov - 20 - 9

Scotland
Richard Gough - 61 - 6
Mo Johnston - 38 - 14

Serbia and Montenegro
Vuk Rasovic - 5 - 0

Sierra Leone
Kei Kamara - 21 - 4

Trinidad and Tabago
Gary Glasgow - 53 - 11
Daneil Cyrus - 40 - 0
Scott Sealy - 25 - 2
Anthony Noriega - 5 - 0

Yugoslavia
Refik Sabanadzovic - 8 - 0

Zimbabwe
Vitalis Takawira - 26 - 12

Players Capped as Memebers of Sporting KC

Continuing to update my stats, here are the updated caps for players while they were playing for Sporting Kansas City. Three players joined the list this season as Marcel de Jong, Krisztian Nemeth, and Soni Mustivar appeared for Canada, Hungary, and Haiti respectively this past year. Near the top of the list, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler continue to close in on Josh Wolff, the all time leader for caps for Kansas City. Besler has the chance to get to 30 in this January's national team camp and games against Iceland and Canada. Add that into the Copa America and World Cup qualifiers this year and Besler could find himself moving further up this list in 2016.

Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Graham Zusi - USA - 32 - 3
Matt Besler - 29 - 0
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 26 - 3
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 19 - 0
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad & Tobago - 16 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Scott Sealy - Trinidad & Tobago - 14 - 1
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 12 - 3
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Peterson Joseph - Haiti - 11 - 0
Marcel de Jong - Canada - 10 - 1
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Krisztian Nemeth - Hungary - 8 - 2
Martin Steuble - Philippines - 8 - 1
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 8 - 1
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Mechack Jerome - 7 - 0
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Soony Saad - Lebanon - 4 - 2
Teal Bunbury - USA - 4 - 1
Jorge Claros - Honduras - 4 - 0
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 3 - 2
Lawrence Olum - Kenya - 3 - 0
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
Soni Mustivar - Haiti - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - USA - 2 - 0
Mark Chung - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Benny Feilhaber - USA - 2 - 0
Oriol Rosell - Catalonia - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0
Digital Takawira - Zimbabwe - Unknown

Unfortunately I'm still unable to find numbers for Zimbabwe and for Digital Takawira, someday I will.