Carlos Bocanegra is off to France

US center back Carlos Bocanegra is no longer without a club as he has signed a three-year contract with French side Rennes. This move means Portsmouth defender Djimi Traore will not be part of the club next season.

Rennes are a good French side, but not one the of the best. They have made it to the UEFA Cup twice in the last 3 years, however both times they failed to get out of the group phase.

The good side of this is he will get a lot of playing time. The bad side, the French league doesn't have the same top-quality players as the EPL or the other top leagues in Europe.

Still, congratulations to Bocanegra and good luck learning French. By the way, Rennes is about 210 miles west of Paris.

US roster for Argentina

US vs. Argentina
Sunday, 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
TV: ESPN Classic and Galavision

Bob Bradley has released his list of 19 for Sunday's friendly against Argentina and there are a couple surprises.

Carlos Bocanegra is not on it, meaning Jay DeMerit or Dan Califf is going to get a good look over. Also missing is Jozy Altidore, Nate Jaqua, Josh Wolff and just about every other MLS player that might have been called in as a forward.

One MLSer that is back on the list is Landon Donovan so he might get his 100th cap against the number one in the world. Also, Sacha Kljestan has made the final roster.

Overall, it is good, but it will take more then good to handle Argentina (see Mexico's result).

Here is the full roster:

Goalkeepers: Dominic Cervi (no team), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton)

Defenders: Dan Califf (Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado)

Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

Fulham drops Carlos Bocanegra

Fulham has reduced their American contingency by one as they dropped Carlos Bocanegra today. It is no big surprise that Bocanegra got the boot as manager Roy Hodgson had pretty much benched him for the last three months.

Bocanegra, who will likely be a starter for the US against England on Wednesday, is now looking for a new home. PSV Eindhoven has been mentioned as a possible landing spot. PSV was a good spot for DaMarcus Beasley as few years back and might be the change Bocanegra needs. If it works out, he might even get some Champions League action.

This move is a big one for Bocanegra as he needs to find playing time or else his spot on the national team will be less then assured.

Fulham also let go of Jari Litmanen, Philippe Christanval, Simon Elliott, Ian Pearce, Michael Timlin, Ismael Ehui, and Bjorn Runstrom. Looks like Eddie Johnson will get a little more time to make his mark.

Now the question is will Kasey Keller stick around?

Clint Dempsey sticking with Fulham

US international Clint Dempsey has decided to stay with the Cottagers after signing a contract extension that will keep him in West London through 2010. It had been rumored that if Fulham failed to stay in the Premier League, Dempsey would move along to another top-flight club, but this move seems to kill such talk.

Fulham beat Birmingham City over the weekend to move out of the bottom three for the first time in months, however they are still dangerously close to the drop zone. Since Dempsey signed even though the team might get relegated seems to suggest that he enjoys the club and that they plan on making him a key part of their future plans.

If Fulham do stay up, I'm think the only American that will leave is Bocanegra. If they don't, I see Eddie Johnson and Dempsey sticking around and possibly McBride.

Bradley releases Howard, Onyewu, Bocanegra and Carroll

Bob Bradley released Everton's Tim Howard, Newcastle's Oguchi Onyewu, Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra and DC United's Brian Carroll from the US training camp, freeing them all to return to their clubs. Although US fans heading to Dallas for Wednesday's match with Guatemala will miss their chance to see at least three of these players, it is a smart move on Bradley's part.

All three of the European's gave a full 90-minutes on Sunday and all three are starters for their teams. Bradley could have kept them, but with two big competitions coming up in the summer, releasing them a few days early is a good way to build up good will with the clubs.

The reason behind Carroll's exit is DC's big match next Wednesday in Mexico against Chivas de Guadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. United is going to have their hands full and every additional day they have to train as a full unit makes it a little easier on them.

Here is the new roster list for Wednesday's game:
GK (2) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

D (7) – Wade Barrett (Houston Dynamo), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

M (6) – DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Brian Mullan (Houston Dynamo), Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids)

F (5) – Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)