MLS Expansion - Seattle going for their first sellout tonight

Seattle might not get their first MLS match till next March, but the Sounder organization is looking for their first sold out match tonight as Mexico plays China at Qwest Field.

The new Sounders are putting the match on along with Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer, and have already sold 48,000 tickets, 19,000 tickets short of a sellout.

As one would expect at a Mexican match, there will be a large Hispanic contingent at the game, which presents the Sounders a great chance to expose themselves to a knowledgeable fan base.

As far as the match, it should be a good one as Mexico looks to show something in their first outing since Hugo Sanchez was shown the door. Meanwhile China, well, they do have F Qu Bo. What I'm trying to say is Mexico should, even without some of their best, put on a clinic tonight. If they don't, there will be some anger.

World Cup rotation dead - Fifa spits on Concacaf - Why is Jack Warner still in charge?

Fifa made it official today, the rotational system will die after the 2014 Brazil finals, meaning everyone except for little Oceania and Concacaf got a piece of the World Cup pie.

This comes as no surprise as Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has been hinting at this for some time now but still, one has to wonder why Concacaf President and Blatter's BFF Jack Warner was not able to bring his confederation the finals as he promised. Since it was Concacaf's to lose and Warner lost it, hopefully all the FAs will realize that Warner is not the great strength he portrays himself to be.

So 2018 now becomes an open bidding tournament much like, as Blatter points out, the Olympics. I guess that means 2018 process will be a lot like those for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Blatter listed China, Australia, Mexico, the United States, England and one combined offer from the Netherlands and Belgium as countries already showing interest in the finals. However, seeing that those in Europe pushed this moved, it is pretty safe to say that most of them are already unofficially out. I'm sure Fifa will keep as many countries 'in the game' as they can so as to milk as much out of it as possible, but in the end, 2018 is now England's World Cup to lose.

2018 World Cup getting closer to England

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter as personally assured Prime Minister Gordon Brown that rules will be changed to do away with the rotational hosting idea, thus allowing England and just about anyone else the chance to bid on the 2018 World Cup finals.

In addition, it now appears that the new rule will say that only the most recent confederation to host the finals will be barred from bidding. In the past, Blatter had suggested that the last two host confederations would be barred. This means that a return to the one in Europe, one somewhere else, one in Europe rotation is very likely.

One interesting part of the article says that England will 'face competition from Russia, the Benelux nations, Italy, Australia, China, Mexico and possibly the United States.' I don't really understand the 'possibility' in front of the US as they have openly said that they will bid (especially since the 2018 rotation would have gone to Concacaf if FIFA actually played by their own rules).

So there you have it, all signs point to England in 2018, although wouldn't it be funny if Russia snuck in and won it at the end?

US-China Preview

US vs. China
Saturday - 8pm ET
Spartan Stadium, San Jose, CA
TV: ESPN 2, Galavision

The US men have their final warm-up match before the Gold Cup tomorrow, but it just doesn't feel that compelling. Maybe it's the opponent or maybe it's the fact that 1/3 of the roster for the game is not on the Gold Cup roster, but this game seems a little lost.

That said, it should be a great chance to see different people try and make their mark while others like DaMarcus Beasley try to regain their skill. The player I'm most interesting in watching is Lee Nguyen as I haven't seen much of him since the 2005 World Youth Championship, but I've heard that he is much improved.

I'm going to guess Kasey Keller will see some time in goal and would not be surprised if he went the full 90 so as not to risk an injury to Tim Howard.

As far as proving something, look at the forwards Charlie Davies and Kamani Hill. The US is still hurting for innovation up top and with the Copa fast approaching, if either of these two shine, they might just get a trip to South America.

Predictions: Me China 1-3 USA, Wife China 0-1 USA

US men's roster for China

Bob Bradley has released his 19-man roster for next Saturday's match against China and it is almost all European players. The only MLS side with players on the list is Bradley's former team Chivas USA. Before one starts to think this a sign of nepotism, it should be pointed out that Chivas are the only MLS side with next weekend off. This might just mean that Bradley will release MLS players to go back to their clubs for one last game next week.

Eleven of the 19 are on the Gold Cup roster, while four are looking to get their first national team cap. The newbies are Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Kamani Hill (VfL Wolfsburg), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA) and Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven).

The US plays China Saturday in San Jose at 5pm PT (8et). The match will air live on ESPN2 and Galavision.

Goalkeepers (3) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Defenders (6) – Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders (7) – DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jesse Marsch (Chivas USA), Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards (3) – Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Kamani Hill (VfL Wolfsburg), Ante Razov (Chivas USA)