US starting lineup for 2010 World Cup Qualifer against Barbados

US vs. Barbados
5p ET/2p PT
TV: ESPN2
Internet: ESPN360
Text call: Matchtracker

The US is less then an hour away from starting their long road to South Africa and Bob Bradley has released his lineup. Needless to say, there are a couple surprises. First of all, Guzan will start in goal instead of Tim Howard. Howard suffered a lower back strain in training on Friday.

Another little surprise, Ching is starting up top with Dempsey instead of Johnson. This is a good move, but I thought Bradley would give Johnson yet another chance to get things going. Instead, Ching has his opening to prove that he should get a full more calls. In addition, his ability to play balls in the air give the US something that they've been lacking for a while now.

It looks like Pearce has won the left side back spot with his outstanding play over the last three matches. It also looks like Mastroeni's unjustified red card against Argentina hasn't hurt him in Bradley's eyes.

Anyway, here is the lineup:

----------------------Guzan------------------------

Cherundolo--Onyewu--Bocanegra(c)--Pearce

------------Bradley---------Mastroeni-----------

-------Donovan---------------------Beasley------

-------------Ching-----------Dempsey------------

This is a lineup that should dominate Barbados. If they fail to win by three goals, it will be viewed as a loss.

US roster for Sunday's 2010 World Cup Qualifier named

US vs. Barbados
Sunday 5pET/2pPT
Home Depot Center, Carson, Ca.
Tickets (Great for Father's Day)

Bob Bradley released his 21-man roster for this Sunday's World Cup Qualifier against Barbados. There are no huge surprises, as just about everyone on the list saw minutes during warm up games. The one major exception, the Houston Dynamo's Brian Ching.

Ching was named to the preliminary roster for the three friendly matches the US played over the last couple weeks, but he did not make the final cut. Oddly enough, during this same time Ching came into his own in MLS play earning 3 goals and two assists over his last three matches. The addition of Ching gives the US a greater threat in the air and an alternative on set pieces to Onyewu.

A name not on the forward list is Nate Jaqua. I don't think he is injured so I'm a little surprise that with all the US's problems in attack, he was not given more of a chance in the warm up games as he had a great year with both Houston and Austrian side Altach. Perhaps he is trying out for club teams or maybe Bradley didn't like what he saw in camp.

Jozy Altidore is also not on the list, but this is nowhere near a surprise. With his move to Spain in the final stages and his likely call up for the Olympic team looming, Bradley doesn't want to hinder the relationship with Villarreal.

One name that is pleasing to see is Frankie Hejduk. He is a workhorse who can bring some needed experience to the squad during these early qualifiers.

Here is the full roster:

GK (3): Dominic Cervi, Brad Guzan, Tim Howard

D (7): Carlos Bocanegra, Dan Califf, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce

M (7): Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Sacha
Kljestan, Eddie Lewis, Pablo Mastroeni

F (4): Brian Ching, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson

My guess for Bradley's starting lineup is very similar to what he put out during the Argentina match, except Bocanegra will replace Califf. The position that I could see changing is Edu in for Mastroeni.

---------------------Howard-------------------

Cherundolo--Bocanegra--Onyewu--Pearce

-Dempsey--Bradley--Mastroeni--Beasley-

-----------Johnson------Donovan------------

LA, Houston, Sydney & Osaka - A Pan-Pacific Championship preview

The first ever Pan-Pacific Championship (PPC) tournament kicks off tonight when the LA Galaxy take on J-League Cup Champions Gamba Osaka at 11pm ET/8pm PT in Honolulu, Hawaii. Both teams are in their pre-season, so who knows what will come of this match.

MLS insists this is a very serious international competition, but with only five months to plan it out, no big reward at the end and three of the teams out-of-season, it is hard to see it as more then a friendly. Then again, perhaps the desire to earn starting spots along with Sydney FC's desire to avenge their recent dumping out of the A-League playoffs, some quality soccer could break out.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of reasons to watch these games, I just don't expect them to be as tough as the upcoming Concacaf Champions Cup outings. I want to see if LA can find a way to tie together their bunch of rag-tags with the high priced boys of Donovan and Beckham (and Ruiz but I believe he is still recovering from surgery). For Houston, I'm hoping to see what is going on with their front line and how well Boswell fits in. But my interest is not limited to MLS sides as I will also have a lot of fun watching Gamba and Sydney since they are teams I often read about but seldom get to see.

Long term, the PPC could become something amazing, pitting a number of developing leagues against one another to see where they stand (especially if they can land some big dollar sponsors), but for the next few days, I just hope to see some good games.

So what about tonight?
LA Galaxy vs. Gamba Osaka
11pm ET/8pm PT
TV: ESPN Classics
Web: ESPN360.com

All eyes will be focused on David Beckham to see if he is finally at 100%. Once they are assured of that, I expect eyes to shift to their defensive line and new goalkeeper as Gamba's forward Lucas Severino will be giving them pains.

If LA is to bounce back from 2007, they are going to need to start with their defense as they gave up the second most goals of the league (48), while Gamba was the J-League's top scorer by a large margin (71 in 34 games).

Prediction: LA 1-2 Gamba


Houston Dynamo vs. Sydney FC
1:30am ET/10:30pm PT
TV: ESPN Classics
Web: ESPN360.com

Hometown hero Brian Ching will love this match, which should make him even more dangerous. But I'll be more interested with his partner Chris Wondolowski. Does he have enough to be a true starter?

On Sydney's side, I'm not sure who is even going to be there. Defender Tony Popovic is always someone to watch as is D/M Mark Milligan, but I'm not sure who will challenge the tough Dynamo backline.

Prediction: Houston 2-0 Sydney

Houston loses another forward

I guess Nate Jaqua really likes being around Joseph Ngwenya because he is about to move to the same Austrian league (link via SBI). The club that Jaqua will now call home is SCR Altach, who currently stand in eighth place (out of 10).

Jaqua is another quality player leaving Houston, meaning the team is starting to look a bit lost up top. There has been talk about Dwayne DeRosario moving up top with Brian Ching and Stuart Holden sliding into the more attacking midfielder role, which should work well. However, no matter how you look at it, the team has lost some serious depth.

They still need a quality backup goal minder for Pat Onstad and now they could use some help up top. That said, it is nowhere near gloom and doom time as they have an amazing backline and midfield options that I'm sure make other coaches in the league cry.

So to sum up, Houston is not down, but there are a little shaky.

Houston snag De Rosario till 2010

The Houston Dynamo have just announced that they have secured the services of DeWayne De Rosario through the 2010 season.

No financial terms were released, however earlier in the year De Rosario was asking for a significant raise from his roughly $150,000 paycheck. He mentioned that he would like to make about what Brian Ching makes or $220,000 a year. If that is what Houston is paying him, it is still a bit of a steal.

The 2007 campaign has not been one of De Rosario's best but he is still a game-changing player. Hopefully with his off field team issues resolved, he can refocus on his play.

So bad news to fans of other clubs in the West because with this move, Houston has setup a strong midfield for at least a few more seasons.